I leave the inn early, bidding farewell to the huntsman, the widow, and Sofie. They are very nice people, I must visit this inn again sometime. As I start down the trail Sofie runs up to tell me something. She tugs on my sleeve to get my attention.

"Don't worry, I found your quill and put it back in your pocket," Sofie whispers to me.
"Oh, well thank you very much," I say, patting her warmly on the head.
She giggles and runs back to her father, and they all wave goodbye. As I continue down the path, I mark on my map as 'Good Path'. I see a fellow traveler up ahead, sitting on a giant mushroom while holding a basket. I approach him with a smile, but he's too distracted to notice me. He stares up at the sky, his gaze unwavering.

"Hello sir," I say to him, but he continues to look up.
"Hello?" I repeat, but he's ignores me.
I study his basket, wondering if I steal it from him will he'll notice me. I wonder what will happen if I poke this. Poke poke.

"Hey! Don't do that," he says, surprising me.
He wraps his grip on the basket tighter.
"I'm so sorry! You just seemed really distracted."
"Well of course I am! Just look at those dark clouds," he points up.
I look up and shrug, not sure if I care to know what this is about.

"A thunder storm is approaching! THOSE THINGS ARE WONDERFUL!" He says excited by the thought.
"I...guess," I say.
He gives me a dirty look and huffs.
"So what's in the basket?," I ask, tempted to try and open it.
He grins, his teeth are sharp and scary. Opening the basket he pulls out a large snake and shoves it in my face.
"Get that thing away from me!" I scream, shoving the snake away. He laughs, and puts the snake back in the basket. He ties a small piece of yarn around the basket lid to keep it shut.

"Don't worry miss, she's not poisonous. She loves people," He smiles, kissing the top of the snake's basket.

I cringe a little from his love for the snake, my heart beats fast from being so scared. It's weird though. I never knew I was even scared of snakes before. Guess I'm learning something new about myself everyday...

"It's okay miss, I'm a charmer," He explains.
"Oh, neat! So you can make the snake do tricks?" I ask.
"NO! NO! NO! I'm not a snake charmer, I'm a storm charmer," he points up to the clouds again.
"A...what?" I ask, curious to know what this is.
"I'll show you," he says, and looks up again.
"Well, shoot! How did that get up there?!" He squints.
I look up to see a hot air balloon floating higher and higher towards the storm clouds.
"I thought I tied that down this morning," he mutters, shaking his head in shame.
"You have a hot air balloon?! Can I hitch a ride with you to the north?" I ask.
"Uh, if you haven't noticed, I just lost it..." He frowns, tears beginning to swell in his eyes.
"I wish the balloon would come back," I sigh.
"Me too," He sighs, resting his head in his hands.
Suddenly a loud crackle erupts from the sky, and heavy rain starts to come down.
"Oh no!" I say sadly, guarding myself with my satchel. I still get soaked from heavy rain. The storm charmer gets up from the giant mushroom with his snake basket over his head.
"Follow me!" He says, waving for me to go with him.
I reluctantly follow him off the path, through thick trees, and into a clearing. We approach a large rocky pond with a rainbow waterfall.

"Wow, this place is beautiful" I say happily looking around.
"Come on! Follow me," he waves for me to continue following.
He walks behind the waterfall, and I quickly follow.
Behind the waterfall are hidden catacombs, aligned with lights and full of mining tunnels.
"So neat! I've never seen a place like this!" I say.
He smiles and nods his head in agreement. "My snake told me to go here."
I frown a little at this statement, but shrug, not sure if he's magical or crazy.
We take shelter from the storm, and wait it out. He sits against the catacomb wall with his snake basket and takes a nap.

Bored, I start to wander deeper into the catacombs. I notice a weird bluish light coming from the end and decide to investigate. I go further and further, the lights along the walls flickering dimly. I come to the end where the bluish light is brightest. I find a small blue gem on the ground radiating light. It's a moon sapphire. These are precious and rare to anyone who comes across one. I hurriedly pull it out from the ground and study it in my hand. Removing it is a mistake and the walls begin to shake, collapsing in behind me. The cave-in has blocked my means of escape!

TO BE CONTINUED...