The Darrowold Trilogy

2 Copies of Darrowold now available in the Prayer House church Library!

2010-03-02T12:56:00.002-06:00

If you haven't yet gotten a copy of Pastor Kevin's epic fairy tale trilogy, Darrowold, there is good news! You can now check it out from the church library at Prayer House! Now your family can listen to all 3 books in the series on 6 audio CD's. This is a Robinson Family project 8 years in the making and is complete with sound effects, musical score (borrowed from various movies) and the multi-voice talents of the author and family. That's over 7 hours of listening fun and excitement! Check them out today!

Darrowold Audio available for Purchase!

2010-02-03T11:06:00.003-06:00

With the Darrowold Audio complete and packaged, it is now available for purchase. Though it was an 8 year project and countless hours went into it's production and editing, I am not allowed to make a profit on it because I used copyrighted material for the music background. However, I can give it away, which I have done as much as I can afford personally at this point. If you would like a copy of the 6 disc set and would like to donate the cost of the materials (and shipping if needed), I would be more than happy to produce and send you a copy.

The entire Trilogy on audio, packaged in a full color tache case as pictured here costs me $5.50 for materials. Shipping varies and I would have to let you know on that after we find out where you live. The Tache cover also has full chapter table of contents, dedication, and cast list on the inside. It is a beautiful set, if I say so myself.

If you are interested in contacting me for a set, simply e-mail me at revkev@prayerhouseag.org or find me on Facebook, or just mail a check to Prayer House c.o. Kevin Robinson, 1525 24th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140. I'd guess another $5 for shipping & handling would cover it pretty much anywhere in the continental states if you just want to pay up front.

I think if you have kids anywhere between K-6th grade, they will find this series a rewarding listen and hours of fun, and if you are a kid at heart in any way, you may as well. So contact me if you'd like a copy and we'll get it out to you.

Thanks, Kevin

DARROWOLD TRILOGY AUDIO IS COMPLETE!!

2010-01-22T14:38:00.004-06:00

It is 2:30pm, Friday afternoon on January 22nd and the Darrowold Trilogy Audio has been completed! I am now posting the final chapter and epilogue and then celebrating! For those of you who received 5 out of 6 discs for Christmas, I should have disc 6 for you at church on Sunday! If you don't go to Prayer House, I'll get it to you as soon as I can, maybe sooner! Then I will begin burning more copies for mailing to distant friends! I just have to decide if I want to throw in any extras at the end of this last disc...

Chapter 17 audio completed as promised... WAY ahead of schedule!

2010-01-19T21:55:00.003-06:00

I can see the end of this thing so clearly that it has become an obsession this week! I can almost guarantee, barring some unforseen catastrophe, that this project will finally be finished THIS WEEKEND! Chapter 18 is nearly done now as well and shouldn't be far behind. Of course, I do have church tomorrow, but I'm going to try to post it tonight before bed even! Tonight was our last family recording!

Chapter 16 complete. Chapter 17 should be finished tomorrow!

2010-01-18T23:55:00.003-06:00

As the final chapters wrap up, they are becoming a bit easier to mix since there is less action and sound effects, though the music is proving a bit more challenging trying to find the right emotion in the wrap up. At any rate, I have chapter 16 done and only a few more sound effects to add to 17. That one should be done tomorrow night! So I am moving much faster than I'd hoped here at the end... finally! At this rate, with only the final two chapters remaining, I should be done by the end of this month right on schedule, perhaps even a bit ahead of what I'd hoped. Enjoy. Things are going to start getting emotional now as we begin to say our farewells soon.

Chapter 15 Audio completed and posted 1 DAY after Chapter 14!

2010-01-12T22:09:00.003-06:00

I'm on a roll now! With the end so near, I'm getting a fire under me! I just completed Chapter 15 in one day! If I kept this rate up, I could still finish before my 40th birthday... but that's pretty unlikely since I will need to get some sleep eventually. At any rate, enjoy it. I think this chapter will bring a smile to your face. I can't listen to it without a grin.

Audio Production Resumes after Holidays!

2010-01-11T15:14:00.003-06:00

Chapter 14 audio is now complete and inserted into the printed blog post for your enjoyment. Check it out here, or hang in there for the completion of disc 6. Only 5 chapters remaining!

Listen to "Quattlebom the Courageous!" Chapter 13 audio complete!

2009-12-14T11:22:00.003-06:00

Find out the shocking fate of Flindee's faithful puppet friend in this follow-up to the exciting battle between good and evil. And the excitement isn't over with the defeat of Snagglefang and his henchmen as the heroes soon discover.

Chapter 12 Audio complete and posted! Don't miss the shocking finale!

2009-12-05T15:33:00.003-06:00

Princess Nataleigh realizes too late the folly of her poor decisions and watches as her brother fights a losing battle against Snagglefang and his minions. Or is it too late? Will the princess realize that there still is a way to defeat the dragon? And will she pay the ultimate price to do it? Check out the shocking climax to this epic struggle between good and evil begun in Book 1 of Darrowold: Trouble in the Land of Dwarves, ramped up in book 2: Quest for the Serpent's Eye and now completed in book 3: Race for the Forbidden Power, chapter 12: The Ultimate Sacrifice, now fully dramatized for your listening enjoyment!

Don't forget to leave us comments after you've checked it out...

Chapter 11 Audio added!

2009-11-20T16:16:00.002-06:00

Princess Nataleigh comes to her senses and realizes the price of her rebellious choices. but will it be too late for her brother? The Prince fights for his life against Snagglefang, but the dragon now has the power of the Serpent's Eye and the children of the High King suddenly find themselves outnumbered as Snagglefang summons his minions!

Chapter 10 Audio completed with KILLER score!

2009-11-09T15:03:00.003-06:00

Chapter 10 has been one of the most satisfying audio chapters to finish yet. It came out much better than I'd hoped and I know it is in large part due to the incredible musical scores I've chosen. Yes, you'll recognize them. Everyone knows Star Wars music when they hear it, but it fits so well, none other would suffice. And Prince of Egypt was a necessity, hearkening back to book 2 and Nathan's encounter with his father, the High King in the Chamber of Whispers! But even the sound effects turned out better on this chapter than I'd hoped, and some were manufactured from scratch! So it is with some pride that I present this one for your listening enjoyment. I know my youngest, for one, has been anxiously awaiting this one. Son of the High King is her favorite chapter. She'll really love it now, I think! And hopefully so will you.

Audio Drama completed on Chapters 8 & 9 of book 3: Race for the Forbidden Power!

2009-10-19T23:06:00.004-05:00

Two more chapters completed, putting me back on schedule for Christmas! Check them out by visiting previous posts of the desired chapters. Audio (Video files) are at the bottom of each chapter. In these chapters Prince Nathan, with the help of his two little sea serpent friends, follows his sister and witnesses her capture, but before he can attempt a rescue, Panganiban the wizard uses the Serpent's Eye to summon Snagglefang the Dragon. Snagglefang seduces the Princess and Nathan's nightmare begins yet again! Will it end differently this time, when it's NOT a dream?

Chapter 7 Audio Completed! A very exciting chapter!

2009-09-30T12:36:00.002-05:00

Well, I had to spend a full day of my life putting this one together, but it sounds really good! Check it out! This one comes complete with combat, lightning blasts and exciting action music! A tedious work, but fun! And the results make it all worth it. Hope you enjoy! Make sure to listen closely to the back ground sound effects during the fight. There's stuff in there that can be missed. This chapter took over 10 hours. Phew.

Kevin

Book 3 Audio Update

2009-09-20T23:49:00.001-05:00

The audio verson of Chapters 4 and 5 are now completed for Book 3: Race for the Forbidden Power. Both have been added to the proper posts and are ready to be enjoyed.

Announcement: Book 3 Chapter 3 Audio Complete!

2009-09-07T16:06:00.002-05:00

So far so good. 3 weeks/3 chapters. Check out the newest addition to the audio book... Chapter 3: Heindel's Infernal Concoction (a.k.a. the Coughing chapter). This one has a cute ending starring Hannah.

Audio update!

2009-08-25T22:43:00.003-05:00

Book 3 is finally off and running after a summer break. The audio drama for chapter 1 has been added to that blog post at the bottom like previous chapters. Enjoy! It was a fun one to put together! The countdown to my Christmas deadline begins in earnest... 1 chapter down, 18 to go!

Here's a picture of the Robinson family recording the final chapters of the audio book in our home studio.

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2009-06-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

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Welcome to the Darrowold Trilogy (A little direction and history)

2009-04-04T20:40:00.005-05:00

DARROWOLD is completed!

A project over 10 years in the making, my comical fairy tale trilogy is finally finished! I invite you to enjoy it and hope that you do so thoroughly. With that in mind, I would so appreciate any feedback or comments you would care to leave me concerning any aspect of the story that you like or don't like or may have questions about. The story, as it exists here is my first draft, unedited and in some places a bit rough, so any feedback I get will be helpful if and when I ever get around to re-writing for professional publication.

If you are just starting the story, you will want to start with book 1: Trouble in the Land of Dwarves and progress from there. Unfortunately with Blogs, everything is listed from most recent backwards. So you will want to use the Chapter lists in the right column. You may find that looking up chapters by date is easier. In that case, you will find book 1 under December '08, Book 2 under January '09, and Book 3 under March'09. Also, at the bottom of each chapter is a video file that contains the audio drama version of that chapter for your listening pleasure. You can use these videos (most of which contain no visuals beyond the title) to have your children listen to while they read along on the blog. The audio contains sound effects and borrowed musical score and was recorded by myself and my family. It's a lot of fun and really the biggest motivation for this project. My own kids love it and my youngest listens to Darrowold every night as she's going to sleep. I can only hope other kids find it as entertaining. The 3rd book and the very end of the 2nd book have yet to be completed in audio version and will be coming shortly. We are in the process of recording them now and then I will be editing them with all of the effects and music for the Blog.

