CHAPTER 2: THE GALLOCKS AND THE CORN
Perth and Bo were walking in the enchanted forest of Greenmaze when they found a group of birds trying to get food. They were gallocks, which were magical chickens, and they were trying to get corn out of a bin near a wizard's house. The bin was made of wood boards stacked against each other.
The first gallock pecked at the boards. He pecked, and pecked again, and pecked even more, and still he could not get through the boards to the corn inside the bin.
The second gallock jumped on top of the bin and scratched. He scratched, and scratched again, and scratched even more, and still he could not get through the boards to the corn inside the bin.
The third gallock was the little brother of the other two, and he had never been the strong one. He knew that if his bigger brothers could not peck or dig through the wood boards, he would never be able to. He said he had a new plan, and went to a corner.
The older brother gallocks laughed at the little brother, but he had a plan.
The third gallock scratched at the dirt near the corner, and his claws dug a small hole. He scratched again, and his feet dug the hole deeper than it already was. He pecked at the corner of the boards, and the loosened boards fell away in front of him.
The bin was open and the gallocks had their fill of corn. They offered some to Perth and Bo, who were not big fans of corn. Perth and Bo walked away, and Bo said, "Sometimes, it is better to be clever than strong."
CHAPTER 3: ANDREW'S COMPENDIUM
The wizard Andrew has explored much of the fantastic land of Miyus. Here are some of his notes.
CASTLE SPECTACULAR: A beautiful castle at the southern edge of the Greenmaze forest. It was made from rare rocks from around the world. It was ruled by King Auric, a rich and happy king. A bandit named Tidnab came and took the castle in order to steal away all the treasure kept within, and all the former residents of the castle became ghosts.
CASTLE SPECTOR: The castle of ghosts now stands where Castle Spectacular once did. It is ruled by the ghost King Auric, who is still a kind person. The stones have lost their shine, and in the daytime, it looks like a ruined castle covered in moss. At night, the star light makes the castle glow with enchanted brilliance. The ghosts inside come out to play, and they celebrate every night. Anyone adventuring through the area is welcome to come in and enjoy the festivities. However, they need to be warned that the ghosts only like to eat dry beans. Best to come and expect to party, but not to eat.
TIDNAB: A bandit who was very strong. He liked wearing his black cape. He stole Castle Spectacular from King Auric and turned all the people inside into ghosts. He was a very bad man who was arrested by Perth an Bo, before being turned over to the constable. He is now in prison for the rest of his life.
PRINCESS ALICE: A beautiful young princess who had the finest hair in the land. She is now a ghost, and her hair now gloes yellow like hot fire when her ghost form comes out to play in Castle Spector. She likes to host dance competitions with any visitors.
MERLOCO THE WIZARD: A genius wizard who was good at mixing potions and training bats to talk. When he was turned into a ghost, the bats stayed in his tower. They don't talk to anyone except Merloco. He is fond of making growth potions, and still does as a ghost. He understands how visitors might dislike dry beans, so he makes recipe-change potions, which turn a bowl of dry beans into a bowl of fish head soup. Not a huge improvement, but an improvement. His bat friends love fish head soup with beetles sprinkled on top.
KING AURIC: The former ruler of Castle Spectacular. As a ghost, he rules Castle Spector. He hosts parties with his ghostly subjects. As the strongest ghost in his castle, he remains in the daytime, sitting in his throne. He was inspired by Bo and his stories of being a mighty dragon. Now, King Auric seeks a way to meet a mighty dragon.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. R. Mulrune lives in California and has always had a passion for writing. He currently has a novel series, Skylost, in the works. A former newspaper editor and reporter, Mulrune has enjoyed the transition to creative fiction writing. His other interests include gardening, gourmet cooking, and gaming.
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