The Tale of Michael

By Poogue Master

This story will no longer be updated, and has been replaced by The Poogue Tale, located here.

——————————————–

Viewer Note: Sorry for any problems regarding the story. If the story does not show up, try refreshing the page before asking a moderator. Thank you.

Viewer Note #2: Bolded words in the regular text are “Daily Words.” To view the Daily Word Archive, click here. To view today’s Daily Word (or days before’s Daily Word, since I’m currently busy), click here. To view an overview of why we even have Daily Words, read the 45th comment on this post.

Estimated Episode 13 Release: 05/30/08
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 1

- “Strange, they must be out of town,” Michael thought as he hid in the bush. At the annoying sound of clanging metal, he snuck up to where two odd figures, one pudgy, and the other tall, were striking wooden-handled pointed sticks of iron at each other. Both of them were also covered in a heavy-looking metal outfit that seemed to drag them down to the ground. Michael was in the ulterior, intently watching the battle rage.
- Wolf Creek was a small, peaceful village residing next to a hostile forest where aggressive wolves lurked. Coming somewhere from the forest, a thin river meandered its way down through Wolf Creek, producing fresh water. With Wolf Creek’s open fields and wide plains, it wasn’t surprising that its major economy was agriculture.
- Spying in the bush, Michael carefully looked around for sign of any wolves. There were no traces. However, he could faintly remember six years before, at the Wolf Creek Academy, his teacher saying wolves could spring out at any moment. Also from that time, he recalled these people, the ones in front of him, who fought in tournaments, jousted, and were part of the nobility were called “knights.” His 13-year-old mind switched back towards the fighting warriors.
- The pudgy warrior finally spoke, vociferating because of the loud metal sounds. “You can’t beat me,” he announced confidently. “I am a lord of–” He collapsed to the ground, an iron stick in his chest, and lied there helplessly, dropping a sack of supplies including holy books, stacks of paper, a quiver of arrows, and a shortbow. With a grin on his face, the other combatant sprinted away down a path.
- Michael’s eyes shone at his opportunity. Life was hard when he became an orphan, about five years ago. At that time, everything was well until a nasty clan of criminals had killed his parents and destroyed his home. Then, he was taken into an orphanage, and lived there for quite a while. But a month ago as he was with other little kids, the same criminals, or so they looked, obliterated his second home. Michael barely escaped, and was the only kid there who survived. Since then, he lived on bugs and villagers’ trash, and was lucky to have discovered a sparkling lake to drink from. However, he knew that wouldn’t be enough for survival. But now, ten feet in front of him was a weapon, to help him eat real food. Creeping up, he snatched the bow and arrows, and retreated back into the bush.
- “Oh wow!” he whispered, examining his new equipment.
- After some hours walking down the path, Michael started practicing his archery skills against a tree. It was pretty exciting, he thought. At first, his arrows totally missed, landing all over the place. He tried many different stances, and found one that made him comfortable. This new position worked, as every arrow he shot had hit the exact same spot. In a few minutes, one of the tree’s branches hung limp, like a gloomy face, and then slowly broke off, falling onto the ground.
- Suddenly, a wolf barked right behind Michael. As Michael turned around, the wolf slashed its claws at Michael. Fortunately, Michael jumped backwards, and ran straight for a tree. The wolf clearly wasn’t done yet, as it chased Michael and pounced at him just as Michael fell right. A howl came from the wolf as its head crashed into the tree. Seizing his chance, Michael aimed an arrow at the dazed wolf. Ten seconds later, Michael was carrying the hound on his back, and walked inside the forest, where he set the wolf down and rested himself on the grass.
- “Huh…is that you, Michael?” came a voice that felt like hours later.
- Michael sprang up, turned around, and then sighed with relief, “Oh, it’s you, Tony! You caught me by surprise.”
- Tony was one of the few people who actually made friends with Michael so long ago. At school he was nice and knowledgeable. As he pictured this friend, he compared it to the figure standing in front of him now. Tony was carrying twin daggers, along with a couple throwing knives. Before, his swift movements were almost thief-like. They must have carried throughout his life, Michael thought, as he hadn’t heard any footsteps a minute ago.
- “Where have you been all this time? You’ve been put on a ‘Lost Child’ poster for years now.”
- “Actually, something terrible happened.” Michael stared at the ground with a sad face.
- “Do you mind telling me about it? We can eat that wolf at the same time.”
- “Sure. You know how to cook wolf?”
- Tony nodded, and with some flint, he brewed up a warm wolf stew. It was full of flavor, and Michael finally ate something nutritional. The fire’s warmth calmed him down, and he was able to tell his story. He talked about the night his parents died, his life in the orphanage, how frustrating it was to get attacked again by the criminals, and his harsh life surviving in the forest.
- “I’m really sorry to here that. Is there anything I can do to help?” Tony stated as Michael finished the story.
- “Not really, but you can tell me why you came out in the forest.”
- “Okay, well, I’m heading to Poogueville, you know, that big village with so many stores and stuff. Anyways, the blacksmith there agreed to show me how to make new twin daggers out of this strong material…oh, I forget the name, Plagin or something. I must have been lucky to find you out here. Come to think of it, I was told to have a partner traveling just in case of any surprise attacks. And that’s why I brought an extra mare.” Tony smiled and pointed to two horses. “After hearing your story, I think you’ll be perfect to join me.”
- “I do have nothing to lose. Actually, it’s probably much better than living here,” Michael muttered in his hand, and then immediately after spoke, “Sure, I’ll come with you.”
- “The trip will take about three days or so. Along the way I think there is a stop where we can rest and eat, though,” informed Tony.
- Michael nodded, but it was out of politeness, because Michael had never been traveling around on the road, so he would have to trust Tony’s instincts.
- “We’ll leave tomorrow morning, okay?”
- And so, the two friends set up camp. While Tony was sleeping, Michael was wide-awake, wondering what would happen next. Now he was on an adventure, and hopefully it would be an enjoyable one.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 2

- “Wake up, Michael, we have to go now.”
- Michael yawned and then replied, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
- “Judging by the wind’s moisture, a violent storm is heading our way, and it’s best not to get caught in it.”
- For hours, Michael and Tony left the forest and were now trotting across a desert. It was very barren, with nothing, besides the usual sand, except for a group of cacti here and there and tumbleweed floating across the ground. It didn’t feel very hot to Michael, but then he remembered that the storm was cooling the weather. At one point, a light sandstorm hit, with pebbles and grains swirling around. This made both friends cough and unable to speak well for a while, but now the weather was calm.
- “So where are we stopping first?” asked Michael, out of curiosity.
- “Well, I’ve never been there, and I don’t quite know the name. But I think I heard it is known for its farming industry, maybe also a trading–” answered Tony.
- “Wow,” Michael interrupted, in awe of what he saw in front of him.
- There was no more desert. All around them were bright green grasslands. The area in front of them glittered. A group of cows were slowly chewing up grass, and eagles and bluejays were landing on the branch of a sparkling tree. This display of flora and fauna seemed truly peaceful. But then, there were the pulsations of loud thumping on the ground, and a deafening scream, like a war cry.
- “What is that sound?” Michael said, clearly annoyed.
- “I don’t know, but look over there!” Tony gestured to the group of cows. One of them lied limp on the ground, dead. An arrow stuck in the back of the cow. “I guess that this would be a time to test our fighting skills. Are you ready for this?”
- Michael nodded, and the duo charged into the attackers. Michael automatically knew who these people were: a tribe of goblin warriors. There were at least ten of them, with one goblin looking much taller and bigger than the others. Looking back at his studying, he remembered that they relied on their melee strength, so if he stayed a good range away from the goblins, he would be safe from most attacks.
- That plan worked out quite nicely. Apparently the goblin tribe wasn’t that smart; one goblin at a time attacked Michael. Although he was swinging his spear like a madman, one precise arrow in the neck got rid of that goblin. Then another goblin came up to face Michael, which eventually got killed in the same way. Every goblin died in this way. All the time the other goblins were standing on the sidelines, doing nothing to help their teammate.
- Meanwhile, Tony fought the leader of the tribe, a goblin dressed in wooden armor, with an iron-tipped spear. Tony started out by throwing a couple of knives in quick succession at the neck, chest, and leg, respectively, but they were easily caught with cat-like reflexes. Next, he tried running up to the leader and stabbing it. Tony managed to cut off the goblin’s armor, which fell to the ground, but his daggers were plucked away afterwards and he was pushed backwards on his back. The ground was rough, scorching, and coarse, and burned Tony’s skin intensely. With only ranged weapons now, he thought up a flashy finish. Little by little, he created a small tornado around the leader, and tossed his knives into the storm. The goblin had no way to defend against all the attacks. Tony had won the battle.
- With all the goblins taken care of, and with light cuts and bruises, Michael and Tony grabbed their weapons off the battlefield and looked into the distance.
- “You did a great job out there, Tony. I really liked your finale attack,” Michael complimented.
- “Thanks. You did great too,” whispered Tony.
- “Oh, and is that a hut I see over there, up on that hill?”
- “Yeah, it is, it’s our resting point! I was probably so distracted with those goblins, I never bothered to look for the village.”
- In a few minutes, Michael and Tony finally arrive at their first resting area, only to find the town in ruins. The only thing left standing were two huts, one small on the top of the hill, and another large one on the bottom. Everything else had turned to rubble. Trees had their leaves burned off, and there was no sign of life anywhere except for that hut.
- “This doesn’t seem like what you described,” said Michael.
- “No, it isn’t, it isn’t at all,” stammered Tony, shocked with confusion.
- Michael and Tony stood next to the burned town, with nothing to do but stare at landscape laid before them. Michael’s heart was pounding rapidly, as he felt that this lesion closely resembled the work of those criminals that had posed a challenge in his life.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 3

