Note – this is part of the story, Towards the Light.  Click here for previous.  Go to the Table of Contents. Or start at the beginning: (click here for part 1 – The Tunnel)

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I woke from a deep and, as far as I knew, dreamless sleep.  The world began to come into focus and I jumped.

I was looking into a pair of eyes.  Not just any eyes, but the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.

I stood and took a step back.   The eyes belonged to a creature that was about the same size and shape as the goblins I had seen the night before, and just as sexless, but was as beautiful as they were ugly.

“And who might you be?” the person asked.

“I’m just a traveler.  I came in here to escape the dark of night,” I said.

The person looked up and said, as if to itself or to a higher being, “This is a sign.”  It looked back at me, and smiled.  I flipped a coin in my head at this point, to avoid confusion.  “She” said, “xxxxx.”

“What?” I asked.

She frowned slightly.  “xxxxx.”

I shook my head.

The woman’s face fell.  “I was so sure, but, no.  Sorry, stranger.  I will help you on your way.  Are you heading to the large Goblin village on the mountain or to one of the camps by the sea?  I can get you there either way.”

“Why would I want to go to a Goblin village?  I want to stay as far away from them as possible.  I need to get to…, I have no idea where I need to go, but I am on a quest to save the…  oops, I guess I shouldn’t say any more.”

Her face lit up again.  “Ah, you are a Human, aren’t you?  You said you were escaping the Goblins?  How did you get into my home?  I never asked.”

“I was near the sea and needed to get past the watch fires.  The wind whispered in my ear and led me to the water.  And then the water called, he voice echoed by the solid rock of Earth.  I followed the voice into this cave.”

“The Wind?  The Water and the Earth?  Then you can See and Hear?”  I nodded.  “I did read the signs correctly, you are the One!  I will help you.”

“Thank you, I have no idea where to go or what to do.  Uhm, who are you?  You don’t feel evil, but I thought this was the land of evil.”

“You must not know the story of the Four Lands, then,” she said.  “We don’t have much time, but you need to know. As I’m sure you know, there are four lands, the…”