Autumn Lights: Through the Maze

The lights.. they were back. Kai had spent the night in the grove of raspberry bushes, but he was awoken by the presence of the lights. Yet again, they beckoned for him to follow. He was growing wary by this point, for he was far away from his boundary and he had never been to this part of the forest before. But still he followed them, up a slight incline. The time seemed to pass quickly, the sights of the forest rushing past as him as fast as they had come. As he goes on, Kai realizes that his surroundings have been covered in a thick mist, leaving on the lights to guide him as he stumbles through the dense forest with no sense of direction. Then a glint in the distance catches Kai's attention: A fragile golden crown sitting atop a gilded throne made of richly colored wood and black velvet. It's hard to tell from a far distance, but the crown appears to be decorated in intricate floral patterns. Kai tries to take a step forwards, but he cannot. His feet are all rooted into the ground, as if they were held there by invisible chains. The mist swirls around him, with a large gust of wind, and just as quickly as the mist appeared, it is gone. Just as the mist is gone however, so are the throne and the crown. In place of where they were directly in front of him, there now stands an abandoned city of stone. It's winding alleyways and high gothic stone walls appear to be a sort of tangle of a maze. Confused and frustrated, filled with a strange sense of longing and need for the crown he saw for the first time only minutes ago, Kai attempts to levitate above the walls of the city to see where the throne is located. 

  As he tries to glide upwards as he has done so many times before, he finds he cannot, and is hit with a disorienting wave of nausea that causes him to bend over with his dizziness. Looking around, it dawns on Kai that there is no way out of this situation other than going through the maze. After calming down, Kai notes that the town is beautiful. It is completely abandoned, the buildings and structures all in ruins and overgrown with ivy and vines. The village itself is in a gothic style, with highly detailed stonework and high arches. In fact, it seems like more than a village, as if important people once lived there. The entire town was built on a hill, and it seemed to hold many secrets within it. After many wrong turns through alleys and passageways, Kai sees a blur of movement by his feet. Looking down, Kai realizes that it is Button. "Kai! You're here too! The lights.. did you see the grove of plants that magically burst up too? Have you seen Moki? Oh dear.. this is all awfully confusing. And the crown! On the throne! it was so regal wasn't it?" Button scampers off absentmindedly to explore nearby before waiting for a response from Kai. "Yes.. I did," Kai mutters quietly. "Would you join me? I think it would be better if we went on together, especially if we were both brought here. Perhaps we will find Moki as well." Button nods, and the two walk together through the cobblestone roads. Several more wrong turns brought the two esk to an overgrown courtyard filled with sweet smelling rose bushes. Button hopped over to a stone bench and lay down, while Kai sat on the ground, both taking a rest after wandering the streets, searching for the crown for hours. 

   They hear a low mumbling, gradually getting louder, "Why did I have to follow those lights! They're playing this twisted game with me.. who knows where on earth those other two went..." The voice kept on complaining, and as it got closer, it became clear to Kai and Button that it was Moki. Button called out "Moki! Around the corner, we're here, me and Kai!" The footfalls quickened, and around the corner came the burly dark esk, looking as grumpy as ever. "There you two are! Thought you'd leave me?" "No, we were all separated. Not just you," Kai responded. "Aye, I thought that may be the case," grumbled Moki. "Come on, stop resting. We need to get out of this damned maze, and find that crown," he said, much louder. The three carried on their way, a strange group of figures, one big and broad, one medium sized and squat, and the last small and dainty. They strided, stomped, and scampered through the stone ruins, eventually coming to a three-way fork in the road. In the middle, the road became colorful glass, on the left; colorful and densely woven threads, and on the right, a rope bridge, with nothing underneath it. "Which one? I'd prefer it to be the ropes, or the glass, but maybe we should use the rope bridge," said Button. But before the others could respond, the three esk got shoved by a magical force, each onto a different path. Kai was sent to the glass, Moki to the bridge, and Button to the thread. 

   "Button? Moki?" asked Kai loudly. There was no response from either of them. Kai wanted to shout, but he could not. Sighing deeply, he continued down the smooth glass road. It was no longer a maze really, but a straight walkway. Voices seemed to be whispering to him as he walked, taunting him, beckoning him to come to them. He blocked them out and kept walking. He noticed the glass gradually becoming less brightly colored, and more earthen toned. Browns, oranges, reds, and dark greens. A thick fog descended around him, and he found his surroundings swirling away, revealing a throne room nestled deep in the forest.

  Could it really be that they were separated again? Moki shook his head frustratedly. "And of course I have to be the one stuck on this rickety old bridge," he said, this time out loud. Still he went on, down the bridge. It creaked under his feet, and swayed back and forth slowly in the gusty winds. On the sides of him were large stones, with ancient runes carved into them. Eventually, the rocks diminished, and autumn colored leaves began sprouting up on either side of him. As they did, the smell of roasted chestnuts and cranberries reached his nose. Hurrying on more enthusiastically, he reached the same throne room as Kai. 

  Looking around him, Button saw no sign of his companions. Button looked everywhere, behind the large stone to the left of him, underneath the roots of the small sapling to the left of him.. "Oh... they're a bit to big to be there, aren't they?" Button realized, and then hopped off down the beautiful woven road, bouncing happily, without taking in his surroundings. But there! The lights! They were back, and Button chased after them as they lead him down a steep incline, through a small cave, and again- into the exact same wooded throne room. 

  The three companions, together once again noticed each other quickly, and they joined together as they walked silently up to the very throne they had seen earlier. But now, instead of dark dead wood, the throne had grown into the earth, and was budding with beautiful fall plants and leaves. The crown had become wrapped in plants of its own, and the esk looked at it with awe. All feelings of frustration and anger disappeared, as they were once more enveloped with a sense of calm and happiness. Fall was upon them once more.