The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 5: Becoming
Kirby House, several minutes later…
Following his sisters witnessing his first armor-up, Patrick had a bit of explaining to do.
Before he could tell his sisters, he asked Taylor to contact his friends, which Taylor, looking a little stunned, but a little annoyed of what was happening, reluctantly obliged.
Of course, Callum and Ezran couldn't make it as they were out, Frida was busy with a bit of work, David was at the cinema with his parents, the twins were awaiting for a delivery that was supposed to arrive today (but unsure what was taking it so long to get there) and Chuckie was having an 8-hour dentist appointment on his braces (which involved two molars, plus insertions, and some cleanup), and since they were the closest, Chris and Luz were contacted and brought over to Patrick's house.
Soon, all four siblings and two of their friends were in the kitchen, the siblings offering some snacks and drinks, while Luz was playing a little bit with Kira (she promised not do anything weird with Patrick's youngest sister), Taylor, Hilda (who was sitting on the kitchen counter) and Chris looked to Patrick with keen curiosity, Taylor having a bit of a stern look.
"Okay, Patrick," she said, tapping her foot, "we're all here. So can you please explain about what is going on?"
Chris looked to his friend and asked, "Is this about the amulet or something?"
"Yes, on both accounts," Patrick replied, then added, "Let me explain the first part. You are not going to believe this."
Patrick then got out the amulet and brought it up in front of everyone, as he looked at the amulet, ready to speak in incantation when…
"Does anyone mind if either of us have a bit of leftover pizza?" Luz asked, as she put the mentioned slices of pizza that was in the fridge in the microwave.
"Luz, focus. Please." Patrick sighed, before adding, "Sure, we don't mind."
"Okay, sorry." Luz replied.
Patrick looked back at the amulet, and took a small breath, and then spoke.
"For the glory of Merlin," Patrick started, "may Vorpal light our-"
Ding!
The sound of the microwave timer went off, interrupting Patrick again, as Luz took out one of the slices of pizza.
"Don't worry, we're listening…" Luz said, handing a slice to Chris, who had a bit of a munch on it.
"It worked earlier tonight," Patrick muttered, scratching his head, before remembering something and brought his hand up to everyone to be patient, "wait, hold on a second."
Patrick took a deep breath, cleared his mind and relaxed his body for the moment. As on que, the amulet glowed then floated out of his hand, and the wisps of energy did their thing.
Around the room, most of the objects, such as Kira's toys and Chris' slice of pizza, began to levitate for a bit.
"Holy mackerel!" Chris said in surprise.
"Ay caramba!" Luz added in shock.
Sophie looked in wonder, while Hilda and Taylor looked stunned, as they only saw the aftermath, but were surprised to see what was happening.
The five kids watched as Patrick rose into the air, then in a flash, the armor formed around Patrick's top half, fitting like a glove. With the sword now connected on Patrick's back.
As he returned to the ground (along with most of the objects) in front of his stunned viewers, Patrick chuckled "How cool is this?"
"Whoa!" Chris said in amazement.
"I know, right?" Patrick smiled.
Hilda and Taylor looked at their big brother, until they both simultaneously spoke up, though their words ended differently in respective, "This is amazing/crazy!"
Luz was jaw-dropped upon seeing this, then a big goofy grin and a squeal of excitement came out as she cried while jumping giddy in one spot, "Omygoshomygoshomygoshomygoshomygosh!"
As she examined the armor, Luz smiled as she said, "Patrick, you know what this means, right? You have a sacred responsibility here!"
"That's exactly what they said!" Patrick blurted out a little.
"You have to use these new powers for the benefit of mankind." Chris added, getting on what Luz was saying.
"Absolutley!" Patrick smiled.
"And even better," Hilda said with a smile, before letting out a determined smirk, "you have to use this… to kick Biff's butt!"
Patrick jaw dropped in disappointment on that last part.
"Really, sis?" he said, "I show you a glowing sword and some armour that can only be magic, and that's how you respond?"
"Well, yeah." Hilda said, innocently, "I mean, Biff has been a bit of a jerk for years! Even picking on me and my friends, as well as you and your friends, don't you want to get back at him?"