- “Well, as there’s nothing else, we should investigate that hut,” Tony said finally.
- “Me? Umm…we have no idea what’s inside!” exclaimed Michael.
- “Don’t worry, you can arm your shortbow.”
- Michael nodded and then went on to catch up with Tony, who was already opening the door. There was a loud creaking sound, followed by a raspy voice that said, “Who are you!?”
- Michael sprinted inside the hut and stopped immediately to stare at the humans inside. There were only two people, an old, robed man somewhat looking like a priest, and a boy wearing glasses and robes matching with the other.
- “I’m sorry, but we’ve just been looking around,” Tony said gently, “We mean no harm.”
- The priest let out a smile. “Oh then, why don’t you come have lunch with us! It’s hard living these days,” he said.
- And so they accepted. It was not a very fancy luncheon, Michael thought, just pieces of bread and what looked like day-old corn. As he looked around the room, it seemed that there were little decorations, most of them self-woven tapestries.
- “So, where are you from?” asked the priest to Tony.
- Tony replied, “I’m from Wolf Creek, headed to Poogueville to get me some twin daggers.”
- “Poogueville, you said? Okay,” said the priest, although it was solemn and there was a lot of hesitation in his voice.
- At the same time, while chewing on their bread and gnawing the corn, the boy was having another conversation at the table, with Michael.
- “I’m David, the servant of Huglimo, the priest over there. Nice to meet you,” greeted David.
- “Nice to meet you too. I’m Michael, an or– …ah, never mind that,” responded Michael.
- “You’re probably wondering why our farmlands are like this,” David said solemnly.
- “Yes, I am. What happened?” said Michael, eager for information.
- “Okay, here it is. Yesterday there were a huge tribe of goblins, and they burned everything down, including most of our people. We were lucky because we got one of their goblins hostage, and they agreed to leave the rest of us alone. And so they left, saying that they were just following commands from the Striker. Not like I would know what that meant, but anyways, the rest of us soon died of starvation, because the goblin tribe took all of our food with them. Huglimo and I are the only people left of the village,” explained David.
- “Oh wow, you and I are actually a lot alike.”
- “What do you mean?”
- “Well, for months I had been living in the forest, barely surviving. The way it happened was a group of thieves and the like just stormed in one night, killed my parents, and destroyed my home. I was lucky that Tony found me.”
- “It must be hard on you.”
- The next day, Michael and Tony discovered Huglimo was actually a wizard, because he conjured the biggest breakfast Michael had seen in a while. There was toast, eggs, bacon, sausages, cornbread, bananas, oranges, just so much of every food group that it overwhelmed Michael. At the table, Tony and Huglimo were once again talking. Tony pointed out a cicatrice on his back, from when he took a hard fall with the goblins. Huglimo reached for a potion and splattered the ointment on Tony’s scar. Somehow the cicatrice magically disappeared.
- Michael was gulping down everything he could, that for once his stomach actually felt full.
- “Hey, David, do you want to join Michael and Tony on their adventure?” offered Huglimo suddenly.
- “Uhh…I guess?” David said.
- “It would be nice to help them with whatever challenges come ahead,” he insisted again.
- “Fine,” concluded David, “Don’t you think this will be fun?” he whispered to Michael.
- “Yes, it will.” He grinned.
- The three finally said their good-byes to Huglimo, who packed them up with food, and a secret note to Tony that read “DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE ANAMID.” Michael speculated that it was probably some family letter. Oh well, he supposed, that it was none of his business, and he didn’t bother to think it through further as Tony went to sleep at camp.
- “Living out here is much different than the village life, isn’t it?” commented David.
- “Yeah, it sure is,” Michael answered sarcastically.
- “What do you mean by that?”
- “Ah, nothing.”
- “Oh, well I was just saying how my magic would be more useful out here.”
- “Really? You can use magic?”
- “Oh yes. I’m a pyromancer. Do you know what that means?”
- Michael shook his head.
- “It means a wizard of fire. Anyways, I’m not that good. Let’s see…I can do a basic Flame strike,” David shot out a ball of fire from his palms onto the campfire, “I can use my flames as torches,” his hands was filled with heat which later became glowing flares, “and I think I can conjure this heat wave thing,” he aimed his hands at a pile of shrubs, which instantly wilted.
- “Ooh, what you can do is so cool!” admired Michael, “I don’t know any magic, all I have is this shortbow and these arrows.”
- “That must be fun.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 4

- After a full day of nothing but riding and eating, Michael, Tony, and David finally arrive in Poogueville. It was much more crowded than any of them had expected. There were many stalls selling items including bearskin furs, teas and spices, and many citizens browsing the merchants’ stocks.
- “Ooh, look at that!” Michael gestured towards a mass of people surrounding a performer wearing a red clown outfit and a jester’s hat. The audience was cheering loudly and throwing coins in a bucket next to the clown. However, in a second only heads could be seen; the crowd extended to almost 500 meter radius from the clown. Aside from that, there so much confetti in the air that our adventurers finally decided to shop at the nearest building instead.
- The store that they went to was a huge department building, filled with aisles of practically everything imaginable. There were aisles of clothing, food, furniture, armor, too much to name. Overwhelmed by their choices, Michael randomly ran into an aisle without thinking.
- “This is the Book Aisle,” Michael commented when he finally looked up. Around Michael were tall shelves of seemingly advanced and complicated books, except for one, to which Michael added, “And that looks like a spell book!”
“Hmm,” David examined the book. “ It is. Must be good luck, because apparently it’s the only spell book here.”
- “Then can we buy it?” said Michael.
- “Well, I don’t have any money, and you probably don’t either, seeing you in the wild,” Tony replied bluntly.
- “I’ll purchase it for you, then,” interrupted David. He reached into his robe pocket and took out a handful of coins and bills. “See, I have lots of money to spend. Actually, let me look for anything more to buy.”
- And so, it was two hours later when Michael, Tony, and David left the store with a red spell book, some healing supplies, a newly bought map of Poogueville, and of course some food. Once they stepped out onto the street, the trio was surprised to see that the crowd was no longer there, and that the deafening noise they heard before has quieted to the sound of the wind.
- But that wasn’t going to distract them. Using the map, they eventually navigated themselves to Anamid, the blacksmith, and his castle. The walls were made of stone, and there was one tall tower in the corner furthest from Poogueville. Around all that was an iron fence, with the only entrance stationed with two guards, who looked remarkably bored.
- “Is Anamid here?” Tony declared to the guards as he reached the castle gates.
- “Yeah, whatever. Follow me,” one of the guards sighed.
- The trio was led through an intricate maze of walls. Sparkling with polish, the smooth stone floor was spotless, as if everybody paid their respects to a floor. In some of the royal courts, the ground was covered in plaited rugs, of all different colors. Every area they encountered seemed peaceful and royal, like many kings living together in a royal society. However, what caught Michael’s attention was an obscure hallway, not lit at all, that he noticed while peeking inside the many rooms. From his memory the hallway was not furnished, just a passageway to what seemed like an endless abyss of nowhere.
- “Okay, we’re finally here,” the guard muttered as he rolled his eyes. “Just in time to get back to my conversation.” He then walked away with a big sigh.
- “Quite rude, isn’t he?” David chuckled.
- “I guess, but if you want my 2 cents, he’s more bored that rude. Anyways, I’ll be Anamid’s apprentice for a day or two. You guys can go find something to do, maybe in the barracks. I’ll come knock at your door when I’m ready to leave, okay?” Tony ordered.
- “Fine, we’ll see you some other time,” agreed David.
- Tony entered inside Anamid’s court, while Michael and David walked hopelessly, looking for directions to the guest barracks. After what seemed like hours, they finally found their chambers. Their room was teeming with decorations, including tapestries, artwork, lamps of all different shapes, carpets, vases with colorful flowers, and various other items. The three beds were neatly made, with a soft mattress and plush pillows and blankets. There were fresh berries and other fruits stuffed into a straw basket on a table. Adding all of these services up, Michael felt like he was living the royal life.
- “Well, I can finally read that book we bought,” decided David as he jumped onto one of the beds. Flipping through the pages of the book, he eventually stopped to stare intently at a page.
- “So what spells are there?” Michael walked over.
- “Luckily, it’s a fire spell book, and I’ve been trained to read ‘Flaming Lore,’ the language of fire magicians. But back to the topic. It’s a new spell: Flame Barrier is what it’s called. ‘This spell creates an area engulfed by flames, burning anyone who dares to cross through it.’ It seems interesting,” informed David.
- “Powerful, too. I doesn’t sound great being trapped in it.”
- “Of course it’s not fun being trapped. But I can’t just use it whenever I please. Flame Barrier takes a lot of mana to use, and it’s a focus spell. That means that I have to concentrate to keep it alive, which will take even more mana.”
- “Oh. Mana sounds very important for magicians,” Michael said, and then his curiosity took over. What was in that hallway? And with this new spell, they could easily defend themselves. This could be the perfect time to discover the castle’s secrets. He blurted out, “Do you want to test out that spell?”
- “Huh, what? Sure…umm…okay, where to go?”
- “Just follow me.” Michael and David trotted off with their supplies, searching for the hallway. They had more than a day, Michael thought, to discover hidden treasure and take away all regrets. The penetralia awaiting Michael could not be avoided; he was itching to figure out what was there.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 5

