The four immigrants from Britannia, Prince Robert, Sailor Jimmy, Poet Jonesy and Knight Bonzo, left the castle of Valhalla with Sir Brian, ready to start King Freddie's quest.

The castle was the biggest of the three kingdoms, made out of white stone. When the sun shone over it, it would spread the light on the village, and on some parts of the forests nearby. The roof was made of dark blue precious stone, reflecting light like diamonds. This castle was one of the main reasons why King David wanted to invade Valhalla and claim it as his own.

They walked through the village that surrounded the King's castle, and many curious inhabitants craned their neck to see them pass by. Far before them, two children were playing joyfully: a little girl was holding a wooden sword, which she drew out to a little boy who was carrying a small paper dragon in his hands. They were laughing out loud, and the only sight of them made Sir Brian smile widely.

The little girl tripped on the blade of her wooden sword and fell on her knees, right when the immigrants and the knight were near her. When she started to cry, they all ran to her, and Poet Jonesy knelt down beside her, taking out a colourful flower from his pocket. She looked at it with amazement, before staring shyly at his helper.

“Do not cry, pretty princess. This flower is yours, and will be here to remind you that you will never be alone, and that you will always have the help you need.”

“Thank you, but... where did you get it?”

“It is an immortal flower I found in a forest that spreads on our land.”

She sniffed and nodded. Poet Jonesy carefully slipped the flower in her hair, and made sure it would not fall. He patted her shoulder and stood up; after she thanked the immigrant, the little girl ran to her mother, who was waiting for her at their doorstep. The mother and the poet shared a smile, before she hurried inside her house.

The immigrants and the knight passed the doors of Valhalla; they were now facing the only road that led to Britannia. It was surrounded by vast green forests, where peacefully lived some creatures that Valhallans never disturbed.

As they made their way to the entrance of the forest, they met, sitting on a stone, a piper playing a joyful tune. Sir Brian turned to him and smiled.

“Good afternoon, Donovan.”

“Sir Brian, good afternoon! Oh, I sure did not expect to see you this soon!”

Sir Brian walked up to him, followed by the four immigrants, who politely greeted him. Donovan stood up with a grin, and bowed down to the strangers.

“What a surprise! Never have I met those pairs of eyes! My name is Donovan, the only survivor of Scottie; if I have ever been a man, one could say that I am lucky!”

Donovan's rhymes made the four immigrants grin, especially Poet Jonesy.

The last Scott was making his flute spin around his fingers, humming a tune that only him could know. Prince Robert was watching him play his instrument, curious and honoured to meet the only survivor of Scottie, the third kingdom that had been erased by King David and his army.

“My name is Prince Robert” he said, smiling at the musician, “I am the only legitimate heir of the throne of Britannia. Unfortunately – or fortunately? – King David stole the throne from my family. How did you manage to survive this attack?”

“My friend, the past should not be remembered sometimes! But we sure lived through hard times. Here is my secret: I was watching the sunset! I was quietly sitting on the shore, I heard a BOOM!, then I heard no more!”

Sailor Jimmy and Knight Bonzo shared a puzzled look, before grinning at each other. Poet Jonesy was nervously playing with the strap of his mandolin, which was hanging behind his back. Prince Robert's eyes widened.

“You mean that you were watching the sunset while the kingdom was being attacked?”

“Donovan is an awkward creature, he spends his whole time enjoying the nature!” the piper sang. “Scottie did not take long when it burnt, at least that's what I learnt!”

The prince nodded, surprised by what he heard. Sir Brian cleared his throat and looked at Donovan.

“My friend, we must go now. His Majesty gave us a quest, and we shall now leave for Britannia.”

“King Freddie is the fairest of them all, never would he miss one's call! Thanks to him, I am still living, and just for him I would like to sing! Now, my friends, go to Britannia, and please, help us save Valhalla!”

“Is the road the shortest way to Britannia?” Knight Bonzo asked. “It goes through the forests, almost touches the sea, passes by the mountain... Is there any shorter way?”

“Shorter ways there are, but with them, you would not go far! You could walk straight from the mountains, but you would meet some villains! Do not stay in the forest, or you will get no rest.”

“Thank you for your advice. We must go. So long, Donovan!”

“We will meet again, your quest will not be in vain!”

Donovan stood on the stone he was sitting on before, and played a tune on his flute, watching the immigrants and the knight leaving.

They entered the forest, following the path that crossed it. Sailor Jimmy was frowning, looking all around him.

“Are you sure that we cannot follow a shorter way?”

“Donovan told us that shorter ways would not be friendly to us. Did you listen to what he said?” Poet Jonesy whispered. “If we stay in the forest, we will get no rest!”

“We should follow his advice” Sir Brian interrupted. “He knows the land just like he knows the back of his hand. He is trustworthy.”

Sailor Jimmy did not reply, and kept walking. They did not really enter the forest, as it spread only on each side of the road. The journey was going to be long.

For an hour they walked, silently. The Misty Mountains were proudly standing on their left, looking after the whole land. They were situated in the southwest, between the ruins of Scottie in the West, and Valhalla in the South. Two forests surrounded them, and one of them was this that the immigrants and Sir Brian were walking by.

As Knight Bonzo and Poet Jonesy were admiring the view of the mountains, they heard a man yelling. Sir Brian, Prince Robert and Knight Bonzo drew out their sword simultaneously, ready to protect themselves. They carefully kept walking, until they met a man standing between two trees.

“BORIS! BORIS!”

