Chapter 4, Part i

Chapter the Fourth

And, as in uffish thought he stood

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

It was noon. Hector, Lilly, Burr and Aric had reached the edge of the pine forest, and had entered a valley of sorts; now the only trees were lone and scraggly ones that clung tenaciously to lichen-encrusted boulders. The brittle grass crunched beneath their feet as they trudged onward, and the sky was choked with thick, gray clouds that refused to let any snow fall.

To Hector's surprise, the excited conversation had dried up shortly after they had left Noosta. Now an awkward silence filled the space between the four of them. Aric called for another break, and sat down on a boulder. “Let's see that map again,” he said.

Lilly – who had insisted that she knew the way best, this being her native land, and so had kept the map in her pack – pulled out the well-worn skin with the map on it. She glanced at it only briefly before folding it up again. “We are going the right way. I have already told you.”

Aric shrugged and took a swig from his canteen. “Just making sure, that's all.”

Lilly huffed and leaned against a withered pine tree, arms crossed. Hector and Burr sat between her and Aric. Hector poked Burr in the ribs with his elbow. “Hey, so... you are from that one tribe, Aztlav, right?” Burr nodded innocently. Hector smiled. “So, where is your Borogrove? Every tribe's got one, right?”

Burr shrugged in approval. “Is far away. In some mountains.” This seemed a sufficient description for him.

“What are you doing so far away, then?”

The young Tove hesitated. “Um. We have trouble in Aztlav, the Borogrove is mimsy, I had to leave.”

“Mimsy? What's that mean?” Hector surreptitiously procured his journal and flipped it open, pencil poised.

Burr sought for the words in his limited vocabulary. “Em... Mimsy... is like...” He waved his furred hands vaguely in the air. “Is like... not... Is like not be strong. I think.”

Hector made a note. “What made the Borogrove all mimsy, then? Do you know?”

“Is because the ancient magic go out of it, the Mome Raths take it all. No be food, no be Gimble no more. I had to leave,” he added again, but he spoke as if merely describing the weather.

“I see.”

Burr didn't offer any more information, so Hector nodded absently. He couldn't help occasionally glancing at Aric and Lilly. “Gee, those two don't seem to get along very well, do they?” he whispered.

“No.”

“They've been squabbling over that map every since we left. They haven't even let me see it. I'm not even sure where it is we're trying to go. Do you?” Bur shrugged again, as if it really didn't matter where they went. Hector poked him again with his elbow. “Hey, I'm going to ask Lilly if we can see the map. Want to tag along?” Burr's eyes lit up and his ears pricked into the air with excitement. Hector couldn't contain a laugh at the sight; he knew that Burr had a special liking for Lilly. They stood up and made their way to the tree where she was standing.

When they reached her, she surprised them by immediately extending the unfolded map so they could see it. She smiled, though she looked tired. “I heard you coming. Here, let me show you where we are and where we're headed.”

(Graphic 4.1: We see the map. Lilly points to their current location in the valley at the edge of the forest, and then points to another place not far beyond the mountains.

We see silhouettes of Hector, Burr and Lilly poring over the map, with Aric leisurely approaching. In the distance we see the length of the valley, with snow-capped mountains on every side.)

“It is called the Tulgey Wood, where the Jabberwock sleeps.”

Hector wiped a tear from his eye.

“What's wrong?” Lilly asked with sudden concern.

He sniffed and chuckled. “Ah, it's just that... After years of just reading about daring quests and epic adventures, I'm finally taking part in one. It's the most magical thing in the world.”

Lilly smiled faintly at him, and the look in her eyes was one of either disbelief or amazement. “I don't quite understand why you feel that way, but whatever keeps our spirits up will help us in our journey.”

“We're gonna need it,” Aric added. He ruffled Burr's hair. “There's more to adventuring than weeping with joy; there are lots of dangers and horrible deadly creatures ahead. You see that mark on the map, on the other side of the mountains? That's where we need to go. That's the lair of the Jabberwock.”

“It's not that far,” said Hector brightly. “What could possibly happen?”

Aric whistled and sighed. “My dear Hec, you're great and all, you're optimistic, but that's got to be the worst question you could ever ask.” He shouldered his pack and indicated with his head that they should keep moving, so they started walking down the plain that stretched the length of the frosty valley. “There's the Jubjub Bird, for starters.”

“I don't like the Jubjub,” Burr mentioned ominously.

Hector laughed. “Oh, I've already met the Jubjub Bird. He's a pushover!”

“Or we might find a Snark,” Lilly suggested with a playful smile.

Aric blew a raspberry. “A Snark! What's a Snark ever done to anybody? People catch 'em all the time! You can serve them with greens, and they're handy for--”

“I've eated Snark,” Burr said, and licked his chops happily.

“What does a Snark look like?” Hector asked. He held out his journal to Aric. “Could you sketch one for me?”

Aric waved the book away dismissively. “Oh, you'll know it when you see it. They're practically harmless. But you've got to be careful when hunting Snarks, because your Snark might actually be a Boojum.”

“Be careful with the Boojums,” Lilly laughed.

Hector looked back and forth frantically at his companions as they walked. He was starting to suspect that they were just toying with him. “Why? What's so bad about Boojums? Why do I have to be careful with them?”

“Because,” Aric said authoritatively, “you've got to be on your guard, for if your Snark is a Boojum, you'll softy and suddenly vanish away and never be met with again.”

Hector blinked, trying to digest this. He looked at Burr, but he only shrugged and said, “Never eated Boojum.”

