The grendels stared stupidly at each other for a few minutes. Oozle had thought that he was the only grendel on Albia. Umaumaarg had never seen a grendel not of his clan. They approched each other and circled each other warily. At the same moment, they let their fists fly, nailing each other square on the jaw. *grah!*
"Who're you? Where did you come from?!" Oozle said, his hang over now dissappated due to the punch.
"I should be asking you the same thing" Umaumaarg growled, "I rule this island and everything on it!"
Oozle carefully looked over the orange grendel. By his looks, he was a spring chicken compared to Oozle. He obvisously hadn't been around Albia as much as Oozle had. Maybe he could use that to his avantage......
"Hmmm, not bad for a KID...." the alcoholic grendel trawled.
"Wadda'ya mean?" the techincolored grendel said warily.
"Well, ruling over the island is not a bad thing, but.... there is so much more to the world than a single desert island..... Imagine what you could do if you set your sights higher....." the less than angelic grendel said.
Umaumaarg was not sure what to think of this stranger anymore. His instincts had told him to chase this being away in defense of his harem and young at first. Then another voice in his head told him to hold off any further attacks and listen to what the creature had to say. Now he was confused and therefore, very prone to suggestion. Just what Oozle had hoped for. Now he needed to move in.
"You're young yet, you have not been around a while like me. Why don't we go and discuss this over a coconut?" the decitful grendel said.
"Um... okay..." Umaumaarg said no longer sure of himself.


Aaron's blood was boiling. He was in the tree house just above the top level of the desert island spying on the grendels as it was his shift. He had seen what he had thought he would never see again. The banished grendel (Oozle). The sight of that evil animal had brought up long buried memories that Aaron had hoped he never would remember again. His little sister......
Against his wishes, the memory came to the surface. His parents had gone off to get some food for the soon to be hatched baby norn and had told him to stay behind and watch the egg. Aaron hadn't minded a bit. He was fascinated by the just barely visible shape moving inside the shell. He knew he was not to touch the egg as it would put the baby inside into hibernation.
"It's going to be a girl, you know."
"What?" Aaron said.
"The baby is going to be a girl, I checked." Goddess said, "Stay here, I have to go get the language books."
He was going to have a sister? That meant that the egg was close to hatching if the hand could tell the gender of the baby! He was getting excited, he knew what the baby was before his parents and the hand was getting the language books! He did a happy little dance. When he finished dancing, he heard tiny crackling noises. He sat back and watched with a goofy smile on his face.
A little baby girl norn that looked just like Aaron hobbled out of her shell. Then something bad happened. Strolling into the kitchen was the grendel. He looked like he was in a very bad mood. The evil monster's ruby eyes caught sight of the newborn. He let out a hedious giggled and punched the hatchling. Aaron ran up and kicked the beast vicously. The thing giggled and then picked him up and flung him across the room. Aaron thudded painfully against the incubator. The grendel returned to the frightened hatchling, who was running as fast as she could away. The beast caught up with her easily and proceeded to punch her more and more. Aaron ran up to defend her several times, each time being flung painfully across the room on a crash course with the incubator.
The baby was a quivering mass of fear when Goddess came upon the scene and saw Aaron hurt, the grendel hovering near the baby and screamed a blood thirsty scream when the baby let out one, final moan and died. If the anger of Goddess could have been expressed as a picture, it would have been enough to make a demon look like an angel. She laid into the murderer with all her might plus a LOT extra given to her by anger.
"YOU MONSTER! I'LL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HECK FOR THIS!!!"
She grabbed the thing by it's tail (which made it squeal like a pig) and flung him into the the wall several times. He was severely battered.
Goddess didn't oughtright kill the grendel, she flung him down the shaft of the obsevatory lift (thump!) and put force fields in place to keep him from escaping and left him there. Goddess took a few hours to cool off. She woud NEVER forgive that grendel.
It took Aaron and his family a very long time to recover from the tradgedy. Sandy, his mother was never quite the same again. His father, Tam, never left Aaron unsupervised again. Aaron never forgot what that grendel looked like, scar on the cheek and all. He swore during his recovery that he would make Oozle (the murderer) pay.
Here was the monster, down below, alive and chatting with others of his kind, while his only sibling was dead, never having gotten to see the faces of her parents! Anger ripped open Aaron's old "wounds". His blood was as hot as magma. He decided to report to the general.


"You what?!" General Flib said.
"I saw Oozle on the island, plotting with an ornage grendel." Aaron said.
"Oozle is in the picture now? Things have gone from looking odd to worrisome." the general said. "Call every norn capable of fighting, we're having a meeting." Flib added, his brow deeply furrowed.

*******************************************************************
Can Aaron control himself after seeing Oozle? What will this mean for his son, Fren? Will Umaumaarg fall to the enticements of Oozle?
Stay tuned for: A NORN'S TALE, PART 6!

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