Darrowold began when my oldest daughter was about 5 or 6 (she's 16 now) and I started writing this little story for her based on some toys that she and her little brother had at the time. After several chapters, I realized I had a bigger story and started plotting out the direction and morals I wanted to convey and the next thing I knew it had grown into a trilogy. Even that has grown beyond the innitial scope I had envisioned and taken all new directions over the years as the characters have taken on a life of their own and dictated to me which way their story should go. And now that it's over, it has been very hard to say good by to my little imaginary friends. My joy comes in sharing them with you. I hope you will come to love them as much as we have. Blessings and happy adventuring!

Kevin Robinson

Epilogue

2009-03-31T21:05:00.002-05:00

As Skull Rock Island disappeared below and the first of the billowy clouds began to surround them, Princess Nataleigh caught herself wondering if indeed this was the last time they could ever visit Darrowold. Had Chrysolis been right? And if so, could she ever be satisfied again just watching her friends through a magic mirror, knowing she could never talk to them again?

And now she realized the biggest trap that her sin had created for her yet. If she was not satisfied with watching Darrowold through a magic mirror before, how much harder would it be to ever be satisfied with watching them in the future when she now knew them as friends and would miss them so dearly?

“Oh, what was the point of coming back from near-death only to say goodbye forever anyway?” the princess groaned, wiping a tear from her eye. “I should have just stayed in Amiera rather than returning to say goodbye. This hurts more than getting sucked into a magic portal or anything else I’ve had to endure on this quest! Why was I such a disobedient fool in the first place? If only I had understood the price of disobedience then like I do now?”

And that was a consequence that the princess of Amiera would have to live with for the rest of her long life. But such was the grace of the High King that failures could not be remembered forever and the joys of her home in the clouds and the other mysteries that her father had reserved for she and her brother as mature young people would one day overshadow her regrets with fullness of joy and adventure unending.

Chapter 19: Farewells

2009-03-31T21:04:00.002-05:00

They both turned to their friends and their smiles faded. The moment turned from joy to bittersweet as they realized what goodbye meant. If what Chrysolis said was true then the children of Amiera would never again be able to visit Darrowold or their friends. To do so would be to age rapidly and that was not something they could risk very often if ever.

The others seemed to make the connection as well and now it was like they were both dying all over again.

Nataleigh walked over to Maid Madelyn and Frangen, fell on her knees and hugged them both in turn.

Madelyn’s hug was tentative at first as the maiden tried to maintain her tough exterior, but when the princess wouldn’t let go of her, she finally melted, embracing Nataleigh with all her heart. Tears ran down both cheeks freely giving her the appearance of a little child in her mother’s arms.

“Thank you Madelyn for all your help and friendship through this journey,” said the princess in her ear. “I truly couldn’t have done it without your courage and strength. You’ve always been one of my heroes. I admire you so much.”

At last the warrior maiden pulled away, awkwardly wiping tears from her face. “My courage was too often foolishness, Princess, and my strength was never greater than your own. It is I who admire you for your bravery and determination… and for your compassion. The one quality I have never appreciated was the one quality that saved us all, your love for your brother. It is you who are MY hero.”

They hugged again and Nataleigh turned to Frangen. The inventor was so shocked by her sudden hug that all he could do was stiffen with both hands at his side and stutter, “Your Majesty!”

“Where would this all have ended without you, Frangen?” The princess questioned sincerely as she pulled away from him. “You and your brothers brought me so far and helped me so much, but you most of all. Without you one of us may have been injured fighting among ourselves over that evil eye. Without you I might have been lost in those tunnels forever or worse.”

Finally the frazzled inventor managed to control himself long enough to mumble sheepishly, “It was only our duty, your majesty.”

“And you are a faithful servant, my friend.” The princess confirmed. Then putting a hand on each side of his bristly, blond mustaches, she cupped his face and kissed him on his bald forehead. If one of Heindel’s steam engines had been attached to his ears, it would have rumbled to life as the blood rushed to his head and perspiration fizzled on his reddened skin (or was it the residue of reek roach eggs that wafted into the princess’s nostrils?)

At the same time the prince was saying goodbye to his two companions as well. Vonkar would have nothing to do with more tears or sadness. A brief, manly embrace and a strong clap on the back was enough for the warrior and Nathan would not dishonor his noble friend by expecting anything more.

“Ye turned out to be more the warrior than ever you dreamed, aye laddie?” Vonkar commented, stepping back from the prince to appraise him, a hint of pride in his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess,” Nathan replied, “with a little bit of help from my father.”

Then he smiled. “Of course, I had to be rescued by a girl in the end. I don’t think I’m anywhere near the warrior you are yet, Vonkar.”

“That’s because you haven’t yet learned to sing while ye battle! The strength of a warrior’s arm should always be matched by the spirit of his song! Never forget that, lad.”

“I won’t,” the prince replied, “and don’t you forget to try talking before fighting from now on, no matter how big your opponent is.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about ol’ bellow breaches here,” Flindee suddenly added. “Q and I’ll keep him on the straight and narrow from now on.”

Vonkar scowled at the comment.

“And what is THAT supposed to mean?” he growled at the jester.

“Q and I talked it over and we’ve decided that you need a sidekick. You know, to help you fight all of the villains you meet. Every good hero needs a sidekick and who better to assist the irascible Vonkar the vocational Viking of Clan Ask-to-gripe, then the noble and often underestimated, Quattlebom the Courageous?”

The jester spun around and held his puppet to the sky as he shouted the title like a circus ringmaster.

“And since both of you will be famous across all the lands of Darrowold, you’ll need me to be your herald everywhere you go. Besides, someone has to translate for Q. You sure can’t understand him.”

As the jester continued, Nathan noticed the Viking’s fists begin to tighten on the braids of his own beard until his eyes began to twitch and his lips quiver. It was obvious that the warrior was not going along with the idea of the two entertainers tagging along with him in his wanderings across the length and breadth of Darrowold. But before there was further trouble, the Prince intervened one last time between his two friends.

“But what about your new pet squishy-fish, Flindee?” he said. “Weren’t you just talking to the girls about keeping one in the courtyard pool at Castle Bouldergold?”

“Well, yeah.” Flindee conceded shrugging his shoulders. “But what about Q’s crime-fighting career? I couldn’t stand in the way of his dream.”

“Ah but think of all the joy a giant squishy-fish could bring all the citizens of Bouldergold.” Nathan replied. “But no one else knows how to take care of it…”

“Or how to capture one and train it,” added Anna Monee, realizing that the prince needed some help. “Coralee and I could help you with that, right Cora?”

Coralee rolled her eyes again and agreed with sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Sure. What fun that would be.”

Then Nathan got another idea.

“I’ll bet Frangen, Heindel, and Boz would even help you capture and transport your squishy-fish.” He offered.

This caught Frangen’s attention who was relieved to turn his attention to something other than the princess.

“Ya!” he agreed a little too heartily. “Heindel could even invent an aquarium with a fully automated filtering system and air circulation unit, complete with an underwater observation lounge.”

“There you go!” coaxed the Prince. “See? How can you pass up that opportunity, Flindee? Besides, didn’t you say Quattlebom deserved an award for his acting skill? How’s he going to get what he deserves if he doesn’t go back to his adoring public?”

That gave Flindee something to think about.

“Wow, I guess if you put it like that.” Flindee said thoughtfully. Then he looked at his puppet. “What do you think, Q?”

The puppet seemed to pause in thought for a moment, turning to look from Vonkar to Frangen. Then it bobbed its head up and down, wagging its tongue in agreement.

“Well, Vonkar, ol’ buddy,” said the little dwarf, pulling his floppy hat from his head solemnly. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, knowing what a softy you are and all, but I’m afraid Q and I are going to have to let you go on without us. Our fans await us! But we’ll miss ya, big fella!”

With that, the jester jumped into the Viking’s arms and planted a big sloppy kiss on his protruding nose. Vonkar sputtered, but before he could react, Flindee sprang away and started jabbering on about his new aquarium and the idea he had for a new comic routine and musical number complete with dancing mermaids and a singing flounder.

“We’ll call it ‘The Little Guppy’. Of course we’ll need to dig up some new talent to make it work, but hey, they don’t call me Flindee the Finder for nothing!” And with that he bobbled down the beach in a world of his own.

“Well, I guess that’s good bye from Flindee.” Nathan said with a grin. “Too bad he said good bye to the wrong person, huh Vonkar? You’re the lucky guy who still gets to ride all the way back to the mainland with him in a crowded little submarine for days.”

“Perhaps I will offer myself as a galley slave on board one of these pirate vessels in exchange for a ride back instead.” Vonkar said with conviction. “It can’t be as torturous as that.”

And with that said, the prince and princess said their final farewells to the group, hugging both of the sea serpent children as well. About this time, Papa and Mama joined them, having secured the area from marauding pirates. Most of the ships had given up the fight after facing first a fire-breathing dragon, and now a two headed sea serpent.

Last of all, Nataleigh apologized to the Sea Serpent family, especially Coralee, for her deception and false friendship while trying to steal from them. Coralee was still hurt, but the little sea serpent bravely forgave the princess and hugged her tightly as she said goodbye.

“We’re just glad you’re ok, sweetheart.” Mama said sweetly as she put a flipper around both of the royal children.

As they both mounted up their flying steeds and prepared to launch skyward, Anna Monee shouted after them. “If you can’t come and see us again, send us autographed posters to show our friends and hang on our cave walls. We love you!”

And then they were away. Nataleigh and Nathan looked back to watch their friends shrinking away below, waving to them as they ascended into the clouds and off toward Ivory Mountain.

The End

Chapter 18: Explanations

2009-03-31T18:06:00.003-05:00

At the sight of his sister this time, Nathan nearly fell from Chrysolis’ back in shock! He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Like a fantastic vision or day dream, there was Nataleigh, seemingly back from the dead and riding toward him on Jewel as though it was just another day in the Ivory Palace!

As Jewel landed on the beach, Nathan leapt from his dragon to meet Nataleigh. The others were only a step behind and there was much laughing and cheering as brother and sister embraced. This time there was no ridiculous bickering between them, only the absolute joy of their reunion! For several minutes words were forgotten as tears of joy flowed and hugs were exchanged all around.

