they wish to stay. These effectively amount to the taking of human life at the will of The Professor, through plagues, and curses, and natural disasters and the like.”
“But, why do they do it?”
“Some do it because they like to kill, because they feel that the humans deserve to be punished. Others do it because they are brainwashed into thinking that what they are doing is for the best, that it will somehow make things better for everyone in the long run. Sadly though, the majority do it out of sheer desperation. They know that what they are doing is wrong, but their homes have been destroyed and they feel that Roobatzi is the only place they and their families will be safe. I fear that this will be the case with many of the inhabitants of Hanselwood Forest, unless we can find a way of stopping it from being destroyed.”
“Destroyed!?!”
“Yes, Charlie, I’m afraid so. You see, I’m afraid that the local council are on the verge of selling the forest to a firm of property developers who want to turn it into a swanky apartment complex with its own communal pool and shopping centre.”
“But, they can’t do that,” I exclaimed in desperation. “People would never let it happen.”
“Oh I’m afraid they would, Charlie. You see, nobody really comes to Hanselwood Forest anymore, they are all afraid of it. They think it’s haunted. Everybody goes to Englethorpe Wood instead. It’s almost as big and is no great distance from hear. Unfortunately, the ghost stories that have for so long made Hanselwood a safe-haven for the magical community have ultimately conspired to bring about its downfall. Even the usual bunch of hippies and environmentalists who protest every time someone so much as trims their hedge are too afraid of what might lie in the forest to pitch up their tents and their tree houses. In short, I’m afraid you, young sir, are our last hope.”
“Me?” I asked. “What can I do? I’m just an eight year old boy. No-one will listen to me.”
“But you’re not just an eight year old boy, are you, Charlie? You’re a Protector. And right now there are a vast number of magical creatures that need your protection, so you’re just going to have to find a way of making people listen.”
***
Now, I realise that at this point some of you are probably thinking to yourselves that Aurelius’s tale wasn’t scary at all. That I simply built it up to be something that it wasn’t in order to create tension and keep you interested. Well, congratulations, you’re very brave. Or maybe you’re just very stupid. Who am I to judge? I am certain, however, that there are others of you who are feeling differently and who are frightened of the professor and his ear-stealing, finger-breaking ways, and understandably so. In any case, regardless of how you yourself are feeling at this moment, you may be assured that I was scared. Very scared. And my fear was about to increase ten-fold.
***
We continued our search for Aurelius’s as yet nameless supper in silence. As I mentioned, I was scared. I was scared not only of the evil Professor, but also of the immense responsibility that had been so unexpectedly placed on my young shoulders. I tried to stay calm by reasoning with myself that, aside from the decidedly human-looking man in front of me, I had never actually seen a magical being for myself. Indeed, the only evidence I had of their existence was the combined ravings of an overly-superstitious, tea-hyped gypsy woman, and a lanky, velvet-clad weirdo who harboured a paranoid assertion that supermarkets were the root of all evil. Indeed, I had been walking in the woods for what seemed like hours without ever coming across the slightest trace of anything that could be considered to be in any way magical.
But then, just as I was beginning to allow myself to be soothed by such thoughts, the ground around me began to tremble.
Chapter 5
It wasn’t a steady shaking like the tremors
“But, why do they do it?”
“Some do it because they like to kill, because they feel that the humans deserve to be punished. Others do it because they are brainwashed into thinking that what they are doing is for the best, that it will somehow make things better for everyone in the long run. Sadly though, the majority do it out of sheer desperation. They know that what they are doing is wrong, but their homes have been destroyed and they feel that Roobatzi is the only place they and their families will be safe. I fear that this will be the case with many of the inhabitants of Hanselwood Forest, unless we can find a way of stopping it from being destroyed.”
“Destroyed!?!”
“Yes, Charlie, I’m afraid so. You see, I’m afraid that the local council are on the verge of selling the forest to a firm of property developers who want to turn it into a swanky apartment complex with its own communal pool and shopping centre.”
“But, they can’t do that,” I exclaimed in desperation. “People would never let it happen.”
“Oh I’m afraid they would, Charlie. You see, nobody really comes to Hanselwood Forest anymore, they are all afraid of it. They think it’s haunted. Everybody goes to Englethorpe Wood instead. It’s almost as big and is no great distance from hear. Unfortunately, the ghost stories that have for so long made Hanselwood a safe-haven for the magical community have ultimately conspired to bring about its downfall. Even the usual bunch of hippies and environmentalists who protest every time someone so much as trims their hedge are too afraid of what might lie in the forest to pitch up their tents and their tree houses. In short, I’m afraid you, young sir, are our last hope.”
“Me?” I asked. “What can I do? I’m just an eight year old boy. No-one will listen to me.”
“But you’re not just an eight year old boy, are you, Charlie? You’re a Protector. And right now there are a vast number of magical creatures that need your protection, so you’re just going to have to find a way of making people listen.”
***
Now, I realise that at this point some of you are probably thinking to yourselves that Aurelius’s tale wasn’t scary at all. That I simply built it up to be something that it wasn’t in order to create tension and keep you interested. Well, congratulations, you’re very brave. Or maybe you’re just very stupid. Who am I to judge? I am certain, however, that there are others of you who are feeling differently and who are frightened of the professor and his ear-stealing, finger-breaking ways, and understandably so. In any case, regardless of how you yourself are feeling at this moment, you may be assured that I was scared. Very scared. And my fear was about to increase ten-fold.
***
We continued our search for Aurelius’s as yet nameless supper in silence. As I mentioned, I was scared. I was scared not only of the evil Professor, but also of the immense responsibility that had been so unexpectedly placed on my young shoulders. I tried to stay calm by reasoning with myself that, aside from the decidedly human-looking man in front of me, I had never actually seen a magical being for myself. Indeed, the only evidence I had of their existence was the combined ravings of an overly-superstitious, tea-hyped gypsy woman, and a lanky, velvet-clad weirdo who harboured a paranoid assertion that supermarkets were the root of all evil. Indeed, I had been walking in the woods for what seemed like hours without ever coming across the slightest trace of anything that could be considered to be in any way magical.
But then, just as I was beginning to allow myself to be soothed by such thoughts, the ground around me began to tremble.
Chapter 5
It wasn’t a steady shaking like the tremors
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