In the morning I left Kate sound asleep in bed, got cleaned up and dressed, and then got myself all sweaty again dragging the robot out into the sun to recharge. I was just finishing up, shaking my head over this haunted collection of spare parts, when a taxi pulled up in front of the house. Edith got out of the taxi, talking even before her foot hit the ground. Is Mom awake yet? Is breakfast ready? Do you want me to fix it? I do a good job with pancakes now. I thought Id come and personally reassure Mom that it was Joe I saw with Ania, and besides, Ania wouldnt just run off with anyone. Not anyone except Joe because no matter what she said about being mad at him she really wasnt and was always fretting about what he was doing, was he going to call her I gave her a hug as she talked and we went inside, leaving the robot soaking up the sun. Ediths chatter continued. Kate and I listened while Viola fixed breakfast. Ania and I decided to have some fun, go out, show off our new clothesI wore this dress, do you like it? Anyway, we decided to go to that club downtown, the Crypto something or other, because wed never been there before. Actually, weve never gone downtown at night on our own before at all, to any club, so this was an adventure. Its a cool place, have you been there yet? They have a DJ and I wanted to talk to him, make a request, but Ania said we should just dance to whatever he was playing. Anias shy, I guess you know that My poor little girl was trying hard to hide her distress, talking fast, hardly pausing for breath. Kate waited as patiently as I did. So we danced, and the lights spun around on the floor and sometimes blinded me so I wasnt sure, at first, who I saw standing there at the foot of the steps, watching Ania. The reason I didnt recognize him is because he was dressed strangely. I thought he was maybe a member of some band because they sometimes wear long velvet jackets and odd boots. And his hair was kind of ragged and mussed up and he had a scar on his face. And he was thinner than I remembered. Youve been working him too hard, Dad, really. And that outfit! Do you both wear that to sell robots? Very strange, Dad. So then Ania saw him and he walked over to her and they talked for a few minutes, heads close together, and then they kissed. And oh wow, Mom, it was SO romantic, so lovely there under those lights. The music had gone slow for a moment and everyone else had left the dance floor to get a drink or hit the restrooms so it was just Joe and Ania there in the middle of the lights by themselves. Then he took her hand and they walked out and she never came back to the dorm and Im so sorry I couldnt tell you sooner. Ediths face twisted up and she started sobbing. Kate hugged her and told her that there was nothing for her to worry about. Listening to Edith cry, I realized I was furious with both Joe and Ania, and I was going to tell them that. I went outside to check on Ironsides.
Darn you all! I'm SUPPOSED to be WORKING!!! But how can I when there is so much action, adventure and romance going on in these here threads??? Great stuff, Lynet! Can't wait until the next installment!! (Maybe you could make it tonight - AFTER work is over! Or at least over the lunch hour!!!)
lol, my sentiments exactly! I also agree with what SBW said earlier about not even needing the pictures, though I love them and the things you've done amaze me. GREAT job!!
NOT part of Errol's story but I was so amused by what happened in Joe's kingdom while I was trying to get good pictures of him and Ironsides that I decided to post this one picture. I had to give up on taking any of Joe because the townies were all fighting -- Brandi vs Kennedy and Christy vs Komei. It seems that the civil war in Joe's Kingdom has infected the townies. I swear I had nothing to do with it -- I was too busy creating my characters and building houses. And thank you, everyone, for your encouragement. As you can see from this picture I've had a little trouble keeping order and pursuing my story.
Fabtabulous stuff Lynet. I now have to trawl through PDL. Not trawl, scour. Journey! That's it! I've been staying at my grandads for a few days, so I had no net. 2 posts left!
