It always starts with one, doesn’t it? Crazy dreams, I mean. I’m tellin’ ya, that sorta crap just can’t be made up, no matter how hard you try. Now… lemme tell y’all a story.

~Gato, son of Alexander, talking with his grandchildren

#

Gato awoke with a start in his bed that morning. The orange and red leaves of fall fleeted across the window as the breeze blew them one way or another. “Man, that was a crazy dream,” he said to himself. “It was so bizarre, too.” He swung his feet out of the bed, making certain that the covers didn’t entangle his feet again. “Still, I wonder what was going to develop next?”

There was a knock at his bedroom door. “Hey, bro,” Gato’s older brother Delaz said. “You overslept. Are you ready to eat yet? It’s almost dawn.”

“Not yet, Delaz,” Gato said. “I have to get dressed.”

Delaz, the youngest of Gato’s older siblings, opened the door a crack. “I take it you just got out of bed,” he said.

“You guessed it,” Gato said. “I should get myself changed.”

“Good idea, little bro,” Delaz said. “I’ll leave you to it.” With that, he closed the door and walked away, presumably to the kitchen.

Gato stood up from his bed and took off his dark royal blue tunic and crimson red peasant’s pants, before he put on a rainbow-colored plaid tunic and pants, completing the day’s ensemble with a black and blue plaid tartan around his shoulders.

With that, he walked out of his bedroom, and the thought suddenly occurred to him that the bedroom was rather ordinary in comparison to the luxurious accommodations of a prince… Wait! How did I know that? I shouldn’t have any idea about being a prince. Still puzzling over that, he walked to the kitchen.

As Gato walked in, his parents and his seven siblings all greeted him from the kitchen table. As usual, he was the last to arrive. “Sure took you long enough, Squirt,” said Jeremiah, the eldest sibling. “Yeah, we were waiting for you so we could eat!” exclaimed Cima and Chuck, the next eldest. One set of twins, Cynthia and Jack, then spoke simultaneously: “Yeah, c’mon, we’re hungry!” Simon and Andrew, the second set of twins, reminded Gato, “It’s Family Holiday Week, and the tradition is that we all eat together during this time.” With that, Gato quickly sat down and the whole family began to eat.

As the family finished breakfast, Diana, Gato’s mother, said to him, “Gato, we need your help again today. Our supplies are running low, and we need to replenish them before the first snowfall. We’ll need a bushel of every kind of grain at the market, two baskets of carrots, three baskets of potatoes, and one basket of everything else. I’ll write that on a chalk tablet that you can show to the merchants if that will help because we know you can’t read or write just yet.”

What I really need is a few days off, but since when was I ever allowed to take a break? “Yes, mother,” Gato nodded in due respect. “I will go to the market for you…” He then perked up a bit. “What about meat? Do we have any excess to sell at the market?”

Delaz replied, “No, we don’t have any extra meat to sell right now. Thanks for asking.”

Gato nodded. “Is there anything else I need to know before I leave?”

“Not today, son,” Alexander, Gato’s father, said. “At the end of next week, you’ll need to take our extra wool to the spinstress in town. I’ll let you know when that will need to take place. For today, just be sure to get the supplies that your mother asked you to get.”

“Yes, father,” Gato said. “I’ll be leaving right away. I’ll go get the bags and containers that I’ll need.”

A few moments later, Gato returned from the pantry, carrying the sacks and containers that he needed to take to town. He began to sort them and organize them on the table.

As he finished eating, Jeremiah got up from the breakfast table. “Well, I’m off to my apprenticeship,” he said. “The blacksmith wants me to see about adding some iron to the forge later today, and I need to be there in time for this.”

“Okay, Jeremiah, good luck out there,” Alexander said, as the eldest walked off to his job in town. “Anyone else among you need to go do their jobs?”

