Sparrow's Journey: Chapter Twenty-Two

WRITTEN: 17 October 2012
==Chapter Twenty-Two: In the Years That Followed==
It was mentioned previously that the Heroes of Albion have no happily ever after, as the people of Albion soon discovered.
Two years had passed since King Sparrow returned triumphant from Samarkand, and in those two years, Sparrow had travelled back overseas to help Albion’s allies, the South Islands in a war. When he returned, however, he discovered that his beloved Queen Hammer was pregnant with their second child. The King could barely contain his joy, though he did do better than his seven year old son, Prince Logan. Logan was absolutely thrilled to learn that he was to be an older brother.
And so the day of the Princess Lillian’s birth arrived. Logan, Walter and Jasper waited anxiously outside, while Sparrow sat at his wife’s side. He was grateful the baby was finally coming. This pregnancy hadn’t faired to well on his wife.
Sparrow couldn’t help but smile when he was given his little baby girl to hold.
‘She’s beautiful,’ Hammer said faintly, resting her head on Sparrow’s shoulder. She had tears in her eyes as she looked down at her baby girl.
‘Just like you,’ Sparrow murmured, gazing down at his little girl. ‘Shall we let Logan in to see?’
‘Yes, we cannot deprive him anymore.’
Sparrow nodded to the Healer present, who immediately went and allowed those who were outside in. Logan ran to his father’s side to gaze upon his little sister.
‘What’s her name?’ he asked.
‘Lillian, her name is Lillian,’ Sparrow replied. ‘Do you approve?’
Logan nodded his head.
‘I bet she’ll grow up to be as pretty as a lily too!’
‘I think you are right! What do you think, my love?’
Sparrow turned and looked at his wife. His smile faded, when he noticed that her eyes were closed.
Frowning, Sparrow handed little Lillian to the Healer, before looking more closely at Hammer.
‘Hammer?’ he said as he tried to wake her. ‘Hammer!’
Panic and pain began to fill him as he slowly began to realise the thing he had always feared. 
His fingers felt around for a pulse… he found none.
‘NO! HAMMER! WAKE UP!’ he yelled. ‘Please, don’t leave me!
Realising what had happened, Jasper lead the slightly upset Logan away. The young Prince hadn’t completely comprehended what had happened.
‘Hammer, please!’ Sparrow begged shaking her slightly as tear began to pour down his face. ‘No, you promised me that you would never leave me! Hammer!’
Walter gently placed his hand on his grieving friends shoulder. What had begun as a day of celebration had turned into a day of sorrow.
In the years that followed, Sparrow had somehow managed to juggle the daunting task of raising a family, running a kingdom and trying to fight off the poison from the Sinverana’s poisoned arrow. During this time, he also realised that with his dangerous occupation, his life could come to an end anytime soon. It is for this reason he began construction of a Sanctuary, a place where he stored Hammer’s hammer and where he would store his pistol, rifle and sword when the time came in the armoury. It was also a place where he could store many clothes, gold, books and anything else one of his children would need when they began a Hero. In the middle of the Sanctuary he build, with Garth and Theresa’s help, a map of Albion to help tell his children when people needed help and a way for them to fast travel around Albion. He also managed to construct a cullis gate.
To get to the Sanctuary, Sparrow used an already formed cavern, underneath the catacomb in which he would be buried next to Hammer, which led to another cullis gate which would take Logan or Lillian to the Sanctuary.
However, Sparrow’s time raising two children wasn’t all gloom and doom. There were times where he felt huge amounts of joy, like Logan’s birthday party over, which was a sleepover without the actually sleeping part, as Logan explained to his father.
'... that's not even scary,' Sparrow heard on of Logan's friends say as he knocked on the door to check on the boys.
'Everything alright, boys?' he asked, entering Logan's bedroom. The teenagers were sitting in a circle with one candle lit in the centre. It was the only source of light. 'What are you doing?'
'We're trying to tell scare stories, but none of us know any,' replied Logan. 'Do you know any?'
'I think I might know one, but I don't want to scare you boys.'
'Dad, the audience is meant to be scared in a "scary" story, as the title suggests,' Logan laughed.
'If you boys are sure -' Sparrow said uncertainly.
'Come on,' the boys whined.
'Okay,' Sparrow went and sat next to Logan on the floor. 'It is said that the Mage of Brightwood Tower had many wonderful and dangerous things locked safely in his tower, but no one ever found out for sure, except for a young adventure, who unwisely enter the tower at night, looking for some sort of artefact that was created during the Old Kingdom,' Sparrow began quietly, drawings the seven teenagers in with his soft voice.