I roused Ironsides and led him into the house where I pointed at one of the kitchen chairs and told him to sit down. The camera eye spun around and focused on me. I have to return. I have my orders. Youve already disobeyed those orders, Mister. He told you to stand guard and you did not. Sit down. The knobby iron shoulders drooped and he sat down, buzzing softly, I will be shot for desertion. Not if I go back with you. Youre AWOL maybe, but not a deserter. I called Kate and Viola to come and sit down. I wanted everyone, especially me, to hear what had happened to Joe and Ironsides. Now, Sir Hector of Harcourt Castle, start at the beginning, from the minute you stepped through the mirrors after Joe, and every day that followed until you stepped back and found me. Hector? said Viola, standing up again. I wont have it. You are not calling this pile of scrap by the name of my father, your grandfather. Ironsides jumped to his feet. You will sit down and keep quiet, Old Woman. I have been knighted by His Royal Highness The Prince Konstantin Audric Ignace Fitz Harcourt, Prince of Faolan and Alfarin, Duke of Scandleah and Earl of Csaba, Duke of Olesia and Earl of Thord We get it, Hector I said. Baron of Daileass and Lord of the Fyfe Sit down, Hector! Theres more. Tell me later, when we get there. Viola was still standing, indignant, arms crossed. Well? she said, looking at me. I held her chair for her. This is important, Viola. Im going away for awhile and I want you to understand what has happened. Kate and Edith will need your support. Her eyes widened and she looked at Kate who nodded and said, Please, Viola. Everyone was sitting at last. I looked at Ironsides. Tell us what happened. And remember that you and I have to be back at the old house to catch the mirrors. They may show up this evening, like they did yesterday." The robot nodded and said, When I stepped through the mirrors I bumped into Joe. He was right on the other side of them, standing still. He said to me, This is wrong. This is not my country, not my land. So I thought wed come right back, and I turned around. But the mirrors were already gone.
Ironsides' Tale Begins I looked back at Joe but he was still staring at the land around us, and then he changed his mind. It cant be home, but it is. I recognize that mountain over there. He pointed. And that one, with the gap. He turned to me said, Im glad youre here, Ironsides. Ill need your help getting back to Royden, because something is very wrong here. He walked into a stand of brushwood, pushing it aside. I followed him. Joes land is an ugly land. Its barren, brown and grey. Any bushes or trees we touched or passed in all the days that followed are dead or nearly dead. There are no birds or insects even when the sun is up and the sky is blue and clear as it was the day we arrived. The dead shrubbery we went through that morning had no effect on my armor but it pricked and clawed at Joe, leaving deep scratches on his arms. He paid no attention to it. We stood at last at the top of a rise overlooking a large valley with a grey pile of mountains on the far side. Everywhere in between was brown. Joe was quiet for a few minutes, staring at the town in the valley. That should be Royden, he said, but if it is, then wheres the castle? He looked at me. I have to get down there. I have to find out. It must be that weve come through the mirrors before the castle was built. Then he put his hands to his head. I thought maybe it was hurting him because of the fight with the madman who locked up Emil. No, no, he said next. What am I thinking? Thats impossible. The castle is ancient, although much changed over the centuries. Its older than Royden, which grew at its feet. He looked down the slope of the hill as if he wanted to run down there, which would have been dangerous because it is very steep. But then he turned and went back through the brushwood. I followed him. Once free of the plants he started to run. I ran after him. Eventually we got to a dirt road and there he slowed down and walked, breathing hard. I didnt say anything. I just thought about the countryside we passed. It was very empty. No people, no houses or farms. There were no city buildings rising in the distance. Just the low hills and a dirt road, and dead brushwood and brown soil everywhere else. Joe spoke only once more in all the time we walked. He said, I should never have left.