Finally, Nathan asked what they all were dying to understand.

“So what happened to you, Nat? How did you survive that magic cloud?”

Nataleigh smiled as she explained.

“When I destroyed the Serpent’s Eye, all of the magic that it contained was absorbed back into it and since I was closest to the center, I was pulled in as well. But nothing that was drawn in was destroyed. Rather it was returned to where it belonged. I’m not sure where the dragon and the giant were sent, but I was sent home to Amiera where I found Jewel already waiting for me. Father had called her home. When I returned he forgave me and restored me and sent me to fetch you home this time.”

“How did you know what to do in the end?” he pressed. “I mean, how did you know that the Serpent’s Eye had to be destroyed in order to defeat Snagglefang?”

“I didn’t know for sure,” she said. “But I realized that the dragon was drawing power from it so it just made sense to get rid of the source of his power. But I had no idea that the Serpent’s Eye and the dragon were connected like that. I mean it was like the dragon couldn’t exist without the eye. It was like a window into the dragon’s wicked soul. Once the eye was shattered, the wickedness was cut off. I could only hope that it didn’t destroy me at the same time. I was fortunate.”

“Fortune had nothing to do with it, Lassie!” beamed Vonkar and then realizing who he was addressing, he stuttered, “That is, uh, your highness, I mean. Fortune cannot be given credit for what a valiant heart has done. You and your brother have come along way since your quests began. To face such a menace and see it vanquished takes noble courage indeed!”

The princess shook her head.

“Oh, I don’t know, Vonkar,” she sighed. “Was it courage or desperation? I don’t know, but I wish I had realized my foolishness sooner. It nearly cost my poor brother his life and in the end, that was what woke me up. How can I thank you enough for coming after me, Nate? And I was such a self-centered jerk to you. Can you ever forgive me?”

Nathan hugged his sister again.

“I’d already forgotten all of that, sis,” he said. “I understand that it was the draw of the Serpent’s Eye that made you crazy. Besides, I understand how weird girls get when they grow up. Women lose their minds with all of that emotional stuff.”

He paused at that statement and held her back at arms length to look at her closer. “So how did you grow up so fast anyway?”

“I’m not the only one.” She answered. “Have you looked at yourself since leaving the palace? Both of us have aged like 10 years in just a few short days! Don’t ask me how it happened.”

Finally Chrysolis spoke up.

“Have neither of you ever considered why your Father forbade you both to go below the clouds of Ivory Mountain?” She asked. “The Ivory Palace exists above the woes of Darrowold and its conflicts. It is a place free of time where those who reside never age. The moment you left the safety of its confines you began to age rapidly. Sin and sorrow added to your condition, acting to multiply the effects. Unfortunately you have both lost your innocence on this journey, but because of your repentance and reliance upon your father in the end, you have both gained maturity in the process. Now perhaps you are ready to return home and accept the responsibilities the High King has had in mind for you both from the beginning.”

Nathan looked at Nataleigh and nodded.

“I sure am.” He agreed.

Nataleigh took his hand and turned to their friends.

“So am I.” she said. “So I guess this is goodbye.”

Chapter 17: A Jester's Tact

2009-03-31T17:09:00.003-05:00

Nathan had thought he had cried as much as he could cry, but at Chrysolis’ question he found unwanted tears welling up in his eyes again and he didn’t think he could handle any more. Collapsing again on the dragon’s neck, he covered his face. All he could manage was a hoarse, “Just take me home,” before his voice choked off.

Chrysolis looked at the others even as her scaled arms released her nieces and embraced the prince again. The looks on their faces told her that the worst imaginable thing must have happened and her own face fell.

Not understanding, but knowing that the prince needed to return home without further questions, the dragon quietly began to nudge him up onto her back.
Anna Monee and Coralee were openly crying now as they remembered again the tragic loss. The others patted the prince on his back in turn saying their silent farewells, none able to speak. Even Maid Madelyn had a tear in her eye as she watched the prince mount the dragon.

Finally Flindee stepped forward and looked around rather puzzled. “Hey, what gives? Why’s everybody adding more salt to the sea? I’ve seen less tears in the eyes of the onion peeler at Bouldergold castle after his twentieth bushel.”

Vonkar hushed him, irritated by his insensibility.

“Why?” he asked again. “What’s wrong?”

This time Frangen spoke with exasperation.

“Do you not remember what happened to the Princess? You were there to see it.”
“Oh that,” said the Jester with a shrug. “Well, I was kinda bummed at the time on account of her disappearing into that whirling ball of mist and all. I mean, she looked pretty scared when it happened… and the way she screamed for her daddy and clawed at the floor as it was sucking her in seemed pretty dramatic…”

Everyone turned to stare at Flindee as he callously recounted the princess’s horrific ending and this time it wasn’t just Vonkar that stood dumbfounded by the Jester’s mad disconnect from reality. In fact, it looked as if the whole group were going to gang up on the hapless comedian, including the two little sea serpents!

“Q and I were discussing how tragic the whole thing was,” he continued obliviously, “and how bad we both felt that we couldn’t help her at the time (what with me being tied up and Q being nearly unconscious on the floor), but the way I look at it now, there’s nothing to be too sad about after all.”

“That’s it!” Vonkar shouted, flexing his muscled arms as he advanced on the jester. “This is the absolute last time I listen to this lunatic and his dishonorable rantings!”

“I’ll hold him for you!” Maid Madelyn offered.

But before they could reach him, Flindee finished his point. “I mean, the vortex obviously didn’t kill her and it couldn’t have sent her very far away if she’s back already.”

“Flindee, what are you jabbering about this time?” Nathan finally asked, exhausted and exasperated by the jester. “My sister is gone! Do you understand? She’s dead and she’s not coming back! Don’t you understand the word ‘dead’?”

Though he was shouting by the end of the sentence, his voice choked up once again and he broke off. Tears of anger as well as grief filled his eyes this time. Why can’t this dumb, little dwarf ever figure out real life, he wondered bitterly. Some things just aren’t funny!

“Well, yeah.” Flindee continued, a bit flustered now by the prince’s emotional outburst and by the two warriors who were closing in on him menacingly. “But um, well forgive me if I’m wrong, but… hey don’t wrinkle the threads sweetheart… I mean, isn’t that your sister riding on the little white pony in the sky up there?”

They all turned to look up where Flindee pointed and gasped. To their utter amazement, Princess Nataleigh was indeed riding toward them on the back of her wind runner, Jewel! She was clothed in a brilliant white dress trimmed in gold and a jeweled tiara adorned her head. But most noticeable was the gleam of her eyes and the joy on her face as she rode toward them at full speed with her hair thrown back by the wind.

Chapter 16: Back to the Beach

2009-03-31T16:48:00.004-05:00

Heindel snapped into action, ordering his brothers to help him in locking up the prisoners in the submarine’s brig. Maid Madelyn said nothing further, her anger siphoned from her by the High Prince’s wise and emotional pronouncement. She could no longer allow her own emotions to rule her when his majesty had lost so much more and yet chosen mercy. Even the usually unflappable Flindee was subdued by the grief and pain of those around him.

Soon the prisoners were secured, not only the three who were captured in the submarine, but Captain Claw and his pirates who had been defeated in the mechanism room by Vonkar and the sea serpents. There was not enough room in the small holding cell of the submarine, but the heroes made good use of rope to bind them all until they reached King Balderdash’s kingdom.

At last the inventors had the submarine back in order and ready to depart. Everyone boarded and the sea serpents guided the submarine back through the underwater tunnels and out to the open sea. Papa and Mama had insisted on escorting them at least as far as the surface of the island where Prince Nathan desired to reunite with Chrysolis and return home as quickly as possible.

The sea serpents, and their eight-legged attack “fish” would keep the pirate attack ships away while the Prince disembarked with the help of Coralee and Anna Monee who would swim him to the beach. (The two little sea dragons wanted to say hello to their great aunt Chrysolis and since they were both so upset about the loss of the Princess, the elder sea serpents granted their wishes in spite of the dangers of the battle above.) Once the submarine and the prince had safely departed Skull Rock Bay, the serpents would return to their lair and allow the pirate factions to continue their conflict over a prize that they would never claim.

Of course, Nathan’s friends would not hear of letting him fly off all alone without a proper farewell after all they had been through together, and so it was that the prince found himself on the beach, not alone, but accompanied by two little sea serpents, a Viking warrior, a jester and his puppet, a bare-chested inventor, and even a woodland warrior-maiden.

The prince had tried to dissuade most of them from coming, especially those who had come with his sister on her quest. In his grief for his sister, the last thing he wanted was to be surrounded by a bunch of people, especially ones that reminded him of her. But it was no use. Frangen seemed to be struggling with his own guilt over his failing to protect Nataleigh and begged to serve the prince until the bitter end. Maid Madelyn was as stubborn and ready for a fight as Vonkar and insisted that if the Viking were going, she should go as well, to see him safely off. Nathan suspected that both of the warriors were secretly hoping for more battle on the beach, but at this point he no longer cared.

Let them have their silly little battles and songs of great deeds, he thought. I’m done. If something starts, they’re on their own!

But the prince was wrong about Vonkar at least. The Viking had changed since the prince had first met him on Stormwatch Mountain. As they walked out of the water and onto the sand of the beach, the Viking did not even glance toward the tree line or scan the beach for pirates. The Vocal Viking was silent and had even left his axe strapped to his back. Nathan began to wonder if the Northern warrior had finally learned that not all battle was glorious.

In reality, none of the prince’s companions were very talkative. Whether it was that they all understood his need to be left alone with his thoughts, or that they all had been changed by this misadventure, Nathan did not know nor care. He was just content to know that they were all leaving him alone.

All, that is, except Flindee, of course. The Jester was the only one unchanged by all that had happened. Even now he and Q were carrying on conversation with Anna Monee about the care and feeding of giant squishy-fishes. Though Anna Monee was trying to talk in hushed tones (because her cousin was quick to remind her about the prince’s feelings), Flindee carried on in his typical carefree manner as though they were all having a Sunday picnic without a care in the world. The Jester had become quite enamored with the idea of having his very own pet octopus and he and Q were now arguing about housing the creature in Bouldergold castle’s courtyard pond. Anna Monee giggled in spite of herself as she listened to them, trying to make them understand that an octopus wouldn’t survive in a freshwater pond. Coralee rolled her eyes at them as she scanned the sky for her aunt.