'Upon finding the Old Kingdom device, the adventure, Blade, realised that he was tried. So he went to find a bed to sleep in, and he soon found one right at the top of the tower. Thinking that it was just an ordinary bed, he jumped in the bed and fell asleep. Then, at the stroke of midnight, he awoke. He was in the same bed, but he was no longer in the Tower. He was somewhere outside, that was cold and damp due to the fog. He was also eight years old again.
'Not knowing what was happening, the adventure picked up his weapons from the end of the bed and went off to explore. He walked cautiously down the fog filled path until he came to a large area with a mouldy, vine covered chest in the middle. One thing you should know about adventurers is that if they see a locked chest, they have to open it, so that's what he did. But instead of finding treasure, he found a note, which read: Hello! I hope we can be Super Best Friends. There's something I want to give you. Something I think you'll like.  Chesty, your friendly chest. P.S. What are your hobbies? Sometimes I like to kill people. 
'The adventurer stared at the note, slightly unnerved. Surely the note wasn't written by the chest he had just opened; but it was. It's lid soon closed by itself and disappeared in shimmering blue light, leaving only a golden trail for the adventurer to follow.'
Sparrow paused and looked at the wide-eyed teenagers.
'He followed the trail which lead him into a foggy cave being supported by four thin columns neatly forming a square. Chesty was waiting in the middle of the square. Blade opened the chest up once more, to find another letter. Hello again, Super Best Friend, it read. Let's play a game! And if you win the game I can give you a prize, because that's how games work. Winners get prizes and losers bleed a lot and then get eaten by worms. I like games. Chesty. 
'Blade looked at the note warily, not liking the part about losers. He somehow doubted that the chest was talking about a chess match and he was right. Chesty closed his lid again and before the adventurer knew it, he was being attacked by a swarm of giant black and red beetles. Thankfully, he had been killing these critters since he was three years old, and soon he was cleaning beetle guts off his sword. He looked back at Chesty, who disappeared again and gave the adventurer a trail to follow. He followed it and sure enough, at the end of the trail was Chesty, with another letter. Hey! The letter read. You're very good at games, aren't you? Do you ever cut the legs off adventurers and see how long it takes them to crawl to what they think is safety but is actually a swamp filled with flesh-eating insects? That's one of my favourites. Maybe we can play it later! Chesty.
'The adventurer paled. Is that what the chest planned to do with him after the game was over? Was it somehow going to chop off his legs? He knew that he would have to outwit Chesty if he was to survive and return home to his beautiful girlfriend. Just like last time, Blade was attacked only it wasn't by beetles, but rather by hobbes. The adventurer made sure to slay every single one of the ankle-biter's before following Chesty's golden trail once more, wondering what he would find this time. 
'Blade arrived in a fog filled graveyard and he had an inkling of what he was about to find. There was only one creature that dwelled amongst the dead, seeing as they were dead themselves. He opened the chest once more and read the letter: Hey! That wasn't very nice, you know, hurting Hobbes like that, the chest scolded. Don't you know that they're only little children? Little children who've had their souls devoured by dark nymphs? I'm only Super Best Friends with nice people, but it's okay. I forgive you.
'"Sure you do," muttered Blade, watching the wisps that began to fall to the ground. "You forgive me yet you send hollow men to kill me!"
'However, the hollow men were no match for Blade and he was soon following the golden trail, wondering when this nightmare would end. He came to a gloomy hill with a single tree and a scary statue of a monk. It looked so real. In fact, it might have once been a real monk, who was turned to stone. This statue did not set Blade's nerves at ease as he read another letter from Chesty. Wow! Isn't this just the best time you've ever had? The chest wrote to the Adventurer.  In fact, we're having such great fun that I've invited a bunch of my other Super Best Friends! They came into Chesty's home just like you did, and they liked it so much that they stayed here forever and ever. Please say you'll stay too!
'Blade thought that he was finally going to get some answers talking to actually human beings... He was wrong. Chesty's other Super Best Friends were a white banshee and a group of hollow men, that gave Blade a very difficult time, but they too soon met their end like the beetles, hobbes, and other hollow men. Chesty disappeared once more, and the adventurer followed the golden trail, but he stopped when something caught his eye...'
Logan and his friends leaned forward, eyes wide.
'... It was an expression statue -'
'A what?' asked Logan's friend, Phillip.
'A statue that you have to do a specific expression to in order to unlock it,' Sparrow explained, before continuing on with his story. 'Now, after performing the relevant expression, the statue unlocked a door of a nearby house. Blade went to see what lay inside. When he did, he was horrified.