- Michael and David equipped their weapons, Michael his shortbow and a new batch of arrows, and David nothing but his spell book. It was helpful that their guest room provided a map of inside the castle walls, and before long they arrived at the black hallway. As they walked closer in, the walls seemed to be shrinking, and now they couldn’t ride side by side, having to switch to a single line formation. The light appeared to have vanished by then until David cast his Flare spell, bringing some firelight into view. Looking around, the walls were chipped, broken, and covered in webs. It was scary, not knowing where he was, or why the walls around him were so disgusting, but they carried on anyways.
- “Kind of creepy, don’t you think?” stammered David.
- “It is, but since we’ve not encountered anything, go forward it is.”
- They continued to traverse the now-bumpy stone floor. In some places the ground seemed to be sinking, as if the foundation of that area was extremely unstable. Then, out of nowhere, a loud moaning sound came from inside the walls. It was low-pitched and the voice sounded muffled.
- “A noise – and it’s probably getting closer,” David warned as they kept walking on the path.
- “Uuhh…Ggeett mmee oouutt,” the voice moaned again.
- “It’s coming from there. Shine your flame,” Michael declared.
- With light, Michael and David could clearly see a dungeon cell, not well maintained. Inside the cell was a limping figure, a human, with minor injuries. He was in a full metal outfit, the same suit the warriors were wearing the day he snatched his shortbow, except much dirtier than what he remembered. Also, this mysterious person was wielding the same stick weapon, and another item that Michael easily recognized as a shield.
- Turning back towards Michael, David questioned, “Should we let him free?”
- “It doesn’t really matter to me,” Michael admitted.
- David shrugged his shoulders, and out of sympathy he melted the iron bars with fire. After the human was released, the duo treated him with the healing supplies they bought at the Poogueville general store. It was about 30 minutes later when the prisoner was finally able to talk.
- “So, who are you?” asked Michael.
- “I am Gordon, assistant of Anamid running the castle. I do all the paperwork, signing, and that kind of stuff. Of course, we have prisoners, dangerous ones, too, that would be hard to get rid. In this case, they are some evil, money-stealing criminals that escaped from our dungeon cells. I came to investigate the situation, and they cast a spell to trap me in the dungeons and magnetized metal onto my body. Now I look like a knight – some figure that would be weird in a peaceful castle like this. Anyways, they said that if “The Amulet” was destroyed, then this heavy metal could finally be taken off. Probably just a way of torturing victims,” answered Gordon.
- “So now you resemble a knight?” continued Michael.
- “Yes, judging by my outfit. Have you not heard of knights?”
- “No, not at all.”
- “Then let me tell you that they are some of the proudest warriors in the world. With heavy armor, high stamina, and proficient weapon use, they usually have a lot of advantages. A sword, which I am holding right now, is their primary weapon.”
- “A – sword, you say? Okay, that helps quite a bit.”
- “Gordon, what did you mean by the people over there?” interrupted David, clearly not sidetracking the conversation and instead searching for information.
- “Well, this dungeon is not used very much, hardly at all in fact. But these three people deserve to be locked up. They’re beyond that big iron wall there.”
- “We could go help you destroy that Amulet. It makes sense, Michael, to do something while we’re here ‘cause Tony won’t be back in at least a day.”
- “I’m not feeling too good about this,” admitted Michael.
- “Here – take this other sword, Michael, you said? Well, hopefully this weapon will make you more comfortable,” assured Gordon. As Michael held the sword in his hand, the sword shined blue like the ocean, and had the most perfect grip Michael had ever felt, as if Michael was born to hold the sword. He tried slashing the air, and he felt trained for that sword for years.
- “Okay, I think I’m ready,” mentioned Michael.
- Gordon swung open the door, and the Michael and David quickly spread inside, followed by Gordon one second later. The three people in front of them were a sorceress, a crazy barbarian, and a rogue that felt like he brought back dead bodies, maybe a bounty hunter.
- “Well, well, well, aren’t you here for another beating, annoying brat,” the sorceress called out arrogantly.
- “No, just here to claim that amulet,” Gordon responded. Once seeing the criminals’ faces, he added, “And here’s how we’ll do it. A three on three freestyle melee. You can’t kill, but anything else is fine. Your goal is to push either of these two huge boulders past the other team’s goalposts.” Gordon motioned his arm towards two rocks in the chamber.
- “Okay, sure,” the bounty hunter said. Clearly he thought that this would be another chance to pummel Gordon again.
- Suddenly, all the lights came on. The prison cell transformed into a muddy field the size of a football stadium, and the boulders were manually placed in the center of the field. While the barbarian, sorceress, and bounty hunter got on one side of the field, while Gordon explained to Michael and David’s shocked faces, “This was originally a stadium before it was changed to a dungeon.”
- Gordon, Michael, and David lined up against the other trio, and it was ready, set, go! As soon as the horn sounded, the bounty hunter instantly popped up behind David and wrestled him to the ground. Throwing one of his axes at Michael, the barbarian also sprinted towards Boulder 1, arriving at the same time Gordon pushed the boulder. With quick reflexes, Michael deflected the axe with his sword, and he had to dodge a rolling Boulder 2 pushed by one of the sorceress’s force spells. Even though it didn’t trample Michael, Boulder 2 was heading straight for the goal. In counteraction, Michael shot some arrows at the sorceress, who stopped casting to protect herself, and then shot some at the bounty hunter, which released his grip on David. David sprang right up and manually pushed Boulder 2 in the other direction.
- All while this was happening, the barbarian and Gordon were both pushing Boulder 2 against each other, but they were both evenly matched. Noticing this, Michael took David’s place in pushing, while David cast a heat wave spell on the other side of the field. The sorceress created a protective barrier around herself, but the barbarian fell to the ground, exhausted from heat. Gordon rolled the boulder closer and closer to the target goal, past the collapsed barbarian, up to the sorceress. The bounty hunter rushed behind Gordon to defend, put his arms around Gordon’s stomach, and fell backwards, yanking Gordon and himself into the mud.
- David and Michael once again switched jobs, and Michael, with his sword, charged at the sorceress, who was continuously trying to force the boulder past David. As he got closer, the sorceress moved her attention to Michael, and cast a root spell on him, preventing him from moving his feet. Luckily, he was within arm’s reach of both the bounty hunter and the barbarian, so he started out by whacking the barbarian with his sword, dazing the poor human again. Next, he followed up by getting into the brawl between Gordon and the bounty hunter. What Michael managed to do was take the bounty hunter off of Gordon. Free from combat, Gordon sprinted over to the sorceress, tackled and pinned her down into the mud. Moreover, Michael fought with the bounty hunter, locking both of them up. And finally, with both the sorceress and bounty hunter down, and the barbarian unconscious, David calmly and easily maneuvered the boulder into the goal. Michael’s team had won!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 6

