Welcome to 2012

I sort of forgot I had this blog.  Not that anyone looks at it or anything, but that's okay for now.  I'll get something figured out.  I am not a real interesting person anyway, so it's okay, too.  I'll work on that.

Archie's doings and undoings...

September 9, 2011
Again we went out for a 'run' tonight.  Archie seems to love the freedom he has.  I think part of my issue with him when he won't listen is that I let him get out too far from me.  So I am trying to get in the habit of not letting him get out so far.  He saw the geese, well he heard them and then he saw them.  He stood watching them as they flew over us, then he looked at me to see what the heck those were!  He took off like a streak of shit after another gopher.  I would love to see him catch one, but I'd hate for him to get bit or something.  He sticks his face in a lot of the gopher holes we come across in the trail.  Sometimes he even digs at them, seems to be trying to get the critters out.
Well, he had fun again, and so did I!  Its fun to watch as a dog learns, and see how he evolves into a mature companion!  I love my Archie!  He is such a good boy.

September 8, 2011
So Archie caught a rabbit last week, turns out he is quite the little hunter.  So he is officially in training for Grouse hunting!  Uncle Fester is helping us with his training!  He really knows how to get dogs to catch on fast.  The last 3 days we have been working on him with hand signals and the whistle.  He knows his commands and has done fairly well with everything.  Last night he took off on me for a bit, but he came back and looked pretty proud of himself.  Just like the night he had the dead rabbit at the back door.  I cannot wait to see him up north!  Archie is going to be a hunter after all.  I just want him to join me out there, so if he flushes the birds will be a bonus, and even better if he will bring them back, but one thing at a time!
We are letting his hair grow out, back to his creature look like when I first brought him home.  The only real problem with this is that nature sure does attach itself to hairy creatures, and it won't let go without a fight! 

August 31, 2011
Archie has been finding his naughty ways lately.  He has been getting into all sorts of trouble, peed in the house a few times, barking at all sorts of things, annoying Rocky!  He is working his way to an e collar.  Nothing but naughty!  Well, he is still cute too!  He went after Rocky a few nights ago, of course I was trying to keep them apart and got bit.  Little teeth pinch, and it left a bruise.  Man, little stinker!  He is going to learn to be sort of a hunting dog too.  Not a huge out and retrieve and kick the snot out of the woods hard core hunter.  Just along for the ride, and accustomed to gun fire so he doesn't head for the next county when we shoot at something.  My little buddy, he's such a ham.  He sits on his rump here looking up at me, cute as a button, needing some attention.  So I am off to give him some loving.

August 22, 2011
Archie has been busy working on his retrieving.  We went out to our squirrel woods a few days ago, I wanted him to see it and smell it.  He seemed to enjoy it out there, and he did retrieve his toy a bunch of times.  We didn't see too many critters, none actually.  It was inactive, but probably because everyone heard me coming and smelled Archie maybe.  So they were all hidden.  We will try again and see if we can sit so that someone comes out to 'play'.  Anyway, his Grandma and Grandpa are coming to visit so he needs to get ready.

 August 14, 2011
We have been working on roll over still.  Part of my problem with Archie learning is my teaching.  But I think that now I have it figured out so he should catch on here quicker.  We went for a walk on the Wild Goose Trail.  He did pretty well at heel on the right side, but it may have been cause he was tired.  So I think I will take him out there to help him learn.  Anything I can do to help him learn.  I just know he will have all sorts of great tricks to show off with!  He may not end up being a hunting dog like Kota, but he will do some awesome tricks as long as I can keep working with him.  He is so cool though, it is fun working with him!  I love him!  He is my sweetie pie!

August 12, 2011
Archie and I have become so talented.  He graduated from Obedience Class in July.  He did the sit, stay, down, leave it real well.  The walking thing we still need to work on.  But he has also learned shake hands, and we are working on roll over.  We want to get to play dead soon so we need roll over first!  I will try to keep up with this better than I have.  Its been a great summer with my new little buddy!  Jade sure did a great match making with us.  We both needed each other and she knew it!  What a great girl she is!

May 4, 2011
Got up and took Bert, who was now Bennie, to the store for some supplies.  He got a new collar, some treats, a small kong, some poo bags and holder, and some cologne.  He still has that smell to him.  After that we went to see Scott.  He got to run around his yard for a bit.  I showed Scott how well Bennie would come when I called him.  He really does come to me, but he doesn’t know his name; which is good, because I will change it again.
After that we were going home and I called Keri.  She wanted to see him, so I took Bennie up to see her.  We took him for a walk, and he didn’t like the leash at all.  He sat down and put all of his 10 pounds into refusing to move!  So we just walked him without the leash.  He stays close by, so for that one time it was ok.
Spent some time there, and Bennie played with the cats toys.  The cats puffed up at him, Ozzy just watched him and Lily growled and hissed and made a big scene.
We went home around 1130 and the boys were up.  We got started on some yard work; Dad came over to thatch the lawn.  I put the little creature in his kennel for a while and he slept pretty good I think.  Later I brought him outside and let him follow me around.  He sort of warmed up to Kota and wanted to follow him around some.  But Kota will have none of it.  He wanted nothing to do with Bennie, who by this time became Archie.
Jeff and I worked on him learning ‘sit’ for a bit, but there were too many distractions.  So I will have to figure something out.  Jeff can take our other boys in the house and close the blinds and its ok, but the neighbors dogs were out there barking at us for the whole time so we didn’t get much accomplished.  He will sit though; I just have to associate the command with the action.  (Don’t I sound like I know what I’m talking about?)

May 3, 2011
Today Archie came to live with us.  I finally decided on a name for him after the 3^rd change.  First it was Bert, then it was Bennie, and I finally have Archie as the name that fits him best.
When we picked him up the place was just north of Appleton, and the house was sort of gross.  As soon as we walked in the place reeked of pee, and dog.  I mean like really bad!  And when we made the choice and we left, my little critter had that same stink!  First thing I would have to do is give him a bath. 
I didn’t really plan on bringing a puppy home so soon, so I didn’t have any food or bowls or anything.  We stopped by Mom and Dad to show them.  Mom didn’t really want to touch him because he smelled bad.  Can’t blame her.  She’s Mom.  J
We had to go quick to get food, because the lady didn’t feed the dogs before we got there.  So we ran over to the store and got that, then went home and fed him.  At this point, he was called Bert.  I had had him in the kennel in the back of my car and he had a HUGE poop accident.  Poor kid must have had a bad tummy ache. 
He ate and we took him outside to meet the other boys.  I was standing in the yard with him and Kota came out to say hi.  Well, Bert saw this big dog coming at him and started screeching at the top of his lungs!  Wow, that noise hurt my ears, and poor Kota was scared too!  After that Kota wouldn’t have anything to do with Bert.
Later, I got him in the bathroom.  When I turned on the water he was ok, a little nervous, but still not too scared.  Then I decided, in my great wisdom and forethought, to turn on the shower hose to spray him with.  Again with the screeching!  Scared the poor little stressed out fella a lot!  I had to run water in the tub and pour it over him and it wasn’t quite so bad.  So he got shampooed twice and then it took 2 towels to dry him off!  He will be getting groomed in a week.
After he got his bath I held him and worked on drying him, and he just sat on my lap and was really sweet.  I am a sucker for his eyes.  He has such a sweet face, I am sure that is going to be my downfall.  Kota wouldn’t even look at me, I called his name and he would look the other way and refused to look in my direction.  Whether I had the puppy or not, he was mad at me!
When it was time for bed, Jeff said good bye and went to work, thinking I would be up most of the night.  But Bert just cried for about 5 minutes and then went to sleep.  About 4 am I got up and let all the dogs outside, and then went back to bed.  Bert cried for about 20 minutes that time, but he did go back to sleep for a while.
 

Cloak of Kenton

   Fyn Cantrip lay awake on his bunk listening to his brothers both snore.  The fresh spring air got to both of those fellows, making them so tired they sawed logs loud enough that Fyn couldn’t sleep.  He knew Silas would usually snore quietly, which would almost lull Fyn to sleep.  Eldon on the other hand could compete with a thunderstorm.  Eldon was the oldest of the three by a few years; Fyn the youngest, just a year separated him and Silas, who was the most childlike, having been born with a mental handicap causing him to stutter, always be nervous, and have difficulty understanding things, so his brothers had to take care of him. 

            The brother’s had come to live with Uncle Tom after their father was killed working in the mine’s when a cave in crushed him and several other men.  Their mother was so heartbroken that she took her own life, leaving behind her three sons who were still quite young at the time.  The boys were sent to an orphanage where they spent a few years being paraded in front of people who were looking for good children, generally to work their farms.  When Silas was spoken to, the people always passed the three by.  Fyn and Eldon would have been taken many times, but they refused to leave each other.  One family had taken the two and left Silas behind, so Fyn and Eldon set fire to the barn and ran away.  After they were brought back to the orphanage, the woman who ran the place thought it would be best if the three did stay together.

            It took some time, but their mother’s brother, Tom, eventually found out the boys were not being raised by a family.  He went and got them and brought them to his own farm to live.  The house was quite small, so he had the boys help him to make part of the haymow of the barn into a living area for them.  It was a simple room, with bunk beds and a regular bed, so they each had their own place to sleep.  He found an old table and a bench to put in there for them to sit at and a shelf for books they enjoyed.  Evening meals would be eaten in the house with Uncle Tom so they could all eat together and talk.  The boys loved being on the farm, the orphanage had taken a toll on the brothers, so they all were very thankful to Uncle Tom.

            Uncle Tom respected the boys space, he didn’t try to get too involved in their lives, only requiring schooling long enough to read, write, and do some math, most of which they had already learned while at the orphanage.  Past that, none of them could see the sense in continuing school so they worked hard on the farm.  Silas loved to take care of the animals; he would talk to them while he fed them or milked the cows, to him they, too, were family.

