Finished: Marvel Horror Lives Again!
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Story Update: Moving my Story Back to the Other Blog
tl;dr I'm going to stop posting my story on this blog, and will only post it on its own blog.
The Long Version
A couple years ago, I made the decision to move my story from its own blog (The Castle in the Magic Forest) over to my main blog here.
I've now decided that this was one of my less inspired decisions, and so I'm going to go back to only posting my story over at its own blog. At least for now.
When I initially decided to start moving my story over to this blog in 2021, the idea was that I was done fooling around with writing aimlessly, and I was ready to start working seriously on a polished second draft.
I've now decided to go ahead and start writing that second draft. And because the whole point of this second draft is that it's supposed to be readable by other people, I'm going to start posting those chapters here on this blog.
But "second draft" was always a misnomer on my part. It wasn't the second draft. It was actually the first draft of the backstory.
In my original story, the characters of Catherine and Carlyle were 65 years old, and the main story was about their children and grandchildren. But as I was writing that story, I gradually began to realize that there was a lot of backstory to the older characters, and that it might make the story less confusing if I just went back to the beginning and tried to tell it all chronologically. So when I decided to go back and write about Catherine and Carlyle when they were 15, I was moving the timeline back 50 years from everything I had written previously, and was essentially creating a whole new story.
[I know I'm on record as saying prequels are awful--see, for example, HERE and HERE--but I think going back to explore the backstory while you're still writing is different. Since the narrative is still in the process of being formed, you can, in theory, still smooth out the continuity so that everything fits together. And in fact there are a lot of great novels in which the author realized somewhere along the line that the backstory was more interesting than the story--War and Peace, for example, or To Kill a Mockingbird.
I'm not comparing my story to those novels, I'm just trying to establish some precedents for a general principle: writing a prequel to an existing story is a bad idea, but developing the backstory of a work in progress can sometimes be a good idea.]
So anyway, I wasn't polishing up an existing story into a second draft, instead I was writing the first draft of a something new. But despite this, there was supposed to have been a difference in the writing style. In the original story, I was literally making it up as I went along. When I sat down to write my 15 minutes each night, I had no idea what I was going to write, and I just formed the story as I typed.
With the new backstory, though, it was supposed to be different. I was actually going to plan out the whole thing, and have character arcs and a story structure. And in that sense, it was supposed to be more presentable than the original story.
I was inspired by one of Steve Donoghue's videos on writing, in which he said that if you're going to spend the time writing something, you might as well make a story that can be presented to other people. The original story, because I was making it up as I went along, had a number of plot threads that were set up but not followed through. But this time, I was going to plot it all out carefully.
At least that was the idea. But it didn't quite work out that way. I wanted to plan everything out in minute detail before I started writing the backstory (i.e. chapter by chapter, scene by scene), but I couldn't do it. I sat down at the computer screen, and I just couldn't visualize the story in that much detail before I started writing it. I needed to actually write the thing before I had a feeling of how it was going to go. So I made a rough outline of the intended plot, but rough is all I was able to do.
Also it became apparent as I wrote that I didn't have a clear idea of the pacing. Things that I initially planned to do in three chapters ended up taking me nine chapters.
On December 18, 2021, I realized my mistake, and switched the name from "the second draft" to "the first draft". (The original story I then re-christened the "zero draft").
I've decided to do a bit of renaming on my drafts. I'd been calling the draft I've been posting on this blog a second draft, but I've decided that's not really an accurate description. It's more of a first draft on the backstory. All the story in it I'm working through for the first time.Plus, my so-called "first draft" isn't really a serious draft. It's more just playing around (what Steve Donoghue refers to in his video as being a Pantsers). So I've decided to re-name the so-called first draft as the "zero draft". And the so-called second draft is now the "first draft".
Then, in April of 2023, I went a step further and admitted that this draft wasn't ready for feedback yet, and I probably shouldn't even be posting it. As I wrote at the time:
The prose and story is all still quite rough at the moment. When posting the previous - chapters, I - had - solicited - feedback from the readers of this blog. But I've now decided that this was premature. This story is still in its rough draft phase. It's not ready for feedback yet. Maybe I might get to the point where I'm ready to ask for feedback, but not yet.Arguably I shouldn't even be posting it yet. (Most writers don't share their work when it's still so rough.) But having started, I may as well keep going. But now the purpose of sharing these rough draft chapters is just to let readers of this blog can see what I'm up to rather than to solicit feedback.
