Chapter 6: The Newest Member
The last day of school was usually considered to be the best day of school. However, today Carol felt as if she were being tortured as she watched the minutes tick off the clock. Did it just move backwards? There was a whole list of items that needed to be done before the first tryouts for the Weaver of Shadows Club.
Carol let her thoughts wander off, to when she and Peter started referring to themselves of the “Weaver of Shadows Club.” Even though it was only the two of them, in the club, they did not think they lacked for anything. However, after several other children had showed a lot of interest in their club, over the last few weeks of school, Carol and Peter decided that it was time to add some new members.
Carol’s thoughts were snapped to attention as the bell rang out, loud and clear, sending the room into a tizzy of activity. Carol immediately headed out into the hallway and towards the group of children, who were waiting to find out the location of the first tryouts.
As she approached them, Carol tried to stifle her laughter. The other students, scurrying around, looked like a disturbed anthill.
Once it was confirmed, who would be coming, they were told to meet at Peter’s house.
Carol and Peter quickly headed toward their houses to get ready for the other children to arrive.
“Remember when it was just the two of us?” Peter asked.
“Yes, I do,” Carol mused, as she thought back to some of the adventures that they had had so far. “I think we made the right choice for the meeting place, too. The old oak tree in your yard will keep us sheltered from the wind, when it blows cold in the fall and winter. Plus, it will give us plenty of shade when it gets hot in the summer.”
Arriving at Peter’s house, they took up their places under the old oak to wait for the first of their classmates to arrive.
The first group of children soon arrived. Greeting them, Peter instructed them to all stand near the tire swing.
Perhaps, it was a case of nerves or lack of any real imagination, but not one of them had a tale worthy of membership. After talking it over, Carol and Peter decided to give them all one more chance to become members. They then, in turn, stood to weave a tale of their own.
Afterwards, Carol relayed to them that when they could weave a tale such as the one that Peter or herself had just woven, they could return and try again. Carol had also decided to assign them an idea for their second attempt. After some thought, Carol instructed the hopeful weavers the task of making up tales of far-off realms, wizards, and goblins as their test.
“You may take up to three days to return, with your tale ready to present or be disqualified forever!”
Three days later, Carol and Peter were both surprised when two of them did not come back at all. By the time the third came back, they had almost given up on him too.
“I wanted to be sure I had an account worthy of weaving for you, so I can become the newest member,” he explained, as he took up his place by the tire swing.
In order to look as ominous and powerful as they could, Carol and Peter sat down on the old chairs they had set up, to use as their thrones and prepared to listen once more. Peter leaned over and whispered to Carol, “I hope this tale that he has prepared for us is better than the last one.”
The boy began weaving his tale as if he were one of their faithful subjects, who had come to entertain them, as he spoke of past battles that he had won for the lands.
At the end of his narrative, he informed Carol and Peter that he had to move next week, but he decided to tell his story anyway. He was hopeful that if his tale was worthy, they would consent to allowing him to create a “Weaver of Shadows Club” in his new neighborhood.
They both agreed that his tale was a fantastic tale of adventure, and after congratulations were bestowed upon Kevin, Carol and Peter wished him well.
“I thought that we would have had several new members by now,” Carol said, leaning over close to Peter, after the boy had left.
“Yes, I did too. It turns out, the only one so far that has presented a tale worthy of membership, is moving away,” Peter retorted.
It was hot the next day, when Carol arrived at Peter’s house, and they had not yet decided on what to do. When a boy that they had seen around, but had never talked to came by and asked if he could try to weave a tale for them.
“I was unable to make it to the first tryouts and really would like a chance to become a new member of the Weaver of Shadows Club,” he stated confidently.
Carol and Peter were in the middle of planning an extraordinary adventure-battle. “Come back in a few days,” they told him, without taking the time to look over in his direction. They then continued making their plans, only to be caught by surprise, when the young boy interrupted them again.
“I will not need to return on another day,” he said quite seriously. “I have prepared a tale, that I have no doubt, will chill and astound you enough, that I will, indeed, be leaving here as the newest member of the Weaver of Shadows Club,” he stated, with an exceptionally determined look on his face.
At first glance, he was not much to look at. He was taller than most for his age and remarkably thin. His sandy blonde, naturally curly hair, and subtle features, made him look like too much of a ‘Momma’s Boy’ to be able to weave much of a tale. The new boy stood silently, while Carol and Peter sized him up and thought; This will not take long.
“Alright,” Carol finally conceded, as she pointed towards the tire swing, letting him know that he could regale them with his tale over there. Then, taking their places on the thrones, Peter bade him to begin.
