“It felt real…”, I described the nightmare to the old man, who nodded his head. “Because it was real.”, he replied. “The dream you experienced…”, he implied while he held his right hand over my head. “It is a curse upon your soul.”, this made me question what he meant by that.

“Every world that you traverse and come across beyond the stars is but a mere fragment, but a mere fraction, that once belonged to a singular entity, a body, called Lemuria and the world that you come from was the heart of Lemuria once.”, Jackob explained and Goldilocks nodded. “The Hearthlands.”, she revealed that even she knew the name of my planet that I originated from.

“It is the world of the elves for a reason.”, said Jackob. “For those who live or just linger there have their souls tied to nature more than they could ever know. The world reaches out to them, begins to whisper, and once it grabs hold of you it does not stop. What it seeks is the energies of one’s soul and to root itself into it, both mentally and physically. It becomes a part of your every dream and every nightmare, often showing you things that transcends reality itself. The elf that you saw in your vision is but of many that were consumed by it, a soul that has willingly become a part of it that has reached out to you to give you a warning. For what the nature of this warning is? I do not know…”, he paused before lowering his hand down over my cheek.

“But what I do know, child, is that it is right. The nature of all life is eternal and never changing, and we are ephemeral.”, Goldilocks nodded her head with agreement. “Now let me brew you some fresh tea.”, he got up and then waved his hand towards the fountain with one of the jugs reaching inside by itself to fill itself with water and one of the cabinets opening from which a tea bag emerged that made its way to the jug on its own.

He held the jug in the air with the help of one hand and placed it down on the table along with the bag before it started to heat itself up. Goldilocks stared at him for a moment before looking back to me. She looked down hopelessly and then raised her left claw over my shoulder.

“So, how do we get you home?”, asked Goldilocks and I looked up to the ceiling with such a headache, not believing she could be asking me that right now. “Who says I am going home?”, I said in frustration and the old man turned to face me with disbelief.

“Young child, have you already forgotten Talia’s warning?”, he questioned me. “No, and for the record Talia can bite me!”, I raised my voice, making sure he heard me say it loud and clear.

This made Goldilocks smile and clapped her claws excitedly like a little child several times before smacking my shoulder that hurt like hell considering what I was through.

“That’s what I am talking about!”, she seemed to be in on the idea though, which made me happy. “Goldi!”, the old man called. “You are in on this too?!”, the old man looked surprised.

“Yeah?”, she replied. “But why?”, the old man asked. “Because fuck them!”, she said it loud and clear as well that made me laugh. “You two are both insane and have no idea what you’re getting yourselves into! Goldi, think about the bears!”, the old man raised his voice and looked at her bears that each began to bark in order from left to right: Papa, Mother, and Baby Bear.

“You guys are in on this too?!”, the old man was surprised. “God damn it!”, he cursed to the heavens. “Sounds like they got more balls then you.”, Goldilocks then looked at Mama Bear who looked back at her in turn. “Well, I meant that metaphorically, of course.”, she stated.

“You’re all insane!”, the old man stated loud and clear. “Ugh!”, he lowered both of his arms hopelessly. “It seems that you two…”, he paused for a moment and looked at the bears. “Well, you five are the only hope that an old man like me has left.”, these words confused us.

“What do you mean?”, I asked and the old man sighed. “I am not Jackob Spriggins.”, he said and this surprised us both as Goldilocks smiled. “Hah, I knew it!”, she said out loud. “No, you didn’t. You believe the bull shit I was selling you the moment that you got here.”, he replied.

“Jour…”, I said and the old man looked at me. “Jour is your name. That is what Talia called you the moment she entered the room.”, the old man bowed his head and Goldilocks stood up.

“Jour?”, she said his name with love and as if she was familiar with it. “Hey, Goldi…”, Jour then greeted her as an old friend. “No…”, she shook her head in disbelief at first. “Jour was a fifteen year old boy, you are an old man…”, she stated and he nodded his head, looking down saddened.

