* My boy is 11 years old and loves Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series, the Diary of the Wimpy Kid series. He reads a lot including all of Roald Dahl and many classics, not forgetting the insane Horrible Science series. At the rate he devours books, I have to spend a tidy sum each month to feed his reading habit. I cannot wait for the time when he can enjoy my collection of books :-). He wrote this on his own and I did not change or correct anything so this is the RAW version.
Just in case you think he is tops in English in school, I want to say he is NOT. In fact, the teacher gives him very low marks for essay writing and it does not bother me and I have never gone to school to have a show-down with her as she is entitled to her opinion and I respect her marking and have my opinion which I keep to myself. For me, I love my boy and I know his abilities and his many stories are testimony of that so I have never and will not sweat over marks, not my style at all. His enjoyment of books, writing and the ability to express himself are far more important to me than marks in an exam. I know it is strange to some as I have been in the education industry for over 20 years. Anyway, here's CHAPTER 4 of my boy's story. Enjoy and please leave a comment if you like. Have a lovely evening.
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CHAPTER 4 ROUGHED UP DEALS
Blakely and Scorchio dashed through the swamp to make it to Mount Urrulorgh. It was a thirty-five thousand feet high volcano. After it erupted , it became a habitat for the giant. Blakely opened the Book of Knowledge and looked under the name "giants".The Book of Knowledge said that giants had only one weakness, and that was magic. Blakely immediately turned to a page which listed down all the spells all wizards will know.
The lists of spells were as many as six pages in "8" font size! The spells were like "transfera identica" to switch bodies with another person and "fireballs" to shoot deadly chunks of fire. Blakely couldn't wait to fight the giant because he was going to surprise it with a fireball. Blakely started climbing up the volcano with the help of Scorchio. By the time Blakely reached the entrance of the cave, Blakely was exhausted. He had been climbing up the volcano for more than nine hours.
The cave was gigantic! Blakely and Scorchio ran to the deeper part of the cave, and there laid the giant. He quickly super-sized himself by shouting "Superior Analatica" and that woke up the giant. The giant was not happy that it had an unwelcome visitor. Blakely did not waste any time so he blinded the giant with a spell. He quickly took this opportunity and stabbed the moaning giant on its chest. It was over. Blakely got back to work and sawed off one of the giant's tooth and pulled out a strand of its hair. Blakely sawed off a few more teeth from the giant to be kept as souvenirs.
Blakely quickly returned to Snubby's caravan. It was around midnight when Blakely returned to his caravan. Snubby was asleep. Blakely needed some sleep too, therefore he sat an antique chair and closed his eyes. The next day, Blakely got into the bathroom to have a shower and changed into his old uniform. Snubby was going to drive to a small town called "Papillion" in his caravan. He also added that his second quest was also going to be a bit difficult. After Snubby drove for an hour or two, he finally reached a town called "Papillion". Blakely and Scorchio were terrified as they entered the gates of the run-down town.
Snubby brought Blakely to see a black magician who lived in a small atap house. The black magician identified himself as Le Patron. Le Patron was an old man who has been having a small business for the past twenty-nine years. He had a sharp crooked nose just like any other magician. Snubby spoke to Le Patron in a foreign language in a distinct manner. Blakely was brought to an underground tunnel to take down the most wanted person in the town "Papillion". The thirty-seven year old criminal was known as Pablo Dmitri.
It was said that Pablo Dmitri was found dead by the moors but apparently, he had a coincidental plastic surgery to make some adjustments on his face. The smart but evil man must have dug out a dead body from the graveyard, change its face to make it look like him and left it by the moors. Blakely was up to the fight. He was warned that Pablo Dmitri's hideout was surrounded by security guards and they were armed. The whole underground tunnel was CCTV activated. Scorchio was ready to get rid of some guards.
"You are to wear this helmet and carry this torch to light the way into Pablo's hideout. Many people have tried to break into Pablo Dmitri's hideout but all have failed,"said Le Patron.
"Watch out for obstacles, good luck on your adventure," said Snubby.
Blakely and Scorchio then ran into the deeper part of the tunnel to continue their adventure.
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BLAKELY'S JOURNEY TO NOBLICLE - written by Nicholas Khor (copyrighted)
PROLOGUE
The city of Larousse was in danger. The fairy king's emerald crown had been stolen by SBSN (Secret Branch Society of Noblicle). The sun never shone again after that and the people lost their power because of the magic sunshine. Lives were lost when a trail of wagons crashed into the gates of the castle and strange explosions caused a fire that spread through the city. It was bad enough that the city was having drought problems but the Nobgoblins had to worsen the situation with their vicious attacks.
In a bid to defend his city, King Alteon, the fairy king, fought the leader of the SBSN in a hand combat and ended up being pushed out of the window of his castle. Before slipping into a coma, the fairy king put a princely sum for the Nobgoblins' heads. Two months later, he died.
Blakely, a villager from far off near the coast, heard about the reward from his grandfather and decided to go on an adventure to the city of Larousse for more information and to help them.