He did not look nervous, like the others who had come before them to try out for membership. Instead, he stood tall and straight, almost as if he were at attention. Without hesitation he began weaving his frightful tale of terror and adventure. Carol and Peter sat silently, trying to appear interested, instead of annoyed, at the interruption to their plan making.
“I have come from the Kingdom of Mot. It is not far from your realms. It is a modest Kingdom and has little worth to outsiders. All was peaceful, and my loyal subjects were happy and well.”
At this point, Carol started to stand up to interrupt him, intending to tell him that it was a good try and to come back another day. She wanted to get back to their plans for the day. However, before she could move, Peter grabbed her by the leg and pulled hard on it, to get her to sit back down.
“Be quiet! I want to hear this. It’s starting to get good,” he hissed under his breath.
Carol glared down at him as she tried to pull away. Finding herself becoming quite annoyed by her friend and this boy, Carol stopped herself short, of possibly having a fight with Peter. Instead Carol just sat down in a huff.
Carol began to listen, with renewed interest, when the tale suddenly took on an unexpected twist. The new boy’s eyes squinted, as he hunched up his back and bent over, in an attempt to get a better effect out of his tale.
“There came to my Kingdom a wicked sorcerer, who demanded that all, be surrendered on to him. I feared him much, but still, I stood tall, when I refused to hand my Kingdom over to him. The wizard vanished in an instant, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind. It smelled of sulphur and burnt leaves. All in my throne room turned their eyes towards me to see what I might do. After conferring with my council and captain of the guard, it was decided that we send out the bravest of the royal guard, to destroy the wizard, before he conjured up any evil to bring down upon our tiny kingdom.”
“Thus, it was to be; I sent my guards out to destroy the wizard. My royal guard was able to attack with the element of surprise on their side. The battle they fought was long and fierce, and many of them were killed immediately. Flashes of light shot out of the wizard’s fingertips, and the air was filled with screams of anguish, as the light seared the flesh off of anyone that came in contact with it. But, even this could not stop my guardsmen from their mission. Finally, they were able to gain the upper hand on the evil
wizard, by circling around behind him. But, before they could finish him off, the wizard had time to conjure up a hideous creature and send it out to terrorize the Kingdom of Mot.”
The Kingdom of Mot? I wonder where he got that name? Carol thought to herself.
“How do I know the details of this battle are true, you might ask? It is because I was able to hear of the great battle from one of my most trusted guardsmen. Unfortunately, he was the only one of my royal guard who lived long enough to return to the castle and tell of their success in destroying the demon wizard. He was very near death himself, with most of the right side of his body ripped and torn. He told us of their victory, and of the beast conjured up by the wizard. Collapsing to the floor, my trusty guardsman laid bleeding and barely able to speak. He told us of the light that had shot out from the wizard’s eyes and mouth, as he was slain. The guardsman spoke of how he stood and looked at the place where the wizard had burst into flames. He also described how the smoke had choked out the sun and burned his eyes, nostrils, and throat, causing him to struggle and gasp for air. The smell from where the wizard was slain was sharp and pungent, like that of the deepest recesses of a foreboding dungeon. He, my trusted protector, struggled to regain his footing, but instead, fell back onto the floor. It was clear that my guardsman had become quite exhausted from the battle fought earlier and the struggle to return to the castle.”
By this time, Carol and Peter were totally engrossed. Not a word was spoken, as they continued to listen to every word.
“It had come out of the ashes and burned cinders left from the wizards remains, the guardsman told me. His voice was dry and raspy and barely above a whisper by this time. This caused everyone in the throne room to draw nearer, so we could learn about what it was that had come out of the ashes. My royal guardsman continued to tell us what had taken place during the battle with the wizard. He said, ‘The air was filled with the rancid smell of rotting corpses, as darkness surrounded us all. It was then that the beast attacked! It sprang from the ashes, slashing with its spiny claw like fingers, each razor sharp. It struck at all that stood before it, tearing the flesh from their bodies. No sound could be heard above the agonizing shrill screams of my fellow guardsmen, as the air was filled with desperate cries for help by those who had been wounded. I could hear, all around me, swords, as they swished through the air, striking nothing. The creature was too fast. We could not see where it was or where it had gone.’”
At this point in the tale, the boy who had come to try out for membership in the club, crept closer to them, in order to look Carol and Peter straight in the eyes. If a person did not know better, you would have sworn that he was telling about a real incident that had happened in a real, far-off place.