“Yes, yes, I was…”, he said. “Before Talia cursed me.”, said Jackob and Goldilocks focused her gaze upon him, not believing what he was saying. “It turns out those beans of yours truly were magical in nature, Goldi, and that I was wrong…”, her look of disbelief then turned to hope before she ran forward and leaped forward to hug the old man that raised his arms only to fall.

She fell over top of him and hugged him so tight, she was so happy to see him again and I could tell the joy in her eyes while I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on.

“I knew it!”, she said out loud. “I knew those beans were magical!”, she then raised her upper body and punched him in the shoulder. “Oww…”, he grunted in pain. “Sorry.”, she apologized.

“Oh, Jour, I am so happy to know you made it out alive.”, she leaned back down and hugged him so tight while I remained lying down, thinking. “But why didn’t you tell me who you are, huh?”, she punched his shoulder and he grunted again. “Because I wasn’t certain that it was you until Kirya over there said your name.”, Jackob replied and I still remained where I was, dumfounded.

“Guys?!”, I called and they both turned their attention to me. “First, Goldi, could you get off of him because A, it looks so wrong in so many levels.”, I stated and Goldilocks smirked, nodding her head, while still remaining on top of Jackob. “And second, do you two know each other because I am clueless on what’s happening and I wish to be clued in, please?”, I explained.

“Certainly.”, said Goldilocks before turning to face Jackob. “Jour and I were close friends when we were young. We both lived in the same kingdom and shared a mutual friend in common…”, she explained and I then quickly came to realization who that was. “Briar Rosamond?”, I asked.

“Yeah.”, Goldilocks turned her head to face me after she admitted it was so. “But Jour here had the hots for her.”, she then pushed herself up to stand while he remained lying on the ground.

“Didn’t ya, Joury?”, she taunted him when she stood up by leaning her head forward and making fun out of him. “I didn’t admit it back then, but…”, he said before Goldi turned to me to say. “He did.”, with a slight nod and quirky wink on her face as the old man sighed.

“I’m sorry…”, I then pushed myself up from the bed to stand. “But why exactly are you cursed and how exactly do you two know each other again?”, I wished to inquire further about them.

“I was the son of a spinning woman that lived within the Castle of Rosamond and I was the one responsible for Briar pricking her finger on a bodkin. It was by my doing that she fell into a sleep like death and for it I was banished from the Kingdom of Rosamond along with my family. As punishment for what I had done, the King and Queen forced our family to sell our farm and our livestock, as well as to move out of the lands belonging to the Kingdom into the outskirts of the city. As I happened to be close to the royal family, I was also close to the sons and daughters of the seven magi, more specifically Jackob Spriggins that taught me the arts of nature in my youth before I would depart the lands. He was my tutor.”, now I knew that it wasn’t an old man called Jackob that explained his tale but rather a man who took his identity.

“And mine.”, Goldi added, further elaborating on the mutual past they share. “Why did you bring her the bodkin? You knew she was cursed…”, Jour sighed and exhaled deeply.

“Briar grew tired of her parents. She blamed her father for the curse she bore and grew tired of her parent’s constant stress over everything that had transpired in her life. So much so that Briar asked me to do something in secret and as a young boy I didn’t think anything about it back then. I brought a bodkin not to sow or spin anything…”, he explained. “So why did you get her the bodkin?”, I asked. “Because she wanted me to fasten her hair and so I did…”, he replied.

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“And then she pricked her finger on it.”, Goldilocks added. “Goldilocks was the only one that listened to me and whose shoulder I could of cried on back then, and so I gave her the family cow and she gave me what she called her magic beans. Whatever happened to that cow, Goldi?”, Goldilocks sighed and looked down with sorrow, turning her head on the side.

“I don’t what to talk about it.”, said Goldilocks. “That is why I agreed to give her to you. I knew you would take care of her well in her final moments.”, he said to Goldi that smiled back at him. “She missed you…”, she said. “Her home and family…”, they both got emotional.

“I know…”, Jour nodded his head back to Goldi. “I prayed for the spirits to help you find your way, to fulfill your dreams…”, said Goldi with Jour bowing his head towards her with a smile.

