The tension in the cave niche seemed to dissipate a bit after that and Telsa cleared her throat then continued her story. "Umm...so yeah...the Shadows started to show up more and fewer Travellers would appear. So, I guess the Keepers stayed away as well, but when a Keeper would show up with a Traveller the Gate would swallow them up. Not how it used to do it, those Travellers...they would be swallowed up and scream..." Telsa shivered. "Like they were being tormented and then the Gate would get dimmer...like it was feeding off of that darkness. Then after a while the Keepers stopped coming. You guys are the first ones to come in a reeeaaally long time. I think it's been a few years since the last one came. And the Gate started to lighten and go back to what it used to look like, but then the grown-ups started disappearing and then the big kids...until it was only just us kids. We thought they had just left, but we think the Gate might have swallowed them up too, kuz it's been getting darker and a few of the kids say they heard someone screaming the day before one of the grown-ups or big kids would disappear."

Lin nodded and turned to Izhmayel. "Have any idea of what's going on?"

Izhmayel shook his head. "Haven't heard or seen anythin' like it before..." He paused and turned to the cloaked man. "Have yeh?"

The man shook his head.

"The only thing I can think of is teh ask one of 'em Collectors. They're the ones that oversee the Gates, but..." Izhmayel sighed, "They rarely ever contact anyone."

Lin stood up. "Didn't you say something about the Collectors and challenging the gate before?" Izhmayel gave her a confused look and she continued, "When we met the first time."

"Yeah, what about it?" Izhmayel asked.

"I don't know...Isn't that some sort of way to contact the Collectors?"

Izhmayel stood up as well. "I'm not sure that'll work, but we could give it a try," he said and fished a small gear out of his pocket. "So, where's the gate?"

"It's this way," Kara said as she got up and started to walk towards one of the cave openings.

Everyone else followed Kara quietly as Izhmayel explained more about the gear. "So, usually we just fold this piece here and here..." Izhmayel took two of the spokes, pulled them out and then folded them up. "...If we want a bit more of a challenge. The more pieces folded up, the higher the challenge."

"What do you mean by challenge, though?" Lin asked while he folded and unfolded the pieces.

"It's hard teh describe, but I guess the best explanation would be how much the Shadows are attracted to your kind." He took a deep breath. "An' Walkers like ya attract the most."

"But what do you mean by Walkers and Travellers?"

"Should you be telling her all of this?" the blue cloaked man interrupted their conversation.

"Beats me..." Izhmayel shrugged. "She's a Walker, so I don't see the harm in tellin'."

"But she might attract even more, by knowing more..." the blue cloaked man argued.

"Not any more than you would attract," Izhmayel growled. "In fact, I'd say yeh might attract more." He turned and smiled sarcastically at the other man. "That is, if ya really are one of 'em Angels."

"HEY!" Kara turned around. She had stopped at the end of the rope bridge they were crossing and was waiting for them in front of another cave entrance. Telsa was standing next to her. "What's your problem?! Do you have something against Mr. Angel?" Kara yelled and pointed at Izhmayel when they had all crossed the bridge.

"No...not him." Izhmayel paused. "Yet...but I do have somethin' against his kind."

Kara, Telsa, and Lin all gaped at Izhmayel with wide eyes. The man just stared coolly at Izhmayel.

"Pssh, just forget I said that...had a bad experience with some of 'em, alright. End of story."

"O-o-o-kay anyways, about the Collectors, how do you tell them you want to see them, or speak with them?" Lin asked.

The cloaked man grumbled something, but let them continue with their conversation.

"Yah don't, they show up when they want teh. Though, it's usually right before the Traveller shows up, if they do decide teh grace yeh with their presence," Izhmayel said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Then why–"

"Are we goin' teh try an' use a creepy soundin' Gate that probably doesn't work and does who know what teh whoever gets near it?" Izhmayel paused and smiled. "Yah know, I was startin' teh ask myself the same question and I think I'm havin' second thoughts, anyone else?" He looked around at everybody's serious faces and sighed. "Guess, we can't just use a different Gate then?"

Lin shook her head. "We've got to do something."

"BUT they didn't ask us to help!" Izhmayel argued, "In fact, they tried teh turn us away, remember!"

"Yes, but we have to help! This contact the Collectors plan was your idea anyways!"

"Not really..." Izhmayel coughed then covered his nose. "An' that cave is full of dark essence so I really don' think it's a good idea teh go in there..." He nodded towards the cave that was ahead of them. "Is there another way to the Gate?"

"Nope....this is it," Telsa spoke up cutting off the argument, "The Gate is in here." She pointed inside the cave.

"Of course, it'd be in the dark creepy cave that reeks of dark essence. Where else would it be?" Izhmayel asked sarcastically. "Well, whatever...since were here, might as well go in, right?"

The group entered the cave single file with the two young girls leading the way. A stone path wound its way through the dimly lit cave several hundred feet to the center of the cavern where a massive tree stood. It was, by far, the biggest tree Lin had ever seen as well as the most interesting. The trunk alone was about the size of a house. Its trunk, roots, and branches had a weird mixture of blackish-gold metallic looking bark and its leaves glowed a dark orange-amber color. Lin noticed that the tree was the main source of light in the cave, but there were also small crystal like formations scattered throughout the cave that gave off a bit of light.

Around the base of the tree was a moat. The water appeared to be deep, but it was hard to tell with the glowing reflections of the foliage. Although, Lin just assumed that the water probably was deep because there was a bridge over the moat connecting the island the tree was on to the rest of the cave floor.

"It used to be so pretty! And lit up the whole cave!" Telsa said and waved her arms out in a wide gesture. "Now..." She looked down and squinted at the stone path in front of her. "It barely lights this place up. I should've brought a lantern."

They walked for some time before they arrived at the bridge on the bottom of the path. The hairs atop the back of Izhmayel's neck stood on end. There was definitely something sinister in the cave. He growled and stopped in the middle of the bridge. "This is too much, we can't handle this."

Lin turned around and for the first time, in the small amount that she'd known him, saw raw fear on his face. "Then I'll do it," Lin said and grabbed the gear out of Izhmayel's hand. "You said there should be a sort of notch or key hole I can place this in, right?" she asked then walked up to the tree. Izhmayel nodded and watched her get closer and closer to the tree.

"Perhaps, the Keeper should do that Miss..." the blue cloaked man said as he walked up next to her. She turned around and found that the Keeper was still standing, frozen with fear, in the middle of the bridge. The two young girls had warily crossed the bridge and stood next to Lin.

"He looks like a frightened puppy, we can't make h–"

Suddenly, Lin's world went black. With no warning at all the tree's roots had shot up out of the ground and encased Lin's entire body.

"LIN!!!?" the blue cloaked man screamed and banged his fists against the roots holding her.