Dorothy Pemberton's Arc

Chapter 1 of 5

Dorothy Pemberton spread her design sketches across the workbench in her cottage workshop. Her gray hair caught the afternoon light as she leaned forward to study the puzzle pieces. For three years, she had worked toward one dream: creating educational games that could actually challenge the clever gremlins of Gremlin's Gorge. The local gremlins solved most puzzles in minutes, but Dorothy knew she was getting close to something special. She grabbed her carpenter's pencil and started drawing the final plans. This time, she would combine movement with thinking. Wooden platforms filled with sand would shift under the gremlins' feet. They would need to balance while solving number problems. Rope stations would require them to climb and recite facts at the same time. Dorothy smiled as she measured the lumber stacked against the wall. The obstacle course would test both their bodies and their sharp minds. She rolled up the plans and tucked them under her arm. Tomorrow, she would start building in the clearing where the gremlins gathered to play. This game would finally give them the challenge they craved. The morning sun warmed her shoulders as Dorothy hammered the last support beam into place. The obstacle course stretched across the open ground, each station connected by rope bridges. Sand filled the wooden boxes beneath each platform. She tested the first one with her foot and watched it wobble. Perfect. The gremlins would need steady legs and quick minds. Beside the main course, she set up a smaller station with rope targets hanging from wooden frames. Sand-filled boxes lined the ground below for tossing practice. She stepped back and wiped sawdust from her cardigan. After three years of failed puzzles and games that lasted only minutes, she had built something different. This was the start of what the gremlins needed, and Dorothy was finally ready to see if her work could keep up with their clever minds. A weathered building stood across the dusty path from her new obstacle course. Dorothy walked toward the abandoned schoolhouse and pushed open one of its painted doors. The hinges creaked. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, lighting up old chalkboards still hanging on the walls. The corrugated metal roof rattled in the breeze. She ran her hand along a wooden desk and pictured gremlins sitting there, testing her word games and math challenges. This building would become her testing ground. She could design games inside while the obstacle course waited outside. Dorothy pulled a cloth from her pocket and wiped dust from the nearest chalkboard. She picked up a piece of chalk from the tray and wrote her first game rule across the dark surface. The schoolhouse would give her everything she needed to create the elaborate games she had dreamed about for so long.