It didn’t take long. Before they had taken more than a few steps in the sand Chrysolis appeared in the sky descending toward them. Gracefully she spread her blue wings and landed before Nathan.

The prince ran to her and threw his arms around her neck. “How are you, Chrys? Did you get hurt at all while we were gone?”

The dragon shook her head and rumbled deep in her chest. “Of course not. As if these little dwarf sea rats could scratch me. They were too busy running in fear. As you can see there are none left on the beaches to bother us.”

Their reunion was suddenly interrupted by the excited approach of Coralee and Anna Monee.
“Aunty Chrysolis!” they both shouted throwing themselves on the great purple dragon. Chrysolis was quite taken by surprise to see them but threw her great forelegs around them both.

“Well, hello!” she greeted. “And who are these two young sea dragons? They couldn’t possibly be my nieces, Coralee and Anna Monee. Why they’re no more than hatchlings!”
The girls giggled.

“I thought I saw your mother and father in the bay. Are you all well?”
Nathan interrupted.

“Wait a minute. You mean you knew Papa and Mama the whole time?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me they were friendly, Chrys?”

“I was not allowed to interfere or counsel, by order of your father, only to assist and protect. But I knew that you were in no real danger from my brother’s son and his wife.”

She turned to look at Vonkar.

“Besides, I thought one of you might need to learn a thing or two about assumptions and judging those who are different then you.”

Vonkar actually blushed under the dragon’s gentle reprimand and cleared his throat, but said nothing.

Chrysolis looked from the Viking to the others and asked, “So I assume your quest was a success, but I do not see the Princess Nataleigh.”

Everyone dropped their eyes to the sand and nothing was said in reply. Chrysolis looked confused and then concerned.

“Nate, what has happened? Is your sister safe?”

Chapter 15: The High Prince's Decision

2009-03-31T16:14:00.004-05:00

Suddenly out of the water beside it popped two little serpent heads with big grins on their faces. Anna Monee and Coralee swam to the shore and flapped up to the group. Anna Monee threw her fins around Mama’s neck.

“Look, Mama!” she giggled. “Squirty found a new toy to fetch!”

Mama looked surprised.
“Squirty did this?” she asked.

Papa laughed and they moved over to the pool. “Good boy, Squirty!” he said and patted something on the side of the submarine.

It was a tentacle. In fact, they realized that the entire sub was wrapped in them. And then a huge bulbous head broke the surface of the water and they realized that it was the giant octopus that had attacked the submarine when they had arrived at the island.

“Great grandpa Vindelshneezer!” cried Heindel. “You mean zhat giant beasty belongs to you?”

“Yep!” bubbled Anna Monee. “He’s our pet, squishy-fish! And he loves to play fetch, isn’t that right, Squirty?”

The octopus began to bobble up and down in the water excitedly, its tentacles releasing the submarine with great splashes as if it wanted to play some more.

“Hey, that’s cool!” said Flindee, on his feet now and jogging toward the water to get a closer look. “What kind of stuff does he fetch? Can I play with him?”

“He’ll fetch anything we tell him to fetch, but he loves to chase pirate ships especially!” said Anna Monee. “I guess your underwater boat looked like a ship to him, or maybe a whale. He likes to play with them too.”

Flindee stepped into the water and started to pet one of the tentacles.

“Hey there, big fella.” He said. “That’s a good Cephalopod. Whoa, hey there now! Easy!”

A tentacle wrapped itself around the jester, lifting him gently from the water as he petted it.

“Don’t worry,” Anna Monee assured him, “He’s just playing. Squirty likes you, I think.”

“Really?” beamed Flindee. “I’ve always wanted a pet with multiple appendages. I always asked my mom and pops for a giant millipede. I never thought about asking for my very own leviathan! This is even better!”

Flindee suddenly laughed. “Ew, his suction cups tickle! It’s like he’s kissing me all over!”
Suddenly there was a loud screeching sound as the hatch on the submarine unlocked and began to open. Vonkar gripped his axe and began to charge the sub while Papa bared his giant fangs and hovered over the opening, ready to attack whoever emerged, ready for whatever fantastic weapon the enemy might have found among the inventor’s gadgets.

But as the hatch flipped back, out clambered Boz, holding a wretched looking little sea hag under one arm and dragging a defeated wizard behind him. Right behind them King Kugelbone emerged, one arm twisted behind his back by Maid Madelyn who pushed him harshly through the hatch.

“Bozvin!” shouted Heindel. “You are safe! Thanks be to the great inventor!”

“Ya! I am fine now,” returned Boz. “You have made new friends, I see.”

Maid Madelyn was startled when she realized that there was a great sea serpent towering over her and an axe wielding Viking charging toward them, but she quickly realized that these were allies and relaxed as they approached.

“Thanks for leaving some of the bad guys for us.” she said. “I thought we’d missed out on all the fun, but then these three showed up and tried telling us we were going to have to stay in that thing for another few days as prisoners. Unfortunately for them, I’ve had more than enough of underwater boats! So where do we put them?”

As she said this, she looked over the whole group and then asked, “Where is the Princess? Did she retrieve the Serpent’s Eye?”

No one answered, but looking at the long faces, Madelyn knew something had gone terribly wrong. Finally, as he reached the top of the submarine, Frangen softly answered.

“The princess destroyed the Serpent’s Eye but was…” he trailed off, unable to finish then pointed at Nathan who was still sitting on the cavern floor numbly. “That is her brother, the Prince Nathan, who came to aid us, but he was not…”

Madelyn got the point and rage flooded her mind. The princess was gone? Twisting Kugelbone’s arm harder, she spun him around to face her. “What have you done with the Princess, you black-hearted, cowardly…”

“Madelyn, please!” pleaded Frangen, it was not these three who did it, at least not directly.
“Indirectly then.” she asserted. “I will directly inflict such pain upon them that they will wish they had never heard of a Serpent’s Eye, the grasping, greedy, power-hungry weasels!”

The three villains raised their arms (the ones that were free to do so) over their heads to ward off the punishment that was coming.

“And where are the rest?” Madelyn continued. “Show me who IS directly responsible and I will bring swift justice upon them!”

Most of the others shook their heads in sadness at the maiden warrior’s vehement words of vengeance. Vonkar seemed thoughtful, as though he might be considering the idea himself, but finally it was the prince who spoke.

“No.” he said. “Vengeance is not for us to measure out, warrior maiden. Madelyn, is that your name?”

All eyes turned back to the shore to see him standing again. He no longer looked defeated and overcome with sorrow. Something had changed in his countenance.

“I wanted vengeance on these three ‘weasels’ too, but as much as their actions have brought misery and sorrow to our lives, we who are noble are bound by a higher law. The Law of the High King states that no action shall be taken out of vengeance, but only justice shall be enacted by an impartial authority. We are neither impartial, nor free of the pain that motivates vengeance, therefore it is not for us to carry out their punishment. They shall be turned over to King Balderdash and he shall pass sentence in the name of my Father. And by his good wisdom and that of his counselors will justice be carried out.”

The prince sighed heavily and turned to Heindel. “Do you not have a brig aboard your vessel?”
Heindel nodded in shock and the prince continued.

“I have come through too much and only survived with my father’s aid and by my sister’s sacrifice. I will mar neither the will of the one, nor the memory of the other by pursuing my heart at this moment, though make no mistake wizard. Were it not for the very law that you despise and reject, your life would be forfeit this very moment so if I were you I would consider well your future choices in light of my father’s mercy, especially now that your power is broken and the one who granted you that power is banished from Darrowold.”

With that the prince nodded at Heindel and walked away dismissively, cloaked again in his personal grief.

Chapter 14: Descent into Darkness

2009-03-31T16:00:00.004-05:00

“What?” Vonkar asked in confusion, brandishing Foegrin.

“Who? Where?”

“The wizard, the witch, and King Kugelbone escaped up that tunnel,” Frangen continued pointing toward the tunnel that led to the water cavern where they had docked the submarine, “and it sounds like they are stealing our underwater ship from my brothers who stayed behind to guard it!”

“Oh no they’re not!” Nathan growled, forgetting his anger at his friends. Without warning, the prince sprang for the tunnel, scooping his sword and shield up from the floor as he passed. Vonkar and the others were not far behind. Together, they all raced down the tunnel to stop the villains who had caused so much trouble and even grief. But when they arrived they saw only Heindel dragging himself out of the water and onto the shore. The three villains were nowhere to be seen and the submarine was already disappearing beneath the water!

“NO!” Nathan shouted in rage and anguish! He could not stand the thought that Panganiban, King Kugelbone and Hagwig would escape after all they had done – after causing Nataleigh to… He couldn’t bring himself to consciously finish the thought. Heedlessly, the prince ran for the water and dove in, desperately trying to catch hold of the submarine as if he could drag it back by sheer willpower – as if bringing it back would bring back his sister!

The others shouted for him to stop and Heindel exclaimed something about the weight of his armor dragging him to the bottom, but it was too late and he didn’t care. As his feet slipped over the edge of the drop off, the prince took a final gulp of air and sank, following the dim glow of the sub disappearing into the darkness below him.

But it was no use. The sub was heavier than he was, even with his full armor. He watched it fade below him. The propeller suddenly began to spin and it moved forward through the underwater tunnel that led to the open sea. The prince began to kick his feet and arms to follow, but now the foolishness of his action became obvious as he realized that he was powerless to swim.

As the submarine disappeared into the tunnel, darkness settled around him and he began to panic. No matter how hard he kicked or stroked with his arms, he could not slow his descent. Frantically he began to pull at the buckles and straps that held his armor on, but in the darkness he could not see well enough to loosen them by himself.

