The Maze Runner

While Thomas is in the slammer, he is bored out of his mind. The only company he gets all day is when Chuck comes with his lunch. They start talking, and Chuck starts talking about what their life might be like back home. Then something burns within Thomas. He is angry, sad. Angry at all the people who did this to him and Chuck. Chuck was crying. Thomas was burning within. He clenched his fists. He loved Chuck, loved him like a brother. He promised that he would get him back to his mother no matter what it took. The short boy just nodded, and walked off, shoulders heaving. After the one day in the slammer was over, Thomas is sent with Minho, too begin his training to be a runner. Minho leads him to a secret storage room, where there are running shoes, boxes of knives, water bottles, and a lot of other stuff. they head out into the maze after equipping Thomas with a new backpack, a new pare of running shoes, some water bottles, pencil and paper to take notes to record wall movements, a knife to cut ivy, and some food for the day. They begin to run, taking Minho's section, section 1. After awhile, they stop to eat, and then they start investigating. They decide to see if there is a hole where the grievers are entering, like a secret passageway. They start throwing rocks, taking notes on where they throw the rock each time. One time Minho throws the rock, and it disappears out of nowhere. They get super excited, and start mapping out the dimensions of their newly discovered Griever hole. Then they go back to tell Newt and Alby, but they are not in the mood to talk at the moment. The weekly supplies haven't come. What’s to happen next? Everything that goes wrong seems to be making a pathway to the ending, and they’re frightened, because they do not know what the future will bring.

That's a wrap,
DINGBAT!!!!!!

The Maze Runner

The morning has come and they have returned to Alby. Minho looks as if he's in a daze. the doors open shortly after, and Minho and Thomas walk in, exhausted. The Gladers are standing there, in awe, watching. They go in the homestead and get washed up and rested. After a couple of days, Newt approaches Thomas, and tells him they need to have a gathering to decide a punishment. Thomas seems confused that a punishment is even necessary considering he saved their leader's life. Newt reminds him of the concept of order, and despite the heroic act, he still broke the rules, and needs a punishment. They go and have a gathering with all of the keepers except for Alby where they discuss Thomas's fate in front of him and tell him not to speak unless spoken to. All the keepers stand up and share their opinions on the situation, and discus what treatment if any should be used. When Gally stands up and goes crazy, yelling and screaming that Thomas is crazy and should be banished or kept in the slammer at all times. Newt starts to freak out on him and tells him to stop if that's all he has to say about it. Some time goes by and Minho stands up. He says something very exciting and even frightening. He nominates Thomas as Keeper of the Runners; that's how impressed Minho was with Thomas's performance. Newt tells him he can't just do that, that Thomas has to train with him first. Minho nods and they decide on one day in the slammer, and then training will begin. Gally freaks out again, calling Minho crazy and idiotic, saying that it's nuts to trust Thomas, because he thinks he's some kind of spy, that he was trained before he came. Thomas was getting really mad now. He didn't want to be here either. He wanted to go home just as much as anybody. Minho and Newt both shoot at Gally and Minho catches him in a chokehold, threatening to kill him if he continues. Newt pulls him away from Gally and tells him to leave. After that shock, Gally walks out, hate and lunacy in his eyes. The day ends and Thomas is sent to his day in the slammer early in the morning.

That’s a wrap, more to come,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

The Maze Runner

When we left off of my last post with Maze Runner, Ben had just been banished.

I am almost done with the book, so I'm just going to sum it up.  Right after that Thomas is standing with Alby and suddenly an Asian kid runs through one of the gates to the maze, exhausted, and raspy, gasping for breath.  It’s a boy named Minho.  After arguing with Alby for a couple of minutes, the leader goes and gets him water.  Minho's back really early.  He tells him he found a dead griever, and then after some resting, they go explore the maze.  They’re gone a long time, and Newt's freaking out, because the walls are about to close, and if they don’t come back, that means that they are dead, near dead, or soon to be dead.  Just as the walls are closing, Thomas sees Minho carrying Alby, his limp arm on his shoulder.  Thomas sees that they are not going to make it and he instinctively breaks the number one rule: never go out into the maze at night.  Minho yells at him and tells him how stupid he is, because they are now all going to die.

Thomas won't accept Minho's hopelessness, and starts brainstorming.  He climbs up the wall using the vines, pushing Alby up inch by inch, using all of his strength.  He sits on the wall thirty feet in the air and waits.  A griever approaches and starts climbing up the wall.  He swings and starts leading the grievers away from Alby by swinging on the vines.  The griever starts chasing him and he runs.  He runs for a long time, then turns and waits for it to approach.  He lets it get within feet of him, and then dives out of the way.  Then Minho finds him and takes him to the cliff.  He tells him to stand there and wait for them.  They wait until four grievers are coming straight at them.  Then, using Thomas's idea, they dive out of the way just when they are about to get them, and they all fall over the edge, except one, which they push off the edge with their feet.  Then they run back to where Thomas told Minho he left Alby.  Minho is so impressed with the Greenie's performance that he doesn't know what to say.

