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Convincing John
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Chapter 2
And here's Chapter 2:
The minstrel in the gallery looked down upon the smiling faces...--Ian Anderson 'Minstrel in the Gallery'
Chapter Two-- “The Arrival of the Sage”
The Fraggle Five became quiet and listened carefully. From a quiet tunnel off to the left, a low noise echoed in the early morning breeze. The sound changed pitch, lower, then higher, then lower again.
Someone was playing music.
As the Fraggles listened, the music, like different pitches of calm wind, came closer. Its musician was approaching steadily.
The mouth of the tunnel (like many in the Great Hall) displayed clumps of flowers among the cave moss. As the music came closer, the flowers bloomed in seconds. Boober noticed a yellow bud by his feet. He watched as the bud opened and unfurled its petals in response to the enchanting melody.
From the shadows of the tunnel, something emerged. It was a pair of entwined, conical tubes, one silver-green, one purple. A pair of tanned, wide hands moved gracefully along the tubes as the melody continued. Sleeves of the silvery, thick robe emerged next, followed by the face.
The slender, golden yellow nose and mouth came first. They were framed with a short layer of slightly darker fur, with an outer coating of feathery hair and a goatee which ranged from a light pink to a deep maroon. The eyes followed, round, somewhat sleepy-lidded, but very much alert. These eyes looked upon the group of Fraggles with their wise, discerning gaze.
A few, final notes brought the tune to an end and the figure took the forked mouthpiece of the instrument from his lips. He held up one open palmed hand in greeting.
“Hail, Fraggles!” he announced.
“Hail, Cantus!” the Fraggle Five chorused.
The first thing the Fraggles noticed was that Cantus was alone. Usually that meant that Cantus had some important task or responsibility relating to a significant event. The rest of the Minstrels traveled to the Great Hall on occasion, but usually they stopped by just to share their music.
“It sure is great to see you, Cantus!” said Gobo.
“Really great!” echoed Wembley.
“Play for us, please?” asked Red.
“There will be music…but first a task must be done.” Cantus watched as the Fraggles glanced at each other.
“Wh-what kind of task?” Boober asked timidly. With Cantus, “task” could mean a lot of things.
“You will know when you need to know,” Cantus answered. He then noticed the postcard in Gobo‘s hand. “Ah, I see your uncle is still traveling beyond the Rock.”
Gobo looked at the card in his hand and back up at Cantus. “Yeah, I got this postcard from him just this morning.”
“Hmmm….” Cantus nodded and thoughtfully scratched his beard.
“If you want, I can read it to you.” Gobo offered. Immediately, Cantus shook his head.
“No, that will not be necessary.”
Thank goodness! thought Red.
“But I am interested in your uncle’s travels, Gobo. With your permission, I would like to read the postcards he sent you.”
Gobo’s face lit up. “Sure! They’re all in the trunk in Wembley’s and my cave.”
“Good,” Cantus replied. “I will need time to read them, and then we can begin our task.” He held out a hand to accept the recent postcard from Gobo. Then without another word, he nodded to the Fraggle Five and strode off in the direction of Gobo and Wembley’s cave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I wonder why Cantus wanted to read Gobo’s Uncle Matt’s postcards.” Wembley wondered aloud.
They were gathered around the edge of the Fraggle Pond. Nearly an hour had passed, and they had tried to pass the time by playing games and singing, but their hearts weren’t in it. Their curiosity was growing too much to be ignored.
“Well, this is just a guess,” Gobo ventured. “but it’s possible that Cantus might’ve found another entrance to Outer Space.”
“He does travel a lot,” agreed Mokey. “it’s possible.” Just then, Boober shuddered.
“I just thought of something,” Boober’s voice cracked in fright. “what if Cantus saw something from Outer Space that somehow found its way into Fraggle Rock?”
“Oh, you mean like the Space Frog Gobo’s Uncle Matt brought back that time?” asked Wembley.