He wiped his brow and took a slow raspy breath. He then continued, as if he were retelling the accounts of the survivor, from the battle.
“‘We put up a gallant fight,’ the guardsman added, between gasps. He again attempted to regain his footing, so he could stand guard with the others and help protect the castle. I went to his side, as he lay on the floor. ‘What did the creature look like? A dragon? An Ogre? Speak my good man!’ I prevailed upon him, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him, I tried to get him to open his eyes again. Alas, he finally perished, before he could tell us anymore. Much to our dismay, we were not able to learn any details about the fierce creature that the wizard had conjured up to destroy us.”
“That is a great tale!” Peter remarked, as he began to get up and approach the new boy, to shake his hand.
It was Carol’s turn to grab him by the leg and pull him back down. “Be quiet!” she hissed at him, “I don’t think it’s quite over yet, and I don’t want to miss the end.”
Seeing that he had their full attention again, the new boy continued with his tale. “We tripled the guards at all entrances to the Kingdom, to wait and watch for the arrival of the unknown creature. The sentries were instructed to sound the alarm and thus, warn us all of the approach of the great beast. It had been quiet for two days, causing us to believe that the creature was not going to appear. Perhaps another one of my guards had lived just long enough to destroy the hideous creature and save the Kingdom. But no!” the wiry young lad shouted, as he jumped up into the air and landed frightfully close to Carol and Peter, giving them a start.
At this point in the tale, he slowly walked over to a tree stump that was to the left of Carol and Peter. He sat down and paused, while they waited for him to continue weaving his tale of evil creatures and wizards. He then leaned over and held his head in his hands, as if he was exhausted and genuinely worried about his royal subjects. Slowly, he rose and paced back and forth, while looking off into the distance.
Grabbing Peter by the arm, Carol whispered, “I feel like we are watching a late night movie with his theatrics. If I didn’t know any better, I would say these events actually happened. I am very intrigued by his tale.”
“Me too,” Peter agreed.
Finally, turning towards them, the look on his face was one of utter bewilderment. “Just when all the subjects in my kingdom had started to relax, and their lives seemed to be returning to normal, we became aware that the creature had already been here! It had been sneaking into the village, under the cover of darkness. Where, one by one, it had taken people to its lair, never to be seen nor heard from again.”
Carol briefly glanced over at Peter and could see that he had also taken notice of how this new boy stayed true to the character he was portraying in his tale. The boy, with his hands up in the air, genuinely looked as if he were perplexed; at how someone could just disappear under the very noses of anyone else in the house. Carol and Peter continued to watch him look nervously around the room that he described himself in. Peter almost found himself turning to look behind himself, just in case there was something back there.
“When the family members or friends that were left behind, were asked to describe the creature, not one soul had seen the great beast, nor heard any unusual noises in the night. All my subjects that had been taken during the night left little or no signs behind. Finally, we realized it was only under the cover of darkness, and never during the light of the day, that the attacks were to come. We had finally discovered that it was the darkness we were to fear, and not just the great beast itself. After five weeks, few of my loyal subjects remained. Those that were taken during the night were never to be seen nor heard from again. Many of the others had fled, with the return of the daylight. Those who remained would only come out in groups. When the darkness fell, the torches would burn until the light of day.”
Carol began to wonder if Peter was feeling the same prickly sensations crawl up his back. This new boy was exceptionally good at provoking his audience to picture the scenes laid out before them. So good, that Carol could see herself in the role of each of the characters.
“A great toll on my domain had been accomplished, in immense magnitude, by the creature conjured up by the evil wizard. No one slept much at night. The fear that they or someone in their family could be next, had everyone struggling to stay awake until the sun brought the promise of safety for another day. The entire Kingdom was lit up brightly with many torches, as they kept vigil over their homes. My loyal subjects would pray for the light of day to return. Sadly, when it did, they would find yet another had been taken. Anyone who fell asleep and let the torches in their home burn out, would find someone had been taken. It was the same most nights. There were never any tracks left outside the hovel, or inside, for that matter. None, except for tracks left behind by little animals that roam the woods after the sun had been pushed from the sky. We believed these to be no more than the tracks left behind by a fox or opossum.”
To help keep up the suspense, the boy before them bent over as if he really were examining a set of tracks. He then dismissed them as unimportant since they were too small to come from the creature they were sure had come to torment them.
