by Mark Boutros
The Fools dropped to their knees and stared at Karl, the yellow flickering in their eyes.
‘See how you like leading these idiots. It’s no fun. And soon, someone like me will come to take them from you,’ Arazod warned. ‘It’s inevitable. Beings created to follow orders are very appealing.’
‘I’m already tired of leading…’ Karl said. ‘I think I’m ready to rest. I command all the Fools to be free to think for themselves, and to never let anyone be their leader.’
‘Oh...’ Arazod clearly never thought of that possibility.
The Fools looked at each other, worried. Their eyes flickered, registering the command and they stood up.
‘I’m going to fix what we broke. I’ll help plant trees, repair paths, and unblock streams,’ one Fool said.
Other Fools nodded.
‘Yeah I’ll help too,’ another said.
‘I need a sleep,’ another commented.
‘I’d quite like to eat leaves until I pass out. Then I’ll think about helping,’ one said.
‘I want to build a boat and explore the world,’ another added.
For the first time in their lives, they all made an independent decision. They threw their weapons down.
Oaf and Questions returned. ‘What did we miss?’ Oaf asked.
‘An idiot being defeated.’ Karl gestured to Arazod.
Oaf and Questions smiled.
‘Thank you all for saving Flowforn,’ Sabrinia said to the prisoners. She sounded drained but also relieved.
Arazod mocked Sabrinia’s voice from his vulnerable position. ‘Thank you for saving Flowforn.’
She took the two-headed turtle rock and bashed Arazod across the head. ‘Best gift anyone ever gave me,’ she told Karl.
Oaf ripped the cage doors open.
‘What shall we do with him?’ Questions pointed at Arazod.
‘Scrath,’ Karl said. ‘Can you do that wing ripping thing to him please?’
‘It would be an honour and a pleasure.’
‘And do it without any of that showy nonsense he wants.’
Arazod stared at Karl in that threatening way that meant nothing now.
‘To whom shall I give the wings?’ Scrath asked.
‘Take them with you back to Lake Shizneh. The less people that know about them the better.’ Karl’s thoughts turned back to Larnela.
‘Consider it done.’
Hargon limped towards them. Sabrinia turned to him. ‘Let’s get you patched up.’
Hargon smiled. ‘Do you mind if we lock him in the dungeons so I can paint him.’
‘Be my guest.’
Karl and Sabrinia walked away from the spectacle.
‘Wait!’ Arazod yelled. ‘I can make up for everything!’
His screams meant nothing and they walked on.
Karl returned to the King’s Eye. He held his mother’s dead face in his hands. ‘You’ve made it so nobody ever has to run again, Mum.’ He turned to see the people he’d shared this journey with.
Questions cried.
Sabrinia squeezed him. ‘We’ll give her a proper burial.’
‘Thank you all,’ Karl said. ‘I’ve lived in Flowforn since I was little, but I never felt at home until I met you.’
Sags grunted.
‘Yes, even you. You’ve all made me a better Karl. A Karl I like.’
The others smiled.
Karl took a breath and kissed his mother’s forehead.
‘Are you okay?’ Questions asked.
He nodded. ‘I’m better than okay, Questions. I’m home.’
49
Karl, Sabrinia, Oaf, and Questions entered the Great Dragon’s cave at the top of snowy Mount Hastovia. They stood in awe of the grand, demonic stalactites.
Oaf carried Arazod, kicking and wriggling, in a sack over his shoulder.
‘Do you think the Great Dragon will eat us?’ Questions asked.
A roar shook them and the sound vibrated in their bones.
Karl hesitated. ‘I guess we’ll find out soon.’
‘We come to you asking if you’ll take a prisoner for us?’ Sabrinia shouted into the dark.
‘He has breathing issues, a terrible singing voice, and is pretty bad company. But you can poke him,’ Karl added.
Oaf dumped Arazod onto the ground and lifted the sack off him. He’d been crying. He tried to peck through the rope that bound his arms but his beak was covered with a sock. This would be his hell, being prisoner to the Great Dragon, living in total darkness.
