The Search

In a peaceful land, where art is everyone's passion, a small neighborhood charmed everyone that visited with its unique way of life.

A few families had formed the community and called it Camelot. In Camelot, the purpose of everyone's daily life was to either help others through adventure or express it through the art their country so well loved.

One of the families had been given long ago the name Daphne. This name honored the family's adventurous spirit. Generations later, the Daphnes still thrived in Camelot. The mother and father both meant very much to all their family and friends, for they were the nice sort of people who laughed often and sang out of joy. Their children were also well liked; Broch, their oldest son, was endlessly dedicated to his dog, Snap, and his many friends,and would defend anyone who needed help at a moment's notice. Shrive, the next eldest, was exceptionally talented in music, and when her notes combined with the wonderful stories told by Mare, the next oldest Daphne, their friends would be the best audience ever, and loved every minute of the entertainment. The youngest chidren, the twins Jim and Jamie, were both constantly wreaking havoc with their great artistic talent. Their poor family called them the "dizzying duo".

The Daphnes often left their home on exciting adventures, and more than not found themselves in trouble on their trips, and had to get themselves out of it. As you can imagine, simply because they're still alive they must all be very smart and resourceful.

In a few days, Broch, Shrive, Mare, and Snap are all starting a new adventure. They're traveling to the far off mountains of Athena, in search of a legendary crystal garden called De Nymphus. None of them are sure where the garden is, for its story is only made up of ancient myths, traveler's tales, and mountain folklore. They intend, though, to bring back from the garden one of its stunning crystal flowers, which grow just as normal flowers, blooming and sprouting, but never die.

The journey is a long, difficult one, and everyone in their home wishes them safety and perserverance. The first settlement they will come to along the way is called Crystallinus Fluvius, or Crystal River. They think the name may be connected to their goal.

'Crystal River' the sign read. Broch, Shrive, Mare and Snap entered the village, excited and anxious. This was where they would find out whether they had a river to follow, or just mixed up stories. They looked around, and saw friendly faces. Crystal River's villagers were kind, and guided the travelers to the town archives. The local historian listened to their story and suggested that they might find what they needed at the original Crystal River settlement, a little to the east. She told them to ask for the Keeper of the Well, and smiled, "You'll have no trouble finding him."

So the four travelers thanked her and left, heading to the east. When they came upon four huts grouped together around a well, they stopped. Drawing water from the well was a sagey-looking old man, with enormous keys and a knife hanging from the thickly woven belt on his red velvet cloak.

Before they could approach him and speak, he called out, "If you're looking for the Keeper of the Well, it's me. What's your question?" So they glanced at each other, and told him of the crystal garden they were seeking in the mountains, and asked if there truly was a crystal river and if it was connected to the garden. He asked them to follow him. Then he opened a door in the side of the well- and slipped in! Amazed, they followed him in and down a steep, tortuous staircase. "Could this be what you're looking for?", he asked, when they had reached what must have been the bottom. Broch's eyes widened. Shrive and Mare gasped. Snap gave a doggie grin. Before them ran a River of Crystal!

It shone and sparkled and flowed like normal water would under the brighest sunshine ever. Crystalline ripples followed the banks smoothly and gently. "Let's go", whispered Shrive in awe. Mare thanked the Keeper, and they started to leave when he stopped them. "The River of Crystal cannot be seen from the surface", he said, holding out a piece of crumbling parchment, "follow this map and you'll follow the river's course. Otherwise you will get lost." They all thanked him again and left with the map. "Let's go!" cheered Broch, and Snap barked for joy.

After following the map for five days, they arrived at Athena's Mountains. Mare had been reading their various directions to the garden's location, and was reading (again) the directions on the map. She read,

She looked up and saw her brother and sister frowning. "It makes no sense", stated Broch. "I don't get it either", agreed Shrive. Mare had no idea what it meant, but she was determined to find out. She pulled her coat closer around herself. The mountains were chilly, and getting colder.

The ice shrieked. It whistled and whispered before the mouth of the cave. Shrive shifted, and Snap whined. Mare sighed, and Broch pushed his back against the cold cave walls. This was the third ice storm they had waited out, and their travel rate was discouraging. They waited. And waited. And kept on waiting. Just as the four started to think that the storm would drive them crazy, the howling winds subsided. Smiling, they stepped out of the cave, into a narrow alley between two towering mountains. And they kept going, through the deep, undisturbed snow.