            Since Silas had a stutter and other problems that were obvious to most people, his brother’s often found they were scrapping with other boys over the mean things these boys would say or do to Silas.  Eldon and Fyn had each worked through a broken bone without Uncle Tom knowing about them.  The two healthy brothers would just pick up the slack until the bone mended enough that the one suffering could get back to work.  If Uncle Tom knew about it, he never said a word.

            Fyn sat up, his shaggy hair framing in his baby face, even at fifteen he looked much younger, but he was strong from working on the farm for so long.  Fyn crept out of the room, taking a book from the shelf and heading down by the animals.  They had a few cows, horses, chickens, geese, a goat and an old dog, Clyde.  Fyn sat on the ground, petting Clyde as he read.  Silas and Eldon emerged a while later and the three got started on their chores.  It was the end of the week, so as soon as they were finished with the daily chores, they could go about a free afternoon.  Since the spring weather had been so nice, they had been making a habit of going to the lake to fish.  They would take a few sandwiches to eat in case they stayed until supper time.

            “W-w-why d-d-doesn’t Uncle Tom come w-w-with us?”  Silas asked.

            “I think he likes time to himself, Si.  He had this place to himself before we came here.  So I think he just likes to have one day of being alone again.”  Eldon explained.  Silas couldn’t understand it.  He hated to be alone, and it would scare him if he was alone too long. 

            When they got to their spot on the lake, each of them would set up to fish and do their own thing.  Eldon usually didn’t even put the worm on the hook, he just pretended to so Silas thought he was fishing with him.  Silas sat with his pole in his hand, ready to jerk the cork and set the hook if there was a nibble.  Fyn would sit with a book in his hand, reading it and watching the cork.  He didn’t really care much for the fishing, but he did it for Silas too.

            Fyn was good at creating tales to tell Silas, and Silas loved to hear them or have Fyn read to him.  Eldon enjoyed it, too, and would sometimes add his own parts to Fyn’s story.

            “F-f-fyn, t-t-tell me a s-s-story, p-p-please?”  Silas begged.

            “Hmm, let me think.  How about one about the three brothers going fishing together?”  Fyn began to tell Silas about the fishing, telling a tale about how the middle brother caught the biggest fish ever!  Silas really liked the story and laughed when he thought it could be about him!  As the three brothers’ were laughing, three other men, about the same age as Eldon, came walking through the woods.  Leonard was the most vocal of the group, he often poked fun at Silas until he would either cry or his brothers would stand up to fight.  Conner and Zebulon were followers, and Leonard would get them into much trouble. 

            “So, did you bait that hook today or are you just cleaning it again?”  Leonard asked looking at Eldon.

            Silas looked at Eldon.  “Well, I started the day with a worm, and I haven’t seen it twitch, so I am guessing there is a worm on there.”  Eldon said.  He had been lying back against a tree trunk with his eyes shut just listening to things.  He didn’t move except to open his eyes to look at the three men.

            “M-m-maybe w-w-we should ch-check.”  Silas suggested.

            “Its fine, Si, don’t fret on it.”  Eldon said.

            “Oh, look, its Stuttering Silas!  I-I-I d-d-didn’t even see you th-th-there!” 

Silas looked at the ground, his face started to turn red.  Conner and Zebulon started to mimic Silas.

“You’re such a jerk picking on Silas all the time!  Leonard you sure are great with all your stupid thoughts and ideas!  You have really proved your ignorance time and again!”  Fyn barked at Leonard.

            “Why do you have to pick on a guy for?  You just want to start a fight again, don’t you?”  Eldon said as he stood up, facing Leonard.

            “Maybe.  You gonna defend your stupid brother again?”  Leonard squared up to Eldon.

            Eldon stood rigid, Fyn stood up too.  Silas stayed sitting on the ground, Eldon could see tears running down Silas’ face.  Leonard kept teasing Silas, pushing him to frustration; he began to hum and rock back and forth.  Eldon stepped closer to Leonard, the look in Eldon’s eye was distinctive anger.

            “You just pick on those that you can over power; you never pick on someone who can defend themselves!  You are a jack ass and I have had it with you!”  Eldon raged. 

            “He needs to realize how stupid he is!  He’s so stupid he doesn’t even know to stand up for himself!”  Leonard said.  As he finished the statement, Eldon’s fist connected with his jaw.

            Fyn was worried because Leonard carried a knife along with him lately.  Fyn was afraid he would hurt Eldon really bad, and he tried to go help his brother.  Conner and Zebulon grabbed Fyn and held him back. 

            The two men fought for quite some time.  Punches connected, leaving welts and bloody noses, and cuts that would possibly need to be stitched but wouldn’t be.  Grunts and groans proved the strength of each man.  At one point Eldon had been sitting on top of Leonard’s chest, punching him in the face over and over again, Conner let go of Fyn and went over and kicked Eldon in the middle of the back, knocking him off Leonard.  Leonard swung around and got up on his feet, he was ready to kick Eldon in the chest, but before he could, Eldon mustered up the last of his strength and punched Leonard in the most intimate of places!  Leonard fell like a sack of potatoes, crying out in pain.

            “Cheap shot, Eld!”  Conner said.

            “Cheap like what you just did?  Always the bullies!  Pick on Silas to fight with Eldon, and then hold me back!  Your cheap shot in the back was a great touch, Conner!”  Fyn said.  Zebulon threw Fyn to the ground and helped Conner collect Leonard.

            “Shut up, little girl!  You’re not even big enough to fight!”  Fyn had fought for Silas many times in the past, but Leonard’s toadies always held him back so that Leonard could fight against Eldon.  They escorted Leonard off to the woods.

            “You ok, Eld?  They both were holding me back!”  Fyn said.

            “Check on Si.”  Eldon groaned.  “I’ll be fine.”

            Silas was humming; he had put his fingers in his ears and kept rocking back and forth.  Fyn had to calm Silas down in order to help Eldon get home.  He told Silas to pick up the fishing poles and everything they had brought with them.  As Fyn helped Eldon steady himself he saw a knife lying in the grass.  He pointed at it; Eldon looked and waved his hand signaling to Fyn to disregard it.  Silas had the poles and the sack with the food and they headed home.  Silas was still sniffling and appeared to be able to start crying again.

            Eldon could walk with Fyn supporting some of his weight; it would be slow going home.  They headed back to the farm before they looked at any of Eldon’s injuries.  Both of Eldon’s eyes were turning black, and his nose was still bleeding, welts were swelling on his face.  His side felt quite sore and he was exhausted.  He had known that Leonard slashed him, but he wasn’t sure how bad it was.  He would check when he got home, but didn’t want Silas or Fyn to see it.

****

            Eldon went into the barn and cleaned himself up while Fyn and Silas sat outside and watched for Uncle Tom.  They would have to stop him from going in and seeing Eldon and then asking questions about what happened.  The boys had heard Uncle Tom say one time that Silas would bring them trouble, so they tried to hide the fights and the fact that they had to protect him and take care of him. 

            While inside, Eldon discovered a large gash on his right side.  He was in a lot of pain as he cleaned the dirt and blood from himself.  Fyn went in to check on him and saw the cut on his side.

            “We should take you in to town to see Doc!”  Fyn said.

Just then Silas came inside.  He saw Eldon’s side and his face went pale.

            “It’s ok you guys, we will see how it is tomorrow.  Don’t fret Silas!”

            “I’m really sorry, Eld.  I never even saw his knife come out!  I should have fought harder to get away from those two guys!”  Fyn said sadly.  Silas didn’t say anything, but Eldon could see he was upset, feeling guilty.

            “Hey, Si, it was a good work out, I needed to see where my weak spots are anyway.  When we mess around it’s like I’m wrestling with a couple of girls!”  Eldon chuckled.  Silas smiled at him.  Silas could only wrestle with his brothers, and then it was just for fun. 

            It had gotten late quick; they ate the sandwiches for supper that they had at the lake.  Then Fyn read to them for a little while and he and Silas went to bed.  Eldon couldn’t lie down, being in too much pain to sleep.  He tried, but any time he would move his side would snap him awake, and continued to bleed.  It was a long night as he waited for his brother’s to wake.  When they finally did, he told Fyn to tell Uncle Tom they were going to town to go to church, but they were really going to see Doc. 

            Fyn hooked the wagon up to the horses and they settled Eldon in the back. Uncle Tom shouldn’t notice the wagon was missing.  Fyn drove as carefully as he could into town.  They parked the wagon outside of Doc’s office and went inside.  Eldon needed stitches to keep his side closed, and cleaning it out was quite an experience.  Fyn and Silas had to help Doc hold him still while Doc used a cleaning solution to wash the dirt and blood out of the cut.

            “How did you manage this one, Eld?”  Doc asked.

            “It’s sort of a long story.  But it’s not a big deal, just hurts a lot.”  Eldon replied.

            “I have some salve to help it heal, and here are some herbs to put in tea to help with the pain.  You’re going to be sore for a while, probably not going to be able to hide this one from Tom.”

            The brothers looked at each other; just then Fyn noticed there was a crowd gathered outside.  He had noticed the crowd was at the blacksmith shop earlier, but now they had moved to congregate at the jail.  He saw Conner and Zebulon there, but Leonard was nowhere to be seen.

            “Something big is going on out there.  Those two jerks Conner and Zebulon are out there.  Leonard isn’t with them though.  Wonder what they are up too.”  Fyn observed.

            Doc went to the window and looked out.  “That is Reeve Gorton and his guards.  Someone is in big trouble if they are here.”

            “Maybe Leonard got himself into trouble.  Those other two never go nowhere without their leader!”  Beyond that Fyn didn’t think too much of the situation and turned his attention back to Eldon.  When he was bandaged up, Silas helped Eldon to stand and walk him outside to the wagon, while Fyn paid Doc for his help. 

