Beyonders: A World Without Heroes or Heroines (ON HOLD)

Chapter 5-The Blind King

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Alexis Creed and her backstory. Everything belongs to Brandon Mull

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We've been walking for hours along the river. My feet hurt from walking so long. I twisted around and tried to unzip my backpack. After a few minutes of struggling, I pulled out a small bag of uncrushed 'energy berries' that tasted a lot like gooseberries only these were red instead of purple. I munched on my supply of berries while Jason ate his. Finally the sun began to peek over the trees. The sunrise was so pretty. I pulled out my phone and quickly snapped a couple of pictures. Maybe if I get home I could paint this or use it to create an original sunrise painting and sell it. 

A few hours after sunrise Jason and I reached a break in the trees. My phone's dying so it's a good thing that I always kept a spare solar charger in my backpack but I didn't have any time to charge it. Jason and I munched on our spare food as we hiked down the dirt path road. A little while later we came to  a brightly multi coloured cottage alongside the road. The cottage had sequined curtains and had smoke curling up out of the chimney.

"Pssst, hey you two, step over here" a harsh whisper called out to Jason and I. My head snapped over to the voice while Jason jumped and turned towards the speaker.

I noticed a dirty man in even more dirty cloths hiding in the bushes. The man wore fingerless gloves made out of something that looked like grey yarn. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days because his grey whiskers are beginning to show. Jason glanced nervously at the hobo.

'Maybe it's disrespectful but what else would you call the guy other that a hobo?' "Oh gods, Jason. It's not like the guy is going to rob us" I muttered,. I rolled my eyes.

The hobo looked between the two of us. "There's barely enough here to feed one, let alone three. I suggest you both move along." he told Jason and I.

"We're looking for the Blind King" Jason blurted out.

The man squinted skeptically at us. "As I said there's nothing here for you outsiders h-"

"We're not here to beg!" I snapped at the man, hobo or not. I felt like I was considered an Outsider by many people before coming to Lyrian. "And we're not here to cause trouble, we have our own damn problems. Now where's the Blind King" I demanded

The man looked around nervously then stared up at the brightly coloured house. "Name's Aster. Franny might know." Aster gave a curt nod up at the house.

I glanced at Jason and jerked my head in the direction of Franny's brightly coloured house. I made my way up the front wooden steps and up to the porch. Jason followed me closely behind. I  gave three quick knocks on the red door. A few minutes later a short chubby woman answered the door. The smile dropped from her face when she saw the two of us. "What business do you two have here?"

Not wanting to tell the lady exactly where we were going I reply "We're travelers just passing through" I vaguely answered. A large dog trotted towards the door and barked loudly.

"Well you should keep walking. This town has no need for drifters." Franny explained not unkindly over the boarhound mix. "Puggles, quiet! Heel." Franny ordered slapping her thigh just as I gave a shrill dominant whistle. Puggles the boarhound shut up immediately. "Huh? It usually takes a while for him to quit barking. He must like you since he hasn't tried to bite you because you're so close." Franny mused.

"Well I do have a way with animals." I gave a half smile at the dog. I glanced at Jason. "Um yeah well we we're not about to cause any trouble. We just need to find the Blind King." I stated.