“Yecch! That thing was coated with germs!” Boober’s face crumpled at the memory. “Cantus probably saw a whole group of those slimy things crawling around in a nearby tunnel…”
“Aw, Boober, don‘t worry, 'ay?” assured Gobo. “Outer Space is full of Silly Creatures, not Space Frogs.”
“That’s even worse!” Boober complained. “Silly Creatures don’t belong here! They’d wreck everything!”
“Oh, no they wouldn’t, Boober.” Mokey tried to calm him down by giving his arm a little squeeze. Boober turned to face her.
“Oh really? Remember what they did to our water…and the Gorgs’ water?”
The other four Fraggles remembered it well. They all came close to dying in that crisis. Boober did have a point.
“Cantus mentioned a task,” Gobo thought aloud. He stood up. “but I wonder what it has to do with Outer Space. We should ask him.”
“If Cantus wants to go to Outer Space, or take something back to Outer Space, then he’ll tell us,” said Red. “frankly, I don’t see why he’d want to read your goofy uncle’s postcards.”
Ignoring Red’s last remark, Gobo turned around and began to walk in the direction of the cave he and Wembley shared.
“Gobo, where are you going?” asked Wembley.
“If Cantus needs to know about Outer Space, I know that I would be able to help him. Just wait here until I get back, ‘ay?” The other four Fraggles watched as Gobo disappeared down the tunnel.
Carefully, Gobo approached the entrance to his and Wembley's cave. If Cantus was still reading, he didn't want to disturb him.
Cantus was sitting on Gobo's bed. he was slightly hunched over, staring at a few of the postcards in his hand like an experienced gambler. The remainder of the postcards were sitting in a neat stack on top of Gobo's trunk.
"Come in, Gobo." said Cantus without turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" Gobo asked, a little surprised.
At this, Cantus laid down the postcards and smiled.
"I was listening."
Gobo entered and tried to suppress his curiosity as best as he could. There were so many questions in his mind. He wanted so much to ask Cantus about his travels. Where did he go? What had he seen? How did he become a Minstrel? But these questions had to wait. Gobo, being a determined Fraggle, kept his mind on the present task at hand.
"Cantus...um, we, well, I was wondering if you...since you wanted to read Uncle Matt's postcards, I could tell you about Outer Space, too. I've seen the hairy monster and the one Silly Creature that live in that first room."
Cantus briefly put his knuckles to his chin in consideration.
"Perhaps your observations can be of use, but your guidance will be of even greater use. We have a task that awaits us that requires your help."
"You mean...it has to do with Outer Space?" Gobo's heart skipped a beat as Cantus nodded.
"Yes, Gobo," Cantus replied. "but I am unsure of how it will proceed. Outer Space is not my concern...but it is yours. This is where I will need your assistance."
The main question at the back of Gobo's brain pushed its way out. He took a deep breath.
"Cantus...have you found another entrance to Outer Space?"
There was silence for a moment. Cantus's expression was somewhat concerned, as if he were hesitant to answer.
"The Minstrels and I have explored places that other Fraggles may not discover for centuries...or even at all," he paused as Gobo nodded, trying to understand what Cantus meant. "but there is one place we need to concern ourselves with. I believe it is a place still undiscovered by your uncle."
"Oh..." Gobo thought about all the places his Uncle Matt had explored. To him (and Uncle Matt) Outer Space and Fraggle Rock both seemed virtually infinite. "well, I'm sure that there are places that he hasn't explored yet."
"Yes," Cantus sighed and looked straight into Gobo's eyes. "fortunately, where we need to go isn't far. But unfortunately, where we need to go may be dangerous. Someone is in trouble there."
"Trouble?" Gobo blinked. "What's wrong?"
"We will find out together." Cantus stood up and quietly strode out of the cave with Gobo following him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More soon.