- “Now I’ll take my amulet,” bragged Gordon, who swiftly snatched up the amulet from the sorceress’s hands.
- Michael, David, and Gordon quickly sprinted out of the dungeon hallway and into the bright castle light.
- “That was so fun!” David confessed.
- “Of course it felt great knocking those guys are around,” Gordon agreed.
- “So are you going to come join us on our adventure outside this castle?”
- “Oh, no. Like I said before, I am the secretary of Anamid, so I must stay. But you can definitely keep the sword. You’ll probably use it much better than I could.” Michael nodded.
- A servant ran around the corner, with a frightened look, towards Gordon, “Gordon! Our medical room needs your attention!” The butler stopped to look at Michael and David, and then spoke to Gordon again. “It’s a private issue, but it’s mandatory for you to come now!”
- “Can we come? We can bring great help,” offered Michael.
- “No! What part of ‘private’ don’t you understand?” the servant shouted.
- “Then how long will you take?” David asked Gordon.
- “How long?” Gordon repeated to the servant.
- “The subject is in critical condition, so probably a week. Now come on!” the servant demanded, pulling on Gordon’s arm.
- “We won’t be able to stay for that long, though,” Michael said.
- “Then this is probably our parting spot,” Gordon calmly replied.
- Michael and David said their good-byes, and watched as Gordon sprinted around the corner with the servant. The friends traveled back to their room, where Michael examined his sword. Feeling exhausted, both of them went to sleep and rested themselves. In his dreams Michael could picture the proud moments of the great 3-on-3 challenge. The way that he and David struggled for victory was practically the same, and he speculated that their personalities matched well and they could cooperate with each other as a strong double team.
- The next morning they were greeted by a buffet of food on the table, so much surplus, enough for a “Round Table,” which Michael had heard of as a grand group of warriors. The food reminded him of the breakfast with Huglimo, except this was taking it to the next level, so freshly prepared and delicate, as if the producers were perfect cooks with gentle hands. Contrasting with Huglimo’s meal, this one was mainly sweet pastries, like cornbread, danishes, doughnuts, an assortment of tarts, and so on. But of course there would be things to drink, also. Following the sweet theme, on the table was sugared water (800 years later called “soda”) and sweet tea. Michael and David enjoyed their buffet by eating and talking about yesterday’s winning and about their equipment.
- After the chat, they walked over to the courtyard just to tour the castle. Full of natural beauty, Anamid’s courtyard was lively, with lovely shrubs and fragrant flowers scattered over the lawn. Also of notice was a topiary sculpture of a knight, and a marble fountain that sprayed out clear water. No person was there, so Michael and David decided to practice their battling skills on the courtyard. Michael needed to see how to use his new sword, so they jauntily tested his stabbing, slashing, and chopping against an abundance of old wooden boards. David practiced his concentration by staring without blinking, for hours or so.
- “Concentration is important for magicians because it shows how well they can maintain their casting when being attacked, and how well they can hold a focus spell, which Flame Barrier is,” David explained. By the end of the day, their goals were achieved, and they finally went to their rooms to rest.
- “Where do you think Tony is?” wondered David.
- “Oh! I totally forgot that it has been a day!”
- “But he did say to wait for him to knock.”
- “I don’t mind that; I’m going to sleep anyways. Today was, I guess, tiring as well, not to mention Gordon left us.”
- “Sad to see Gordon go. But I’ll wait for Tony.”
- So David was awake while Michael slept, but after four hours of no knocking, the two switched places, and again, and again. Finally, while David was sleeping, Michael heard a knock on the door. He woke David up, and the two of them promptly opened the door. It was Tony.
- “Hello Tony! We haven’t seen you in a while,” welcomed Michael.
- “Just doing some business with Anamid,” mumbled Tony.
- “What did he say?”
- “Well, it was quite long. To sum it up, I got my two–” Tony looked Michael in the eyes, “Poogite–” He looked back towards David, “daggers. We also discovered an evil archmage named Jordan, I think. He has been ransacking many homes, the latest about five weeks ago, maybe? Anyways, we came up with this extremely convoluted battle plan to defeat Jordan. The main idea was to find the Holy Flail to use as a weapon. But we don’t know how to get it,” Tony reported.
- “I’ve heard of the Holy Flail,” David recalled. “Isn’t it made up of four distinct parts, bound together with the power of a holy necklace?”
- “We don’t have other thoughts, so I’ll say you’re correct,” concluded Tony.
- “Maybe we could visit the Poogueville museum. They could know a lot about magical histories,” Michael proposed.
- “That sounds like a good idea. But let’s get some rest first. It’s about 8 o’ clock, dinnertime, I suppose? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to bed.”
- David yawned softly. “No, we’re tired as well.”
- As Michael went to sleep, he was thinking hard about what Tony said. This adventure keeps on going, and Tony’s explanation didn’t make much sense to him. What is a “Holy Flail?” Who is this “Jordan?” Why was Tony so interested in this entire ordeal?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 7