The second eldest, Gato’s oldest sister Cima, who was a priestess at the local temple, stood up and stepped over to the kitchen dish cleaning bucket with hers and Jeremiah’s things from the dinner table. “I have to be going to the temple soon,” she said.

“Yes, you should probably get going,” Diana said. “Have a wonderful day, dear.”

“Thank you, mother, I will,” Cima replied. “I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”

As she left the room to do what she needed to prepare for, the third eldest got up from the table as well. “Well, I guess that I need to get over to the hunter’s guild,” he said. “I have a long day ahead of me, and will have a long week ahead, too.”

“Are you sure of that, Chuck?” Alexander raised an eyebrow. “What could be so dangerous that you need to work overtime at the guild?”

“That’s classified information, I’m afraid,” Chuck answered. “True, they should allow me to tell you something, but I can’t… that’s guild politics for you, father.” He moved on over to the kitchen dish-cleaning bucket and put his dishes there. “Well, guess I need to go, everyone.”

“See you later, Chuck,” Alexander and Diana waved him goodbye. “Hope you catch what you have to for the Guild.”

“Thanks, I hope so too…” Chuck answered. With that, he strode over to the door.

As Chuck walked out the door, the fourth eldest child rose from her seat at the dinner table. Cynthia was a tapestry weaver, working at the local loom. “I better get going,” she said. “Today, I’m starting a new tapestry for Baron Von Riddle. I’ll be back later, hopefully by tonight, but don’t expect me back soon.”

“Okay, Cynthia,” Diana said, giving her only other daughter a nod. “Please take care of yourself in town, dear.”

“Yes, mother,” Cynthia nodded. “I’ll be back when I can.” With that, she took her stuff to the dish cleaning bucket and left the room.

“Now, what do you have to say, about the job your twin sister has to deal with, Jack?” Alexander asked the fifth child. “Is there anything you know we don’t about this mess?”

Jack, having gotten up at that position in time, moved over to the dish cleaning bucket and said, “No, I don’t. True, my work as a jester would make it seem like I would know these things, but the Baron is pretty tight-lipped about that.” He put his dishes in the bucket.

As Jack turned to leave the room, Alexander asked, “What are you doing today?”

Jack answered, “I’m getting a spear from my bedroom. I promised a friend that I would go hunting with him today because his family is really hungry. If I get a summons, I’ll be hunting for boars.”

“Alright, Jack,” Alexander said before he turned his attention to the other twins in the house. “Simon, Andrew, what about you two? What are you going to do today?”

“Same as usual,” Simon answered. “We’ll do whatever chores you’d like us to do.”

“Yep,” Andrew said. “We’ll do whatever it is you want us to do, mother.”

“Well,” Diana put a hand to her chin. “I suppose you two can clean the bedrooms.”

“Consider it done, mother.” As the twins got up from the table, they waved to her. They walked over to the broom closet and pulled cleaning supplies from it.

“Delaz, what about you?” Alexander asked. “Do you have anything that you’re doing today?”

“Well, I’m going out to the fields today to see how the harvest is going,” Delaz answered.

“Good idea,” Alexander said. “Let me know if the harvest is looking good out there.”

Gato finished sorting through the bags and turned to his mother, saying, “I’ll be going to town, now. Are there any supplies you need me to buy? Do you have a list ready?”

“No, not yet. Give me just a minute, and I’ll have it for you,” Diana replied. A few minutes later, she handed Gato a chalk tablet with a list written on it. “Goodbye, son! Have a safe trip to town and back.”

“Thanks. Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad.” With that, he walked out the front door and grabbed a wheelbarrow standing by the wall, walking to town right after.

#

A little over a half-hour later, Gato arrived at the gates of the town of Alfheimwood, where the market was. The town was located deep within the world’s northern hemisphere, on a great plain with forests, foothills, and mountains in the distance to the west. “Okay, let’s see here… I wonder what else is on the list that my parents didn’t say was on it originally?”

