Once upon a time there was a great man called King Curtis, who ruled over a small, but prosperous kingdom, called Fewermore. The kingdom had a diverse populace, but there were also a long list of tournaments the King created for his people to keep them entertained.

King Curtis, a man of the people, for the people, usually participates in these so-called tournaments. Thus, he was worshiped as a loved figure. These tournaments also had people from neighbouring kingdoms to participate, so it was great for kingdom to kingdom relationships.

Despite what some say, the King of Fewemore didn't just create his prosperous kingdom overnight. No, King Curtis had to face many trials before he could grow into the man who would one day create his own kingdom. It all started when Curtis met the man known as Von Paulus...

Chapter One: Von Paulus

Curtis, a young boy of fifteen, woke up with a yawn. He rose from the haystack he had been sleeping in to walk outside, he watched the sun rise with a big smile on his face.

His father, Durtis, appeared from behind the barn, straw hat on top and a pitchfork in hand.

"Curtis, are you slacking off?" His father Durtis asked, his eyebrows becoming increasingly more bushy.

"Dad, I just woke up." Curtis said in his defense. "Isn't the weather lovely?"

"If you have time to enjoy the weather, then you have time to help your mother in the kitchen!" Durtis said as he spat on the ground and waved his pitchfork aggressively. "Now, off with you!" Curtis obeyed and legged it over to his house, parked right next to the barn. As he disappeared inside, his mother Hurtis greeted him with a warm smile.

"Oh Curtis, good morning my boy." Hurtis said, a smile so warm she was glowing.

"Stop it, mom. It's so bright, I can't see!" Curtis complained.

"Oh, sorry." Hurtis said and toned down the photosensitivity. "Is it better now, hun?"

"Much better." Curtis said with a smile. He noticed that his mother was preparing breakfast. "So.... Dad told me to help."

"That's sweet of you, my son, but I'm a strong woman and can do this on my own." His mother explained, a warm smile on her face. "Why don't you go out and play until breakfast is ready?"

"Sure, mom." Curtis headed outside with excitement, ready to enjoy a full day out in the fields with no responsibilities, just fun. He soon found himself in the fields, located half a mile from where his house stood. The old oak tree that he used to climb, stood on top of a small hill in the middle of the field, like a king among greens. He reached the tree, and immediately started to climb it. There was no time to wait. As he reached further up into the tree, he suddenly found a hooded stranger, sleeping on one of the branches.

"What's this?" He asked, and poked the person sleeping on the branch with a stick. The man kept on snoring so Curtis moved the stick closer to his face and tried to push it into his nose.

"Stop it." The man muttered under his breath and swatted the stick away from his face.

Curtis then lost his patience and rolled the man off the branch, he landed on the soft grass with a thud and awoke with a scream.

"ARGHHHH! WHAT THE HELL!?" He shouted, now completely awake. He looked up and saw how Curtis looked down on him from the branch up above. "That hurt, you little shit!"

"What were you doing on my tree?" Curtis asked the man, ignoring the fact that the man was in pain.

"Your tree?" The cloaked man asked, confused.

"Yes, I found it first, therefore, it is my tree." Curtis explained.

"My mistake." The man said with a laugh, slowly regaining his calm. "I never knew this tree was a property of someone else." He paused. "Anyway, it seems like we got off on the wrong foot. My name's Von Paulus." Paulus said and pulled back his hood, revealing his face.

"I'm Curtis, son of Durtis." Curtis said with a smile. "You're welcome to borrow my tree anytime you want, as long as you pay me rent."

"Sounds like a fair bargain." Paulus replied.

Chapter Two: The Key

Curtis reaches down a small compartment hidden inside the body of the great oak tree and fishes out a fresh and juicy apple. As Curtis bites down into the apple, Von Paulus climbs back up on the tree effortlessly and meets young Curtis back up on the branch.

"So what did you have in mind for rent?" Paulus asked Curtis, as the young boy methodically devoured the apple.

"Do you have any gold on you?" Curtis asked. "I hear nothing's more valuable than gold."

"I don't have gold, but I do have this..." Paulus smiled as he fished out something of great value from his pocket, a key made out of diamond.

"What's that?" Curtis asked, looking at the thing Paulus held in his hand. "Is it valuable?"

"It's a diamond key." Paulus explained. "It's very valuable, and not just because it's made out of diamond." Paulus paused. "No, the diamond key is the only way to open the diamond door."

"The diamond door?" Curtis asked, confused as well as curious.

"Within this room, there lies a treasure even more valuable than gold. It is said that it is the most valuable thing in the world." Paulus explained.

"This sounds too good to be true!" Curtis exclaimed. "If you give me the key, you can stay for as long as you want."

"Deal." Paulus said and handed Curtis the key.

"So where is this diamond door?" Curtis asked, while holding the key.

"I once met a man who had seen it." Paulus explained. "In fact, he was the same man who gave me that key in the first place."

"Where can I find this man?" Curtis asked.

