SWNOVELS Chapter 4
Verse 3- The Gatekeeper
Jyro gathered his things and proceeded out the town, judging by the distance he had to cover to reach the next city he decided to stock up on goods and water, seeing as the towns demon problem was sorted the town should be back to working order. The young boy stumbled upon a small market stall where they sold fresh boar meat and other privations, he glanced down at the little cub sitting in his bag then decided to buy some for him, “ can I have a pound of boar meat please” he asked, “ aye a pound of bore coming right up….. Belphy! Come here will you please” the merchant called out and a little girl not that much bigger than Jyro came walking out from the back carrying bags of bore meat. “Will you serve this boy please” the merchant said, she proceeded to hand Jyro his meat “mmm you look familiar have we met somewhere before” she said “sorry probably not I’m not from around here” he responded, but the young girl continued to press on the matter “no seriously I think we’ve met, haha or maybe it was in another life or something like that…… but anyhow Mr. Traveler what brings you to this ghost town” she asked , “ err nothing special I was just passing through and decided to stay the night” replied Jyro, “ really? You only arrived yesterday, mmm that’s quite some luck seeing as till yesterday this towns been struck under a curse where nothing but the mist was all this towns could see, you’re not like some god sent from heaven are you” the young girl joked. Jyro nervously tried to divert the topic, when Sebastian suddenly wriggled his way out of the back and begun to growl at the young girl, “oh my, he doesn’t seem to like me does he “she said, “ahh he’s never usually like that he’s probably just restless, come on Sebastian lets go now”, Jyro picked up the hostile cub then quickly proceeded away, “it was nice to meet you and thanks for the meat” he said whilst he quickly left the merchant, the young girl waved back to the boy , when Jyro was out of sight the little blonde headed girl smirked to herself and proceeded to walk into the town, she strolled down through the busy town that was filled with smiles and delight and gazed towards the sky, “ my-my that trick never fails to amaze me Dimitry “ the blue sky above suddenly turned red, and the town was suddenly engulfed in flames. Countless bodies lay around the town and the whole place was reduced to rubble with screams and cries echoing all around. The girl walked onwards a bit more till she encountered a small red rose sprouting from the ground, she crouched down and marveled at the flower whilst her surroundings were reduced to rubble, “ Don’t touch that” echoed a voice, “ Oh Dimitry my apologies , I see you’ve been enjoying yourself….. So did you find it then?” she asked, a man hiding in the shadows slowly emerged covered in a dark cloak with bandages wrapped around part of his face and visible ankles. “ Has the boy left then” the figure said, “ aye he left just a few minutes ago… hehe he was pretty cute as well, it’s a shame we couldn’t play with him” the girl said deviously, “ don’t fret it’s not the required time, the seal hasn’t opened yet so till then will simply monitor him”. The hooded figure dispersed away and the young girl cackled to herself, “well I guess it looks like I’ll be making my own way back now” she said before momentarily proceeding out of the ruined town.
Jyro was told to follow the instructions that jack had left so him and Sebastian where off to a place called Canta the royal city. The pair reached the border of the rural outskirts in a few hours and a small rural village acted as the border between the bridges that lead into Canta. They entered the village when Jyro decided to stop by at a local tavern in order to rest up and get Sebastian something to drink: preferably milk. The two walked through the town’s marketplace and it was no surprise that the town’s people marveled at the pair that casually strutted through the village, Smilodons were considered near to extinct and people weren’t used to seeing one strolling harmlessly through a town. Jyro came across one small tavern in the village that sold beverages, items and other equipment that people might need, as the pair entered they were suddenly halted in their tracks, “Stop right there boy…can’t you read the sign….. No animals allowed,” he said whilst he glared down at the feline, “oh…sorry then I didn’t know” responded Jyro, who then escorted Sebastian outside “wait here for a little bit I won’t be too long” the tiger growled back in sympathy as Jyro went back inside. Jyro picked up a few things with the few coins he made from the demon hunting jobs that jack got him and also a jar of milk for Sebastian, the young boy proceeded out the tavern when his attention suddenly fixated on a man in the corner, the figure was dressed in reddish robes with a distinct golden medallion of four a winged bird pinned on his shoulders, Jyro felt an odd atmosphere coming from the individual but simply brushed it aside and proceeded out of the tavern. The owner from the tavern told Jyro the only way to get to Canta was through the only transport link that resided in the village ‘the Beetle Bus’. The Beetle busses were built like the size of a tank with wheels as big as boulders, but even with its huge weight and size it could travel to speeds such as 206 MPH, it’s said to be the safest & fastest transportation when moving around the country and was designed by the legendary genius carpenter Thomas Writer.