Several of the men by the jail turned to look at Eldon and Silas.  They began pointing and talking.  Eldon saw Conner and Zebulon talking to the reeve.

            “I wonder what is going on over there.  And why are they suddenly so interested in us over here?”  Eldon said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

            The men began to walk towards the two brothers.  “Eldon Cantrip!  You are hereby detained by order of Lord Arnold!”  A man in a guard’s uniform stated.  The Reeve followed behind the guard.

            “W-w-what d-d-do we d-d-do, El-eldon?”  Silas asked his voice was panicky already. 

            “It’s ok, Silas.  They probably have to just ask something quick and we can go home.  They have bigger fish to fry than me.”  Eldon told his brother.  “You go back in by Fyn and stay with him.”

            Silas turned and walked back inside, a moment later Fyn flew out the door to hear the reeve saying that Eldon was being taken into custody.  Then he turned to look at Fyn and Silas.  “The two of you go back to your farm and do not leave.  Someone will be out to talk to you in a little while.”  He turned to the oldest brother.  “Eldon, you need to come answer some questions for us.  Fyn, you need to go home.”

“What is going on here?”  Fyn demanded.  Eldon eased himself out of the wagon as the reeve arrived. 

            “I am Reeve Gorton, I represent Lord Arnold in his absence.  We are inquiring about the murder of a man in this town.”

            “Murder?  What are you talking about?”  Fyn roared.  He couldn’t imagine what was going on here but knew those two low lifers were up to something.  Silas began to hum and rock.

            “Did you boys have an altercation last evening with Leonard Tiller?”

            “He was bothering Silas, so I stood up for him.”  Eldon stated.  “We ended up fighting and he pulled his knife on me!”  Eldon started to lift his shirt up to show his cut, but before he could show it Gorton ordered him to be arrested.

            “Then you admit it!  Take him to the jail!  Eldon is under arrest!”  Gorton ordered.

            Eldon was swept away rather roughly; the two younger brothers were left standing there in awe.  Doc had come outside and talked to the brothers, he recommended the boys head home and talk to Uncle Tom.  They got on the wagon and went back to the farm.  Uncle Tom came out to the barn to find out what was going on.

            “The wagon was gone.  What are you boys up to?”  Uncle Tom looked around.  “Where is Eldon?”

            Fyn and Silas stopped unhitching the horses, Silas stepping behind the wagon to hide himself from the view of their uncle, as though he were afraid of Uncle Tom.  Fyn told Uncle Tom what had happened the night before.  Uncle Tom stood silently and listened to what Fyn told him. 

            “I had a feeling something was going to happen ‘cause of you, Silas.”  He sighed.  “Well, it’s a good thing your brothers take such good care of you.  You’re lucky to have those boys.”

            Silas didn’t say anything; he didn’t know what he should say.  He just nodded at Uncle Tom.  Silas had a stomach ache from everything that was going on.

            “Well, just so you know Silas, this isn’t your fault.  I know how people talk about you and how they treat you.  So, don’t you blame yourself for any of this.  We will figure something out.”  Uncle Tom smiled at Silas.  Silas’ tears flowed out all of a sudden; relieved he wasn’t making Uncle Tom angry.

            Fyn was shocked at the response, but also relieved that he understood.  The brothers never really knew him too well, but they just had a new look at him.  Fyn and Uncle Tom talked about everything that happened the night before, and how it came to be that they thought Eldon would have killed Leonard.

            “We were all walking away, well, his gang carried him ‘cause his trinkets were up under his chin for a few minutes.  But no one was really bad off.  I didn’t even know that Eldon had been cut for sure until after we got home!”

            “Eldon was cut?”  Uncle Tom gawked.

            “Leonard carries a knife, and he somehow cut Eldon on the side.  His knife was still in the grass when we left.  We went to town today to fix Eldon up.  Doc gave him some pain killer stuff and some salve.” 

***

            Later in the afternoon Gorton and his guards arrived at the farm.  Attempting to question Silas proved a challenge, he either stuttered so much they got frustrated, or he would just sit silently, his mouth open revealing his lack of understanding.  Uncle Tom stood by as they asked Silas about the fight the day before, and everything that had happened since.

            “So you went to sleep, but Eldon didn’t.”  Gorton asked.

            “H-h-he w-was s-s-sore.  H-h-he g-g-got cut b-b-by L-l-Leonard.”  Silas stuttered.

            “Then you don’t know what he did while you were asleep.”  Gorton suggested.

            Silas looked at the guard, he eyes tearing up.  “Eldon j-j-just w-w-was p-p-protecting me.”  He hung his head down and began to quietly weep; his breathing began to speed up.

            “But Silas, he was gone from the threat.  He had you at home safe.  Then your brother went out and killed Leonard.”

            “H-h-he w-w-wouldn’t d-d-do that!”  Silas cried.  His child like mind could not understand exactly what was going on.  He was afraid he would get his brother into trouble.  Uncle Tom stepped in and stopped them from twisting Silas’ words to their advantage any more.

            They turned their attention to Fyn.  Most of the same questions were asked, with the same answers. Try as they may, they couldn’t sway the brother’s account of what took place.  The Reeve told the three men that there would be a hearing when the steward arrived in two days.  “You will be able to be there and perhaps be called to make a statement so make sure you’re on time.”  Out of his jacket he withdrew a small brown bag and handed it to Fyn.  “He can’t have this right now.  If they release him you can give it back to him.”

            It was the salve and herbs that Doc had given Eldon for his cut.

            “So he is in there suffering from the cut Leonard gave him?  Without this he will get an infection and be in pain!”  Fyn said.  He was so angry his face turned red.  “You are a cruel bunch of people.”

            “That is the least of his problems right now.”  Gorton smiled an evil smile at Fyn.  Then, Gorton and his guards left the farm.  Fyn sat at Uncle Tom’s table with Silas.  Uncle Tom sat down with them and they continued to talk about the situation.  “I will have a friend ask some questions and see if we can get some clear answers.  Fyn, we all know that Eldon did not do this.” 

            “What can we find to prove it though?  It seems they have convinced themselves that Eldon is a killer!”

            “All we have to do is find out who the real killer is.”  Uncle Tom said.

            Fyn didn’t know how this would work itself out, but he had to trust his uncle.  He had to stay positive for Silas and for Eldon.  He couldn’t just stand by and let his brother be accused of this heinous crime.  Even if Fyn thought Leonard got what he deserved, he knew his brother did not do it!

            Tuesday morning took a long time to arrive.  Fyn, Silas and Uncle Tom all were dressed in their best clothes.  Fyn had tried to go see Eldon the day before, but was told he was not allowed visitors.  Fyn didn’t like how they said it and he didn’t like how they smirked at him, but there was nothing he could do.  He would just have to wait for the next day.  He was hoping to have the opportunity to speak on Eldon’s behalf.

            When Eldon was brought out to the porch of the inn to have his trial, Fyn couldn’t believe how horrible he looked!  They had stripped him of everything but his breeches, taken his boots, his shirt and didn’t let him wash.  He was again covered in dirt, blood and sweat.  The gash on his side had been torn open and blood was running down his side.  Eldon looked more exhausted, as though he hadn’t slept since before the whole thing had started.  The bruises on his face looked much worse now, some even looked new.  It was obvious to most everyone that Eldon had taken a harsh beating since his arrest. 

            Steward Randolf was sitting with Gorton at a table in front of the town.  Many people had come to see the spectacle for themselves.  The steward announced the charge against Eldon.  Murder.  He then announced the assumed manner in which the events occurred.

            “Eldon Cantrip ambushed Leonard Tiller behind the blacksmith shop.  The two had fought earlier in the day and the fight resumed in the early hours of the morning.  After the first fight, Leonard’s knife was left behind and Eldon picked it up.  He followed Leonard, and using the knife he plunged it into Leonard’s chest, causing him to be dead.”

            Fyn stared at Eldon, he was being held up by two guards, looking ready to collapse, one of his eyes was swollen shut, the other he kept shut.

            “Do you deny the accusation?”  Steward Randolf asked.

            Eldon could not answer.  Fyn wanted to protest, but a guard moved toward him threateningly before he could say or do anything.

            “Eldon Cantrip, I sentence you to death by hanging.  In one week you will be hung her in the town circle until you are dead.”  He pounded the table top.

            Fyn stood there, stunned; Silas was next to him, humming and rocking.  Uncle Tom had disappeared into the crowd.  Fyn thought he may be off looking for more information with some of his associates.  All these people wanted was to see someone suffer.  No one really seemed to care about the truth of the matter.  Even people that had known Eldon since the boys moved here didn’t care much about the truth regarding the situation.  Fyn had to come up with some way to save his brother before the guards beat him to death!

Fyn again tried to see his brother at the jail, and was again turned away.

            “I will be back tomorrow.  And I will see my brother.  You will not keep me away again!”  Fyn informed the guards.

            As Fyn and Silas began to slowly walk back to the farm, a man in a hooded cloak spoke quickly to Fyn.  “We need to talk.  I have information for you.”  Fyn was startled and looked confused at the man.

            “In an hour, at the lake where you were fishing a few days ago.”  The shady man said.  “Only you and Silas.”  Then he vanished.  Fyn looked around but didn’t see the cloaked man at all, he either moved quite fast or just vanished as if by magic.

            “Ok, Si, let’s get to the lake.”  Fyn said to his brother.  The two headed off to their favorite fishing spot together once again.  He hoped the man really did have something that would help the brothers, more than anything he needed to have his normal life back.

***

            The edge of the lake felt eerie to Fyn, it was the spawning place of all this trouble and he didn’t like it one bit!  The fact that he figured the cloaked shady man was lurking here somewhere was making the hairs on his neck stand up too.  Silas spotted the silhouette of the man, which somewhat eased Fyn’s apprehension

            “Hello, Fyn.” 

