The forest is deep and thick with many dangerous paths to wander. This is the kingdom of the trees where the laws of man feel far away. Even kings must tread carefully here.
Who are you?
A Human
A Monster
One of the greatest aspects of the human experience is a disappointment. You are a lizard. You can see colors and shapes behind the glass walls that surround you. A cranky young woman mumbles to herself while stirring a large cauldron. The witch is a terrible person. After all, it is because of her that you are trapped in this bottle. You stare at her through the glass, willing her with your mind to feel your angry glare, but she doesn't seem to notice.
Get her Attention Try to EscapeThe most honest aspect of the human experience is disappointment. You are a lizard. You can see colors and shapes behind the glass walls that surround you. A cranky young woman mumbles to herself while stirring a large cauldron. The witch is a terrible person. After all, it is because of her that you are trapped in this bottle. You narrow your eyes and stare intently at her through the glass and with all your might, willing her to feel your anger, but she doesn't seem to notice. Before you can react you see another shape enter the room. It is large and dark but you can make out teeth and claws. The large beast grumbles and growls as it sits down on the floor. She pours the beast a bowl of something from the cauldron but the beast reacts when he drinks it, rocking the table you are on and sending the bottle crashing to the ground and breaking against the stone floor.. You are free! Several other bottles and vials are crashing down around you. Powders begin to plume around you and strange liquids begin to eat at the floor like acid. You notice among the wreckage, a single purple gem, your eyes lock to it and a strange power takes hold of you. You feel like you should touch it.
Get Out of There Approach the GemYou are a sight to see. Taller than most horses, hairy, and teeth sharp as knives. Your hands are strong and have long sharp claws at the end of each finger. But as much as people shriek with fear when they see you, you don’t feel like the monster you seem to be. You have a handful of red flowers in one hand, which you hold carefully so as to not crush them. Your friend asked you to bring them to her. You pick a few more before realizing the sun is high in the sky already. You look around you, getting your bearings to head back to your friend's home but you also notice how the flowers become more beautiful heading towards the main road.
Head to your friend's house Wander Towards the Main Road
You wander towards the road with your flowers. To your excitement, they are more vibrant here and you continue to pick them while walking alongside the small dirt path. You hear a clatter to your right. You didn’t notice in all your flower picking a group of humans crowded beside an upturned cart. Their horses had seen you and gotten spooked, taking off down the road. You’d always liked horses. They’re so cute.
Two of the bigger humans raise their spears valiantly towards you, although they are still trembling next to each other in fear. They consider you for a moment and mutter between themselves in frantic voices. Finally one of them shouts nervously,
“ We are here in service of his majesty the king, searching the woods for his son Prince Florian,” his voice breaks a bit but he clears it and continues, “ State your-” he gulps “...business here”. You take a careful step forward, trying not to shake the trees too much. One of the men backs up over an upturned shield and makes a large clatter which spooks one of the men to turn and run into the woods. Two of the men still hold spears out towards you and four others are grabbing their weapons as well. You’ve never been good at speaking, you have a mouth of large teeth and vocal cords meant for terror. But as your good friend always says, there's no shame in trying something new. You open your mouth and let the airflow through it. You begin hollering through your open lips. You try to move your mouth around a bit as you do but in the place of words come guttural sounds that resonate through the leaves of trees causing the few birds that remain to fly away.
Suddenly you feel a sharp pain in your throat, and then another, two spears stick out of your neck. You fall to your knees, suddenly afraid, you look up to the see the rest of the men charging towards you.
You are too afraid to fight back. The men kill you with several spears and several swords. Your bones are kept as trophies.
Start Again
You hurry back to your friend’s cottage. She lives in a small clearing in the woods and the sunshine feels warm on your back as you step out from the shade of the treeline. You give the little door a knock and an even littler woman opens it. She welcomes you warmly and tells you to come inside. You have to get down real low to get through the doorway and you come to sit on the floor of her large circular house. Your friend takes the flowers and thanks you before turning them over and carefully removing the thorns, plucking off each one and plopping them into a large black cauldron. The mixture sizzles and you lean forward to sniff it.
