by Josh Kilen
"Finally," he said with a sigh, "The two who were prophesied have come to retrieve the magic stones from great danger."
Episode 8
"Magic stones?" asked Big.
"You don't know about the magic stones?" responded the Chief Elder, as if such a thing were impossible.
Big and Little shook their heads.
The Chief Elder took a deep breath, "If you are to understand the evil that plagues our land, then you must understand the magic stones." he said.
"Long ago, in the beginning of our world, the land produced three magic stones of tremendous power. The very first King found the stones and discovered that each one granted special abilities to its owner. The first was a yellow stone that gives the bearer great courage, eliminating fear and strengthening hearts. The king gave this stone to his greatest champion to protect it from evil. The second was a green stone which bestows wisdom and understanding, so that anyone who wears it will know the right choices to make. The King wisely kept this stone for himself and his descendents.
"The third stone, a deep blood red color, gives great power and the ability to do any number of magical things. The first king also took this stone for himself and very quickly fell under its evil influence. He became corrupt with power and started to terrorize his subjects.
“The Champion of the Land, to whom the King had given the Stone of Courage, challenged the first King. Using his great strength and heart, the Champion was able to wrestle the Stones of Wisdom and Power away from the first King, but he died doing so.
"Having lost his power, the first King fled to the land of Lee to plot his revenge and teach his children to hate the people in his old kingdom.
“Meanwhile the King's brother ruled in his stead. Deciding that the stones were too powerful for one person to control, he divided them. The Stone of Wisdom was kept with the ruler, hidden in a ceremonial robe. The Stone of Courage was placed in a mighty staff and used only in great need.
"The Stone of Power was deemed too dangerous for anyone to use. It was placed in the deepest, darkest dungeon, never to be seen again.
"The Stones were lost to legend, known only in stories and fairy tales. They were forgotten by everyone except the first King who now ruled the Land of Lee. The true story of the Three Magic Stones lived on in the land of Lee, and each ruler after the old King dreamed of controlling all three stones.
"Many, many, many years later, the Land of Lee waged war on our peaceful Land. The battle was not going well and Princess Nezla, the new ruler of our land, welcomed any help she could find. Even help from an unknown orange cat with a wise tongue and a pleasant smile.
“Wisdom is not perfect, and the Princess did not see that this cat secretly craved power over all else. You see, that is the curse of the Stone of Power, to the one who wields it and all his descendents. They will always crave power.
"Shirlee was able to steal the stone of power and use it to escape. We gave the Stone of Courage to the Good Gnome, sending him after Shir, but he was betrayed and the stone taken from him by an evil traitor. The Good Gnome obviously soldiered on and tracked Shir to your world. That's where you come in.
"If we want any chance of defeating Shirlee, we must retrieve the stones. The Stone of Courage is held by an evil gnome in a dangerous castle surrounded by the Forest of Fear. The Princess and the Stone of Wisdom are hidden in a fortress that she cannot leave and is nearly impossible to reach.
“I must warn you, if Shirlee obtains all three stones, we are done for. He will be too powerful and there will be no stopping him. We must get those Stones back!" The Chief Elder looked at the Dogs.
Big tilted his head in curiosity, "What about the Cheese?" he asked, "Why is Shirlee taking all of our cheese?"
"We think that the cheese somehow makes the stone's powers even greater. With an endless supply of cheese and all three stones, Shirlee will conquer all the worlds.” The chief looked gravely at the dogs, “Will you help us?" he asked.
"Of course we will, in memory of our friend, the Gnome. He wanted us to finish his work." Big said.
The Chief and the other Elders nodded, happy to hear this, "Now you must prepare. You will not survive without the proper training and there is no one better to train you than the Great Bjorn. He is waiting at his house. He is a strict master though, and you will either become great warriors or perish trying. Good luck to you, and our fates rest on your shoulders."
Big and Little looked nervously at each other. What had they gotten themselves into?!?