Patrick scratched the back of his head again on that, "Well, yeah, maybe… I mean, he is a jerk after all…"
"Well, of course he can't use that!" Taylor said, "I can't believe that this amulet could bring something that could be dangerous!"
"Or cool?" Luz nugged Taylor, to see if she could agree.
But sadly it didn't, as Taylor said, "No, it's not cool, especially if you chop someone's hand off!"
"Well, I say it's incredible," Chris said, as he looked at the amulet, that was now part of Patrick's armor, "how do you summon it?"
"Well, I think it's an incantation," Patrick explained, "all I do is hold the amulet, and then say 'For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest day', and then, boom, armor up!"
"Merlin?" Luz asked, "As in the Wizard Merlin? King Arthur's friend and guide, Merlin, like from 'The Sword in the Stone'?"
"No doubt about that." Chris said, before thinking of the other thing that was mentioned in that incantation, before looking at Patrick, "There was something in what you said, something about 'Vorpal lighting our darkest day' or something."
"Wait," Hilda said, as she heard the word 'Vorpal', "do you mean, like, the Vorpal Sword?!"
Luz got what Hilda meant as she added, "The weapon that is capable of defeating the Jabberwocky?"
"Like in the Jabberwocky poem!" both girls finished, as Hilda smiled as she added, "That's my favorite poem from the Alice stories."
"You mean to say this," Patrick said, as he got out the sword and looked at it, "could be the Vorpal sword?"
Patrick and his friends have known so much about the Vorpal sword, which, as Hilda mentioned, was part of the Jabberwocky poem that Johanna used to read to Hilda, that a brave hero went off to slay the Jabberwocky with the Vorpal sword, slicing it's head off.
It was later on used as one of the rare and legendary weapons to wield when playing D&D, and now, Patrick was wielding the legendary weapon, in his very own hands.
'If this is the Vorpal sword, then I hope we might encounter an actual Jabberwocky.' Patrick thought to himself.
"Hold up, final question," Chris said, as he looked to Patrick, "Who exactly is 'they'?"
The others looked to Patrick with curiosity, as he looked a little uneasy until he replied, "Well, that's the part that I was going to get to, you see-"
"He means us."
Chris, Taylor, Luz and Hilda got startled by the new voice, one that Patrick recognized, as Sans appeared right behind the group.
"'Sup, Patrick." Sans, doing a two-finger salute.
"Sans?!" Patrick said in surprise (thought was also alarmed by the skeleton's unexpected appearance), "How the heck did you get in here?"
"Eh, I took the shortcut." Sans said with a small wink, before opening the fridge as he asked, "You have any ketchup in here?"
"Patrick, who is that? And how do you know him?" Taylor asked, still nervous, as she looked to Patrick.
"Yeah… well, remember the creatures that came to me in the basement last night?" Patrick asked.
Before he and Taylor could continue, there was a knock at the door, getting the kids' attention, until Blinky peered through the window of the backdoor, surprising Patrick's sisters and friends moreso.
"Okay, who's that?!" Taylor cried, as she then saw that Blinky was opening the door, "No, wait, don't open the door!"
But too late, as Blinky stepped into the house, a happy smile on his face as he greeted Patrick, "Aha! Master Patrick!"
"Whoa, cool…" Hilda and Luz said in surprise.
"No it's not! Taylor cried, "I have to call 911!"
Just then, AAARRRGGHH! soon appeared, as he tried to enter through the door, but due to his size, he was having quite difficulty.
"Okay, make that Animal Control!" Taylor cried, as she grabbed her phone.
"I knew it was but a matter of time before the Amulet called to us." Blinky said as he approached Patrick.
"Wait a minute, "called" to you?" Patrick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, no." Blinky confessed, before whispering loudly to him, "We've been spying on you."
"Spy on you." AAARRRGGHH! said, doing a 'watching you' motion with his two giant fingers.
"That's right, human," the voice of Papyrus added, as Patrick realized that the other skeleton was still outside, as Papyrus then said, "Hey, AAARRRGGHH!, try sucking in your gut, ok?"
"Well, keeping a close watch." Blinky added.