'Inside was a dozen or so dead bodies, all as cold as stone as well as stiff. In the centre of the room was a chest. Most people would have run away from the scene, thinking that whatever lay within the chest was responsible for the death of these men and women, but not Blade. He confidently went over to the chest, peered inside and -' the boys were holding their breath '- found only an emerald inside.' Sparrow tried not to laugh at the disappointed looks of the teenagers' faces.
'He pocketed the emerald and went after Chesty for what he hoped to be the last time. When he found Chesty, the letter within wasn't too happy. Oh, hi; you make me sad when you hurt my other friends. They just want you to stay here like Chesty does. Don't you like it here? Do you like doggies? I love doggies! Let's play with doggies.
'As Blade pocketed the letter, he looked nervously around. He seriously doubted that Chesty was referring to dogs like the one he use to have. He was right. Chesty's doggies turned out to be hungry balverines. Blade knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against them with steel, so he began to call upon his Will. As he called upon his Will, the balverines, attacked mercilessly. By the time he had killed Chesty's doggies, he was weak, sore, and cover in blood. Chesty gave him another letter, completely different to all the other letters.
‘Dear stranger who use to be Chesty's Super Best Friend but isn't any more. We've all been so happy that you came to visit us, and we really, really wish that you could stay. But Chesty said he would give you a prize, and Chesty never lies. Enjoy it, and think of Chesty whenever you look at it. We will be so lonely without you and die. Love, Chesty.
‘Blade looked into the chest again and saw there was a Diamond of Sorrow, which is a piece of Chesty's own broken-heart when the adventurer decided not to be his Super Best Friend, one hundred thousand gold pieces, and a small chest which was Chesty's son.
'With these treasures in hand, Blade quickly left Chesty's home, Nightmare Hollow, by going to sleep on the bed again, though sleep never came easily. To this day, Blade refuses to go anywhere near Nightmare Children beds, for that's what the bed was. So if you ever sleep in one, be wary, for you too might play with Chesty,' Sparrow concluded in a mysterious whisper.
'I for one aren't going to be sleeping in any of those beds,' one of Logan's friends shuddered.
'Don’t be ridiculous! It was only a story! It's not like it actually happened - er - it didn't really happen, did it, sir?' asked Phillip.
'Goodnight, boys,' Sparrow said, getting to his feet, and leaving the room. Logan and his friends looked at each other nervously.
The next morning, Logan and his friends found Sparrow in the lounge room sorting through a chest.
'What are you doing, Dad?' Logan asked.
'Just going through my old trophies deciding which ones to give to the Bowerstone Museum,' Sparrow replied. 'Don't even know why I kept half of these, especially with you kids around. Do you want this?' he added, handing Logan an old looking cutlass.
'Sure,' Logan accepted it eagerly. He was interested it different weapons. 'Where'd you get it from? It must be two hundred years old or something.'
'Probably is. It belonged to Captain Dread,' Sparrow replied, pulling out Thag's head and pulling a face. 'Why on earth did I keep that? I serious wonder what went through my head as a teenager.'
Logan and his friends had fun watching Sparrow go through all his trophies, and were able to hear some great stories about his adventures too.
'... in the end I managed to scare Toby away, who hasn't been heard from since,' Sparrow concluded putting the Mutton of Eternal Hope in the box of trophies to give the museum, before pulling out a small chest. The boys froze, staring at the chest.
Sparrow didn't notice for he was staring thoughtfully at it, before opening it and pulling out a bunch of letters and a Diamond of Sorrow.
'No way!' Phillip exclaimed. Sparrow looked at the teenagers calmly, trying not to laugh.
'Something wrong boys?' he asked.
'You were that adventure from the story last night!' one of them exclaimed. 'That means - Chesty is real?'
'Course she is,' said Reaver, entering the room with a present in hand. 'Happy birthday, kid,' he added to Logan. 
'Thanks, Uncle Reaver,' replied Logan. 'You know about Chesty?'
'There's not a single child who doesn't know about Chesty, back when I was younger, growing up in Oakvale.'
'Really?'
'Chesty is the revengeful soul of Myrtle, a girl who lived in Oakvale who was bullied and killed by her classmates. They hid her body in a toy chest, except the chest wasn't as it seemed, for it was of magical origin. Myrtle's vengeful spirit was absorbed by the chest and it became a malevolent playful entity.'
'Seeing as you know so much about Chesty, you can help me write a history book. I'll include these letters in it and then we can add it to the Academy.'
'Sure,' Reaver said, looking around. 'Where's the other one?'