“We were at a loss and had sent for the
bravest of warriors from the lands that surrounded ours. All who came to do battle with the creature, failed. Come dawn the next day, none were seen again. We did not see it at first, because of its size. The wizard was brilliant in his scheme. He did not conjure up a fierce dragon or a giant to kill us. No, instead he sent a small creature that could hide in the shadows or in the nooks and crannies of the villagers’ homes. This way, the creature was able to come out at night and drag off my subjects, without anyone being none the wiser. I had lost most of my subjects, by the time we realized that it was not a large creature, that we were to fear, but a very small one. We had seen the tracks left by the creature, all along!”
The tone of his voice faltered slightly, as if he had just come to the realization of something that had been in front of him the whole time.
“Each morning we searched, but were unable to find where the creature would hide during the day. I could not send anyone to search at night, because if I did, they did not return. The villagers in my Kingdom were reduced to hiding, huddled together in the corners of their homes, fearing for their lives. Until very early one morning, one of my subjects, having decided that it would be daylight soon, decided to attempt an escape. Most of my subjects waited until the light of the day to flee. I could neither blame them, nor prevent them from going. Our only consolation was that they wait for the break of day, so that we were able to determine if the creature had made off with them or if they had left of their own accord, before they were next!”
The boy hunched down, and slowly looked around, to see if it were safe to make his escape from the village. This caused, both Carol and Peter to hunch down and look around as well. They knew there was not really anything there, but could not keep from checking anyway.
“It was just before dawn when much to their horror the family came across the creature. They quickly dropped down behind some rocks to avoid detection. With instructions to stay low, the man stood up to peer over the top of the rocks. He was sickened as he watched the creature dragging what was left of his neighbor into its hidden lair. The creature had not made it all the way inside its lair. The man it dragged behind it was too heavy, which made it slow going. His family watched in horror, as the creature continued to drag its prize. Just as the creature reached the mouth of its lair, the sun began to peek over the top of one of the smaller hills surrounding the realm. Its rays shone bright across the valley floor, casting long shadows, as it made its cut through the greyness of the early dawn. One such sliver of light hit the creature full on. The calmness of the early morning was shattered by the blood curdling scream of anguish coming from the creature. The creature thrashed about in pain, as the sunlight seared its skin, producing puffs of smoke. The air was filled with the smell of burnt flesh and hair, as the creature was forced to drop, for a moment, the remains of his last victim.”
The expression on the boy’s face twisted into a grimace as he described the acrid stench which permeated the air.
“My subject reported this to me and said that it was a cry unlike any that he had ever heard before. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and his blood run cold. Fearing that the creature would see him and come for him next, since he had found its lair, my subject tried hard not to close his eyes. But the bitter shrieking from the small creature echoed through his head, causing him to close his eyes tightly. He dropped to the ground and hung on to his family for dear life. They feared that this was the end for them, too. A small patch of passing clouds masked the rays from the sunlight briefly, which had been tormenting the creature. The creature stopped its screeching and retrieved its prize, while darting into the safety of its lair. My subject dared to look over the top of the rocks he was hiding behind, and watched as the creature disappeared into an abandoned hut at the edge of the forest. Gathering up his family and he saw them safely to the next village, and then, my brave subject returned to my castle to relay to us what he had seen.”
This young blonde boy, while looking directly at Carol and Peter, paused for a moment. His facial expressions and movements mirrored what you would expect someone truly living through this to display. Carol and Peter sat mesmerized as they continued to visualize the tale as it unfolded before them.
With only a brief pause, he then stated, “I do not have more than a handful of guards left to protect my subjects. I have come to ask for your help in ridding my Kingdom of this vile thing. I am sure, once it has finished with my Kingdom, it will surely make its way over to the neighboring villages and then, finally, to your very own castles. We now know where it hides during the day. We will be able to destroy it, easily enough, by tearing down the brush around its lair. This will leave the creature no place to hide. We can then use the full power of the sunlight to keep it trapped inside. Together, we can set the hut ablaze, burning the creature and its lair to the ground. I can offer you no more than this small token. This is all that is left of my vast treasure.” The boy picked up a small box with the word ‘Treasure’ written across the top.
The new boy continued on for a short time more, telling of the horrible things that this creature had done, while under the cover of darkness. As he finished, he bowed as if they actually were living in the time of wizards and knights.
Carol and Peter sat, without uttering a word, as this new boy stood before them waiting for one of them to speak. Carol and Peter turned to look towards each other, then without a word to one another, they both rose in unison. Carol left Peter by their thrones and walked to the back of the old oak tree. The boy who had come to try out stood silently fidgeting with the box that he held.
Peter could tell that he was curious about whether his story was, indeed, as impressive in terror and wizardry, as he thought it was.