That’s kind of a lot, so we'll stop there. 

DINGBAT OUT!

MAZE RUNNER (Cont'd)

Ever since Thomas heard the word "Runner" he felt that he was destined to be one.  He was asking Chuck about it the second night, or one of the first nights he was there, and Chuck tells him he is crazy and tells him to go to sleep.  Thomas doesn't feel completely lost anymore because some have answered a few of his questions, but not many.

After Thomas wakes up, Newt takes him to one of the walls of the glade with a dirty window. Newt tells Thomas to look into the window and Thomas sees a Griever.  Thomas is pretty startled by what he sees and is upset and scared and he still wants to be a Runner; in fact even more.  I am going to skip a couple of chapters and get into the meat of the story.

Thomas, the very next day after he arrives, a girl comes in via the box.  They all think she is dead.  All of a sudden, her eyes roll back in her head and she creams as she sits up erect and she starts seizing.  In her hand is a crumpled up piece of paper with the following written on it:  "everything is going to change."  They think she is in a coma so that scares the boys.  They think she is not waking up.  The Med-Jacks come to pick her up and take her into the homestead.  Alby suspects Thomas, because since Thomas' arrival crazy things started to happen.  Traditionally one person comes into the glade on the same day, the same time, the same way and now a person arrived a day after Thomas and it is a girl.  Prior to that it had always been boys.   Alby suspects Thomas of doing something, and Thomas has no clue what Alby is talking about.  From there, it gets worse.

Thomas goes for his first day with one of the Keepers.  He goes to the Blood House.  The Keeper's name is Winston.  Winston teaches Thomas how to tend the animals, take care of them and how to slaughter them.  Thomas cannot handle the slaughtering of the animals.  Thomas is convinced that Winston loves his job too much.  Thomas has a theory that all had been sent to the Glade because they did something wrong.  Thomas thinks Winston may have been a Serial Killer.

Thomas goes to the deadheads and goes into a forest with dead trees and it gets progressively darker.  It feels like night time.  He is walking and his stomach goes chill.  He finds a graveyard with approximately 30 people buried.  There are crosses embedded in the ground.  One grave has a window to look in.  There is someone in with half missing that has a sign that says, "This half shank is a reminder of all who wants to go down the box because it will cut you in half."  Thomas feels like he is being followed.  He wants the person to show theirself.  All of sudden Ben attacks him.  Thomas has to break out of his grasp.  Ben is trying to kill him by choking him and stabbing him in the calf.  Alby comes out holding a bow and arrow.  He asks Ben to stop or he will kill him.  Alby aims at Ben's brain to shoot him, but misses and it hits his cheek.  Ben falls over.  Ben, however, survived the attack.  Later the next day, Ben is banished.

The Keepers perform a ceremony to banish Ben.  The Keepers throw Ben in the maze, in the morning when the doors open the collar is sitting there which means they eat the person they leave in the maze.

That's a WRAP!!
DINGBAT OUT.

Maze Runner

I have not written about this book for a while, since the last post I have fallen in love with it and it is one of my favorite books.  After Thomas gets taken out of the elevator and meets Alby who is the leader, they do not do much to welcome him in.  They tell him the rules, and they give him to Newt to show him the ropes.  They take him to a boy named Chuck who is really short and looks to be about 12 years of age.  Chuck is a portly kid that reminds me a little of my brother.  Thomas starts looking around and starts looking at where he is and he finds out he is in a place called the Glade and everyone there are called Gladers.  There is a garden, a place with cows, pigs, chickens and so forth.  There is a wooded area with dying trees.  Thomas runs in to a guy named Gally who is mean to him because he said he remembers him.  Thomas finds this interesting, because no one can remember anybody in the Glade.  Gally insists that he knows Thomas.  Gally went through a changing because he was stung by something called the Griever.  A guy named Ben is going through the changing at this time and Thomas asks what this is.  Gally tells him to go look.  Newbies are not allowed to see things like the changing.  The guy on the bed has green skin, his veins are green and he is writhing.  Thomas is kicked out and he gets into trouble for being there.  He returns to Chuck.  Chuck is sarcastic all the time and does not answer Thomas' questions.  Thomas likes Chuck and at the same time finds him to be annoying.  Thomas is glad to have a friend, nonetheless.  Thomas goes to bed and tries to put the image of Ben out of his mind.

DINGBAT OUT!

The Maze Runner

I'm reading a book called Maze Runner, and for a book written by a Mormon author, it is pretty gory, and has some pretty close language.  For instance when Alby says, “what the Shuck is wrong with you?" or "you shank," or "you Klunk- head."  I don't like the book, but I have to wait for the second book of The Beyonders to come out.