Episode 9
Having accepted the quest to retrieve the Stones, the dogs were led to the House of the Great Bjorn to train for their journey.
The narrow path they walked led to a rundown hut. Their escort made them wait by the gate and called out, "Hallooo Bjorn. I have your new recruits here. Good luck with these ones." and with that the scout turned and left.
"That was incredibly rude," said Big. As he turned around, out of the house, came the biggest cat he had ever seen.
Bjorn came from a long line of Battle Cats, and he was the greatest of all warriors. His skill was unmatched in battle, and he was charged with training the best and brightest in the ways of battle.
As he looked at the two dogs he felt there was something special about them, although he could not put his finger on it. They looked like they could fight but they weren't very big, and they certainly were not ready for the serious trials ahead.
Bjorn strode forward and spoke in a booming voice, "Attack me. Now!"
The Dogs had never fought anything until today, much less something so large. Little didn't move and Big was hesitant. Bjorn growled, "It'll be worse for you if you don't, trust me."
Big and Little attacked at once. A blur of motion later, they found themselves on their backs staring up at the cave ceiling. They couldn’t believe what just happened.
Bjorn looked stern but pleased, and gave them each a paw to help them up, "You are not ready, but you will be. When you can put me on the ground, then you will be ready."
The next week was the most intense the Dogs had ever experienced. From wake up to bedtime, all they did was train with Bjorn, and he rarely allowed breaks. Some training they understood like running long distances and lifting heavy rocks, these would make them faster and stronger. But some of the things he had them do were ridiculous, things like stalking skunks, chasing snails, and taking honey from a bee hive without disturbing the bees.
One morning the Dogs came to Bjorn's hut and the great cat walked out as he usually did. But instead of saying his customary "Let's get to work!" he looked at them and yelled, "Attack Me, Now!"
This time the Dogs do not hesitate and flew through the air. Bjorn dodged them easily but was impressed at their progress. Working as a team, Big and Little moved from side to side and eventually brought the big cat down. Bjorn looked very pleased indeed.
He patted each on the head and said, "You have done well, and are now ready to accompany me into ultimate danger. Tomorrow the real adventure begins."
Episode 10
Bjorn and the Dogs left the city to loud cheers and praise. The entire city had come out to see them off, wishing them well and good success on the journey.
The Chief Elder gave them his blessings and said a prayer over them. Tiberius came over as well, patted the Dogs on their heads, and told them thank you again for returning his nephew. When all the fanfare was done, Bjorn, Big, and Little walked up the stairs into the wide open world.
They followed a wide, level path for quite some time when Bjorn abruptly changed course, leading the party toward the dark clouds on the horizon. They were heading to the Forest of Fear. The closer they came to the Forest and the Evil Castle where the Stone of Courage was held, the darker the clouds became. Even Bjorn seemed a little nervous.
"The weather sure is changing," Big said, his voice slightly wavering. Bjorn merely nodded and increased his pace toward the dark wood.
When the individual trees were in s
ight, Bjorn stopped, turned around, and looked gravely at the dogs. "This is the Forest of Fear and it's one of the most dreaded places in all our land. It makes even the most courageous run away, and many fine warriors have done just that. In fact no one has ever made it through the Forest in one piece," Bjorn said ominously.
Big and Little listened intently.
"Follow one rule, and we might make it through this alive. Keep your courage no matter what. Courage is the only way to defeat fear and we must succeed today. Now, follow me." And Bjorn walked into the Forest of Fear.
Once inside, the darkness hugged them warmly. It was thick and heavy, like a giant wet blanket pressing on them. The trees creaked and croaked, swaying in an unfelt wind. When little bits of sunshine found their way through, the trees were the scariest trees they had ever seen. Jagged and gnarled all over, they looked older than the earth.
Luckily the path they traveled was fairly smooth. While the path was easy, staying in the Forest was not. A deep dense of danger was growing in their hearts. The Fear came upon each of them, yelling and screaming at them to go back. Bjorn led the way and held his course, the Dogs did the same.
