It seemed to Arnie that the whole village and the entire population of pens and pencils had turned out to see them off. Lined up at the gate, looking sharp and ready, were the five selected squadrons. Within them was a mix of pen and pencil soldiers. Arnie noticed that any of the discomfort or unease of working together that had been around at the beginning was gone. They were united now with a common goal and a common enemy.

The leaders of both groups were standing, erect and proud in the middle of the group. Arnie and Isabelle were behind the whole group, towering over them as usual. It was a magical land this place. It had struck Arnie as he was attempting to sleep how magical this place was. Not only were the pens and pencils able to move with speed far beyond their size, Arnie had also realised that he didn't seem to get dirty at all here. Both himself and his clothes remained fresh and clean despite the fact he had been here for an uncountable number of days.

The gate was open and with a command from the pencil leader the squadrons moved forward, leaving the village behind as they headed toward the forest ahead. The crowds cheered as they went, clapping and shouting. The shrill cries filled the air interspersed with the occasional, and somewhat odd sounding, deeper voice.

The soldiers moved with military style precision and discipline. There was no chit-chat and a seriousness hung in the air, it was almost an opposite feeling to that of the village they had left behind. Arnie noticed that Sofos was at the head of the pack, looking straight ahead as he led them on. They were heading through the glittering trees. Arnie made a point of looking around him as he went and he pointed out some of the interesting wildlife to Isabelle as they went. She marvelled at some of the creatures. Evidentally she had missed a lot too. The needle and thread birds were hovering around silently. Some were bright green, some were black and there was even a white one. They saw several "ruler" snakes slivering up the golden branches of the trees. They even saw a family of the silver shining spoons in the distance.

After they had been marching for some time Arnie noticed a dead end in the path ahead. The path branched sharply to the left and sharply to the right. He thought back to the map he had seen and imagined they would be moving left and sure enough, when Sofos reached the end of the path he turned left and continued.

The journey went on for a while longer before he saw an opening in the trees ahead. It looked like the forest was coming to an end. In the distance he saw the same long purple grass that they had at the main pen village. The sky was the same kind of bubble gum pink also. But as they drew closer to the end of the forest Arnie saw hills rising up on the horizon. As they came into focus he was actually shocked by the colour. The hills lacked real colour. They looked like the green of a lime would look if it was converted to grayscale. It was definitely an odd shade of gray and yet he could tell it ought to be green. The contrast was spectacular to behold, the hills stood out like lumps of coal in a basket of fruit.

As they exited the forest Sofos stopped and the group halted. The pen leader spoke. "The middle hill there" he said, pointing at the center hill, "is our destination. Although it looks far, the horizon is actually close. We will break here to eat and then we will continue."

As though a string had been released the soldiers flopped onto the ground. There was a palpable feeling of relief mixed with excitement.

Food was passed among them and Arnie took a bite gratefully of the purple, square, juicy item he had been given. It tasted like a golden delicious apple and it crunched just like an apple as he bit down. He felt the energy it provided coursing through his veins and realised he was hungry and hadn't even noticed. He glanced around and saw the soldiers feasting, their mood merry. His gaze fell to Isabelle who was sitting nearby tucking in to a trianglular, yellow thing. "What's that you've got?" Arnie asked, interested.

"Tastes like a scone. A pretty good one at that." she answered and took another bite.

At one point Arnie noticed that Sofos, after a brief word with the pencil leader, rose up and disappeared into the trees. He didn't seem to be gone long before returning to his food at the head of the crowd. Arnie thought about asking him but decided to leave it.

Once they had finished eating, goblets of the deep pink water were passed around. Arnie didn't even wonder where all the food and water was coming from as no one seemed to be carrying it. He'd now become used to oddities happening. Once everyone had taken their fill, the pencil leader stood up. The group followed suit and got back into their orderly lines. Arnie stood up, and fell in at the back again, Isabelle took her place next to him and they glanced at each other briefly. She flashed him one of her fun, mischeivous smiles and his stomach, still not used to it, did a flip again. A powerful feeling washed over him, an odd feeling he hadn't felt before. It was a desire to protect her from danger. He felt his face warming and he looked hastily ahead. The pencil leader went to the head of the group and faced them all.

"We are now going straight to the stronghold. We don't know what to expect when we arrive. But we will aim for a peaceful discussion. Be prepared, but follow orders. Squadron leaders answer to us," he pointed at the pen leader, "and you each follow the instructions of your squadron leader." He paused as they called out their understanding.

"There is no reason they should know we are coming but we cannot guarentee it. We have the Paintbrush Stickler in custody, so they will probably be unaware that we have found out. BUT expect the unexpected. We are entering unknown territory. Let's go!"

The march began again. The pencil and pen leader made their way back to the middle of the group and fell into step. They marched in silence toward the lump of gray that was the middle hill.

