This is a distopian future idea I got from watching the adverts for the new Peanuts movie.
I'm in Love With the Little Red-Haired Girl
Picture this. I stand at the bar starring into the face that is on the screen. I wonder if the round faced man with the scruffy chin and sunken eyes is real or if some nerdy kid has finally worked out the way to program emotion like true empathy and the ability to calculate life and its choices. I am determined to test the face and see. He has just asked me what I want to eat and whether I need a drink. The voice seems real, the face truthfully uncaring, just like any real life barkeep.
"I'm in love with the red-haired girl!" I reply.
The eyebrows of the face rise as if in shock. I watch the eyes themselves, they are grey and white on the colourless screen but I can detect a flicker of human interest. I smile innocently and try to make my own eyes twinkle, begging the face to ask for more from me.
The face on the screen does ask, but its not what I expected.
"Ma'am, seriously I get paid less than a slice of pitence... If you're hungry or thirst please push my buttons and feed the cash into the machine."
'Wish someone would push my buttons,' I consider saying, but instead I push the man's buttons and feed in the ridiculous amount of money I owe for a cheese burger and cola.
As I walk away from the vendor and the next pair step up I hear a repeat of the commercial speil.
"Welcome to Generica... My name is Mal, what can I getcha?"
I stroll away sipping my beverage thinking what I'd told Mal was kind of the truth.
I'm fiercly Cancarian at a time when nobody else cares. We can't see the stars no more with all the unnatural clouds in the sky. Grey and stinking they are an inheritance from my parents' parents' parents' past. When you've stuffed up Earth and everyone is off to another planet sadly there is little to no reason to reverse your poor decisions. Then when the first migration to Mars ends in a fiery inferno it is suddenly all too late. But for me it is all about the past, the good bits anyway. Total Cancer! There might be generic cola and fastfood from Generica vending everywhere now, I want to taste a Wopper from Burger King or a MacDonalds hashbrown, or Chinese food or traditional Mexican... For that mater I want China and Mexico back, not the twenty five sectors we've split the world we live in now.
A car flies over my head, I'm amazed someone can afford fuel these days. In the year of 2160 I long for 80s music (1980s not 2080s... that decade between 2080 and 2090 was so NOT what I'd consider music) 90s fashion (1990s and 2090s were both pretty much the same for clothes) and the comics from the 50s and 60s (old school stuff done by hand from after the second World War in my mind was all pretty cool). I love Charlie Brown and it was his obsession with and longing for the little red-haired girl that I channeled when I told old face on the screen I was in love. In reality though it was half true. I am not in love with some ten year old cartoon character. The red-haired girl that I have fallen for is not so little and not so young. She flies jets for RedBull and she gives the boys a run for their money. The last time I saw her she invited me to drop by and see her at pit lane. I've snuck in with the mechanics prior to race day though and the red-haired girl is nowhere in sight. Noone has heard of her and strangely there is no sign of her team.
"I'm in love with the red-haired girl from Team RedBull," I blurt out to a marshal, he shrugs his shoulders in reply.
My search continues on and on throughout the day until the race meet is complete. No sign of the RedBull team and definitely no sign of the girl I am seeking.
Maybe she will be at the next meet. Maybe she was never real at all...
Wednesday 30 December 2015
Dream a little dream...
Last night I dreamt the strangest dream. I stood upon a great stone wall. Over my shoulder as I looked behind me I could see the whole of 2015 stretching across a space a whole year long, another similar stone wall marked the end of 2014 and the beginning of the year just past. Beyond that wall was another and another year of my past. As I looked along the path I had travelled I saw many high points, none of them easily reached, but all of them marked by a flag with a great green T emblazoned across. There were pitfalls too, low points from the year, some lower than others. I noticed as I looked out that there were high points from the year gone by that I could have reached but didn't. There were low points too, paths that lead to deep falls, maybe too deep to climb out of. I was thankful that I had not chosen to walk that way.
As I turned my thoughts away from the year that had been I had a chance to gaze out at what lay ahead. There were so many paths that I could take. I could see some challenging terrain already set before me, things relating to my new role at work which if I did them right would lead to a great peak where I could satisfactorily place my flag. This same terrain though also lead toward twisty and turny paths only a mountain goat could hope to follow safely.