The path began to wind a little, up small hills, and through little dells. Suddenly, a large chasm appeared right before them, blocking their path. There was no crossing, they had to go back.
At that moment the forest decided to attack.
Episode 11
Bjorn, Big, and Little were daring the Forest of Fear in order to get to the castle that held the Stone of Courage.
The forest led them to a deep crevasse and as they turned around it began to attack.
A large branch swung through the group, Bjorn and the Dogs jumped nimbly out of its way. Big landed near an old elm tree only to be swatted from the side by a strong thorny branch. He tumbled head over heals, but regained his feet quickly. The Dogs were able to dodge effectively thanks to Bjorn's training.
"How do you defeat a whole forest?" Big thought as he batted away a particularly gnarled old branch.
Bjorn spotted a small opening between two trees, "There! Follow me, quick!" and he sprinted away. Big and Little were not far behind.
Suddenly Bjorn and Big heard loud yelp. A group of three trees had caught Little and were dragging her into their trunks. The gnarled, diseased bark snapped open and shut like the jaws of some ancient beast, hoping to devour the small one.
"Bjorn! I'm going after Little!" and Big sprinted off toward the group of trees. He leaped through the air and latched on to the largest branch holding his friend. Gnawing into the soft wood, he broke through the bark into the white of the branch. The branch swung wildly, throwing Big through the air.
All of the sudden an ax came flying and sliced through the tree's remaining branches. Bjorn retrieved his ax and fought off the branches coming after him.
Little was able to wiggle away and her, Big, and Bjorn ran down the path. Faintly through the trees, they could see the lights in the castle and ran even faster toward their goal. The trees grew thicker and thicker, like they were moving in, more and more branches swung at them, hitting, scratching, beating. The castle was disappearing through the ever increasing trees.
They saw a clearing ahead of them and sprinted as fast as their winded bodies would allow. They broke through the trees and tumbled onto hard, scratchy grass. Immediately they felt a deep and complete fear, like the kind you get when the scariest thing in the world comes to life right before you.
The Castle of Fear stood before them, taunting them. They now had to face their greatest fears, or perish tying.
Episode 12
Bjorn, Big, and Little escaped from the Forest of Fear mostly unharmed. They were lucky to escape with only a few bruises and cuts. Now they had to find a way into the Castle of Fear to rescue the Stone of Courage from an evil gnome.
The deep fear became more real as they approached the castle. The hair was standing up on the Dogs' and Bjorn's backs, and they all just wanted to run back to the underground city. But the Dog's remembered Bjorn's words about courage and kept moving toward the castle.
Sneaking up to the front gate, they saw that it was guarded by a grove of sinister looking trees, and two large statues.
"Those statues are the Watchers. They will sound an alarm if we try to go through. Luckily I brought a back up plan," Bjorn pulled out a large crossbow from his satchel.
Taking the crossbow, Bjorn aimed it at the top of the castle wall. Steadying his hand, he shot a large arrow with a rope attached to the end. The arrow found it's mark and the heroes began to slowly climb up the side of the castle wall.
As they swung over the side onto the top floor, a living darkness swirled around them. It's dark tentacles reached out and enveloped each with the greatest fears they had ever known.
Little immediately saw Big being taken away to the pound by some angry men in uniforms. Little was all alone, and the darkness told her that she would never see Big again, that she would always be alone. Little started to shake and cry.
Big saw Little being taken into the trees again but this time the trees were holding him back. He had to watch as Little was taken into the tree trunks, yelling for him to help. Big was unable to move and his heart was breaking.
Bjorn saw his Princess surrounded by crusts, with Shirlee standing over her, ready to take the Stone of Wisdom, but Bjorn was caught in quicksand. He was unable to help, he couldn't save her.
As he sank slowly into the sand, it dawned on Bjorn that this was not real, that he just needed courage to defeat the fear. With new-found energy, he pulled himself from quicksand, sliced up the crusts, and saved the Princess. As he did, the darkness faded from his eyes and he saw Big and Little locked in a trance, darkness swirling all around them.
