The 7 Keys of Thomas Green: The Key of Enof

By Mark Bolton

When his friend Albert died leaving him a very special key, Thomas Green realized his life was to change from the mundane trudge of a poor existence, to a complete plethora of adventures. What would it be like to have the ability to travel from one world to another? To just disappear without a trace, to live adventures beyond your imagination. Thomas Green an ordinary man can do all this and more with the help of a key he obtained purely by chance. There is a catch however, There are seven keys and if Thomas fails to find the remaining six held in amazing worlds parallel to this one. Thomas will come to the same fate that befell his dear friend Albert.

Can he find the keys in time? Embroiled in the mystery of his own mortality he has to understand what it is to be mortal. The cultures, beliefs and dangers of the creatures he meets during his travels introduce him to more and more adventure. A journey beyond all that is real.

The key of Enof lies through a portal that only the key Thomas holds can open. He must retrieve the key of Enof. But so many perils lay in his path. The help from a small grabbit gnome named Stalta begins to make his journey easier. But when a selfish twist of fate rears its ugly head things become so much more difficult. However a prophecy brings help from a warrior breed that have tried to fight an evil ruling their land for an age. The Seeker is their Prophecy and to them Thomas is the Seeker.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jan 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456862350

Mark Bolton

Born in Kingston upon Hull England and raised in a small Yorkshire Village. Mark from a young age would make up stories to entertain his peers. This he continued into his adult life. When he became a father in 1991 he would write short stories and read them to his son. Stories written for his older audience became very elaborate and full of twists and turns that kept people captivated and wanting more. However, Mark openly admits he has never completed reading a book in his life.

Book preview

Chapter One

It was not far from the centre of town, just a few cobbled streets away in fact. The small terraced house number 22 Fenwick Street stood pressed tightly between its neighbours. Its dowdy frontage was old and dirty, the window panes where dark and foreboding. A dull flickering light dimly lit the corners of the moth eaten curtains. The moon that was high and full in the starry night sky cast more light in the darkness than that coming from the little house. Only a wisp of cloud passing in front of the moon danced the odd shadow upon the houses. The door was wooden with the long weathered varnish peeling and chipped. A small tarnished brass door knob adorned one edge over shadowed by a much larger door knocker and above that the two brass numbers 22. On the whole the house looked far from being a home. But home it was, for inside sat in a long backed chair next to a brick built fire place that contained a very small fire that would hardly heat a dolls house let alone this one sat Thomas Green.

Thomas an elderly looking very skinny man with a long gaunt miserable face, a pair of old well used metal rimmed spectacles sat on the end of his nose. Now Thomas looked much older than his thirty years. In one hand his long bony fingers gripped a bowl of broth and in his other he held a wooden spoon. He was slurping on the steaming broth trying to chew any morsel of meat or vegetable with his warn somewhat rotten and gapped teeth. His shabby clothes suggested that he was a man of limited means a dowdy shawl blanket draped over his shoulders keeping a little warmth in his cold looking body. Around his neck attached to a chain hung a strange looking key it was the brightest thing in the room. Made from what could only be described as a very large diamond, it had prongs on four sides, quite unusual as most keys only have prongs on one side.

The room where he sat was lit by one small candle that cast its dim light just over him but not much further. The rest of the room was scarcely furnished with just one small table in the corner next to a small door, on one side of the room stood a large book shelf, however, it did not contain books just a collection of unusual rocks, each appeared to have been struck by a tool such as a hammer or a stone chisel. A mantel clock ticked proudly on the mantel piece above the fireplace. The ticking was only silenced by the odd slurp of broth and the occasional crackle from the fire.

Although Thomas lived the way he did and appeared much older than his thirty years as I have already said. He would appear to be a man of very poor means. This actually is not the case. Now this I am sure will now become a little confusing

You see here in this house and even in this town or county, country and even the world, Thomas is very poor indeed. Now you must listen very carefully because if you do not then nothing that is normal and nothing that is beyond your imagination will make any sense. You see Thomas Green is no ordinary man not while he has the key. You see the key opens doors that don’t even exist to you or me. Whenever the moon is full Thomas can open doors to worlds beyond our imaginations. The only problem with having this key is that others want it. When I say others, I don’t mean people like you or me. I mean the strange creatures that inhabit the other worlds.

The key that Thomas holds is not the only one in fact there are many of these keys. Legend says they were cast in the bowels of the earth and where forced to the surface by the eruption of volcanoes. I hear you ask if there are many keys and these are held by other creatures from other worlds how can there be more than one when they are cast in volcanoes which surely only exist in this world. Well in a way you are right, the thing is with these other worlds is they are actually on this one and we and the creatures that inhabit them can’t see each other because we all live in some sort of parallel existence. You can only see each other if you hold the key or are in that particular parallel world. I said it was confusing.

Also legend has it that there are seven keys and if one person held all seven they would lock together to form one key. This would allow the holder to travel at will through all the worlds even if the moon was not full. Everything that can be seen or collected in each world other than the key cannot be taken from one world to another. Some of these worlds are abundant with gold and other precious metals and stones. Although in that world the abundance of these things means that they are worthless there. But in other worlds if you could bring say lots of gold back with you this as you could imagine would make someone very wealthy. As I say others they want this key that Thomas holds because if you do hold all 7 keys you can take anything you wish from world to world.