The alley was still, very still. "It's creepy", whispered Mare to Broch. He nodded, and tried to smile, but the grin was dim. Something was about to happen, and it would not be good. Snap was anxious. He couldn't stand the silence in the snowy chasm. It was cold and dead, and it was driving him nuts. Broch whispered to comfort him, and Shrive gave his head a pat, but the stillness pressed on his pent-up energy until he let it out in a quick, loud BARK.

"Oh no!" Mare whispered. They all looked around, expecting somethind awful like a dragon waking up. When they saw that the place was still silent, all let out a breath. In that split second, Mare's hand flew up and they all gasped. The mountain's snowy surface was sliding downwards, like a curtain. A deadly curtain. Shrive grabbed Snap, then all three tore down the alley to a large outcropping of rock, the only shelter in sight. Just as they dove behind the boulders, Broch noticed at the alleyway's end was less than twenty yards away! Then Mare pushed him in, waiting herself until he was inside.

The snow clouded up now, like a jar of flour being dumped towards them by some giant. The rushing snow sprayed around the rocks, compacting itself just past their shield, until no room was left there. Now the snow rushed at them, tearing Snap away from Shrive and carrying them all in different directions, until, even more suddenly than it had begun, the avalanche was still. The curtain had fallen.

Shrive and Broch were above the surface; battered, but still mobile. Snap and Mare however, were nowhere in sight. "If we find Snap, he can find Mare", suggested Broch confidently. Shrive told him she thought she had heard Snap whimpering. They dug their waists out of the snow and ice, and listened.

This time they both heard Snap. They ran to an especially large snowdrift, and picked away at it until they found Snap- with a broken leg. "I can bind it up, but not fix it", lamented Shrive. Snap looked at them with a dog's bravery in his eyes. They knew he would keep going. Shrive began to work on his leg, and he gave a weak whine and a loud bark. Broch knew what that meant.

"Where's Mare, boy?", he asked. Snap lifted his head from the snow, and sniffed. He tried to get up, but Shrive was still splinting his leg. So Broch played a game of hot and cold. He went one way. "Over here, boy?", he asked. Snap whined. Broch went another way. He repeated, "Over here, boy?" and Snap barked eagerly. Broch knew Snap was right, and started digging furiously.

Mare was there, unconcious but not broken. Once she was warm, she started to shiver. When she woke up, Shrive, Broch and Snap were relieved. But her brother and sister knew that she'd be weak for the rest of the way.

A little later, when they had rested and eaten, Broch said, "Now we know what the map meant by 'The Icy Hurler'", and Mare agreed happily, "We're going the right way."

After four more days of going the right way, the little group was caught by surprise in an especially furious ice storm. Having no shelter to stay warm in, and being too cold to stop, they kept trudging along through the snow and ice trying drive them back. They pressed on at a steady rate, but they were all growing weary. The wind was strong, and they had not rested all day.

When they were almost ready to collapse, a tall, tall figure appeared before them, looking like ice but standing out from it. Its voice boomed out, "Why do you defy my storm?", and Broch snapped, "We didn't want to freeze!" The tall figure then laughed a great, loud laugh, and the four travelers found themselves in a white room, far finer than that of any palace. The white stranger introduced himself as the King of the Wind. He also told them that he had been keeping an eye on them, and could help them find the crystal garden. "I would have helped sooner", he explained, "but you kept hiding from me in my storms!"

Then he presented them all with another map, this one depicting all new dangers they might come up against. He then showed them (in a globe of snow!) the place where they could open the cave where the crystal garden was. "Once you've opened the cave, the door to the garden will be before you. The key to the cave is in that riddle on the Keeper's map". So they explained to him about how they could make no sense of the riddle (How could the very virtue of courage lie to the east?), and he told them to look into eachother's faces. When he received four puzzled looks, he just laughed again, put his hand on Snap, winked at the four, and they found themselves suddenly in a different place!

Broch glanced at Snap. Shrive's splint was gone from his leg! And he was walking straight, with no limp! Broch silently thanked the King of the Wind. When he showed his sisters the healed leg, they also thanked the kind King. But where had he taken them to?

Suddenly, Mare realized it. They were at the location of the cave where the crystal garden was! She told the others, and they looked around, remembered the snowglobe, and agreed with her. The only problem now was figuring out the riddle on their map. The key to the cave, the King of the Wind had called it. "He said to look into eachother's faces", remembered Mare. So she tried it, and stared into Shrive's face. Shrive's calm countenance suddenly burst out laughing. "You look so funny", she giggled. Then Mare realized; Shrive's calm countenance, calm strength to the north above... "Broch!" she shouted, "You're proud and courageous, right?" The pleased look he gave her answered the question. "And Snap is the most faithful beast around!", he added. Shrive caught on, and grabbed her compass. "Mare, stand over there", she ordered, "Broch, put Snap there and stand on my left. And I should go right about- here." She looked up and they all waited breathlessly.