After a short time, Carol returned from behind the oak tree, holding a wooden stick, which they had fashioned to be like a sword. Nodding towards Peter, they walked over to the boy. Carol commanded him to kneel, while standing in front of him.
She then touched him on each shoulder with the sword. She then bade him to rise. He was then heartily welcomed as the newest member of the Weaver of Shadows Club!
After concluding the rest of the ceremony, Carol and Peter had a dozen or more questions for him. How had he come up with such a fantastic tale?
“I was able to come and listen to a couple of the tales that you were weaving near the end of lessons for the year and decided that I wanted to become a member of the club. I would have come sooner, but I was having trouble coming up with a tale worthy enough for you. That is, until one day, I heard strange noises in the shed, out behind my house. I went to check it out, and by chance, when I peeked inside, I was able to see what I thought was a small animal scurrying around in there. It was while trying to peek inside that I came up with what I was sure was the perfect tale!”
After talking a while longer, Carol and Peter decided that they would also give their castles and realms a name. After all, they could not have him be the only one to have given his empire a name.
“How did you come up with the name, The Kingdom of Mot?” Peter asked.
“That was easy,” he said laughing, “I just reversed the letters in my name!”
Without hesitation, Carol and Peter decided to do the same. Carol’s was to be called the Kingdom of Lorac, and Peter’s home was to be called the Kingdom of Retep.
Everyone agreed that the tale the newest member had woven was so impressive that everyone must have their first adventure, to be saving the Kingdom of Mot. This way, they could continue with the tale he had told them, as if he had actually come to seek their aid in ridding his lands of the evil creature that had been set upon them by a malevolent wizard.
“We should make a plan to help King Mot rescue his royal subjects, from the vile creature conjured up by the wizard,” Retep said enthusiastically, while dropping to his knees.
The ground was damp under the old oak, making it easy to draw in the dirt. Satisfied, that they all had come up with an excellent plan, Lor
ac suggested when and where to meet up. After a short discussion about what time to meet the next day, everyone all came to the same conclusion; none of them wanted to wait!
Jumping to their feet, everyone raised their stick swords into the air. Touching the tips together, they prepared to set out on the quest, only to hear the queens of the lands calling for everyone to come in for the night.
“I’m not ready to go in yet!” Retep and Mot moaned at the same time.
Tapping them on the shoulders, Lorac signaled for them to follow her. Everyone crouched down, as they snuck past the Queen of Retep, and then on to her Kingdom. Only to be caught trying to get past the front gate.
“It seems that the queen of my castle has need of my services. Hence we will have to begin our quest on the morrow,” Lorac conceded, bowing down to each of the other two kings.
Bidding each other adieu, with a promise to continue with their quest earlier tomorrow everyone retreated to their kingdoms.
“The creature is to live but one more day!” Lorac called out, as she disappeared into the house.
“Continue to make improvements on our plan for our mission tomorrow, if you can,” Retep called back over his shoulder, as he disappeared up the sidewalk.
Early the next morning, after eating a quick breakfast, Lorac bid the queen of her castle farewell. She did not want to waste any time getting to Retep’s house, where she was to meet up with him and Mot, in order to begin the adventure.
Lorac and Retep talked excitedly about the additions and changes that they had come up with, concerning the plan that they had made the day before. After a while, they stopped and looked up, noticing that the newest member, the King of Mot, had not put any suggestions before them.
“I must say, I am surprised that you’re not throwing in as many, if not more, ideas than we have been,” Lorac said in a questioning tone.
“Well, I do have one that I had come up with last night, but I wasn’t sure if it was okay for a new member to offer too many ideas on how things should go,” Mot offered sheepishly.
“Let’s hear them,” Retep commanded.
After hearing Mots’ suggestions and perfecting the plan, they gathered their weapons and were on their way to do battle.
But not before giving out three powerful cheers, “TO VICTORY!”
Mot stopped and held his hand out while looking up at the sky as he came out from under the protection of the oak tree.
The sky had gone from the bright blue that it had been when everyone first arrived at the oak tree, to dark and foreboding, which looked like it would not be long before they were hit with a summer thunderstorm.
Retep and Lorac held out their hands to check for rain as well.
“It looks as if we could be in for quite a downpour,” Mot cautioned, looking back at them.
Talking it over briefly, everyone agreed that, so far, there had only been a drop or two of rain, and there was no real reason to turn back now. With that, Mot, Retep, and Lorac decided to take a chance that the weather would not get any worse until later in the day.
With the confidence of youth, the rescue party headed for the Kingdom of Mot and certain victory!