Happy Blog Day Everyone!
It's short story time once again, and Brennan and Riz are returning for another short look into their crazy world! We've also got their comic shenanigans to deal with, so let's start there!
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
Note the "I" in the title? Yeah this is going to be a multipart thread...Yes, I am aware of what I said a few weeks ago but at the same time, I couldn't pass it up. This will be either three or four parts, depends on how many jokes I can squeeze out of it. Technically this will be the second time I've done a Dungeons and Dragons related story thread, with the first being part of my pandemic blues story.
Short Diversions: The Blue Scarf of Whitby
Here's Brennan and Riz's 2nd appearance within Short Diversions and I've plucked another tale from the master list of ideas. I had been saving it for a longer piece but couldn't quite fit it into anything at the moment. I may expand on it later (add more characters, flesh things out more etc...) but at least it'll be done in some form or another.
The folklore behind this piece isn't long, being about a paragraph in length, but I'm not going to talk about that now, as that'll spoil things!
Please enjoy the following tale.
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The Blue Scarf of Whitby
“Gawd! I’m bored!” Riz yelled, causing me to punch my pocket. It was the tenth time he’d complained as such and that was nine times too many. We were in Whitby, for a job that never materialised. I didn’t see any sense in heading back too soon so went for a wander around the shops. Riz objected of course, wanting me back in the office and searching for a job that would actually pay. In truth, his attitude was making me want to stay longer.
“A few more shops,” I whispered, joining the large crowd of people watching as the bridge opened up, with boats passing through.gracefully. I had eyes on going up to the abbey, and actually enjoying some time up there where I wouldn’t be fighting for my life. I’m owed that much, aren't I?
“Oh, come on! Ya mite blame me fer da job screw up, but let’s jus go home already!” Riz continued to plead, but I continued to ignore him. A nice day was meant to be enjoyed. Our little jaunt brought me to a little curiosity shop nestled snugly down one of the side alleys off the main road. Little was the right word it turned out, as the shop was tiny, barely big enough for three people, which was lucky as it was only me and the cashier there. Sensing it was quiet, Riz poked his head out of my pocket, giving the place a good sniff.
“Dis place smells odd,” he said as he started directing his nose all around the shop. The cashier hadn’t noticed yet, so I plonked Riz down on a low shelf to keep it that way.
“Right, I’m going to have a look around, don’t touch anything and stay out of sight. I’ll just be a minute.” As you can already guess, these were famous last words for me. With new found freedom, Riz darted off amidst the bricker brack, giving everything the once over. Now the cashier seemed to notice me:
“Why, hello there!” he said with unexpected quirkiness. “Come for anything in particular today?”
“I’m just browsing thanks,” I replied. I wasn’t trying to be rude, I just wasn’t in much of a mood for small talk. My response seemed to be a challenge to the cashier as he doubled down on his attempt to make conversation.
“Oh, you look like someone who has the world on his back, maybe you could do with some calming stones? Got them just last week,” he pointed to a statue of a buddha next to me, it’s outstretched palm holding two jade circular stones that glinted in the sunlight beautifully.
“No thanks, last time I tried anything like that, they were ground down to powder in a few days.”
“Very stressful life then?”
“You have no idea.”
“Hmm…I have other treasures you might be interested in.” There it was, the word that I wished had never been uttered. I didn’t need to see Riz to know that he would’ve heard it, a grin creeping across his face the whole time.
“Treasures? You mean, sentimental right? Nothing properly valuable?” I tried to discreetly look around for the rat, hoping that his never ending quest for treasure wouldn’t lead to any breakages that I would have to pay for.
“Of both kinds, depending on your point of view. Like that blue scarf up there, hanging on that doll.”
I cast my eyes up to where the cashier was directing me, and saw the scarf. It was a dark blue with an attached brooch. From what I could tell, it seemed to have gold stitchings running down its length and it did look like it would make a pretty gift for Valarie, if she cared about such things.