The Search part 3

The green turf split. They could hear stones cracking in half. Moist brown soil disappeared from beneath their feet, and they fell, down, down. Broch hit the bottom with a soft thud, followed by his sisters and Snap. Everyone opened their eyes, and saw the outline of a huge door in the darkness. Shrive reached out, and felt the door's mossy surface. They all gripped the plant, and heaved the door open.

They found themselves in a small cave chamber, where the very walls were made of shining diamonds! Standing in the doorway was certainly an angel's pet, left to guard the crystal garden. He had the form of a lion, with huge, feathery wings on his rippling back. The four travelers gazed at him in awe. His eyes smilied at them, and he stepped aside, giving them leave to enter the garden of crystal.

When their eyes fell upon the garden, Broch, Shrive and Mare held their breath, and Snap panted. Reaching up to the ceiling were five delicate roses, with petals of the thinnest sheets of crystal ever. They weren't like normal crystal sculptures, though, for they were as alive as real roses, as alive as the crystal forget-me-nots growing at their feet! These beautiful flowers seemed entranced with eachother, the reaching roses always peeking back at the forget-me-nots, the smaller flowers always gazing up at the stately roses.

When Shrive found her voice, she reminded the others that they had to do something. When Broch and mare were roused from their trances, they decided which crystal flower to take. The yellow rose in the very center was their choice.

Just as Mare stooped to pluck the rose, it curled up, as if in fear. Mare's companions gasped, and Broch said, "Leave it alone, Mare". She backed away, and the flower uncurled, opening its shiny petals again.

"I don't think the flowers should leave this safe place", whispered Shrive to Broch and Mare. "If we can't take them back", Broch replied, "Then we'll enjoy them for a while and return home"... "With nothing", concluded Mare mournfully, but what could they do? The flowers were at home here, and they could not remove them.

So they rested on the cold crysal floor, marveling at the crystal blooms and figuring out how they could get back the way they had come. Then, without warning, the whole chamber lit up and a tall, slim, solemn-looking woman came toward them, followed by a short, pudgy, jolly-looking woman, whose eyes shone and laughed.

The second woman spoke in a clear, warm voice. She stated, "We are the tenders of this garden, and we think we can help you out." The taller woman smiled, and nodded a stately nod.

"We've been watching the four of you", the jolly woman continued, "and the King of the Wind has helped us create a gift for you." The slim woman spoke in a silvery voice, "It is of more value than anything anyone owns, for only perserverence and true courage can win it. It is lying over in the corner." They followed her pointing hand, and saw a spectacular sight.

On the crystal floor lay what at first appeared to be a rock pile, but when they leveled their faces to it, the four friends could see, inside the few rocks, a tiny pebble of crystal, but it wasn't a pebble- it was a crystal seed! The seed sent out a little beam of light, which reflected on a narrow trickle of water, which they recognized at once, for it sparkled and shone like no regular water could. It was a tiny trickle of the crystal water in the underground river! They all reached to touch the water, but their hands stopped mid-air. They would go no further, for there was a translucent sheet of crystal around the rocks, closing in the magical water and seed, keeping it safe.

Broch, Shrive, Mare and Snap all turned and thanked the two magical women, and they only waved in return. Broch set the treasure onto Snap's back, and they turned to say goodbye once more, but the women were no longer there. Suddenly, niether was the cave. The four travelers were back again on the location of the cave's entrance. They smiled at eachother, and started home.

The Search pt. 4

When Broch, Shrive, Mare and Snap reached home safely, they had been gone for a few weeks. The way back had been slower, for they had been cautious in climbing and hiking with their wonderful gift in their arms.

The little twins Jim and Jamie were the first to notice the strange bundle that Broch held. They couldn't wait to see what was inside. When Snap unwrapped the bundle with his teeth, the rest of the family was not impressed by the contenys. When they each looked closer at the rock pile, tough, their eyes widened and no one could stop talking. "Wow! Where did you find this!It's absolutely amazing! What a catch!Let's hear the story behind this!"

So the four travelers sat down to tell their tale. Shrive ran for her harp, Mare began to recount their adventure in her magical way, and Broch and Snap provided sound effects and interjected their thoughts. Shrive listened, and when they were done she sang a song.

Broch, Shrive, Mare and Snap finished that journey long ago. But the three that can talk still tell the the story, with faithful Snap still at their sides. They say the Crystal Garden is still there, hidden in the mighty Mountains of Athena. I believe them... do you?