At that point, he saw a town guard dozing at his assigned post at the eastern gate, which was the main entrance into town. Hey, wait a second… he thought. Why is this guard asleep at a time like this?

He approached the guard and said to him, “Excuse me, sir, but are you alright?”

There was no reply.

“Hello?” he asked the guard. “Are you awake?”

Before Gato could do more than a shrug, the guard’s buddy walked over and said, “Ah, Gato, come on inside. I’ll deal with this slacker for you.”

“Okay, thanks,” Gato said, heading through the gates and into town. Behind him, he could’ve sworn that he heard a thwacking noise from the buddy of the lazy guard. Hmm… not my problem now…

He continued into town to do his shopping. The first stop was easy enough because it was within the area where the grains had to be. He knew he needed to keep things from being too expensive for his parents, that was for sure, especially since their farm didn’t earn an awful lot of money. He kept the list on him at all times, making sure that the people who needed to see the list were only seeing the list without having to do more than look at it while it was on the countertop.

“Hear ye, hear ye!” The town crier rang a bell to get everyone’s attention. “A grand tournament will begin here in Alfheimwood in two weeks’ time!”

Hold up… what’s happening now?

Gato stopped to find out what was going on. After all, he did not want to stay on the family farm for all his life, no matter what anyone else might say.

Hmm… this sure sounds exciting. I’ll bet it’ll be way more fun than working on the farm day in and day out.

“We will use this tournament for the prosperity of the nation, as proclaimed by His Majesty, King Victor Sylvania.” The town crier stopped ringing the bell, putting his arm down. “Those who wish to help with the prosperity of the country must sign up for the contest. All those who are incapable of signing up because they cannot write will have a voucher assigned to them.”

Okay, so far, interesting enough… but what’s the catch? Is there an entrance fee? Do I have to have a sponsor? Will the equipment be provided?

Gato's mind was racing as he tried to figure this one out.

“Lady Marquess Valentina Von Cardios, the widow of the late Marquis Von Cardios, will host the tournament.” The town crier raised a finger into the air. “For this tournament, combat will begin between the contestants, to ensure that everyone is fighting fit for later.”

Combat? Wait, what does the crier mean about being “fighting fit for later”?

“This tournament fast track one’s ability to join the military, as ordered by His Majesty.” The town crier raised finger number two into the air. “Depending on how well you do, you could even be a captain in the army, able to handle a massive amount of military power.”

Oh, boy… this will not end well, will it? I mean, sure, my parents want me to do my duty at some point, but I think they want me to remain on the farm too. I can’t do both.

Gato thought it over and decided he should try to sign up for the tourney. He knew that he would be in the army someday, but he wanted to join sooner than later. The tourney provided him that opportunity.

Now, where do they want me to sign up? I hope it’s somewhere with some writing supplies, and people to write for those who can’t.

The town crier raised a third finger into the air. “You will find the organizers of this tournament at the local temple, helping those who need their aptitude test performed. Please go there if you’re interested in participating.”

Thank you for the information, sir, Gato thought, walking toward the temple.

The town crier rang the bell once more. “Hear ye, hear ye! This announcement comes from Royal Sylvania itself. The Crown Princess has gone missing!”

Gato paused and thought to himself, Wait… we have a princess? Why am I only now hearing about her?

“They have reported Crown Princess Abigail Sylvania went from her room to the stables, hoping to get a horse ride without supervision.” The town crier moved his fingers into a fist that he clenched at his side. “The princess is missing and we are unsure if she was kidnapped or has been injured and is unable to return. Please, help us look for her post-haste!”

Before Gato could think of asking questions to the town crier…

“What does the Princess look like?” a random man asked the town crier.

“She’s a beauty beyond compare,” the town crier said. “Her hair is the color of sunlight at high noon, her eyes the color of sapphires, and she has the warmest smile of any lady in the country.”

“What about her clothing choice?” a woman asked the town crier. “Tell us more about what she was wearing.”