The book starts out where there's this boy in an elevator that is moving.  He doesn't remember how he got there, and he doesn't know where he is.  He gets scared and panicky, and he can't see a thing.  He starts trying to remember where he is and how he got there.  The only thing he seems to be able to remember is his name.  His name is Thomas.  He remembers things that he did, eating a hamburger or hotdog, watching a movie, but he can’t incorporate places or people in them, so they’re void and empty. It’s frustrating.  He doesn’t even know how old he is, or where this elevator is taking him.  All he knows is that he’s been in this elevator for a really long time, and he wants out.  After what seems ages of being in the elevator shaft, he sees a sliver of light, and feels the elevator come to very abrupt stop.  It’s so bright that he can’t see what and who is there.  All he can see are blurs.  He starts to pass out, and the voices around him get muddy and indistinctive.  They pull him out of the elevator and he’s standing in front of this big group of boys of various ages from 12 to 17.  There’s this Asian guy who’s looking at him from head to toe, examining him.  His name’s Alby.

We’ll stop here,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

A shocking truth and a proposal of service: BEYONDERS

Maldor walks in and pours some liquid into his goblet and tells Jason its Lumbaberry juice.  Jason is so bewildered nothing happened. Maldor was still here. As if he knows what Jason's thinking, he tells Jason he got the word right.  "Well if I got the word right, why didn't it work?" Then Maldor explained that the word would unmake a different wizard, one who was dead.  In other words, the word is a fake, and Salzared, the one who wrote the book bound in human skin was his servant, and knew that the word was a fake.  He is a displacer.  The book has his eye and his skin on it, and is written in his blood.  The purpose of this was so that he could be the ultimate spy.  Jason is so lost.  How did this happen?  It was all a fake?  All of it?  Jason asks him angrily why he created the word.  Maldor tells him it was to test people and he see that his greatest fighters were so he could recruit them.  He tells Jason that he is one of the only people in the world who know about the truth of the word.  Jason asks if Galloran knows.  Maldor says he told him it was a hologram of him so he could erase the suspicion.  He tells Jason that he was surprised that he knew the whole word, because he thought Jason only knew 4 of the six syllables.  Jason tells him that Galloran broke the rules and allowed access to the syllables in other places.  Jason asks him what his second order of business is and Maldor says it's because he wishes to propose something to Jason; an offer to serve him.  Maldor tells Jason how impressed he is of him and how he is the kind of man he needs.  He points out that Jason is wise, patient, clever, witty, strong, brave, impulsive, courageous, and most of all loyal and competitive.  He indulges him even more by promising that if he works hard, he will become one of the most respected and honored of his men, and receive rare treatment.  He also states that there is no reason to keep resisting him since the word is a fake.  Jason contemplates these things and the choice held before him.  What about Rachel?  What about Tark?  What about Drake, and Jasher, and everyone else?  He had to tell Rachel the truth.  He wasn't going to let her suffer for something that isn't even real.  Maldor is evil, why should he serve him?  He will warp his mind, and make him into a bad person.  Jason shudders at the thought, although it would be much easier. Jason shakes this disturbing thought out of his mind.  "Galloran said that a real hero is willing to stand up for what is right no matter the consequence" Jason said, glaring at Maldor.  "I refuse."  Maldor shook his head. Then Jason asks him if he knows how to get back to the beyond, and Maldor says he does.  Jason asks him if he will help him get to the beyond, and Maldor says he does not help his enemies.  He gets up and leaves. (OK, honestly I'm getting tired of talking about this book in so much detail so I'm just going to sum up.)  Jason gets drugged, and thrown in prison first with a huge kind of cobra snake.  He runs away for a while and then inevitably gets bitten.  The venom makes him spill the beans of everything to his interrogators.  Then he gets drugged again and thrown in a coffin.  Then Ferrin comes and knocks out the guards and rescues him and brings him to a well in a cave.  The well will take him back to the Beyond.  Jason fights, not wanting to leave Rachel, and so Ferrin pushes Jason in the well but Jason drags him in with him.  Ferrin detaches his hand and Jason keeps a hold of it, and then he's in the beyond.  He puts the hand in his pocket and walks to a house and asks if he can use their phone.

WOW, THAT'S A LOT!

DINGBAT OUT!

