The Adventure Continues: The Foil's Commencement

"There is no way out of this one," remarked an onlooker. The other laughed. It was plainly obvious that Slub had already won. Now the opponent had the honors of taking his last move and committing suicide. He was still pondering a clever rebuttal, but all in futility. 

Suddenly, in a flash, the left-for-dead loser snatched a game piece and firmly tapped it down. Just like that. "I did not see that coming," marveled one of the bystanders. All else was silent. The audience turned their gaze to Slub as he narrowed his eyes to focus. Then all of a sudden, Slub counter attacked his rival's move with brilliance. 

"Blobs win." He said.

"Nice one!" added one of the watching blobs, "that was one of the most..." his voice trailed off as he and the others turned to see the opponent furiously moving game pieces left and right. One after the other, kings and queens and soldiers and generals and noblemen and knights flew off the gameboard in every direction until...

"Gobs win." Somehow, a sitting duck as he was, the opponent destroyed Slub's entire army in a single turn.

"Man, did he set you up!" Remarked a spectator. 

"Ah, brilliant." murmured Slub sarcastically. "Well I must shake your hand, Johannes."

"Good game, indeed." replied Johannes, smiling slyly.

Just then Wisenchyme strolled up behind the wooden chair that Slub was sitting in. The setting was outside, as Slub and his friends enjoy playing Blobs vs. Gobs near the city square every Thursday. Usually Slub dominated, but tomorrow his ego would be a bit sore.

"What game is this?" Asked Wisenchyme.

"Oh, hey Wise. It's Blobs vs. Gobs."

"Oh right. Silly me...I couldn't tell because there aren't any pieces on the board. But now I see."

Slub rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes..."

After a few common exchanges, Wisenchyme informed Slub that he need to scoot. He had to catch Boegull before he went to his day job. "What are you and Boegull doing, if you don't mind me asking?" Asked Slub.

"We're not doing anything...I'm just going to see if he's alright. Boegull hasn't been himself recently." replied Wisenchyme.

"Don't you think he's just worried about Amoenu...I mean...I would be..."

"I know Boegull. Something else is wrong," said Wisenchyme. 

"Can I come with you?"

Caught off guard, Wisenchyme slowly replied, "Uhhh....sure. I suppose." 

After Slub said farewell to his boardgame pals, he followed Wisenchyme to Boegull's house. The house, a small, humble abode formed out of a mixture of clay and mud, sat secluded behind a veil of trees. It wasn't far from the center of town, but the fact that it was hidden away gave it an air of serenity.

It was quiet. Really quiet. Was anyone here? They didn't even hear breathing. Wisenchyme knocked on the door, but it creaked open when he did so. Apparently it wasn't latched. "Come in Wisenchyme," said Boegull from the inside of the home. The two guests were surprised, but went into the house. Wisenchyme had been here a thousand times and entered boldly as a friend who felt fully comfortable. This was Slub's first time, but you couldn't tell. It was just his personality.

"Hello Wisenchyme. And..." Boegull craned his head to see behind the opening door. "Sllluuuub," he drew out the word. Then he smiled subtly. 

"Hey, you remembered my name," remarked Slub, quite surprised actually. 

"It's a fairly easy name to remember." 

As if he was oblivious to the conversation, Wisenchyme spit out, "Why was the door unlatched?"

There was a moment's pause. "I just forget to latch it sometimes. You know me." He said it without a hint of fear or concern or sadness. Boegull seemed to be just fine.

Wisenchyme continued. "Well the reason I came was to see if anything was bothering you." Boegull blinked and gave a quick nod. 

"Why are you here?" Boegull asked Slub.

"Bored."

"Oh. Well," said Boegull, "Phesgul's gone, so..." He plopped down from his short wooden reading chair and headed toward his bookshelf. 

"What? Did something happen?" replied Wisenchyme.

"Nothing surprising, or at least it shouldn't be. He wants to find the treasure before Amoenu does." Boegull slipped his book back into its place on the shelf.

"Wait--we all get a share of the treasure, don't we?" gasped Slub.

"Well right..."

"Okay good."

"...which is why this isn't making sense right now. And when Phesgul comes back," Wisenchyme's stern gaze turned toward the floor, "it's not like we'll be ignorant of his actions or anything. He can't expect to come back here like nothing happened."

"For as long as I've known Phesgul, he's tried to do something great. This is pretty stupid if you ask me but I know Phesgul. He won't let anything stop him from getting to that treasure first."

"So--"

"So he will not let even Amoenu stand in his way." There was a silence.

Slub whispered, "He seemed like a pretty decent blob."

"I'm going." It came out of nowhere from Wisenchyme's mouth.

"We don't need three of us travelling in an unknown wilderness." replied Boegull.

But Slub interrupted. "If you hurry, you can catch Amoenu before he gets too far."

"That's true, and I should leave as soon as possible."

Boegull was willing to offer Wisenchyme the rest of the food in his cold storage for the trip. The rations would be berries, cheeses, a few common roots, and assorted vegetables. After Boegull wrapped it all up, he tied it to a pole for Wisenchyme to carry over his back. It wasn't much, but it would have to last. The three figured that, because Amoenu would be traveling slow in order to pace his journey, Wisenchyme could catch up if he left immediately.

Slub and Boegull sent him off. After Wisenchyme was out of sight, Slub reassured Boegull and left. Boegull stood there for a time. He stepped back inside. His mind was rapidly swapping out thoughts. Looking up at the wall in front of him, he saw an old framed photograph of himself and Phesgul. 

No. He couldn't restrain it any longer. He dashed the picture to bits on the ground, and as the broken pieces hit the floor from their short flight, Boegull regretted his action. His heart was still just as cracked as before.

___________________________________________________________

The beautiful hand crafted specimens that you see are my own; they're storyboard drawings for the cut-scenes that will be in the game. God has blessed me with drawing talent and a storytelling talent. He's awesome!

The "foil" is the tag-along character in a story who has attributes that contrast those of the main character. The one who fills the "foil" role is Wisenchyme, but mark my words, he will not be a sidekick! His role is too significant for that.

As the story unfolds, everything only gets more exciting. And surprising--it all gets more surprising, too.