As expected, it didn't take long for them to reach the hill. It rose up on them like a tidal wave and towered high above. The incline wasn't steep at this point, but seemed to become sheer further up. Arnie saw no sign of life nor dwelling. "I wonder where they are..." Arnie said his thought out loud. In response, a voice answered, loud enough for them all to hear.

"They reside on the other side. If the maps are right, we will travel up and around. There we'll find a hill down to a valley. In the valley they live."

Arnie couldn't see who had said it, but thought it was the someone in the middle. The group moved ahead and continued onto the gray ground. The border between the purple, swaying grass and the gray lump was sudden and stark. It simply went from one to the other without warning. It looked liked someone had stuck two disrelated pictures together. The ground of the hill was spongy, like compost. There was a track that they stepped onto leading them up. Arnie noticed that on either side there were plants of all shapes and sizes. Some looked like daffodils, some like giant sunflowers others were in the shape of roses and there were many in between. They were all the same shade of gray.

They marched up and up, towards the sheer face of the hill. Arnie couldn't see any sign of a path leading round, but on they went anyway. It wasn't until he saw Sofos, who was still leading the group, turn right and start walking that he believed they'd be able to get round. When he reached the point he noticed the path carried on around. It wasn't visible from below, but the the track was there, hidden by the plant life. It was wide enough for him and Isabelle to walk side by side. He wondered whether it had been set up this way as a defence or if it was natural.

They trudged on, the path remaining friendly to their patting feet. He took a look out towards the forest and almost stopped. The sight was breathtaking. From this height you could see a great distance. The glimmering trees were swaying peacefully. The purple meadow looked like a wrongly coloured african savanna. The bubblegum pink sky above and around them gave off an odd light. He took it all in only briefly before looking ahead at the path. He wished he had a camera. Just before he looked away he thought he saw a glimmer from the edge of the trees. He squinted his eyes, but could just make out what looked like reflected light on a sparkle of silver. He turned away, concerned about keeping his eyes on the path.

They rounded the face of the hill and came to the valley, as promised. Arnie pushed thoughts of glimmering silver at the edge of the forest from his mind and looked down. It was like someone had dug a large hole in the hill. The hill continued all the way around the valley. In it Arnie saw a village. And there was a lake, the same pink of the water they had been drinking. A pink that was deeper than that of the sky. There was a path leading down to the village that wasn't too steep.

The village was surrounded by a wall but it was a different kind of wall. It seemed to be made from panels, running side by side. It had many shapes and sizes on it, in many different colours. Arnie couldn't quite make sense ot it. The actual village was very similar to the other villages of Writingshire, but the houses too seemed to make from panels or brick-like substances. Again they were all kinds of colours and had various patterns and shapes on them. The houses seemed to be about the size of the pen/pencils houses. The village as a whole stood out against the drab, gray of the surroundings.

There was no time to take it all in properly before they were over the crest of the hill and heading down into the valley. There were a few trees in the valley and seemed to be some kind of farm-type place over to the left. It was fenced off and there appeared to be things moving around inside it. Arnie couldn't see what they were.

The path, Arnie saw, would lead them right to the gate. The gate at the end of the path was wide open and there was no one around. No guards here he noted. They obviously weren't expecting any visitors. They continued on down the path. Arnie was watching where he put his feet.

"Shall we get up to the front?" Arnie asked Isabelle. He thought they might be more use up here than stuck at the back.

"I think that's smart... Just in case." She said, winking at him. The feeling in his stomach hadn't lost it's potency and he felt the warmth rise in face again. They made there way carefully through the marching soldiers and joined Sofos at the front. He nodded at them each in turn as they took their place on his left and right.

They had reached the bottom of the hill now when Sofos spoke. Arnie heard a note of something in his voice. Was it fear? Uncertainty? It sounded out of place, whatever it was.

"I feel something is amiss. There is no one here."

Arnie realised he was right. There had been no sign of anyone at all. No life apart from whatever creatures were off to the left in the fenced off farm.

Sofos held up his hand to stop the group. They stopped instantly and the two leaders came forward. Sofos spoke before they could ask.

"Something is amiss. There is no life, there is no one here. No alarm has been raised, no one seems to be moving in the village."

The pen leader spoke first. "You are right. What do you propose we do?"

Sofos looked thoughtful. He looked around in all directions. As he was looking Arnie caught a look in his eye. A flash of panic or anger. It was fleeting but it was there.

"We must move back! Back up the hill." his voice was urgent. He had seen something. The group just began to turn when Arnie saw them. His stomach sank. Rising all around them, up from the ground where they must have been lying, covered and waiting, paintbrushes. Paintbrushes of all shapes and sizes. Hundreds of them rose on all sides. The path to the hill was blocked.

Arnie heard gasps escape from the pen and pencil soldiers. They were surrounded and vastly out-numbered.

A thick bristled paintbrush stepped out from the crowd, an evil smile upon his face.

"We've been expecting you."

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