Convincing John
And here's Chapter 2:
The minstrel in the gallery looked down upon the smiling faces...--Ian Anderson 'Minstrel in the Gallery'
Chapter Two-- “The Arrival of the Sage”
The Fraggle Five became quiet and listened carefully. From a quiet tunnel off to the left, a low noise echoed in the early morning breeze. The sound changed pitch, lower, then higher, then lower again.
Someone was playing music.
As the Fraggles listened, the music, like different pitches of calm wind, came closer. Its musician was approaching steadily.
The mouth of the tunnel (like many in the Great Hall) displayed clumps of flowers among the cave moss. As the music came closer, the flowers bloomed in seconds. Boober noticed a yellow bud by his feet. He watched as the bud opened and unfurled its petals in response to the enchanting melody.
From the shadows of the tunnel, something emerged. It was a pair of entwined, conical tubes, one silver-green, one purple. A pair of tanned, wide hands moved gracefully along the tubes as the melody continued. Sleeves of the silvery, thick robe emerged next, followed by the face.
The slender, golden yellow nose and mouth came first. They were framed with a short layer of slightly darker fur, with an outer coating of feathery hair and a goatee which ranged from a light pink to a deep maroon. The eyes followed, round, somewhat sleepy-lidded, but very much alert. These eyes looked upon the group of Fraggles with their wise, discerning gaze.
A few, final notes brought the tune to an end and the figure took the forked mouthpiece of the instrument from his lips. He held up one open palmed hand in greeting.
“Hail, Fraggles!” he announced.
“Hail, Cantus!” the Fraggle Five chorused.
The first thing the Fraggles noticed was that Cantus was alone. Usually that meant that Cantus had some important task or responsibility relating to a significant event. The rest of the Minstrels traveled to the Great Hall on occasion, but usually they stopped by just to share their music.
“It sure is great to see you, Cantus!” said Gobo.
“Really great!” echoed Wembley.
“Play for us, please?” asked Red.
“There will be music…but first a task must be done.” Cantus watched as the Fraggles glanced at each other.
“Wh-what kind of task?” Boober asked timidly. With Cantus, “task” could mean a lot of things.
“You will know when you need to know,” Cantus answered. He then noticed the postcard in Gobo‘s hand. “Ah, I see your uncle is still traveling beyond the Rock.”
Gobo looked at the card in his hand and back up at Cantus. “Yeah, I got this postcard from him just this morning.”
“Hmmm….” Cantus nodded and thoughtfully scratched his beard.
“If you want, I can read it to you.” Gobo offered. Immediately, Cantus shook his head.
“No, that will not be necessary.”
Thank goodness! thought Red.
“But I am interested in your uncle’s travels, Gobo. With your permission, I would like to read the postcards he sent you.”
Gobo’s face lit up. “Sure! They’re all in the trunk in Wembley’s and my cave.”
“Good,” Cantus replied. “I will need time to read them, and then we can begin our task.” He held out a hand to accept the recent postcard from Gobo. Then without another word, he nodded to the Fraggle Five and strode off in the direction of Gobo and Wembley’s cave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I wonder why Cantus wanted to read Gobo’s Uncle Matt’s postcards.” Wembley wondered aloud.
They were gathered around the edge of the Fraggle Pond. Nearly an hour had passed, and they had tried to pass the time by playing games and singing, but their hearts weren’t in it. Their curiosity was growing too much to be ignored.
“Well, this is just a guess,” Gobo ventured. “but it’s possible that Cantus might’ve found another entrance to Outer Space.”
“He does travel a lot,” agreed Mokey. “it’s possible.” Just then, Boober shuddered.
“I just thought of something,” Boober’s voice cracked in fright. “what if Cantus saw something from Outer Space that somehow found its way into Fraggle Rock?”
“Oh, you mean like the Space Frog Gobo’s Uncle Matt brought back that time?” asked Wembley.