But after writing that bit, the quality of my writing has even further deteriorated.
As I wrote in my notes for Chapter 8:
I wrote a lot of this while sleep deprived. The basic outline of what I want to happen is there, but the prose is not. Need to rewrite
And then more recently in my notes for Chapter 15:
Yet another chapter that was mostly written when I was sleep deprived. It needs some serious re-writing at some point to get it readable.
Now, to answer the obvious question: what am I doing writing when I'm sleep deprived instead of just going to bed?
And the answer is, I don't dare miss a day. If I miss a day, I'll miss 6 months. I know this from experience. Oh, I’ll tell myself I’m only missing one day. I’ll say to myself, “I’m tired tonight, and it’s been a long day. I’ll just give myself one day off and then I’ll get right back into it tomorrow.” But then the next day, I’ll say to myself, “Well, I already broke my writing streak by missing one day. I'll just take another day off as well." It happens every time--see HERE and HERE for past examples.
So it doesn't matter how tired I am or how sleep deprived I am--if I haven't written my 10 minutes for the day, I don't let myself go to sleep until I sit down and write it.
But since I'm working 3 jobs and have two young kids, I'm always busy. And because, like all writers, I procrastinate on my writing and leave it till the last possible minute, I'm always writing it right before bed, when I'm feeling sleepy. Some days extremely sleepy. And it's very hard to write anything that makes sense.
[As to the other obvious question--why am I doing this at all given that I obviously find it such hard work--well, I've wrestled with that question before on this blog--HERE, HERE and HERE, so I won't go through all that again now. ]
I still believe that crappy first drafts can have some value in a story's evolution. (The prose may not be salvageable, but you can still get an idea of the pacing, the plot points, potential problems and plot holes, etc.) So I'm going to keep pressing ahead. But still, it's not the kind of thing you should be sharing with a lot of people.
If this is going to be just a crappy first draft that I write while mostly sleep deprived, and that is going to be mostly unreadable, then there's no need to post it here on the main blog. I'll just keep working on it over at the other blog instead.
I'm not hiding it completely. If you want to follow my progress, you can still go to https://thecastleinthemagicforest.blogspot.com/. But it just doesn't make sense to show this story prominently on my main blog if this is the state it's going to be in.
When I get to the third draft stage (if I ever get to the third draft stage) then I'll start posting the story over here on my main blog again.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
More wasting time on the Internet. I recently stumbled across this little bit of pop culture history, and found it interesting.
The Wikipedia entry for A Limo for a Lame-O is really interesting, and surprisingly detailed.
...it's probably too expansive--at least by the editorial standards of Wikipedia. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the future, some Wikipedia editor decided that the article goes into too much detail about the history of SNL generally, and edits it down so that it more narrowly focuses on the specific Limo for a Lame-O sketch. But until that day comes, you can click on the link and read the full article in all its discursive glory. A fascinating little glimpse into the history of SNL.
As for the actual sketch, see here (I couldn't find a copy on Youtube):
A Limo For A Lame-O - Al Franken decimates NBC president on Weekend Update (1980)
by u/sstackho in LiveFromNewYork
And for the sketch mentioned at the end of the Wikipedia article see here:
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Books (177 pages this week)
Journey to the West Volume 4 by Wu Cheng'en p.1924-1958 (34 pages) (from Journey to the West)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel p.184-292 (108 pages)
Comic Books (Comic Books don't count towards weekly page counts)
Marvel Horror Lives Again! p.1050-1124
Revolutions Season 7: The Revolutions of 1848 1st Listening From: 7.08- The Political Question To: 7.15- Slaves No More (from Revolutions Podcast)
Videos from this Week:
For more information about what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE.
Friday, August 25, 2023
Intensive Listening Recommendations
[This is based on a previous document I created: Extensive and Intensive Listening Recommendations.
But it's edited down so that it includes only the websites that are useful for intensive focused listening. I share this document with students who are in need of extra resources to study listening outside of class. Some of this material I've linked to previously on this blog. See: Using Crash Course World History Videos for IELTS Listening, Spotlight English, English Reading and Listening Practice.