The Great Dragon stepped out of the black. A fearsome creature as long as a river and as black as the darkness it lived in, with spear pointed teeth and angry, amber eyes. His loud breathing was enough to have everyone looking at each other as though they’d made a mistake by coming here.
‘I hope he eats us all!’ Arazod said, barely audible.
Karl tightened the string on the sock and waited for the godly creature to speak.
‘Ooh, isn’t he a little treat.’ The camp voice surprised them.
‘Where shall we leave him?’ Sabrinia asked.
‘Just dump my little play pet in that circle of rocks there.’ The Great Dragon pointed its face towards a rocky area covered in bones. ‘What’s his name?’
‘Ara…’ Karl stopped himself. ‘Call him anything you like.’
‘I’ll go with Pidgy. Like a pigeon! Pidgy the pigeon!’
Arazod tried to complain.
‘Thank you, Great Dragon. We’ll leave you to get acquainted,’ Karl said.
The Great Dragon sniffed Arazod. ‘I’m not sure when, but I think I will eat you?’ the Great Dragon said.
Sabrinia bent down to face Arazod. ‘Now when you die, your soul will follow me, and you’ll get to watch me do good things, help people, and spread love.’
Arazod’s eyes reddened.
They retreated, ignoring his muffled screams.
Karl stopped. ‘Actually…’
Arazod looked like he was expecting mercy, but none was coming.
‘Do you by any chance know how to get the smell of Invisible Dragon dung off my hand?’
‘Easy breezy. Bring your paw here.’
Karl extended his hand. The Great Dragon’s breath shook him. It licked his hand. Everyone grimaced.
‘Thank you...’ Karl felt a touch violated.
They left the cave and Karl slipped on a loose rock, falling off the edge of Mount Hastovia.
‘Karl!’ Sabrinia screamed.
Terrified, they looked over the edge. Thankfully he was on a ledge, deep in a huge pile of Great Dragon dung.
Sabrinia took a breath, relieved. ‘Looks like you’d better go back in for a full wash.’
Karl cried dry tears.
Sabrinia stood in the courtyard and addressed her people, with Karl next to her.
‘Friends. Thank you all for enduring the hard times we’ve been through.’ She looked at the statue of her father. ‘It taught me a lot, about myself, my friends, and what it means to be alive.’ She looked at the faces of those that she risked her life for. ‘My father was a great king. But he made mistakes…’ She choked up, swallowed and steadied herself. ‘Flowforn is great… but it’s not all there is. You need to see the world. Learn about other people and creatures, and we need to stop ignoring that there are lives outside of these walls.’
Bar Witch and the adventurers smiled.
‘From now on, taking the Lionbear’s hazel berries is illegal, punishable by probably being eaten by them… and we will work with the Tree-Cyclopsi to manage our waste.’
Scrath stroked Wob’s head.
‘And all are welcome to live in Flowforn. We will live our dreams, and help other people to achieve theirs… And where there is evil…’ She looked at Karl. ‘We will fight it with love.’
‘And weapons!’ Proster shouted from the crowd, his ribs bandaged. Others laughed.
Sabrinia chuckled. ‘And yes, so we are better prepared, we will learn to defend ourselves, but I hope w
e never have to.’ She sighed, wishing it could be different. ‘We have stopped evil, for now. But evil will never die. We need to keep pushing it back whenever it shows up. That’s why good people need to survive and work together. To keep the light shining against the dark.’
Everyone cheered.
It took over a year to get Flowfornia back to resembling its old self. They never bothered rebuilding the tavern. Instead, Bar Witch, Sags, Frong, and Marlens were given a new tavern in the grounds of Flowforn called The Adventurer. Flowfornians loved their stories, even Frong’s. Bar Witch regularly wowed crowds with her tricks.
The adventurers toyed with the idea of exploring again, but this time actually bringing back relics so Flowforn could keep the peace. The Journal of Adventures was there for anyone to read, and Arazod’s Soul Bleeder hung on the wall. Their first collected artefact.
