In the land of Childhood Dreams, there is a legend that tells of a Golden Egg. Whoever eats this egg becomes incredibly beautiful and will live a long, happy life. The Golden Egg lies hidden in the ancient Chicken Temple deep in the rainforest and guarded by angry roosters, who love nothing more than gouging the eyes out of careless opponents and anyone else who walks by…

Chapter 1

Thomas Puddlespoon Visits The Capital

Thomas Puddlespoon entered the capital in high spirits. After walking along dusty roads for the past week, nothing could be more appealing than a soft bed at the nearest inn — unless it was a tall glass of iced water. First, however, he would have to raise the funds to pay for the bed, so he went straight to work.

He found the marketplace easily enough. It’s not the sort of place that is normally hard to find, and since it was late afternoon, the market was filled with a crowd trying to finish their shopping before the stalls all closed. In the marketplace, he started browsing — only he wasn’t browsing the stalls selling jewelry, foods, and clothes. He browsed the shoppers around him. There were mothers trying to herd their children through the crowd, boys looking for trinkets to give to their true loves, and men looking for a snack after a long workday.

Thomas found what he was looking for when he saw the noble meandering through the crowd. The noble’s robes held a million shades of blue, and his fingers held a million rings. A lone servant in a plain brown tunic, leggings, and worn boots followed along after the noble. As Thomas watched, the lord reached into a pocket and pulled out a coin. He gave it to the servant, who ran off towards a stall selling roasted nuts.

Thomas smiled. Could there be a more succulent prey? He ambled up beside the noble, bumping him slightly as he passed. The noble turned red and whirled on Thomas.

“Oh, I am so sorry, m’lord!” Thomas exclaimed before the noble could cause a commotion. He wasn’t really sorry, but the commotion would have made it harder to escape. “I am sooo clumsy,” he continued, bowing and scraping before the noble. “I must apologize. I was deep in thought and didn’t see your lordship standing there.” Thomas pulled a coin out of his own, now heavy, pocket. “Perhaps I could buy you some roasted nuts as a token of my deep regret.”

The noble stammered and hesitated a moment, not sure what to do. This peasant was clearly regretted the great offense of  bumping into nobility and didn’t need the usual talking down to. As the noble tried to decide what to say, his servant appeared with the nuts.

“My thanks to you lad,” said Thomas. He handed the coin to the servant, whose eyes grew large, and he took the nuts. Before the servant could protest, Thomas handed the nuts to the noble. “Here you are, m’lord. And may I again convey how deeply regretful I am to have inconvenienced you?” With one last bow, Thomas slipped back in the crowd, laughing to himself. The nobleman might just be baffled enough to let the servant keep the coin.

Thomas Finds A Room

Thomas found a tavern near the city gate. After eating supper and renting a room for the night, Thomas sat down on the bed. It was hard, and the sheets probably hadn’t been washed, but there was a roof over his head.

Thomas pulled the noble’s money pouch out of his pocket. He knew from the weight that he had scored big, but he preferred to know how big before he planned his next move. The pouch contained five gold coins and twenty silvers, plus a small golden ring. Thomas slipped the ring onto his left pinky. It fit perfectly. The ring didn’t have any etching or adornments. No wonder the noble hadn’t been wearing it. It would be too plain for a lord. But why carry it in the first place?

Oh, well. It didn’t really matter. The coins would be enough to last Thomas for a week, a month if he was responsible, but who wanted to be responsible on their first visit to the capital?

As Thomas fell asleep that night, his mind planned an itinerary for the next week. It was full of food tasting, sight-seeing, and buying souvenirs to send back home to his mother and brothers. He could even buy himself a new outfit if he got ambitious.

To be continued…