Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(116)

"This game was just getting interesting," Doren complained, halting the pursuit.


Newel pointed at Doren. "I'll remember this."


"You'd do better to forget it," Doren advised. "It looked humiliating."


Hugo scooped up Seth and Vanessa. She gave the golem directions, and the satyrs fell into step behind them.


They found the valley where Vanessa had expected, and, as predicted, it narrowed to a steep, dry ravine. When Hugo reached an invisible barrier that prevented him from proceeding, they knew they had almost reached their destination. Hugo set down Seth and Vanessa.


"I guess this is where I go forward alone," Seth said.


"We have only one favor to ask the Totem Wall," Vanessa said. "We mustn't risk the rest of us encountering it."


"I have my instructions from the Sisters," Seth said. "Can't be too bad, right?"


Vanessa arched an eyebrow. "It might be pretty bad. But I've developed faith in you. Bring back the sword."


"Should I take my sword?" Seth asked. He had buckled on his adamant sword and brought his adamant shield when they had left the truck.


"I don't know much about the Totem Wall," Vanessa said. "It's old magic. Considering what the Sisters shared with you about what lies beyond the wall, I'd guess you might want a sword. Just don't use it to make any powerful entities unnecessarily angry."


"Take the sword," Newel seconded. "Chop up anybody who gives you trouble."


"I've heard it's easier if you break their weapon first," Doren added, earning a punch in the shoulder from Newel.


"Okay," Seth said. "See you soon. You might as well take naps, let Hugo stand guard."


Seth turned and started walking along the ravine, treading carefully due to the many loose rocks. He looked back once and caught the others watching him somberly. They immediately cheered up and waved, but his initial glance had revealed a level of concern that his companions had been hiding. He wished he hadn't looked back.


The meandering ravine grew shallower and steeper as he proceeded. Back where the others waited, Seth thought he could have scaled the walls. Now an attempt to climb would be impossible.


Up ahead, a totem pole came into view, brightly painted, as if created recently, standing straight and tall in the middle of the ravine. The stacked images included a squat, chubby warrior on the bottom, three fierce faces above him, and a winged eagle at the top. The grotesque caricatures leered at him, wooden teeth bared, and on some instinctive level, Seth realized the elaborate pole was a warning.


Passing the pole, Seth grew more anxious. The ravine seemed unnaturally silent. He heard no buzzing of insects, no birdcalls, no rustling leaves. The air felt still and heavy. He sensed eyes spying, but could detect nothing to confirm the suspicion. He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword.


Around the next curve, the ravine abruptly ended, and Seth beheld the Totem Wall. Six times his height, built into the rear wall, the Totem Wall spanned the entire ravine like a dam. Hundreds of faces made up the seamless wooden monument, weatherworn, timeworn, but well crafted, each face still very recognizable. A wide variety of animals were represented--bears, wolves, deer, moose, elk, lynxes, beavers, otters, seals, walruses, eagles, owls, and many others. People were depicted in even greater diversity--male and female, old and young, fat and thin, fair and hideous. Some looked friendly, others furious, others wise, others ridiculous, others crafty, others ill, others smug, others frightened, others serene.


Seth had never seen anything like it. He could imagine the Totem Wall as the featured exhibit in the world's finest museum. It was that impressive, that detailed, that unique.


A low stump dominated the ravine in front of the Totem Wall. Seth approached it curiously. No higher than his chest, the stump was at least eight paces across. Seth tried to imagine how tall the tree might have been before it was cut. Judging from the countless visible rings, it must have been thousands of years old.


His intuition told Seth that he should address the wall from atop the stump, using it like a stage or platform. As he climbed up, he noticed that some of the exposed rings were spaced wider than others. He walked to the center, standing on the cluster of concentric circles that formed the innermost rings.


With a cacophony of muttering, grunting, barking, growling, shrieking, and coughing, the Totem Wall came to life. The wooden faces blinked and sniffed and yawned. Tongues wagged. Expressions shifted. The jumbled words spoken by the human faces came out in a language that Seth didn't comprehend.


"I'm Seth Sorenson," Seth said. "I've come to speak with the Totem Wall."


The heads fell silent. A broad male head, old and proud, near the bottom center of the wall, spoke in a profound, resonant voice. "We are many. Choose four to treat with."


"Do all of you speak English?" Seth asked.


"You will hear your language," the head replied. "Choose." He sounded somewhat impatient.


"Very well," Seth said, trying to keep his manner official. "I will speak with Anyu the Hunter, Tootega the Crone, Yuralria the Dancer, and Chu the Beaver."


A surprised murmur rippled across the wall, ending as quickly as it began.