Jack was delayed when he discovered that he had to find a new barge, to get to the island. Both it and the goblin guards were absent and there would be hell to pay if he ever found them.
Now with a new barge a couple of goats and a team of guards following him in a small boat he made his way towards the hidden island.
The guards in the rear boat were all surprised that they never knew this part of the Palace existed.
Jack thought as much.
A mysterious consultant known only to the King had brokered the deal between the King and the Troll because it was suggested that if you ever needed the perfect guard dog get a Troll. Jack was also aware how much a secret the Golden Goose was. If the Troll didn’t have it’s contractual obligations met by the Palace then it would kill the Goose.
The island was also aplace of great misery for Jack, mot only for the slain giant but it reminded him of the missing Pinocchio, a brave little boy puppet who surely lost his life in the pursuit of the goose.
Jack had made his own special secret memorial on the island in his honour.
Poor Charming had so much to learn.
As Jack approached the Jetty the answer to the missing barge became evident and Jack’s senses went into overdrive.
There was either someone very brave or very stupid on the island and if they weren’t already dead he would threaten it to find how they discovered the secret it held.
Alighting from the barge and unloading the goats, Jack signaled to the guards not to come an inch further unless he gave notice.
Jack tentatively moved down the wooden pier , being cautious but not quiet, the goats had made sure that was impossible. Jack was half expecting the angry Troll to ambush him as punishment for late delivery, though the contract did allow for this.
Jack also helped draft the contract.
The island had become quite a paradise since Jack was last here and the Troll had done a marvelous job with his shrubberies and gardens. Evidence of the remains of the Giant’s body was really only noticeable to those who knew it was there.
Sadly Jack was one of those people, no matter how much this place was beautified to Jack it was still a graveyard.
Jack tied the goats to a sapling and decided to look further up the path himself where he came upon a very angry but weak Troll bleeding out in the middle of the path.
“You” It screamed at Jack “You broke contract”
The Troll scrambled towards Jack using its strong arms to drag it along Jack had noticed the beast’s legs were much shorter than normal.
What kind of thing could do this to a Troll? He thought as he easily dodged the scampering Troll. The Troll kept slashing its talons at Jack screaming legal anomalies with the contract and Jack kept dodging, after nearly a minute of this then sliced his axe right through the beasts skull. Separating its brain hemispheres.
Obviously he could next to no sense from the poor beast and it wouldn’t answer his questions of who did this to it.
Finally Jack decided that the Troll could no longer physically keep up it part of the deal and terminated the contract.
This at least gave him a chance to find the Golden Goose.
Since the Troll had changed the landscape some much with secret gardens and blind turns Jack wasn’t exactly sure where the Gooses pen was anymore. Thankfully a loud HONK to his left sorted that problem out.
Moving as quickly as he could in the direction of the sound Jack suddenly came face to face with what was to be one of stranger sights in his life, again featuring a large egg.
Standing in an open chook pen stood the Market Controller Humpty Dumpty. But Jack knew it was no longer the Fairy creature that he once was.
In one hand he held a book in the other he held the Golden Goose by its neck causing it great discomfort.
The egg seemed to be chanting something and just as Jack was to announce himself the egg took the goose and bit its head off.
An involuntary NO burst from Jack and the egg turned to face him.
It’s blood stained mouth opened wide across its cracked dome into a wicked smile.
It spat the gooses’ head at Jack, picked up the book and ran jumping over a small hedge into the river.
Jack scurried after it but had too many obstacles to even get near it.
When Jack finally made it to the edge of the island all he saw of Humpty was it’s large body floated down stream, a book in one hand the lifeless body of the Golden Goose in the other.
Many days later humpty was far away in a room in a place no one would find him.
In the middle of the room sat the book opened with ancient script writing itself upon its pages.
Humpty was in one corner the headless remains of the Golden Goose nestled on a pile of eggs. It’s body some how still functioning despite the inconvenience of no head.
Suddenly Humpty noticed the eggs under the goose shake and roll. The eggs were a grayish blue in colour almost the same tones as brain matter. Simultaneously three eggs cracked and small arms protruded. Humpty started clapping and laughing as three perfect replicas of itself scurried about the floor looking for food.
Humpty knew exactly were to find some, he’d just wait a little longer so more of his new children could join him.
Jack predicted bad things for the Kingdom.
With no visible financial security, a novice King, a population now totally distrustful and openly hostile towards Fairy folk. Anarchy wasn’t far away.
It all turned to hell when the Zombie egg army marched on the town.
To be continued.......In some form of printed version in the future Stay tuned.............
Edited by Cathie Tranent, art by Simon Sherry
