It was deer day today and all the children of the grotto were exited. On deer day, spring officially began. And more importantly, on deer day, each child received a present.

Claudia, Esmer and Crassus had gotten each child a present. Some got toys, other clothes and there was a group who got shoes. No one was forgotten. Not even the baby animals of the grotto.

Rip and Hiss’s murder muffins were born just on deer day, but even they had a present waiting for them. A new bed made of old sheets and a pillow. All the children crowded around the kittens and tried to pet them, but Hiss didn’t let them.

After more than one got scratched, the murder muffin family was relocated to Elmar’s house by the lake. Elmar didn’t mind, as he was leaving for the forest of plenty today.

He had everything packed and ready, and Luca had agreed to teleport them there. Going out of his house, he saw people waiting for him outside. Diana, Dereck and Lucius were a given, but he was surprised when he saw Theanore and Archibald.

“We came to say goodbye.” Said Theanore, and she extended a wrapped package towards Elmar. He noticed that his three companions had similar ones. He made to open it, but Theanore stopped him.

“This is for the road. Open it when you reach the forest of plenty. I hear it is dangerous there.” Said Theanore, and Archibald repeated the word dangerous to the best of his abilities.

“Thank you, Thea. Now you listen to Esmer and Crassus and stay away from a potential marriage. You are too little for one.” Said Elmar and he hugged the two children. Then, he turned to Luca.

“Ok, we can go now.” He said, and Luca nodded. He pulled out his core crystal and quickly of light, they were off. Theanore stared at the empty clearing, and then she headed back towards the celebration of deer day.

There were whole pigs on sticks roasting over an open fire, and the worker elves cut from the meat and gave it to the children. Sunflower herself was making pancakes and placing them in plates for the children to take.

The older children who could play instruments entertained the rest of the children, and numerous children were dancing. Archibald had the first dance with his big sister, which was a hug with a lot of swaying around.

Then it was Marinus’ turn and finally Cassius. Subsequently, Theanore sat down to feed Archibald and her. Crassus was giving away the presents and when he reached Archibald, he handed him a teddy bear. He squealed and hugged it to himself.

Then Crassus handed a nice new dress to Theanore, who immediately thanked her father by kissing him on the cheek.

“Thank you, father.” Said Theanore. Crassus nodded, and he lugged his big sack to the next child, who received a pleasant stuffed dolphin. And so, deer day ended with the happiness of children and a present for everyone.

But deer day wasn’t so happy for everyone. In the forest of plenty, Elmar and his companions had landed in a swamp. They were drenched and freezing, and they were trying to get to dry land but found nothing.

“The name is forest of plenty, not swamp of plenty. What is this?” Asked Dereck. The water reached his knees and he walked through the mud with effort.

“Well, it is the first day of spring. The snows had just melted. I am certain this place is not like this the rest of the year.” Said Diana, trying to placate her brother.

“You think so? Wait, I see a light over there.” Said Lucius, and he pointed to the east. There was indeed a light shimmering in the distance. The four ran as carefully as they could towards it to not fall in the water.

When they reached the light, they found it was a lamp over a sign. The sign read.

No Man’s Land. 1000 kilometers.

Fairy village. 700 kilometers.

Elven capital. 1980 kilometers.

The sign had different directions with the fairy village being to the northwest, No Man’s Land being in the southeast and the Elven capital being in the northeast.

They headed towards the northeast, wishing for horses or anything to carry them. When the sun set, they made camp at the side of the road and opened the presents that Theanore had given them.

In each package was bread that was still warm. They wondered why, but soon found that the cloth of the paper had a fire enchantment on it. They ate the soft bread slowly, savoring each bite. There was no telling when they would eat bread again.

The forest of plenty was massive and was officially Esmer’s territory, but there was the elven capital, the one and only settlement on the continent, that was by the shore and on the edge of the forest.

Elmar wondered if he could really find the teleportation ring in the capital. If he couldn’t, then he guessed he could always delve in the dungeon of illusions and look for the Naga and his elven lover.

But he had been warned by Esmer that if he entered her dungeon, he would be treated like any intruder. Seeing as there were no survivors ever to tell the tale of coming out of the dungeon of illusions, Elmar didn’t want to risk it.

They slept cuddled together for warmth as they had changed in their pajamas, so their clothes could dry. The next morning, they kept to the road. They had many kilometers to cover and no animals to help them. Suddenly, they regretted not asking Luca to come with them.

The road ended at lunch, and the four sat down on it and stared at the swamp that spanned before them. Something swam just where the road ended, and then it surfaced. It was a giant frog. It jumped to them, splashing them with water, and then spoke.

“What are you doing in my swamp, humans?”

Elmar wiped swamp water from his brow and frowned at the frog. He had been dry, darn it!