CAPE HOOLERTHUND; THE HANDS OF TIME

What are the kolossimous scrolls?

Mia and Mr. Bear continued down the long stone path and made it all the way to the end of it where there was another arched doorway that led into a room. They walked in and there were ticks and tocks coming from everywhere. The room was full of clocks. It was a stone room with a high ceiling, a slender waterfall to the left whose waters looked like they were glowing with a faint white light and pools of different shapes and sizes scattered across the floor, and the clocks were everywhere; on the floor, in the pools, on the walls and behind the waterfall; beautifully designed old antique clocks of different shapes, sizes and materials, mostly rocks and minerals. There were clocks made of copper, marble, quartz, amethyst, silver, talc and many others, and they were beautifully displayed. On the walls also were more fire torches burning a bright flame and so Mia and Mr. Bear had more than enough light to see the wonder they had stepped into; a wonder that swept them both off their feet.

"My goodness," Mr. Bear said as they both just stood there looking around; just what manner of creation had they stepped into?

"Welcome," a deep voice said and both their eyes shifted to where the voice came from and behold there was a man standing there. A man of about seventy years with a long beard and even longer hair; hair as white as snow with not a single blemish in it. And he was wearing a traditional dress that resembled that of the Chinese Qin Dynasty; light grey and with golden detail. "Welcome to the cave of time. My name is Galagus . . . I am the time keeper," he then said and Mia and Mr. Bear after looking at each other took a few steps towards him.

"You're the one who brought me here," Mia said; not just refering to her being physically in the cave but in that time, a time that was obviously not hers.

"Yes I am."

Her eyes began to water. "I'm getting married tomorrow."

"I am aware of that," Galagus said.

"So why am I here?"

"Because there is something of the gravest importance you have been called to do . . . And only when it is done can you return."

"Gosh, I should be freaking out about this," she said; with so much calm in her voice like she wasn't so far away from home. "Why am I not freaking out about this?"

"Because this is not your first time here."

"What?" Her heart almost dropped out of her chest. "I've been here before."

"Not this you, another version of you, the version of you that nominated this you to do this on his behalf," Galagus said.

"Capt. Jules?"

"Capt. Jules," he repeated and Mia felt even more at peace than she was before. She was in a whole new time; she should have been losing her mind and freaking out but she wasn't. For someone who had travelled back in time she was strangely poised.

"What did he nominate me to do?"

"To answer that question I must first tell you the story of what happened for this moment to come to be. It was not so long ago, five years back, Mr. Bear remembers the times." Mr. Bear nodded in agreement. "It was a time when pirates ruled these waters. Pirates among who were Capt. Grovergane, Capt. Mohlenar and Capt. Jules. Each one of them going about their businesses, taking what they could, wherever they could. And for years they existed in these waters together; of course their paths crossed and they fought but lives were never lost. It was like they had some form of agreement. They would steal from each other; pieces of gold, rum and pretty much anything they had on board, but they wouldn't hurt each other's crews. It was a respect they had for one another. Enemies but at the same time allies. And for years this was how they lived until there came a time when everything changed. A new pirate came onto the scene . . . His name . . . Capt. Zedarh. He wasn't like the other pirates, he was something else. He was ruthless and brutal; evil, with nothing but a cold and dark abyss where his heart used to be. He didn't spare crews like the three pirates did he killed everyone; he would take hold over their ships and slaughter them. He wouldn't even give them the choice of joining his crew he would just kill them. Capt. Zedarh was a savage and he brought nothing but chaos, war and bloodshed to these waters. He heard of the three pirates that had been thriving in these waters, and after he had taken down the smaller ones, he decided to go for them. He started to search the waters for them, wanting to kill them and take full command of the ocean. Word got around and when this word reached them they decided to form a trust. They decided to work together to take Capt. Zedarh out before he did them. There was a pirate port called Capt. Hoolerthund and that was where the fight was to be. He showed up with the three ships he commanded; one was manned by him and the other two, by his commanders, she-witches as loyal as dogs, ready to lay their lives on the line just for him. The war began and it was a massacre. The three pirate's men tried to stand their ground but it was hopeless; they were vastly outnumbered and fighting Capt. Zedarh's men was like fighting animals, savage just like their captain. There was only one way to win that war and that was to kill Capt. Zedarh and Capt. Jules took it upon himself to do it. The two pirates fought each other and even though they were evenly matched swordsmen, one of them finally got the upper hand. Capt. Jules stabbed Capt. Zedarh right through his heart but not before he stabbed him in his stomach. He died instantly but Capt. Jules still had a little life left in him, the very little life he used to call out to me. My duty is to protect the cave of time, to monitor and ensure that time flows as commanded from the heavens above and to counter the attacks of darkness on the people of earth. I have been gifted with the gift of sight and so where you see clocks I see people's day to day lives. This is the authority that has been bestowed upon me and every single day I uphold it. I am a watchman assigned to look after the people of earth and to save them whenever their lives have been placed in danger by evil forces. I am to look attentively and listen carefully so that the lives of those in danger can be saved before it's too late. I summon the knights of the light and they're dispatched from the heavens to save those in need, and when they get there it's not just about saving them it's about fighting the forces of darkness at work. They're not very powerful but they're many which makes them dangerous; and it is during that battle of good versus evil that lives end up being lost. That was what happened to Capt. Jules. Capt. Zedarh had so much darkness around him that by the time the light defeated it it was too late. Capt. Jules was on his last breaths when he uttered something that shook me to my core, something that made me bring him here with not a second to spare. He didn't have much time left but because time moves very slowly in here, his eminent death was slowed down long enough for him to say what he needed to say."