Patrick couldn't believe what he was hearing, that these four have been spying on him for a quite long time, as he 'Shesh… talk about being nosey…'
Soon, the big troll finally popped out of the door, landing with a thud on the floor, Papyrus skipping inside to help AAARRRGGHH! up, as the giant troll said, "Door small…"
"Oh my gosh, are those real trolls and skeletons I'm looking at?" Chris asked, looking a little nervous.
Taylor, meanwhile, was crouching behind the kitchen, calling up animal control as she grew increasingly nervous from the trolls and a skeleton having broken into the house, while one skeleton was currently enjoying some ketchup for some reason.
"Hello, animal control?" she said, speaking to animal control on the phone, "Yes, there are monsters in my house! Please send in a squad! We have two trolls and two skeletons here! No it's not a joke! Make it the national guard!"
There was a moment of silence during the call, until Taylor suddenly said in disbelief, "Animal control hung up on me!"
Blinky looked at what was happening, before looking at Patrick and asked, "You told your fellow younglings about us?"
"Is, uh, that a bit of a problem?" Patrick asked, a little uneasy.
"Master Patrick, we of the mystical kind have been going to great lengths of keeping our existence a secret from humankind, lest there be panic." Blinky explained, as AAARRRGGHH! looked over the counter and saw Taylor, who yelped in fear and got behind Patrick.
"Oh my gosh, what is going on here?!" Taylor cried.
"Like that." Blinky added.
Patrick soon decided to calm everyone down, so that way they would on equal grounds on what was happening.
"It's okay, you lot." Patrick reassured his siblings and friends, as they carefully went up next to Patrick.
"Guys, this is Blinky, Papyrus, AAARRRGGHH! and Sans." Patrick gestured to the monsters that have arrived into the house to his friends and siblings.
He then turned to Blinky and his companions as he introduced them to the humans.
"I like you to meet some of my best friends, Chris Williams and Luz Noceda," Patrick gestured to Chris and Luz, as they gave a wave to them, Luz being a normal hello, while Chris looked a little nervous, but waved anyway.
"And these are my sisters, Taylor, Hilda," he then gestured to the girls, Taylor looking a little uneasy, while Hilda waved hello as well, before Patrick picked up Kira as he added, "and little Kira."
AAARRRGGHH! leaned into the little girl in Patrick's arms, the girl looking a little curious and nervous, until the big troll let out a big sniff, which blew Kira's hair up a bit, before it flopped down, earning a cute giggle from Kira.
"I think she likes you." Patrick said to the troll, who then chuckled happily at.
"You sure they're not gonna hurt us?" Taylor asked.
"Hardly." Blinky replied, "Young Patrick here is the Paladin of Xadador. His noble obligation is protective."
"By protecting… you mean like a superhero?" Chris asked, slowly starting to get what was going on, "That's amazing! It's like as it was quoted from Spider-Man, 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility'."
"Correctomundo, kiddo." Sans said, as he continued drinking the ketchup.
"Hold on a second," Patrick then asked, "who would I be protecting again?"
"Why, us, of course." Papyrus replied.
"And mankind. From dark forces…" Blinky stated, before listing out the possibilities, "be it evil trolls, goblins, gremlins, ghosts, demons, chaotic spirits, evil magic wielders, bad dragons, giants, vampires, werebeasts, gruesomes, and an occasional rogue fairy."
As Blinky was speaking, Luz brought up a metal serving spoon, and tapped on Blinky's stoney face, becoming a bit fascinated, and then started poking him repeatedly, before Blinky grew completely annoyed.
"Do you mind?!" Blinky said, as he turned angrily to Luz, who put down the spoon and grinned nervously.
"Sorry…" Luz apologized, before adding, "please, continue."
Blinky turned back to Patrick and continued, "The Paladin's task is to defend the lives of the magical and mortal alike in this and every other realm in the multiverse."
"Wait, did we just hear say realm and multiverse?" Chris asked, "as in, like infinite worlds and dimensions?"
"Most definitely," Blinky replied, "and your realm, known as the 'Mortal Realm' is one of the many that exists, and a Paladin is sworn to protect them all."
He then looked closely at Patrick as he added "The mantle of Paladin is a sacred responsibility, one which has been passed down for many generations. No other human has ever worn the amulet since many centuries ago, as following the last human to wield, was passed down by many of the mystical races, until now. This is a momentous occasion."
