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A group of twenty people stood in the center of the village to welcome
them. One man walked over. Corin presumed the man was the leader.
“My name is Bubb. I am the
ruler of Pinea. I knew you were coming. You are welcome here in our
village.”
Corin expected the man was
about sixty years old, gray haired, but muscular for such an old man, much
like Grink.
After introductions, three
women came out of the hut carrying platters of food. Grapes, apples,
berries and slices of bread piled high on the clay plates.
“Please, sit and eat with
us. You must be hungry after such a long journey,” Bubb said.
“We ate grubs and lizards
and we fished in a lake and caught two fish, but mine was bigger than
Corin’s, and a giant came and tried to kill us and then,” Fingal caught
his breath, “a wolf with red eyes killed the man and we ran and came here
as fast as we could and yes, I’m hungry.”
“What did you say?” Bubb’s
face screwed up in confusion.
“I said we ate grubs and
lizards and…”
“Not that! What did you
say about the wolf? Did you say it had red eyes? Bubb put his hands on his
hips.
“Yes it did. I saw them.
They glowed, just like that other wolf’s eyes, but we killed it. Now there
is another,” Fingal rambled on.
Bubb stood, mouth gaping.
“He’s back. After all these centuries, Kolin has returned and he’s coming
to our village.”
Braden cleared his throat.
“We have been sent here by the Lord of the Seas and the other Lords, of
course. They have assigned us this mission. They gave us the emerald
stone, the Stone of Destiny, and asked us to find Padd, a man in this
village. The Lord of the Seas told us to give the Stone of Destiny to Padd
and he’d know what to do. The wolf is near. We must hurry and see Padd.”
Bubb called over a small
man with hunched back and long, stringy, brown hair. “Tibbo, go and see if
Padd is in his hut.” He explained to the group, “I’m afraid Padd isn’t a
man. He came to our village about twenty years ago. He has lived with us
in peace. He is different, yet wise. If anyone can help, it will be him.”
The little man came back
and whispered to Bubb. “Come, Padd wishes to speak with you.” He led them
to a half-fallen hut.
Fingal stayed outside, not
wanting to go into the hut. The others followed Bubb. Their eyes wandered
to the fallen stones and buildings lying around them.
They entered Padd’s hut. A
huge frog sat on the floor. It had olive green with lemon yellow spots.
Its lips were so big and red that they took up most of his face. “Do not
be frightened.” Padd saw the look of fear on Cafania’s face. “I will not
harm you. Now, tell me why you are here.”
Corin did the talking this
time. He told them about the visit they’d had with the Lord of the Seas.
“Kolin is nearby.”
Cafania reached into her
pack and pulled out the emerald Stone of Destiny. She handed it to Padd.
She then pulled out the Book of Spells and the Healing Stone and gave them
back to Gorbal.
Padd noticed. “What are
those things that you gave to the gnome?”
Gorbal showed Padd. “This
is my Book of Spells. It has been handed down from father to son for
generations. I am just now learning a few of its secrets. This is the
Healing Stone. I used it to save Princess Jasmine. I’ve saved others too.”
“Very well,” Padd said. “I
am to bring Princess Serba and Kile back to life, using this Stone of
Destiny. I understand. The Lord of the Seas knows that this is the only
way to rid our planet of Kolin forever. He is wise. Now, I must ask you to
leave. I must think.”
They left the hut and went
into the village. Many of the villagers gathered around and introduced
themselves. Most had lived there all of their lives, as their ancestors
had, since the village began. Corin and his friends listened to stories
that had been passed down from parent to child about Kolin, Kile and
Princess Serba and the thriving city Pinea once was.
None of them noticed Padd
hopping out of his hut and heading towards some stones on the hillside;
the ancient burial place of Kile and his mother. Padd placed the Stone of
Destiny on the burial ground. He closed his eyes and started chanting. The
stone glowed bright and rays shot out, swirling around in arcs.
From below the group
noticed the green light shooting up into the sky. Braden and Corin ran up
the hill to join Padd. Next to him stood a young man and a woman. “It’s
the princess and her son,” Braden said, not believing what he saw.
Kile, ten years old,
looked just like his mother.
Padd stood back and
watched as mother and child got reacquainted.
Princess Serba turned to
Padd. “Why are we here? What do you want of us? What year is it now? What
happened to my city?”
Padd explained his reasons
and the historical events leading to today.
“You mean you’ve brought
us back to life after four hundred years? For what purpose? Where are we?”
Princess Serba turned in a circle.
“You’re at what is left of
your city, Pinea. The frog, I mean Padd,” Corin said, giving a look of
apology to the frog, “brought you back to life for a purpose. You are
needed to rid the planet of an evil wolf that used to be your son, and
his,” Corin nodded at Kile, “brother.”
“He’s still alive, after
all this time?” Princess Serba held her over her mouth in shock.
“My twin brother still
wanders the earth destroying others as he destroyed me? Kile shook his
head in disbelief.
“He does. We have
encountered him many times. To say he is evil is putting it mildly. We
must destroy him, but only you can do it, Kile; you and your mother.”
Braden sighed and put his hand on Kile’s shoulder.
“Come.” Padd urged the
five of them to follow him down the hill into the village.
The villagers stopped and
stared. “It’s Princess Serba.” Whispers rolled through the village.
“That’s her son, Kile, the one Kolin killed.”
Padd stopped in the center
of the group. “Yes, it is Princess Serba and his son, Kile. I have brought
them back to help rid ourselves of evil. That evil is Kolin. I have
discovered that he still wanders these lands and is now near our village.
He must be destroyed!”
“But how?” A woman wiped
her dirty hands on her dress.
“I must
instruct them. You don’t need to know, but I must warn you that you need
to stay close. If Kolin finds out they are here, he will destroy us
unmercifully. You must be careful. Nobody go out alone. Keep your children
close by.” Padd hopped to his hut, followed by Bubb, Corin, Braden,
Cafania, Gorbal, the princess and her son. |