Disappointment, anger, imprisonment: BEYONDERS

We left off were Jason says the word.  I mentioned how he can feel the power of the word as he screams it, yet after he screams it, nothing happens.  Maldor just sits there, perplexed and puzzled.  "Well? Is that all? Then away with you.  How unfortunate that the one word you had to say is in gibberish.  Take him away!" The guard who escorted him in takes him out with instructions to put him in a holding cell.  They walk him down to the dungeons to a holding cell with a thick iron door.  The guards open the door, and push him in.  He tries to escape, pushing two of the guards over, but he is grabbed and pushed to the floor with unnecessary force.  Then they pick him up and force him in this chair, and lock in his arms and legs and waist, and neck into place with these metal confinement rings.  Then they leave.  He can barely breathe.  He can't move.  It's dark.  He’s extremely claustrophobic.  He starts freaking out, and has to calm down.  He tries to forget that he is tied up and can't breathe.  He goes to his "happy place."  He tries to keep track of time. Where is he exactly?  What time is it?  How long has he been here?  Each minute seems to drag out for eternity.  He tries to tell how many seconds, how many minutes, how many hours he's been locked up in this chair.  It's completely dark.  He can't see a thing.  Why hadn't the word worked?  He was certain he had said it right.  He couldn't remember the syllables as promised, so what was he going to do now?  All of a sudden, after who knows how long, the door swings open, letting in blinding light that hurts his eyes.  What’s going on?  Who is it?  MALDOR.  He walks into the room alone with a silver tray holding a bottle of liquid. The door closes behind him, flooding the room with darkness once again. DUN DUN DUN!!!!!

SUSPENSE!

DINGBAT OUT!

Arriving at the City, and a Change in Plot: BEYONDERS

When we left off, Jason was captured.  They take him and they start traveling to this city.  The leader's name is Ian.  He tells Jason to brace himself for what lies ahead for him in the prisons.  They travel for two days, and then he starts seeing the peaks of the city.  He is in awe at how protected and sturdy it is.  It has never been invaded.  Jason now knows why (I mean you can't even climb up the walls without being killed).  When they arrive at the gates they settle down for the night.  They will journey inside the city tomorrow.  They go to bed.  Jason wakes up with a hand over his mouth.  It's Drake! Drake pulls him to his feet and explains that he killed the guards.  He tells Jason that in order to get in front of Maldor and say the word, he explains to him that he needs to go inside the city and bang a gong.  When the gong is banged, a law states that that person must get an audience with Maldor, but he/she cannot choose the consequences that come from the audience.  They sneak into the city at night, and Drake kills the guards so that Jason can run to the platform where the big gong hangs.  He grabs the mallet and bangs the gong three times for effect.  The one guard who survives Drake's violent attack tells him he will get his audience, and then drags him roughly to Maldor's castle.  As they walk through the halls Jason runs the word through his head: Arimfexendrapuse, Arimfexendrapuse, over and over again.  Jason wonders if he will be able to pronounce the word correctly in the presence of Maldor.  They finally arrive to some double doors that are rough and heavy.  Upon approach, the doors open loudly allowing them to pass through.  As Jason walks in, he sees this man sitting on a throne in a black robe with a scepter in his hand with a handle of a smiling skull.  Sitting around him are dozens of displacers.  Jason tells Maldor that he wishes to share only one word with him, and then belts it out: "ARIMFEXENDRAPUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  He screams.  He can feel the power of the word in his body, taste it on his tongue. 

We’ll stop here,  

DINGBAT OUT!

Departure Cont'd and the Explosion of Jasher and Capture of Jason: BEYONDERS

We left off with the borehounds are chasing these men and they kill Tristan.  They catch up to Drake and Tark too but they start slaying the dogs.  Jason does too, but they get a hold of his arm and his leg, and he finally gets them off of him and he is bleeding.  Drake is not bleeding anywhere, and has four dead dogs around him, his sword covered in blood.  The dogs were followed by men on horses; one of them Kimp.  Then Jasher comes out with Rachel, and he rides toward Kimp.  Once close enough, Kimp jumps off his horse, colliding with Jasher.  Then a bright light and clash, and Jasher and Kimp are on the ground; Jasher blown to pieces, an arm over here, a leg over there, his head on top of his charred body; Kimp’s on the ground a little farther away, on fire.  The impact of Kimp’s tackle triggered Jasher’s Oriantum causing an explosion.  Jason runs to where Jasher lay, and starts frantically looking for the seed with his companions so that they can replant it and give Jasher a new life.  Jason checks the man’s charred neck for the seed, but it is not there.  He panics, asking his friends to look harder, and the anticipation builds, while their chances of escaping are becoming slimmer and slimmer.  Finally, after what feels like ages, they find the seed and head off on the horse Rachel has.  Unfortunately, there is a group of men coming their way.   Jason gives Tark the seed, and tells him to tell Rachel that the last syllable is DRA.  One half of the group of men pursue Tark’s group while the rest stay and confiscate Jason.  He surrenders, and they tell him they are taking him to a city called….. (Oh shoot, I can’t remember.  It’s kind of important to know what it’s called huh?  Sorry ‘bout that.)   Anyway, they start heading toward their destination.

That’s enough for now,
DINGBAT OUT!