I'm including this worksheet in my index for extensive listening materials. In the sense that extensive listening means the opposite of intensive listening, then obviously this list of intensive listening websites is not extensive listening. But in the sense that extensive listening can mean a lot of extra listening practice outside of class, then I think this is a form of extensive listening.]
British Council Listening Materials:
Tons of stuff on this website. You can choose your own level. (It may be useful to start at an easy level and then work your way up.) If you do all the tasks, and look at the transcript, you can get a lot of good practice
ELLLO
English Listening Lesson Library Online--So many great resources here. And great for intensive listening because it includes questions, vocabulary work, and work with the transcript.
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/
Scroll down on the left hand side to the listening exercises. Choose a level. (You may want to start on an easy level to get started). There are lots of activities here to practice both intensive listening and micro-listening.
This website is so extremely useful for practicing micro-listening. Highly recommended.
Lyrics training
This website is great for practicing Micro Listening skills
There's a ton of great resources on this website, but of particular use to your exams is the micro-listenings: https://microenglish.com/category/micro-listening/
There's a lot of content here for all the skills, but select the listening from their menu. It's really great for reviewing the listening strategies for IELTS style listening (which will also be relevant to your exams). You can also access the same content on their Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ESL4free/videos
Lots of great activities to practice micro listening with.
This is a good website for building up your listening confidence if you're struggling. The presenters on this channel specifically use only easy-to-understand broadcast English. It's a great way to build up your general listening ability before going on to more difficult materials. Most listenings include transcripts. It’s suggested to listen one time without the transcript (to see how much you can catch by yourself) and then listen one time with the transcript.)
You can also check out their Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SpotlightEnglish
Crash Course World History with gap fill questions
You can listen and fill in the gaps, check your answers, listen again, listen with the transcript, us the transcript to check unknown vocabulary, etc,
English Reading and Listening Practice.
Listen to the videos for extensive listening. Practice the comprehension questions and vocabulary for intensive listening
How to Teach for Exams by Sally Burgess and Katie Head: Book Review
Started: July 17, 2023
Finished: August 25, 2023
(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.)
How to Teach for Exams by Sally Burgess and Katie Head: Book Review
July 23, 2023 How to Teach for Exams p.1-66
July 30, 2023 How to Teach for Exams p.66-94
August 6, 2023 How to Teach for Exams p.94-96
August 13, 2023 How to Teach for Exams p.96-102
August 20, 2023 How to Teach for Exams p.102-106
Playlist HERE:
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Garbage Man Passives
(TESOL Worksheets--Passives)
[This is a Garbage Man game for all the passive tenses. I use it as a review activity after doing the Worksheet for all the Passive Verb Tenses.]
answers:
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Here is a quizlet I made to practice the passive voice: Active and Passive transformations--https://quizlet.com/817139966/active-and-passive-transformations-flash-cards/?i=fo89z&x=1jqt.
It is intended to practice every transformation from active to passive that I could think of, and I used it as a follow-up to my worksheet on all the passive tenses. In my classes I use this to in the quizlet live mode (the classic live version), and the sentences are all deliberately similar enough to be easily mistaken in order to add to the challenge and hilarity of the game, (When we play it in class, there's lots of laughing.) This quizlet could also be assigned to the students as homework for self study.
The idea of doing as many transformations as possible based on the words teacher, student and teach is based on this old find your partner game, which in turn was based on the Headway activity book.
[This is also the second quizlet game I've created on the passive voice. For the previous quizlet, see: Active and Passive Sentences: Present Simple and Past Simple--https://quizlet.com/_2ec67r, from this post here.]