So how did Thomas come across his key? Well let me enlighten you. Thomas had been raised by a wealthy family. He was the only child to Charles and Elizabeth Green, Charles was a very successful merchant trading in tea and tobacco amongst other things. They lived in a very large and grand house in a very well respected area of town. Throughout his young life Thomas did not want for anything; he went to the finest schools that money could buy. His life was full of comfort with servants taking care of the family’s every needs. There were some draw backs with a life as grand as his; he was a very lonely boy. Any friends Thomas had where friends at his boarding school which was in another town many miles away. His father was always at work even when he was at home he would be in his study making business deals with various visitors that came to the house. His only companion was his mother, he loved his mother dearly and they would often just sit and talk about all sorts of wondrous things. Thomas would play in the house pretending he was on some big adventure where he would save his mother from the clutches of some imagined villain.

The news upon one sunny summer day that his mother due to have another baby. Excited Thomas, he was to have a brother or sister. This news was by far the best thing he could have ever dreamed of. He would lie in his bed at night and imagine all the great adventures he would have with his new sibling. However, his life was to be turned upside down, sadly when Thomas was only twelve his mother died giving birth along with the child. He felt so alone he had lost everything that he had held so close. He had lost his mother and all the games and adventures they would have together. He had lost all of his dreams. His Father a very strict yet caring man continued to raise Thomas. However when he was seventeen his father’s business failed and his father soon became depressed and ill, the pressures of having to keep everything going became too much for his father eventually he sadly passed away a broken man.

Thomas inherited what little money his father had left. Because of the huge costs of running the house he had been raised in, he sadly had no choice than to sell it and pay off any debts that had been accumulated when his father was ill. Not only had Thomas lost his mother a sibling and now his father. He had now lost the home that held so many memories for him. He eventually bought the little terraced house he now resided in with any remaining funds from his father’s estate. At least that was his it was in his eyes the only thing he had left in the world.

To make a meagre living he would catch trout from the river that was at the edge of town and sell them on a small market stall every Thursday in the towns market square. On one such fishing trip Thomas was walking along the river bank towards the woods that offered a shadowed section of river that he always found a good spot for catching big trout. As he walked he had heard someone calling for help. Temporarily postponing his plan of fishing he felt he had to investigate the cry for help. After several minutes of searching he located the person calling it was a well dressed man. He was laid face down next to a large tree. ‘My goodness sir’ Thomas arrived at the man’s side. ‘What on earth has happened here’? He continued scrambling to the mans side.

‘My horse was startled and threw me’ the man muttered ‘please help me to get up’ he continued. Thomas helped the man to his feet seeming somewhat unsteady. He decided that he best go back to the town and get some help. He told the man of his plan and leaving him sat against the trunk of a tree he ran off towards town. Thomas reached the town quicker than he had ever made it before and soon summoned some help for the man. The stranger he had helped was tended to and soon made a full recovery. Thomas was soon to become very good friends with the man. He was Professor Albert Hewitt-Price a geologist. The two men would meet often and just talk about all sorts of things. Albert took Thomas under his wing in fact Albert a childless man would treat Thomas like a son.

Chapter Two

One day Thomas was at home when there was a knock at the door. He made his way to the door and opened it. He noticed there was a young boy wearing a postal telegram uniform stood holding a letter. ‘Telegram Mr’ said the boy handing Thomas the telegram. Thomas took it from him and examined it closely; his scrutiny of the outside of the telegram was cut short by the boy making a rather exaggerated coughing sound. Thomas looked back at the boy to see him holding his hand slightly forward and was rubbing his thumb and index finger together. Ah yes my boy announced Thomas, he put his hand into his pocket and managed to find a small enough coin and put it into the boys open hand. Oh thanks Mr said the boy in a somewhat disappointed voice as he looked at the small coin that had been deposited in his hand. Thomas just shrugged his shoulders and gave the boy a half smile. The boy clasped his hand shut over the coin turned and skipped over the front wall and was soon skipping up the road. Thomas watched as the boy merrily disappeared into the distance. Soon his attention was drawn back to the telegram. Returning back into his little house he closed the door behind him. He wondered who would be sending him a telegram. Only one way to find out he thought. He carefully opened it and began to read. There on the yellowed paper where the words, COME QUICKLY. NOT MUCH TIME. ALBERT.

Thomas was taken aback by the rather brief yet insistent message. He grabbed his coat and hat from the hooks by his front door and soon was on his way to Albert’s House. When he arrived he walked down the path to the front door and using the bell chain he pulled to hear a dinging of bells from inside. A moment or two later he heard the latch being pulled from the inside the door opened to reveal a solemn faced portly lady. Without him saying a word the lady stated ‘Mr Green I presume’ He was taken by surprise with her prompt address. ‘Erm yes I have c’ he was cut short by the lady ‘The Professor is expecting you, you better come in’.

Thomas entered the house as the