The wind howled in
the streets of Kamadan and seemed to follow him in even the smallest
corridor. Noah had tried trick-or-treating once more but it turned
out to be as futile as last year as nobody would give him or the
other children any candy in this city. But there are always heroes
and the they are given candy by the townsfolk, he thought to
himself. His father had told him that he should earn the candy and
not just ask for it. “Here is a scythe. Now go fetch yourself some
candy son. “ his father said. But Noah was no fighter and did not
have the money to pay for mercenary heroes. He had been
trick-or-treating for hours but he was mostly ignored. The most he
ever got was a sad smile and a pat on the back. He felt like everyone
knew something he did not. Dissapointed he returned home and saw it
for the first time. It seemed like a shadow but Noah was not going to
take any chances. He knew the stories well, perhaps it was Kjelhe
the chained, Hulgard the weary , Greir the frozen or any other
monster. Noah was frightened beyond belief and convinced that it was
waiting for him in the mist. He ran and kept running but the
footsteps did not fade. That is how he ended up shivering in the
small pathway between two houses. Too afraid to check what had been
chasing him for the last hour and too tired to even lift his head.
He could hear the
footsteps, faintly at first but they soon got louder and louder.
Gradually he became calm as he took comfort in whatever was
approaching him it would be over soon. The last few steps were loud
as thunderclaps and only the omnious breathing remained. Noah was no
longer alone in the corridor and he could sense that it was now
standing right in front of him. Determined he raised his head to take
a look at his doom. He was shocked, nothing could have prepared him
for this. A pumpkin head? This must be the mad king, he
thought. Noah had been preparing for monsters out of the scariest
ghost stories, creatures from the spookiest tales and much worse.
But he did not count on the mad king. Nobody could have expected
that, he thought before closing his eyes again. Then the king
started laughing and Noah figured it all out. That does not sound
right and he is only as tall as me, he thought. “Very funny but
I know that is just a costume. I suspected it from the start.”
Tried Noah as the “Mad King” took of his mask. Noah immediately
recognized that it was his friend Martin. “You really ought to
become an actor, Noah.” Ridiculed Martin. “I must say that I have
never heard someone imitate a little girl's screaming quite as well.
“ Noah began to blush and quickly changed the subject. “You
better watch out.” he said. “When the Mad King sees you dressed
like that he will do terrible thins.” But Martin remained
confident. “Do not be so whiny, Noah. We have plenty of time before
midnight. “ It was not until now that Noah noticed how cold it
really was. “Whatever, let us just go somewhere else.” he
replied. And so the friends walked through the dark streets and shady
alleys without ever looking back to notice the strange shade stalking
them.
“You know, Noah. I
should really become a costume designer. I mean, they would be pretty
expensive and next to useless but I bet I'll make some good money out
of it. What do you think?” Martin would not stop talking about how
great his costume was. “Let us just go to the main square and shut
up about costumes. “ Noah reacted angrily. Noah's costume was
nowhere near as sophisticated as Martins. In fact, he had done
nothing but painting his face white and he was still bitter about
that. Perhaps they would have given me candy if my costume was
better, he thought. It was still cold but at least the wind had
stopped howling. Noah hoped that he just might stop shivering under
his cloak. If Martin notices I might never live this down, he
thought as they turned the corner to find the main square completely
abandoned. It looked as if a huge party has just took place there as
tables and chairs were everywhere. The two friends gasped as they saw
the omnious picture. Too stunned they were to notice the shadow
disappearing in the corridor behind them.
“Auch!” he
tripped and his head had hit the ground pretty hard. Still shaken he
got back to his feet and started running again. Typical, he
thought. Krebons had never been lucky. Being the youngest of 5 he had
been bullied for his entire life. He was even kicked out of Grenth's
service because he had fallen asleep. I must be the unluckiest
gremlin alive, he thought. But that would all soon change now
that he was the mad king's servant. Yes, everything will change
once I tell him about this development, he thought. Who knew
that the Mad King had a twin brother?
In
a rush he flipped the table over but he could not help it. He was
bored and he hated every minute of it. Until suddenly he had a
luminous idea: “I cannot be bored. I am the Mad King not the bored
one. “ he spoke to himself. But these attempts were to no avail. In
fact he was so tired that he found himself longing for the return of
that gremlin he sent. “What was his name again? It does not really
matter either way.” he asked himself. For once his prayers were
answered ,however, as a portal opened and a gremlin flung out.
...