Below are all the sentences from the quizlet:
Teachers can teach students - Students can be taught by teachers
Students can be taught by teachers - Teachers can teach students
Students can teach teachers - Teachers can be taught by students
Teachers can be taught by students - Students can teach teachers
Teachers taught students - Students were taught by teachers
Students were taught by teachers - Teachers taught students
The teacher taught the student - The student was taught by the teacher
The student was taught by the teacher - The teacher taught the student
Students taught teachers - Teachers were taught by students
Teachers were taught by students - Students taught teachers
The student taught the teacher - The teacher was taught by the student
The teacher was taught by the student - The student taught the teacher
Teachers teach students - Students are taught by teachers
Students are taught by teachers - Teachers teach students
The teacher teaches the student - The student is taught by the teacher
The student is taught by the teacher - The teacher teaches the student
Students teach teachers - Teachers are taught by students
Teachers are taught by students - Students teach teachers
The student teaches the teacher - The teacher is taught by the student
The teacher is taught by the student - The student teaches the teacher
teachers will teach students - students will be taught by teachers
students will be taught by teachers - teachers will teach students
students will teach teachers - teachers will be taught by students
teachers will be taught by students - students will teach teachers
Teachers should be teaching students - Students should be being taught by teachers
Students should be being taught by teachers - Teachers should be teaching students
Students should be teaching teachers - Teachers should be being taught by students
Teachers should be being taught by students - Students should be teaching teachers
Teachers were teaching students - Students were being taught by teachers
Students were being taught by teachers - Teachers were teaching students
The teacher was teaching the student - The student was being taught by the teacher
The student was being taught by the teacher - The teacher was teaching the student
Students were teaching the teachers - The teachers were being taught by the students
The teachers were being taught by the students - Students were teaching the teachers
The student was teaching the teacher - The teacher was being taught by the student
The teacher was being taught by the student - The student was teaching the teacher
Teachers are teaching students - Students are being taught by teachers
Students are being taught by teachers - Teachers are teaching students
The teacher is teaching the student - The student is being taught by the teacher
The student is being taught by the teacher - The teacher is teaching the student
Students are teaching teachers - Teachers are being taught by students
Teachers are being taught by students - Students are teaching teachers
The student is teaching the teacher - The teacher is being taught by the student
The teacher is being taught by the student - The student is teaching the teacher
Teachers will be teaching students - Students will be being taught by teachers
Students will be being taught by teachers - Teachers will be teaching students
Students will be teaching teachers - Teacher will be being taught by students
Teacher will be being taught by students - Students will be teaching teachers
Teachers must have taught students - Students must have been taught by teachers
Students must have been taught by teachers - Teachers must have taught students
Students must have taught teachers - Teachers must have been taught by students
Teachers must have been taught by students - Students must have taught teachers
Teachers had taught students - Students had been taught by teachers
Students had been taught by teachers - Teachers had taught students
Students had taught teachers - Teachers had been taught by students
Teachers had been taught by students - Students had taught teachers
Teachers have taught students - Students have been taught by teachers
Students have been taught by teachers - Teachers have taught students
The teacher has taught the student - The student has been taught by the teacher
The student has been taught by the teacher - The teacher has taught the student
Students have taught teachers - Teachers have been taught by students
Teachers have been taught by students - Students have taught teachers
The student has taught the teacher - The teacher has been taught by the student
The teacher has been taught by the student - The student has taught the teacher
Teachers will have taught students - Students will have been taught by teachers
Students will have been taught by teachers - Teachers will have taught students
Students will have taught teachers - Teachers will have been taught by students
Teachers will have been taught by students - Students will have taught teachers
Teachers must have been teaching students - Students must have been being taught by teachers
Students must have been being taught by teachers - Teachers must have been teaching students
Students must have been teaching teachers - Teachers must have been being taught by students
Teachers must have been being taught by students - Students must have been teaching teachers
Teachers had been teaching students - Students had been being taught by teachers
Students had been being taught by teachers - Teachers had been teaching students
Students had been teaching teachers - Teachers had been being taught by students
Teachers had been being taught by students - Students had been teaching teachers
Teachers have been teaching students - Students have been being taught by teachers
Students have been being taught by teachers - Teachers have been teaching students