He continued to sink, dropping like a stone and hope faded in his heart. His lungs were starting to burn now and he knew he could not last much longer without air. He had failed his sister, and now it looked as if he would fail himself as well.

But the prince was not alone. His friends had not forsaken him to a watery grave. Just as he felt his lungs could not hold another second, he felt something huge close around him in the darkness and begin to lift him up. For a moment he thought he was being swallowed whole by some giant fish. And then he was clearing the water, gasping for air as he was lifted to the cavern ceiling and then back down again.

Before he realized it, he was being spit onto the cave floor next to Vonkar and the others. He had been swallowed, or nearly swallowed anyway, by Papa. The sea serpent had retrieved him from the depths the quickest way possible and the prince had sea serpent spit all over him to prove it.
“Is he ok, Papa?” Mama asked in a worried voice. “Is he breathing?”

“Ew, gross!” Quipped Flindee waving his hand back and forth in front of his face. “And I thought ettins had bad breath.”

“Give him air, people.” Commanded Heindel as he waved them all back a step or two.
The prince was still gasping and trying to suck down much needed oxygen, but as soon as he caught his breath again he stood up and started toward the water.

Alarmed, the others moved to block him, but the prince was determined and pushed past them. Once again it was the sea serpent which saved him from himself. No matter how determined Nathan was, there was no moving Papa and Mama.

Nathan began pounding on the tough rubbery underbelly of the sea serpent with his fists, venting his frustration at them.

“Why aren’t you going after them?” he shouted, “You could have caught that submarine and dragged it back here by now so those villains could face justice! What’s the matter with you?”
Once again, the prince collapsed to the ground in defeat and overwhelmed by grief. He was beyond exhaustion and too weary to even cry now.

A large flipper covered his back and he heard Mama’s voice. “We’re sorry, your majesty, but we had to save you first. We couldn’t just let you drown now. What good would that have done? But we can go after them now, can’t we Papa?”

She looked at Papa, who shook his head doubtfully, but then said, “Of course. We can out swim any machine built by dwarves.”

“What about Boz and the maiden?” Frangen asked, looking at Heindel for an answer.

“Zhey vere both still in zhe infirmary when zhose villains attacked, probably still unconscious. Zhey are prisoners now.” Heindel explained. “I just hope zhat vizard doesn’t learn how to use zhe veapons. Ve vouldn’t vant you getting zappified, Mr. uh… and Mrs. Sea Serpent. Be careful.”

“Heh! Good luck trying to catch them now.” Flindee remarked suddenly. “They got a big head start on you and there’s lots of places to hide under the ocean. At least that’s what my cousin Mindee told me. She was turned into a mermaid once when she fell in love with this merman from Atlantis… or was it a mailman from Atlanta? I get confused. Do you remember, Q?”

The puppet shook its head and almost seemed to shrug as Flindee continued. “Anyway, she was telling me that…”

“Hush, fruitcake!” Vonkar snapped. “You’re not helping the prince to feel any better. And that goes double for your daft, award winning puppet friend. Not another word from either of ye!”

Flindee huffed and plopped down on the cave floor. Q blew cherries at the Viking then turned its back on them all, looking over the jester’s shoulder in apparent disgust.

“Unfortunately, he may be right,” Heindel agreed reluctantly, “…especially if zhey discover zhe submersible’s newest feature. I just installed a new cloaking device zhat makes it nearly invisible vhen it is activated. I’m sorry.”

“We can’t just abandon Boz and the maiden, Madelyn, can we?” Frangen asked.

“He’s right,” agreed Mama. “Come on, Papa.”

But before the sea serpent could move, a loud bubbling was suddenly heard coming from the water and all eyes were drawn toward the cavern pool. Within seconds a large metal object appeared, rising from the bubbling water.

It was the submarine! It had miraculously returned!

Chapter 13: Quattlebom the Courageous

2009-03-27T22:36:00.008-05:00

As the magic whirlwind dissipated, the desperate cry of a princess was replaced with the desperate cry of a prince! Nathan had not been knocked unconscious or killed by the giant’s final blow and had come to his senses in just enough time to realize what was happening and witness the final horrible moments of his sister’s sacrifice.

Though pushed to utter exhaustion and unable to move moments before, reserves of energy now surged into his body as he scrambled to his feet and lunged for the rapidly dispersing cloud of magic. But it was too late. All he caught as he reached the spot were wisps of trailing mist.

Collapsing to the floor, he struck the stone with both fists and howled in anguish. After all he had come through to save his sister, he had failed in the end and the realization that she was lost crushed him to the cave floor with more force than any giant’s fist ever could.

Nataleigh was gone!

Each time he had thought his nightmares had been undone, that he had defeated his worst fears, and that his dreams had been proven wrong, but like the worst kind of nightmare, this one kept returning until it had finally claimed the victory. He could not stop the inevitable and now bitter sorrow overwhelmed him. He was not strong enough. He had failed in his task and now the ultimate price for his weakness had been paid.

The prince could think of nothing else at that moment and would have remained there for maybe hours in brokenness had his grief not been interrupted by the sudden arrival of his friends.

Only seconds passed before the flapping sound of giant flippers were heard dragging a huge scaled body up the tunnel and Mama and Papa sea serpent burst into the tunnel junction with Vonkar on their back. Seeing the obvious signs of conflict and mayhem in the area, Vonkar bounded from the serpent’s back, axe held high and peered about for enemies.

None were found.

“By Foegrin’s Metal,” exclaimed the Viking, “what fierce battle has been waged here?”

“Shhhh!” hissed Mama as she noticed the miserable state of the prince on the cave floor before them.

“Oh, the poor, little dear,” she soothed. “Something horrible has happened, Papa.”

“Eww, I know, I know!” An all-too-familiar voice hailed them from the far side of the tunnel. Looking in that direction, they saw Flindee and Frangen bound together with rope. Vonkar ran to them and cut their ropes with his axe.

But before they could get any answers from the jester, he leaped free of his bonds and ran toward where the prince still knelt on the floor. But just before he got to Nathan, the little dwarf, dropped to the floor himself and scooped up his little puppet friend.

“Quattlebom, speak to me!” He cried. “Are you ok, little buddy? They didn’t hurt you did they?” Cradling the puppet he listened for an answer and then prompted it with a little shake. “Q, can you hear me? Come on, don’t do this to me. You can’t be dead. You’re tougher than that. Q?”

But apparently no answer came for Flindee suddenly burst into tears, hugging his little wooden

friend tightly and rocking back and forth on his knees. “No, Q. This can’t be the end after all the adventures we’ve been through and all of the performances we’ve done and all of the Ice Cream we’ve shared. You can’t leave me like this!”

The little dwarf pulled his hat from his head and buried his face in it as he dropped to the floor near the prince wailing pathetically.

“Oh, the poor, poor dears.” Mama looked as if she might cry as well and reached out a huge flipper to pat them on the back.

Even Vonkar was sobered as he approached his two miserable friends along with Frangen. The Viking tried, very awkwardly to comfort the jester.

“Now come along, Laddie.” He said a bit gruffly. “We’ll have no grieving over valiant lives lost. You’re wee little… er, wooden, um, friend there, gave his life bravely in… battle?”

He looked to Frangen for quick confirmation. The inventor nodded gravely and Vonkar continued. “And if in battle he met his end, then we shall remember him in song and generations to come will sing of the courageous Quattlebom and his final eh… end.”

But Flindee would have none of Vonkar’s comfort. The more he spoke, the louder the jester wailed in anguish until the warrior dwarf became so desperate to quiet him down, that he leaned in close and even tried to mimic a high pitched puppety voice. “Aye, Flindee, I’m ok. Vonkar’s right.”

The jester’s head popped up and he scowled at Vonkar.

“That’s not funny, you barbarian!” He scolded. “Don’t you think I know my best friends voice? (You did have me going there for a second, though. You do a very good imitation.) But he’s gone and nothing you say will bring him back! He died a hero, giving his life for the… did you say a song?”

Suddenly Flindee jumped to his feet and faced Vonkar with a gleam in his eye. “Do you mean it? Do you really think ol’ Q here was THAT good? You’d actually write a song for him? WOW!”

Vonkar jumped back as if he were evading a sudden attack by the Jester. “Well, uh… now wait a minute. I didn’t say that I would be the one to…”

“Can I help you?” Flindee continued with new excitement and puffed out his chest as he began.
“Against the mighty dragon spawn,
Stood the Jester and his pawn.
The dragon raged but Flindee fought,
As little Q his moves he taught.
Until the…”

Suddenly he stopped short and cocked his head toward Q then said matter-of-factly. “What to you mean, I’m giving you too small a role in your own death dirge? Well that’s gratitude for ya. I’d think that you’d be happy to have your name mentioned at all after I ended up doing all of the work, you little ungrateful…”

Again he was interrupted by an unheard voice and then continued.

“Oh sure, so just because you’re the one who died, you get all of the credit? What about my black eye and missing tooth?” There was another pause and then. “Oh, I see how it is. You always were such a glory hound, Q! You never give me any of the credit.”

Vonkar stuttered in shock at the sudden turn around.

“But I thought he… IT… was dead.” He shouted in exasperation. “Now suddenly he’s alive?”

“Well of course!” Flindee agreed. “He had us all fooled pretty good, huh? It’s called acting and Q is one of the best. Magnificent performance don’t you think? He’ll probably get an Oscar, the lucky stiff!”

“Why you mad, little…”

But before Vonkar could finish, Mama sea serpent intervened, drawing all of their attention back to the prince and the situation at hand.

“Oh, let him be, Vonkar,” she said, “Can’t you see that there’s another one here who’s lost someone? Now’s not the time for squabbling.”

Then turning back to Nathan she continued. “There, there, your majesty. Everything will be fine. We’re here now.”

But the prince would not even look up from his misery.

Vonkar, forgetting his irritation with the jester, turned back to his friend. “Come now, Lad. Tell us what has happened and we’ll make it right. Did those villains escape with your sister? Not to fear! We’ll catch them and make them pay! Just show us which tunnel they took!”

Still Nathan did not answer.

Finally Frangen spoke up, his voice low and sad.