            “Don’t waste my time with niceties’, who are you?”  Fyn inquired.

            “That is not currently important; I will get to that in a few minutes.  I have an offer for you, one you can’t refuse.”  He kept his hood over his head so that it shadowed his face.  “I hold your brother’s life in my hands.”

            Fyn did not say anything; he just looked at the man, waiting.

            “Ok, down to business then.  We don’t really have a lot of time to waste now do we?  I can get your brother’s neck out of the noose, but you have to retrieve something for me.”

            “How can you get Eldon out?”  Fyn inquired.  He had no real hope this man would help him.

            “I have connections.  But I need you to go to the Luckton Mountains and retrieve a one of a kind collector’s item for me.”  The hood stated.

            Fyn thought for a moment.  “Why don’t you just go yourself?  The Luckton Mountains are a day’s walk away.  You appear to have the resources to get there quickly, horses, I mean.  I don’t have time to waste on a silly quest for you right now!”

            “It is much quicker, if you know the short cuts, which I will provide you with.  And my father has…restricted my movements.”  He removed his hood to reveal his face. Fyn wasn’t impressed, he didn’t recognize the man.  “You do not know me.”

            “No, should I?”  Fyn looked disinterested.

            “My father is King Maddox Taron.  I am Prince Ayden Taron.”  He explained.  “Father has decided that I am not to leave the castle without an escort.”  He revealed his royal seal, a gold medallion with a crane engraved into it.

            “Why is that?  What are you up to?”  Fyn was suspicious.

            “Oh, he is just being a protective father is all.  But I really want to get this last item for my collection of rare or one of a kind thing’s.  Do you think we can iron out a deal here?”

            “How is it you are out of the castle today?”

            “I am travelling with the steward, to see the kingdom from border to border.”  He stated with a mocking flourish of his hand and a roll of his eyes.

            “Well, I am not sure what this all entails.  My brother is to die in a week; I don’t think running off to faraway places on a wild chase is really a good and honorable thing to do.”

            “It will work out for us.  It will be honorable.  I can have him replaced with someone else, and your brother can be free.  He will have to stay in hiding, but he will be alive.  I know he is not the one who killed that man.  I can’t prove it, but I do know it.”

            “So you put some other innocent in Eldon’s place and hang him instead?”

            “Actually, the man has been convicted of some heinous things, and was thought to be hung weeks ago, but it wasn’t a public matter, so I sort of saved him for my use at a later time.”

            Fyn wanted to hit Ayden, everyone was just a pawn for him to use! Fyn wanted so bad to get his brother back, safe with them, but did he know if he could trust this man?  How did he know this man wasn’t trying to bamboozle him?  How did he know he would honor his promise if Fyn were to go through with this?  Yet, he stayed and listened to the offer.  He held a bit of hope.

            “Why me?  Why my family?  No one else can do this for you?”  Fyn was becoming angry again.

            “Well, you see, you and your brother’s are very low profile, if people don’t see you for a few weeks, no one notices.  I know you all work hard on your uncle’s farm so the terrain won’t get to you.  And I know your father worked in the mines, I was hoping that some of the knowledge from him was passed down to you.”

            “I was three when my father died.  I don’t really remember much.”  Fyn said bitterly.

            “I see.  Well, there are those other important facts that I mentioned.  Plus this way, we both benefit from things.  I get my item, you get your brother.  I think it’s a fair exchange.  I wasn’t sure who the lucky person would be when I spared the man who could replace Eldon, but it will work out.  They have…similar characteristics.”  Ayden smirked, reminding Fyn of the jailors.

            Fyn had to admit it was a fair pay off, as far as he could see.  He paced a bit, thinking of his options; he wouldn’t be going back to see Eldon the next day this way but it could save his brother’s life.  How could he really pass up the opportunity?  He knew Eldon was being beaten in the jail.  Most everyone was if they were there more than a day.  Eldon didn’t have anything to help his cut heal, or to stop any of the pain.    He had to do something!

            “Let me run home to get different clothes and leave Uncle Tom a note so he doesn’t worry.”

            “Don’t tell him who you are working with, or what you are doing.  Leave no details.  If my father finds out I fear I will be banished to the tallest tower in the castle, and that will not benefit either of us.”

            “I won’t mention it.”  Fyn said with antipathy.

            Fyn and Silas went back to the farm, Uncle Tom hadn’t returned yet, so they quickly packed some food, two blankets and a few other items they thought they would need.  They changed clothes, and Fyn left Uncle Tom a note.

            Uncle Tom,

            We are off following a lead about Eldon.  Will be back in a few days.

                                    Fyn and Silas

            Fyn and Silas returned to the lake in short time.  They were ready to go, and needed to get all the information Ayden could give them.

            “Ok, the item you seek is the Cloak of Kenton.  It is named for the wizard who created it.  He attempted to channel magic through the cloak and apparently miscalculated things.  To make a long boring story a short boring story, the cloak’s power at the time overcame him and he died.  It is believed the power of the cloak no longer exists, but I still would like to possess such an artifact of historical originality.  When you find it, you will want to put it in this bag.  The bag will seal the cloak inside, so that it cannot hurt anyone in case it still does hold some of its magic.”

            “Ok, how do I contact you when I return?”

            “I will know when you are back.”  Ayden smiled at Fyn.  “You two will need this.”  He handed Fyn a small leather pouch.  Inside was a stone, about the size of a chicken egg and shiny black.  “It’s a light stone to help you in the caves.  It also has a calming enchantment on it.  I know you’re brother sometimes gets a little anxious, I thought it would help things move along better.  The darker your surroundings get, the brighter it will be.  The caves will be a faster route than going over the mountain.”

            “What about those shortcuts you mentioned.  I would like to get back before my brother’s neck is stretched.”  Fyn said.

            Ayden gave him a parchment with a map on it.  Several places that Fyn had never heard of were marked as part of their path.  They would be walking into some new places.  Fyn hoped Silas would be okay with all of this.  On the map was written a foreign phrase:  Notnek fo Dnegel. 

            “There is one other thing, Fyn.  I am sorry I forgot to mention it before, but there is a little problem at the end.  I do not know what; just there is a little something to be dealt with when you get close to the cloak.  When you are close, say this phrase here on the map,” he pointed to the foreign words on the parchment.  “The information I received was vague at this point, but I think you will figure things out when you need to.”

            Fyn sighed.  What did he have to lose anymore at this point?  If he didn’t make it back at least he wouldn’t have to deal with anymore riddles or royalty.  Fyn had never had to deal with royalty before, and he didn’t want to in the future.  Really all he wanted was to go back to farming for Uncle Tom and spending time with his brother’s, maybe he would someday find a nice girl to settle down with and raise a family.  Was that so much to ask?

***

            A few minutes later the brothers were heading west to the Luckton Mountains.  They walked through the night in the fullness of the moon and got to the mountain the next morning.  The mountains were enormous; Silas looked up at them in awe.  There was one mountain peak that had snow on the top, the rest were not quite as large or touched by the snow.  Fyn knew by the map Ayden had given him, that the snow covered peak was the one they needed to get to.  They would need to get to the base and enter into the caverns leading into the mountain.

            “I d-d-don’t want t-t-to g-g-go in th-th-there.”  Silas said.

            “Come on Silas, we have to go this way, it’s a lot faster.  We have a light.”  Fyn took out the light stone and walked into the cave.  “We can see everything.”  As he went into the cave the light stone began to glow and gave off a soft hum.  In the darkness of the cave it shone bright enough that Fyn could see the small cavern twisting into the mountain, the light showing their path for about 10 yards ahead of and behind them.

            “F-f-fyn, n-n-no.”  Silas pleaded with Fyn.

            “Come on, Si.”  Silas looked frightened, but Fyn kept moving into the cavern with the light.  “See how bright the light is?  Ayden gave us this to help us out.  We have to do this for Eldon!”

            At the mention of Eldon’s name Silas’ face became more stern and determined.  He let his fear of the dark subside, and he remembered he had a quest to complete!  So he slowly walked into the cave after Fyn without saying a word.

***

            The brother’s entered into a large cave; they could hear high pitched squeaks and scratching noises just a few feet above them.  Fyn held the light stone up and felt a rush of panic when he saw thousands of bats clinging upside down to the ceiling.  Silas let out a startled yelp and a few of the furry frights let go of the ceiling to fly around.  The echo of it all in the cave almost made Fyn’s ears ring.

            “Th-th-they are s-s-so c-c-cute.”  Silas said.  He was too much an animal lover!

            “No Silas, they’re not cute.  It isn’t their fault, but they’re very dangerous.  If they bite or scratch you they will make you very sick.  Don’t touch anything in here!”  Fyn warned.

            In the middle of the cave there was a beam of light which the brothers made their way over to so they could sit for a few minutes.  They realized the area of light wasn’t quite as wide as they had first thought and they had to huddle together.  Silas decided the bats were not nearly as cute when they were swooping at his head.  They could hear the bats begin to fly around them more once they were in the light. 

            The boys dodged the bats and Fyn pulled out the light stone again, he remembered the calming enchantment and could see that it was helping Silas to stay calm.  He could hear the hum and saw that the fear in Silas’ eyes was becoming more eased.  Fyn noticed too that the bats were calming down, and not flying at them now.  It occurred to Fyn that the stone must be working on the bats as well.

            “Stay close to me.”  Fyn told Silas.  They tiptoed their way through the cavern, stepping in puddles every now and again. When they got to the end of the cave and into the tunnel again, Silas said his feet were itchy.  When they got to a clearing out in the sunlight, they both took off their boots to find fat gray leeches stuck to their skin.  They had a red line on the back of them.

