Chapter 10

“Tell me again, how far are we from this portal? Eloise asked out of breath.

“A few miles or so, not so far.” Bobby tossed his hand in the air, “And then we will arrive at our… destination.”

“Bobby, we have been walking for eight miles! How many is a few?” Eloise said with frustration.

“Tell me about it, you're not even the one walking Eloise,” Olban said as he poured the last of his water into his mouth.

“I can still feel it, you know.” Eloise attempted to roll her eyes.

“Bobby, are you sure we are going the right way? I’ve spent a lot of time in these woods and I’ve never found a portal. Maybe you're… forgetting.” Olban reached out and grabbed Bobby's arm, stopping him.

Bobby looked back and glared at Olban. “I'm sure it's this way. Why would I lead you the wrong way Olban? Don’t you trust me?”

“I am cautiously optimistic.” Olban let go of Bobby's arm but trailed behind a bit.

You can trust Bobby Olban, he’s one of my best friends, he would never trick me. Bobby Is a friend, not an enemy, I’m beginning to wonder if you're losing sight of that.

I agree with Olban on this one. You might trust him, Eloise, but Olban and I have never met the guy. Olban and I have never gotten help from an outside force before. We don’t know how they’ll react.

Gareth, he is my best friend, he would never ever hurt us.

Olban nearly bumped into Bobby as they came to an abrupt stop. “Why are we stopping?” Olban peered over Bobby and caught sight of a huge cliff.

“We are not, we have just come to… a bump in the road.” Bobby sidestepped so Olban, Gareth and Eloise could see.

“I thought you said you knew the way? Why so surprised? It’s almost like you’re unfamiliar with this path.” Olban chuckled and turned to face Bobby.

“Trust me Olban, I just expected to see this later. I miss calculated the distance that’s all.” Bobby took out a fifty-foot-long rope and started tying it to a big rock.

Perhaps we could go around the cliff. It seems like it would be the more logical thing to do, don’t you think Eloise?

Is Gareth scared of heights? I thought you were a big strong man who could do things by yourself. Also, it would not be logical to go around the cliff, for that would take much longer.

It’s not that I am scared, I just don’t trust my life in Olbans hands. He seems to be the one who would purposely let go of the rope.

“We can go down one at a time. I’ll hold you Olban and then I will come down. I am not a fan of heights but I’ve done this before.” Bobby finished tying the rope and handed it to Olban.

“And if you’re tricking us?” Olban refrained Eloise from grabbing the rope.

“There is no reason for me to trick you.” Bobby put the robe in Olbans hands, “Tie it around you, I can just climb down.”

“If you insist.” Olban tied the rope around his waist and tugged to make sure it wasn’t loose. Olban peered over the edge to get a better look at what he was doing. Olban took a deep breath and started climbing down. He slipped a few times but the rope caught him.

Please Olban, do not fall. Gareth tried to shut his eyes but Olban refused.

After a long time, Olban finally came to the bottom of the cliff. Bobby landed right behind Olban.

“It should be just around here.” Bobby led them around a boulder into a huge wheat field. In the middle of the field, there was a small cave.

“Where is the portal?” Olban asked, hand on his sword.

“Portal? Ah yes, just. Down. Here.” Bobby grinned.