“Got quite the story about that scarf, I find that the more history an item has, the more valuable and precious it becomes. When it was first made, by the hands of some talented seamstress no doubt, it was one of many, but now? Now it’s practically one of a kind! A string of owners, strange circumstances surrounding each one as well…”
If the guy was wanting to get me more interested, he succeeded, that damn cocktail of strange circumstances. This was my undoing as I became distracted, and as such, didn’t notice a rat making his way up to the scarf. God knows what drew him to it, though it was probably the jewel in the brooch that was bigger than his head, and the gold stitchings.
“What do you mean by strange circumstances?” I inquired, oblivious to what was happening just next to me.
“Interested in it now are you? I must warn you, you should never wear it…” the cashier leaned in, probably thinking he was going to get a sale.
Before he could explain more though, we both turned our heads at the sound of a crash, as the dummy that once bore the scarf came crashing down.
“What on earth?” the cashier gasped. “Where’s the scarf?”
I noticed the scarf trailing out of the door, and before it disappeared, I caught a glimpse of the rat wearing it.
“A rat took the scarf,” I pointed at the door.
“The little thief! It has to be paid for first!” the cashier shook his fist.
“What happens if someone wears it? I asked quickly.
“What?”
“You said that I should never wear it, so what happens if someone does wear it?”
“Everyone who has worn it, has thrown themselves off Whitby Cliffs near the whale’s jawbone. Will probably be lost forever when the rat chucks itself off,” the cashier mused sadly. “One of my best talking pieces that was.”
“I’m going to get it back!” I shouted, and a second later, I was out on the street. Knowing where Riz’s final destination was to be gave me a slight advantage as I didn’t have to waste time looking for him straight away. I just had to get up there first. As I ran over the bridge, I overheard snippets of conversations, each one talking about the rat running off with a scarf, and how oddly it was walking, as if it was drunk. This was my second advantage, as it meant he was impaired by some process. I had a chance to save him, and I was taking it.
Once I was across the bridge I looked up to where I needed to be, and allowed my eyes to drift downward to the ground, wanting to see if I could snatch a sight of the scarf that was running away. Took me a moment for my focus to solidify as I Riz scurrying along, people giving him a wide berth. I held back from shouting out, it wouldn’t have done much aside from make me look like a crazy person. Then again, I was chasing a scarf wearing rat through the crowded streets of Whitby, so guess it was too late for that. I duly went after the rat again excusing my way past people as the crowds got inexplicably thicker. The next time I caught a glimpse of Riz, it was as he turned the corner of the road, and started uphill. I wasn’t that far behind him now. I was feeling pretty lucky that my job involved me regularly running around so much. I broke free out of the crowd and made up the hill, getting a few odd looks for my troubles. My progress was worth it though, as unlike before, Riz was firmly in my sights, and I was gaining on him, inch by inch. It was good timing, as ahead of me, I spotted the jawbones. I pushed myself more and more, till I had my best shot. I leapt with my arm outstretched. At first, I thought it had been in vain, as Riz seemed to speed up, his little rat legs getting some kind of boost. This led to him escaping my fingers, what doesn’t though, is the scarf itself, and I pulled it as hard as I could. I felt a resistance, as if the scarf itself wasn’t wanting to be parted from Riz, but between the rat’s forward movement and me, it wouldn’t last.
The scarf escaped Riz’s grasp and it sent him flying near the cliff’s edge while I held it at arm’s length, remembering that I shouldn’t wear it. Oddly, I thought I heard a woman’s voice, like a far off call. I couldn’t make out fully what she was saying but there was a temptation there, to put the scarf on for myself, and maybe then, I could hear what she was saying, what she wanted to tell me. Before I knew it, I had retracted my arm, bringing the scarf close to my neck, my fingers running over the brooch, and I was about to put it on, till a pair of sharp teeth sank into my leg.
“Dat waz fer almost knockin me off da bloody cliff ya frickin twat! Be more careful next time ya twazzock!”
That sharp jolt of pain was enough to bring me out of the trance, the woman’s voice retreating back into the scarf.
“Oh…OH! What the hell did you bite me for!” I shouted, trying to kick the rat off my leg.
“I’m fukin not repeatin maself. Nd put dat stupid scarf down, or ya gunna take a long walk off a short cliff!”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Dat gawdamn scarf is wat I’m talkin bout! Keep it at arms length! Sum clever dick put a curse on it!”
