Daniel's Early Days: A Young Wizard's StoryA Chapter by Kjerstina HouseStrange CreatureDaniel’s
heart leapt into his throat. Taking a few clumsy steps backwards, he tripped
and fell. Without taking his eyes off the strange, squat creature, he quickly scrambled
back up. The laughter, if you could call it that, got louder at that. “Scared ya,
huh?” it asked shaking slightly in mirth. “Looks like you’re in for a rude
awakening, then,” it shook its head. It peered up at Daniel with beady eyes
from under a ragged brown cap of some kind, and tilted its misshapen face to
the side. “Might wanna toughen up a bit before exploring these woods,” he
added. At that dig,
Daniel bristled. “I am tough,” he declared puffing his chest out, and took a
few brave steps closer to the smug creature in front of him. At closer
inspection, the thing he mistook for a tree stump more closely resembled a
garden gnome. His mother’s gardens were rarely without one. Only, this creature
was bigger, wider, and most definitely uglier. Its skin was a dark shade of brown
and appeared leathery. The dark hair sticking out of its hat looked unwashed
and clumped in dreads. The prickly eyebrows met in the middle, forming one
bushy brow, making the hooded eyes underneath appear even smaller. Its bulbous
nose was long, it didn’t stick out a lot, but it took up most of its face, and
didn’t end until it ran into its dark lips. It was the weirdest, ugliest thing
Daniel had ever seen. Nevertheless, he was trying very hard to play it cool,
and not stare. “Aye,
clearly,” the creature replied looking amused. Its large, almost black lips
were curled grotesquely in what Daniel figured was supposed to be smile,
revealing long yellow teeth. He wasn’t sure what this foul looking creature
was, but he was determined to find out. He was about
to demand an answer, but something stopped him. Daniel was raised to be polite.
You catch more bees with honey, his grandmother always insisted. So, he figured
introductions should come first. “I’m Daniel,”
he announced. “What’s your name?” “Proper for a
young boy,” it cackled. “Rather polite for a wizard,” it added looking Daniel
over. Daniel squirmed under the scrutiny, he had the distinct feeling that he
was being sized up by this creature. “You may call me Kobo,” it said with a
small flourish of its hand, and a slight bend at the waist. Awkwardly, Daniel
gave a small bow in return, careful not to take his eyes off of it. However, tact
was not something that came easily to young boys, and he was burning with
curiosity. “I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly are you, Kobo?” he asked as
gently as he could manage. At that,
there was a louder grating sound that almost sounded like barking. “Very good,”
Kobo growled in amusement. “Enough with the niceties, and onto the heart of the
matter; I am a hobgoblin, not to be confused with your garden variety goblin.
There not as nice or pretty as me,” Kobo added. If that was
the case, Daniel did not want to meet a regular goblin. “How come I’ve never
seen you before?” Daniel wanted to know. “Wasn’t
invited,” Kobo shrugged dismissively. “Perhaps, you would invite me over,” Kobo
slyly suggested with a strange light in his shaded eyes. Daniel bit
his tongue, literally. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and stopped
Daniel from answering. His mother was constantly telling him to listen to his instincts
and to pay attention to the signs. He figured the signs were only something his
mother and grandmother could see, but now he understood. Biting his tongue, for
no particular reason, was a sign. Besides, his
father had all kinds of creatures around, so why not this one? There must be a
reason. This hobgoblin was trying to trick him into inviting him over. The
question was, why? “I…I can’t,”
Daniel lied. “Can’t or
won’t?” Kobo asked, taking a menacing step forward. “Can’t,” he
answered promptly. “My father has rules,” he added. “Ah yes, your
father,” Kobo echoed looking thoughtful. “One of his rules is not to enter the
forest though, isn’t it?” he inquired shrewdly. “Well, yes,”
Daniel admitted. “Well then,
you better hurry back. Your father will return any minute. You don’t want him
to catch you breaking the rules. Besides, if he knows you found a way around
his wards, then he will find a way to put a stop to it. Then, how will you come
back and visit me?” At the
thought of getting caught, Daniel’s heart started to pound. He quickly turned
to go back, when a thought occurred to him. “How do you know about my dad’s
rules?” he demanded. “Why, I’ve
been watching you a long time, boy,” he smiled impishly. Daniel assumed it was
supposed to a friendly gesture, but it was more unpleasant than anything.
“Better hurry now,” he shooed at Daniel. The thought
of being watched by this creature made Daniel’s heart freeze in his chest.
Swiftly, he turned on his heel. With that nauseating smile burned into his
memory, he raced back toward the light in his own yard. “Come back
soon,” Kobo called, laughing harshly. © 2014 Kjerstina House |
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Added on September 28, 2014 Last Updated on December 4, 2014 Tags: wizard, magic, goblins, magical realm Author
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