“She primarily wears high-quality white clothes, though the clothing has some gold embroidery on it,” the town crier answered. “She also has a tiara made of pure silver, with gemstones encrusted within it.”

“What of the horse she may have taken?” someone asked. “Is it still in the stable back at the castle? Did it return without the princess?”

“No, the horse is gone.” The town crier shook his head. “It’s a black beauty, to be sure, with a bright white mark on its forehead.”

Wait… if someone stole the horse and kidnapped the princess, then wouldn’t it be impossible to hide them from the public?

“There is no other information on this matter.” The town crier raised the bell to continue ringing it. “Next piece of news…”

At that point, Gato continued on his way to the temple, where he was hoping to register for the tournament… preferably without it getting back to his family. As it stood, however, he felt he didn’t have a chance on that front. Then again, he thought, what with my eldest sister working in a distinct part of the temple other than at registration, this should prove worth it without her being able to report it to our parents… I hope, anyway.

As he arrived at the temple, he sighed in relief as he saw the organizers were waiting for registrants outside the majestic building. Its white marble walls rose into a series of spires high in the skies. As Gato walked to the nearest tournament table, he looked around for any signs of his sister and found none.

So far, so good, he thought. Now, to enroll in the tournament… “Excuse me, but I heard that there will be a tournament in the next two weeks?” he asked the organizer.

“Aye, that you have,” the organizer said. “The tournament is open to just about anyone, but there will be those who can’t take part in all the games, due to age or infirmity.”

Gato said to the organizer, “Well, I’m young and healthy. So… could you help me register, please?”

The organizer looked Gato in the eye for a brief second, before he said, “Sure thing, lad. What’s your name?” He picked up a piece of parchment and a feather quill pen, dipping the pen in an ink well.

“Gato, son of Alexander.”

“How do you spell your given name?”

“G-A-T-O,” Gato replied.

“Alright, thanks,” the organizer said. He wrote the name as spelled, allowing Gato to see what it was like to write a name down on parchment. “Now, the next part of the parchment work will rely on you getting a weapon eventually, but preferably sooner. Do you have a preferred weapon type? I assume you are signing up for the fighting portion of the tournament rather than for the strategic games.”

“Er… not yet, no,” Gato replied, shaking his head. “I’m still trying to get my hands on a weapon for the tournament’s fighting portion.”

“That’s alright, lad,” the organizer answered. “I’ll list you as someone who needs to get accustomed to the different weapon choices available.”

As the organizer made his marks on the parchment, Gato asked, “What weapons will they allow for the tournament? I can’t imagine it would include a pitchfork or anything…”

“Well, true,” the organizer said, nodding his head. “However, we allow a similar weapon called a trident. I suppose a pitchfork would be good practice for a trident.”

“What about a spear?”

“You can use a spear, but you’d need to have it confirmed you either bought it or you made it.”

“Wait, why is that the case?” Gato asked.

“Well, to be fair, this is if you brought a weapon from outside the tournament,” the organizer answered. “I’ll just mark you as needing a weapon of your choice for the tournament, in addition to what I said beforehand.”

“Thanks,” Gato said, offering a brief nod. “Is there anything else I need to do for the tournament before it begins?”

“No, not yet, lad,” the organizer told him. “Head over to the Sylpheed Plains outside town in two weeks’ time to be ready to enter the tournament.”

“Again, thank you,” Gato said, giving the man a big smile. At that, he walked off to pick up the groceries that he needed to get, keeping his list at the ready. Now… I need to hurry this up before going home, don’t I? As he walked over to begin shopping, he couldn’t help but notice that the town’s streets were in serious disrepair, with numerous potholes and bare places that were mostly mud. Most of the buildings were run down, and all needed some repair and a fresh coat of paint… except for the temple, the bank, and the home of the lord mayor. It was curious that in his previous trips to town, Gato had never noticed that Alfheimwood seemed rather poor. He continued to go from vendor to vendor, showing each merchant his list until he had obtained all of the groceries for which he had been sent to town. With that, he left the market, passed through the town gates, and began walking down the road toward home.

