The Gnarl

By Dale Stubbart

The bear charged the door and bounced right off. On the other side of the door, the maid was leaning against the door, exuding love to it with all her might. The force of her love sealed the door securely. Nothing could get through. Not even a ramming bear.
But the bear was persistent, and bounced off the door several more times. Then, almost by accident, the bear found the edge of the spell and crashed through the wall next to the door. "Bear! Bear!", screamed the maid as she went running away through the Mansion.
The bear rampaged through the Mansion, sending the Jim O'Leary's scurrying in every direction. This was the Jim O'Leary Mansion and always had been for many generations of Jim O'Leary's. The current Jim O'Leary had been preparing for this moment all his life, and even before. This was the moment in which all the Jim O'Leary's would leave the Mansion, never to return.
Meet the Bear, its Master, the Jim O'Leary's who wear no expression on their faces are are cursed by rainstorms always hovering over them. Nevertheless, the Jim O'Leary's are kind to all. Meet the John O'Leary's who are always looking for a fight. Meet the servants who have their own magic and The Gnarl who are wingless fairies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dale Stubbart
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201565329

Book preview

Chapters

The Mansion

The Exit

Magic Money

IT!

The Servants

The Fairies

The Promise

Three Ways to Live

Bears and Their Masters

Honoring the Agreement

Cancelling the Contract

The O’Leary’s

The Curse

The Mansion Road

The Benches

The Fourth Bench Jim O’Leary’s

Still Climbing

The Mountains

The Miracle

The End of the World

Who Wrote This Anyway?

The Mansion

The Bear charged the door and bounced right off. On the other side of the door, the maid was leaning against the door, exuding love to it with all her might.

The force of her love sealed the door securely. Nothing could get through. Not even a ramming Bear.

But the Bear was persistent, and bounced off the door several more times. Then, almost by accident, the Bear found the edge of the spell and crashed through the wall next to the door.

Bear! Bear!, screamed the maid as she went running away through the Mansion.

The Bear rampaged through the Mansion, sending the Jim O’Leary’s scurrying in every direction. This was the Jim O’Leary Mansion and always had been for many generations of Jim O’Leary’s.

The current Jim O’Leary had been preparing for this moment all his life, and even before. This was the moment in which all the Jim O’Leary’s would leave the Mansion, never to return.

The Exit

Jim O’Leary led the way out the door. He wore his oil skin coat and his square oil skin hat, as he always did when he travelled outside of the Mansion, which was as infrequently as possible.

Whenever Jim O’Leary travelled outside the Mansion, a rain cloud hovered over his head, releasing a downpour of rain on him wherever he went. Rain clouds also hovered over many of the other family members, as many as carried the curse.

Over his head, Jim O’Leary held an open umbrella. And in his hand, he carried an over-sized dinner plate the size of a platter.

The umbrella in his hand was not to protect him from the rain. He wore his oil skin for that. The umbrella was to protect the plate he was carrying, or rather the contents of the plate.

Jim O’Leary had only gone a few steps, when he encountered another man who was determined to block his path.

Where do ye think you’re a going, Jim O’Leary?

Leaving. Just leaving.

You’re not going anywhere until you pay me the money you owe me!

Jim O’Leary held the plate forward.

"Keep your (unpublishable words here) Fairies away from me!!!!!!", John O’Leary yelled at Jim O’Leary.

What money? asked Jim O’Leary, sounding innocent.

Gambling money!

I paid off that debt.

Ah, but gambling debts gain interest, and ye didn’t pay the interest. Now did ye?

John O’Leary held a big vat of boiling oil in front of him, threatening to dunk Jim O’Leary in