The teacher has been teaching the student - The student has been being taught by the teacher
The student has been being taught by the teacher - The teacher has been teaching the student
Students have been teaching teachers - Teachers have been being taught by students
Teachers have been being taught by students - Students have been teaching teachers
The student has been teaching the teacher - The teacher has been being taught by the student
The teacher has been being taught by the student - The student has been teaching the teacher
Teachers will have been teaching students - Students will have been being taught by teachers
Students will have been being taught by teachers - Teachers will have been teaching students
Students will have been teaching teachers - Teachers will have been being taught by students
Teachers will have been being taught by students - Students will have been teaching teachers
I want teachers to teach students - I want students to be taught by teachers
I want students to be taught by teachers - I want teachers to teach students
I want students to teach teachers - I want teachers to be taught by students
I want teachers to be taught by students - I want students to teach teachers
I want teachers to be teaching students - I want students to be being taught by teachers
I want students to be being taught by teachers - I want teachers to be teaching students
I want students to be teaching teachers - I want teachers to be being taught by students
I want teachers to be being taught by students - I want students to be teaching teachers
I want teachers to have taught students - I want students to have been taught by teachers
I want students to have been taught by teachers - I want teachers to have taught students
I want students to have taught teachers - I want teachers to have been taught by students
I want teachers to have been taught by students - I want students to have taught teachers
I want teachers to have been teaching students - I want students to have been being taught by teachers
I want students to have been being taught by teachers - I want teachers to have been teaching students
I want students to have been teaching teachers - I want teachers to have been being taught by students
I want teachers to have been being taught by students - I want students to have been teaching teachers
Monday, August 21, 2023
Footnotes Index
Google Drive Folder HERE
* Chomsky's Universal Grammar: An Introduction by V.J. Cook and Mark Newson [Second Edition]: docs, pub
Book Review Folder HERE
A Framework for Task-Based Learning by Jane Willis , handout, pub
Beyond the Sentence by Scott Thornbury, Revisited, Slideshow, pub, Handout, pub
Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers by Michael McCarthy, Slideshow, pub
How Languages are Learned by Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada [Third Edition] Slideshow, pub
Implementing the Lexical Approach by Michael Lewis Slideshow, pub
Rules, Patterns and Words by Dave Willis, Slideshow, pub, Reflections, pub, Discussion Questions, pub
A Framework for Task-Based Learning by Jane Willis , handout, pub
Beyond the Sentence by Scott Thornbury, Revisited, Slideshow, pub, Handout, pub
Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers by Michael McCarthy, Slideshow, pub
How Languages are Learned by Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada [Third Edition] Slideshow, pub
Implementing the Lexical Approach by Michael Lewis Slideshow, pub
Rules, Patterns and Words by Dave Willis, Slideshow, pub, Reflections, pub, Discussion Questions, pub
Second Language Acquisition by Rod Ellis , Slideshow, pub
Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill, Revisited , Slideshow, pub
Speaking by Martin Bygate, Slideshow , pub
The English Verb by Michael Lewis Revisited, Slidshow, pub
Uncovering Grammar by Scott Thornbury, Slideshow, pub
Sound Foundations by Adrian Underhill, Revisited , Slideshow, pub
Speaking by Martin Bygate, Slideshow , pub
The English Verb by Michael Lewis Revisited, Slidshow, pub
Uncovering Grammar by Scott Thornbury, Slideshow, pub
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Chapter 15: In the Goblin Caves
The wolves had made themselves quite happy in the biggest cave. They had been used to sleeping out on the cold snowy ground, but the cave offered sufficient protection from the elements. The stone floor was hard, but Catherine had taken some of the quilts and blankets from the robbers’ treasures, and spread them out for the wolves to lie down on. Seldom had the wild beasts had such luxury, and they stretched out happily on the blankets and went to sleep.
The robbers slept in the other four caves. But Catherine and Alfred opted to sleep in the same cave as the wolves. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping in the same caves as the robbers?” Balsamer the raven asked. “I thought the whole point was to keep an eye on them.”
“We don’t want to push things too fast just yet,” said Catherine. “For the first couple nights, it will be enough to just be in their camp. Once they get used to us, then we can start sleeping in their caves.”
“You don’t need to worry about a thing,” Branoc said to Catherine. “My children and I will keep watch for you all night. If any danger approaches, we’ll wake you up.”
“You have my gratitude,” said Catherine.
“My family is forever in your debt,” Branoc said, spreading out his wings and lowering his head, which is a bird’s way of bowing.
“Okay, for the first night then, let’s try it like this,” Catherine said. “We’ll have the ravens at the entrance of the cave keeping guard. I’ll sleep near the entrance of the cave with the wolves. That way, if the robbers do decide to break their promise and attack in the middle of the night, the ravens can wake me up, and I can gather the wolves and organize a defense. Alfred, you sleep behind the wolves, towards the back of the cave. It’ll be safer back there.”
