Long toes trick

The sun beat down on the village square, casting a warm glow over the gathered crowd. The villagers of Brindlemark stood in awe, their faces upturned to gaze at the magnificent sight before them. Long Toes, a short man with a protruding Belly and funny shaped feet stood proudly beside his apprentice, Doodle Doo.

Doodle Doo, once a gangly young boy, now stood transformed into a majestic red bird with striking similarities to the legendary Morning Bird. The bird's feathers glistened in the sunlight, and its eyes shone with a fierce inner light .

"This is exactly how the Morning Bird looks!" someone exclaimed, their voice trembling with excitement. Yes! "I have seen it twice with my own eyes" said long toes, his belly jumping up and down.The crowd erupted into a cacophony of whispers, gasps, and murmurs. But nosy hoo's voice cut through the silence.

Silent!! He commanded and funny enough, the crowd obeyed, their faces filled with anticipations.

"Is it true?... that the Morning Bird ..turns ..turns . In...into a ..very giant creature with horn and steps on rooftops of every house in brindlemark at night?" He asked in a very low tone with fear. Everywhere was silent, expecting an answer from somewhere.

Short Toes, long toes brother snorted in derision. "Nonsense!" he shouted, how can a bird turn into a giant? The villagers burst into laughter and curious questions. Nosy hoo was quite convinced after hearing that. One can tell with the expressions on his face. He is known for his stupid and funny questions, what a coward he is!

The crowd seems to be having a good break off their daily activities, all thanks to long toes. They murmured for a while and sundenly, as if to hear something new, the crowd fell silent in unison. A villager asked, "Can your magical Morning Bird sing?"

Long Toes grinned mischievously. "Of cause! He said with pride,I am the second best magician in the town, It can also fly across the mountains, it can fly across the hills, across the valleys but!! not over the seas". "incredible! Can you make it fly now?" another person asked from the crowd. Doodle Doo, still in bird form, shouted, "I don't want to!" and the crowd erupted into laughter once more. "Talking morning bird"...."talking morning bird"

The villagers had a good time laughing at doodle doo.

Poor Doodle doo, long toes will not stop turning him into things!

The Timekeeper's drum echoed through the village, signaling the eleventh hour. The crowd began to disperse, as the villagers start to rush back to their daily activities.

Lyra, who had been watching the commotion, heaved a sigh of relief. "I thought it was the real Morning Bird," she muttered to herself. She shook her head, a wry smile spreading across her face.

As she turned to leave, another sight caught her attention. Thieves! Thieves!! The pudding baker screamed on top of his voice, running after three short brownies. The Pudding Baker's shop was indeed full, he had carelessly left the pudding growing in a bid to the magical bird sight and while he was coming back, he saw the three short brownies having a good time with the sweet pudding. " Catch us if you can" one of them said, annoying the pudding baker even more.

"I've had enough of this Brindlemark," she said in a low voice, her eyes scanning the crowded village square. "I really have to go hunting today, I've not gone in a while" she said making her way inside a medium sized cottage.

She packed her tools and just when she was about to take her leave, she remembered something.

"Oh my! I almost forgot about the crystal ball! I must show the wise gnome, he will surely know something about it" She took the ball and off she went to the wise gnome's cottage.

After a little walk, she arrived at a green little entrance with the tag " the wise gnome"

She bent her head a little to pass through the entrance and oh dear!! The whole place is covered with green shrubs and field and a wide green wall that stood in the middle of the field .As she moved closer, she found out that what she has thought to be a wall is actually a wide gate, a very wide one." The wise gnome's cottage must be big" she thought. It is built in such a way that no one will definitely see the gate until they get very close to it.

Lyra peeped inside only to be surprised by the size of the cottage. what a funny house, the wide door is being guarded by a small cottage! What is the gnome protecting this much? She wondered."Hey you! What do you think you're doing?"an angry voice called out from the cottage.Lyra quickly took a reverse and a small door opened at the right corner of the gate. Out came a short fat gnome. She must be the wise gnome's wife.

She glared at lyra from head to toe and oh, she's quite surprised to see her. What have you come to deliver? The gnome asked her." I ..I have come to show your husband something". "What is it?" She asked disdainfully.

Pardon me, I can only show it to your husband. Lyra said not sure whether the gnome is offended or not. "Come inside then." She said, finally having a smile on her face.

Well , the gnome's can be very funny sometimes, one minute of anger, a smile the next one "I feel a little bit safer "now she thought."please, do Sit here for a while. She said pointing to a rock beside the small cottage."My husband will soon come." With this, she entered the cottage leaving lyra outside.

After a few minutes, the timekeeper's drum echoed again. "Time really have wings"...she muttered as she starts to get impatient. She peeped outside the gate but there was no sign of the husband. She stood up and started exploring the surroundings. Something caught her eye. A tortoise pond! She bent down to take a look. Despite the fact that she is a hunter, this is the second time she'll be seeing a tortoise. It's kind of scarce in brindlemark because the wicked druids do use them for rituals. Cute thing, it slowly raised it's head up a little bit then, it slowly moved away a little from where it was and lyra was surprised to see another crystal ball! Exactly the same thing as the one she had picked up beside her window. She took it and kept it inside her bag. What could this balls means?even the gnome has one, ..I really cannot wait to see the wise gnome. Could it.... "Oh dear! Cute little boy! The gnome's wife interrupted her thought. It has finally moved , it hasn't moved a bit since dawn, I can put my mind at rest now, I thought it was sick" the gnome gave the tortoise a soft stroke on its back.

" Good gracious! They didn't know that the tortoise had a crystal ball yet ."

"When is your husband coming back?" Lyra asked trying to be as polite as possible.

"Before sunset, he should be back " she answered, still stroking the tortoise.

"I shall come back tomorrow then

I need to do some hunting " lyra said hoping to get a yes

" No problem kid, make sure to come once the sun rise tomorrow, he leaves home very early. She said and enter the house with the tortoise in her arms, leaving lyra alone.

After a few minutes of searching, lyra found her way out of the cottage compound.

She got home very tired and would rather sleep than to go hunting.

The timekeeper's drum echoed again.

It's the sixth hour of the night already, darkness will soon cover the bright day.

"I've spent all my time in the wise gnome's cottage, It would have been a Wasted journey, but the crystal ball has made all the difference; I shall go to see him tomorrow again." She said and laid her head to rest .

As night began to fall, the villagers retreated to their homes, eager to rest and prepare for another day filled with magic and wonder. The villagers grew quiet except for the occasional hooting of owls and the distant rumble of the Timekeeper's drum.

The people of brindleMark had a calm and peaceful night rest but when the timekeeper's drum echoed the next sixth hour of the morning, something very unusual happened.....