CHAPTER 1 THE FIRST OBSTACLE - WITCHES & LEPRECHAUNS
"Blakely, you don't have to do it. You will suffer pain and it might be hell throughout the journey," said his grandfather while Blakely was packing his bags.
Blakely did not mind the burden or the challenges ahead. All he wanted was for peace and sunshine to return to the city.
"Grandpa, goodbye," said Blakely while he put his magic sword in his bag. Those were his last words to his grandpa. He walked down the lane that led into the wilderness, where the leprechauns and medieval witches lived.
Soon enough, his intuitive senses told him that something was wrong. Suddenly, there were funny sounds coming from behind him. He turned around and saw something green and yellow moving in the bushes. Blakely was terrified and picked up a rock and walked to the bushes.
A cute little creature popped out from the bushes and smiled at Blakely. He was so relieved that it wasn't any leprechaun that could transform him into a rat with the snap of his finger. All of a sudden, three leprechauns pounced on him and captured him with their "Gravity Force Net".
Blakely was then taken to their hideout deep in the forest. He was tied up with the roots of strange plants and was forced to explain why he had ventured into their territory. When they threatened to imprison him forever, Blakely told them about his quest to Noblicle to retrieve the fairy king's emerald crown.
To his surprise, they all smiled at each other and then one of them said "You, a simple human being, have a good heart. We are happy with you and want you to meet our queen."
With that, they led Blakely to a secret chamber in the cave, a place that showcased the treasures and wealth of the leprechauns.
Blakely gasped when he saw a familiar face. It was a lady from his village who was being pampered by leprechauns and she was dressed in robes of a medieval witch.
"Sheila! What on earth are you doing here?" cried Blakely in surprise.
"My name is not Sheila when I am in this land that I own. You shall call me Alianor. Guards! Make him sit on the chair of heads! You still remember Grimlock, right?"
The guards forced him to sit on the chair and he was tied up again. These were no ordinary guards but Minotaurs.
Obviously, Blakely was not going to enjoy this conversation.
Sheila waved something in the air and soon they were transported into an empty room.
"Alright, Blakely, you want to see the Nobgoblins pay for their evil deeds, don't you? Well, the Gordon you have right now is going to help you to get what you want," said Sheila.
"This is a Gordon? What are Gordons used for?" asked Blakely.
"You will need this book. Although it is quite hungry, it is still useful," replied Sheila while taking out a book from a puff of smoke that appeared before her after she summoned it. Then she gave Blakely the book with a faint smile on her face.
To Blakely's horror, the book was slimy and breathing. "Is this drool from somewhere or someone?"asked Blakely.
Sheila said, "It's the book's drool. Remember - the Nobgoblins are very merciless creatures. Before you go to Noblicle, please go to the red swamp of Tyrantland. Find Snubby the imp and he will reward you with something after you accomplish the mission that he gives you," said Sheila."Farewell my brave friend and I bid you good luck."
Sheila then summoned a ring of fire that teleported Blakely out of the magic room.
Blakely then found himself in the wilderness again. "I'm going to find Snubby no matter what, even if it means death." Feeling tired, he took out his tent which was kept in his bag and set up camp on an empty plot of land to rest for the night.
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CHAPTER TWO - A DAY WITH THE GORDON
Blakely gathered some firewood to set up a fire to keep warm for the night. Before dusk, he started reading the book that Sheila had given him. He placed the book on his lap and all of a sudden, the book began to spit at him.
"I wish Sheila had not given me this idiotic book!" screamed Blakely. He picked up a few leaves and dropped them into the open book and closed it angrily. After a while, he opened the book again and to his surprise, the leaves had disappeared. Instead, there were some digestive juices that stained the pages. Blakely then flicked to the first page of the book.
"Hello. I am the Book of Knowledge and I shall serve you because you have saved me from starvation," said the book. "Flip to page 36 to discover more about Gordons.
The Gordon stood on its hind legs looking at Blakely happily. It had green fur on it back and fluffy yellow fur on its chest.The Gordon also had two legs and a pair of long arms.
Blakely was amazed to find out that Gordons love to steal and to play. However, they did not like to fight. There were various names Blakely could give his Gordons such as Publies, Scorchio, Bluror and Muggary. He named his Gordon Scorchio. At once, it started to act like a warrior and he found its actions very cute.
Night was drawing close so Blakely had his dinner - plain herbs and wild fruits. His meal did not smell so fresh so he left it aside. He was going to starve that night. Suddenly, he heard a zapping sound. Scorchio shot some laser beams from its eyes onto his food and then growled at Blakely. Turning around, Blakely caught the smell of escargots that came from the herbs on his plate. Scorchio smiled at Blakely while he ate the escargots and herbs hungrily. Then, Blakely knew that Scorchio had magical powers. Feeling satisfied after a good meal, Blakely put out the fire and slept in his tent.
The next morning, he took a walk and stumbled upon a house in the woods.
Scorchio growled at Blakely and started to push Blakely into the bushes. Scorchio ran towards the door and hit it hard with its head, causing the door to break open. Scorchio dashed inside and Blakely followed behind.