Patrick was quite stunned upon hearing Blinky's word sink into him, the last human to wear the Amulet was a long way back many years, and he was the first human in those many years to once again wield it.
Suddenly, a honking sound got the siblings' attention, as a car was just about to pull into the driveway.
"Oh crud, it's mom!" Patrick panicked, how was he going to explain to her that he was wearing armor and talking to some goodhearted monsters?
"Everyone, upstairs, quickly!" Patrick cried, as he and the others rushed upstairs as quickly as possible, though AAARRRGGHH's incredibly strong backside accidentally knocked the banister off-kilter, but he was able to move it back into place and then stomped upstairs before Johanna reached the front door.
Johanna opened the door, and closed it just at the same time a small thud came from upstairs, which felt odd in Johanna's case.
"Kids, it's me." Johanna said, wondering if it was the kids that made that small ruckus.
Inside the bathroom, both kids and monsters were hiding, and hoping that Johanna wouldn't come up here and into the bathroom.
"She wasn't supposed to be back til midnight!" Patrick whispered to the others.
AAARRRGGHH!, meanwhile, was sniffing on Hilda, before saying, "You smell like bunnies."
"Uh, thanks," Hilda replied, "we have two of them, named Hip and Hop."
"Tasty…" AAARRRGGHH replied, licking his lips.
Patrick was shocked at what he said, before angrily whispered, "Hey, big guy! You are not to eat Hip and Hop, or so help me, you'll be owing us new rabbits!"
"What are we gonna do?" Luz asked.
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do," Taylor sternly said, "tell mom of what's going on."
As she was about to reach the door handle, Patrick grabbed her by the shoulders, "No, Taylor! Mom must not know anything about what's going on!"
"But-" Taylor was about to argue, when Patrick stated.
"You heard Blinky," he said, "they and the rest of all these magical and mystical creatures and races have been keeping a low profile for many years, and we can't just go out there and blow their cover just like that!"
Taylor looked back at the door for a moment.
"Please, sis…" Patrick begged, with a concerning look on his face.
Taylor was looking a little annoyed at first, until she let out a sigh, "Okay, Patrick…"
As Johanna went up the stairs, Taylor stepped out of the bathroom.
"Hey, mom," Taylor waved hello a little, "what're you doing here?"
"Sorry, I just popped by 'cause I forgot my phone." Johanna explained, before asking, "Is everything alright in there?"
Patrick, Hilda, Chris and Luz listened in from behind the door, hoping Taylor won't rat them out.
Luckily, she didn't.
"Oh yeah, it's all good," Taylor fibbed a little, "though I think Patrick's stomach might be acting a little… funny?"
"Really?" Johanna asked, a little curious.
In the bathroom, Luz quickly grabbed a toilet brush, and then jammed it in and out of the toilet commode, as it made several disgusting sloshing noises, which Kira found a bit funny.
'Seriously?!' Patrick saw and heard what was happening, not quite happy with the idea of a bad stomach ache excuse, as Patrick nor his sisters have rarely ever got sick at all.
"Can you help me get some medicine while I look for your phone?" Patrick heard Taylor ask their mother on the other side of the door.
"Sure thing, Taylor." Johanna replied.
"I'll be back in a sec, Patrick." Taylor called out.
"Okay." Patrick said, as he soon heard them both head downstairs, no doubt buying sometime.
Patrick was completely stressed about what was going on, that the amulet began to glow again.
"Okay, what's going on now?" he asked, as Luz had a little fun by switching off the light in the bathroom, seeing that the amulet glowed in the dark.
"The amulet reacts to your emotional state." Blinky explained, "You appear to be in some distress."
"You think?" Patrick sarcastically asked.
"I have a bit of a question." Luz spoke up.
"Speak, Miss Lucy." said Blinky.
"It's Luz, actually," Luz corrected, before asking, "So, anyway, if Patrick's the first human Paladin in several centuries, like you said, then who or what was the Paladin before him?"
"The mantle of Paladin has been passed down for many years." Papyrus stated.
"Indeed," Blinky nodded, before explaining, "the known races that have been chosen as a Paladin have mainly been Humans and Elves, but on extraordinary rare occasions, it has also been passed down to other mythical creatures, such as Dwarfs, Half-Elves, even Halflings…"
"Like in Dungeons and Dragons?" Hilda asked.