“Smells good ey?” says the woman as she pours herself a cup of the liquid. “Bramblethorn tea is perfect for days like this.” She takes a much larger bowl out of her cupboard and pours another glass for you. You take a sip. The mixture burns your tongue and you jerk your arms in panic, accidentally bumping into a large cabinet. A few jars and vials come crashing to the ground, breaking on the stone floor. Some have powders or gemstones inside, while others have liquids. The young woman runs over to stabilize the rest of the jars and you catch out of the corner of your eye a small animal darting away.
“Aw rats.” she sighs looking at the mess, You scratch your head confused. It looked more like a lizard to you, but you shrug.
“It’s okay big guy, nothing a broom can’t fix. Just remember to blow on it next time.” She chuckles and sits down on the floor next to you.
You may not have many friends, but it's nice to have just one best friend. You spend the rest of your days together growing old, and drinking tea, and picking flowers.
Start Again You bang your nose against the glass making as loud as a tap that you can muster, which is not actually that loud, but it seems to faintly get the attention of the witch, who tells you to shut it. You tap again anyway despite it making your head spin. She leans over your jail and sticks her tongue out at you.
“Be grateful this tea doesn’t require lizard eyes or you’d be on the chopping block!” she picks up the bottle and shakes it. “Now stop that racket.” she sets you back down. You are too tired and dizzy to continue so you curl up at the bottom.
Time passes too slowly for you to know how long you’ve been trapped here. You can only wait for someone to help you, and you have nothing but time.
Start AgainYou climb up the top and chew on the cork stopper, but it does very little as you have no teeth. You stretch out your tail and try to shatter the glass from the inside but you are too little to make it budge. You struggle and flop against the inside of the bottle until you are too tired to continue.
Time passes too slowly for you to know how long you’ve been trapped here. You can only wait for someone to help you, and you have nothing but time.
Start AgainYour feet scramble against the wooden floor as you sprint towards a hole in the wall. The witch hasn’t yet seen you. Dodging the broken glass and magical tinctures you slip right into the wall and out the other side. You can’t stop running until you've made it far into the long grass and the shadows of the forest loom high above you. You stop to catch your breath. The trees are thick here and you are so small that even the grass is difficult to get through. Which way do you go now? Homesickness grips you tight. You feel a small pain in your chest and if you had tear ducts in this small form you would probably cry. You want to go home, but you don’t know how to get there. Climbing up on a small toadstool you try to get your bearings, the thick canopy of the woods is above you. You are simultaneously surrounded by enemies and also so utterly alone. Which direction is home? How far? You don’t have any other choice but to chance it. You pick a direction and start walking but you don’t get very far.
You get eaten by a predator. You didn’t see it coming.
Start Again
You step carefully towards the gem and look inside. There's a swirling in there and little lights twinkling in its depths. You take one leg and touch it but suddenly you feel a snap the whole length of your body and there’s a flash of light. Suddenly you are human! And you are sitting on the floor holding the now small purple gem in your hand. You are back in your old skin and your old silk clothes which fit you warmly. Upon seeing you, the witch pouts with her arms folded.
“I can’t believe you turned me into a lizard!” you shout, finally regaining your voice. You remember with a start the large creature in the corner and jump suddenly looking back at it. But it still seems preoccupied with the bowl and hasn’t even noticed the commotion.
“Well then? Have you learned your lesson?” the witch grumbles angrily. “If you want to leave and return home you may do so. I’m sure your family has sent someone out there looking for you.” You glance out the window. The woods are all around you and you gulp at the thought of traveling them alone.
“But this time,” She steps closer and points a finger at you, “You better leave me, and my friends, alone!” She narrows her eyes at you and you feel your confidence turn to ice. “Got it?” You nod frantically, not risking being turned back into another foul creature. She waves her hand dismissively before turning back around to her cauldron. You hurry out of the hut as fast as you can, squeezing past the monster who, again, doesn't seem to notice you. You’ll never get the smell of this place off you no matter how many times you bathe. After making it outside and setting off down the path you realize you still have the gem in your hand.
You decide to keep the gem, and you get the feeling that it will follow you long past your death. You return home but you never forget the witch's words, you live a long life but you keep one eye out for the witch the whole time.
Start Again