Scorchio ran towards a chest of drawers and opened one drawer after another, looking for money. It squealed in delight when it found a few gold coins. Blakely quickly grabbed Scorchio and forced him out of the house and then they jumped into the bushes to hide. To his surprise, Scorchio still had a bit of coins in its mouth and it spat them onto its hand and kept them in Blakely's coat pocket.
There was no where left to go and nothing left to do so Blakely decided to return to the tent. Blakely took out his bag, dismantled the tent and kept it in his bag. He decided that the time had come for him to go to Tyrantland straight away.
CHAPTER 3 SNUBBY'S QUEST
Blakely calmly took the road that led to Tyrantland. He had heard that Tyrantland did not have any clean drinking water for the ground was covered with cracks and dried leaves shed by the barren trees. He crossed many bridges and hiked many hills before reaching Tyrantland. By then, he was completely exhausted.
While he was walking along a narrow road, he heard the beating of some drums and the sound of some ancient music being played from afar. Scorchio ran straight ahead and Blakely had no choice but to catch up with him. After a few minutes, he was panting and saw a sign that read "TYRANNIA". Then he became quite confused between Tyrantland and Tyrannia so he continued to run after Scorchio who had surged ahead.
At last, Blakely found Scorchio with a group of strange people who were gasping in delight as they gazed at a fire-eater who was juggling a few torches.Blakely then took the opportunity to ask a few of them for some information about Snubby the Imp. He was then told to go to the edge of the town where he lived in his caravan.
Blakely opened his Book of Knowledge to find out what attracted imps. "You must have plenty of water and some honey. They love to gamble with cards most of the time. By then, Scorchio started to have a headache and jumped into Blakely's bag to rest. Blakely remembered the money that Scorchio had stolen . With it, he bought three jars of honey. Scorchio started to whimper when they were at the stall. Blakely suspected something was amiss and turned to his left.
A small dwarf was standing beside him and staring at the bottles of honey.
"For me? asked the dwarf, pleading again and again.
"For Snubby," replied Blakely.
"Get into my caravan and I'll tell you something. Who does not know the famous gambler in Tyrannia? Hah!" laughed the dwarf.
"I am the person you are looking for, Snubby, the King of Cards. Muaaahahahaha! cried the dwarf.
Blakely had no idea that this would happen.
"What I want from you is for you to explain in detail my character as you must be very intelligent since you are such a good card player," said Blakely softly.
"That's kids' stuff for me. Correction - donkey work to be more precise. You are very good when it comes to outdoor activities but you do not have much brains, air head!" laughed Snubby wickedly.
"But you can be very emotional and have great potential to be a good leader," added Snubby with a smile on his face.
"What is my precise task over here? Why was I told to come to Tyrannia to look for you?" asked Blakely as he shrugged his shoulders with a puzzled look on his face.
"Your mission is to retrieve King Alteon's crown. A witch told you that you have to go on my quests for some reward. Alianor never knows how to keep her mouth shut, does she? replied Snubby.
"So what is my quest?" asked Blakely again.
"It's quite simple really. But you will need an armour to protect your body from danger. I'll also give you some robes that belonged to a famous wizard of old. Your pet would need something too. I'll give it a solid iron armour that belonged to one of my pets," said Snubby.
"Do you have a changing room in your caravan?" asked Blakely.
"Go straight till you reach the end. The room is on your left. Be careful, though, because the caravan is a bit run down," replied Snubby.
Blakely looked quite odd in the very mythical-looking robes and so did Scorchio in his iron armour that had many Aztec designs.
"Your first quest is to run on the tracks to cross the red swamp which is just behind my house. Climb the mountain and enter the cave where a giant lives. I want you to get me one of his teeth and a strand of his hair. By the way, what's your pet's name?"
"Snubby, meet Scorchio. Please don't pat him as he will bite," warned Blakely.
"You had better set off on your quest before time runs out. The color of the crown is starting to change from green to red. The city of Larousse will become extinct if the crown turns completely red," said Snubby.
"Alright! Off we'll go now!" See ya!" cried Blakely as he ran off with Scorchio.
"Good luck! Remember - the tooth and just a strand of hair.
*to be continued*
Written by Nicholas Khor
nick Bravo! Hats off to your son and you, Sis. Your talent has rubbed off to your son it seem. He has wonderful style and fertile imagination. His command of English would put me and many other local uni "graduates" to shame.
One thing I know about many local graduates (who has very weak command of English)is that they loath reading, especially books written in English. One advice from my English teacher that I still treasure to this day is that to master the English language, one has to accumulate copious amount of English vocabulary.
I still remember numerous night staying late reading my Oxford English Dictionary, memorizing words and perfecting my pronunciation. And also the many times being teased and mocked by my friends for reading a "dictionary" instead of a novel or "real" books.
Reading is the key to knowledge and I'm so glad it's one of my hobby.
Thanks for sharing, Sis and may we some day have the privilege of reading his Magnum Opus.
Hamba
P.s- What is the title of your magnum opus, Oh, great master?