Fiction: Group 3
“That’s why she went missing, isn’t it sir?” He didn’t seem to hear me as he walked towards a classic
mahogany table sitting in a corner of his ‘den’. He turned back to me and said “Take this, you’ll need it,” as
he handed me a small stone the size of my fist. “This is the first moon rune, it has a riddle concealed in it.
Only a true Moon Hunter can find the hidden riddle.
The day swiftly changed to night as I crossed a bridge swaying restless on two ends of a tenebrous
abyss. I let out a shriek as one plank of decaying wood plunged down into the depth bellow. It hit a jagged
rock with a loud ‘snap’ as it split in two. Plucking up my courage I walked on, perturbed and anxious at the
thought of what lay ahead.
“C’mon you stupid stone, tell me where the second rune is, I’ve been looking for it for days,
weeks, months!” I knew talking to it wouldn’t get me far so I wandered to the river to collect some fresh
water to fill my water bottle. Its cool, refreshing taste quenched my thirst as I gulped it down in one, big go.
Then I sat down and took a restful afternoon nap on the side of a massive, colossal oak tree.
I was in a sunless cave nothing like Gwenllian’s or any I’ve ever been too. A dim shadow shifted
towards me as a cold, wintry breeze struck the cave entrance with a great “whoosh”. The dark shadow came
closer, closer and closer, that you could almost even smell it.
“You seek the second moon rune,” a hushed voice said. “Use the first rune…”
I woke as a large swallow perched on a branch sang a severely irritating song that sent the blood
rushing towards my head. “Go, scram!” I shouted, but the bird wouldn’t budge. I looked deep into it’s eyes.
It’s soul reflected mine, agitated and weak, with a strong desire for something. I felt a spirited feeling as I
reached into my pocket and found the stone glowing with distinct, lurid golden handwriting reading “The
second can be found afar, up so high and in the stars, when iciness comes and warmness goes, where the
light can align when the darkness goes.” The riddle perplexed me while I read it over and over again, the
words like a chasm, with nowhere except a voluminous, unlighted depth down below.
Then it hit me. What if it meant that the stone was found in a cave up in a mountain (considerably
Tai Mo Shan as it’s the tallest in Hong Kong) and could only be found if the moon aligned with something?
Maybe the moon aligning with the Aldabaran star!
That’s it
I thought. The moon would align with
Aldabaran on Dec 8
th
according to my moon chart.
That’s today
I remembered. I quickly gathered my trusty
rucksack and headed towards Tai Mo Shan.
“Please sir, may I have some food?” Nathaniel ambled away as the man wacked the door closed in
his face. “Go home and never come back!” he yelled.
Looks like I just have to keep scavenging the
mountain
Nathaniel thought. His thoughts were interrupted as a large swallow swooped down from
nowhere and perched on the rusty, discoloured gate of the house.
“You’re a pretty bird,” Nathaniel exclaimed, “Very pretty indeed.” It’s pearly eyes gazed down on
him as he took one cautious step towards it. The bird miraculously didn’t budge. It stood there, eyeing him
warily. Then it flew to a nearby tree and started pecking at it as if it wanted Nathaniel to obtain something.
“What is it little guy?” he said. He started towards the tremendous oak tree and with a rapid blow of his axe,
took a low-lying branch off. Out came a beaded bag and a rugged piece of parchment with words written
with a jet-black ink saying “Enclosed in this bag I leave you the first and second moon runes I’ve found.
Use the riddles to find the rest.”
