A Night to Begin

A Story by Defiant

A short chapter that came to my head. Tried to spin in a bit of humor to make it a light read. I do not have any further chapters to continue this story. Suggestions would be appreciated.

A NIGHT TO BEGIN

An Owl sailed with the cool breeze as it propelled it homeward. A rather successful night of hunting and now all it longed for was the warmth of its nest. It followed the wind up and down lush green rolling hills until it came into sight of a town. The town was called Scatre but ofcourse this little detail was not known to the Owl. They don’t have much use for knowing the names of towns. With a few flaps of it wings it cleared the town at a suitable height and headed into the peace of night. After a few S turns, that were more for show than actually slowing him down, he perched himself on his tree and prepared for a well earned rest and was rudely awakened a few minutes later when something ran past the shrubs underneath making quite a racket!

The town of Scatre was a simple town nestled between small hills on either side. It enjoyed warm summers and the winters were never too harsh. Sleepy little houses lined its neat streets that were always kept well lit buy paraffin lamps that hung from tall lampposts found on every corner. This night was no different. Smoke from a few houses rose lazily into the clear night sky before they caught the breeze and drifted away towards the west. The moon was out in full and shining its light as if to challenge the sun. The sight of the night sky meeting the lush green hills was truly a beautiful sight. Upon closer examination one could notice that part of the silhouette of the ground was rather unusual and was actually moving at considerable speed on what looked like two legs.

Artir was an ordinary boy with ordinary parents who somehow found himself in a not so ordinary situation. His heart was pounding and his muscles ached but he dare not stop. Millions of thoughts and fears ran through his mind but he willed them out and focused on running. I hope I am not too late, I can’t be late! Skipping and jumping and all the while running Artir made it to the small clearing that was the designated area for this secret adventure. He realised that there was no one around so he lay down on the grass to catch his breath and let his body complain. The exchanges between muscle and brain and general complaining went on for a few minutes and then a general consensus was reached that they must together find out what the hell was going on first and resolve these issues at a later date. The boy sat up and looked around and still there was no one. It has been quite a night. Parts of it were a complete blur and parts of it were remembered a bit too clearly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the object which he had been sent to recover. It was a strange kind of stick. It felt smooth in his hands and it curved in a particular fashion that made it seem like it was made to look like this. He moved his fingers across the length of the strange stick and ran his fingers through the strange but firm hair like strands that were standing from one end. A very strange stick indeed.

“ You were successful?” Boomed a voice behind Artir. He spun around to see a man who was almost as wide as he was tall. He wore a mask which barely showed his eyes and had a curved mouth with teeth jutting out on either side. His clothes were strange and seemed to be held together by string and pieces of metal all tied together to cover his legs, shoulders and chest. The only skin visible was on his arms and they gleamed and were stretched under the tension of his muscles.

“Yes” said Artir.

“Come. We must go now.”

“Where are we going?”

“ You shall see.”

The tall figure turned and started to run with Artir close behind. They ran through the woods until they reached a thin path that was etched into the side of a hill. Artir ran along the path while the strange figure ran along the slope just ahead. While Artir was fighting for breath and trying to keep a steading footing he noticed that the giant man seemed to have no trouble at all. In fact it seemed like his feet never touched the ground.

“ It was difficult you know.” Gasped Artir while trying to keep up.

“ I know.”

The response wasn’t exactly what he has in mind so he decided to have another go.

“ Barely escaped with my life, you know.”

“ Tis good that you did”

“ Well I think a job well done wou….” The last words of the sentence were lost when the laws of physics decided that a small boy at considerable speed would not be able to move a huge stationary giant and the best outcome would be for the boy to bounce off and lay on the ground.

“ We are here”

Artir looked around and saw that they were still on a path but a much wider and flatter path going through the forest. The giant man turned around.

“ There is no going back from here”

Artir looked at the man, then the long road ahead and said “ I know.”

“So be it” said the man and turned towards the road. The air seemed to shimmer as if there was a sheet of water and then ripples began to form. Artir looked on and it seemed like there was another road on the other side of the strange wall of air. The shimmering expanded until it had occupied the either breadth of the path and then pushed some more and shook and squeezed the surrounding trees out of its way. It made a strange humming sound as it expanded and then suddenly stopped and the image on the other side became clear. The big man walked through it and disappeared. Artir gingerly walked toward the screen and put his arm through. His arm vanished but he couldn’t feel a thing. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. The last thing he remembered from the forest was an Owl flying away from one of the fallen trees and hooting away to what he thought were choice insults.

Artir awoke to find himself flat on the ground blinking in the sun on another pathway which was leading to a narrow bridge that crossed a small river. Around him were flat grass lands and farmyards for miles. The big man was standing looking at him. His mask was a mixture of colours and so were his clothes. Predominantly brown but with bits of green and blue thrown in when brown cloth could not be found. The metal plates surrounding him were a dull grey in colour with lots of dents and scratches and seemed to be tied up together with thin bits of rope.

“ We must move quickly. Are you hurt?”

“ No I am fine. Does this always happen when you walk through that thing?”

“No. It happens when you trip over a rock”

“Oh.”

“ Come.”

Artir picked himself up sheepishly and followed the man over the bridge and along the path. Atleast they were walking now. The path curved to the left and disappeared behind a large group of trees. They followed the path around the trees and ended up infront of a house. It was a small house made of wood and stone. It had one door and one window right above the door. A very small house indeed. They climbed up to the door and waited.

“ Arent you going to knock?” asked Artir.

“No.”

“ How will we enter then?”

“ They know we are here.”

“Who is they?”

The door opened of its own accord and the big man stepped forward and Artir followed him inside. He was shocked to see a long corridor leading into what looked like a kitchen and three flights of stairs on the left side of the corridor. To the right was a large room with lots of old furniture including a grand piano and other things he didn’t recognise. He walked around in amazement at so large a house. It was old yes but it was tidy.

“ I see that Bavskir brought you hear safely.”

He turned around to see an old lady sitting on a reading chair with a pair of glasses perched on her nose. She looked like a typical sweet grandmother who baked you cookies and fed you with sweets until you were sick. She looked at Artir expectantly as if she was waiting for a response. His mind raced to find a suitable response and it decided to use its strong grasp over the English language and uttered “Huh?”

“Bavskir, the big gentleman who brought you here.”

“Ah… I see… yes… hmmmm… yes… I am here in one piece….yes..hmmmmm…But….ah…where is here?”

The old lady smiled. “ You shall find out soon enough. Did you bring what you were asked to?”

“ Ah yes, yes I have.”

He pulled out the strange shaped stick and handed it over to the sweet old lady.

“ Excellent. A war is coming dear boy and this is what we need to fight it.”

“ With a stick?”

“Yes dear child. With a stick. Now be a dear and go to the kitchen and get something to eat. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

Artir wanted to stay and ask more question like why the stick? Was it a special stick? Did it have magic? What war? What work do I have to do? Where is my underwear? But he just left and walked towards where he thought the kitchen should be. I wonder if its too late to turn back.

END OF CHAPTER ONE