The next morning it was snowing! Jonny couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked out the window. He had spent the night in Kamos’s house at an invitation from him. The strangest thing about the snow was it was in the middle of August. “What’s going on?” he asked Kamos as he walked into Jonny’s room. “Oh, I forgot to tell you! Silly of me, really,” Kamos said, apparently flustered. “Here, the season changes every day.” Well that’s interesting, Jonny thought to himself. He decided to go outside to explore the area. What he didn’t see was a rock sticking partway out of the snow. “Oof!” he exclaimed as he tripped over the rock and fell into a pile of snow. Earlier, he had wondered if the snow was really cold. Now he definitely knew for sure. He went back inside to find Kamos and warm up for a moment. As he sat on the floor, his back to the fire, he thought how lucky he had been to find this place.
When he was finally done warming up, he looked around the house for Kamos. He wasn’t there. He put on his coat (borrowed from Kamos) and went outside to look for him. Jonny quickly spotted him. “Hey, Kamos!” Jonny called, running towards the crowd gathered around a raised wooden platform in what seemed to be the center of the city. “What’s going on?” Jonny asked when he finally got to where Kamos was standing. It had been slow going between the deep snow and watching out for more rocks. “The king and queen,” he indicated two people, one of which was holding a parcel wrapped in gold foil, “are giving him,” he pointed to an old man on the stage, “a present.” “Oh. Like Christmas?” Jonny asked. “What? Oh, no,” Kamos replied. “The present isn’t for him. It’s for the Dark Shaman.” Kamos explained that if the Evil Shaman didn’t get a present, he would destroy Flaughston.
“This has been going on for years,” he explained. The old man left the stage and headed towards the city gates and the road beyond. By now Jonny had noticed his small stature and his pointed ears. As the gates closed behind him, Jonny wondered what kind of creature he was. “What about the Dark Shaman? What’s he like?” Jonny asked. “Not much is known about him, except that he uses dark magic,” Kamos replied. Jonny remembered the black, thorny vines the Shaman had used.
BOOM! The sound echoed across the kingdom. BOOM! The sound issued again, this time shaking the ground. “We’re under attack! Brace the gates!” The guards’ voices were greatly magnified by the resounding walls of the city. BOOM! Judging by the increasing desperation of the voices, the Kingdom Gates had been breached.
._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
“Jonny! Hurry, this way!” Kamos called through the mass panic of the crowd. He grabbed Jonny by the wrist and led him toward his house. Just as it looked like they were going inside, Kamos veered to the left. He reached down, grasping a handle of some sort. When he pulled up, a large, square metal trapdoor opened to a short ladder. “Down! Quickly!” Kamos motioned for Jonny to go in. When he got to the floor of the room below, Kamos jumped in himself, closing the door behind him. “What just happened?” Jonny asked Kamos, once they were settled down. “The Evil Shaman must not have liked his gift,” Kamos replied solemnly. “And,” he continued, “must have brought goblins to destroy us. But don’t worry, we’ll be safe here.” Upon hearing the word “safe” from the wise old man, Jonny drifted to sleep. His dreams were full of the Dark Shaman, goblins, and this strange new world.
._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
When he awoke, Jonny was surprised to see that Kamos had gone. He opened the door, to find that the cities gates had been penetrated as well. He guessed it to be about 8:00 in the morning. The goblins were small and hairy. They had long, cow-like tails and curved horns on their heads. Most of them carried spears, javelins, or short, curved swords. Jonny guessed them to be about 100 strong. As the goblins rushed forward, Jonny saw 50 creatures appear in front of them. They looked almost human, except for the dragon-like wings extending from their backs. And there, in the midst of the battle, was Kamos, helping the strange creatures fight the goblins. Oh, so he’s a warrior! Jonny thought to himself. Why didn’t he tell me!? Just as he was about to go back inside the shelter, more figures walked through the gates. The hoods on their dark cloaks covered their faces. Their only discernable features were their pointed, metal boots, their armor plated gloves, and the gaze of their piercing yellow eyes. Just as the creatures defending Flaughston seemed to have been victorious over the goblins, the new creatures rushed them. Each and every winged creature was cut down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
