The Chair by Molly Eaton
SWOOSH! Jim was moving around in his work station very busily. He needed to finish his latest project as soon as possible, which was making
an immense chair for the King. Making things for the royal family was a high honour for Jim so he wanted this to be his best chair yet. If he
didn’t finish the chair by King Henry’s birthday, there would be a consequence – a nasty one. Only Jim knew that the King had a chip on his
shoulder he didn’t want to talk about, so Jim really had to please him this time with his creation.
There was silence as Jim finally completed his impossible task. “Perfect,” he whispered to himself in relief. But then Jim gasped as something
very peculiar happened. The chair vanished.
Where did it go? This was the worst possible time for this to be happening – just two days from the King’s birthday. Something very strange
was happening in the middle of Waxton right now.
Jim was a skilful craftsman with lots of handy tricks up his sleeve, which is why King Henry trusted him. But the King had also warned Jim that if
he didn’t get what he wanted, Jim would be forced to leave the kingdom and never return. The King had always been like that: harsh, selfish
and greedy. He used fear to get what he wanted.
The King knew that all of Jim’s close family lived with him. They were all very poor because none of them had a job. Jim was the person who
supported the whole family. Everyone relied on him to work hard throughout each day, for them to survive.
“Connor, where are you Connor?” screamed Jim at the top of his lungs.
“Huh, what?” came a mumbled reply. A sturdy young lad stumbled into Jim’s workroom. Connor was Jim’s loyal stepson. He had been asleep
– dreaming about fantastic adventures.
“I have another very important job for you, Connor. I need you to travel down to the Spirit Pond and visit the Gemini Men. You need to ask
them about the chair I made.” Jim trusted Connor to stay on track for each errand. Connor had completed four challenging errands in the past
for Jim, so he understood what the expectations were.
“Fifteen years ago today, I met up with the Gemini Men. They predicted in the future I would make a big throne like chair for the King. I had no
idea what they were talking about of course but I didn’t say anything,” Jim explained. “Then they warned me there was a powerful sorcerer
who was trying to get my chair and if he did he would be indestructible.”
“Wow, that sounds really cool Jim, but pretty bad at the same time,” Connor replied.
“Meet me back here, I’ll be here waiting for you. Be quick, the King is expecting his chair at the Feast. Go now, and hurry!”
As quick as a flash, Connor rushed to the Spirit Pond. He dodged trees, jumped over logs and even went through thick mud as fast as he could
to get to the Gemini Men. In just under two hours, Connor arrived at his destination. He started to walk slower. This place was pretty big so
Connor wasn’t quite sure where he was supposed to go to. Then he thought he heard something.
“Hello is anyone there? Hello,” mumbled Connor. He was starting to get nervous. Were they here or not?
“Ahh, Connor we were expecting you,” said the leader of the Gemini Men. Connor jumped, he hadn’t realise they were behind him. “My
name is Earl, and I am the leader of our group. Come, follow us back to our camp.” Connor noticed everyone in their group had dark green
cloaks with the same symbol on the back. He had seen that symbol before but he couldn’t remember where. In a very short while they
entered a cave. “Welcome to our abode, make yourself at home.” Earl said
“Thank you Earl for your kindness. Jim sent me here to talk to you about the chair he just made.”
“Yes Connor we know – in fact we knew you were coming today,” replied Earl. “We relocated the chair because a powerful sorcerer called The
Dark One is after it. He was travelling towards your town so we needed to get it somewhere else as soon as possible. Jim promised us he
would put a green gem in the chair. This is a magical gem – it helps us move the chair to different places.
You have been told you need to find the chair as soon as possible for the King’s birthday?” Connor nodded. He was amazed they knew all of
this information. “So here are some things that you need to help find the chair. Here’s a sinipad – a small magical box - that you will use to
store the chair in. We are also giving you a letter to tell you what will happen, and a pair of defence goggles that defend you from dangerous
creatures. To use the sinipad, you simply open it with two hands it will compress and scoop up an object, but it will only hold an object for up
to one day – so be careful!
You must open the letter when you see Jim next. NO EARLIER, NO LATER!” Earl insisted.
“Do you have any questions?” one of the other men asked.
“Yes, where is the chair now?” Connor asked.
“It’s at the bottom of the Activa Volcano,” responded Earl. Connor gasped. That was no place for anyone to go right now, because the volcano
seemed ready to erupt but nobody knew when.
Connor started to back away his brain whirling with thoughts. “Okay, I should probably go now,” he raised his hand in farewell. As he began
his trek back home, he wondered how this adventure would end.