Chapter 6: 1-6 Apples are hard to reach

“So hungry,” Heather groaned more to herself than anybody else. They had walked for what seemed like another hour as her stomach protested. The forest was just a meadow away now, but she was sure she would die of starvation first. Thankfully they encountered nothing else on their journey and soon found themselves at the edge of the trees.

“Which path did you come out of?” Frank asked as he squatted in the shade.

Heather looked up and down the tree line, lost as to how to answer. The path forked into at least three separate paths, each going into the forest. She tried to puzzle it out as she studied the trees, hoping to see something familiar. Now that she had a moment to look, the trees caught her attention, their proportions somehow wrong. The trunks were slender, raising high up to a tight crown of thick green leaves. The lowest branches were well above her head, growing in an almost uniform pattern. There were smaller trees, of course, but these were just the opposite, with short trunks barely a meter tall. At the top was a ball of green or, in some cases white, leaves so dense she couldn't see through them. This created an odd appearance where the ground and the heights were densely obscured, but in between, the forest was barren except for thin stilt-like trunks.

“So, which path?” Frank asked again.

“I don't know, how many paths are there?”

“There are three paths into the forest. We’re on the middle one,” Frank said.

“I was too busy panicking to notice,” Heather admitted as she spun around.

“I suppose we check all three then,” he said. “The spawn points aren’t too far apart.”

Heather's stomach growled loudly, causing them both to look at it.

“Maybe we should find some apples first,” he suggested. Her stomach groaned as if answering him and threatening death if they didn’t.

Heather followed down the center path, walking between the slender trees. The sunlight filtered down from a green canopy above in shimmering rays, and for a brief moment, she felt relaxed. There was a serene beauty to the forest, an almost magical quality that took away some of her anxiety. She began to look around and finally noticed the ground. Clovers grew among long-stemmed grasses and ferns, creating a lush carpet of greens. There were flowers of every kind and color tucked away in sunny spots while mushrooms occupied the shade.

Frank watched the trees as they walked and finally led them off the path and into a small sunny field. “There,” he said, pointing at a tree. “That's an apple tree.”

Heather followed his long finger to a tree with a gnarled trunk that went up well over her head. Its upper branches were lush and green and laden with apples. The problem was they were nearly ten meters above her.

“How am I supposed to reach that?” she asked. “I can’t fly.”

Frank looked up and scratched his head. “I don't know. I never tried to get one before.”

Heather walked over to the tree and searched the ground, hoping to find a fallen one, and silence the complaining inside.

“There isn’t a single apple of the ground,” she said with a sigh.

“Maybe I can climb up,” Frank offered.

Heather wondered if he could, after all, there were no branches or handholds on the lower trunk, but he had such long claws.

“What if you fall?” she asked as her stomach groaned in protest to her concern. “You hush!” she snapped at it.

“It isn't that high,” he said as he walked up to the trunk. He struggled to find a way to get hold of it before wrapping his arms and legs around it. He shimmied up the trunk, slowly getting a few feet up before sliding down.

“I can’t get a firm hold,” he said.

Heather looked at the distant apples with lusting need as her stomach cried loudly.

“Why are there none on the ground?” she asked in annoyance. “Don’t apples fall in this world, or has gravity not been discovered yet?”

Frank looked around as if he might spot one before answering. “I guess the goblins took them.”

Heather's left brow went up, and her face twitched. She was tired of meeting the local wildlife and finding out it had teeth.

“What’s a goblin?” she asked.

“It’s a short green humanoid. They live in the village on the other side of the forest.”

She looked around, convinced she would find one directly behind her. When nothing appeared, she went back to looking at the distant apples.

“How do the goblins get them?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we can find a stick to knock one off?” he suggested.

“A ten-meter stick?” Heather asked.

“I was just making a suggestion.”

Heather folded her arms and looked to the right. She wondered if she could eat the rocks that littered the ground. It was at that moment she had an idea and picked up one of the stones.

“What are you doing?” Frank asked.

“Getting an apple!” Heather yelled as she threw the stone skyward. It flew under the branches well below the prized fruit.

“Let me try,” Frank suggested and picked up a stone. He struggled to manipulate the small object in his big hands, and when he threw it, his long fingers got in the way. The stone tumbled uselessly even lower than Heather’s had, landing with a thump.

“Arrgh!” Heather yelled and heaved another stone in anger. This one went higher but missed the fruit.

“I! Just! Want! An! apple!” she shouted as she threw a stone with every word, all of them slowly going higher.

“You got closer!” Frank encouraged as she picked up more stones.

She swept up and armful and released a hail of them at the fruit above. One stone scraped the lower leaves; another hit a branch.