“Yecch! That thing was coated with germs!” Boober’s face crumpled at the memory. “Cantus probably saw a whole group of those slimy things crawling around in a nearby tunnel…”
“Aw, Boober, don‘t worry, 'ay?” assured Gobo. “Outer Space is full of Silly Creatures, not Space Frogs.”
“That’s even worse!” Boober complained. “Silly Creatures don’t belong here! They’d wreck everything!”
“Oh, no they wouldn’t, Boober.” Mokey tried to calm him down by giving his arm a little squeeze. Boober turned to face her.
“Oh really? Remember what they did to our water…and the Gorgs’ water?”
The other four Fraggles remembered it well. They all came close to dying in that crisis. Boober did have a point.
“Cantus mentioned a task,” Gobo thought aloud. He stood up. “but I wonder what it has to do with Outer Space. We should ask him.”
“If Cantus wants to go to Outer Space, or take something back to Outer Space, then he’ll tell us,” said Red. “frankly, I don’t see why he’d want to read your goofy uncle’s postcards.”
Ignoring Red’s last remark, Gobo turned around and began to walk in the direction of the cave he and Wembley shared.
“Gobo, where are you going?” asked Wembley.
“If Cantus needs to know about Outer Space, I know that I would be able to help him. Just wait here until I get back, ‘ay?” The other four Fraggles watched as Gobo disappeared down the tunnel.
Carefully, Gobo approached the entrance to his and Wembley's cave. If Cantus was still reading, he didn't want to disturb him.
Cantus was sitting on Gobo's bed. he was slightly hunched over, staring at a few of the postcards in his hand like an experienced gambler. The remainder of the postcards were sitting in a neat stack on top of Gobo's trunk.
"Come in, Gobo." said Cantus without turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" Gobo asked, a little surprised.
At this, Cantus laid down the postcards and smiled.
"I was listening."
Gobo entered and tried to suppress his curiosity as best as he could. There were so many questions in his mind. He wanted so much to ask Cantus about his travels. Where did he go? What had he seen? How did he become a Minstrel? But these questions had to wait. Gobo, being a determined Fraggle, kept his mind on the present task at hand.
"Cantus...um, we, well, I was wondering if you...since you wanted to read Uncle Matt's postcards, I could tell you about Outer Space, too. I've seen the hairy monster and the one Silly Creature that live in that first room."
Cantus briefly put his knuckles to his chin in consideration.
"Perhaps your observations can be of use, but your guidance will be of even greater use. We have a task that awaits us that requires your help."
"You mean...it has to do with Outer Space?" Gobo's heart skipped a beat as Cantus nodded.
"Yes, Gobo," Cantus replied. "but I am unsure of how it will proceed. Outer Space is not my concern...but it is yours. This is where I will need your assistance."
The main question at the back of Gobo's brain pushed its way out. He took a deep breath.
"Cantus...have you found another entrance to Outer Space?"
There was silence for a moment. Cantus's expression was somewhat concerned, as if he were hesitant to answer.
"The Minstrels and I have explored places that other Fraggles may not discover for centuries...or even at all," he paused as Gobo nodded, trying to understand what Cantus meant. "but there is one place we need to concern ourselves with. I believe it is a place still undiscovered by your uncle."
"Oh..." Gobo thought about all the places his Uncle Matt had explored. To him (and Uncle Matt) Outer Space and Fraggle Rock both seemed virtually infinite. "well, I'm sure that there are places that he hasn't explored yet."
"Yes," Cantus sighed and looked straight into Gobo's eyes. "fortunately, where we need to go isn't far. But unfortunately, where we need to go may be dangerous. Someone is in trouble there."
"Trouble?" Gobo blinked. "What's wrong?"
"We will find out together." Cantus stood up and quietly strode out of the cave with Gobo following him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More soon.
Convincing John
The way it sounds so fluid and smooth, it was like imagining Cantus' appearance as elegant as an angel's flight. I'm speaking this not just from my mind, but from my heart. Your writing style is wonderful!