WATERFODIA’S CRYSTAL

• Luc Jonkers, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2014

King Gastof’s guards arrived with a message that none of the dwarves in Waterfodia liked. Gobble was munching his second breakfast at the time, so he didn’t see all of it in person, but he could hear it while he was eating. The King’s guards said that the King was going destroy the forest.
Gobble and Ratat, Gobble’s pet rat with wings, had to go on a risky journey for the crystal of Madafor to save the forest. They would have to pass through dangerous forests with animals that probably wanted them.
They both decided that they would leave as soon as the King’s men had left. They packed their bags and set off. Gobble didn’t know how to find the crystal of Madafor, but then he remembered that he had stolen a book from the library. The book once belonged to the great explorer, Jumader, who had found the crystal that had the magical power to bring anything back to life. They set off north for the mountain pass where the legendary crystal was last seen. They finally arrived at the mountain pass after traveling for five gloomy days through the icy mountains.
They still had another three days according to the map. There was only one problem, what if they didn’t find the crystal?
They finally found the cave where the old book said the crystal was hidden. They slowly walked into the mystical cave. The cave suddenly lit up with a blinding light, it took Gobble’s eyes a few seconds to adjust. Then they saw it, the legendary crystal of Madafor. A man blissfully basking himself in the crystal’s fumes suddenly became visible.
It was King Gastof! When he saw them approach King Gastof shrieked, “No!”
King Gastof then picked the crystal up and ran deeper into the cave.
“Come back”, Gobble screamed angrily.
Gobble and Ratat chased the greedy King. King Gastof tripped on a rock and the crystal fell out of his hands onto the floor. An ear piercing crash radiated through Gobble’s ear drums, the crystal had cracked into two pieces. The crystal’s radiant light vanished.
Gobble ran to the shards of the crystal and picked them up. He then put them in an old musty bag and tied it tightly with string. King Gastof had started to turn as cold as ice and then he shattered into countless shards.
“King Gastof must have used the powerful crystal to energise himself”, exclaimed Gobble.
Gobble then got an idea that would change everything. Gobble took one half of the crystal and held it to Ratat’s chest. Ratat suddenly grew into a gigantic dragon with wings that towered over Gobble.
Gobble climbed up Ratat’s tail onto his back. Gobble travelled on Ratat’s back all the way back to Waterfodia. When they arrived at Waterfodia, Gobble took out the other half of the crystal and pushed it into the ground. All the trees suddenly flourished with greenery and the forest was greener and more alive than ever.