Tales of Enchantment

A Mess of a Feast

 Once upon a time, there were three travelers passing through the mountains and their valleys. There was Elmer, the driver. He steered the carriage, hopefully in the right direction. And riding in the carriage was his mother, Beatrice, and his young-aged daughter, Maggie. The family, dressed in their finest clothes rode through the land at its darkest hour. Elmer kept lanterns lit at both ends of the carriage to help him see. The sky was a deep violet color, stained only with white stars.

Beatrice kept a lantern by her of a peculiar shape. There were twists in the wiring and bulky little compartments along the bottom. She used it for night reading.

Maggie, the child, stared hopelessly out the window, waiting for something interesting to happen. And to her fortune, it did.

The carriage came to a halt as something unnatural crossed the path they were on. Goats or perhaps small yaks were walking on their hindlegs. Some carried poles with hanging lanterns on the end. Some carried silver platters with lids placed over them.

Elmer rubbed his eyes and cleaned his monocle just to make sure he was seeing clearly. Maggie rose from her seat, nearly sticking her whole self out the window, and Grandmother Beatrice closed her book and took a peek as well.

"My word," she spoke.

"What are they, grandmummy?" Maggie asked.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Beatrice thought, tapping her withered fingers on her wrinkly chin.

"They must be going somewhere," Elmer claimed and grabbed a lantern. He jumped down from the carriage and called the other two after him.

"Here we go again," Beatrice huffed as she followed Maggie out into the woods, going after the parade of goatmen.

The strange creatures led them to a small hamlet wherein the middle sat a heavy stone table. The few goatmen with the platters set their meals on the table and presented them, lifting the lids. There were roast birds, potatoes, and cooked vegetables. But the goatmen never ate any of it as long as the travelers watched them.

The goatmen gathered around the altar and as if it were summoned, a giant mouth opened in the night sky. A vortex with sharp teeth and a bottomless stomach. It reached down with its slithery tongue and ate the meals set out for it. It rumbled and growled, still hungry. The goatmen raised their hands (hooves) and clamored with bleeps and bahs. The mouth roared and subsided, vanishing into the stars. Once it was gone, the goatmen began to panic.

"What's going on, Poppa?" Maggie asked, hanging from his arm.

"I'm not sure.

Grandma Beatrice huffed. "Clearly, the goats feed the thing in the sky to keep it at bay, but now it's only grown hungrier," she explained in a rude but informative voice.

"You got all that from this?" Elmer wondered.

"It's called storytelling. I suggest you learn some."

Bah!

The travelers looked back from their viewing spot and saw a frankly large goatman standing behind them. Without so much as an explanation, it started pushing them towards the hamlet of other furry hooved citizens.

The goatmen, with little wings on their back and frog-like eyes, stared at the intruders. One bleeped but otherwise they just stared.

"Let's hope they don't sacrifice us," Beatrice whispered to Elmer who was alarmed by the idea.

The goatmen started rushing past them, bringing them along for the panicked walk. They passed the family's carriage, and when Elmer tried to walk away from the group, they turned his face forward to where they were heading. A stone building surrounded by torches. They stepped inside to find a kitchen, a warm, fully stocked, rustic kitchen. A goatmen stood with Elmer and his family and gestured a cooking motion, pretending to stir in a bowl.