- The trio courteously exited Anamid’s castle the next day, with a great deal of thanks. It was a wonderful experience, with elegant scenery and delicious food, but they couldn’t stay there forever. As a result, they rode on towards the Poogueville Museum to gather information. At this time, the morning crowd was just starting to bustle up, so they planned to arrive at the museum before another mass of people block the passageway.
- Michael noticed more than he had seen the first time they crossed the city square. There was a transparent crystal fountain, much the same design structure as the fountain in Anamid’s castle, that was flowing glimmering water. Passers virtuously flipped some money into the fountain’s light waterfalls. Light from the growing sun shimmered through the water, reflecting onto the hyaline fountain, which spectacularly produced a bright yellow aura. Passing another castle, he looked up at the towering topiary, with the leaves trimmed nicely into shapes such as knights, wizards, and so many kinds of weapons, once again like Anamid’s courtyard. Michael soon figured out that Anamid’s castle was only a regular area, with other castles being much more intricate and more elegant. They rode straight through all that beauty and were now in a block filled with nothing but buildings and people, no doubt downtown.
- David pointed to a building with a huge marble sword sculpture next to its door. “I think that one is the museum,” he advised.
- As they got nearer, they found out David was right. Inside, the first thing Michael smelled was the aroma of metal, not a very good fragrance. But visually, the museum was very appealing. There were ancient staffs, ancient weapons, real ancient food (preserved; apparently thousands of years old), and all that kind of old stuff. Many of the cases on display were secured nicely by a lock, a chain, another lock, another chain, another lock, a glass case, another lock, another chain, another glass case, a laser security system, a video camera recording, and a low wall ten feet away from the case (secured by a lock and a chain). The group walked over to one of the staffs inside a lone hyaline case.
- “Ah, yes, I see you are looking at the Holy Shaft, young travelers,” greeted a lady tour guide.
- “You say ‘Holy Shaft’?” repeated Tony.
- “Yes, the Holy Shaft. Do you want me to explain more about it?”
- “Please,” all three adventurers said in unison.
- “The Holy Shaft is one of the four parts that make up the Holy Flail, one of the greatest Light weapons created. After finding all four parts, the Juncture spell is used to combine the four magical artifacts into the Holy Flail. Is there something that interests you?”
- Michael nodded, and then said, “What are the other parts?”
- “Besides the Holy Shaft, there is the Holy Chain, the Holy Ball, and the Holy Spikes. None of those are located in this museum, though.”
- “Where do you find the others?” Michael quickly asked.
- “The town of Poogueville knows only the secret of the Holy Chain. We obtained a scroll of the Holy Chain a couple years ago.” The guide pointed at a stone plaque next to the Holy Shaft case, and started to read. “ ‘IF YOU ARE DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR ME, CHECK UNDER MY MASTER’S SCREAM OF NAERGIE.’ But none of that’s relevant, since we already discovered they are talking about the Golden Ducgraion. Just battle the legendary bird and you might find what you’re looking for.”
- “And the other parts?” questioned Tony.
- “You should speak with the museum in Srencia. It may be far away, but their technology in portaling is outstanding, and they probably know more.”
- “Uhh…thanks.”
- “No problem. Well, I should introduce those guests over there to the museum. Good day.” The tour guide went off to speak with another group of travelers.
- Once the lady walked away and nobody was around, Tony spoke a harangue. “Our best plan would be to split up since we need to collect the Holy Items quickly to get to Jordan. You guys should go find the Holy Chain first. I can find my way to Srencia. So when you find the Chain, or more than that, meet up back at the Wolf Creek Academy, ok? And even if you don’t have the items, just return to the Academy in six months.”
- “Are you sure? It’s quite a long distance over there,” David pointed out.
- “Yes, yes. Jordan is probably plotting his plans this moment, so we’ll need to get things done efficiently,” assured Tony. Both Michael and David nodded.
- With everyone understanding the plan, Michael and David set off south to find the Golden Ducgraion, while Tony went west to uncover more information about the other Holy Flail parts. Michael didn’t know where they were going, he was just following David’s lead, but he was happy to get away from the crowded town of Poogueville. It’s not that the town was bad, in fact, he was amazed at the beauty of the land, instead, it was just that he was not used to being around so many people, especially after he was alone, fighting for survival.
- They stopped every now and then to ask random travelers for directions, and if they have ever heard of the Golden Ducgraion. However, none of them had even heard of the word. It was if they weren’t allowed to reveal anything about the creature. But there was this one group that was interested in Michael and David’s questing, and this is what he could remember about the conversation:
- “Hallo, boys! You look a bit lost there,” a man said. He was traveling alongside a knight, a cleric, and a magician. They all seemed old and experienced.
- “Well, we were just wondering if you knew anything about the Golden Ducgraion,” admitted David.
- “The Golden Ducgraion?” the man said, and then he turned around to his party. “Any of you heard of it? I think I recall the name, but I can’t quite get the picture of its appearance.”
- “Isn’t it that deer-like creature in the Doy Caves?” the cleric answered.
- “Do you mean the one with that awful squawk?” the knight mentioned.
- “Yeah, that’s the one. And I think so. It lies deep inside those caves; it’s quite a long journey to reach him,” the magician informed.
- The man finally turned back to Michael and David. “Then yes, we know where the Golden Ducgraion is. Just keep going south until you reach the entry into the Doy Caves. It’s huge; you can’t miss it. Anyways, be careful, and continue on your way underground until you reach the Ducgraion. While battling the Ducgraion be wary of its strong sonic squawking, which will probably leave a dent in even mental. Does that help?” informed the man.
- “Yes, it does. Thank you very much,” David replied.
- And after absorbing a wealth of information, the duo had been trotting south for hours. The trees around Michael thickened for a while, and daylight seemed to be fading quickly, as if moonlight was winning a brawl against the sun. As a result, it probably was nighttime almost the entire time, but the dense forest made it even darker. Using his Torch spell, David and Michael were able to set up camp, full, and go to sleep. But when it was morning, it was still moderately dim-lighted.
- At last, they maneuvered their way through the narrow gap, but in front of them lay a swift river. The fish trapped inside of it could not swim against the current, and they quickly got pushed away and away from a wide cobblestone bridge that seemed like the only way to get across the river. Michael and David started to walk across the bridge, but suddenly a figure dressed in nothing but heavy, black, metal, on a black horse, trotted towards them. “What is that?” whispered Michael.
- “They call that a knight. In the stories and tales, they do good deeds like saving kingdoms and things like that,” informed David.
- Michael pondered this for a moment. On the first day, when he met up with Tony, those people didn’t seem to be doing any good. Instead, they were trying to kill each other. Maybe knights aren’t always that honorable. And the knight walking towards them doesn’t seem friendly either.
- “Stop right there!” the knight commanded. Both travelers stopped in their tracks. “I’m going to slaughter your worthless bodies no matter the cost!”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 8

- “What is taking that idiot so long?” shouted Jordan. “And where is my foot massage? I asked for my massage and acupuncture treatment two minutes ago!!!”
- “I’m s-s-o-r-r-r-y-y, my lord,” a whimpering voice replied. “We’re just about to start your treatment!” He screamed the last part out extremely quickly.
- Jordan, obviously vexed, responded, “Fine, just make it snappy. And what about that dunderhead ‘Black Knight?!?!?”
- “H-h-e j-j-u-s-s-t left a day ago! It takes people a while to travel a hundred miles and back, so what do you expect!”
- “Don’t you scream at me like that!” sneered Jordan. “And for going against my word, you’ll pay!” Jordan exploded out of his chair, threw himself past several other servants, and suddenly the servant who spoke out was now on the floor, clearly killed by a magical force punch to the chest.
- “Okay, then! If the Black Knight won’t get things done, send in the Orc Group and take Kayla hostage! That annoying witch will probably try to stop us, what with her ‘powerful healing magic!’ And do it now, unless you want to end up like THAT guy over there!!!” Jordan’s temper lighted as he pointed to the dead, disobedient servant. Because no one else wanted to die, they all hurriedly sprinted out of Jordan’s chamber and called in the Orcs.
- The other servants were in a large, ample room, with three entryways, one from the west, east, and south. To the north was the black and red door that nobody wanted to be in – Jordan’s chamber.
- After the call, a small mob of about ten Orcs marched into this ample room. The Orcs were big, the size of a grizzly bear. In contrast, their arms were metal-like, and they stood on two legs, making them even taller. It was a frightening sight, standing next to the Orcs, but never as scary as facing Jordan.
- “Okay, Orcs, listen up,” one of the servants spoke. She then explained Jordan’s plan. “This is what you’re going to do. We need you to ransack Kayla’s estate by surprise, like during the night or something. It’s a very important job, since Kayla’s clerical ability will soon enough find the Holy Items. In fact, the reason why you’re on this mission anyways is because of Jordan’s goal to take the Holy Flail so he can blackmail Malidia. That prosperous county is so rich, that when they surrender and give us their city, Jordan is sure to share some of the money with me and the other servants! Isn’t that right, guys?” The stewardess turned to the other servants, who all nodded. She turned back to the Orcs. “So do it for us, and do it quickly, so we can share the money with you, too. Sound good?”
- The Orcs huddled up and discussed the situation. Finally, one of the Orcs, most likely the leader of the group, decided, “Fine, Linnea, us take Kayla. U wnt we two brought Kayla beek hear?”
- Linnea answered with a sly grin on her face, “Definitely. That way, we can torture her as much as we want.”

- “Then is there any other way to go south?” David replied calmly as he reached into his bag, pulling out an item Michael couldn’t see.
- “No,” the knight answered with an evil grin. “Like I said, you’re going to die!” The knight laughed, as if he were insulting them.
- “I guess this means we have to fight him,” whispered Michael. David nodded faintly and threw his object deep within the forest, in preparation for a risky battle.
- At that time the knight galloped forward, and swung his long blade at David.
- “You’re mine!” the knight screeched.
- “Oh, of course not yet,” David responded. He dodged the attack by tumbling right, and then he cast a strong Flare spell. Michael was walking backwards slowly, towards the boscage that they came from. With his sharp eyes, he noticed that David’s Flare was very accurate, probably a critical hit.
- Michael was right. As he climbed and hid in a tree, he watched as the knight shrieked in pain, dropping his sword, and then charged once again at David. This time his attack, a mighty kick, hit David squarely in the chest, and David stumbled onto the ground, though quickly getting up. David got up and ran straight at the knight.
- “This time, I’m going on the aggressive,” David said. He feinted right with his arm, about to land a flaming punch.
- “Not so fast, are you!” The knight dodged to his right, otherwise known as David’s left, to avoid the blow. However, it activated David’s real attack, when he swung his fist in the other direction, striking between the knight’s platebody and plateleg armor, right at the hip. “I guess I am swift enough,” David concluded.
- It wasn’t enough, however. The knight’s endurance was high, and the fight continued. Another punch, from the black knight, hit David in the chest again, causing David to collapse once more. He didn’t have enough strength to rise up again, though, so using his high mana, David cast a Flame Barrier around himself. It worked, as the black knight backed off after getting mildly burned from the flames. “I won’t get caught in that,” the knight thought to himself.
- All this time, Michael had been intently watching the battle. Noticing that David was down now, he fired arrows at the knight as a distraction. He also looked behind him and noticed David’s spell book on the grass. Four tall oak trees surrounded the book in a square formation, an oddity.
- Meanwhile, the black knight had picked up his sword again, and was charging at the tree Michael was hiding in. It was until the very last second when Michael turned back and jumped away, just as the knight’s slice chopped down half the trunk of tree. Michael turned back and ran towards the book, with the knight in close pursuit.
- “This is no time for me to draw my sword,” Michael thought. “If I do, the knight will get so close that I’ll easily get chopped up. So that means I keep running. Not my ideal option, but something I have to do.”
- Michael ran for his life, and among the four trees he snatched the spell book off the ground before running at full speed again. The knight followed.
- Suddenly, a blinding light came behind Michael, which Michael didn’t see, but obviously noticed. He turned around and saw the black knight, trapped in a square among the four square-formation trees. Once he noticed the fire making the barrier, he was overly pleased: the Flame Barrier spell.
- David came back, walking around the other side, and revealed his secret to the knight and Michael. “You know what I did? Well, before the battle, I noticed these four trees making up a square. Whatever these trees are made of, I forgot what it’s called, though, they’re very flammable whatsoever. And I noticed that I could easily create a Flame Barrier with the added help of the trees acting as a focus source.
- “So, that’s why I threw my spell book over in the middle of those trees. I needed bait, and that was you, Michael. You see, I knew that you took a liking to my book, which is why that was the specific item I laid out. I knew that you would run over there soon enough, taking the book, and hopefully this knight following you. Luckily, the timing was perfect, and he got directly caught in my trap.”
- Michael was shocked to know that he was the puppet in the midst of David’s plans. He had to give his companion credit for manipulating both himself and the black knight, as David turned a hopeless battle into a glorious victory. Whatever the cost, Michael knew that he would stick by David during this adventure.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 9

