🜍 PULP CTHULHU — THE OLD BARGAINS · WEEK 3 The Summer Friend
The Summer King was sitting beneath an oak tree when Mara and Chibi found him.
No throne.
No guards.
No ceremony.
Just sunlight.
And stories.
The King smiled.
“There you are.”
Mara grinned.
“You knew we’d come?”
“Of course.”
Chibi immediately frowned.
“That’s weird.”
The King laughed.
“Most important things are.”
For a while they sat together listening to the festival in the distance.
Music.
Laughter.
Applause.
The perfect summer day.
Then the King asked:
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
Mara answered immediately.
The King nodded.
Then looked at Chibi.
“And you?”
Chibi shrugged.
“Mostly.”
The King smiled.
“Mostly is honest.”
For a moment nobody spoke.
The wind moved softly through the leaves overhead.
Then the King asked another question.
“Do you want summer to stay forever?”
Mara laughed.
“Of course.”
The King looked pleased.
Then his eyes shifted toward Chibi.
Again.
“What about you?”
Chibi stared toward the festival.
The endless music.
The endless flowers.
The endless celebrations.
Then shook his head.
“No.”
For the first time the King’s smile faltered.
Only slightly.
“Why not?”
Chibi shrugged.
“Because then it wouldn’t be summer anymore.”
Silence.
The kind that happens when somebody accidentally says something important.
The King slowly nodded.
“That’s true.”
His eyes drifted toward the distant forest.
Toward the standing stones.
Toward something neither child could see.
“What are you looking at?”
Mara asked.
The King’s smile returned.
“An old friend.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the horizon.
The dark tree line.
The place where the sunlight ended.
Mara squinted.
“I don’t see anybody.”
The King’s smile became sad.
For just a second.
“You only meet this friend once.”
The answer made no sense.
But somehow it frightened Chibi.
A church bell rang somewhere in the village.
The King stood.
Children immediately ran toward him.
Calling his name.
Laughing.
Wanting one more story.
One more game.
One more perfect evening.
The King welcomed every one of them.
Patiently.
Kindly.
As if he wasn’t counting the hours.
As if he didn’t already know what was coming.
That night, walking home beneath the lanterns, Mara finally spoke.
“Do you think he’s lonely?”
Chibi thought about it.
Longer than usual.
Then nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He looked back toward the festival lights.
Toward the King.
Toward the celebration everyone loved.
And quietly answered:
“Because I think he’s the only person here who knows how this ends.”
🜍 THE OLD BARGAINS — Week 3
Everyone loved the Summer King.
The children were the only ones who noticed how sad he looked when nobody was watching.
If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.
Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.
👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan
Want to go deeper?
Then don’t stop at the surface.
The full stories. The dossiers. The things behind it —
they’re waiting. Or they’re not.
👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames
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