“They escaped, but not with the prince’s sister. She is…” and then his voice broke, “…gone! She destroyed the Serpent’s Eye to stop the great dragon from killing her brother, but it… took her with it!”

For the first time, Papa spoke.

“The great dragon? You mean Snagglefang was here?” Papa huffed. “He’s not that great. I could take him and he knows it!”

“Well that’s not important right now, dear.” Said Mama.

“Yes it is!”

Suddenly the prince jumped to his feet and looked up at the giant sea serpent, his face blotched with grief and anger. “Where were you when I needed you? Where were all of you?”

They all took a step back at his sudden outburst except for Vonkar who put a hand on his shoulder. But the prince shrugged him off violently and whirled to face him.

“I suppose you were off fighting with every little dwarf you could find to show what a great warrior you are while the big fight that you’ve been looking for was in here and you MISSED it! What good are…”

But before Nathan could say anything else that he might regret he was interrupted by someone shouting from one of the tunnels.

“Stop! You can’t do that! You don’t know how to operate it!”

It was Heindel! And it sounded like he was struggling with someone. Then the sound of a splash echoed up the tunnel followed by a loud creak and a metallic thud.

“Their stealing our Submersible!” Frangen shouted in alarm.

Chapter 12: The Ultimate Sacrifice

2009-03-27T19:42:00.003-05:00

Nataleigh watched in horror as her brother fought for his life alone and unaided. At first it appeared he might hold his own with the High King’s sword and Shield, but with the giant’s massive fists hammering relentlessly against his shield and the dragon attacking with fire, tooth and claw from the other direction, it was only a matter of moments before the prince would fall.

Nataleigh’s heart broke as she watched her brother suffering under their attacks. Desperate, she ran to help her brother, throwing herself on the dragon’s hind quarters and pounding him with her fists. She screamed for the beast to leave her brother alone, but the dragon, hardly turning to acknowledge her at all, flicked his tail and sent her sprawling back.

She lay there in a crumpled heap, the air knocked from her. Looking around, she saw now that Hagwig was tying up the jester with Frangen. So the inventor had been captured as well. Hope died at that moment as the princess realized what a fool she had been. There was no one left to rescue them and it was her brother who was suffering the most from her choices.

She watched now as he fell to one knee, dropping the sword and holding the shield up for protection with both hands. It would be only seconds now before he would fall.

What have I done? She pondered. I never thought about how my choices could affect others or hurt the ones I love. How could I have been so foolish? If only I could do it over, I never would have left Amiera. If I could take it back I’d just tell my father and let him deal with the problem.
“Oh Father,” she cried, “Help us! Daddy, save Nathan! I’m sorry I disobeyed. Please forgive me. Don’t let Nathan suffer for my pride and jealousy! I can’t stand to see him suffering because of me. I didn’t mean to hurt him, father. I’m so sorry. Please help me save him. I wish I’d never even laid eyes on that stupid Serpent’s Eye. All I did was to give more power to the dragon to…”
She stopped. As she cried out the words, the answer came to her like a bolt of lightning from the heavens. The dragon’s power was increased by the Serpent’s Eye! Of course! The Serpent’s Eye was the key to the dragon’s power! That’s how it had gotten its name. Destroy the crystal and destroy the dragon! That was it!

But what would it take to break the crystal and what would be the result of destroying something with all of that power contained within? Would there be an explosion? Mightn’t it be dangerous or painful? Could it kill her?

Suddenly there was a final bellow as Gart came down with both arms in a crushing blow and dropped the prince to the floor. Shield gone, armor dented, the prince lay on the cave floor unmoving beneath the giant’s feet.

The dragon gloated in triumph. “At last, I have conquered the son of the High King! His father’s armor and weapons could not defeat me and now I will have Darrowold and Amiera for my own. There is no one left to stop me!”

“You’re wrong, dragon!” came a voice from the center of the tunnel. “You may have defeated the son of the High King, but you forgot about His daughter!”

Snagglefang’s horned head snapped around to see the princess standing with both hands on the Serpent’s Eye and in that moment realized his horrible mistake. His eyes grew wide and all the hypnotic power within them was shattered, replaced by fear.

“NO!” He pleaded. “Gart, Hagwig, Reginald, stop her! Quickly!”

But the princess hesitated no more. The price for what she had done had to be paid and it was hers to pay, not her brother’s. She knew what she had to do to fix everything, and if it meant her own suffering or even death, than she was willing to face it.

Before anyone, even the fast-flying hawk, could move to stop her, she lifted the Serpent’s Eye, pedestal and all from the cave floor, flipped it over and smashed it down with all of her strength.
There was an explosion of power as the crystal ball shattered into thousands of pieces and the magic within the ball was released. Waves of green fog rolled over the tunnel in every direction and Nataleigh was knocked back several feet.

The mist clung to everything and everyone for a few heartbeats and then suddenly there was a great sound of rushing wind and all the power that had escaped the Eye, suddenly began to rush back toward the bronze stand and the remaining shards of the crystal ball. It was as if a great black hole had been created by lack of magic where the Eye should have been and now it was sucking everything that was connected to it back into itself.

Nataleigh noticed that the dragon had already returned to its normal size and color and was clawing at the stone to resist the pull of the magic. The giant too had grabbed hold of a stalactite and was hanging on for dear life as his legs lifted from the floor by the power of the magic drawing him sideways.

The great hawk was the first to go. Already in the air, the bird had no defense against the magic except the futile flapping of its own wings. Within seconds, the hawk was pulled into a swirling mist with shards of crystal orbiting its center - all that remained of the Serpent’s Eye - and was gone.

It was followed by all kinds of magic items possessed by the witch and the wizard. Panganiban’s staff flew into the green maelstrom and flashed out of existence. Pouches with magic powders and other items tore loose from both of the magic-user’s robes and flew into the mist. The tugging nearly pulled Panganiban in as well, but the wizard came to himself in time to grab netting on the floor and stop himself.

Finally, Gart and Snagglefang were pulled in. The giant’s stalactite snapped with a loud crack and his flailing arms caught hold of the little dragon’s tail and pulled him in after, both screaming into oblivion as they disappeared.

But the fading magic of the Serpent’s Eye was not satisfied only with the drawing of all things magic or magically conjured into its vacuum. Whether the dragon still exerted some will over his power and wanted to take his destroyer with him or because the princess was now linked to the magic because she had been the one to release it, the mist began to claw at her and drag her toward the swirling pool of magic.

The princess felt the magic biting into her skin and pulling. She could not resist its pull. It went beyond the physical, gripping her mind and her soul. Was it too late for her? Had she already sold herself to the power without hope of redemption? Did the Serpent’s Eye now own her?
The idea of losing her soul into the swirling mist terrified her. That was the one thing she had not considered sacrificing for her brother, the one price that she thought she had escaped.

As she lost her grip on the floor, she cried out with one last desperate plea, “Father, please! Save me!”

And then she was gone, sucked into the void!

Chapter 11: The Price of Rebellion

2009-03-27T18:44:00.006-05:00

Princess Nataleigh lay on the floor of the cave rubbing her head and wondering what had hit her. There was a commotion going on around her, but her senses were out of focus and she couldn’t quite pull herself together enough to figure out what was going on. She felt dizzy and a little sick as she stared at the rock floor. Her breath came to her in short gasps.

Where am I, she wondered, and what is going on?
The last thing she could remember was running. She had been chasing after the Serpent’s Eye which had been stolen from her… by that witch! That filthy little sea hag had taken what she had come so far to possess! And she would not allow that.

She remembered now charging the little woman to get the Eye back. Frangen had shouted at her to stop. Frangen… what had happened to the inventor? He must have seen something she hadn’t because the next thing she knew, she had been snared by a net… and then things went fuzzy.

All she could remember clearly was the Serpent’s Eye in the hands of the wizard and how wrong that seemed. It should be hers. It belonged to her Father, anyway. Therefore it belonged to his children, not some horrible little dwarf.

And then the wizard was gone, replaced by a voice. The voice was unknown to her, and yet somehow familiar, like an old friend. She liked it. It understood her. It had offered her what she’d been seeking her whole life…freedom; freedom from rules and expectations, freedom to pursue adventure.

All she had to do was get the Eye back.

And then she was free of her bonds and it was within her reach. It was as if the Serpent’s Eye itself were calling her, wanting her the way she wanted it. The voice was so warm…
…and then her head exploded with pain and she found herself now staring at the cave floor.

The pain in her head throbbed. Something had struck her… and it hadn’t been soft.
Her eyes fell upon a colorful object lying on the cave floor nearby. It was a short rod of wood with a silly, blunt-faced head carved into one end. The head was wearing a yellow and red jester’s cap pulled over its eyes and had a large rubber tongue sticking out of its mouth. A cloth body had been attached to the stick, complete with stubby little arms and flat hands dressed in a matching jester shirt. It was a wooden-headed puppet.

She reached for it, realizing that this was the object that had struck her. But where had it come from? She wondered. And why would someone hit me with a puppet? Was this one of Hagwig’s cruel little weapons?

Finally she looked up and realized that there was a battle going on around her. The first thing she noticed was a little dwarf dressed in red and yellow Jester clothes that matched the puppet in her hand. He was challenging a small dragon, irritating it and dodging the fire that spewed from its mouth.

She couldn’t make out yet what he was saying, her head still spinning as it was, but before much could be said, the jester was knocked to the floor by Hagwig. The dirty little witch had attacked him from behind!

Anger toward the witch again rose up in the princess. She didn’t know who this little jester was, but if he was fighting the witch and a dragon, Nataleigh decided he must be one of the good guys. She started to push herself up to help when she realized that the dragon was moving across the tunnel toward someone else. It was Nathan! Her brother stood with a small pirate sword in one hand wearing his armor, facing the advancing dragon bravely. But there was death in the dragon’s eyes and though it was not very big, Nataleigh feared for her brother. Something was not right. There was more to this dragon then could be seen. And it knew her brother. It spoke to him as though they had met before.