- “Now then, what do you know about Jordan?” questioned David to the black knight trapped within the Flame Barrier.
- “I’m not going to tell!”
- “Fine.” David pushed the boundaries closer and closer towards the knight, who was now confined to only a square with a three feet radius. “Feel like spilling the secrets out, now?”
- “Most definitely not!”
- David rolled his eyes, and then promptly pushed the Barrier so close that the black knight could feel the fire burning inside his body. “OKAY! OKAY! I’LL TELL! JUST GET THIS OFF OF ME!!!!”
- David released his hold of the Flame Barrier to ten feet radius, and the knight, practically collapsing onto the grass, spoke. “Jordan is my master, a very powerful archmage. His goal is to control the Holy Flail. Using that, he will blackmail Malidia into giving us all their money. Then, with all the central commerce Malidia, has, he’ll take over the world.”
- “Is that all you know?”
- “Yes.”
- Michael assured David. “He’s telling the truth. I can sense it. And anyways, we have enough information to keep going, maybe tell Tony later.”
- “Fine. I don’t like death, either, so I’ll let him go. He needs medical attention, for sure.” David released focus of the Flame Barrier completely, and the black knight fell unconscious, fainted or out of energy, on the grass.
- Just then, Michael and David heard the footsteps of a bulky mule coming from the bridge. This animal, however, bore a simple-looking lady, wearing a silk dress, the apparel of a regular peasant. At her side was a quirky little female elf, less than three feet tall, also riding a mule, although her mule was a child.
- “Oh, my!” the lady exclaimed. “What happened here?”
- “Uhh…he had a minor accident. But he’ll need to get to a hospital soon,” responded Michael.
- “I know where the nearest doctor is. Do you, Grace?” the lady spoke to her tiny elf.
- “For sure, Kayla. Would you like me to bring him over to the doc?”
- “Certainly. I’ll see you once you’re done, okay. At my estate.”
- The elf, Grace, with the help of Kayla, David, and Michael, lifted the black knight onto Kayla’s mule. Grace led both of the mules over the bridge and through an unknown path, presumably towards the hospital.
- “Well, as you already know, my name is Kayla. I own a fabulous estate, growing some of the best crops you’ll see in your lifetime. Come, travelers, you must be tired from all your exploring. I’ll lead you into the main house.”
- Michael and David were led across the bridge, southwards. At last they came upon huge acres of farmed land. Wheat was growing almost everywhere, and there were many animals being raised near a wooden house. They got closer, and with more detail, Michael could see that not only was wheat being planted, but potatoes, watermelon, and carrots, too. On his other side there were cats, dogs, pigs, and different colors of horses. It was an array of the agricultural lifestyle.
- However, inside the home was totally different from the vast outside. It was very plain. There were at most three tables and several chairs. The usual decorations at Poogueville’s castles were absent. Very little technology was there. In fact, Kayla used a cauldron to cook her food. Things just felt – boring.
- “So, what are your names?” Kayla asked.
- “I’m Michael, from Wolf Creek.”
- “And I’m David, a pyromancer in training.”
- “Welcome to my estate, then, Michael and David! Please stay for a while and make yourselves comfortable. To repeat myself, I am the thane of the land you just witnessed. Just wanted to let that out, for most people think that women are incapable of doing great deeds. In my opinion, of course, we are all equals,” Kayla informed, and then she added, “And I know some magic, by the way. It’s how the land has come this way.”
- Kayla kindly set up two beds, and provided the travelers a place to rest. Their luncheon and supper was like the house, plain. At any rate, they could prepare for the days ahead of them with basic bread and meat. At the dining table, if it was labeled as such, Kayla talked about clerical spells. David seemed interested, and Michael was too, for he felt that everybody around him had some sort of special magical skill.
- “Mana is important for clerics,” Kayla was discussing. “But the willingness to help others is a far more important priority.”
- “So what exactly do you specialize in, Kayla?” asked Michael.
- “Well, cleric spells are split into three categories: regeneration, boosting, and charming. Personally, I’m best at healing spells, regeneration. That includes healing wounds and protection spells.”
- David joined the conversation. “You said boosting spells, right?”
- “Yes, along with healing and charms.”
- “Can’t bards boost stats as well?”
- “What are bards?” said Michael, confused at the term.
- David explained, “They’re musicians who sing for a living. Some of their songs are strong enough to imply fear or courage or something of that sort.”
- Kayla replied, “That’s right David. And yes, bards can also boost stats. In fact, the cleric and bard classes have skills so close together that many consider the two professions to be one combined class. But, that isn’t officially true yet.”
- “Okay. I understand regeneration, but what about charms? What’s included in that category?” said David.
- “Usually clerics are on the good side, not all though. Because of that, clerics can dispel shadow creatures, using charms like Holy Force. Moreover, that’s where blinding spells comes into place. It’s a nifty way to get out of a tight situation.”
- David thought to himself, “Just like my Flame Barrier.”
- “Sometimes charms have nothing to do with light and shadow, though. For example, my signature move is Time of Essence, which accelerates crop growth.”
- Michael commented, “Sounds interesting. Is that how you grow your crops?”
- “Yeah, at times. It’s a focus spell, easily interrupted by combat, and really drains mana. Usually I would have to recharge for days before I can use magic after Time of Essence. Maintaining mana control becomes that much more necessary.”
- “Still, it’s an efficient way of avoiding droughts and all that. Weather isn’t as risky, then,” David concluded.
- At the end of the conversation, Michael said, “Well, I think it’s getting late. Thanks for the meal, Kayla.”
- “Thanks for coming over. Make yourselves comfortable!” Kayla stood up, took the supper plates off the table, and went into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Michael and David retreated into their bedroom, tired after the encounter with the black knight. Drowsy, David plopped onto a bed before falling asleep.
- Michael was definitely tired as well, and he slowly went to sleep. In his dreams he could remember the Poogueville Museum, and the Golden Ducgraion. He would ask Kayla about those subjects soon. But for now, he and David deserved a cozy sleep. It was a proud moment, that brawl. It showed how clever the duo really was, able to take down a knight. Only days before, Michael didn’t even know what a knight was. Now he was able to defeat one.

