A Strange, Melodious Voice is Heard
As soon as he reached bottom he straightened then wandered deeper into the thick tangle of brambles and tree branches. Here, the forest smelled damp and rich with the odors of decaying leaves and plants. He was confident he would find what he was looking for and set to work turning over rotten pieces of wood and kicking at deadfall. He had been working for almost a quarter of an hour and had already put three big mushrooms into his sack when he heard the singing. At first he thought it was a bird, but the voice was too melodious, rising and falling in pitch — a tinkling sound like a jewled dice set. It sounded like a child’s voice and strangely enough, it seemed to come from far away and very near at the same time. Wil stood very still and quieted his breathing. He cocked his head and listened, but as hard as he tried, he was unable to tell where the voice was coming from. He couldn’t make out words, but the song had a haunting lilt to it and a sudden chill iced up his spine. Wil had heard the stories told around campfires and in the back rooms of the Boar and Otter about woodsmen and greedy children being enchanted by sprites and goblins. The stories all ended the same with the enchanted victims being cooked for some wicked creature’s feast. Wil tried not to pay attention to the stories – he guessed they were used to frighten children from misbehaving – but now, standing in the darkening wood, he wasn’t so sure. Right then, he made up his mind to go back. He would tell Grundy – no, Drift, about the singing. Drift would know what to do.
Tags: dice set