I saw far off the possibility of some travel overseas, more challenges, more peaks and just as many troughs. I saw fun filled moments with my family and my friends and patches where I felt lost and alone. The more paths I followed the more they joined and drifted apart. I realised then that this dream was not a guide to the year ahead. It was as much that as a Gypsy's prophecy from a Tarot deck. Everything will happen if and when it happens. There is nothing set in stone and it was up to me to make 2016 the year I wanted and needed it to be. Then again it was only a dream...
When I awoke it was the morning of New Year's Eve. I saw the last step to the wall was a step in the upward direction. Which way I step off the wall is totally up to me...
As I turned my thoughts away from the year that had been I had a chance to gaze out at what lay ahead. There were so many paths that I could take. I could see some challenging terrain already set before me, things relating to my new role at work which if I did them right would lead to a great peak where I could satisfactorily place my flag. This same terrain though also lead toward twisty and turny paths only a mountain goat could hope to follow safely.
I saw far off the possibility of some travel overseas, more challenges, more peaks and just as many troughs. I saw fun filled moments with my family and my friends and patches where I felt lost and alone. The more paths I followed the more they joined and drifted apart. I realised then that this dream was not a guide to the year ahead. It was as much that as a Gypsy's prophecy from a Tarot deck. Everything will happen if and when it happens. There is nothing set in stone and it was up to me to make 2016 the year I wanted and needed it to be. Then again it was only a dream...
When I awoke it was the morning of New Year's Eve. I saw the last step to the wall was a step in the upward direction. Which way I step off the wall is totally up to me...
Sunday 27 December 2015
This Is How...
The music pumps, the DJ blasting the latest tracks so loudly that each beat of the baseline causes your heart to quicken. You sip expensive cocktails with colours that delight your mind, tastes that peak your curiosity and names that make you and your friends giggle. Your favourite song begins to play and you drag your girlfriends after you onto the glowing dance floor to show off your moves. As the five of you head away from your table leaving the two guys in your group to watch possessions your train of determination weaves its way towards the boom of the upbeat track and the flashing dance floor. A group of guys cut across the tracks and almost derail you with rudeness. There is one amongst them though who pauses and looks you in the eyes as he waves you and your friends past, mouthing an apology for his mates that you cannot hear but definitely see. Your heart quickens again, but this time it has nothing to do with the tunes.
A half an hour later and a tray of coloured cocktails is delivered with a couple of beers as well. The guy stands there awkwardly looking straight at you with a air of nervous hopefulness.
"Can I join you?" he asks, unsure of your response, and there is a moment where anything is possible and everything could happen.
Your glad you chose tonight to wear that top that looks so much better on you then it does on your sister and you smile as you remember buying that killer skirt yesterday afternoon specifically for tonight. You are not so glad though that you said yes to bringing your brother and his mate along.
"Leave the drinks and push off mate," your brother forcefully suggests.
His best mate Dale has already taken a sip from one of the glasses of amber fluid.
"Let him sit, he's bought us drinks," you reply, giving the two boys a dangerous look they know only too well.
"Fine!" grumbles your over protective brother and he drags a chair over from another table and plants it purposefully in between Dale and himself.
By the end of the night the two boys have a new best mate. The looks this new guys has been giving you all night though is telling you he is less interested in them and more interested in you.
"I need to grab some cash for a taxi," you shout in the ear of one of the girls. "I'm sure the boys have spent all their cash on buying us drinks."
You friend nods. As you rise so does Dale and this new arrival.
"Need some company?" both boys ask at once.
"Sure," you say, to both of them.
The ATM is just outside the club and the cool air of the early morning is refreshing.
"Did your mates ditch you?" you ask the new guy.
"They were headed for a different kind of club and someone at this one caught my eye," replies the young man.
In the street light glow you notice the way this guy smiles everytime you speak or even look his way. Dale meanwhile is busy reading the instructions on the ATM. Worthy of a chance you grab a pen from your handbag and scribble your number on the guys hand.
'This only happens in the movies,' you think to yourself.
"I'll call you," the guy promises.
A week later you are suprised to discover he does.
"It's me from the other night," the guy says, that nervousness you remember as a sweet trait is still there.