Duke Conrad duel and departure cont: BEYONDERS

When the preparations are made they gather into the Billiard room, where one of the billiard tables is filled with billiard balls.  The rules are simple:  they pick up the billiard balls and throw them at each other until one of them dies or is killed.  The match starts, and Jason soon realizes that Duke Conrad is very slow and clumsy when it comes to dodging and throwing balls.  He hits Jason with one ball, and Jason soon throws a ball that unintentionally hits him in the head. Jason was aiming for his shoulder, but Duke Conrad ducks, making his head the target instead of his shoulder.  He slumps to the ground unconscious.  His second tells Jason he has the right to kill him, but Jason declines the offer.  All he wants is to leave.  He asks if anyone wants to come with him other than Tark, and finally Drake says he will.  He says that he told himself that if Jason won he would go with him.  Also, another man, Tristan, decides to come with him; however Jason is a little concerned because Tristan is very obese, and they were going to be doing a lot of running.  He offers one last time, and then they head off on foot, all armed with their own personal weapons.  They start running and almost immediately they hear dogs behind chasing them; borehounds mostly.  So they keep running, and Tark and Drake are very fast runners, so Jason is having a hard time keeping up with them.  Tristan on the other hand is having a hard time keeping up with them, and they haven't been running very far and his face is already red.  The borehounds are running faster than they can run, and they catch up to Tristan and attack and kill him.  

More to come....

Kimp and Duke Conrad Duel: BEYONDERS

Jason waits a long time in the bathhouse and finally Kimp comes in to take a bath.  He is bulging with muscle and covered from head to toe in tattoos.  Jason enters into the large tub and tries to strike up a conversation with Kimp.  Kimp is not showing any desire to talk, and tries to explain to him that this is his "relaxation time," but then Jason brings up his tattoos and he becomes much happier and accepting of the conversation.  He starts talking to Jason about them and even turns around to show him the shark on his back.  Jason is so excited and lucky!  The 4^th and last syllable is on Kimp's shoulder blade!  He eagerly scoots closer to see.  It's DRA.  He puts the word’s syllables together to create the "all powerful" word.  The word is Arimfexendrapuse.  Finally he has the word that can destroy Maldor!  He can now leave.  He tells Tark he is going to leave, and plans to announce it at dinner.  So, at dinner, he stands up and announces that he is going to leave.  Everyone goes silent.  Duke Conrad’s face twitches.  Duke Conrad stands up infuriated; face twitching with anger.  Jason tells him that he is leaving and will not change his mind.  Duke Conrad orders a duel in the courtyard with rapiers or swords.  Jason gets scared because if he fights Duke Conrad with a rapier or sword, he will surely be sliced up into bits.  Jason tells him that he wants to choose the weapon and Duke Conrad refuses at first, stating that he is so much higher than him, considering that Jason is only a lowly lord.  He corrects him, and tells him that he is also the Chancellor of Trensincourt.  Duke Conrad argues by saying that he resigned or gave up that post, and Jason says he did nothing of the kind.  Unable to win the argument, Duke Conrad finally succumbs and lets him choose weapon.  Jason, unsure of what to say, chooses the first thing that comes to his head:  billiard balls.  Since Duke Conrad is unfamiliar with this type of duel, Jason tells him the “customs” of the fighting style, and Duke Conrad has it arranged as so.  They each pick a second, well at least Duke Conrad does.  Tark sort of volunteers himself to be Jason’s second.  Afterward Jason tells him his reasoning for picking the billiard balls.  He picked them because he can throw balls really hard and accurately, but if they were to duel with a rapier or sword he’d be cut into bits. 

Stay tuned….

Harthenham Cont'd: BEYONDERS

The next day Jason goes to the lounge to check the place out.  He sees one of the men there that he saw at his feast.  The man is eating some pie with purple berries.  There are very fat people there, and skinny hags, and all manner of miserable beings.  Trying to get away from this image, he walks over to the long black-haired man eating the pie.  The man starts talking and tells him his name is Drake, and that the pie he is eating is called Lumbaberry pie, and it is the most delicious thing in the world.  He tells him it does not provide real nourishment, but once you get hooked on it, it’s all you ever want to eat, so it gradually kills you.  Jason shudders at this thought and says that he’d rather skip the pie.  Then Drake tells him that the pie killed him three times, and that makes it obvious that Drake is a displacer.  Jason asks him how these people could do this to themselves, how Drake could do this to himself.  Drake sighs and tells him that he thought it would be good just to be ridden of all the opposition.  Jason offers to take him with him, and they can leave, but Drake turns down the offer.  The conversation ceases, and Drake tells him that Kimp, the one he knows he’s looking for, takes a bath in the bathhouse in the afternoon. 