"I actually met him on my way here. He lived in a cabin deep within the Misty Forest, three hours ride that way." Paulus pointed towards a forest far off into the distance, protected by a ring of mountains.

"I should be able to make it to this mysterious forest and be home before dinner." Curtis told himself before he suddenly jumped down from the branch and landed on the ground below, safe and sound. "Take care of the tree for me while I'm gone!" Curtis told Paulus before he began to run back home, in search of one of his father's horses he could borrow.

"You don't have to worry about a thing!" Paulus shouted back as Curtis ran off into the distance. "I'll take care of it, like it was my own tree."

He looked around, fished an apple up from Curtis's compartment within the tree and bit down into it hard. It was a very tasty apple.

"Alright then." Paulus said with a smile as he picked up a saw from a backpack he had been hiding within his robes. "Time to get to work."

Chapter Three: Writer's Block

Curtis eventually reached the stable where all his father's horses had been stationed and acquired a brown stallion called Slacker. He led Slacker outside the stable, climbed on top, and rode off towards the Misty Forest before his father could see him. After spending up to almost two hours on horseback, Curtis eventually reached the Misty Forest, or more precisely, the mountain in its path.

"Alright, Slacker." Curtis told Slacker, eyeing the mountain defiantly. "I guess we gotta find a way to climb this bad boy." Slacker neighs disapprovingly.

"You're right." Curtis agreed. "It's not gonna be easy."

Curtis jumped off his horse and casually walked over to the edge of the mountain, Slacker leaned down and started to chew on the grass.

"Here we go." Curtis told himself as he started to climb the steep mountainside, only to fall down as soon as he began. "Damn it, this is steep." Curtis complained as he got back up in order to try again, only to fail all the same. After a few more failed attempts, Curtis turned to his horse Slacker, enjoying his time chewing some grass.

"Slacker, you do it." Curtis ordered, but the horse ignored him, the grass was just too good.

Curtis sighed, and looked around, only to find a small path in the middle of the mountain, to his left. "Hey look, I found an entrance."

Curtis climbed back on his horse and galloped towards the entrance at a steady pace, it was a small crack in the mountain of some sort, riddled with mist. Curtis put on his brave face as he and Slacker rode into the mist, at a trot. It didn't take long until Curtis arrived at the Misty Forest, a mysterious forest covered in a deep, thick mist.

"We finally made it, Slacker." Curtis told his horse. "The Misty Forest." He paused, looking at the marvel of the mysterious forest with awe. "Now... where to find this cabin?"

"Excuse me!" A woody voice suddenly interrupted. "You, up there!"

Curtis looked down and found a block of wood staring back at him, it was situated in the middle of the path. Curtis stared back at it for the longest time, not sure if it was appropriate to give it the time of the day or not.

"You can talk?" Curtis eventually asked, and climbed down from his horse as soon as the confusion had settled.

"Of course I can talk!" The block of wood spat, woodchips flying out from its mouth. "My name is Writer's Block, I'm here to put a stop to this once and for all!"

"Put a stop to what?" Curtis asked, confused.

"To this story, of course!" Writer's Block said. "You don't think the narrator has got better things to do than to write a stupid story about magic forests and diamond keys!? No, I must do what I can to put an end to this madness! It's time to end this nonsense! There are more important things at play here!"

"Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" Curtis asked, scratching his head.

"Just leave, leave now and go back to your old way of life, not this diamond key nonsense." Writer's Block sighed. "Try to get a job at 7/11 or Taco Bell, earn some money, smoke some grass, eat some ass. You do you, get me?"

"What if I don't want to get a job at Taco Bell?" Curtis answered defiantly. "What if I want to reach the end of the rainbow and find the treasure?"

"You can try, but you won't succeed." Writer's Block said victoriously. "I can keep you here for months, I am the almighty Writer's Block." The block of wood laughed, throwing its branches up in the air. "All I need to do is appear, and the narrator will be unable to continue his story! I am so powerful that-"

In a flash, Writer's Block was chopped in half by an axe. Curtis looked over and found a man appear from the mist, axe in hand.

"Hello there." The man said, clad in casual woodcutter gear. He had a relatively strong build, short brown hair, and a majestic beard. "You also out collecting wood?" He asked.

"Well, not quite." Curtis said. "I'm actually looking for a certain someone in a cabin somewhere around here."

"Oh, that's me." The man said. "My name's Patrick, I live in a cabin not far from here."

Curtis put on the biggest smile humanly possible. "Nice to meet you." He said and extended a hand. "My name's Curtis." Patrick met the hand with an even larger hand, and shook it.

"Alright Curtis." Patrick said with a smile. "What can I do you for?"

Possibly!

I forgot all about this story lol.

Gmaj7 @ 16/4/2021 17:02

So Weeping Willows have a chess champion on lead vocals?

I started to listen to them recently. So I'm not super knowledgeable about their group. Similar names though. First one's a swede, the other one's a norwegian.