He invites you out for lunch, which turns into a meal and movie date. He does everything right; pays for the meal, lets you choose the movie and then drives you home. On your door step he tells you he had fun and kisses you gently on the cheek.
One date turns into a few more. The first time that he truly kisses you all of the nervousness is gone, replaced by a gentle passion as your lips meld perfectly together. There is a mutual hunger as your lips meet again, but now is not the time nor the place to take your relationship that leap forward.
That special night he takes you to the theatre to see your favourite film converted to stage. That song from the club that brought you both together plays and in that moment his hand slips into yours and squeezes. The play is everything you hoped for the the night even more. He is gentle but hungry at the same time. He drives you wild, the intensity of that passionate lustful embrace from that first true kiss is magnified. You both lay in the darkness feeling completely loved.
The years pass and these passionate moments of pure pleasure are fewer, but even more special when they happen, as they happen. You have found that special someone with whom you can enjoy the experiences of life.
This is how it happens, or maybe how it should happen, or perhaps it is how it will happen... My only wish is that it will happen for everyone...
A half an hour later and a tray of coloured cocktails is delivered with a couple of beers as well. The guy stands there awkwardly looking straight at you with a air of nervous hopefulness.
"Can I join you?" he asks, unsure of your response, and there is a moment where anything is possible and everything could happen.
Your glad you chose tonight to wear that top that looks so much better on you then it does on your sister and you smile as you remember buying that killer skirt yesterday afternoon specifically for tonight. You are not so glad though that you said yes to bringing your brother and his mate along.
"Leave the drinks and push off mate," your brother forcefully suggests.
His best mate Dale has already taken a sip from one of the glasses of amber fluid.
"Let him sit, he's bought us drinks," you reply, giving the two boys a dangerous look they know only too well.
"Fine!" grumbles your over protective brother and he drags a chair over from another table and plants it purposefully in between Dale and himself.
By the end of the night the two boys have a new best mate. The looks this new guys has been giving you all night though is telling you he is less interested in them and more interested in you.
"I need to grab some cash for a taxi," you shout in the ear of one of the girls. "I'm sure the boys have spent all their cash on buying us drinks."
You friend nods. As you rise so does Dale and this new arrival.
"Need some company?" both boys ask at once.
"Sure," you say, to both of them.
The ATM is just outside the club and the cool air of the early morning is refreshing.
"Did your mates ditch you?" you ask the new guy.
"They were headed for a different kind of club and someone at this one caught my eye," replies the young man.
In the street light glow you notice the way this guy smiles everytime you speak or even look his way. Dale meanwhile is busy reading the instructions on the ATM. Worthy of a chance you grab a pen from your handbag and scribble your number on the guys hand.
'This only happens in the movies,' you think to yourself.
"I'll call you," the guy promises.
A week later you are suprised to discover he does.
"It's me from the other night," the guy says, that nervousness you remember as a sweet trait is still there.
He invites you out for lunch, which turns into a meal and movie date. He does everything right; pays for the meal, lets you choose the movie and then drives you home. On your door step he tells you he had fun and kisses you gently on the cheek.
One date turns into a few more. The first time that he truly kisses you all of the nervousness is gone, replaced by a gentle passion as your lips meld perfectly together. There is a mutual hunger as your lips meet again, but now is not the time nor the place to take your relationship that leap forward.
That special night he takes you to the theatre to see your favourite film converted to stage. That song from the club that brought you both together plays and in that moment his hand slips into yours and squeezes. The play is everything you hoped for the the night even more. He is gentle but hungry at the same time. He drives you wild, the intensity of that passionate lustful embrace from that first true kiss is magnified. You both lay in the darkness feeling completely loved.
The years pass and these passionate moments of pure pleasure are fewer, but even more special when they happen, as they happen. You have found that special someone with whom you can enjoy the experiences of life.
This is how it happens, or maybe how it should happen, or perhaps it is how it will happen... My only wish is that it will happen for everyone...
Faith Restored
First of all I have two HUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGEEEEEE thank yous I need to announce... A thank you to my sweet, beautiful, thoughtful wife who got me for Christmas five movie tickets so I could shout the lads a movie and have a boys day out. I love how you surprise me like that darling, those simple thoughtful moments that make me fall even deeper in love with you...