"What did he say?" Mr. Bear asked.

"He told me of Capt. Zedarh's wicked plan; that once he had killed the last of the pirates these waters were going to be his and with the power he had come into possession of, he wasn't just going to rule these waters . . . He was going to rule the entire world."

"What possession was it?" Mia asked; looking at him as though trying to remember. The conversation they shared in that moment was one of the memories that flooded her mind. She could see Capt. Zedarh standing before her in her mind but she couldn't make out what he was saying. His lips were moving but what was he saying?

"The kolossimous scrolls," Galagus answered; the mere mentioning of the words sending a cold shiver down his spine. Even the look in his eyes changed.

Mr. Bear's expression changed also but not in the way Galagus's did; it was more in the lines of being caught in between.

"The Kolossimous scrolls? . . . Those are a myth," Mr. Bear said.

"Oh no Mr. Bear, they most certainly are not," Galagus said.

"What are the kolossimous scrolls?" Mia asked; she knew what they were and at the same time she didn't. It was like trying to remember something she knew she knew but just didn't know where to find.

"They are ancient wordings that describe how to summon the kolossimous."

"What is the kolossimous?"

"It is a colossal beast that has the power to destroy the world," Galagus answered. "It was conjured into existence by a man named Cryptosh; using powers he summoned from the dark realm. He wanted to use it to destroy all good in the world but he was fought by the knights. He was killed and because the creature was connected to him it started to die as well. But not before he used the last of his powers to make the scrolls; the scrolls that once read will not only summon the creature but summon Cryptosh's spirit from the realm of the dead."

"Oh dear, and those scrolls are out there somewhere?" Mr. Bear asked.

"Not just out there Mr. Bear . . . The kolossimous scrolls are on Capt. Zedarh's secret island, in his cave of treasures. And if someone stumbles upon them and reads the words that are on them . . . They will summon the kolossimous. The spirit of Cryptosh will possess them and the kolossimous will be unleashed upon the earth."

"Oh my gosh," she said breathless; she didn't know much about the kolossimous but she was very familiar with the fear of it that suddenly came over her. It was the very fear that came over Capt. Jules that night.

"This was a matter that needed to be handled much, much sooner but you were not ready. But now . . . You are," Galagus said. "You were the one nominated Mia so it is only you who can do this. This exact version of you graces the planet every five hundred years so this must be done now. If it is not done now then another five hundred years must come to pass for that version of you to be ready to do this and that is too much time. It is a miracle that Capt. Zedarh's island hasn't been found after all these years, thinking the same will happen for the next five hundred years will certainly be us playing with fire. This must be done and it must be done now. So going back to your question captain, what he nominated you to do is to get to Capt. Zedarh's island, find those scrolls and destroy them."

"But you just said his island is secret."

"Yes it is," Galagus said. "Only one person has ever found its true location."

A brightness came to Mia's eyes. "Capt. Jules."

"That's right Capt. Jules. He knew the location of the island . . . Which means so do you," he said. "Don't worry about the evil forces that will try and stop you, the Almighty has already dispatched the knights that have been assigned to protect you; you will not see them but they will be there. You just focus on what you're out there to do. Form a trust with your allies once more, find that island and burn those scrolls."

"Aye."

Mia stood bolder than she had ever stood. It wasn't her boldness but she claimed it as though it were. Capt. Jules had entrusted this quest to her and she was going to see to it that it be fulfilled.