"Come again?" Blinky asked about what Hilda meant.
"Dungeons and Dragons." Hilda explained, "It's known as the world's famous Role Playing Game, and one of the known roles you can play is a Paladin, no matter what species you are, be it human, elf, halfling, ect."
During the conversation, AAARRRGGHH! began fiddling with the light switch, switching the light on and off, before being shooed by Chris to stop it.
"Fascinating…" Blinky was a bit stunned about this, but decided to agree on the example, "well then, yes, I suppose so."
"Have other mythical creatures taken the role of Paladin as well? Like Dragonborn?" Chris asked.
"Indeed." Blinky nodded.
"Half-Orcs?" Luz asked with interest.
"Most definitely."
"And what about Tieflings?"
But strangely, upon hearing that, the trolls and the skeletons looked to each other uneasy, until Blinky replied, "Yes… but it's… well, complicated…"
"Back to the topic at hand," Patrick cut in a little, feeling a little curious, "since the role of Paladin has been handed down for years, did the previous Paladin, I don't know, retire or something?"
The faces of the trolls soon went south (the kids were unsure about the skeletons' faces, as they had smiles on their's but with Papyrus's eye becoming sad, there was no doubt that they, too, were upset), as AAARRRGGHH! replied, "Was felled."
"Felled?"
"Means he was killed, kid." Sans said, in a grim tone.
"Turned to stone by a dangerous weapon called the Medusa Dagger, and then smashed." Blinky pointed out, as he spoke of the last Paladin who died, "Balasar the Braveheart was his name. A Dragonborn Paladin who was brutally slain by a ruthless Troll named Ghoular the Grimreaper."
Patrick suddenly began to feel dizzy upon hearing this. He leaned on the door carefully, wishing that he would rather take the beating from Biff than get brutally murdered by a troll who had a title being the same name of the being who was known to collect souls of those who have died.
"Don't worry, buddy." Luz said, trying to comfort Patrick, "This Ghoular guy probably just got lucky!"
"The evidence does not suggest that." said Blinky, "Ghoular is a formidable opponent."
The amulet kept flashing faster, mirroring Patrick's distress.
"Then the other guy," Patrick said, "he was just off his game or something… right?"
"Doubtful. Balasar was perhaps the most alert and able of all the Paladins." Blinky said.
"But not the best, I'm betting." said Patrick, a little bit of hope left in his voice.
"Oh, the very best." Blinky said, proudly, unaware of the colours draining from Patrick's face, "Many songs and sagas have been written about him."
Behind Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!, meanwhile, was now focused on enjoying the features that the toilet brush could be used for, as he stuck it in either his nose or ear, then ate the gunk from it.
"Yes, Balasar is one of my absolute heroes!" Papyrus said, cheerfully, as he then brought out a picture of Balasar as he added, "He even signed this picture for me!"
"I want to be just like him, that's why I'm planning on becoming part of the Royal Guard!" Papyrus continued, "I even have this proud battle body on me!"
"Didn't you and Sans make that for a costume party several months ago?" Blinky asked.
"Yep, haven't taken it off since." Papyrus said proudly, earning a grossed out look from the humans.
"Don't worry, he does wash," Sans explained, "by that, I mean he wears the uniform in the shower all the time."
"I think we're getting off topic here…" Hilda said.
"Indeed," Chris said, as the humans focused on back about the situation at hand, "so, yeah, what my friend, Patrick, here is a little worried about is, if this-"
"Ghoular." AAARRRGGHH! said.
"Yeah, I got it." Chris said, before continuing, "If Ghoular could defeat Balasar…?"
"Crushed." AAARRRGGHH! added, only to add more stress to Patrick, as he crouched down on the ground, looking downright worried.
"Then what's going to happen to Patrick?" Chris finished asking.
"A most appropriate, if troubling, query, young Christopher." Blinky said, "Of course, we would never expect Master Patrick to engage in battle without the proper training."
"Training?" Patrick echoed in a question.
"There you see?" Luz said, happily, "Nothing to worry about."
"Well, that is good," Chris said, before looking to Blinky, "so how long does this training normally take? Couple of weeks?"