#

Man, talk about a long day in town… Gato thought as he headed back home from the market. He couldn’t help but notice that the Sylpheed Plains, windswept and full of miniature trees and bushes that had once belonged to a nation of fairies in the distant past, were closed to the general public. There were contractors hired by the town pitching the tents and doing other work that made a tournament happen.

“Hey there, kid,” an unfamiliar voice he hadn’t known in his life said to him as he walked by. “Are you here to help set up for the tournament?”

Eh?

Gato turned around to look for the speaker… except that the person wasn’t in his field of vision.

“Down here.”

What the…? He looked down. A dwarf?

Indeed, the person who was speaking was a dwarf (not a midget), one who had copper-brown hair and Mythril gray eyes. He had a strange mark of an anvil on his exposed left shoulder, showing that he was from one of the official clans of dwarves. Gato couldn’t tell if that anvil was a birthmark or a tattoo, but he wasn’t about to ask the dwarf when it wasn’t his place.

“Ah, you’re wondering whether or not the anvil mark is naturally formed,” the dwarf followed Gato’s gaze and nodded. “It’s a birthmark, lad. I’m a proud member of clan Ironbone.”

Ah, that explains it, Gato thought. Of the official clans of dwarves, this was the first time that he had seen a dwarf from clan Ironbone or even a true dwarf in general.

“I ask again,” the dwarf tapped his boot to the ground, looking Gato in the eye this time. “Are you here to help set up for the tournament?”

Gato blinked. “Actually, I had signed up for participating in the tournament,” he replied to the dwarf. “I’m not here to help set up. I actually have chores to do later today.”

"Ah, so you’re headed home for the day?" the dwarf stroked his beard. “In that case, I hope you have a nice day going forward.”

“Thank you,” Gato nodded before he turned back in the direction of home —

“While you’re on the path leading away from here, be wary of bandits, young man.”

—Gato turned back to thank the dwarf, but he was conspicuously missing. What the heck? Where’d the dwarf go?

He shrugged before he began walking home again. He began looking around the area, taking in the sights of the path through the meadow as he walked back home. He couldn’t help but take in the various sights of the birds migrating south toward the warmer weather, the different small critters moving to hibernate for the winter months, and so on. It was an idyllic scenario, one that he’d love to keep going forever. He sniffed the fresh fall air, looking at the leaves that were falling from the trees. He felt the faint tug of a smile on his lips, even as he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. What a wonderful time to be alive…

Gato remembered, at that moment, the warning that the dwarf had given him. He opened his eyes and looked for any sign of bandits in the area around him, searching for anything that might be out of place as he headed on down the road for his family’s farm. He eventually found his way back to his parent’s house, but just as he set the wheelbarrow down and touched the gate to the front yard of the property —

*BZZT!!*

“Yeow!!”

—Gato retracted his hand from the gate instantaneously. What the… this is a wooden gate! How can I get shocked by a wooden gate?

He poked at the gate. Nothing happened to him. He poked it again. Still nothing. He then pushed the gate aside and shoved the wheelbarrow through as he headed onto the property. Nothing of note happened as he arrived at long last. He gave off a sigh of relief —

“Hey, Gato, welcome home.”

—Gato turned to face the speaker, only to see something rather… strange… above the person’s head.

??????, ??? ?? ????????? LVL 4

What the… what sort of prank is this?! I know that’s Andrew, but why is it that I’m seeing things above his head?

“Uh, Gato? My face is down here,” Andrew waved his hand in Gato’s direction.

“Ack!!” Gato leaped backward at the movement of Andrew’s hand. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“Huh?” Andrew scratched the top of his bald head. “I honestly have no idea what you mean.”

Gato replied, “You really expect me to believe that?”

“In one simple word? Yes.”