After leaving the lounge, Jason explores the grounds a little bit more.  Jason then heads to the bathhouse in hopes that he will find Kimp there.  While walking there, he finds Tark sitting on a bench outside in the courtyard and sits down by him.  They start talking.  Jason was not expecting to see him there.  Tark tells him he was invited there because he killed some manglers, blew some stuff up, and therefore threatened Maldor.  He tells him how ashamed he is by coming here because he feels he just gave up again like last time, and it seems like that's all he's good for.  Jason tells him to come away with him because he's leaving after he gets the information he came for.  Tark's countenance changes into a look of hope and his face brightens.  Tark tells him he will go with him, and then he asks him why he's here, but Jason can't tell him.  They leave and he goes to the bathhouses in hope of finding Kimp.

That's enough for this blog, 
DINGBAT OUT!

Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Jason goes with Jasher and Rachel to Harthenham Castle where they drop him off and hide.  Jason rides and meets up with a horseman who escorts him to the castle, where he meets Duke Conrad, a very refined, clip-speaking man who wears a white uniform.  The castle is so beautiful, even beyond belief.  Duke Conrad takes Jason in and has him make the demands and orders for the welcoming feast and as to what he wants.  Jason is the guest of honor.  Jason tells Conrad that he wishes to be escorted to his room, rest a small while, and then promptly after attend the welcoming feast.  Jason goes to his room and is absolutely blown away.  He’s so drawn in that he fears it will soon become impossible to leave.  Anyway, Jason attends his feast at a big table which is strewn with guests, most of them obese.  Conrad takes his seat at one end of the table and Jason at the other.  On one side of Conrad, there is a bald man with tons of tattoos all over his head and face.  JACKPOT!  IT’S KIMP!  Servants come out with plates and platters towered high with food, sausages, etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC!!  There’s so much stuff.  Jason is soon disgusted at watching the really fat people just cram the food down their throats, dipping their hands in the clean water and wiping them and getting them dirty immediately again.  Jason tries to pace himself, eating everything in little portions, trying to look refined as the Lord of Caberton should be.  Then he notices him, it's TARK!  It’s the musician of the Giddy Nine!!!  He had no idea he was here.  Anyway, dessert finally comes and the first entree is the livers of a Wasitch.  A Wasitch is the only rodent who can eat a certain plant that is poisonous.  I can’t remember what it is.  Anyway, this makes their livers taste delectable.  Jason tastes one of the five on his plate pensively and then scarfs the rest down greedily.  The food here is the best he has ever had.  It is the best in this world.  Anyway, they finish eating and he goes off to bed.  


OK, we'll stop here.

DINGBAT OUT!

Pythoness: and Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Ok, so we left off where Rachel and Jason are going to the Pythoness's lair.  They are going through the water and it takes two days to get there.  Jasher rows all day both days.  (Big muscles - that’s hot!)  Anyway, excuse my teenage girl romance phase.  All girls go through it I expect.  I have a big crush on Jasher. 

Anyway, back to the story.  They arrive at this tree that is on a small island with a bunch of snakes on it.  It’s Jason's turn to take the risk so Rachel stands watch and he goes inside the tree.  He starts losing memory of the outside world as he gets deeper.  Why is he in a tree?  Wasn’t he supposed to be finding a word?  What word?  He couldn't remember.  What was his name?  He finally came to the end of the tunnel where he meets a girl who lives there.  She asks him who he is and he doesn't remember.  She then takes a puffball from the wall which she says is a mushroom and sticks it below his nose.  He remembers who he is, and what he's looking for, and who sent him.  She then gives him some cheese and sap and then water, and he tells about Galloran, and what he's become.  The girl said her mother was the real Pythoness, and died not long before Jason came.  Her mother had passed down the syllable to her, and she told it to him.  It was Rim.  They talked for a little bit.  He thought she was cute and liked her a lot.  She was only abou15 and had fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  She gave him some puffballs to take back so he could remember their conversation.  He starts walking out of the tree and forgets where he was.  Wasn’t he supposed to go in the tree?  Had already gone in the tree?  What happened?  Rachel asks him what happened and he sticks the puffballs to his nose and tells her.  After that, all three of them go into the tree, and none of them remember who they are.  They sleep there for the night because they don't want to have to deal again with the possibility of getting attacked by snakes.  So they sleep there for the night.  She tells them where the last syllable is.  It is at Harthenham, tattooed on Kimp's shoulder blade.  How lucky.  Jason was invited to the feast at Harthenham.  In order to get the word, they decide that Jason needs to attend the feast at Harthenham, but he must leave.  We’ll stop here.
That's a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Jasher and the Pythoness Part 1: BEYONDERS