"Oh…" Blinky could muster in an uncertain way, as he then counted the fingers on all four of his hands, before answering, "decades."
"And exactly how long do I have?" Patrick asked, a little uneasy, not even wanting to know the answer.
"A day or two." Blinky replied with a nervous grin, AAARRRGGHH! behind him giving a 50/50 hand gesture.
Patrick brought his hand to his face in disbelief. This definitely not what he was expecting when he was chosen to wield the amulet.
A little later…
After Johanna found her phone, Taylor returned with the medicine, resulting in Patrick to fake taking them.
Once their mother left back to work, Taylor was given the run through on what the unexpected visitors had said back in the bathroom.
And boy, was she not happy about this new info.
"So let me get this straight," she said, carrying Kira for the moment while speaking to the others, as Blinky and co returned downstairs, "you're telling me that this amulet was part of the legacy lineage of paladins that have protected this realm and others, and that Patrick is now chosen to help protect them, and that a ferocious troll, responsible for the last paladin's death, is out there who wants to kill Patrick, who has possibly 24 hours to live and train to avoid getting a death sandwich?!"
"Not to mention, Balasar was a pretty popular hero in his hometown." Luz added.
There was then a small crash, as the kids looked to see AAARRRGGHH! trying to get comfortable in their home, but due to his size, it was quite the problem, he bumped into things and knocked things over, "Your cave too small."
As the Kirbys and their friends started tidying up a little, Blinky stepped in, "So, Master Patrick, are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" he asked.
"Your journey to becoming a paladin!" Blinky replied, "We shall begin training immediately."
"Uh, no you're not!" Taylor said, stepping in, "Patrick can't work on being a paladin now!"
"My sister's right," Patrick added, "besides, it's a school night."
"School night?" Blinky asked, "I assure you the relevance escapes me."
"I'm 16 years old, soon to reach 17," Patrick tried to explain, "I have to study and… stuff… like do homework?"
As he tried to explain, hoping to find something normal in the living room, something to remind him of how his life used to be yesterday. Instead, he saw Luz feeding AAARRRGGHH! old, blank VHS tapes to the troll who was sniffing at during clean up.
"Check it out, he can eat VHS tapes!" she said, as AAARRRGGHH! let out a small burp, before finding another VHS tape to eat.
However, Patrick saw (and seemingly recognized) the tape he was about to gulp down, which had a label on it, and quickly snatched it off him, before telling him off, "No! Don't eat this tape! Or any of the others!"
The big troll felt a little uneasy, and a little sad when he was told off, until Patrick let out a stressed out sigh, as he said, "Sorry about that, AAARRRGGHH!, it's just… some of these tapes are… very important."
Indeed they were, while the Lee Kirbys had DVDs and Blu-Rays like everyone else, they also, like a small few of vintage collectors, had a good number of VHS tapes, most of them were actually recordings that were taped on their old family camera recorder, while there was a small amount of those that were used to record films that were showing on TV, as well as those that weren't used.
"Okay… sorry." AAARRRGGHH! apoligised.
Patrick was about to leave with the tape, until he stopped and said with an uneasy smile, "You could have as many blank tapes as you like."
"Thanks." AAARRRGGHH! Said, before gulping on another blank tape.
"You okay, Master Patrick?" Blinky asked, looking a little uneasy, but still baffled about what Patrick said before the tape scenario.
"I-I'm fine," Patrick said, "It's just that… I can't be out y'know, Paladining."
"...Because?"
"Well the whole getting killed by a vicious troll named Ghoular might be a deal breaker!" Patrick said, almost losing it, as he put a few things, along with the tape, away.
"Deal Breaker?" Blinky asked, having never heard this human term before.
"BLINKY! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Patrick finally snapped.
The outburst left the six-eyed troll stunned a little, as he blinked his eyes, before letting out a chuckle, "Goodness gracious, who does?"
Patrick let out a stressed sigh, as he got out the amulet and handed it to Blinky.
"Maybe you should take this back." he said, a little sad.
However, Blinky closed his four hands around the amulet and pushed it back to Patrick.
"The amulet called to you, Master Patrick." he said, "It chose you. It is your-"
"Please don't say 'destiny'." interrupted Patrick.
