Chrysolis had been more than willing to agree to Prince Nathan’s plan. She had had quite enough of the close quarters of the jungle and was ready to get back into the open air once again even if it did mean being shot at from every direction. And since the dragon could not hope to fit into the small tunnel which led to the sea serpent’s lair, she was delighted to have something else to keep her busy while she waited anxiously for their return. Unfortunately, their plan required her to circle around through the jungle a bit further down the beach before exploding into the air as their decoy. Though Chrysolis was not happy about this, Nathan insisted on it. He feared that if she came out of the jungle too close to their hiding place, it would expose them.
So now they waited. Nathan was relieved that Vonkar had accepted the plan and was waiting as well. The Viking was shifting about restlessly, however, not used to hiding and obviously not comfortable with it. The situation was torturous for the warrior, forced to sit and watch battle going on around him but unable to get involved. As the minutes wore on, his grumbling grew louder and more vehement as if he were hoping that a passing pirate would overhear him and come closer to investigate.
Meanwhile, Flindee had found a pineapple on the ground and was arguing with Quattlebom about how best to eat it.
“Ouch!” He shouted. “That hurt. I told you I couldn’t just bite into it like an apple, Q. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”
Before the prince could hush him, he continued loudly, “Oh, easy for YOU to say, you’ve…”
But before the Jester could finish the sentence, the wait was mercifully ended. And none too soon, by Nathan’s reckoning. One of the pirates had noticed something and turned toward the jungle just before Chrysolis burst from the trees down the beach.
But now a cry ran up and down the length of the beach as the dragon took to the air and began torching trees and melting sand with her flaming breath. The pirate who had heard Flindee, twisted around to see what was going on and soon forgot the noise from the trees as he ran down the beach to help his mates.
“Ok, now’s our chance!” Shouted the prince and the three friends jumped from their hiding place and ran for the rocks at the base of the mountain near the water.
When they got there, they were surprised to see a narrow path between the mountainside and the incoming surf that wound around beached boulders at the base of the fortress. The prince led the way, running eagerly along the path to get out of site and take advantage of Chrysolis’ diversion. Flindee followed close behind, clutching his pineapple, but not Vonkar. The Viking strode slowly across the sand, half turned to face the commotion down the beach. Fortunately, Chrysolis was good at distracting the pirates and none saw the northern warrior.
The winding path ended at the very mouth of the large mountain fortress which was actually a huge cave filled with water, large enough for a small ship to pass through on it’s way into the fortresses underground dock. And on each side of the gaping mouth of the cave stood two huge pillars of rock that jutted up from the sea like monstrous fangs.
“I hope the riddle wasn’t referring to those stone teeth.” The prince commented, panting as he looked around the area. “I don’t want to have to go under them to find some secret entrance.”
“Why not?” Flindee asked, running up behind him. “The water looks refreshing after all this cross-country hiking and running around. In fact, Quattlebom was just commenting on what a nice picnic spot this would make and I agree with him. I mean, open sandy area for volley ball and sunbathing, isolated from the rest of the beach by boulders, a little shallow lagoon a ways back up the path for the kiddies, even a nice cave shelter in case it rains. What more could one ask for?”
“Yeah, but who could swim in this raging water?” Nathan replied. “And how could you swim into the cave, when the water is flowing out of it? No one would be able to swim against this...”
The prince stopped in mid-sentence.
“Wait a minute!” He exclaimed. “That’s it! I was right. The secret entrance must be around here somewhere. This is the ‘belching froth’ in the riddle.”
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