Raven & The Angel

Chapter 4 - Mayor Franklin & The Strangers

The mayor was quaking in his boots, constantly fiddling with the collar on his ill-fitting official cloak of honour. In truth, Jed Franklin hated being mayor of Lightfoot and all the pomp and ceremony that went with it. He begrudgingly took the post after an unfortunate run in with a spooked herd of cows that trampled him half to death, leaving him with a crushed knee, a serious limp and blind in one eye. But as a much respected farmer with a keen interest in keeping law and order within the village, he was the natural choice to replace old Mayor Ranford who had been struggling for months to put his underpants on the right way, never mind represent the village for all things remotely official!

As the strange figures drew ever closer, Jed took in every tiny detail he could. How bizarre they looked draped in cloaks made of some weird looking material. The cloaks shimmered a deep purple in the sunlight as their bodies swayed unnaturally as they walked. It was almost as though the strangers weren't used to walking, or had difficulty in co-ordinating all their limbs; Jed couldn't quite put his finger on it but there was something definitely wrong with how the strangers ambled along.

As they got closer, Jed realised that each of their faces was also covered, so he couldn't make out any of their features. They were all incredibly tall and as the mayor and his fellow brave men looked up at them in awe, the tallest stepped forward.

"Who are you?" asked Jed in the most official and confident manner that he could muster "and what do you want here?"

"Who are you?" repeated the apparent leader, in almost the same tone, tilting his head slightly to one side as if observing Jed's every move. His voice was rather husky and with no recognisable accent that the Lightfooters could pinpoint.

"I am Mayor Jed Franklin. I ask again, who are you and what business do you have coming to Lightfoot?" Jed was feeling more uneasy with every second, but he held his ground.

"Good day The Mayor Jed Franklin of Lightfoot. We mean you and your village no harm. I need to speak with The Angel." With that the strangers stood and waited, obviously expecting Jed to understand.

"The who?" puzzled Jed.

"The Angel. The Angel must help us!" rasped the stranger.

"There is no-one of that name in these parts sir. Now I suggest you and your tall friends here turn around and go back the way you came. We don't want any trouble."

"You will tell The Angel that we need council. If you refuse to show us where The Angel is we will search every building until we are granted such council. Please do not get in our way." Was that last sentence a threat? Jed couldn't be sure. He and his protectors raised their odd collection of tools and weapons, bracing themselves for attack. The leader of the strangers appeared to relent a little and raised a spindly arm.

"Dune. My name is The Dune. The Mayor Jed Franklin of Lightfoot please do not try to stop us - you will fail and we do not want to hurt you. We just need The Angel". With that they began to move forward. Jed and his men braced themselves as the cloaked figures came towards them, but as they tried to barr their way some kind of force field prevented them from lifting their weapons. The men couldn't even step closer to the strangers, the more they tried the more they felt that an invisible arm was tightening around their bodies. Almost unable to breath, the men stood aside, gasping for breath as the crushing feeling began to subside.

"What the hell...?" gasped Jed.