            “Ugh, we were walking in black water, Si.  Be careful not to rip your skin as you take them off!  These buggers have teeth!  You will get infected if you tear the skin too badly.”  They both worked at the leeches for a few minutes before they got them all off.  They bled from where the leeches had been attached to them and their skin itched again.  Silas had a few spots where the teeth tore his skin.  Fyn had to use his pocket knife to dig the little broken off teeth out of his brother’s feet before they began to fester.

***

            Zedock had been cursed with the responsibility of protecting the Legend of Kenton.  He’d been captured and imprisoned by an old witch.  The old hag wanted him to use his gnomish skills to help her witchery, but Zedock didn’t believe in that sort of thing and refused to help her.  She got angry and held him as her captive.  She eventually grew bored with him and decided she would execute the little gnome.  When the time came that she planned to execute him, he challenged her to a Riddle Trade.  If she won she could proceed with his execution.  But if he won, she would have to release him to live as he pleased.  Zedock presented her with his riddle, and she gave him her riddle.  After one week neither of them could solve each other’s riddle.  As a compromise Zedock’s life was spared, but he would remain a prisoner for a while longer.  He was assigned the task of protecting the three pieces of the Magical Suit of Kenton.  If anyone were to outwit him and acquire the suit or any piece of it, the witch would return and execute him.  But if he could hold off any would be thieves for 100 years, the witch would have to take his place.  Zedock had only a few weeks left before her return and he wanted the failure to be hers!

            Time had stood still inside the mountain, but outside life went on.  Zedock had not aged since he arrived in the mountain and had been cursed with his task.  He knew outside time was going on, and he was afraid that when he finally was set free, all those he had known would be gone from this world.

            The Legend of Kenton had clues in the world for people to put together to find out about Kenton.  The witch had played a dangerous game by letting the clues slip, so that Zedock would fail.  She then realized if anyone got the suit they could be the ones to use it, not her.  She had planned to use it when she found the descendent of Kenton.  If he existed.  The clues would have to be looked for, not just stumbled upon, and then the person would have to seek out more information like a puzzle.  But many people had failed, some actually making it to the mountains in search of the magic held captive there.  This time Zedock would have to fend off two boys to prove his worth.  He felt it would be a simple challenge.

            “So how did these two fools get here?”  He wondered out loud.  Zedock had been alone for so long, he had many conversations with himself.  He saw the two sitting near his creation, The Dream Tree.  Zedock had put dream dust on the tree’s little pink flowers, any turbulence in the air around the tree caused the dust to drift down and affect anyone underneath it.  It would put the silly fool to sleep.  Silas had been the unlucky chap to sit under the tree as he put his boots back on.

            “Ah yes, nighty night!”  Zedock chuckled again.  The other boy had stayed out from under the tree, which disappointed the gnome.  He couldn’t believe his eyes when he picked the other boy up, flipped him over his shoulder and continued walking along the path.  He seemed quite strong, but had picked up a thick tree branch to use as a walking stick to steady him as he carried is companion.

            “Quite determined is this one, I think.  No worry here, I have more games!”  Zedock crept back into his gopher hole.  He had spent much time creating the tiny tunnels so that he could quickly move about the mountains.  No one else used the holes except for the occasional lost gopher or woodchuck.

            Zedock got closer to the duo and could hear the one carrying the other talking to his sleeping companion.

            “…weigh more than a new born calf!”  He grumbled.

            Zedock chuckled; he hid close to the path, watching as they passed by.  The boy hesitated for a moment, stopped walking and looked around him.  As he eyed his surroundings he put the other boy on the ground, and then sat down himself.  Zedock watched as he took out some jerky and nibbled on it.  He took a rest for a few minutes, then stood up and looked again at a parchment he had in his pocket.  He looked down at his sleeping companion.

            “Come on, Silas, wake up.  You’re too heavy to carry.”  He poked the other boy with the stick.

            Silas started to wake, Zedock couldn’t believe his eyes, and dream dust never wore off in such a short time.  The victim always slept for several hours at least!  Of course, they usually remained under the tree while they slept.  He being carried away must have altered the Dream Dust’s effectiveness.  Silas looked around a little bit and yawned.

            “F-f-fyn, h-h-how d-d-did we g-g-get here?”  Silas asked.

            “You went to sleep on me, I carried you.  You need to cut back on the cakes, Si.”  Fyn smiled at Silas.  Zedock couldn’t figure out the pair.  Was one a noble looking for the prize, or were they lost?  Did they even know they were close to a piece of history such as the Legend of Kenton?  Probably not, they were just some dumb kids bumbling around his mountains!

            Both of them ate a little bit and took a drink from a water skin.  Then Fyn said it was time to get moving.  Zedock took notice that neither of them carried a weapon, none that he could see anyway, only the branch that the boy had taken.  He moved ahead of them to prepare for their next game.

            “F-f-fyn, I d-d-don’t want t-t-to g-g-go in.”

            “Si, we have the light, remember?  We have to help Eldon.”  Fyn encouraged.

            Eldon’s name again gave Silas some more courage.  He wanted to see his brother again so he had to be brave and do what Fyn told him.  He knew Fyn wouldn’t let anything happen to him.  When they got inside Fyn withdrew the light stone, the subtle hum coming from the stone sort of eased the tension they both were feeling.  As they moved along the cavern, both bent over a bit to avoid bumping their heads on the ceiling, Fyn could hear something ahead, almost like breathing but not quite.  Fyn stiffened, the hair on his neck standing up.  He anticipated something attacking him yet he kept moving along.  The further he walked the more anxious he got, but the noise didn’t seem to be getting any closer to him.  Suddenly something large landed on him from above!  But he could reach up and touch the ceiling!  He didn’t have much time to consider it before he was knocked to the ground!

            He quickly got back up on his feet; the light stone lay nearby on the ground.  Fyn had heard of werewolves, and wolverines and things like that in stories, but he never imagined they were real!  Now he stood face to face with one, he looked into the yellow eyes and noticed the dagger in its hand…paw?  Fyn could hear Silas crying and screaming for help.  Fyn lashed out at the beast in front of him but missed.  The creature snarled at him raising its arms in the air and lunging forward toward him.  Fyn twisted around and kicked his leg up attempting to connect with the beasts face, but as he would have hit it, the creature dissipated into millions of tiny sparkles of light! 

            Not having time to be shocked he got to where Silas was laying on the ground with his hands over his head, crying for Fyn to help him.  Fyn could see another of those wolverine beasts lashing at Silas, hitting him in the head and torso.  Fyn got ready and went behind the beast, attempting to punch it in the side of the head, but again as he would have made contact the beast became millions of little sparkles! 

            “F-f-fyn!  H-h-help m-m-me!”  Silas continued to turn himself from side to side yelling and crying.  “N-n-no!  Stop!”  He cried.  But the creatures were gone.

            “Silas, it’s ok, they are gone now!”  He tried to calm his brother, but Silas acted as though the beast was still attacking him!  Fyn grabbed the light stone and got close to Silas so he could see the beast was gone.  Then Silas stopped fighting.

            “Wh-wh-what w-w-was th-that?”

            “I don’t really know for sure.  I couldn’t hit them; they disappeared before I could do anything.  Here, wipe your face off.”  He handed Silas a cloth from his satchel.  Silas had scratches on his face where the beast had clawed him.

***

            Zedock was both impressed and disappointed at the outcome of that particular test.  Fear wolves should perform much better than that!  But Fyn had knocked each one out of play before they even got started.  Zedock always liked fear wolves, the greater the person’s fear, the better the fight that ensued.  Apparently this boy didn’t have the tangible fear needed to give the wolves strength.

            “Where did he get that light stone?  Great gears!”  Zedock was amazed.  The humming of the light stone had probably soothed his bats into slumber, keeping them from reporting trespassers were in the mountain.  He had wondered how they got past them without raising the alarm.    “Difficult little bugs, aren’t you?”  He whispered.

***

            It was hard to know for sure how long the brother’s had been in the mountains.  Fyn thought perhaps a few hours, but each time they were outside the sun appeared to be in the same spot.  His body was getting so tired he was having trouble thinking clearly.  It had been quite some time since he had slept so he decided it was time to get some rest.

            “Silas, you have to be the guard for a bit.  I need to take a little nap, just for a little bit.  If anything seems strange or makes you uncomfortable, you wake me up!”

            “Ok, Fyn.”  He too was tired, but one of them needed to keep watch.

            ***

            Zedock could see Fyn curl up under a fern and close his eyes.  Silas sat up against a tree trunk nearby and looked around at first, but after a little while Silas fell asleep too.  Zedock watched the two, and he thought about what he was up against.  Here was a man who did not have fear for himself, risking himself without fear to vicious creatures he certainly had never encountered before for this other man.  Who were these two?  One was dumber than a block; the other was almost cleverer than a gnome!  Zedock could not let a human boy outwit him, which would be a horrible story to reach his home, he would rather endure the witch’s torture than have everyone be aware of how he was bested!  Zedock could not tolerate the idea of being humiliated.

***

            Zedock had set a spring trap a while back.  Once the boys entered into the next cave they would have to move quickly to not get pelted by falling stalactites or slashed by suspended sharp rocks.  It would be a test of speed to get through and Zedock was sure that the dumb boy would make this the last test.  Zedock was rather enjoying watching the two, as he always did when someone came in for a challenge, but they were getting a little too close for his comfort.

            This caves ceiling was higher than the cave with the bats.  Overhead and out of range of the light stone were hundreds of stalactites which were pretty well set into the rock they formed from.  Columns of minerals along with flowstones and hollow tubes were parts of the scenery of this cave.  There were hundreds of spiders in this cave; working together they had secured pockets of webbing which Zedock would fill with jagged rocks.  Then he linked them to other webs that would trip the pocket to fall on the individual below who would either be crushed or stabbed so bad by the rocks that they would eventually bleed to death in his cave.  The spiders would then come down to feed on them.  Zedock found it a gruesome trap, but he needed to stop the intruders.

