Below is a preview of Tales From Under the Cubbyhole
Chapter 2 - Night Visitor
I was dreaming again. This time the cloaked figure was chasing me through some kind of maze filled with fog. I chased him into a dark and cold stone room and cornered him there. I reached out for his hood, my fingers brushing it aside…
That's when I woke up.
The figure from my dreams lingered for a moment, seeming to appear in the corner of the room for a brief second. I rubbed my eyes and glanced out the window. It was night outside. I yawned and looked around the room. The figure with the black cloak was still there.
I was on my feet in a flash. The figure tore through the open doorway into the kitchen. I stayed right on its heels through the living room as it tore through the front door with a loud bang and rounded a corner.
I chased the cloaked figure through the underbrush for several yards. The black cloak billowed out through the thick branches, almost within reach. My arm shot out to grab it, but was swiftly punished by one particularly large branch. Wincing and holding my arm, I pressed on.
We emerged from the side of the pub. The intruder was trapped against the wall and I was closing fast. The hooded head moved back and forth for a moment, as if trying to determine an escape route.
Of course it would have to choose the one direction I was not prepared for: up. The intruder hurled themselves wholeheartedly onto the wooden wall and climbed nimbly up the full thirty-five feet to the roof.
Grimacing, I managed to haul myself up the same path. As I climbed the last few feet to the roof, I caught sight of what the intruder was doing.
On the roof of the pub were some ropes holding paper lanterns attached to various buildings. The intruder had drawn a sword and was cutting through one of the ropes.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" I shouted. I was certainly not expecting him to stop, but rather attempting to raise someone else from the village below.
The intruder wrapped the rope around his wrist and jumped from the roof. Whoever he was, this guy was good. I finished pulling myself onto the roof and ran to where he had jumped from.
He swung below into the open space over the narrow space over the narrow dirt roads between the rows of bamboo buildings. Over the road between a pair of two-story houses someone had hung a thick rope upon which rested several wet shirts and the like. The two ropes collided in midair and the intruder flipped around the laundry rope once before letting go and sailing through the air. He landed neatly on a roof several yards away, his cloak billowing behind him.
Well, I thought. If that's how you want to play, fine.
This was going to be risky, but I wasn't about to give up. I backed up several feet and took a running start before hurling myself into the air.
Everything seemed to freeze for a moment as I reached the peak of my jump. Then time doubled itself to make up for its lapse as the ground rushed up to meet me. The ground, however, stopped several feet short of its intended target as I grabbed the rope in midair.
I spun around it twice before letting go and flying through the air on the same route as the intruder. I landed on the roof somewhat roughly but for the most part uninjured. The cloaked figure was already leaping to the next roof.
"HOLD UP!" I shouted again, hoping to wake someone who would aid me in the pursuit of the mystery figure.
We were now almost literally skipping across rooftops, our feet barely touching one roof before flying to the next. The cloaked figure moved with an ease and agility commonly reserved for gymnasts. I, however, moved with the sort of grace commonly attributed to table lamps. Somehow, though, I managed to keep pace with him.
Once he realized he wasn't going to shake me, he tried a different tack. As we neared the center of town, he leapt into an alleyway below and disappeared. I took the same jump and rolled as I landed.
The alley was quiet. There was not even the slightest shuffle of movement to alert neither ear nor eye. I stalked as quietly as I could down the alley.
Then I heard a crash of metal grating on metal from somewhere off in one of the buildings. I rushed out of the alleyway and noticed with dismay where the noise had come from -- the armory. That was just what I needed. If this guy got a hold of a sword, I was done for.
Moving as quickly as I could without being conspicuous, I made my way toward the armory. I edged around the door and peered inside. The armory was dark, but I could see well enough that it was empty. I could also see that one of the swords had been removed from its spot on the wall. Great. I sneaked inside and found the most threatening blade I could -- a long, straight one with a red stone hilt -- and removed it from the wall.
Wherever this guy was, I was determined to be prepared for him. I stepped outside and circled the building, sword drawn. Nothing. I strained my ears for any other sound that might give a hint as to the mystery figure's location, but nothing was to be heard.
I combed the streets and alleyways for a while and found nothing. It was as though he had literally disappeared into the cool night air. I cautiously sheathed my sword and began to retrace my steps back to the hut, past a few curios villagers that had been roused by my shouts. I paused a moment to look at the paper lanterns hanging outside the pub before continuing on my way.
As I stepped inside, it occurred to me that the mystery figure would probably try something like this again. I decided to keep the sword with me. If he did show up again, I would be prepared.
I made sure to lock the door this time.
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