We walked all morning. I watched the sun move higher in the sky. I did not get hot although Joe did. I could see the stains of sweat spread across his back and under his arms. His hair, too. It stuck to his neck and face along with the dirt from the road but he did not say a word about it. Joe did not complain. He walked. This armor I wear protected me from the hot sun but not from fatigue. I slowed down and stumbled and Joe saw it. “Time to rest. You need to rechar…ah, no…you need to sleep, my friend. Hector, is it? Not Ironsides anymore because there is no reason here for names that only mattered in Strangetown.” I agreed with that. Ironsides is not a name I like. Hector is the name my gentle mother gave me and I like the sound of it. We rested, and when I woke I saw Joe talking to an old man in coveralls. Behind them was a horse cart. Joe talked to the man for a long time in a language I did not understand. I listened carefully, studying the sounds and memorizing them. Maybe it is the magic of the mirrors but I don’t feel like an old man now, though I am. Under this armor is a strong body. Yes, the hair on my head is white but my eyes see clearly and I remember what I see and what I hear. I didn’t learn the new language on the first day, but I learned it soon enough, in the next few days. We got to ride in the horse cart and I was glad for Joe. I could see that he was tired, and angry about the castle as I learned later, because that was what he asked the old man about. What had happened to the castle? Burned, was the answer. Like no fire ever seen in the valley before. A monster fire that had burned for days. And the royal family? Some believe they escaped to the mountains. Some believe they died in the fire. No one knows for sure. Joe didn’t talk to either me or the farmer once we started moving down the road. He just sat in the horse cart and stared straight ahead, frowning, with his hands bent into fists on his knees.
Ah, well, the pictures aren't too much fun, yet. Not much you can do with a bare bones landscape. I hope it gets more interesting later. p.s. I would really like to have burned the castle but I glitched it and couldn't enter the lot again. *sighs and puts matches away*
LOL, I didn't know you could burn down walls...it's never worked for me before. Too bad. I like the horses. Are they animated? I also like the new perspective of the story. A bit refreshing.
Very good stuff! I can't wait for Errol to go back through the mirrors, but I'm also enjoying the background story. Poor Joe!
Technically, you can't, as so many around here have said. But buy enough bonfires and those nightclub flaming thinga-ma-jigs and plant them around the lot and it will sure look like its burning to the ground. Good enough for pictures and storytelling. I wanted to do that but you have to be able to enter the lot and I screwed it up. I'm locked out. Guess someone heard what I planned to do. They're not animated. In fact, they're all smoke and mirrors. Joe walked right through the back end of them when I told him to get into the cart. Joe was quite miffed. I snapped a picture of his expression. So far, no bad reaction by the game to the cart. Wish I could say as much about hair downloads. I've had weird graphic glitches from hair. To bad. I had one I really like on Joe but the game went crazy with it and I had to change him back. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be with Joe and Ironsides before Errol gets there. I'm kind of enjoying the two of them and have a couple of characters for them to meet. I was sure getting bored with Errol in town with a store to take care of. I'm much happier now. I can hardly sleep at night for thinking of what they're all up to in this new plot.
I'm happy for you! I find that shaking up a household makes it interesting again. And I love the horses, and the picture of Joe standing in the horse. LOL. Too funny.
The horses were slow and it was after sunset when we reached the village. Joe sat up straighter and studied the houses as we passed them. Most of the windows were dark, although now and then I saw a yellow light from a candle or the kitchen hearth. This, I thought, is a sign of people, but I did not see any of them in the windows or on the street. The cart rumbled forward through the town and then stopped. To the right were houses scorched by a long ago fire. There were no lights in them and they looked abandoned. On the left were the foundations of something that must once have been the castle that Joe was looking for. These stones were also black and host to tall weeds and dead trees. The foundations spread far into the dark. The fiery death of that castle must have been like a volcano exploding into the sky. Joe jumped down from the cart before the horses had stopped moving. He ran toward the black ruins and was out of sight for a moment as he climbed down through the empty moat. I ran after him, grabbing the lantern the old man held out for me. The old man stayed with his cart and I heard a loud scrape of the wheels as he turned the cart around and went away. Joe and I climbed to stand beside the broken walls, then walked around them and stopped at last where a patch of red poppies had taken root. We sat down there and rested. Joe said, “Can you smell anything, Hector?” I thought about it. “Yes, I smell the fire, even though it’s been many years since it happened.” “I smell it, too, but it‘s not too bad. We’ll sleep here tonight. We have no money, Hector. We can’t pay for a room with beds.” “We can sell my armor.” I didn’t want to sell any of it, but if it was necessary then I’d do it. “The helmet first.” I reached up to remove the helmet but Joe grabbed my arms. “NO!” he said. “I do not want you ever to take off your helmet. As your Prince I command that you never take off your armor.” “If I choose to sell the helmet to get us food and shelter then I will do it. I am no one’s servant! I was not born here and you have no rule over me.” I reached once more for my helmet and Joe stopped me again. He rose to his feet. If he was going to fight me he’d lose. But that was not his plan. Instead, he pointed to the ground in front of him. “Kneel, Hector, and I will make thee a Knight.”