“I should be the one sleeping at the front of the cave,” said Alfred. “I’m the man.”
“You’re a boy,” Catherine said. “You’re younger than me.”
It was getting dark, so Catherine couldn’t technically see Alfred’s cheeks going red with anger, but she could read his expression clearly enough. The barb had hit home.
“Besides,” said Catherine, “you don’t control the wolves. They won’t listen to you if you tell them to attack.”
“But I can still sleep up at the front with you. I don’t need to hide at the back.”
“It’s not hiding. It’s strategy. If, by some chance, the robbers do manage to rush in and grab me before I have a chance to wake up, then we don’t want them grabbing both of us at once. We want you further back so you have a chance to wake up before they get to you. That way you can rescue me.”
“I guess when you put it that way, it does make some sense,” Alfred admitted, and he went off towards the back of the cave.
Then they all went to sleep.
****************************************************
And so it happened that in the middle of the night Alfred was sleeping soundly near the back of the cave when they came for him. By the time Alfred realized what was happening, it was already too late. He tried to scream, but his mouth was already being gagged. He tried to kick at the creatures and fight back, but he found that his legs had already been bound. Alfred squirmed and wriggled, but it was no use. There were too many of them. There must have been about fifty. They dragged him down, down into the hidden tunnels, far below the cave.
***************************************************
As for Catherine, she slept soundly all through the night, and she only woke at dawn once the wolves began to stir. As the wolves stretched and yawned and barked at the rising sun, Catherine also woke up with them.
“Good morning,” said Branoc. “You have slept well.”
Catherine rubbed her eyes. “I did,” she admitted.
“And it was just as well,” said Branoc. “For there was no reason for you to be awake. The night has passed completely without incident.”
“No one attempted to enter the cave?” Catherine asked.
“No one. None of the robbers tried to attack you. And none of the other monsters from the mountains approached either.”
“Yes, it sounds like the robbers have been paying them off,” said Catherine. “That probably explains why they don’t get bothered. Okay, let me wake Alfred up then, and we’ll see about making some breakfast.”
But when Catherine went to the back of the cave, Alfred was nowhere to be seen.
***************************************************************
When Alfred next awoke, he was in the tunnels.
He sat up and looked around. It should have been dark in the tunnels, but surprisingly there was enough light to see. Several of the rocks in the tunnel walls were glowing.
A voice came from behind him. “Alfred, is that you?”
Alfred turned around and saw a boy about his age. His face was dirty, his hair was unkempt and his clothes were ragged and torn. He was staring at Alfred intently.
“Yes, my name’s Alfred. But who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me?”
In fact, Alfred probably should have recognized the boy at this point. But sometimes it can be hard to recognize even a familiar face when you are not expecting to see them. And Alfred had not expected to see this particular face ever again.
“It’s me,” the boy said. “Jack.”
And suddenly, Alfred recognized him. “Jack!” he exclaimed. “Jack, but how are you still… I mean, everyone thinks you’re dead.”
“Do they?” said Jack.
“Well, you wandered off by yourself one day, and you never came back. We just assumed you’d been killed and eaten by some of the beasts on the mountain.”
Jack thought for a moment, and then nodded his head. “Yes, I suppose that makes sense. I’d probably think the same thing if I were them.”
“But you’re not dead,” Alfred said excitedly. “You’re here. And…” Alfred stopped and looked around him. “Where is here, anyway? Where are we?”
“We are underground, in the goblin tunnels,” said Jack sadly. “It looks like the goblins have captured you too?”
“I guess so,” said Alfred. “It was too dark for me to see them. But something dragged me off. Somethings, I mean.”
“There were a lot of them, then?” Jack asked.
“Yes. They had hands and feet just like a human, but they were small, like a little child.”
“Yes, those were the goblins all right,” Jack said.
“So how did they catch you?” asked Alfred.