Suddenly, the dragon drew back and roared and before anyone could do anything, it grew and changed and Nataleigh realized that she had been right. This dragon was no ordinary dragon. I was far more powerful than it had appeared. Now its true nature was exposed and nothing stood between it and her brother.

She could see fear in Nathan’s eyes as he watched the transformation. He was about to die! She was sure of it, yet she was frozen with fear herself, unable to move or even scream for him to run.

Then to her amazement, Nathan threw aside the pirate sword and, shouting a challenge to the dragon, exploded with power. His armor changed color and out of thin air a flaming sword and bright shield appeared in his hands. A crown appeared on his head and Nataleigh saw for the first time how much her brother looked like… their father, the High King!

The last of his words echoed across the tunnel to her as he engaged the dragon. “I do not walk in disobedience as my sister, lured by your deceptions. I have made peace with my father and know He is with me at this moment!”

And the dragon’s response, “Then come, your Highness. Embrace your end and witness the rise of my rule over Darrowold!”

The dragon lunged for Nathan and he struck at it, but the sword only glance from the dragon’s scaled hide. The battle had begun.

It was all like a bad dream in the princess’s mind. Everything seemed to slow down and become more intense. On her other side, the jester and the witch were still wrestling around on the floor, neither getting the upper hand. The princess wanted to do something, but her mind was a muddle. Her brother’s words struck her heart. He had said that she was lured by the dragon’s deceptions. What could that mean? She had never met the dragon. How could she be deceived by it? Disobedient to her father, yes. She had to admit that she had disobeyed in coming down to Darrowold, but deceived? That didn’t make any sense to her.

The Prince was being pressed back against the cave wall now, the full force of the dragon’s massive bulk crushing down upon him. Fire struck him and only his lion-shield protected him. Then the dragon lifted one massive claw to strike and Nathan ducked and rolled under the leg as he had seen Flindee do moments before. Jumping to his feet, he struck the dragon under the leg and ran for open ground. The dragon bellowed and twisted around to pursue him.

Seeing the monster charging in her direction, the princess backed away from where she had fallen and bumped into the Serpent’s Eye. Suddenly, the rest of her memories came pouring back into her mind and she remembered now how the dragon had come to be here. She saw it all clearly now: Panganiban’s pride as he summoned the dragon, the dragon’s attack on the wizard, and her… deception.

She could not deny it now. She had been deceived by this dragon. How had it known her? She still didn’t understand everything, but it was now clear to her that her obsession with the Serpent’s Eye and her rebellion against her father had nearly destroyed her. Realization struck home. Somehow this was all her fault. In trying to take matters into her own hands, she had made them worse.

Nathan was now fighting for his life as he was backed up yet again in the other direction and the two combatants passed by the princess and the Serpent’s Eye. He had managed to score several hits on the dragon with the flaming sword which had increased Snagglefang’s rage, yet the dragon could not penetrate the great shield that seemed to radiate an aura of protection on all sides of the prince.

As the dragon passed by Nataleigh and the Eye, he suddenly turned his attention from Nathan and smiled at her.

“So you have come to your senses, have you, little princess? That is too bad. I had so hoped to give you the world. But now I will show you the power that you have given up.”
Reaching out, the dragon placed a claw over the Serpent’s Eye and spoke. “Gart, I summon you!”

Suddenly, an image appeared in the crystal which grew larger, and as with Snagglefang, Gart the giant stepped out of the ball and entered the cave. Nataleigh had never seen the giant either and his brutish size and fierce features cowed her to her knees as he glared down at her on the floor.

On one arm perched a predatory bird of immense size that eyed her hungrily.

“Never mind the girl.” The dragon instructed. “Grab the boy and hold him! You remember the brave knight you brought to me, don’t you, Gart.”

The Giant turned toward the prince, whose eyes had grown wider at his arrival. The giant’s face turned red with anger. “Oh, yeah, I remember HIM, boss. Do I get to smash him THIS time?”
“Yes. But don’t damage him too much. I still have need for him and his sister. Just bring him to me… and have Reginald give Hagwig a hand with our naughty little jester.”

Seeing the jester across the tunnel, the giant grinned, exposing his single, yellow tooth. “My pleasure, boss. You heard him, Weggio. Fetch!”

With a screech, the hawk launched into the air, and before Flindee knew what had hit him, he was lifted from the ground between two gigantic talons.

At the same time, the giant moved to capture Nathan. Though the prince was armed and had grown since their last encounter, he could not long stand against the combined force of the giant and the dragon.

Chapter 10: Son of the High King

2009-03-27T17:30:00.005-05:00

Once again, Nathan laughed! The appearance of Flindee at that moment seemed to break the dragon’s spell and the fear that gripped the prince. This time it wouldn’t happen the way it had in his dreams! Gripping the pirate sword in his hands he stepped forward to confront the evil of Snagglefang.

The dragon was indeed shocked and spun around in confusion to see what had happened. When he saw Flindee behind him, he roared with rage and swung his tail to strike down the foolish little dwarf!

“You! How DARE you meddle in my affairs, fool!” he shouted.

Flindee simply executed a perfect back flip and dodged the tail with a whistle. “Easy there, bosso, your nostrils are flaring again! Remember what your temper does to your blood pressure! And I don’t have any of your medication with me.”
“Jester, you are fired!” Snagglefang snarled and turned to breathe fire at the little acrobat.
Nathan’s eyes went wide with horror as a stream of flame filled the tunnel where Flindee had been. But once again, the jester was just too fast. Doing the thing that was least expected, he leapt straight for the dragon and somersaulted under his chin as the fire burned over his head.
“You can’t fire me,” he quipped, jumping back to his feet on the other side. “I already quit! You owe me a last paycheck, by the way. And I’m sure Quattlebom will want his toothbrush back that you borrowed!”

For a moment Nathan thought that Flindee might single handedly take on the dragon himself, but then the jester was knocked to the floor from behind. Hagwig, seeing her master’s anger, took it upon herself to put a stop to the offender. The two wiry little dwarves tumbled about on the cave floor, a jumble of bright colors and black rags.
Snagglefang turned back to face Nathan.

“So… Sir Vanderfluff decided to go on my little quest after all. And now that I have the Eye, the valiant knight wishes to take it from me? Still wishing to be the hero… BOY?”

Snagglefang taunted the prince mercilessly as he slithered toward him. There was anger and hatred in the dragon’s eyes that burned Nathan more than any fire breath could. “Did you really think you could deny me my prize, Prince? And do you think now that you are warrior enough to slay me with a toy sword?”

“It’s enough to finish you, dragon!” The prince shouted with determination. Flindee’s bravery had inspired him and he was determined to meet Snagglefang’s hatred with courage, but then the situation changed again.

“Ah. That might be true if I were the poor little dragon that you believe me to be. But I assure you, I am not!”

Suddenly, Snagglefang reared up on his hind legs, throwing his arms wide, and roared. The roar was louder and deeper than anything the prince had heard before or ever expected from such a small dragon. But then, Snagglefang wasn’t as small as he had been a moment before. The evil serpent was growing… and changing.

Green, swamp-colored scales began to darken to a crimson red while the underbelly blackened from the color of tarnished pennies to smoldering ash. Claws grew from knives to spears and jagged horns sprouted from every joint and protrusion on the dragon’s body. But worst of all, were his eyes. As Snagglefang grew, so too did the black slit of his eyes until the prince felt they would swallow him like the open mouth of some deep pit.

Staring into those hate-filled eyes the prince felt his resolve waver. How could he face such a monster and hope to survive with nothing but a thin pirate sword? The dragon now towered over him, forked tongue flicking from his blood red jaws which seemed to smile in anticipation of victory. The prince had been completely deceived by the dragon from the beginning. Snagglefang was not some little defenseless dragon who had been neglected, abused, or even misunderstood. He was wickedness in the flesh and the prince could not hope to defeat him, grown up or not.

Then a memory came like a gentle breeze and whispered to his heart, “Do not be afraid, son. I will be with you as you go to your sister. My strength will be yours.”

And Nathan knew what he had to do. Throwing aside the pirate sword, he stood firm and spoke to the serpent with authority.

“And I assure you that I am not simply the boy that you think me to be, dragon. I am the son of the High King! I do not come against you as a dwarf, no matter how small I may appear to you. I come against you with the authority of my father and with the strength he has given me to defeat you! I do not walk in disobedience as my sister, lured by your deceptions. I have made peace with my father and know He is with me at this moment!”

Suddenly, the steel armor that the prince wore began to glow like the sun and change it’s hue from silver to gold. A shield appeared on his left arm emblazoned with the head of a mighty lion and in his right hand appeared a huge broad sword that ignited with flames as he held it aloft. On his head, a prince’s crown appeared and for the first time Snagglefang shrank back… but only for a moment.

The prince was still young and inexperienced and the dragon old and cunning. Snagglefang had come too far to surrender now. If it was a battle this boy wanted, it would be a battle he would have, and the dragon would show him no mercy.

“Then come, your Highness,” the dragon sneered with contempt. “Embrace your end and witness the rise of my rule over Darrowold!”

And with words spent, the Dragon and the Prince clashed in a battle that went beyond mere sword and claw. It was a battle of spirit and will that was fought for the very heart of Darrowold!

Chapter 9: The Dragon's Pupil

2009-03-27T17:01:00.003-05:00

Snagglefang cast a baleful glare around the room looking for any more challengers to his power. Seeing only a cowering king and a doting old sea hag, he turned his attention toward Princess Nataleigh.

“Ah, the other child from Amiera,” He gloated.

“The forgotten dreamer. So you came down from that prison in the clouds they call a palace to take possession of your future, I see. And you believe the Eye can give you the fame and respect you desire?”

The Princess lowered her head. Nathan could see confusion on her face now that the dragon had arrived. He wondered how true the dragon’s words were. Since the moment he had found his sister her focus had been to get the Serpent’s Eye at all costs. And though she insisted her mission was important to save Darrowold, Nathan suspected that somewhere along the way she had lost sight of her reasons for getting it. The quest had become personal. But the prince did not understand how or why his sister needed to possess it so badly. Could the dragon’s words be true?