The second thanks needs to go out to Disney... My faith in the Star Wars movie franchise has officially been restored. The condition linked to the present of the tickets was that I go and see The Force Unleashed, Episode VII of Star Wars (a movie my gorgeous girl flatly refuses to watch having never seen any of the Star Wars films ever and not likely to see any of them ever (never ever... so don't even try...)) So this will not be a post spoiling any of the amazing scenes or that moment that occurred that made everyone in the cinema gasp... This post is just one to note how I held my breath when the Lucas Arts symbol appeared on screen and those very words followed straight after... A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away...
This latest addition to the Star Wars story goes back to those great films that started it all... The humour was right, the tension was there, good was truly good and evil was dastardly... There were gimmicks yes but they were not the be all and end all... And the new characters were well woven into the fabric... Nothing seemed out of place... I now cannot wait to see just what else Disney has planned for Star Wars fans old and new...
Four and a half pieces of space junk for a film that left me fulfilled and yet looking forward to more...
Well done Disney!
The second thanks needs to go out to Disney... My faith in the Star Wars movie franchise has officially been restored. The condition linked to the present of the tickets was that I go and see The Force Unleashed, Episode VII of Star Wars (a movie my gorgeous girl flatly refuses to watch having never seen any of the Star Wars films ever and not likely to see any of them ever (never ever... so don't even try...)) So this will not be a post spoiling any of the amazing scenes or that moment that occurred that made everyone in the cinema gasp... This post is just one to note how I held my breath when the Lucas Arts symbol appeared on screen and those very words followed straight after... A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away...
This latest addition to the Star Wars story goes back to those great films that started it all... The humour was right, the tension was there, good was truly good and evil was dastardly... There were gimmicks yes but they were not the be all and end all... And the new characters were well woven into the fabric... Nothing seemed out of place... I now cannot wait to see just what else Disney has planned for Star Wars fans old and new...
Four and a half pieces of space junk for a film that left me fulfilled and yet looking forward to more...
Well done Disney!
Friday 25 December 2015
Child of an Ancient City... One of the BEST stories I have read in a while...
I have been reading a great recommendation, a shortish novella (80 pages including some amazing illustrations) by Tad Williams. Many many years back my cousin James got me onto Tad and a brilliant series this man wrote called Memory, Sorrow and Thorn... If you are a fan of layered, interesting high fantasy with imaginative characters, politics, twists and turns and something that is just enjoyable and engaging to read then you must read this series... Start with The Dragonbone Chair... You will NOT be disappointed...
I am finding the same with Child of an Ancient City. It is written by Tad Williams and Nina Kiriki Hoffman and has all of the same quality as M, S + T but with a great horror twist... This time the characters are all from the East and have an ancient Muslim background...
I cannot wait to read the remaining two chapters and epilogue I have left to devour just to see how it all turns out...
Another brilliant read by Mr Tad Williams...
So far 5 out of 5! Possibly will be 7 out of 5 with a killer ending...
I am finding the same with Child of an Ancient City. It is written by Tad Williams and Nina Kiriki Hoffman and has all of the same quality as M, S + T but with a great horror twist... This time the characters are all from the East and have an ancient Muslim background...
I cannot wait to read the remaining two chapters and epilogue I have left to devour just to see how it all turns out...
Another brilliant read by Mr Tad Williams...
So far 5 out of 5! Possibly will be 7 out of 5 with a killer ending...
Christmas is for family...
To all,
I hope that Christmas 2015 was everything you hoped it would be and that Santa came for all of you on account of your impeccable behaviour... For us Christmas was a joy being able to catch up with my dad and my two brothers and their wives and fiances... My eldest has been very under the weather and so unfortunately it could only be me with the two girls... Some delicious food, a lovely drop of red from Margaret River (Xanadoo I think it was) and some wonderful company... Got the girls home just in time for the start of the Gallasch Christmas festivities... So many kids, or so it seems even with just our three and the two nieces (Ben and I can act real kids sometimes too so I guess we should be counted in that mix)... It was just so wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with my wife's mum and especially her dad... It really has been a super stressful end to this year, in a similar vein to the way the year began and so it was just such a peaceful, thankful vibe to the Gallasch bash... Cannot wait next month to kick on with the Christmas spirit when we join the remained of this clan (Marks x2 and their families)... There will be even MORE kids running around then with Ben and I surely mixed in amongst them...