Sir Brian hit the ground with the blade of his sword. It was strong enough for the man to jump; he spun round, his long black hair floating in the wind. His eyes were blue, and his upper lip was decorated with a small moustache, his chin being warmed by a thick black beard. The four immigrants blinked in surprise when they noticed a few spiders resting on his shoulders.

“Who are you, sir?” the man asked.

“I am Sir Brian, the knight, member of King Freddie's court, in Valhalla. And you? Who are you?”

The man's eyes widened, and he immediately bowed down before Sir Brian.

“A thousand apologies, my Lord! I am Enty, the spider tamer.”

“Spider tamer?” Knight Bonzo repeated. “I did not know that spiders could be tamed!”

“Actually, I do not tame them, my Lord. Taming sounds cruel to my poor ears. I only learn to live with them, and teach them to live with me. They are like my best friends.”

Poet Jonesy smiled, now used to the idea of befriending spiders. In Enty's voice, he could hear and feel his love for spiders. Prince Robert stiffened and removed his white fur cape, which fell on his arm. He cleared his throat and let his blue eyes meet Enty's.

“We heard you scream, Enty. Are you in need? Unfortunate?”

“Oh, not that much, my Lord. But I must admit that my heart is unfortunate at the moment. Boris, my favourite spider, my very best friend, disappeared.”

“Disappeared? Perhaps you dropped him somewhere!” Sailor Jimmy spoke in his gentle and mysterious voice.

“Oh no, my Lord. Enty never drops his spiders! Maybe Boris got lost... Maybe he is as scared as me!”

“We are going to help you” Poet Jonesy whispered with a heartily grin, “We are going to find Boris. But first of all, we should know some things about him. Do you know anything that could attract him?”

“He used to love bread. But he rejects it now.”

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing.”

Poet Jonesy sighed, and looked at the three other immigrants, and Sir Brian. They gathered and decided who would search for Boris in which part of the forest. They only hoped that Boris was not in the mountains.

That is how they started to look for Enty's lost friend. Sir Brian walked back on the path, and took a look between the first row of trees in the forest. Prince Robert went further and ventured in a cotton field. Sailor Jimmy inspected the small forest at the feet of the mountain. Knight Bonzo crossed the larger forest that joined Valhalla. Poet Jonesy stayed with Enty, as they went back on Enty's steps. After two hours, they still had not found Boris. The sun had gone back to its bed in the horizon, far and far, and its sister, the moon, was now waking up.

Enty looked up to the sky and hopeless tears rolled down his sweaty cheeks.

“I will never find him! I will never see Boris ever again!”

“There, there” Poet Jonesy whispered, wrapping an arm around the tamer's shoulders, “we are going to find him.”

At this moment, Sir Brian and the three other immigrants were coming back from their vain research. Sir Brian shook his head, showing Enty that nobody had seen Boris. The poor tamer cried warm tears, sitting on a rock nearby. Poet Jonesy knelt down beside him, trying to cheer him up.

“Aren't you a poet, Jonesy? A musician or something?”

“I am.”

“Please, play me a song. Nothing could heal me more than a song.”

Poet Jonesy nodded, and removed the strap of his mandolin from his shoulders. He tuned his instrument and started to play a joyful song, tapping his foot on the cold ground. Prince Robert knelt down beside them, and started to sing. Sir Brian and Knight Bonzo started to clap their hands, whereas Sailor Jimmy sat down, staring at the poet's fingers on his instrument, silently learning the chords.

Suddenly, Enty stiffened, a wide grin pinned to his sad cheeks. He raised a finger in the air, and started to shout.

“The mandolin! That is what Boris likes! The sound of a mandolin! Play louder, Poet, play louder!”

The music sounded louder through the trees, its catchy melody almost made the leaves dance. The wind was spreading the music in the whole kingdom, and they were sure that even Donovan could hear it from Valhalla. When the wind blew on the flowers, they gracefully bent and elegantly moved with the poetry that Poet Jonesy made out of every note he played.

A bush behind Enty moved. The poet kept playing, but the two knights and the Prince turned round simultaneously, immediately drawing out their sword. A black mass ran out of it, but it was too small for them to catch it. It climbed on Poet Jonesy's back, and made its way to his hand, resting on his thumb. Poet Jonesy refrained from screaming, as the mass started to dance. It had eight legs, that it shook in rhythm.

“BORIS!”

The spider jumped in Enty's hand and went up his shoulder, rubbing itself against his cheek. The others were watching the scene in awe, amazed by what they were witnessing. Enty kissed the spider and stared at each of his helpers.

“Thank you, very, very much, my Lords! You are so kind at heart, you helped a poor spider tamer who lost his spider friend, even in the cold evening! How could I thank you? Let me give you a present! I do not have much, but I am going to give you everything I have.”

“No way” Sir Brian refused, “help does not necessarily needs to be rewarded. We will not accept any kind of reward for that. I will just ask you one thing.”

“Anything you wish, my Lord.”

“Anytime you meet somebody in need, give a helping hand. Do the best that you can to help this person. Even if what you give is small, it will always be better than nothing. And the helped person will always thank you for what you did.”

“I promise that I will help.”

“Spread the word.”

Sir Brian smiled heartily at Enty, who was carrying Boris on the top of his head. He rested a hand on his shoulder, and they went on the road again. The tamer waved happily at Sir Brian and the immigrants, until he could see them no more.

They were now venturing again on the long and winding road that led to Britannia, determined to succeed for King Freddie's quest, and also ready to help the next person they could meet on their way.