Aric burst out laughing, and was soon joined by Hector and then the others. Then Lilly straightened her shoulders and wore a grave expression. “But in all seriousness, there is something in these mountains. It is not a Snark, or a Boojum, or the Jubjub Bird. It is something much, much worse. It is very, very dangerous indeed, and if we were not racing the Mome Raths to the Jabberwock, we would have taken any other path, no matter how long or winding, to avoid it.”

“That's okay,” Hector said jovially, and wrapped his arm around Burr's shoulders, “Burr will just use his Gyre and save us! He is the Guardian, after all. What's your Gyre, Burr?”

Burr shrugged. “I have not found Gyre yet.”

“What do you mean, you haven't found it? Doesn't every Tove--”

He shook Hector's arm away and looked despondently at the ground. “You have to find Gyre. It doesn't just come, you don't just have. You have to find.”

“But how do you go about finding--”

“Finding one's Gyre is a very personal subject,” Lilly said firmly. “Leave him alone, Hector.”

Hector felt horrible all of the sudden. He slipped his hands into his pockets. “Sorry, Burr.”

Burr didn't respond, but kept walking with his head down.

A feeling of seriousness and gloom descended upon them, quenching the jovial mood. Hector took a long look at the snowy mountain peaks surrounding them, wondering what strange creatures might be hiding therein; his wild imagination started conjuring up all sorts of predators lurking behind those white-crusted cliffs. They walked for a while over the plains, seeing little animal life, except for the occasional rabbit, or an eagle patrolling the gray skies.

Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, Hector cleared his sore throat and asked, “But Lilly, can't you use your Gyre against the... whatever it is?”

Lilly thought for a moment, then shook her head. “It would do little good.”

“Not up against this guy,” Aric agreed solemnly. “For crazy destructive elemental powers, there's a depressingly large number of things that Gyres don't work on.”

Hector pointed at the black scabbard on Aric's hip. “Or what about your sword? You used it to defeat my assassin. Can't you use it again?” Aric sucked on his teeth before shaking his head.

“Nope. The vorpal sword is not exactly for everyday use.”

“Well, if you can't use it to defend yourself against deadly monsters, what's it even for?” Hector wondered.

“You heard the shaman,” Aric said plainly, and held up his palms in innocence. “It's for slaying the Jabberwock.”

He didn't seem to want to explain anything more than this, and Hector recognized when Aric wanted his secrets to remain secret.

“Lilly, let me see the map,” Aric suddenly said. With a dry look Lilly produced the map, and Aric snatched it from her hand. He turned away, tracing lines with his finger and muttering to himself, but Hector saw that she scowled at him behind his back. He wondered why.

Aric stopped walking and looked confused. “Lilly, where have you been leading us? It would have been a lot faster to go up on that ridge over there and started up straight into the mountains. I've been in this mountain range before, and there are tons of sheer cliffs all over. It's nearly impossible to climb straight up. At this rate, we're going to reach the end of the valley, which is a dead end. It'll take us hours just to backtrack, now.”

“The bridge is out up there, and it's going to snow soon, so I was taking us along the safer route,” Lilly said sternly.

The man shook his head and looked at her sharply. “No, you're wrong. There's another pass up there, look, it's here on the map, plain as the Tovish nose on your face. Look, miss, are you aware of how little time we have? Do you think we can waste time taking the scenic route?”

Lilly frowned. Her ears flattened against her skull. “Have you forgotten that this is my home? I know it far better than you know your own.”

Aric returned her frown. “You have no idea what you're talking about, Miss Lilly.”

She planted her hands on her hips and looked fiercely at Hector and Burr. “You two? Where do you want to go?” Burr just looked at Hector, who took a step backward.

“I just don't think we should be fighting.”

“I'm not fighting. I'm just right, that's all,” Aric clarified. “Look, why don't we start up this trail right here? It's a long, squiggly way up into the mountains themselves, but it's a whole lot faster than climbing the cliffs way down there.” He pointed to the end of the valley, but his finger was jabbing straight toward Lilly. She huffed in contempt.

“You're going to get us all killed, Sword Bearer,” she warned. “But for time's sake we'll do things your way.” She started toward the trail and snatched the map away from Aric, but he immediately grabbed it back.

“Ah ah ah, I'll hold onto this,” he said, rolling it up and tucking it into his side-bag.

“I'm supposed to be the Guide,” Lilly growled.

“Well, you've gotten us off to a wonderful start.”

“Aric, why don't you just--”

Hector planted himself between them and held up his arms. “Stop! Just stop it! No more arguing! This isn't getting us anywhere! Let's just take the trail like Aric said and figure things out from there, shall we? Aric, will you please give me the map?” With a sigh, Aric rolled his eyes and languidly handed the rolled-up canvas to Hector, who promptly delivered it to the surprised Burr. “You, Burr, are the official Map Holder. Nobody else is allowed to hold it from now on. How about that?”

“That's fine with me,” Lilly mumbled, and folded her arms tightly.

“Whatever,” Aric grunted.

Burr just held the roll against his chest and ogled Hector with his big, green eyes.

Hector pointed firmly toward the top of the gravelly, weed-strewn mountain path. “Now, let's keep marching. I'd rather not get stuck out here in the snow, because my books would get wet, and besides, I want to be able to chronicle a positive journey and not a pouty one.”

Somehow this speech worked, to Hector's relief, because the four of them started up the path. They didn't speak for a long time.