“Where can we find them?”
“You will have to follow the path there.” He pointed sleepily to a trail in the sand. “It’ll pass through a forest and then veer nor’east toward Shadow Mountain.” The captain raised his eyebrow skeptically. “That’s if you choose to accept your quest.”
I glanced at Mason, who was crossing his fingers.
“Sure.” I shrugged. “It’s better than becoming a sea monster biscuit.”
“That’s fine, lad.” The captain pulled a Swiss Army knife from his trouser pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary pocketknife: small blade, scissors, nail file, toothpick, tweezers. Probably cost ten bucks.
“Gee,” I said. “Thanks.”
I opened the blade, and it grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering sword with …show more content…
“Put that thing away.”
I put the knife in my pocket. The quest felt real, I had a weapon to fight off monsters and knew how to find Shadow Mountain. I was glad Mason had tagged along, but I felt guilty that I hadn’t been straight with him. The truth was I didn’t care as much about saving the kingdom as I did about mending Gramps. “Hey, Captain, do you think that the centaurs would have a magic potion or something I could use to wake up my …show more content…
The fact that I signed up for the quest?”
“No.” She pointed at tongues of dense fog licking over a ridge in the distance. “It makes me sad to think that a troll’s insatiable hankering for conquest caused wickedness to rise from below and coil in our hills.”
She met my eyes, waiting for me to get it.
“Aiden,” Gypsy said finally. “Did your grandpa tell you nothing?”
“He said . . .” I remembered his sad eyes, looking out over the apple trees. “He told me that the monster’s curse introduced darkness.”
She crossed her wings and sighed. “Yes, the curse. Be wary, for it will be yours unless you defeat the troll and set our fate right. You and your family will be bound in chains, destined for death. This I have seen.”
A distant clap of thunder echoed, and the darkened sea surged, boiling and bubbling, together with the now blotted-out moon into a witch’s brew that dumped thick waves resembling gruel ashore.
Gypsy glanced at the night sky, like she was considering our plight. “How about I take first watch, huh? You get some sleep.”
I was still reeling with so many questions, but she started to hum, soft and sweet, and I lay down on the sand, my eyes stinging from the salt. And after a few bars of “Gentle on My Mind,” I was
“You will have to follow the path there.” He pointed sleepily to a trail in the sand. “It’ll pass through a forest and then veer nor’east toward Shadow Mountain.” The captain raised his eyebrow skeptically. “That’s if you choose to accept your quest.”
I glanced at Mason, who was crossing his fingers.
“Sure.” I shrugged. “It’s better than becoming a sea monster biscuit.”
“That’s fine, lad.” The captain pulled a Swiss Army knife from his trouser pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary pocketknife: small blade, scissors, nail file, toothpick, tweezers. Probably cost ten bucks.
“Gee,” I said. “Thanks.”
I opened the blade, and it grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering sword with …show more content…
“Put that thing away.”
I put the knife in my pocket. The quest felt real, I had a weapon to fight off monsters and knew how to find Shadow Mountain. I was glad Mason had tagged along, but I felt guilty that I hadn’t been straight with him. The truth was I didn’t care as much about saving the kingdom as I did about mending Gramps. “Hey, Captain, do you think that the centaurs would have a magic potion or something I could use to wake up my …show more content…
The fact that I signed up for the quest?”
“No.” She pointed at tongues of dense fog licking over a ridge in the distance. “It makes me sad to think that a troll’s insatiable hankering for conquest caused wickedness to rise from below and coil in our hills.”
She met my eyes, waiting for me to get it.
“Aiden,” Gypsy said finally. “Did your grandpa tell you nothing?”
“He said . . .” I remembered his sad eyes, looking out over the apple trees. “He told me that the monster’s curse introduced darkness.”
She crossed her wings and sighed. “Yes, the curse. Be wary, for it will be yours unless you defeat the troll and set our fate right. You and your family will be bound in chains, destined for death. This I have seen.”
A distant clap of thunder echoed, and the darkened sea surged, boiling and bubbling, together with the now blotted-out moon into a witch’s brew that dumped thick waves resembling gruel ashore.
Gypsy glanced at the night sky, like she was considering our plight. “How about I take first watch, huh? You get some sleep.”
I was still reeling with so many questions, but she started to hum, soft and sweet, and I lay down on the sand, my eyes stinging from the salt. And after a few bars of “Gentle on My Mind,” I was