______________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 10

- Traveling hastily, he finally arrived at his destination. As he looked up, he saw a tall industrial building. Two large metal chimneys stuck out of the roof, emitting a fresh aroma. On the ground, he could see many children happily running around and playing together. Parents were cheerfully watching and talking with each other.
- Looking to the side, he could see people plucking berries from fruit trees. There was also an unusual river, with reddish water. Was it water at all?
- Tony was looking at all this landscape in a grain field on top of a hillside. From the top, he could see the entire town bustling about. A sign next to him read: “Welcome to the Sweet Factory, home of pastries and candies.”
- “I better check this out,” Tony decided. He ran down the sloped hill and sprinted through the town’s main gates. However, as he moved the ground felt like it was moving.
- Tony looked at the ground. “What is this?” There were gumballs at his feet, making all movements feel slippery.
- But that didn’t stop Tony from entering the town. What did, however, was a snobby worker at the Sweet Factory.
- “You’re not allowed in, idiot. Can you read?” the worker pointed at a poorly written statement on the wall that was supposed to say “Employees only.” It looked like a child’s scribbles, the spelling was off, and the size of the word was extremely small. Tony thought, “I don’t think anybody could read that.”
- Even though he was shunned from inside the factory, there were still many other places to visit. Immediately, he saw all the children playing, holding candies in their hands. Behind them were two shacks, most likely selling candy and chocolate. Apparently with all the customers, they would make a lot of money.
- A boy, five years old, came up to Tony and asked, “Mister, can you buy me candy?” Despite his age, he spoke with an odd eloquence.
- “Why of course.” Tony let out a benign smile. He was always willing to help others out. “What do you want? Fudge? Cookies? Licorice?”
- “Chocolate, pwese.”
- “Okay.” Tony waited in the line, and bought a “Milk Chocolate Poogue.” The shopkeeper said it was pure chocolate, nothing added inside. When he went back to give the chocolate to the boy, a grateful smile awaited him.
- “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” the boy screamed in delight, jumping up and down as if he had won the lottery. “You’re my idol!!” he screamed again, before he ran off to play with the other kids.
- “Well, it feels good to help them out,” Tony muttered to himself. He walked past the candy shacks and continued to explore the rest of the town.

- Yesterday’s dreams of glory were over, but the idea of countering a mighty knight still lurked in the back of Michael and David’s minds. And with the added bonus of a safe sleep, they were both rejuvenated with spirit for the daytime.
- “Kayla’s nice. Just wish this furniture wasn’t so plain,” said Michael as he was waking up.
- “I see. But at least we’ll be safe for now. Remember that our objective is to find pieces of the Holy Flail.”
- “Then I’ll ask Kayla if she knows anything about it. She’s the landowner, so she probably receives all the news of what goes on around here.”
- “Yeah, sure. I just want to say that that black knight sure was a strong opponent. For some reason, though, I want him to be okay.”
- “Maybe it’s just a kind heart you have.”
- They walked out of the room and into the main foyer. At the breakfast table, the duo was surprised to see the elf, Grace, lounging on a chair. Also of notice was an orange scroll on the dining table.
- “Hello – Grace, it was?” David greeted.
- “Yes. Hallo back to you,” Grace welcomed. “Kayla will be here soon. Right now she’s in the altar, practicing her mana control. Would you like a complimentary breakfast?”
- “We would, thank you.”
- “No problem. I’ll fetch you the silverware and food.”
- When Grace came back with a rustic soup and bread, Kayla had arrived at the table. Once again, the meal was plain, but sufficient. Of course, the four had started another conversation.
Grace was currently talking. “So, practically all elves have an ability called insomnia, which keeps them awake.”
- “Can anything put them to sleep?” questioned David.
- “Only very advanced magic. Elves focus on using different effects to charm their opponents, like putting them to sleep or confusing them. Altogether, elves are frail, so we inflict conditions on them to avoid getting hit.”
- Michael asked, curiously, “Do elves have any other features?”
- “We have excellent sensory skills, namely hearing,” explained Grace. “But there’s another sense, a sixth: we can detect magical presence. For example, we can tell there’s someone invisible nearby or that an invisible barrier has been placed. But still, that’s only for expert elves who studied that skill. Most beginners, including me, can’t hone in on magic that well.”
- “Interesting.”
- It was Kayla’s turn to ask a question. “Grace, dear, what did you put in this soup? It’s spicy yet sweet at the same time; tastes delicious.”
- Grace turned towards Michael and David. “Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that we’re good cooks.” Facing Kayla now, she answered, “Aromatite, Kayla.”
- “Aromatite, huh…oh, now I remember,” Kayla muttered to herself.
- “What’s aromatite?” asked Michael.
- “Aromatite is one of the sweetest vegetables,” Grace explained. “Watch out, because it’s one of the most flammable too.”
- “It is? It actually looks a bit like clumps of water,” David said.
- “That’s because as a newborn crop, aromatite is not flammable at all. It grows straight up, like grass, getting taller and taller. But when it matures, even hot water will set aromatite on fire, so be careful.”
Kayla added on to the information. “How do we know this? I’m also an expert in natural magic, so plants and other horticulture we would both know about. It’s one of the elves’ secret ingredients, so hush, okay?”
- “Okay.” David promised. “Grace, how did you get that scroll, by the way?” David was the first to mention the small scroll on the table.
- “Oh, that? Well, while I was bringing that knight to the hospital, I found a sack, probably the knight’s, on the ground. I rummaged through it and found useless items, like papers and so, except for this scroll. Hopefully it has some kind of use. What do you think of it, Kayla?”
- “I’m going to take it to the altar room for examining. Hopefully something useful will be inscribed in it.”
- “Can we come with you, Kayla?” Michael said.
- “Sure. Do you mind that, Grace?”
- “No, not at all! I’ll take your plates.” Grace left into the kitchen.
- As Kayla led Michael and David to the altar, she warned, “We have quite a lot of rooms in this estate. Most of them are used for storage, with artifacts and antiques scattered over. Please be careful not to touch any of these.”
- Michael and David both vowed again. “We won’t.” Michael was definitely curious as to what was inside the scroll. At the best, he would finally be learning magic! Excitement welled up inside his body as they walked closer and closer to discovering the scroll’s description.

______________________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 11

- At long last, Kayla walked towards a room with two clay statues on the sides of the door’s entryways. There were also candles next to the statues.
- “This has got to be the altar room,” David concluded.
- Indeed, it was. There was ample space and a high, vaulted ceiling. The floor was immaculate, made of a marble-like material that glimmered. However, the only item in the room was a desk-sized altar in the center. There was colored glass all over the walls, and the sunlight on the outside produced a dazzling color spectrum into the altar. Moreover, dim candles on the altar enhanced the lighting and provided a solemn mood into the room.
- Kayla started the conversation. “So, an orange scroll? Unusual. Orange doesn’t represent any of the elemental types.”
- David concluded, “I guess that means it’s not pure magic.”
- “Maybe. I took a class in Magical Lore, so I’ll try to decipher the language. Let’ see:

‘HISTAY CROLLSAY SIAY PECIFICALLYSAY ESIGNEDSAY OTAY IVEGAY ONKMAY IKELAY KILLSAY OTAY NEOAY ERSONPAY.
EVELLAY NEOAY’