Winners are grinners... Christmas Eve we had a staff show thanks to the higher powers that be... The few members of the library team who were there cleaned up in the staff raffle... Beers, novelty toys and plenty of other humerous prizes... Who won the ham though? Yep! Yours truly just hamming it up!! Taking away the top prize and wondering how the heck we are going to eat it all...
Today (Dec 26) has been more of a peaceful, relaxing day... Tidying up... Taking Pa Gallasch around to see a great friend of his... Just this arvo I took my little Noo around to visit Oma (we miss you like crazy Mum!), my Grandma Peg the kids cousin Bernadette and went looking for my Nanny Bridget (never look for the Irish if you don't know the way)... A few tears, lots of songs and flowers, sticks and stones left at the graves...
Now it is just great to see the three little ones all playing together sharing new pressies and some special experiences... If only everyday could be like today...
All the best to you for a HUGE New Years Eve and hopefully the troubles of 2016 will be small and the triumphs epically large,
Some Call Me Tim
I hope that Christmas 2015 was everything you hoped it would be and that Santa came for all of you on account of your impeccable behaviour... For us Christmas was a joy being able to catch up with my dad and my two brothers and their wives and fiances... My eldest has been very under the weather and so unfortunately it could only be me with the two girls... Some delicious food, a lovely drop of red from Margaret River (Xanadoo I think it was) and some wonderful company... Got the girls home just in time for the start of the Gallasch Christmas festivities... So many kids, or so it seems even with just our three and the two nieces (Ben and I can act real kids sometimes too so I guess we should be counted in that mix)... It was just so wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with my wife's mum and especially her dad... It really has been a super stressful end to this year, in a similar vein to the way the year began and so it was just such a peaceful, thankful vibe to the Gallasch bash... Cannot wait next month to kick on with the Christmas spirit when we join the remained of this clan (Marks x2 and their families)... There will be even MORE kids running around then with Ben and I surely mixed in amongst them...
Winners are grinners... Christmas Eve we had a staff show thanks to the higher powers that be... The few members of the library team who were there cleaned up in the staff raffle... Beers, novelty toys and plenty of other humerous prizes... Who won the ham though? Yep! Yours truly just hamming it up!! Taking away the top prize and wondering how the heck we are going to eat it all...
Today (Dec 26) has been more of a peaceful, relaxing day... Tidying up... Taking Pa Gallasch around to see a great friend of his... Just this arvo I took my little Noo around to visit Oma (we miss you like crazy Mum!), my Grandma Peg the kids cousin Bernadette and went looking for my Nanny Bridget (never look for the Irish if you don't know the way)... A few tears, lots of songs and flowers, sticks and stones left at the graves...
Now it is just great to see the three little ones all playing together sharing new pressies and some special experiences... If only everyday could be like today...
All the best to you for a HUGE New Years Eve and hopefully the troubles of 2016 will be small and the triumphs epically large,
Some Call Me Tim
Phantasmagoria
Here is one I prepared earlier in the year... Once again only the beginnings of a story... The story is based on a story played out by a character I played during my Uni days in an online RPG called Paths to Immortality (P2I), a great game that always had some interesting presents given to the characters each Christmas by the Dungeon Master playing Santa Claus (reading back over that last sentence just sounds wrong...) I plan to flesh out the rest of this tale as a part of my compelation of short stories to be titled (funnily enough) In Short Supply... I hope you enjoy...
I've been in a real mood for writing lately, lots of random stuff... This one is based on a classic horror with a fantasy twist... Please tell me what you think...
Title - The House Amongst the Vines
My name is Xarra, I am a paladin, a warrior whose faith in the glorious Dawn Goddess Ursha grants me special powers. Together with my friends we saved Red Cove Bay, my home of sixteen years and this part of my tale begins as the city of Red Cove prepares for a great feast to honour the heroes of Red Cove.
The hammer of the blacksmith guided me and my two closest friends onwards through the twisting maze of the city's streets as we searched for Old Mick. I had a job for him.