Jack sighed. “Well, as you know, I decided to take a walk by myself. I was feeling a little bit sick of the group. Lucas was being obnoxious, as usual, and Molly was talking a lot of nonsense, as usual, and I thought I’d just take a walk by myself to clear my head. I knew that I shouldn’t go off by myself, but I told myself that it would only be for a little bit, and besides it was still the middle of the day, so I thought it was safe. But as I was walking, I saw a little goblin sitting on a tree. I remember he was sitting there just looking at me. There was only one of them, so I didn’t think too much of it. I mean, the goblins are so small, that I didn’t think it was frightening when I just saw one of them. So I kept walking. But that was my mistake. I should have ran back the moment I saw him. The thing about goblins is that there’s never just one of them. If you see one goblin looking at you, it means that there are fifty more goblins that you can’t see, hiding behind the trees or under the rocks. And sure enough, as I kept walking, I saw another goblin standing on the ground in front of me, and then a bit further down I saw two more, and by the time I realized I was surrounded, it was too late. You see, the goblins fight by swarming.”
“Swarming?”
“Yes, you see, if there was just one goblin, you’d be able to fight it pretty easily. I mean, you’d have to be a little bit careful. They do have sharp pointy teeth, so they can do some damage if they bite you. And they have little sharp swords that they carry, so you don’t want to let them stab you. But generally speaking, assuming the goblin doesn’t sneak up on you from behind or something, if you have a human with a sword fighting against a goblin, the human has a very good chance. But the problem is they never attack you one on one. If there’s only one of them, they’ll just run away. They only attack when there’s about fifty of them together. And then at that point, you don’t stand a chance. They just swarm you, and either stab you to death with their short swords, or, in our case, they drag you down into their mines.”
“Ah,” said Alfred. “Is that where we are now? In the goblin mines?”
“That’s right,” said Jack. “I’ve been here for two years now, I think.”
“And why have they captured us? What do they want with us?”
“They want to make us dig, of course.”
“Dig for what?”
“For whatever we can find. Gold, silver, diamonds, jewels. There’s loads of gold in these mountains. Did you know that? I never knew that before.”
“I didn’t know that either,” Alfred replied.
“It’s funny when you think about it,” Jack said. “All those trips that the robbers make down to the forest to steal stuff, and all the time there’s all this gold right underneath their feet, but they never know it.” Jack gave a little laugh, but then he became serious again. “Of course,” Jack added, “someone has to dig for it. That’s what we’re for.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you think the goblins captured us? It’s because they need children to work in their mines. We do the hard work of digging.”
“Who is we?”
“All of us. All of the children.”
Alfred looked around him.
“They’re not here now,” Jack explained. “But there are several more children in these caves. Maybe about twenty of us altogether.”
“Twenty? But where do they come from? There haven’t been twenty children who have gone missing. You were the only one who disappeared.”
“Anna is here as well,” Jack said. “Do you remember Anna? I had practically forgotten about her myself until I met her down here.”
“Anna,” Alfred said slowly, trying to remember.
“She disappeared when we were five years old. At the time, people said the wolves must have gotten her.”
“Ah, that’s right,” said Aflred, the memories flooding back to him from the vague mists of early childhood. “I think I do remember that now.”
“But I think the rest of the children are from the forest people,” Jack continued.
“What are the forest people doing up here in the mountains?”
“The goblin tunnels go everywhere,” Alfred said. “They go all the way down to the forest, and they run under the forest lands. So the goblins can steal a child from the forest and bring them into the mines just like they can take one of us.”
Alfred looked around him again. “It’s pretty quiet here,” he said. “And so far, just the two of us. Where are the other children? Where are all the goblins? And why is it light inside these tunnels?”
“The light comes from the moonstones,” said Jack, answering the last question first.
“Moonstones?”
“Yes,” said Jack, pointing to one of the stones that was glowing. “If you put these stones outside under the sky in the light of a full moon, they’ll absorb the moon’s light, and keep glowing for a full month afterwards. Goblins can see perfectly in the dark, so they don’t need them. But we do. And the goblins know that it’s no good sending us into the mines to search for gold or diamonds if we can’t see what we’re looking for. So they keep everything lit up with the moonstones.”
“I see.”
“As for the other children, they’re still eating their breakfast.”
“The goblins feed you?”
“It’s not great food,” Jack admitted. “It’s tasteless gruel, but it does give us energy to work in the mines.”
“And why aren’t you eating with them?” Alfred asked.
“I was sent by the goblins to fetch you,” Jack said. “They told me they had left a new boy lying in the tunnel, and they wanted me to get you and bring you down to the others.”
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