Karl did keep his promise to fly Sags around Flowfornia. He borrowed the wings off Scrath for an evening and they flew over every inch of land until Karl’s arms couldn’t take any more. Sags now regarded Karl a true friend and woke him up every morning. Karl was not as keen on this new friendship. No matter if he locked his door or window, Sags would contort himself into Karl’s room and be there on the edge of his bed.
Sabrinia, seeing how happy Questions was with Oaf, told her to go and be with him. Questions didn’t want to leave her friend, but she wanted to keep the promise she made to herself to return to Brohl. They rebuilt Inquiso and Oaf sculpted them rock homes to forever beat the icy winds. Questions gave birth to little Oaf-Inquiso twins. They were only twenty sunsets old, but already stronger than Karl. They named the girl Boofa and the boy Quizmal.
Oaf provided homes for the Fools and taught them to sculpt. The Birth Fool had a comfortable dwelling where it could spit out eggs at a rate that didn’t hurt. It had even lost a bit of weight around the eyes. Oaf also sculpted a fountain for stray tortured souls to live in while he tried to figure out their names and free them.
He made a special library for Questions with a room dedicated to the Is This the Book of Tales? Questions’ latest entry was a page on the friends she’d saved Hastovia with. As for The Charmer, Oaf took it from Flowforn and stuck it on a plinth in Reech, where nobody would ever move it again.
Marlens went with Oaf and Questions to the Village of the Petrified. They made a cauldron full of the cure for petrification, but they didn't know the true friends of the petrified to collect their breath and complete the mixture. They made a deal with Morcoli. They would send parchments to all kingdoms, and those who wanted could come to claim their friends and complete the cure to restore them.
Morcoli agreed, and now here Lord Ragnus was, dead behind the eyes, dressed as a Lionbear. He held the stone with Morcoli and the sword came down to cut it. Lord Ragnus’ last thought when he fell from the Wrath of Arazod wasn’t of regret or remorse, or how he would’ve lived a good life, it was that he wished he had punched Cecil just one more time and crushed his brain.
Sabrinia kept her promise to eat fish at the spot her father loved. She could see why he enjoyed it. It was peaceful and relaxing. She missed him but felt lucky to live somewhere that would always remind her of him.
One night, Karl and Sabrinia visited Larnela’s cave. Karl wanted to take her belongings and keep them. He placed her clothes in a basket, comforted by her smell.
He had so many questions. ‘Who is my dad?’ ‘Do I have any brothers or sisters?’ ‘Why did you call me Karl?’ And one that bothered him quite a lot… ‘Why did you leave me in Lionbear poop?’
‘I think this is for you,’ Sabrinia said.
He turned to see the other sock with his name embroidered on it.
She handed it to him and his eyes filled with tears.
‘I’m sorry, Karl… for my father’s role in all of this…’
He shook his head. ‘It’s okay… His mistakes helped him to learn to become the great king he was, and it put me on this path.’ He held her hands. ‘I’m going to make her proud. Make her sacrifices worthwhile.’
Sabrinia placed her hand on his cheek. ‘You already have.’
Her touch made things that little bit less painful. She moved her face closer and pressed her lips to his. He felt like things would improve, and that they had made the world a better place.
THE END
Thank You!
Thanks for joining Karl and his friends in Hastovia. If you enjoyed reading and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review on the platform where you got the book. Your help in spreading the word and sharing is hugely appreciated and important to new authors like me. Also, if you don’t it empowers Arazod to sing some more, and nobody wants that
For info on where to get Heroes of Hastovia Book 2: Rise of the Deathbringer, visit
www.mark-boutros.com/riseofthedeathbringer
Book 3: In Memory Of, will be released in 2020…
If you sign up to the Legends of Hastovia Crew you can get a free story – Heroes of Hastovia Book X: The First Fool, about how those little idiots came to be which is also an insight into a future villain
The story is EXCLUSIVE to people who join the crew and won’t be found anywhere else, apart from through piracy, obviously.
Thank you once again, from me and Hastovia’s inhabitants of varying intelligence.
Bye Bye
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