Gato shook his head slowly. “Then what is with the strange markings floating above your head, brother?”

“Huh? What strange markings?” Andrew looked up to see what Gato was talking about. “I don’t see anything above my head…” He then looked Gato in the eye. “Is something wrong with you?”

“Er… that’s a good question,” Gato said. “I really don’t know.”

Andrew walked over to Gato and placed both hands on his shoulders. “Gato, this isn’t normal,” he said. “Please, think back on what could have possibly happened to make you start seeing things that were never there, to begin with.”

You think I’m seeing things, eh?

“Actually…” Gato put a hand to his chin. “The only thing that might make sense is that I got shocked on the wooden gate to our property earlier.”

“You mean the front gate?”

“That’s the one.”

“Gato, this is taking the joke a little too far, don’t you think?” Andrew asked.

Gato opened his mouth to speak but then paused. I’m not imagining things, am I? How am I supposed to explain this to my family at this rate?

“Gato?”

“Yes?”

“Please, tell me what the joke’s supposed to be, and what the punchline is.”

“I’m not making any of this up, I swear, Andrew. What makes you think that?”

“Well, how can you get shocked by a wooden gate?” Andrew walked over to the gate in question and placed a hand on it. “No shocks, no nothing. You sure you had this happen to you?”

Gato walked back to the front gate. “C’mon, Andrew, what am I supposed to do to prove this really happened to me?”

“Honestly, Gato, I have no idea,” Andrew looked at him. “I wish that there was some way to prove that this really happened to you, but I don’t see how.”

Gato groaned. “This is just ridiculous…” He looked around for any sign of their parents. “How are we supposed to explain this to Mom and Dad? I doubt anyone would believe I can see these strange markings that float above people’s heads because of touching a wooden gate and getting shocked by the wood.”

Andrew nodded, and said, “I’d like to believe you, Gato, but I don’t understand what happened because it didn’t happen to me. For that, I’m sorry, bro.” He began to walk back to the house again. “Come on, you need to get the stuff you got from the market brought into the house sooner than later, little brother.”

Gato sighed and shook his head. I guess I need to keep my chores in mind… On their way back to the house, Gato turned to his brother and said, “Hey, Andrew, where’s Simon?”

Andrew paused in mid-step. “Well, that’s an embarrassing question,” he said. Looking back at Gato, he continued, “Simon’s back in bed now, saying he caught chickenpox.”

“Chickenpox? At his age?”

“I don’t get it, either.”

Gato was shocked, his mouth dropping wide open. This sucks… how did Simon catch that illness? Only little kids get sick with chickenpox.

“Gato? You doing all right?”

“Yeah, I am, thanks. I just hope that Simon gets better a lot sooner than I did when I caught it.” He looked around for a bit. “By the way, where’s Delaz?”

“Delaz is having his lunch break,” Andrew replied, as they arrived at the house.

Gato nodded. “Well, when Delaz gets done, we can all start doing our chores together.”

Andrew nodded. “Well, I’ll be getting the animals in the barn fed now,” he said. He walked over to get a pitchfork, which was leaning against the outside wall of the house and hefted it in one hand. “I’ll see you in a bit, Gato, so don’t say anything that might get you in trouble with Mom and Dad… alright?” Without waiting for a reply from Gato, he chuckled and headed into the barn, preparing for his task.

Okay, sure, I won’t say anything for now. I better put away all the supplies that I brought from town.

Gato moved the food items from Alfheimwood and took them to the granary, putting the grains in their respective spaces as designated. As he finished putting the grains away where they belonged —

“Gato, are you home yet? It’s time for you to eat your lunch!”

“Okay, Mom,” Gato called out. “I’ll be there in a bit!”

He quickly finished putting the grain away and walked towards the house for lunch. He didn’t know what else was going on with him, but —

*ROOOOAAAAAAAAR!!*

—his stomach just had to growl, didn’t it?