            So many people had been through here over the years that the spiders knew exactly when someone would be along; they could read Zedock’s actions.  And he was there sitting in his gopher hole that overlooked the cave from above.  At his vantage point he could see most everything in the cave.

***

            As the boys entered into the cave Silas felt something on his face and he wiped it away.  For a moment he had been intrigued by the things to look at in this cave, but all of a sudden the place was caving in from above them.  Fyn heard a rumble and jerked Silas out of the way and the two fell back on the ground.  As the room went dark, Fyn’s stomach did a dance.  The light stone had fallen under the pile of rock. He could see its glow from between some of the rocks and he gently picked it out of there.  The rocks were sharp and he cut his hand and fingers a few times as he rescued their guiding light! 

            He held the stone up and looked around, he could see the light shine off a wall of spider webbing, which he too had felt as he walked into the cave with Silas.  The webs would trigger the rocks to fall on them.  If they were hit with those rocks, at the momentum that they fell, they could easily be killed.  He guessed the ceiling, or at least the place the rocks were falling from was up some distance.  He took one of the sharp stones that had fallen and threw it through the web wall, breaking a hole through it.  Fyn motioned for Silas to stay close to him and they proceeded to walk through the spot that the rock had cut.  There was another wall of web there, waiting to catch them.  The stickiness of the webs would slow them down considerably, making it almost impossible to break out before the falling rocks hit them.  Fyn took another rock and tossed it through; as he did he noticed the web’s creators were beginning to surround them.  The light stones light reflected off the webs, making them easily seen by Fyn.  He could see where he would need to bypass certain areas.

            “F-f-fyn…”

            “I know Silas, they are just little, don’t let them fall on you!”  He said.  As he said it he wondered how you stop a spider from falling on you in the dark.  When he threw the next rock through the web, another pile of boulder’s crashed down in front of them.  Both boys jumped back, but spiders were beginning to drop down from the ceiling.  Fyn knew they had to move quickly, but he didn’t want to get caught in the thick sticky webs.  They had to stay close to the outside of the cave, in the middle the webs were much thicker, but at the edges they were not so thick or as close together.

            “P-p-poke it w-w-with the st-stick.”  Silas suggested.

            Fyn began using the stick to tear at the webs.  Silas stayed as close to Fyn as he could and the two would step quickly to the next safe area.  Silas kept dusting himself and Fyn of spiders as they trekked along to the other side.  It took a while, but they got through the cave.  Piles of jagged rocks lay in their path and only a few had touched either of them.

            When they got to the other side they again found themselves outside in the sun light.  The sun still hung in the same spot it had since they had gotten there.  Fyn was exhausted and hungry.  He needed to take a break for a bit.

            “Silas, we need to rest and eat.  Just be careful what you touch this time.  Maybe just sit right next to me so you don’t get the sleepies again.”  Fyn started looking for some of the food they had brought along.  There was about half the food there, not that there had been much to begin with.  He had just grabbed what would be quick to eat.  He didn’t bother with anything that needed to be cooked or heated, so they were mainly eating the same jerky or apples each time they ate.

***

            Zedock was very unhappy about this latest incident.  He was not enjoying the way they had so easily made it through.  Others had made it through there though too, so there was still hope.  These two just made things look too easy.  He guessed it was their youth; they had been the youngest adventurers to ever come into his mountain.  But the younger boy was quite clever to not take the quickest and easiest route through.  He seemed to have great patience!

            Their next test was a natural one; nature had made the slick wall they would need to climb to get to the other mountain’s cave entrance.  This is where so many had failed, falling to their deaths!  Another gruesome end, but Zedock had felt relief each time someone had fallen.  This was the last time he would be able to sit by and watch.  If they got past this obstacle, he would have to start to involve himself more to stop them!

***

Fyn climbed the slippery cliff, peeling fungus off the rocks; several times he slipped, fearing the fall he clung to whatever he could like a spider!  He prayed to God he wouldn’t fall, that he would get out of this whole situation alive!  As he looked for things to hold on to, he could tell other people had climbed here, and the fungus growing here had not entirely grown back yet.  Once he got to the top, he dropped the rope down for Silas to slip into like a harness.  He could climb up and Fyn could hold him while he climbed in case he lost his grip.  Several times Silas lost his grip, Fyn held him from the top while telling Silas to calm down.  A few times he would start to cry and tell Fyn to put him on the ground, but Fyn refused.

“No, Silas!  Now stop that and get your butt up here!  I don’t want to have to tell Eldon I had to leave you behind to finish this!  You get your ass up here!”  Fyn yelled at his brother.  He knew it was the only real way to get Silas motivated into helping himself.

Silas did as he was told, slipping a few more times but not panicking like he had, he did not want to make Fyn mad, and he didn’t want to disappoint Eldon!

Finally, Silas got to the top and the two each ate an apple. 

“We should get there soon.”  Fyn told his brother.

            “I j-j-just w-w-want to get h-h-home.”  Silas was tired, hungry and stretched too thin.  He missed Eldon and Uncle Tom, and especially the animals on the farm.  He wanted to pet Clyde and go fishing with his brothers again.  He didn’t like being away from the farm for so long.  They rested for a while before they continued into the next tunnel. 

It was a short tunnel that opened to another black water stream that Fyn crossed carefully on slippery slime covered rocks almost crawling across, lowering his center of gravity to keep his balance better as he crossed.  When he got to the other side he broke branches off a few trees and laid them over the rocks so that Silas could cross without slipping.  They were getting dangerously close to Zedock’s treasure!  His fears were rising as the team got closer to the final pay off.

            ***

Fyn looked across the gulch that faced them.  There was a cave on the other side that looked like there was bright light inside.  Fyn was sure that was where they cloak was hidden.  The walls of the ravine were relatively vertical; the drop looked to be about 100 feet to jagged rocks in a rushing river.  Looking up gave a similar view of things, but the blue sky above seemed less confrontational.  The distance across was too far to jump over, given the corpses and skeletons lying on the rocks below it was not a good idea.

            Fyn sat with his feet dangling over the edge of the cliff, gazing across the space, pondering.  Even if he could crawl down the cliff, climbing up the other side would be impossible.  There were no toe holds or places to grip.  He knew Silas would never get back up the other side after the last climb.

            Silas sat down on a rock a little bit away from Fyn, he knew his brother was thinking and he didn’t want to bother him, but the time they wasted here was less time to get home and save Eldon.  It seemed as though they had been in the maze of tunnels for way too long!

Fyn was talking to himself, looking around the area they were in, sighing.  He was frustrated with this obstacle, perhaps it was the little problem at the end.  Maybe that was supposed to be funny, because it was not such a little problem.

            “F-f-fyn, wh-what you th-th-thinking ‘bout?”  Silas asked finally.

            “Nothing much, just how do we get across this gulch is all.”

            “Wh-what ‘bout the l-l-ledge there?”  He asked, pointing.  He said it like Fyn should have seen the ledge, but Fyn couldn’t see anything like a ledge around them.

            “What ledge, Silas?  We are on the ledge.”

            “No.  L-l-look.”  He pointed to an area just to his left.  Fyn stood up and walked over where Silas stood.  It wasn’t in sight of where he had been sitting, but there was a thin ledge there along the wall of the cliff.  It would be tight, but they could manage it.   They had to hug the wall and keep some sort of grip as they kept the toes of their boots on this narrow ledge.  The way the cliff sloped up helped as they could lean a slight bit against the rocks.  They shimmied along the wall, as it turned a corner fifty feet from where they had started Fyn could see a rope bridge crossing to the other side.

            “Be careful, who knows how long this rope has been here.”  Fyn warned as they started to cross over.

            As the boys reached the other side a little man jumped out at them, startling Fyn, scaring Silas!

            “Trespassers!”  The little guy exclaimed in a squeaky voice.

            Fyn looked at him and raised an eyebrow.  “Trespassers go on other people’s land without permission.  The Luckton Mountains do not belong to anyone!”

            The little guy scowled at Fyn.  “Thieves!”

            “We didn’t steal anything!” 

            “Murderers!”  Zedock thought he had the boy this time, he killed his fear wolves.

            “Never killed anyone either!”

            “You killed my wolves!  You were supposed to be scared of them, but you weren’t!  You killed them!  How can you have no fear?  It’s impossible!”       

            “They didn’t put up much of a fight!  Not sure why, but they just…vanished!”  Fyn told the little man.

            “It’s ‘cause you weren’t scared!”  But as Zedock thought it through, an illusion cannot be killed, so Fyn had him there too.  He crossed his arms over his little chest and scowled at Fyn again.

            “That’s all you got?”  Fyn asked, astonished.  He chuckled at the short fellow.

            “You can’t go on!  You leave here!  Go home, now, shoo!” 

            “I have to go on; I have something I need to do!”  Fyn replied.

            “What you want, hmm?”

            Fyn wasn’t sure what was going on with this little character, he was quite a nuisance and hindering Fyn’s quest.

            “My name is Fyn; this is my brother, Silas.  He doesn’t talk too much.”  Silas smiled and waved at the gnome.

            “I see.”  He said.  He stood his ground and didn’t say anymore still trying to look mean.

            “The normal thing to do now is to tell us your name, little fellow.”

            “Zedock!  You call me Zedock!  I’m no little fellow!”

            “Ok, sorry.  What you doing out here all alone?”  Fyn inquired.

            “Alone?  Who says I am alone?  I am not alone!”

            Fyn could feel his time wasting away talking to this Zedock.  He was anxious to get going.

            “Ok, well let us pass then and go back to your friends.”

            “You just leave!  Leave me alone!”  Zedock growled at Fyn.

            “I thought you said you weren’t alone.”  Fyn smiled, playing with Zedock.  He hoped the little lump would get sick of him and run off, but he stuck around.