“You almost had one!” he said.

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She stamped a foot in frustration, her stomach growling as she gathered more rocks.

You!” she shouted as she hurled a stone. “Will!” she added as she threw another. “Give me!” she screamed as she put all her might behind a throw. “An apple!” Her last stone went high, sinking into the leaves. There was a strange series of thumps as a red object struck a branch on its way down. It rolled down the branch with hungry eyes following it the whole way. It fell off the side and struck a second apple sending them both to the ground.

“You did it!” Frank shouted.

Heather didn't hear a word he said. Her eyes were transfixed on the red treasure resting in the grass. She staggered forward and picked it up, not wasting a second before devouring the sweet prize. With the treat devoured, her stomach made a pleased groan as she patted it gently.

“There, there,” she cooed. “We still have one more.” With a smile, she looked for the second apple and spotted it near a small bush at the side of the clearing. Before she could collect it, a green hand reached out and snatched it up.

“My apple!” she yelled and ran at the bush.

She dived into the plant and out ran a short green humanoid dressed in leathers. It had a long pointy nose and ears to match with two small tusks sticking out of its mouth. It clutched the apple to its chest as Heather struggled out after it.

“It's a goblin,” Frank said in alarm.

“You give me back my apple!” she roared as the goblin ran for it.

Frank tried to intercept it, but the creature ran into the trees and around them.

“I’m going to feed you to the nillacs!” Heather yelled as she ran after it.

The goblin squealed and tore through the trees holding the coveted apple over its head. She struggled to follow the twists and turns as the creature tried to lose her. It ran into a dense wall of bushes, and she charged in after it.

She burst out into a clearing, coming to a stop as her mind prickled at a memory. She realized this was the clearing she arrived in as Frank burst through behind her.

“This is it!” she cried. “This is where I woke up!” She turned about looking for the panel and instead saw three of the green creatures. They huddled near the edge of the clearing, one clutching the apple, the other clutching a silver rectangle with blue lights.

“It has your panel!” Frank cried

Heather stamped a foot and marched toward the creatures. This walk had been too long and annoying to let these little pests stop her now. She was going to get her panel and her apple, or they were going to regret it.

“You will put my panel and my apple down this instant!” she yelled as the three huddled together with wide eyes.

The creatures were only a foot shorter than she was, but they appeared spindly and weak as they cowered. She wondered if they were dangerous, but the need for both items drove her on.

“Put them down now!” she shouted and pointed at the ground when she was ten paces away. The goblins all screamed and ran into the brush, taking both objects with them. “No!” Heather cried and went running after them.

“Heather, wait!” Frank shouted and grabbed at her arm.

“They have my panel!” she insisted.

“We can’t run after them,” he pleaded.

“Why not?” she snapped, turning to face him. “We need that panel!”

“Because those are runts, and they are running to the village. There are goblins in the village that are much bigger and carry swords or spears. They aren’t going to run away when you charge in and demand your stuff back.”

Heather looked in the direction of the fleeing goblins and felt tears welling in her eyes. She was so close to her goal, and now it was running away. She saw all hope of finding a way out slipping through her fingers, and there was nothing she could do.

“But I need that panel,” she sobbed and sat on the grass. “How am I supposed to get home without it?”

“We’ll get it back,” Frank insisted as he shuffled nervously. “Please stop crying.”

“I didn’t even see it when I arrived. I was so shocked I ran out of the forest without looking around. Now I have lost it for good”

“It's not lost for good. Trust me; we will get it back. Everything will be ok.”

“It's not ok!” she cried. “I don't want to be here, and now I'm trapped at level zero forever.”

I promise you we will get it back,” Frank insisted. “The goblins aren't all bad. Some of them can be reasoned with if you're careful. I bet we can convince them to give it back if we can talk to them.”

Heather sniffed and looked up at him. She was sick of things going badly and just wanted some measure of success. The panel was the key to something better. If not a way out, at least she could see what her options were. Now it was gone, and with it, her hope that this all might end.

“Heather?” Frank called, making her look up.

She watched as he squatted down in front of her and put a cold hand on her knee. She didn't care what he looked like anymore or care how cold his touch was. He tried to smile, and drool slid down his chin.

“I have an idea how we can get your panel back,” he said.

“How?”

“We trade for it,” he replied.

“Trade what?”

He pointed up to reveal the trees above were apple trees.

“All we have to do is knock a bunch more down and bring them to the village.”

Heather let out a frustrated sigh, and her stomach joined her. With a resigned heart, they set about throwing more rocks to gather the apples. At least she wasn't going to go hungry.

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