“And they listened, Goldi, but not at first. When I planted the seeds in the Town of Rosamond, they never grew. When I returned to the kingdom, my real home, where my heart truly felt it belong…”, he paused for a moment, looking to Kirya. “I found in the absence of my home and my farm a newly formed crypt, and a weeping mother.”, he explained.

“Aurore…”, I said to Jour. “Yes.”, he confirmed. “I apologized to her at first. I gave her my sincere sympathies for what had happened to her husband. We then spoke a great deal about the past, our happiest memories with Briar, and she asked me to forgive her for what she had done. I told her there was nothing to forgive. I gave her the magic beans, telling her I brought her for Briar and for the garden she always dreamt off. I left the crypts to give her time to mourn and a few hours later I would discover the hard way what she had done. She planted the magic beans within the gardens of the crypts and from it a giant beanstalk sprouted so fast that it created a wall of thorns, brambles, and branches that reached for the heavens. It was the garden that the Queen dreamt off, one to protect her daughter from the all the evil of this world. It was then that a shadow would forever loom over the Kingdom of Rosamond and when Talia returned with her rabble to finish what she started in the first place. I began to climb the beanstalk in search of my old friend only to find her on top. I was about to open the coffin that surrounded Briar with a primal spell only for Talia to mitigate it with her own that would forever curse me into the form you see today. As long as I or Talia live, no one is able to open the coffin and as long as Briar is sleeping, I shall forever retain the form of an old bag of bones you see before you.”, Jour explained and yet I had many more questions than I did answers once again.

“But if Briar was within the crypts at the time, does that mean the beanstalk raised her to the heavens?”, I asked. “Yes.”, replied Jour. “But it was Talia’s and my own spell that trapped her in the realm of the element of air, the realm of dreams and nightmares.”, Jour explained.

“Cloud Cuckoo Land?”, asked Goldilocks. “I didn’t think it was real.”, she added. “Cloud Cucko what?”, I asked “Cloud Cuckoo Land.”, Goldilocks confirmed.

“It is a place of absurdly, over-optimistic fantasies. The place is rumored only to be a myth that is made out of an unrealistic idealistic state of mind of all individuals that live across world, and yet everything seems to be perfect. It is the place where things that are completely impossible might happen just with one mere thought.”, explained Goldilocks. “Why on earth would you imprison her within a realm of insanity?!”, Goldilocks asked a very good question.

“My spell was to protect Briar and so was Talia’s. I wanted to free Briar and Talia wanted to make sure she forever remains in the deep state like sleep that she is in. However, to our surprise there was a third spell that intertwined with our own and that was one of Mother Nature herself that chose that Briar shall forever be imprisoned within Cloud Cuckoo Land.”, explained Jour.

“So in a way, the beanstalk was responsible for where she ended up?”, I said and Goldilocks nodded her head, confirming what I had to say. “So that fountain, this house, that lake…”, I pointed towards the path from whence we originally came and Jour smiled, bowing his head.

“Welcome to Cloud Cuckoo Land.”, he stated and Goldilocks’ jaw dropped open as she couldn’t believe it. “I always wondered how those four disappeared quickly like that.”, said Goldilocks and I then approached the large door that our villains originally came from, grabbing the handle.

I then pushed only to realize I had to pull and then I pulled only for the door to open to reveal to me a large room fit for a giant. I could see a large round table covered by a large white cloth that hung from the table in the center that is surrounded by twenty two wooden seats. I could see that from the top that there was a large chandelier from which many round glasses hung that were shaped like tears. There is strangely hay in the room that is lying on the four corners of the room.

“Scarecrows…”, said Goldilocks that observed the room from behind me and I turned to face her until I heard the sound of jetpack and thruster move close by before Jour kicked the door shut.

We could all hear the sound of explosives and bombardment hit the door. I was so shocked a round wooden door like that survived it and I speculated Naomi Pharon attacked our position.

“Yes, Scarecrows…”, said Jour. “Unfortunately, it was Talia that found Briar first and has setup her own protectorate to make sure no one interferes with her, and now they know you are here. So she has called up all the reserves until she is certain that you will leave, either in a box or just out of this world.”, explained Jour only for Goldilocks to ask. “So where is Briar?”