"What do you even see in that shell of metal?" Asked Samuell Heartsthief, a bard, an elf and all-round trouble maker. "What I meant to ask was... Why the big hunk of ugly metal, my lady?" Sam added quickly after I gave him a narrow-eyed look with my ice blue eyes. The bard had romantically proposed only last night and already I was starting to regret my hastily given "YES!!"
"The cleric that brought all those poor citizens back from the grave wore this hunk of metal... It bears the symbols from the deity of fear, death and undeath and yet..." I began in explanation.
"Sammy... Sammy... You have luck in the dungeons... Luck with the ladies... And when a wizard is not around I'd turn to you for advice on anything to do with magic..." Calmly stated Theo, our mutual friend, a half-elf ranger from the Griphon Glen forest only two or three days East of Red Cove.
Samuell beamed at the comments, all mostly positive and all certainly true.
"But," continued Theo, "if you have not sung about it you're hopelessly unaware of all things relating to the Gods."
"Here we are," I announced, coming suddenly upon a ramshackled shed with a crude sign hanging from the door announcing that here abided the blacksmith Old Mick.
Within the forge a grizzly old man instructed one of his sons where to strike upon a red hot blade shaping up to look like a mean edged short sword. "Thanks to you lot we're busier than ever," snarled the old man as a way of greeting.
"Steady on," began Samuell, thinking his honour attacked. Both Theo and I grasped the bard about the shoulders, preventing him from gracefully drawing his rapier, a surefire way of getting all three of our trio killed.
"You and your family are most welcome, Mick," I replied, stepping casually in front of my fiancé and dropping my hunk of dark and dented metal upon the bench.
"Hmmm..." Murmured the blacksmith as he examined my treasure in the flickering light of the forge. "Lady Xarra... This is delicate work... This will definitely cost you extra..."
"My father will pay... Anything you ask old man... I'll want to pick it up before we leave in three days..." Was my response.
The father I referred to was Master Johann, Mayor of Red Cove and my step-father after elves brought me as a toddler to the markets one Spring. Taking pity on a helpless child Mayor Johann Dorth took me into his house and raised me. The wife of the Mayor was a devout worshipper of Urshas and so when I was fifteen summers I followed my mother, the Mayor's wife North to the fort that protected Red Cove Bay and the surrounding cities. After a year of military training and instruction in faithfulness I returned home with mother only a week before my homeland was attacked. Now with the battle over my father had demanded the citizens become better prepared for other battles, vowing that his city would never be caught unawares again. Little did we know what was to come...
As Mick placed his hand upon the evil cleric's armour to remove it from the bench I thought I caught a strange red flash pass across his sight. "Girly heed my words," the old man slurred. "Even they who be pure of heart and speak their prayers faithfully, by night they may become the wolf when the wolf's flower blooms and the winter moon be bright..."
Around Mick his three sons laughed at their dad and began to howl. They had not seen the look that had crossed that man's face though.
Confused and concerned I brought it up with Sam and Theo as we headed back for my home. It became quickly obvious that I had been alone in catching the strange look and the stranger words that Mick had shared with us.
"Yes, I am most desturbed by the foolishness demonstated by those boys and their father," Theo murmured, deep in thought.
"Boys will be boys and it is great to see that the father is just as much a boy as his sons," chimed in my love, less than helpfully.
I wanted to investigate further, wondering if my bringing this evil artifact into my home had somehow cursed my friends and family. I had a feeling though that the armour was a gift from the Goddess, not just a trophy of victory but something that I was supposed to make my own.
I've been in a real mood for writing lately, lots of random stuff... This one is based on a classic horror with a fantasy twist... Please tell me what you think...
Title - The House Amongst the Vines
My name is Xarra, I am a paladin, a warrior whose faith in the glorious Dawn Goddess Ursha grants me special powers. Together with my friends we saved Red Cove Bay, my home of sixteen years and this part of my tale begins as the city of Red Cove prepares for a great feast to honour the heroes of Red Cove.
The hammer of the blacksmith guided me and my two closest friends onwards through the twisting maze of the city's streets as we searched for Old Mick. I had a job for him.
