Weekly Wordzzle Challenge # 189

I'm still going with the story of Fred Johnson, Paragon of Virtue and his adventures in the Kingdom of Sunday, which will hopefully draw to a close in a few more weeks or months. I still can't believe the story has been going on for more than six months. Amazing. 

Finally posting on Saturday afternoon. 4:00 pm. Had a tough time again this week. Sorry to be so late.

Here are links to the previous episodes.  If you need/want to catch up, click here for the 1st installment, 2nd installment, 3rd installment, 4th installment, 5th installment, 6th installment, 7th installment., 8th installment, 9th installment, 10th installment, 11th installment, 12th installment, 13th installment, 14th installment, 15th installment, 16th installment, 17th installment, 18th installment, 19th installment. 20th installment, 21st installment, 22nd installment, 23rd installment, 24th installment, 25th installment, 26th installment, 27th installment, 28th installment,...

Words for this week's 10-word challenge were:  brick wall, plumage, suspense, stripes, wheels, fire, augment, shrug, speculate, questions   And for the mini: melody, crank, broken, space, chill


My mega:

A chill went through the Paragon's entire being and his mind was immediately on fire with questions and an agonized sense of suspense as he instinctively began to speculate about what new peril was about to wash over them, what new brick wall they would be forced to pound their heads against. Quick as a flash, he crossed the space to where the wizard, McFlash, and dragon were standing, the wheels of his imagination spinning wildly, his sense of anxiety cranked to the max,  expecting some broken horror or monster to be dealt with. Imagine his surprise, then, to find not monsters, but two somewhat befuddled human beings trying to shrug off the stiffness of more than 30 years trapped in wooden bodies. Melody and Wallace Stripes were toy makers and were unsure as to why they had been caught in the elder Psycho's curse on them and their shop. Melody, for her part, seemed more excited by seeing a dragon with such beautiful "plumage" as she called Paraphrase's iridescent scales. "Come, my friends," the wizard said after a few moments. "We were about to eat. Perhaps some food will speed your recovery and help restore your memories. Hopefully, you will be able to help us reverse the monstrous evil that was done here, not just to you but to Count Psycho's mother, Amanda Purist. Your memories - as they return - may augment our ability to proceed wisely and to restore the Kingdom of Sunday to happier days.


My mini:

As they approached the others and a make-shift table now laden with wonderful delicacies prepared by Confetti, evil spell which had seem to permeate the old toy store seemed to be broken. Psycho and Bubbles happily made space for Melody and Wallace at the table and just the aroma of Confetti's magnificent meal seemed to take the chill out of the air. They ate mostly in a kind of peaceful silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Halfway through dessert, though, Melody Stripes whispered something to her husband and he nodded. Gazing at Psycho, she said "Can it be that you are the child of Lady Purist? Has that much time passed? Oh, my!"  And rising hurriedly from the table, she scurried off, muttering, "It must be here somewhere... it must..." She proceeded to rummage through the rotting and overturned toys until at last she came upon what appeared to be an old jack in the box. "Yes!"  Returning to the table, she excitedly turned the crank until the lid popped with a small whoosh.


And the 10-word:

There was a collective gasp of surprise as out popped - not a clown, but a small purple teddy bear, wearing a tiny, intricately woven shrug cape augmented with dragon scales and the plumage of a fire bird. "My bear!" Psycho exclaimed with child-like delight as Melody Stripes gently lifted the small toy out of its hiding place and handed it to him. "How on earth did you get it?" The suspense around the table was palpable. You could see mental wheels turning and questions forming in every mind as each tried to speculate on the meaning of this unexpected discovery. "Why, your mother gave it to me and begged me to hide it and return it to you. She was so kind I would never refuse her and was able to put it into the jack in the box while Wallace distracted them.  It was your father, Count, and two others I did not recognize. They pushed her to the brick wall at the back of our shop, but first, one of them painted something (he seemed like he was under a spell or something) on it and the other spoke strange words and put some kind of potion on each of the corners, I think. They remembered our presence then and that is the last thing I remember until today. Your mother seemed to think the bear was very important. I'm sorry I was not able to return it sooner." Tears trickled from the Count's eyes. "You were kind to her when she most needed help and you have paid a heavy price. You have nothing to apologize for, Mrs.Stripes. I am forever in your debt."  Turning to the wizard and the dragon, he said. "I suppose I must hand him over to you now. I think this cape is something my mother added. I don't remember it at all."

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge:  Solitude, improved, flowers, amazing, tile, round table, flag, splash, cape, crimson 

And for the mini: value, iron, easy, details, library

Thanks you for playing.  Newcomers can check here for some guidelines to make the game more fun. There are no rules, just some general guidelines and tricks.