            Zedock looked bewildered.  “You tricked me!”

            “Tell me, Zedock.”  Fyn said to the gnome, “I haven’t been away from home too much, so I’m not real worldly, are you a dwarf?”

            “Dwarf?  Dwarf!  Ha, no!  I am not!  I am Zedock, a gnome from Zackleb!  I am here to…to…no more tricks!”  Zedock flapped his arms and began to stomp his feet.  No one had ever gotten to the bridge before, not in almost 100 years had anyone made it this far.  Other’s had gone through the caves and the water and all the other things, but they had all fallen at the gulch before, convinced also that glow in the cave was the final payoff to what they sought.  Some had jumped to their death’s others just had bad luck and fell. 

            Fyn could see Zedock’s frustration.  He thought Zedock was hiding something, and Fyn figured he was the ‘little problem at the end’ that Ayden had referred to.  It was time to test the waters.

            “Notnek fo Dnegel.”  Fyn stated with false confidence.

            Zedock’s stance changed, he put one foot back as though to brace himself for a fight, and then he put his hands up in front of him as if to cast a spell, speaking strange words.  Fyn stepped up to him, slapping his hands apart and getting ready to wrestle the little varmint. 

            “No!  You can’t have it!  My time is almost up!  I almost have won!”  Zedock said, his voice quivered a bit and he looked as though he would cry.  Fyn felt a moment of pity for him, but he wasn’t here to pity anyone but himself, he was here to save his brother, not waste time.

            “What do you mean?”  Fyn said.

            “What do I mean?”  Zedock asked, bewildered as though he had no clue what Fyn meant.

            “Your time is almost done and you almost won?  What does that mean?”  Fyn asked.

            Before Zedock would say anymore, he told Fyn he needed to earn the right to any information the gnome had.  He gave Fyn a riddle to solve:

‘Some have a firm grasp on it,

While other’s hold it by a thread,

They may not think they lost touch with it,

Because it’s no longer in their head.’

            Fyn thought about this for a bit.  He sat down and pulled the jerky from his satchel and nibbled on it while he thought.  Silas sat quietly at his side, nibbling on his piece of jerky.

            “You should share!”

            “What?  Oh, I was taught to share with friends.  You, little fellow, are not my friend, that is clear to me!”  He went on thinking it over, sort of murmuring to himself as he worked out the logic of the riddle.  There was probably some trick this guy was playing on him, but Fyn was sure he had the cloak!

            “Reality!”  Fyn said finally.  

            “You cheat!”  Zedock declared.

            “How can I cheat?  That is the answer isn’t it?”  Fyn snickered.

            “Yes that is the answer.  But that was an easy one, the next you won’t be so quick to solve!”

            “Well a deal is a deal.  You have to tell me why you are here now!”

            Zedock sighed, he explained that he was protecting something, but wouldn’t say what.  He told Fyn how he only had a few months until the he proved his worth.  “I have persevered for 100 years, well almost.  Then you come along and you are going to be the ruin of me!  I don’t want to die this awful death the witch has planned for me!  Just leave me with my suit!”

            “Suit?  You mean the cloak.”  Fyn said.  He knew there was more to this!

            “Um,well, yes there is a cloak.”  Zedock said.  “You go after my cloak then?”

            “Well, here is my dilemma.  My brother is going to be executed for a murder he had nothing to do with.  But Prince Ayden Taron said that if I bring him the Cloak of Kenton he will get my brother out of the noose and replace him with some other felon.  He says he is a collector of stuff.  But I don’t know that I believe that.”

            “He lies!  I have heard of sort of prophecy about him.  He is bad and he can’t have the magic!  Not for a minute!”  Zedock said firmly.

            “So it does still have magic then.  He said he didn’t know if it had any magic left.”

            “It has destroyed the greatest wizard ever!  It will hold its magic inside itself, very dangerous.”

            “He sent a bag for me to put it in.”  Fyn took out the bag.

            “That won’t fit the suit!  Too small.”

            “The suit?  Why do you keep saying the suit?”  Fyn asked.

            “There are three pieces to the suit.  You need all three to use the magic.  If you use one without the others, it will kill you!”

            Fyn thought for a few minutes.  “So you believe Ayden is dangerous, a bad person.  And if he were to weild this power from the cloak alone it would kill him.  Am I following you here?”

            “Yes, it’s very dangerous.”  Zedock looked at him intently, but not understanding what Fyn was putting together.

            “So, would it make sense to you that if he was to use the cloak without the other pieces, he would be destroyed and you would be the one to have helped divert the prophecy?”

            Zedock thought for a moment.  “Ah yes, that is very clever.  But you see, I can’t give the cloak, the witch will return and find it missing and then I will die a horrible painful death at her hands!”  He made a horrible, sour face.

            Fyn thought this over again.  “And when will she be back to see the three pieces of the suit?  Does she come to check sometimes or will she just be back on the last day.”

“She will be back on the last day.  I have to have all the pieces or she will win.”  Zedock explained.  “If one of them is missing I can’t even run away, I am stuck in these mountains until she returns!  She has cast a spell over them, keeping me locked in here to guard her secret!”

“So what happens to the cloak if it destroys Ayden?  Does it get destroyed too?”

“No one can destroy the suit except its maker.  And since he is currently not around, no one else can do it.”  Zedock stated.  He thought it should be obvious to Fyn and rolled his eyes as he answered.

“So, just let me borrow it.  After I get Eldon out of jail, I will bring it back to you!”

“Liar!  You will come take them all from me!”

“What do I want with that?  I am a farm hand; I live with my uncle and my brothers.  All I want out of life is solitude and quiet!  I sure didn’t want to be here!  Please help me, Zedock!”

Fyn looked desperate, and that scared Zedock.  He turned and ducked into one of his gopher holes.  Fyn jumped on top of the hole and began to try to dig it out!  “Come back here!  You dirty little rodent!”  He had never felt so angry in his life, or so desperate!  “I give you my word I will bring it back, I just want my brother!”

Fyn stopped digging at the rock and dirt, his fingers bloody.  He looked over at Silas who was sitting with his mouth open and his eyes wide.  He’d never seen Fyn so angry before and he was shocked!  He didn’t want to draw attention to himself so he sat very still.

“You will hurt me now!”  Zedock chimed from a hole in the mountain about 30 feet over Fyn’s head.

“I am sorry Zedock.”  He turned to Silas.  “Si, its ok, I am sorry.  I didn’t mean to get so mad; I just want so badly to help Eldon!  Silas, forgive me.”  He said to his brother.

Silas looked at him, and then he smiled.  “I f-f-forgive y-you, F-f-fyn.”  Then he went and hugged his brother.  Zedock watched the brother’s, feeling jealousy, loss and guilt.

            “Thanks, Si.”  Fyn hugged Silas back.  Zedock wished he could see his family again.  Part of the spell of the mountain was that time stopped, for him and anyone who entered, but outside it kept going.  He would emerge the same age he went in as, but all those he had known would have aged the 100 years while he was gone.  He wouldn’t have many, if any, friends or family left when this was over.  He was sort of envious of the brothers.  From his perch he and Silas talked with each other.  Silas told Zedock about the animals on the farm.

            “F-f-fyn, I c-c-could s-s-stay here.  Th-th-then you c-c-come b-b-back with Eldon.”  Silas suggested.

            Now the little gnome wanted to give them the cloak in hopes he could feel the brotherly love they obviously had for each other.  To have gone through all of this and risk their lives, and keep going though they were exhausted and hungry just to save one man rather impressed the gnome.  He felt a wave of emotion come over him.  He had no one to go back to.

            “Not so fast!”  He yelled at them.  “It is my stuff, and you can’t have it no matter what!”

            “If Silas stays with you, though, I will have to come back.  There is no trick in that; I am not going to leave him here to meet this evil witch!  He will be safe with you.  He knows that.  And as soon as I get Eldon out we will come back here.”

            Hesitantly, the gnome crawled down from his perch and the three sat down.  Fyn even gave him a piece of jerky to nibble on while they talked about their plan.  Finally Zedock took the bag into the caves, returning a little while later with the cloak.  Fyn eyed the bag to be sure the cloak was there and Zedock wasn’t trying to trick him.

            Fyn talked with Silas quietly before he left.  “Are you sure you are ok staying here, Si?  I don’t want to leave if you don’t feel safe about this.”

            “I am f-f-fine, Fyn.  Zedock is n-n-nice to me.  H-he doesn’t m-m-make f-f-fun of m-me.  I l-l-like him.”  Silas told his brother.  It gave Fyn some piece of mind that Silas was about as safe as he could be this far away from where the danger was going to be.

            “Ok, then.  I will be back as soon as I can.  And I will have Eldon with me.”  Fyn said.

            “Good luck, then.  We wait here for you, but hurry!”  Zedock told him, he was still quite uneasy about letting the cloak leave the safety of his cave.  He feared the witch would return early and find it to be missing!

***

            Fyn returned to the lake where he met up with the prince.  He lay down in the grass and waited.  He eventually fell asleep and dreamed of the good times with his brothers as they grew up.  There were times they had played some tricks on neighbors, or adventured into the woods.  They thought they were pretty keen in the woods, chasing critters back to their dens, the heroes of the forest.  But now the real adventure turned out a bit different than any of them ever could have imagined.

            Fyn woke to someone poking him with a stick.  He opened his eyes to see Ayden standing there in his hooded cloak.  Fyn dragged his tired body to his feet, he looked, and felt, like he had been dragged through a field of rocks for miles!

            “Where is your brother, the stupid one?”  Ayden said to Fyn.  “His return was part of the deal we had!”

            Fyn allowed his face to flush, tears filled his eyes, and his anger was passed off as great sadness for another loss.  “He died trying to get your prized cloak!”  He sounded bitter and resentful!

