2: Double trouble

Just like any other morning, most people living around the town square of Stonebrook heard the Stone twins run to the well for fresh water and a chance of waking up all with their friends across town while doing so.
Mary and Miriam  woke up most people in the sleepy town with their colourful and cheery start to the day; their copper red hair glowing in the early morning sun as they started the day's chores by fetching water for their large family living on the outskirts of the small village, just next to the town gates regulating all traffic coming and going to Stonebrook via the main country road. But despite the early waking, the twins were loved by everyone throughout the town. Or almost everyone. On the very outskirts of town lived an old man. No one knew very much about him, except the fact that he had always been there. If they had known him or anything about him, they would know that he was older than life permitted and he had once been the wise man of the town. They would also know about the mysterious rumors which seemed to always appear about the old man. They would know why he now lives on the outskirts, and why he keeps to himself. But no one knew the man and they kept on with their lives without giving him much thought. Though no one knew him, he knew everyone, especially the twins, and he for one was not charmed by their adorable appearance or their cheery moods, he loathed them.

1: A new beginning

A hooded figure slowly made its way through the dark streets of Akala. It was 3 minutes past midnight and all the citizens had gone to bed. The only sounds made in the night was the bumps of his heavy boots and the whistling sound of his cape. A sudden burst of wind pushed the hood back and revealed a scarred face. An outside observer might say the visitor was well in his mid-thirties, but in reality, he had barely lived through 23 summers.
In this late hour, the city was of course completely unaware of his purposeful march through it's empty streets - only an occasional rat noticed this heavy-set, cloaked man make his way past deserted squares, dark alleys and endless lines of empty windows, staring at him like dark mindless eyes from all directions.
Not that he seemed to notice neither rats nor windows - and even the rain didn't seem to make any impression on him at all.

The determination was set in his eyes and grew stronger with each step he took. His journey had been long and he was tired. Finally, he seemed to reach his destination. His steps came to a halt outside an old inn, situated in the other end of town than the one he came from. Despite the rest of the town being closed and asleep, the pub was open. The man entered through the door into the inn. It was very small and not one's first choice of stay if you had money to pay for more.
In the middle of the room were several small, round tables - all empty except for one in the furthest corner away from the man. The only light came from a few small windows and a couple of candles. At the wall, nearest to the man was the bar. He walked over to the desk at threw a couple of coins. The innkeeper looked up at him expectantly. ''A room'' he uttered under his breath, the voice tired and deep. The innkeeper nodded and led him up a weary staircase.
All alone in his room, he finally started to feel safe. His long journey had at least temporarily come to a halt, and he was much closer to the people and places that had haunted his thoughts for so long... the events that had shaped his very existence throughout his entire life.
"Bad things happen to bad people", he told himself. And much to his surprise he heard the words that had for so many months and years been locked inside his head actually spoken out loud. "Bad things happen to bad people!" he repeated in a loud and firm voice, confirming his purpose before his head reached the simple but soft pillow at the first floor of "Odds and Ends".

Baggrund for Stenhistorien

Story of the stones

The framework for this story was created one hot summer day while the two authors moved almost 1000 paving stones about 4 meters - just because they could!

All chapters were named and the basic tone and high level framework for the narrative universe appeared along with the sweat on their brows.

So this story really wants to get told - Now it will be interesting to see if it succeeds...

Risskov, June 9th 2010,
Thomas and Malene

Chapter 1: A new beginning
Chapter 2: Double trouble
Chapter 3: All good things
Chapter 4: The Quartet
Chapter 5: Quite a handful
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7: The seventh son
Chapter 8: The octagon
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:


--
Dansk originaltekst:


Historiens rammer blev skabt en varm sommerdag, mens de to forfattere flyttede næsten 1.000 herregårdssten 4 meter. Bare fordi de kunne.

Alle kapitler blev navngivet og grundtonen og de overordnede rammer for fortællingens univers dukkede op, i takt med sveden på panden.

Historien vil altså gerne ud - Nu bliver det spændende og se, om det lykkes for den...