“She is on top of the chandelier, most likely guarded by Talia and that bloody psychopath.”, Jour explained. “Bloody Mary.”, Goldilocks said her name with disdain and hate. “Yea, that one, and her scarecrows as well as cuckolds will be watching over all the rest.”, explained Jour.

“So we need a literal army.”, said Goldilocks and Jour nodded his head. “If we deal with Bloody Mary then that means we are done with her crows, but that doesn’t mean we’re done with her cuckolds.”, stated Goldilocks unhappily and Jour nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with her.

“We have a literal army or don’t you remember?”, stated Jour before I could hear vines, roots, brambles and thorns move along the wall as spriggans detached themselves from the walls.

They had blended in so perfectly with the walls that I did not even notice them until now. They approached us from all sides and surrounded us as they waved their tails, prepared their needles and it was then that I smiled until my smile suddenly faded away when their leader approached. The elf that I feared the most, the one that decided to let me go due to Goldilocks, appeared in front of me and didn’t look happy to see me again as I gulped.

“Why have you summoned the protectors of the beanstalk, Jour?”, she asked and Jour stepped forth, gazing into her eyes. “Because beyond those doors lie those that have harmed nature for so long and gotten away with it. If there is anything I know, you’re out for blood for those that have harmed nature and you are sworn to protect it.”, the elf then finally turned her gaze away from me and focused it on Jour himself before moving closer to face him, face to face.

“The reason you have summoned us is to help you save your precious rose, isn’t it?”, asked the elf. “Yes, it is.”, replied Jour. “It is also because the creator of the beanstalk is finally here and if I recall, you spriggans are inclined to show her at least some gratitude, even if it is only once.”, explained Jour and Goldilocks looked surprised by this as the spriggan elf looked down.

She turned around to face Goldilocks and then the other spriggans that would turn to face Goldi. Each spriggan then turned to face her and Goldilocks felt like all eyes were on her this time.

“It is true that because of you we are the spriggans you see today. If it were not for you, we would not be living a life of undeath, forever bound to the world tree.”, explained the elf that would then approach Goldilocks. “You gave us a second chance so that we can live another unique life and to repent for our actions, and repent we shall. We shall accompany you and your three bears, Goldilocks. We shall aid you against this plight and after we’re finished, we will return to our sacred duty in protecting the tree forever. Are we clear?”, Goldilocks bowed her head and smiled before she would look around to everyone in this room.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen…”, said Goldilocks before she would turn to face Jour and I. “It seems it’s show time.”, she added and I smiled with a grin on my face.

We would spend that day preparing ourselves and all our material. We had made plans on what we would do without the spriggans who had planned their own at their own accord. They were to deal with the scarecrows and cuckolds while we were to deal with all of the rest.

“Our target is the chandelier, here…”, Jour used a crystal ball to showcase the giant’s room. “The only way that we would be able to reach it is from the top of this table. We will have to find some sort of contraption to fling us up into the air. I am seeing several possibilities.”, explained Jour and Goldilocks smiled, seeing a couple of spoons she found interesting.

“We’ll have to scale on top of one of the chairs, if we even manage to get close to one of them.”, Goldilocks and Jour looked to me as I showed them my grappling hook. “I got it covered.”, I replied and Goldilocks then turned to point at the crystal ball.

“I have no doubt that the android is going to be protecting that table with a very keen eye and I know just for a fact that Big Boy Blue is going to be waiting on the top.”, explained Goldilocks. “Yes, without a doubt.”, stated Jour. “I have one final request.”, he added.

“If you manage to reach my beloved’s coffin, place upon her body this red rose.”, said Jour before he handed me a scarlet red rose. “It is my symbol of love for her. I’ve always wanted to give it to her myself, but...”, he explained and I pushed it back towards him, smiling.

“You’ll be able to give it to her yourself.”, he shook his head and then pushed it back to me. “No, only a cunning rogue such as you will be able to reach her coffin. Take it.”, I took it and placed it inside one of my pouches that hung from my belt and we all looked to each other before we said in unison. “It’s show time.”, we were nervous, but we knew a great battle lied ahead of us…