A Note from the Real Author
John is the fictional father of two kids that would rather play video games than read the Bible. They think it’s boring, so John wrote them a story to convince them otherwise. They said they wanted a story of dragons, swords, magic, adventure, romance, and more. So John sat down to write . . .
Jared Dees
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The Adventurer: Part 4
Chapter 8
The innkeeper shouted to the Adventurer and the boy over the crowd. “Get out of my inn now! I don’t want your magic here!”
The Adventurer stood up. The boy stood with him. They made their way through the crowd of people to the door. The boy heard whispers of amazement along the way.
The crowd of people continued to spread out into the street. It looked like everyone in the village was there to see to the excitement.
A gentlemen road up to the boy and the Adventurer on a horse. He wore a badge with the insignia of the emperor on this chest. The boy saw the people around them look with disgust at the man. One older man even spit on the ground at the horse’s feet.
The man was about to address the two of them when suddenly the Adventurer said, “Follow me.”
This caught the man off guard, but the expression on his face changed. He looked around at the crowd of people, none of whom looked back with any expression of good will.
The man stepped down off the horse. “I am an official of the emperor. On his behalf, I wish to know your business here.”
The crowd’s anger could no longer be contained.
“Spy!” shouted someone near the inn.
“Thief!” shouted another.
“Traitor!” said one more.
The man just looked down in shame. The Adventurer lifted up his chin and said again, “Follow me.”
The man looked at the Adventurer then down at the badge of the emperor. He tore it from his chest and tossed it to the ground.
“Where are you staying?” he asked the Adventurer.
The boy answered for him, “We have nowhere to stay. The innkeeper kicked us out.”
“You are welcome in my home,” the man said. “My name is Theodore.”
The Adventurer accepted the offer. Theodore showed them the way to his home. The crowd of people from the village inn continued to follow close behind. Not all of them were happy about this.
“Sir!” they heard a man shout. “Why do you join this sinner? Are you for or against the emperor?”
“He has joined this spy and traitor. He must be one of the emperor’s loyalists!” said someone in the crowd.
“But the traitor ripped off the badge of the emperor. He must be planning to overthrow and oppose him with this magic powers,” said another.
The Adventurer paused and turned to the crowd. By this time they were just outside of Theodore’s home.
“You call this man a sinner. I have come to call the sinners. The greatest heroes of this age have no need of me, but the weak do. It is to them that I was sent and to them that I will go,” said the Adventurer.
With that they entered into the home of Theodore and had dinner with him and his friends.
Chapter 9
In the morning, the boy found Theodore making breakfast.
“Where is the Adventurer?” he asked the man.
“He rose early before dawn,” Theodore replied.
“Is he gone?” asked the boy.
“Gone? No, but he said to join him after you woke up. Eat this and let’s go.” he replied.
The two of them ate quickly and set out to find the Adventurer.
“So did he tell you what our quest is yet?” Theodore asked.
“No, I still don’t know where we are going or what we are doing. I don’t even have any weapons yet,” replied the boy.
“Strange. I just assumed he would lead us out on some great quest. I used to be an adventurer, too, you know. I couldn’t fight very well and didn’t find enough treasure to support myself. That’s why I started working for the emperor as a tax collector,” said Theodore.
“My parents are adventurers and so is my brother. I haven’t seen them in a long time. I’ve been managing the house since they left. This is my first chance at an adventure,” said the boy.
“Maybe we will run into them during our quest,” said Theodore.
“Yeah, maybe,” said the boy.
“Look, there he is,” said Theodore pointing to a crowd of people.
“Wow, they came from all over. Hardly any of these people are from this village,” he continued.
As they got closer, they saw that the Adventurer was healing many wounded heroes. Some of those that were brought before him looked like the heroes who were tormented by demons. Like he had done before, the Adventurer used his staff to cast them out and send them away.
There continued to be naysayers from among the crowd. One stood before the crowd and announced, “He fights against the fiends and sends them away. He even speaks with them! Don’t follow this man. He must be using their own powers against them!”
The Adventurer replied, “I heal these fallen heroes and fight against the fiends. I am of a different kingdom, a new kingdom. They are from another kingdom that you cannot see and I do not belong to it.”
“What kingdom is this that you will rule?” said one of the people he healed.
“My kingdom is already beginning, but not here yet. You are all welcome in the kingdom if you choose to follow me,” said the Adventurer.
Some of the people in the crowd showed excitement. Others looked scared.
The Adventurer surveyed the crowd. With his staff he pointed to a number of the heroes there. None of them looked particularly impressive in their armor and gear. No one would have gathered this party for a quest of any great difficulty.
They came forward and the Adventurer said, “I need knights for my kingdom who will go out and proclaim a message of hope to the people, but beware. You will also fight against the fiends that sow lies and discord in the world. I ask you: Will you follow me?”
There was no hesitation. Each one shouted, “Yes, Lord!”
Then the Adventurer turned to the boy and to Theodore. “And you?”
“Yes, Lord, I will follow you,” said Theodore.
The boy looked around. He felt so very small with all this attention. He had never been the one to shine. “Yes, Lord,” he said finally.
“Good,” said the Adventurer. “Let us be on our way. There is much to do.”
The boy looked around at the chosen ones numbered twelve in all. He had never had friends before. He hoped that these new knights would welcome him even if he was still just a boy.
The party set out following the Adventurer on the road.
A Conversation about Part 4 of The Adventurer
“The Twelve Apostles!” shouted John’s son when he finished the story.
“Yep, that’s right. What did you think of the followers he picked?” the father asked his children.
“They weren’t the greatest heroes,” said his daughter.
“Yeah, they were weak. People didn’t like them either. They hated Theodore,” his son said.
“Good. So, what does that say about the people that follow Jesus today? Do we have to be perfect?” he asked.
“I guess not. Is this what the Apostles were like?” asked the daughter.
“They certainly weren’t perfect. In fact, if you look closely at their stories in the gospels, they constantly make mistakes. These are the leaders of the Church and yet the gospels repeatedly show their imperfections.”
“Maybe we don’t have to worry about being perfect all the time then?” said the daughter.
“Jesus calls us no matter how weak we are,” said the son.
“And he fills in the weaknesses and makes them strengths as long as you stay close to him,” said the father.
“So what’s next in the story?” asked the son.
“They set out on their quest. It should be becoming more clear now,” John said to his kids.
“If it isn’t to overthrow the emperor, then what is his quest?” asked the daughter.
“You will have to wait and see,” John said with a smile.
To Be Continued . . .
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