Amos Daragon_ The Mask Wearer - Bryan Perro [7]
And so a new tale spread in the kingdom of Omain. The elders still retold the legend of Yack the Troubadour, but now the children also wanted to hear the story of Amos Daragon, the clever boy who had bartered a simple twig for ten gold coins, and a plain donkey for three beautiful horses.
BRATEL-LA-GRANDE
Amos’s parents had heard of the woods of Tarkasis. In the course of past travels, before their son’s birth, rumors concerning the place had reached their ears. It was said that those who dared to enter this forest were never seen again. A terrible power was supposed to inhabit these woods. Urban Daragon told his son that when he had looked for work in the small town of Berrion, he had met a very old man in the marketplace. This man was desperately trying to find his lost childhood.
He would stop every passerby. “Madam! Sir! Excuse me!” he would say. “My childhood was stolen from me! I need to find it again! Help me, please. I beg you. I’m only eleven years old! Only yesterday I was a happy child. But when I woke up this morning, my childhood was gone. Help me! Please, help me!”
Some people laughed at this strange man; others ignored him. No one took him seriously. Only Urban Daragon had ever approached him and asked what had happened to him.
“I lived close to the woods of Tarkasis,” the white-bearded and white-haired old man had answered. “My parents owned a cottage at the edge of the forest. My father told me over and over not to venture near there. Yesterday morning, I lost my dog and went to look for it. As I searched around the house, I heard barking farther away. It was my dog. I recognized the way he barks when he’s scared. I ran after him, giving no thought to my parents’ warnings. I remember seeing a lot of light, like little spots of sun shining through the trees. Then out of nowhere, beautiful, soft music started to play, and suddenly I felt like dancing. I was waltzing with the lights, I was so happy. I was calm and peaceful. I don’t know how long this lasted, but I probably danced for a very long time, because I fell asleep from exhaustion. When I woke up, there was no trace of my dog. I had this long white beard, and my hair had also turned white and grown a lot. Actually, all the hair on my body was white. Panicked, I hurried back to the house and realized that it had disappeared. So had my parents. The place was completely different, and a road stretched across where my father’s vegetable garden used to be. In tears, I followed that road and arrived here, in Berrion. This town is just a few minutes from Tarkasis, and yet I didn’t know of it. I had never heard of it. It’s as if it sprouted suddenly during the night. I don’t understand what is happening to me, dear sir. I’m eleven years old! We just celebrated my birthday. I swear that I’m not an old man. I’m not crazy. Please help me find my childhood again. Help me find my parents, my house, and my dog. Please, sir …”
Urban had believed the poor man, but there was nothing he could do for him. So he had gone on his way, shaken by the story he had heard.
The town of Berrion lay in the northernmost part of the country. After a night spent sleeping in a clearing, the Daragons got on their way at sunrise the next morning. They were ready for the monthlong journey. They had three good horses and ten gold coins. Amos had given eight of the coins to his father upon their reunion, and his father had carefully put them in his purse. Amos had hidden the other two coins in his shoes in case his trick with the donkey backfired. Edonf could have guessed that he had been tricked when Amos removed the coins from the animal’s droppings. But since Lord Edonf was even stupider than the donkey, the Daragons were in a position to undertake a trip entirely financed by their former master.
As they went through the mountain pass, Amos, Urban, and Frilla left the kingdom of Omain. They followed the north road, crossing plains and valleys, several poor villages, some green forests, and many charming little