The BB station was busy as expected and as Jyro approached it he could already spot the huge titan like vehicles that sat on the bays waiting to move out, the busses were coated in dirty yellow paint with dark ivory stripes running along the sides, nine windows in total were fixed onto the bus, four on each side and a larger one across the front, on the top of the bus a protective fence was fixed onto it with steel wire running along it, it was quite clear to Jyro that these busses were built to withstand a heavy amount of damage. Each bus could hold about up to 200 people at a time so it was no surprise he was greeted by huge lines of people waiting to board the bus, “Excuse me, you look lost kid” said a man who approached him from behind. Jyro looked at the instructions left to him from Jack “ ermmm yeah im looking for the office where I can get…” before he could finish his sentence a large distant Bang was heard followed by the sound of trumpets playing “Heary ,Heary ,” a voice shouted ,then a rather oddly dressed man appeared standing on one of the Busses , he wore a very large top hat and was dressed in an elegant 3 piece suit , his whole attire was colored in Saturn purple with his shoes being black and white , the loud colors of his attire made him look almost mad, not to mention his long overly groomed moustache played a factor to that as well. “Welcomeeee all you who seek the treasured land of the angels, where fruits taste as vibrant as they look and the lovely waters pass through the cups of the gods before landing on your tongues, MMMMM the taste is sensational isn’t it” the man spoke, he then leapt from the top of the bus and an umbrella opened up as he glided down to the on looking people below. Upon landing the umbrella closed and adjusted itself into a cane, the man then continued to address the crowd. “Now all you who have that golden pass, Step on up… and let me accommodate you on this dream journey” he said, the place erupted into cheers and whistles from the crowd as they all became excited at the man’s presence Jyro stared at the man in awe of how peculiar he was, and knew it would be best to avoid these types of people as best as he could. Now Jyro and Sebastian made their way to join the queue lining up to board and when they finally got to the front of the queue, Jyro attempted to board the bus when suddenly a cane impeded his path “whoa-whoa dear boy, and where are you off to mmm” said the man with the top hat, “erm I’m going to the City of Canta… you’re in my way sir” answered the boy, Jyro tried to pass by the cane but was again impeded by the man, “but little boy I don’t smell the golden pass,” the man said whilst he brought his face closer to Jyros and smiled menacingly towards the boy “No Golden Pass no ride on the bus…mmm”. Jyro didn’t understand what he was referring to by golden pass and didn’t really know what to reply with, meanwhile Sebastian rummaged through Jyros bag pack and pulled out the golden medallion that Jack left with him. The little tiger brought the item to the man in the Top hat, the man took hold of the medallion and widened his eyes at the sight of it “mmmm ahaha , dear boy what a dangerous thing you’ve just shown me but shhhhh don’t worry your secrets safe with me” he stated whilst winking at Jyro, “ dangerous? What do you mean” asked Jyro intently but the man ignored his question and proceeded to address the waiting people once more “Ladiesss and gentlemen, this young poor boy desires to cross the bridge of demons and ghouls to the land of everlasting peace and sunshine, But…. His poor self is weak and moneyless therefore we must refuse the boy” the crowd became rowdy and jeered at the man’s announcement, “but Wait, there is a way for this young fellow, out of the goodness of my heart I shall grant him passage if he answers correctly riddle I pose onto him, now isn’t that fair” he said to the crowd, the crowds spirits began to lift as the jeers quickly turned to cheers, whilst the man in the top hat danced and embraced the reception he received, Jyro looked around in confusion at the whole situation wondering how he got caught up into this mess.
“Shall we begin dear boy mmm” the man asked, the man with the Top hat then begun fiddling with his hands and thinking of a question to ask young Jyro, when suddenly he clicked his fingers and pointed to the sky “ho ho I’ve got a lovely one…. Now Who am I? I once nestled with the white dove but I now dine with the black crows…Who am I ?, The man with the Top hat paused for a few moments and waited for Jyros reply but the boy was clueless, he looked around the people too who were gazing at him waiting for his reply. “Well?” the man persisted, Just as Jyro was about to utter a sound a young lady suddenly pushed her way through the queue and marched herself in front of Jyro, “ahem , excuse me hold this for a second please” she said whilst she dropped her luggage in Jyros hands “ you don’t need to play this silly game, it’s not only unethical but unauthorized”, she then turned her attention to the man in the top hat “Gatekeeper I don’t remember the rules stating that this sort of test was acceptable and using this boy for your own personal amusement wouldn’t sit well with the Academy council now will it” she said, “ho-ho why if it isn’t pretty little miss Morrowind aren’t you late for admissions my dear mmmm” replied the man in an attempt to diverse the conversation topic, “ my admission times are none of your business and its lovely to know your still crafty as ever…… erm you over there… yeah you…erm boy whatever your name is I have an extra pass so you’ll be travelling with me today ok” she said whilst urging Jyro to follow her, Jyro still couldn’t muster out any words and the whole situation seemed to escalate far too quickly for him to keep up with, “ WELL DON’T JUST STAND THERE! Shall we be off” demanded the young lady, so Jyro and his little feline companion followed the girl and boarded the Beetle bus.
The man with the top hat simply watched on whilst the boy passed by him, and as he looked up to the sky he smirked to himself and spoke, “mmm dear boy, the answer to my question is YOU, yes indeed Mr. Jyro Thomas you are the answer to my riddle, but how will you fare in this world I wonder, will your white wings shine divinely through the darkness or will they be stained with blood from the crows that clip at them mmm, well I welcome you to the party Mr Thomas ,it’s certainly going to be a very fun one”, he then gathered his Cane into his hands and walked away.