I finished the BEYONDERS today, and I was already behind so I really am behind now.  We left off where they leave Ferrin only to be caught by another displacer.  He tells them to mount his horse if they like, but they will not escape.  So Jason and Rachel take the horse and ride out.  As promised, they are ambushed from nowhere and attacked by manglers.  They are surrounded by men with all different attire, spiked armor, lighter armor, and even no armor at all, or weapons.  Jason and Rachel have no choice but to surrender. They take their weapons, except for Rachel's Oriantum, because it is hidden in her robe.  All of a sudden, when they're about to be captured, there was a blazing flashing white light and three of the manglers and conscriptors blew apart on fire.  This man came riding in, slaughtering man after man, finding the weak points in their armor.  He had black or white hair, I can't remember.  He’s awesome!  He killed all the horsemen, and took three horses that were still alive and uninjured.  He told them his name was Jasher.  He is of the Amar Kabal, the People of the Seed.  He has a seed lodged in the back of his head and when he dies the seed dislodges from the skull and plants and hopefully grows a new Jasher.  I think he's died like 11- 14 times.  When a seed person dies, they a reborn at the same age that they first died.  In the Amar Kabal culture, there is a ceremony held at age 21, where they are killed.  This age is picked so that they can be born into adulthood, but still be very young, and have a good life ahead of them.  Also, if they feel they are getting to old, they can kill themselves or die on purpose so that they have full use of their body again. 

Jasher tells them he works for Galloran and that he's been keeping an eye on him from a distance, ever since Ferrin came aboard.  Anyway, they tell him about the word, and Rachel tells him that Malar told her that the second syllable is located in the lair of the Pythoness, and the Pythoness lies deep in the swamps, which are extremely dangerous to travel through.  Anyway, Jasher gathers up three uninjured horses, and they ride into the swamp.  Then they continue by foot.  Jasher uncovers a skiff that he has and they use it to start treading through the water.  Jasher tells Jason to watch out for green slime, which, if let on board, will eat a man until there is none left of him but his bones.  There are also a ton of poisonous snakes, mud vipers, etc.  They’re exceedingly nasty.  So anyway, let's save the whole Pythoness part for next time shall we?

That’s a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!

The Beyonders: White Lake, Betrayal, Jasher part 3

So we left off where Rachel learns Ferrin’s a spy. She tells Jason, and he gets really mad. It was all a set up!!! Ferrin admits it. He says that he is a spy sent to spy on them, but he is only an observer, so he is free to be their friend. He claims most of it was genuine. He made up a few lies in the beginning to gain their trust. He can't nor would he ever harm them, but he can understand completely why Jason thinks he's a jerk and openly says it. He tells them they should never trust him again. They tell him to switch sides, but he's never going to switch sides. He tells them to accept the feast, and live in paradise. If they do not, they will surely be killed, and he doesn't want that for his two "friends". He tells them while they are in Harthenham he will try to find a way to send them back home. After some thought, Rachel stands her ground and declines the opportunity. Jason follows her lead. They tell Ferrin to go and immediately, just as Ferrin said, they're in deep doo doo! well, I'm not going to talk about Jasher this time yet,
so
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

The Beyonders: White Lake, Betrayal, and Jasher

Ok, so when we left off, Rachel was jogging on white lake. As she jogs, it starts getting hotter and hotter as she gets closer to the island. It gets so hot so fast she starts to get exhausted almost immediately. She gets so weak that her legs feel like rubber and her whole body is on fire. She gets to the point where she tries to run but her legs won't go anymore, so she falls and she almost dies. The only thing that saves her is her quick thinking. She rolls and regains her footing. Once she reaches the mountain of rocks she collapses, unconscious. She finally awakes and finds an entrance in the mountain and walks in, and as she descends she realizes it gets cooler to her relief. She finds a head lying on the ground and it starts talking to her. It’s a displacer whose name is Asar, and all she sees of him are his head and one arm. She is startled at the sight and asks him what happened. He tells her how he betrayed Maldor and his body was put in a box except for his head and his arm. Those were smuggled out by his friend and his bodyguard, Rex. His friend escapes with his head and swims until he reaches shore. By that time he is absolutely exhausted. He brings Asar to the White Lake and leaves him there. He survives because his heart's still beating and as long as it does he remains alive. Also, he eats moss that his hand brings to him, and drinks water from his hand as well. He asks her to bring his head to the water so he can drink and she does so. He then tells her the 6th syllable of the word, which is DRA. However, the most important thing he tells her is that his friend who saved him was a displacer, and all displacers work for Maldor as his spies. Their only "real friend", Ferrin, is a displacer, so what can that mean??? NO!!!! HE'S A SPIE!!!!!