“A curse?”
“Aye, an old one at dat, must be at least two hundred years old, maybe a teensy bit olda.”
“Why would anyone curse a scarf?”
“Petty revenge? I mean, all my crap is cursed so if neone takes it den dey’re gunna ave a bad time.”
“Alice takes your stuff all the time.”
“Well, she’s different! We’re gettin off topic neway…Dis scarf is cursed, wear it, nd ya die.”
“Guess that’s why the shop keeper had it on such a high shelf.”
“He could ave fukin put a sign up sayin it waz cursed!”
“You wouldn’t have listened anyway!” I started walking back down the hill, the scarf as far away as I could manage, but even then, I was still feeling a tug at my consciousness, an urge to wear it.
“How embarrassin, u breath a wurd of dis ta neone, nd I’m gunna bite ya sumwhere a hundred times worse next time, ya hear me?” Riz wagged his little finger at me, and then crawled into my pocket, having had enough of being a public spectacle for one day.
A short while later, I had returned the scarf to the shop, not bothering to hand it to the cashier directly, I placed it back on the mannequin that had fallen, and then put it back to its position on the shelf. The cashier didn’t say a word to me as I did this, just watching and waiting with the eagerness of a child wanting to hear their favourite story.
“Well?” he finally asked as I turned to him.
“Well? Well what?” I returned the question, unsure of what he was asking me.
“What happened? Were you too late to save the rodent?”
“Unfortunately not.” I got bitten on my side for that comment.
“Ah, so the scarf wasn’t able to grow its tally? Maybe I should buy a glass box for it,” the cashier mused as he looked up at the scarf that simply sat there. “It’s funny isn’t it, how something so mundane can affect things more important than itself. It just sits there, as the world moves around it, yet things keep happening all the same. Maybe a bit like you?” the shop keeper said, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. Even Riz stopped what he was doing in my pocket to take notice of that.
“And what do you mean by that!” I stressed the last part and took a step back, but the cashier just gave a jovial laugh.
“I meant no harm, it’s just an observation, one that might be true of many people around here. We all affect things in our little ways, even if it’s not noticeable at first. No reason to get defensive!”
“Right…” I replied, still suspicious.
“Oh well, I’m going to close up early today, so if you don’t mind leaving so I can get cleaned up,” the cashier smiled gently.
“We should be going anyway,” I said heading out of the door. “However, you need to be careful with that Scarf. Lock it up, keep it out of sight, whatever. Just, make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
“Don’t worry Mr Brennan, I’ll make sure it won’t hurt anyone else, and do tell Riz that blue isn’t his colour! You two always keep me amused!”
“How did-” I couldn’t finish the sentence before I found myself outside the shop, the door locked tight.
“Who waz dat guy!” Riz asked, sticking his head out of my pocket.
I didn’t have an answer for him, how could I? I doubted that this would be the last time we’d see that cashier, however, I just had to hope that he was on our side…
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So, the folklore for this one starts with a man giving his lady love a Scarf that he, uhh, "acquired" it (he was a pirate), in a hotel on top of cliffs in Whitby. The woman admires its luxurious nature and never questions how the man got it. Then, while looking in the mirror, she starts screaming and runs out of the building, and straight off the cliff. It was said that she was driven insane by the scarfs previous owners last moments, a way to get even beyond the grave.
As you can see, there's not a lot to it really which meant I was going to add a lot to fit it into a short story...Which proved difficult at first, hence why I languished turning it into a proper short.
There was one element that only really got added to the end of the story, and it should be clear what (or should I say, who) that is. Yes, originally I was going to avoid the cliche of the cashier having some sort of knowledge of what was really going on, other than knowing a little about the legend, but words have a way of going in the direction they want to go, and thus, a new character is born. Of course, being in a blog only story doesn't mean much, so, I'll have to work on him further, identify who he really is, and then we'll see where we end up, exciting times right?
That's it for now, join me next week where I take a look at everything I written in August.
Till then,,,
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
Quick Links
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and Rat
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1
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