Welcome to the blog post challenge.

Below is an example of a blog post written by Pie.

Chapter 1 – The Leaving cont.

That night, they ate slices of dried apple, oatcakes and nibbled at the clover bread and stoat cheese that their mother had packed. Prue was soon fast asleep, snuggled between his older brother and sister. Carefully, Pipkin tugged some branches across the front of their shelter, hoping it would be enough to hide them from prying eyes.

As Pipkin drifted into sleep, his mind swirled with dreams of the metallic clank of the Gorm, moving through the darkness like a relentless wave of fear. Would they ever reach the safety of Splinter Holm?

Chapter 2 – The Goblin Palace

The sun had hardly began to breathe life into the forest when Pipkin woke with a start. Something was tapping at the entrance to the shelter. A beady eye peeked through a gap and Pipkin sighed with relief. It was Flame, the robin-carrier, with a message from their mother to say that the Gorm had destroyed the warren and had last been seen following their tracks 8 over the river. There was no time to lose. Podkin checked the map and with Flame’s help, the little band set off through the woods, heading ever North.

As they set off, the forest was silent. There had been a blizzard during the night and snow smothered the branches overhead, making walking harder. Icicles hung from trees like jagged teeth. The wind bit, brutally cold.

Pipkin knew that it would be easier for the Gorm to track them in the snow as it was impossible not to leave a trail behind. By midday, they had reached the edge of the forest and there the rabbits paused. Ahead, they could just make out the outline of what had to be The Goblin Palace. Perhaps we could hide there, thought Pipkin.

Several hours later, the weary band found themselves skirting the towering walls of the palace. Fiercesome goblin soldiers guarded the main gate, their red eyes glinting. So, Pipkin led Pasco and Prue round the walls until they found a place where a fox or badger had burrowed a small entrance.

The darkness of the tunnel pressed in and the air was rank with the foul smell of fox but Pipkin led the way until at last they came out on the other side. The goblin palace was the ideal place to hide. The Gorm would not be welcome and, as long as the rabbits avoided being caught, they would be safe until the danger passed.

As night fell, Pipkin sought out the perfect hiding place. Deep in an alleyway, he found an empty stable. Up a rickety ladder was a small attic covered in straw. It was clean and made an excellent place to sleep. Outside, the snow fell. Inside, Pasco and Pipkin talked about their mother and wondered whether she was still safe. Baby Prue cuddled up in a corner and was soon fast asleep.

Pipkin slipped out into the alleyway. They needed food. He kept to the shadows and stared round. Snorts and snarls drifted through the silence as goblins quarreled and argued. One or two passed the stables on their way back from a tavern; their singing was worse than a banshee howling. At the other end of the alley, two street goblins spiked mice onto metal spikes and 10 roasted them over a griddle, crunching through tiny bones.

Pipkin shuddered. The Gorm were terrible; goblins were just as bad. From a deserted market stall, Pipkin stole a loaf of dark bread, tomatoes, an onion, some hard, yellow cheese and a flagon of milk. At least they would not be hungry.

At that moment, there was a call from one of the houses in the alleyway. “Oy, what yer doin?” A drunken, scabby face leered out from a window at Pipkin. Tucking himself into a shadow, his heart beating wildly, Pipkin froze. Something was now coming down the street towards him. He could hear it dragging itself towards the stable. Shadows moved. A yellow, pus-filled eye glinted.

The street goblins each picked up a ragged, rusted blade and began to make their way towards the shifting shadow. Pipkin waited hoping that he would not be seen…

© Pie Corbett 2021

You can listen to Pie reading this using the player below.

Use the form below to write your poem and then submit it so it can be ready and commented on by a much wider audience.

Writing Tips

• Always check your work before submitting;
• Type your work into a separate document and save it before using copy and paste to submit;
• Don’t use coloured text, it’s hard to read;
• Don’t use emojis and text speech;
• Don’t use the spacebar to move to the next line-use the return key;
• Always stick to the task, we won’t publish stories and poems not related to the instructions.

Please record your text by using the Padlet below. Here are some brief instructions on how you can use Padlet to capture your voice: