《Spellbent》Chapter Three - Flies and Poetry
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Once Seth and Twig have reached the border of the city, they spot a small cottage with a man relaxing on his chair outside playing some casual tunes on a banjo. Every now and then he waves around his head as if something bothers him. Not before long, he spots Seth and Twig.
Man: Hey little boy, come here please!
Seth: Sure. That is not creepy at all. What can I help you with?
Man: I got a bit of a fly problem here... It's driving me nuts.
Seth: I can see that... The flies on your chin are actually piling up on each other…
Man: Yeah... Maybe I shouldn't use honey as shaving cream in the morning.
Seth: Right…
Man: Moving on... I need you to swat 15 flies. Consider that a little quest for you. Is that all right? I will accompany you with a little song while you're at it.
Seth: That won't really be necessary, I think... Can I have that guitar please?
Man: Sure, little one. What do you think of i-OOUCH, my chin. Why did you have to hit my chin?
Seth: There you go, fifteen flies. The other twenty are a bonus for you.
Man: You broke my jaw!
Twig: Nah he fixed it.
Man: But it's coming loose every time I say something!
Twig: ...
Man: ...
Seth: ...
Man: Itdoesfeel better though. Thanksalotguys Icantalkalotfasternow itwasalmostlikemychinandjaw *deep sigh* wereliketotallyfrozenohmygod *deep sigh* I’msohappyIcantalkasfastasIthinknowitsalmostlikemybrainhasitsownbrainyouknowherehavetengoldcoinsasathanksandhopefullyIseeyouaroundtorepaythefavornononodon’tthinkI’llhityourchinbackI’mnotthatcruelbuttherewasthisonetimewhereblablablablablablabla-
Seth: Did you understand any of that, Twig?
Twig: Nah... Let's just go…
Meanwhile at the Castle.
Servant: King Lacial! I have terrible news!
King Lacial: It must be very serious if you dare to interrupt my sponge bath.
Servant: Oh yes, my king. One of your old spokesmen got his jaw fixed and can't stop talking.
King Lacial: God help us... Send twenty of our best men to correct that mistake! Imagine him slipping up… Remember last time that happened?
Servant: He claimed you had a funny hat in your closet as I recall.
King Lacial: And what did I do when that happened?
Servant: You burned all of your hats, all of your clothing warehouses, all cotton farms, and all of the clothing and housing of all the families that knew your Spokesman.
King Lacial: Imagine a rumor being actually true this time.
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Servant: I'd never dare, my Liege.
And with that the servant leaves the room, hoping the king never figures out that he told his wife about the king's extra toe. Now let's go back to Seth!
After a strange encounter with a strangely bearded man, Seth finally reaches the border of the city called... Well he does not have a clue. Little did they know King Lacial simply assumed his city was so awesome and widely known throughout the world, that he just skipped the part where he put signs all over the country telling everyone the city's name. Upon realizing how much gold it would save by not putting up signs, the King felt so generous that he didn't add an extra percentage of tax to pay for the feast he prepared for his wit. A few lambs had to be sacrificed though for the “Greater Awesomeness that is Me. So, it's all Good" as King Lacial had claimed.
Seth was walking around aimlessly through the unknown city's streets. Almost as aimless as all the villagers. Even the hobos appear to have more meaning in their aimless walk of infinity than the actual villagers. If they stay up until late at night, they will even discover that the villagers owning a house never actually get back inside to enjoy being homeful...
Seth: Look around Twig. All these villagers walking around, being busy. This feels like a true flourishing Capital of this continent. Imagine the stories they could tell us. You know what? I'll ask around!
And so, he does.
Seth: Hi Sir, how-
Man: My dog ran away yesterday.
Seth: Aww, that is quite sad... Where do you thi-
Man: My dog ran away yesterday.
Seth: Are you saying this every da-
Man: My dog ran away yesterday.
Seth: ...
Man: ...
Seth: ...
Man: ...
Seth: I got to g-
Man: My dog ran away yesterday.
Seth quickly backs away from the strange man. But he guesses the man will not get angry at him at all.
Seth: Okay so this was just a fluke, right? I stumbled upon the village idiot or something. No God in their right mind would create a world where people would say the same lines over and over again. That's plain ridiculous.
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Seth, being as much stubborn as optimistic as a small child should be, spots a woman across the street who is looking over the crops in her back yard. Probably awaiting them to grow into watermelons, sweetcorn, and other delicious food Seth secretly long for.
Seth: Hello Miss. That garden looks fruitful!
Woman: If only my crops grew faster so I could feed my children…
Seth: ... Can you repeat that please?
Woman: If only my crops grew faster so I could feed my children…
Seth: Thanks. And now I assume you are going to say it again?
Woman: What? No! You just met the village idiot, didn't you?
Seth: This is so not where I thought this was going... What a relief!
Woman: That blabber won't feed my kids you know. 'Tell ya what. I'll give ya a wooden sword extra sharp, if ya catch me five of them rabbits.
Seth: No thank you.
Woman: ... You're not a Chosen Hero?
Seth: I guess I could become one in the future perhaps.
Woman: And you don't want this job?
Seth: No.
Woman: Why? All heroes have eagerly offered me five rabbits for a wooden sword (extra sharp and sandpapered).
Seth: I am a Mage. Mages do not need swords.
Woman: ... But there is no Magic around to begin with?
Seth: We will see about that!
Woman: Kay... Nice hat by the way.
Seth: Thanks.
And so, Seth continues his path to find requests that actually will be useful to him.
Meanwhile at the Castle.
Servant: My king! I have two issues for you today. The latest report on the Kingdoms' state and a poem!
King Lacial: Get on with it!
Servant:
There's a farmer on the south side
Who loved a coat out of deer hide
The deer belonged to Pete
Who thought killing's not neat
So, he decided to drown him in high tide.
A few months ago, the goblins appeared
and took over the sewers was a rumor we hear'ed
But the goblins decided
No longer to hide it
And killed countless guards, not thinking it's weird.
The hunger is on the rise again
Which wouldn't have been too terrible when
We hadn't had famine in fall
Killing the sickest of all
Next ten or so wars we'll have plenty of middle-aged men.
The Heroes are questing as usual
and yet our enemies remain to stand tall
Our borders are hell
Nothing more I can tell
But in time I assume that this country will fall.
King Lacial: ...That was very touching. Now can I hear the report of our country please?
Servant: That was the report sir.
King Lacial: ...
What the actual poem is about, we will probably never get to hear from the King. Partially because he claims the terrible two-liner offended him, and he realized that he is surrounded by illiterate delinquents; (Or simply idiots, in their language). Mainly because the writer of this story lacks the skill to write good poems in English.
Seriously it's just too much to ask.
Meanwhile back at Seth and Twig.
Seth: Hey look! We found the weapons shop!
Twig: ...
Seth: Let us go inside and see if they sell wands!
And so, he does! And as soon as he peeks through the door, he sees a big room full of weapons. Short weapons. Long weapons. Weapons with sharp edges. Weapons with dull edges. You get the picture now, right? Wrong! To your possible astonishment and most certainly Seth's disappointment, there is nothing but swords on the walls and one single fly.
Seth: I am so pissed right now…
Mysteriously familiar voice: Will? Is that you? Nice hat by the way!
Who is this mysterious voice that came out of the blue? Actually, it came out of the back of the weapons shop! Why is Seth still disappointed by not finding anything but swords, even after his encounter with the Elder? And what's with this fly? We might never find out.
But the most important thing of all:
Why, why oh, why... Do people comment Seth on his hat?
You'll probably guess right beforehand and
Seth's Awesome Statistics; (Heh... SAW for short. Let's hope this won't become a little... game).
Seth: This narrator guy still creeps me out
Twig: I'd say…
Seth: Plus… It would be SAS, not SAW…
Twig: Don't make it worse than it is.
That was very sassy of you Seth.
Seth: Aw, bullocks.
Current completed quests: 0
Current Exp: Nothing changed since chapter 2!*
Current Seth Status: Let's just save the snarly comments for another time!
Seth: Thank you.
*So yeah... 6 exp.
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