            “I see.  Pity.  You did get the cloak.” 

            “Where is Eldon?  I have lost one brother in this dreadful quest; I want to make sure I have my other brother when it’s over!”

            “Sumter!  Bring him here!  Sumter you stinking bastard, bring that pitiful heap out here!”  A haggard man with no teeth led Eldon out to the clearing.  His arms were bound behind his back, he legs tied and a leash attached to a rope collar around his neck.

            “There is your brother, give me the cloak.”  Ayden demanded.

            Fyn tossed the cloak on the ground at the prince’s feet.  Eldon stumbled forward and fell to the ground at Fyn’s feet.  Fyn knelt down and looked at his brother’s beaten face.  “They spent the last week beating you, haven’t they?”  He whispered to his brother.

            Eldon didn’t speak, tears filled his eyes and he bowed his head.  Fyn looked up at the prince.

            “Now to experience ultimate power!”

            “I thought it was for a collection!  You didn’t say you were going to use it!  You said it had no magic left!”  Fyn declared.  He looked surprised, partly because he still hoped everything Zedock had said was wrong and the cloak wouldn’t work!

            “Oh, naive boy, power like this isn’t to be pent up!  It is meant to be used!  I will show you an example of how this works.  First I will get rid of one witness to my deeds, and then I will clear you and your brother from the world as well!”

            Fyn put his arms around his brother to shield him from the unknown turnout of what was about to happen.  Ayden began to chant words and point at Sumter.  The man tried to run away but couldn’t move, Ayden had him stopped in place!  As he continued to chant he didn’t notice his skin beginning to bubble and boil, his face began to melt off the bone, revealing muscle and sinew underneath!  The smell hit Fyn and Eldon, Eldon began to heave and Fyn held him close, shielding himself and Eldon from the dark magic.

            As Sumter was blown to ash, Ayden finally realized he was actually melting!  His face looked terrified and questioning.  As he was casting, the cloak began to glow, phantom hands engulfed the prince, choking him.

            “You need all the pieces to properly use the power!  You can’t just use part of it!”  Fyn informed him.  “And no one knows where the other pieces are, or how many are left!  Burn in hell!”  Then he turned away, still covering his brother.

            A loud blast shook the men, a strong wind blew past them and then all was silent.  Fyn looked at where the prince had been standing.  A rumpled cloak lay on the ground, and nothing of the prince was there, except his medallion to prove who he was.  No other evidence existed that the prince had been there.  Fyn collected the cloak and the medallion and put both items in his satchel.

            “Where is Silas?  Please tell me he isn’t really dead!”  Eldon cried.

            “He is perfectly fine, Eldon.  I just had to tell that prince that so he wouldn’t question why he really wasn’t here.  He is waiting for us with his new friend.”

            “Silas made a friend?”  Eldon looked surprised.  “I was on death’s door getting kicked around and he is out making friends?”

            “Let me tell you what happened….”  He told Eldon everything that had been going on.  The two went back to the farm to let Uncle Tom know everything would work out.  He saw how badly Eldon was beat up, so he told the boys to take the horse to go get Silas.  Uncle Tom didn’t really like the idea of them running off again, but he really wanted to get the three boys back home and let life return to normal again. 

***

            Fyn and Eldon went to the Luckton Mountain.  Fyn gave the cloak back to Zedock in exchange for his other brother.  They told Zedock that he should come see them when he could.  Zedock felt something he hadn’t felt in decades, companionship!  He felt wanted by someone again!

            Silas’ stutter had seemed to be better after spending some time with the gnome; he also seemed to be calmer and not get so upset over things.  They didn’t know what had caused it, but it seemed to be a good thing for Silas.  Silas watched the roads to see if his new little friend would come to see him.  He hoped he would, because he really enjoyed the gnome’s company.

***

            There were guards searching everyone’s homes for a few weeks.  It seemed the prince had gone missing, though his father was certain he was off on some quest of magical outcome.  But the searches had to take place in hopes of finding him and returning him safely to his home.  And there was a reward for any information leading to the prince’s safe return.

***

            Zedock lay outside his cave patiently, his eyes closed, a brown leather bag holding the Suit of Kenton sat on a rock nearby.  He knew the old witch would be along soon enough, because time had began to pass again.  The sun had begun to move in the sky after 100 years of sitting in one spot.

            “Zedock, how have you been?”  She said to him, her voice raspy.

            He opened one eye and peeked at the witch; he smiled at her and opened the other eye.  “I am well, lady.  How are you?”  Time had not been kind to her.  He remembered being drawn to her during his time as her captive, longing for her approval.  Seeing her now, he couldn’t remember why it would be that he cared anything about her.

            She smiled her toothless smile; strands of her ratty gray hair blew across her face.  “I see you still have my things.  How sweet of you to wait for me to return.”  Zedock stood up, as he did, she saw the gold medallion around his neck, with a crane etched into it.  “Where did you get that?”  She demanded.

            He touched the medallion, and looked at her.  “From a friend.”

            “No, tell me truthful!  You left the mountain didn’t you?  You found a way out somehow and left!”  She was angry, thinking the little gnome had overcome her spell.

            He didn’t give up any confirmation or denial as to how he came about the medallion.  He just wanted to leave, he didn’t care about anything else anymore, and he just wanted to be away from this mountain.  It suddenly dawned on him that he didn’t care about her either, what she thought or what she might do.  He had spent too much time in the past worrying about what she would think of him and his skills.  But it didn’t matter anymore.

            “So would you still like a chance to win the suit?  We can have another challenge!”  She offered him, smiling.

            “No, I just want to be on my way.  I have had enough time in this mountain.”  He was convinced he would have to stay in the mountain if he won or lost the challenge and he had someplace to be soon.  “You can have the medallion if you like also; I just want to leave here.”

            “Yes I want it!”  She snapped before realizing how anxious she was.  He didn’t even care why she was so interested in the medallion.

            “You do not care for magic anymore?  Have I locked you away for so long that you have lost the will to learn?”

            “I have learned all I need to while I was here.  I have learned more in the recent few weeks than I could have ever learned from you!  I am more powerful now, than ever before!  And I am more powerful than you!”  He took the medallion and threw it at her feet.  “So…be seeing you!” 

            With that he dove into one of his gopher holes and began making a run to save his tail.

            “No!  Come back!  I am not done with you!”  She screamed.

            But Zedock did not stop, he moved as fast as he could to get out of the mountain quickly, before she trapped him again!  But this time she didn’t have anything of his to use as a reagent for a spell against him that way.  He had given her the medallion willingly; she didn’t steal it from him.  So it would not work to cast against him.  He had no other possessions; he had left everything behind long ago.

            As he moved through his little tunnels, he could feel her breathing cold winds into them, trying to force him out, but he was dedicated to his mission now.  She pushed hot air through and still he did not surface.  Finally, she forced cold water through the tunnel, which picked him up and carried him out of a hole.  As he shot out of the entrance of the tunnel, the witch sat under a tree with pretty pink flowers.

            “Hello, again.”  She smiled coyly at Zedock.

            Zedock took notice of where she was sitting, and the leather bag lying nearby.  She had the medallion around her neck, tucked into to her robes.  He looked up at the tree.

            “Pretty flowers there above you.”  He said to her.  She looked up quickly at the same time Zedock began flapping his arms and blowing!  He created enough of an upset in the air to cause the dream dust to fall on the old hag!  Though she tried to crawl away, she quickly became overcome with the sleepiness.  As she slept he could see her face change into a beautiful young woman, her hair looked so soft and brown.  He wanted to touch her hair, but he didn’t, he resisted the urge.  He stood for a long time to watch her, grabbing the leather bag and keeping it safe at his side.

            He passed a few hours, watching her sleep.  Finally she woke as the sun was dropping behind the west mountain peaks.

            “What?  Where am I?”  She said quietly to herself.  When she saw Zedock she became startled.  “Who…who are you?”  She asked.

            He introduced himself and the two talked for a little while.  The witch, now a pretty young girl, had no memory of all that had transpired between herself and the gnome.  She didn’t know how she had gotten to the mountain.  And she wanted to know where her mother and father were.  Zedock told her he had just found her here, sleeping and waited to see her wake before going along his way.

            Zedock was amazed at what seemed to have happened to her.  His dream dust must have shed away the years on her skin and the knowledge of anything in her mind.  Her magic appeared to have been lost!  He was finally free of her!  He had no idea how he had done it!  How did he make her young again, and how did he make her forget all their history together?  He didn’t even care!  He just wanted to go see his friends on the farm!

            “What is this?”  She took the medallion out of her robe and looked at it.

            “Oh, my lady!  I beg your pardon!”  Zedock bowed at her feet. “You must be the princess they are looking for!  You should return home immediately!  Your father is very worried!”  He told her.  He explained to her where she needed to go, it wasn’t safe for Zedock to take her because people didn’t believe in gnomes and he would be in danger.

            “But, what of a reward?  You have stayed to make sure I was safe here.”

            “Just knowing you will be in the castle is reward enough for me.”  Zedock smiled.  He knew that she would eventually remember, better she be locked away in the castle because the prince was missing than to be chasing after him!

            The two left the mountains together, then they parted ways.  They bid each other farewell, and then Zedock hurried away from the place as fast as he could go!

***

            It was just a few days later that the little creature from the mountains finally showed up at the farm.  Eldon and Zedock had to remain in hiding, Eldon because he was supposed to be dead; Zedock because no one believed gnomes existed!

            No one believed in the legend for a long time either but it was safe again.  There were no clues to lead anyone to the suit now.  Zedock and Silas had it hidden safely away.  No new clues would come about for anyone to be able to find the suit and use it.  It was filled with dark magic and was too dangerous to have anyone wield its power!  Someday Kenton would be resurrected and come to find it.  But until that day, it would be safely hidden away.