"What do you even see in that shell of metal?" Asked Samuell Heartsthief, a bard, an elf and all-round trouble maker. "What I meant to ask was... Why the big hunk of ugly metal, my lady?" Sam added quickly after I gave him a narrow-eyed look with my ice blue eyes. The bard had romantically proposed only last night and already I was starting to regret my hastily given "YES!!"
"The cleric that brought all those poor citizens back from the grave wore this hunk of metal... It bears the symbols from the deity of fear, death and undeath and yet..." I began in explanation.
"Sammy... Sammy... You have luck in the dungeons... Luck with the ladies... And when a wizard is not around I'd turn to you for advice on anything to do with magic..." Calmly stated Theo, our mutual friend, a half-elf ranger from the Griphon Glen forest only two or three days East of Red Cove.
Samuell beamed at the comments, all mostly positive and all certainly true.
"But," continued Theo, "if you have not sung about it you're hopelessly unaware of all things relating to the Gods."
"Here we are," I announced, coming suddenly upon a ramshackled shed with a crude sign hanging from the door announcing that here abided the blacksmith Old Mick.
Within the forge a grizzly old man instructed one of his sons where to strike upon a red hot blade shaping up to look like a mean edged short sword. "Thanks to you lot we're busier than ever," snarled the old man as a way of greeting.
"Steady on," began Samuell, thinking his honour attacked. Both Theo and I grasped the bard about the shoulders, preventing him from gracefully drawing his rapier, a surefire way of getting all three of our trio killed.
"You and your family are most welcome, Mick," I replied, stepping casually in front of my fiancé and dropping my hunk of dark and dented metal upon the bench.
"Hmmm..." Murmured the blacksmith as he examined my treasure in the flickering light of the forge. "Lady Xarra... This is delicate work... This will definitely cost you extra..."
"My father will pay... Anything you ask old man... I'll want to pick it up before we leave in three days..." Was my response.
The father I referred to was Master Johann, Mayor of Red Cove and my step-father after elves brought me as a toddler to the markets one Spring. Taking pity on a helpless child Mayor Johann Dorth took me into his house and raised me. The wife of the Mayor was a devout worshipper of Urshas and so when I was fifteen summers I followed my mother, the Mayor's wife North to the fort that protected Red Cove Bay and the surrounding cities. After a year of military training and instruction in faithfulness I returned home with mother only a week before my homeland was attacked. Now with the battle over my father had demanded the citizens become better prepared for other battles, vowing that his city would never be caught unawares again. Little did we know what was to come...
As Mick placed his hand upon the evil cleric's armour to remove it from the bench I thought I caught a strange red flash pass across his sight. "Girly heed my words," the old man slurred. "Even they who be pure of heart and speak their prayers faithfully, by night they may become the wolf when the wolf's flower blooms and the winter moon be bright..."
Around Mick his three sons laughed at their dad and began to howl. They had not seen the look that had crossed that man's face though.
Confused and concerned I brought it up with Sam and Theo as we headed back for my home. It became quickly obvious that I had been alone in catching the strange look and the stranger words that Mick had shared with us.
"Yes, I am most desturbed by the foolishness demonstated by those boys and their father," Theo murmured, deep in thought.
"Boys will be boys and it is great to see that the father is just as much a boy as his sons," chimed in my love, less than helpfully.
I wanted to investigate further, wondering if my bringing this evil artifact into my home had somehow cursed my friends and family. I had a feeling though that the armour was a gift from the Goddess, not just a trophy of victory but something that I was supposed to make my own.
Wednesday 2 December 2015
Another silly season fast approaching...
Where did November go? For that matter what happened to 2015? I just happened to pop onto Facebook and discovered to my embarrassment that I have not posted for almost a whole month!! We call December the silly season but with my gorgeous wife's big birthday plans taking up lots of our focus since August and so many breakups (Girl Guides, Scouts, work, etc.) it feels as though we have had a silly six months and that was all happening well before the windup to Christmas even began.
Looking forward to catching up with family and friends and enjoying Christmas... The craziness... The joy... The wonder...
A short but sweet post... Waiting for the craziness to crank it up a notch or two...
Looking forward to catching up with family and friends and enjoying Christmas... The craziness... The joy... The wonder...
A short but sweet post... Waiting for the craziness to crank it up a notch or two...
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