I considered the possibilities. What waited for me back in Strangetown? Life as a retired and useless old man? Here there were new adventures. On this side of the mirrors I felt young and strong again. I decided to accept his offer. He nodded, then gave a speech in his own language, a long speech which he said at the end was required for this solemn occasion. Then he put a hand on my head and said, Be thou a knight, Sir Hector, and rise. I stood up and swore my loyalty to him. Now, Sir Hector, he said. I give you three commands immediately. First, you are never to take off any part of your armor, especially your helmet, because it is required by your position as my personal guard. Second, you will never refer to me by any of my royal titles until my kingdom is at peace and I am seated on the throne. This is because we must not risk revealing who I am to assassins. Third, you must always stay with me until I issue new orders reassigning you. He paused, looking at me crossly. Yes, Sir! I straightened my shoulders and laid a hand across my breast. Joe smiled. It was the first time he had smiled since we came through the mirrors. We will sleep now. Tomorrow we have a lot to do.
In the morning Joe and I walked to the market. There were a few men on the street who stopped and stared at us with grim faces. I saw one woman walk quickly past on the other side, pretending not to see us. A girl peered out from behind a curtain and jumped back into the shadows when I waved at her. We reached the open market square where a small handful of men had gathered for darts. I heard Joes stomach growling with hunger. He rubbed at it as he watched these men stop their game and move in our direction. Although you cannot see it now under this armor I am a big guy with a mean face. I know how to look a man in the eye and stare him down. I learned this early and its a good way to avoid unnecessary fighting which only leads to broken knuckles and teeth. Joe did not grow up with rough gangs of men on the streets and did not learn to rule in that way. He grew up surrounded by the trappings of the royal court which by itself alone can rule men because it is the evidence in front of the eyes of power and wealth. In this way even an idiot king commands respect. Yes, I have read some books and know of stupid kings. My mother, may she rest in peace, said they were tragic, not stupid, but I say its all the same because all stupidity is tragic. I am not saying that Joe is stupid because he is not. He has proved himself to be wise with men and brave in battle and has earned respect from his own people and also from his enemies. All of you at this table know of Joes charm and how well he sold the robots from the store. In the market square that day he sold the two of us as harmless travelers. He won them over, these rough townsmen, and got us work that would earn us food. I thought this was too low a start for the return of a king and I tried to tell him that he should not be loading carts. But he reminded me of how soft a life he had been leading in Strangetown and that his muscles needed strengthening. The labor was good for him. After a while I noticed that someone watched us closely. Joe noticed it, too, and finally, after lifting the last bag into the cart, he walked over and said something to the man. After a few minutes Joe called me over to meet him. This, he said, is Etienne. He needs workers and he has room to put us up. The cart weve just loaded is his and we can take it out to his place now. Hell follow later with his other men. They shook hands on it, Joe and Etienne, and then Joe and I climbed into the cart and headed down the road. There was a bag of bread at our feet, to be eaten on the way. I said to Joe, I dont like the mans looks. Neither do I, Hector, but he has no reason to do us harm. We have nothing for anyone to steal and are useless for ransom. And we have to start somewhere.