SUSPENSE BUILDS AGAIN!!!!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

The Beyonders: Betrayal, close encounter,Jasher

In the Beyonders so far, Jason goes to Court to get his title as Lord Jason of Caberton recognized and immediately after he challenges Copernum, the Chancellor, to a battle of wits.  Jason wins, where everybody else fails and takes his title as Chancellor.  Copernum tells him he will be a dead man by morning.  Because of this threat Jason sleeps under his fancy new bed, so if an attempt is made he will be safe.  He arranges pillows so that it looks like he's in the bed sleeping.  He keeps his Poniard ready to use.  Sure enough, there is someone in the room who tries to kill him.  Fooling the numerous body guards. Jason waits until he gets near and turns and he cuts severing the assassin's achilles tendon.  The man screams, and the body guard rushes in ready to protect him.  The assassin attacks him and stabs him with a knife that is covered in blood bane, a poison with no antidote. They take Jason to the Regent and they go inside the lore vault.  They talk for a while and then Jason is presented with a letter from Maldor to come attend the eternal feast, which is in Harthenham and is a place of paradise where people are offered to go who oppose Maldor.  If they're gone and out of the way, then the threat is gone.  It is truly paradise on Earth.  Jason shows genuine interest, and tells Dolan the Regent that he wants to go, and asks if he can have a carriage ready.  Dolan complies immediately and by morning Jason is at the Stumbling Stag where Ferrin is.  Soon after Rachel arrives on a horse.  Her escape was planned and aided by Nicolas himself.  Then they continue in the carriage together to a place called White Lake, where another piece of the word is hidden.  By this time Jason has decided that he does not want to accept the invitation to the eternal feast, but to continue in pursuit of the word.  They arrive in White Lake, and Jason dismisses the driver of the carriage and tells him this is their final destination.  The driver hesitantly leaves, and they go to investigate the lake.  Oddly enough, the lake is a creamy white color, and looks completely solid.  Yet when you place something inside, it sinks immediately, like suction.  Jason skips a rock across it, and it bounces nearly ten times before sinking.  Things stay afloat when pressure is applied, and it loosens when something is put gently into it.  It’s almost like running on concrete.  They need to cross the lake in order to get to the center island.  Jason experiments by hopping really hard on the lake, going some distance and then back again.  It’s really stinky and hot out on the lake.  Rachel demands that Jason keep his promise and let her take the risk.  This is much more risky because one bad step and she'll be sucked up into the lake and die.  But she insists because she's very stubborn and supports the argument by mentioning the fact that she is a conditioned runner. So she sets out on the lake.

SUSPENSE BUILDS!!!!!!
DINGBAT OUT!!

Ferrin, Trensincourt, Nicolas, and Copernum- The Beyonders, Part 2

Jason and Rachel come to this town after travelling awhile and agree to eat there. However, when in the town they are immediately encountered with danger.  Jason is eating with Ferrin and Rachel and he suddenly feels a sharp pain on his side.  It turns out to be the two men from the rescue group for the Giddy Nine.  They’re holding a knife to him.  Ferrin sees this and starts attacking them.  He hits one of the men; I believe it was the tall skinny one, in the neck, on the Adam's apple, sending him crumpling to the ground, gasping for air in pain. Then the Constable of the town comes out.  Enraged, he says, "What is the meaning of all this?  What’s going on?"  So anyway Jason, Ferrin, Rachel, and the other man are taken to the dungeon/ jail.  Not long after that, word gets to the prisoners that the man Ferrin struck had died.  Ferrin said, "We have to get out of here. We will be executed."  Ferrin comes up with a plan to escape.  He is in a cell with Jason, Rachel is in a cell by herself, and so is the other man.  Ferrin tells Jason to act as if he is asleep, and start moaning, as if he is having a nightmare.  This is to attract the guard to him.  Once outside the cell, Ferrin will knock him out.  It works, and they get the guard inside the cell.  Then Ferrin pulls his hand off and throws it at the wall to where the keys hang.  He finally grabs them after a couple tries, and unlocks the door of their and Rachel's cell.  They take the weapons off the knocked out guard and open the door.  There is another guard outside and they lock him in the cell and knock him out. 

They then go and steal some horses and ride out.  Jason had not really ridden before, so it was jarring when the horse started galloping and cantering because he didn't know how to place his body.  After a while he finally got the hang of it.  So they ride for a while and then start walking until they get to Trensincourt. Ferrin is not favored in Trensincourt, so he can't go in because it's a rough city, but he tells them he will wait for two weeks at an Inn called the "something" Stag (I can't remember exactly).  He gives them a gold pellet and a silver pellet that were not stolen because they were in his shoe, and they head off to Trensincourt.  Once there, they immediately begin inquiring for Nicolas, and this little boy escorts them to where he lives which is in an alley.  They come to the door and knock, and it is answered by a woman that looks like one of those biker chicks:  really buff, and hard core.  Anyway, she doesn't let them in at first, even though Jason shows her the ring on his finger, and mentions Galloran.  She says he's ill, and cannot be disturbed.  She slams the door.  Jason knocks again, and she answers it this time with a crossbow in her hand.  She talks with Nicolas and lets them in. They find Nicolas to be a man with no legs in a harness.  He’s old and worn.  They talk for a while, and Nicolas tells him he needs to be careful in Trensincourt.  They discuss the word, and where pieces of it can be found.  Nicolas says one syllable can be found in the Lorevault, but only the Chancellor and Regent are allowed in..........

There's more I have to say, but for next time! Hehehehe!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!