- This scroll is specifically designed to give monk like skills to one person – Level One. Which means that you will be learning some spells.”
- “That’s great!” David exclaimed.
- “The only problem is the time constraint. You should know that learning, and teaching, takes a while. I will need to concentrate on one of you at a time, if you want to get anything out of your training. Now, which one of you shall go first?”
- Michael and David discussed the situation together.
- “I have some spells already, what with the book, so I think it would be better for you to learn some spells.”
- “Are you sure? You’re the magician, after all.”
- “Just trust me. You’d do better with the monk skills.”
- Kayla interrupted. “Have you chosen my first student?”
- “Yes. It’ll be me, Michael.”
- “Very well. Follow me.”
- Michael burst with excitement. He was definitely ready to get some magical spells under his belt; almost everybody he knew had some form of spell or charm already; it was finally his turn.
- David’s face was solemn. Immediately Michael felt a qualm in that David wouldn’t be able to do anything while Michael was off training. But Michael had complete faith in his companion. If that was what David wanted, then he would for sure go with that decision.
- Walking only with Kayla and saying a temporary bye to David, Michael was led into a dark chamber with candlelight lighting. After Kayla added more candles, Michael could see potions and vials of all sorts scattered around the many tables. This was probably where Kayla prepared her healing ointments.
- Full of color, the vials were of different shapes and sizes. Some looked like they were stored in a glass container, while others seemed to be locked in metal. The entire area was very disorganized, but Michael saw another door on the other side of the room, which they both went into.
- The new room was spacious, just an empty space with marble floor. Decorations were absent, much like the regular estate. Lighting was much better than Kayla’s workroom, and Kayla began explaining the future schedule.
- “We only have three spells, and some aren’t really spells anyways.”
- “Oh, that’s too bad.” Michael was a bit disappointed at hearing that because magic was his first priority. “Still, I want to learn.”
- “Gladly. The first is a basic monk technique: meditation.”
- “That’s where the monks sit down and start praying or something.”
- “They could be doing that, but there’s much more use. You see, it sets your body into a tone of relaxation.”
- “Kind of like sleep?”
- Kayla nodded and continued, “But even better. While in the mediating state, you regenerate mana and health much quicker than before.”
- “That sounds nice. It basically replaces sleep.”
- “I guess. Anyways, another function with mediating, probably more important, is that you gain access with the Poogue Master.”
- “Who’s the Poogue Master?”
- “Why, he’s the creator of the world we live in today! Without him, we wouldn’t have anything, we wouldn’t be here!”
- “Oh, okay. I’m sorry.”
- “That’s okay. Just that everybody should know the Poogue Master.”
- Michael nodded in understanding, while Kayla added on, “Anyways, the Poogue Master constantly looks after your soul in this state. He can increase your stats a lot if you’re lucky. Sometimes you can even talk to him. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. For some reason, this spell doesn’t teach the Poogue Master state.”
- “It doesn’t?” Michael grew a little more disappointed.
- “Probably ‘cause it’s a beginners’ scroll. I’ll tell you what. After this, you can go to the Srencian Museum; they’ll tell you more.”
- “Fine…” Michael rolled his eyes. First the Poogueville Museum told him to go to “Srencia,” and now Kayla wants him to go there too.
- “Anyways, next on our list will be an adrenaline technique. Basically what this does is provide yourself support when you need it the most. Your maximum endurance grows, as well as your speed. However, once your adrenaline wears off, the boost is gone, so you don’t want to be caught in a bad situation at that time.”
- “So it’s kind of like a last resort move?”
- “Yeah, in a way. Honestly, you won’t have control over it; it comes naturally, when you’re losing energy.”
- “Okay. And what’s last?”
- “Luckily, the last spell will be offensive.”
- “Finally!” Michael thought.
- “It connects with nature, something monks can take advantage of. You’ll be producing a ball of natural energy, actually called “Natural Destruction.” But beginners can’t apply such force at once, so we’ll be scaling it down.”
- “How do we produce the force?”
- “It comes from your spirit and exits out of your palms. I guess that’s why they also included meditation in this scroll – that helps out your magical skill.”
- “Okay, wait a minute. So you said that the Srencian Museum will teach me to connect with the Poogue Master?”
- “Hopefully, yes.”
- “So that means that my meditation will never be complete here, right?”
- “Of course, Michael. There is always so much more in this world. Not one spell can be perfected at once. People go around the Poogue world for years before discovering something new. A lot of opportunity is around us.”
- Michael nodded. While his initial reaction to the scroll was disappointing, he knew that it was his first training with magic, and he would have to start at the bottom of the ladder. He would just have to keep practicing and learning more.
- “Well! That’s it for our schedule. Meditation, adrenaline, and Natural Destruction,” Kayla declared. “Are you ready to start training?”
- “Yes. Can we start now?”
- A simple answer to his question, Kayla once again nodded.

___________________________________________

EPISODE 12

- “Linnea! What in the world happened to that Black Knight?” Jordan demanded. “My plans have halted to a stop! WHY IS THAT?”
- Linnea spoke back as if she didn’t notice Jordan’s temper. “Sir, we have reports from the Poogueville hospital that the Black Knight has been moderately burned in a battle. He’ll be out for a week.”
- “A WEEK!? I can’t wait that long!”
- “Nothing I can do to help you there, sir.”
- “By the way, have the Orcs struck yet? I’m ready to make Kayla pay, big time.” Jordan crafted his hands in an odd manner.
- “Almost, sir. They’re traveling through a dim forest. On the other side of that boscage, there’s a bridge that leads straight to Kayla’s estate.”
- “Good, good, Linnea. At least something is working properly. Now, tell those lackees to bring me some fruity bread. Dumpling stew, as well.”
- “Yessir. I’ve heard that some kinds of dumpling stew have magical properties, or just a great motivational food.”
- “Exactly,” Jordan answered, smiling, as Linnea left the chamber.

- “His training will take quite a long time, I’m guessing,” David spoke to himself as he was lounging on his bed. It had been a day since Kayla brought Michael to training, and David was getting bored.
- Right after Michael left, David spent his time maundering about the mansion, exploring different rooms and various hallways. Some interesting rooms he encountered included a room completely based off of the color blue, and another room with spikes all over its floor. “This is probably to dispel burglars,” David thought as he peeked into a room with a loose ceiling on the top and a treasure chest, most likely empty, on the other side of the room. “The burglar walks towards the chest, triggers a sensor on the floor, and the ceiling falls down, onto the victim.” Of course, David didn’t touch anything, to fulfill Kayla’s promise.
David also spent some time outside, enjoying the fresh air and the farm animals. The crops in the field were doing well, looking fresh and strong. No clouds were in the sky, just a warm sun that cast its rays into the altar room’s colored glass. Cows, pigs, chickens, and lambs were making their usual noises, deeply immersing David into a farmer’s lifestyle.
- Having discovered practically everything Kayla owned, the monotony increased its burden on David. He went back into the guest room, and started flipping through his fire spell book.
- “A basic Flame, Flare, Heat Wave,” muttered David. Those were spells he already knew. He continued to look through the book. “Flame Barrier…What’s this?” he exclaimed, surprised. Apparently another page of the book had translated itself into words. The spell’s picture showed a bomb’s explosion and the caption of the spell was indeed “Inferno Explosion.”
- “Hmm…‘The user spreads out his or her energy and mana to produce a wild explosion of fire, energy, and light.’ Must be a tradeoff – I give off my health for a very strong attack. A last resort move, maybe?”
- David analyzed the situation further. “This is so important for me to have in my arsenal because so far I have only fire spells. If I face off against a water mage, none of my spells will be too effective. So, I need to widen my range of elements. Adding this attack, with fire, energy, and light, helps me achieve that goal.
- “A spell like this, however, sounds dangerous. If I don’t practice properly, there must be a serious chance of me damaging myself. Kayla’s busy training Michael, so she’s not an option for proper teaching, so I guess I’ll ask Grace.”
- David brought his spell book with him and walked to the dining table. Sure enough, Grace was sitting there, looking a bit bored.
- “Hello Grace.”
- “Hallo David.”
- “Do you think you can read a spell?”
- “Like Kayla, I have taken a Magical Lore class, too. What’s the problem?”
- “While I was looking at my spell book, I noticed a new spell available to me. What do you think of this?” David opened the book to the Explosion page and showed it to Grace.
- Grace’s eyes widened. “That spell is really familiar! My old master used to teach his pupils how to manage effects like explosions.”
- “So you’ve already learned this?”
- “Yeah. At that time I was an earthly elf.”
- “What were the different kinds?”
- “Oh, all the elemental types, like energy, fire, shadow, and the like. But you already know what the spell is, right?”
- “Yeah. I came to ask you to teach me. Being Kayla’s servant, I figured you must know something as to teaching.”
- “You might be right. Now come on, I’ll teach you how to use Inferno Explosion. The main thing is to focus all your energy into your central body…”
David was brought outside with Grace, where they practiced the Inferno Explosion spell. At the same time, Michael was training with Kayla on the beginning monk skills.

- “Do you happen to know about the Holy Flail?”
- “Not me, but they probably do. They pretty much run the entire town.” The Sweet Factory citizen pointed east, towards another large building, made of metal and looking very industrial.
- “Okay, thanks so much.”
- Tony swiftly ran off to the building. As he was blockaded by a thin chain-link fence surrounding the area, a warning sign nearby caught his attention. Tilting his head upwards, he saw tall generators of electricity stood proudly up in the sky. They were narrow, like a cylinder, and even birds had trouble reaching the summit. At the very top of all the generators were thick black wires, no doubt leading into the main building where the energy could be redirected.
- “Great, it’s deserted,” Tony complained. “Well, I still have to investigate.”
- Taking out his daggers, he started to cut out an opening inside. In a few swipes, the blade easily perforated through the flimsy barrier. Tony crept inside the power plant, pocketed back his daggers, and headed for the building.
- A shadow moved behind him, and Tony just caught a glimpse of the action. He whirled around and saw nothing, but a voice spoke, hidden behind one of the metal generators.
- “Well, who do we have here? Another dumb visitor, eh?” the figure smoothly insulted. Tony made no response, but concentrated on where the voice came from.

To Be Continued…