'Lily? I think she said something about her and Walter going to pick flowers.'
Reaver laughed at the thought of Walter picking flowers.
'Instead of writing a history book, you should write an autobiography,' he then said, sitting on the couch next to his old friend. 'You could put Chesty's letters in there as well as Slayer’s contract with the assassins,' he added after taking the said contract out of Sparrow's trophy box.
'I don't even know who to write an autobiography,' Sparrow said pointedly, taking the contract off Reaver.
'Fortunately, I do. Remember, the books were sold the moment they went on sale that they had to do a reprint.'
'Weren't you the one who bought them all?' Sparrow asked laughing.
'What's your point?'
Sparrow just laughed even harder, before saying to the boys, 'Why don't you boys run along?'
It was times like that that Sparrow treasured deeply, especially when he knew that his end was near.
Sparrow laid in bed freezing even though the humidity outside was nothing to joke about. He knew that the poison that had been slowly killing him was finally taking its toll. It was for this reason that he placed his Guild Seal in the catacomb and put his weapons in the Sanctuary’s armoury.  It was also the reason why Sparrow summoned Walter to his bedroom.
‘Morning, Walter,’ Sparrow said with a slight smile when Walter entered the king’s bedroom.
Walter’s eyes widened with concern when he saw Sparrow’s pale, tired face.
‘Sparrow,’ the soldier whispered.  ‘Have you called a Healer?’
‘I have not, but there is no need for one. They cannot help me. The poison has finally taken its toll.’
‘Poison? What poison?’ Walter asked quickly.
‘On one of my quests, my enemy attacked me with a poisoned weapon that has no antidote,’ Sparrow lied. Walter would blame himself for Sparrow’s death if he learnt that Sparrow had been injured rescuing him from the Sinverana. ‘That is not what I called you here for, though. Over the years, Theresa, Garth and I have been working together to build a Sanctuary for the Hero who will replace me.’
‘Do you know who your replacement is?’ Walter asked curiously.
‘It is either Logan or Lily, which one, I do not know,’ Sparrow admit. ‘That is why I need your help. When the time comes, take the chosen sibling into the Catacomb and give them the Guild Seal. For there, please guide them on their destined path.’
‘But how will I know which one is the Hero?’ Walter questioned. ‘And I don’t know where you did the Guild Seal.’
‘Remember that statue of the angel and those pressure plates that lower her hands that I showed you and Jasper?’
‘Yes.’
‘That is where the Seal is. It is in her hands for safe keeping. As for knowing which one is the Hero; you will know when the time is right.’
Walter looked sadly down at the man who was once his enemy and now his friend.
‘Please do not mourn for me, my friend,’ Sparrow whispered. 
‘That is something I cannot do,’ Walter said, blinking away tears. 
Sparrow weakly took his friends hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
That night, seventeen year old Logan decided to check in on his father. He was startled to find his once mighty father so weak.
‘Evening, Logan. Is everything alright?’ Sparrow asked, giving his son a pathetic smile.
‘No, everything is no alright,’ Logan replied, looking pained. ‘Walter said that you were very sick but he never said that you were this ill!’
‘That’s because I was a lot stronger when your godfather saw me this morning.’ Sparrow then grimaced as a huge amount of pain coursed through his heart.
‘You need to see a Healer, Father,’ Logan urged.
‘They cannot do anything for me, Logan,’ said Sparrow. ‘They cannot stop the unstoppable. It is for this reason, I beg you to take your dagger and end my suffering.’
‘What? No, I cannot! I will not!’ Logan exclaimed, jumping to his feet. ‘Dad, you have cheated death before! Who is to say that you will not this time?’
‘The sparrow poo’s luck has finally run out,’ Sparrow said with a hint of humour. Logan did not look amused. ‘Look, Logan… I have fulfilled my destiny. Besides, I want this pain to end. I want to see your mother again. Being without her all these years has caused me more pain than I am currently in. Please, Logan, grant me this favour.’
Logan looked into his father’s desperate pained green eyes, and nodded his head as tears began to flow freely down his face. He sobbed as he unsheltered his dagger and held it above his father’s heart.
‘I love you, Dad,’ he cried.
‘I love you too, my son,’ Sparrow smiled before closing his eyes.
As he felt the dagger’s blade pierced his heart, he heard Logan break down crying and he swore he could hear a gasp. He knew that he would finally be in peace and that his destiny had been fulfilled. This time, Theresa’s voice didn’t echo in his mind saying, ‘Death is not your destiny today, Little Sparrow.’
At long last, the Hero of Bowerstone was free to be at peace with his beloved wife.