"-Sacred obligation!" finished Blinky.
"Or that…" Patrick groaned, planting another facepalm in dismay, even though he believed that Blinky was totally going to say "destiny".
"You cannot refuse it, you cannot give it back." said Blinky, "It is yours until you die."
"And I would like to get through my birthday, high school, and even my first date, and maybe a little further past puberty before that happens!" Patrick stated, as he tried to give the amulet to Blinky, only for the troll to push it back to him.
"Master Patrick, please, you don't understand, you are now responsible for the protection of the worlds of mortal and mystical alike of this and every other realm." he explained anew, "If you do not keep the balance, evil forces like Ghoular as we mentioned earlier will come into these realms, including yours, and wreak havoc!"
Patrick, and even Taylor, were about to argue again with Blinky, but his next words caught in their throats after what Blinky said. Even the others, who were listening during the whole argument, were stunned and shocked upon hearing this as well.
They were now definitely considering what Blinky had just said.
Soon, Luz was the one who broke the silence, "I think he's right."
Patrick and Taylor looked to Luz as she said, "I mean, through the times that the fate of the world was at stake, that was just part of our D&D game campaigns, but now hearing this, this is no D&D game, or any other PG fantasy world game/TV show/film, this is possibly real life-threatening stuff here."
Patrick let the words that Blinky and Luz said sink in, as he then looked to Blinky and asked, "So you're saying that this Ghoular, and any other threat could… hurt people?"
"Like you." Sans replied.
And just like that, Patrick went pale again. Blinky shot Sans a dirty look with all six eyes.
"Not! Helping!" Blinky growled.
"Really, Sans?!" Papyrus scowlded his brother.
"What, I just making an example," Sans shrugged, "besides, it could anyone else besides Patrick, like his sisters, or his mother, or his friends, his friend's families, the girl he has a crush on…"
"Wait, how the heck do you know all about this?" Chris asked.
"I know alot when strolling around the town, secretly, of course." Sans replied.
"But how?"
"I told you, shortcuts."
"What shortcuts?"
"If I told you, they wouldn't be secret, now, would they?"
Blinky grumbled during this, until Patrick spoke up, not wanting to change subject.
"What was that he was talking about?" he asked.
"With the amulet now in your possession, Ghoular will seek you out, and you will face him one way or another." Blinky explained, as Patrick began to look nervous.
Seeing a panicked look on his brother's face, Hilda had a bit of an idea, and that was to try and negotiate, as she learned a bit of it from Frida.
"Mr. Blinky, if it's alright with you, maybe what my brother needs is a little time to process all of this," Hilda said as she approached Blinky, "you laid a lot of heavy stuff on him tonight."
Blinky considered this, feeling a bit of symphony for Patrick, becoming a Paladin was a very overwhelming responsibility, even for the toughest warriors of any race. He could imagine how the responsibilities would affect a smaller being like a normal human child.
"Please, Mr. Blinky?" he heard Hilda ask, as he saw her giving her the cutest puppy dog eyes, even had Sophie join in with a cute face of her own. How could anyone say no to these faces?
Deciding to go with it, Blinky replied, "Very well then, we shall return tomorrow then, to begin your training."
"Thanks, Mr. Blinky." Hilda smiled, giving him a small hug of gratitude.
Patrick smiled as he looked to Hilda, as a way to say thanks to her for helping to keep him calm.
Soon, it was time for the mystical visitors to head off, as AAARRRGGHH!, taking a few more blank VHS tapes for snacks on the road, before trying to get out of the backdoor, with Chris, Luz and the skeleton brothers helping him out.
While this happened, Blinky looked back to see Patrick and his sisters, the youngest, Kira, being carried with one arm while holding the amulet with the other, the other two sisters, keeping him company.
He saw that Patrick had a lot on his mind, as he felt scared, lost and feeling quite young for all this, with so many emotions, being fear, excitement, joy, anger and confusion, all swirling around in his mind.
Blinky soon approached Patrick, as he spoke.
"Master Patrick," he said, as Patrick looked up to him, putting away the amulet for the moment, while still carrying Kira, "I understand about how much this is going through you at the moment, but, if I may…"
It was then that Blinky spoke in a voice that was soft, comforting, proud and most of all… motivational, "Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives living existences in quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon our shoulders is actually a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights! Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor. That to strive and triumph in the face of fear, is what it means to be a hero. Don't think Master Patrick... become!"