Bjorn ran up to the dogs and shook them, to no effect. He began yelling at them, "It's all a dream. Remember, courage, all you need is great courage to defeat the fear."
Through the dream Big and Little heard Bjorn's voice faintly. Big saw himself breaking free from the branches and Little saw herself running faster than than the car taking Big away, almost catching up with the car. Both Dogs woke up from the trance.
Shaking off the dark haze, they collected their wits and headed up to the top room of the castle.
As they reached the inner chamber, the room glowed brightly and the Stone of Courage hung in the middle of the room , suspended in the air. As they moved to grab it, the stone disappeared and an old, evil looking gnome replaced it.
An nasty smile twisted his face, "Congratulations for making it this far, but I'm afraid that this is the end for all of you."
Episode 13
The old evil Gnome flipped through the air, right over the heroes. He moved faster than normal and was obviously well trained in combat. Whatever made him so quick and agile also improved his fighting skills, as he beat up Bjorn and sent him flying across the room.
Bjorn landed on his feet but he wasn’t sure what he should do next. Big and Little tried to attack the Evil Gnome from both sides but he easily dodged and the Dogs collided into each other. The evil Gnome kicked both of the Dogs into the wall.
The evil gnome grinned a deep, disturbing smile, "I told you that you couldn't win, with the Stone of Courage powering me, I am too strong for all of you." The evil Gnome began to laugh menacingly
Bjorn looked over at the Dogs as they slowly rose to their feet. They were limping but still looked ready to fight. He gave them a nod in the direction of the gnome and all three attacked at once. Little went for the evil gnome's feet and latched on to his left one. Big went for his left arm and bit into the the gnome's bicep. Bjorn sent a swift kick to his chest that would have sent a normal person flying.
But the evil gnome gracefully spun, once again making our heroes good friends with the wall. They began to lose hope. The evil Gnome raised his glowing staff to end them all for good.
Little was panting hard and everything hurt. But as she looked at the gnome's face, it became fami
liar somehow, like she had seen it many times before.
"We used to know a very good, courageous gnome. He looked like you but he would never do something like this," Little said.
The old, evil gnome snorted and lowered his staff slightly, "Obviously you met my brother, the one everyone loved, the one everybody wanted to be around. It seems like you were not immune to his charms either. Tell me, how is my goody-goody brother these days? Still on his quest to stop Shir?"
Little looked down sadly, "No, he died in battle, saving us. We tried to bring him back but it was too late."
The evil gnome’s smile fell and he looked stricken as he stared at the floor.
Little took a deep breath and continued, "All your brother wanted was the best in others, do you think he would want this for you? Is this how you honor his memory? By killing the people he died to save?"
The old, evil gnome looked at Little with tears in his eyes. "You don't know what it's like to grow up and always be compared to someone like Him. He was always doing things like that, saving people, being the hero." The Evil Gnome dropped his staff and he suddenly seemed much less powerful. "You’re right," he said, "This is not the way to honor his memory. He always wanted better for me, for everyone. I will honor his sacrifice." The gnome turned away, "You obviously came for the Stone of Courage. It's embedded in the staff. Please, take it and go."
Bjorn walked over and picked up the staff, it felt very heavy yet light all at the same time. As soon as he touched it, Bjorn felt stronger and more courageous than he had ever thought was possible. He looked over at the Old Gnome, "Come with us, you are not a lost cause yet. You can honor your brother's memory and take up his fight against Shir."
The gnome laughed sadly, "Who do you think gave me this castle? No, Shir is too powerful and I am too old now. That's the problem with the stone. If you don't use it for good it takes life away from you, makes you much older than you are. And I have been using it for evil for some time now." The old gnome began walking away.
Little limped over in front of him. "Please come with us?" Her big eyes were pleading, "It's what your brother would have wanted."