Patrick thought of what Blinky had said, the motivation and thoughts of being a hero, if it meant protecting his family, his friends, and the world he called home…
"Would you at least consider?" Blinky asked.
It was replied by a smile from Patrick, who then fist bumped all of Blinky's hands, as a sign of agreement. Seeing this, Blinky smiled back, and nodded his head in understanding.
Later, after saying goodbye to Blinky and co as they disappeared into the night, it was time for Chris and Luz to head off.
As Chris was about to leave, he turned to Patrick and said, "Guess we've bought you a night."
"A night?" Patrick asked.
"Well, yeah, buddy," Chris nodded, "you were the one who was talking about 'wanting adventure', and 'something more'! Well, wish granted!"
As he closed the door, Patrick could hear Chris talk to Luz as he said, "So mystical creatures are a thing, who knew?"
Patrick then headed over to join his sisters, as they decided to have dinner, despite how late it was at the moment due to what had happened.
As he headed for the kitchen, he took a look at several pictures which showed his family, such as one with the family before dad passed away and another following Kira's birth.
The smiles on their face were blissful. Being a hero wasn't a bit ideal, but if it meant protecting his family. Then he might do it.
Unbeknownst to him and his sisters, watching within the trees, the Kobold called Mokdu looked to the family home, before letting out a snicker.
"This would be interesting." he said, before taking off in the sky.
Though as he did, it seemed that he was being watched as well, by another hooded figure, who looked to the siblings sorting out dinner while talking about what had happened.
He figured that if that Kobold was going back to his master, then he must hurry to help protect the new paladin and his family…
Meanwhile…
After a bit of flying, Mokdu finally arrived at his destination: an old toy factory that was abandoned and hasn't been checked up on for several years.
The factory was once opened up in the 80s, but was closed down back in the 90s when it ran out of business.
Now, besides that it looked abandoned, it almost look like something from a spooky film, as most of the windows were broken, few traces of shattered glass and garbage, and a downed sign that said 'Buddy Bear's Toys', which had an image of happy looking orange bear with a propeller hat, a happy smile on its face, now looked battered, the image slowly showing tattered marks, and there were several stains of blood, most of them blood drops, while some of it were like something bloody got dragged leaving a trail.
When Mokdu looked at this, it always reminded him of some of the other children-themed places that were closed down and/or condemned that he saw in his travels with his master for the last few years. Like an old amusement park with a weasel called Willy. Or was it Wally? As well as a family diner with a bear, a rabbit, a chicken and the fox, Mokdu really liked the latter.
Heading inside, were machines that were broken beyond repair or switched off and haven't turned back on for years, with a few scattered toys, most of them toy parts as well as a few broken toys.
Mokdu soon reached what was supposed to be the main hallway of the factory, there, standing in the center, was the hooded figure who scowleded Ghoular earlier for failing to retrieve the amulet.
He was revealed being a tall and slender young man, seemingly like he was 19-20 years old, with seemingly pale skin, almost like that he hasn't had so much sun, wore blackish blue robes, and had a coyote skinned hooded cloak, the head of the coyote being the hood, and had on a gauntlet on his right hand.
And speaking of the troll, Ghoular was smacking his lips and whipping away the blood from his mouth, after another sinister hunt for a meal, having found and attacked a delivery man, before becoming Ghoular's meal.
Mokdu landed nearby the hooded figure's feet, as he then spoke, "Master Horvath."
The figure, Horvath, heard Mokdu, and approached him, and looked down to his minion, "What is it, Mokdu?"
"I've got some interesting news," Mokdu snickered, "I found who's Merlin's new paladin!"
Hearing this, Horvath was surprised at first, before letting out a wicked smile, while Ghoular, finishing his meal, became intrigued, as Horvath then said, "Please, do tell, who wields Merlin's amulet?"
Author's Notes:
Uh oh! This doesn't look good!
The Paladin is ready to give it a go, but will he and his friends be ready for the danger ahead!
Find out soon!
Until next time, True Believers!
Excelsior!