Snagglefang moved toward the princess carrying the Serpent’s Eye.

“Of course it can.” He whispered. “The Serpent’s Eye is more than a key to my Magic Castle. It is a key to any prison that holds you. And you have been a prisoner, haven’t you, princess?”
Nataleigh lifted her eyes to look at the serpent as he spoke to her and her eyes were caught by his mesmerizing gaze. The mist of the Serpent’s Eye seemed to swirl in Snagglefang’s eyes. Indeed, there seemed no difference between them.

“Your father has had you bound on that mountain top, hasn’t he? He has not allowed you to express the true you; always put your brother first. But you have dreamed of more. I see it in your eyes. You long for the power that can break the chains and allow you to know and see everything that has been withheld from you. A mirror reflection is not enough. You want to feel and touch and do.”

The princess nodded as he stood before her now and a tear ran down her cheek. Snagglefang set the crystal ball on its pedestal before her and began to circle her, almost slithering as he continued to seduce her.

“You have been deprived, my dear. Because of your potential, your father has held you back, not ready to share with his own child, the wonders of the world, for fear that she would rise above him. Can you not see how he has chosen your brother to rule over you in his place some day; how he has groomed your brother, even though younger than you, to be the Lord of Darrowold?”

Nathan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Snagglefang’s words were lies. His father had never expressed such intentions to him and had always loved both of his children, yet the prince felt sick as he watched his sister’s expression grow harder as she continued to nod in agreement. How could she listen to the dragon? How could she believe what he was saying? His head spun and his emotions choked his thought as he watched dazedly.

“I am your true friend, child.” Snagglefang continued, coiling about the princess and untying her hands and feet. “A friend who would see you become all that you are meant to be; a friend who would never shackle your abilities, but would teach you how to reach your full expression.”

As the rope fell from Nataleigh’s wrists, her hands reached forward almost seemingly on their own.

“Yes! Reach for the Serpent’s Eye.” Snagglefang breathed in her ear. “It will set you free if you but embrace its power and embrace me!”

And then Prince Nathan realized that this was the real nightmare that he had feared all along! It was not Papa Serpent who was the enemy to be feared. And the danger was not physical. The real danger had been the Serpent’s Eye all along! The very thing they had come down to Darrowold to find was the very object of evil that could destroy them. It was not a key created by his father, the High King of Darrowold, but a profane artifact of corruption, created by Snagglefang the Dragon.

Nathan saw it all clearly now. His father had sent the Sea Serpent to take it from him before he could use it to rule! Papa Sea Serpent was the guardian who was appointed by the High King to keep Snagglefang from reclaiming that power! And he and his sister had fallen right into Snagglefang’s plans and even made the situation worse by putting themselves in harm’s way. In fact Nataleigh was even in danger of losing her soul to this fiend!

The nightmare began again…

Suddenly there was a bright green glow from the ground in front of the girl and Nathan froze as he finally recognized what was happening!

“Nataleigh!” he shouted, stepping from the tunnel in which he had been hiding, “get away from Snagglefang! He’s evil!”

The dragon turned his face from Nataleigh’s ear and smiled at the prince wickedly.

“It’s too late, boy!” he gloated. “Your sister wanted the Serpent’s Eye and I have given it to her! Now she is mine, heart and soul for no one escapes the power of the eye once they have touched its power!”

To Nathan’s horror, he now realized that he was too late! Nataleigh was staring into the Serpent’s Eye with a hungry expression on her face and embracing it with both hands.

“You see, you have failed to save her and now she is trapped in the darkness of disobedience.” Snagglefang continued. “You children are such easy prey when you leave the protection of your father’s commandments. You might have saved her, of course, if you would have given yourself to me, but since you refused and ran away, I will have to use her instead.”

Now Nathan noticed the mist in the ball starting to crawl up Nataleigh’s arms and realized that it was pulling her inside! Soon she would be gone – consumed by her own greed and pride!

“Get away from her, you snake!” he heard himself scream, knowing what would follow.

“Snake?” Snagglefang repeated with growing satisfaction as if reading a well worn script. “More than a snake, a SERPENT!”

The word cracked like thunder…

…And suddenly a brightly colored object sailed through the air and struck the princess on the head causing her to release the Serpent’s Eye and fall backwards shaking her head dazedly.

“Nice Tackle, Q!” shouted the familiar voice of Flindee as he bounded out of the passage behind Snagglefang. The irrepressible jester was smiling from ear to ear. “I told you that you should have tried out for the Jolly Men’s football team!”

Chapter 8: The Master of the Eye

2009-03-27T16:39:00.005-05:00

Fortunately for the two captives, Prince Nathan had not given up on his sister. As soon as he had noticed their disappearance in the sand chamber he knew where they had gone and followed up the passage. He had been delayed briefly by Captain Claw who had not followed the wizard and the king. The captain of the Shabby Crab was not interested in magic as much as money. And there was still a serpent’s treasure to be found.

As Prince Nathan entered the tunnel, the captain jumped out of the shadows and grabbed him with the notorious claw that gave him his name. But while he was threatening the prince and questioning him about the location of the treasure with a saber at Nathan’s throat, he found himself ambushed by two little sea dragons who were outraged that their handsome prince was being so mistreated. Before Captain Claw knew what hit him, Coralee and Anna Monee had the pirate captain pinned to the floor and disarmed.
Both blushed as the prince hurriedly picked up Claw’s sword, thanked them and took off again up the passage. It was not long before he caught up to his sister and her inventor friend, but this time, the prince decided to follow them secretly. He was sure that they would end up in trouble again, but he knew Nataleigh wouldn’t listen to him.

And he had, of course, been right. Now he watched helplessly as his sister was captured by the three cunning villains. Before he could think to do anything, Panganiban, Hagwig and King Kugelbone had the princess tied up.

Panganiban smiled wickedly as he took the Serpent’s Eye from Hagwig. His eyes shone with malicious excitement and he stroked the prize that they all had pursued for so long.
“A fortunate day this has turned out to be indeed.” He sneered. “Not only do I hold the Serpent’s Eye in my hands, but I also have his enemy’s daughter in my grasp!”

“Now wait just a minute, wizard!” Kugelbone corrected. “You mean, WE have the Serpent’s Eye. These are OUR prizes. In fact, I am the King! If anyone may lay claim to them, it is me!”

But before the King could say anything else or move to take the Serpent’s Eye from the wizard, Nathan saw it begin to glow in Panganiban’s hands. Within seconds it had grown to its original size and rested again upon its bronze stand as Nataleigh had first seen it in the treasure cave. Panganiban’s hands rested upon both sides of the glowing ball of mist and he gazed into it with cold eyes as he spoke.

“Hear me, Snagglefang! The master of the eye calls upon you!”

King Kugelbone’s flushed face drained of its usual color at the mention of the dragon’s name and he took a step back. As the ball glowed brighter, he shielded his eyes from it and cowered in a side passage. Hagwig giggled and clapped her hands in anticipation, even jumping up and down in her excitement.

Nathan’s eyes grew wide. He had never stopped to consider what power the Serpent’s Eye might possess, but this situation was becoming eerily familiar again as a scaled, green image appeared within its mirrored surface. And then he noticed his sister. Her eyes were mesmerized by the glowing ball and her mouth hung open in wonder.

A voice echoed from the Serpent’s Eye that filled the tunnels. “Panganiban, my old friend, you have triumphed after all of these years. How pleasing to see that my first and best student has obtained the greatest reward in Darrowold. I never doubted it would one day be you. How may I be of service?”

Panganiban’s chest swelled at the compliment and he stepped back from the Eye to smooth his fine robes and hold his head high. And then something seemed to change in him. His eyes narrowed suddenly and Nathan realized that his reason for originally contacting the dragon was gone, replaced with absolute greed and lust for power.

“Dragon,” he arrogantly shouted to the image in the ball. “I am master of the Eye now! And as the master, I command you to inform the High King that I have His daughter prisoner! Tell Him that He will surrender the Ivory Palace and its secrets to me if he wants to see her safely returned!”

Prince Nathan thought he saw the dragon’s eyes narrow and a lip curl in rage, but it was gone as fast as it had come replaced by the hypnotizing voice of the serpent.

“Of course, Master.” It offered helpfully. “I have indeed taught you well. Why settle for the magic of my fortress in the North when you can take possession HIS power? But if your humble servant may offer you council, the King may not believe me unless I offer proof of the claim. I have fallen out of favor with the Him after all. But if I might take with me a token of proof, he would know that you are to be respected and your words obeyed, O’ powerful wielder of the Eye.”

Panganiban considered as Snagglefang continued.

“Summon me to where you are, my master, and I will take a small lock of the Princess’s hair to present to her father on your behalf. Surely then, he will know that you are not to be underestimated as the greatest power in Darrowold; the Great Wizard who has wrestled control of the all powerful Serpent’s Eye!”

The wizard glowed with pride as the dragon’s words had the desired affect upon him.
“Yes!” He shouted in triumph. “An excellent idea, my messenger. In fact, I think it would be an excellent idea to give him more than a token. Hagwig!”

The little witch stepped forward grinning. “Yes, my Lord.”

“Remove some of our little princess’s high and mightiness!” He commanded.

Hagwig danced a little jig as she moved toward Nataleigh, pulling a small pair of scissors out of one of her pouches. But the princess was still mesmerized by the Serpent’s Eye. She did not even realize what was about to happen.

Nathan found himself struggling to move as well. Something about Snagglefang’s voice seemed to freeze him in place even as he watched the witch begin to cut his sister’s long beautiful hair. He couldn’t understand why Nataleigh was so taken with the Serpent’s Eye, even to the point that she ignored what was happening. He wanted to stop it, but something held him back. Was it fear? What if he could not stop this evil wizard with all of his power?

Suddenly, Panganiban threw his arms wide and shouted again. “Come, Snagglefang! I summon you to do my bidding!”

The image within the Serpent’s Eye smiled and then moved closer until it began to break through the surface of the magic ball. Far too quickly, the dragon slithered from the ball as if entering through a hole in the wall until he stood before the wizard, not as a simple image in a ball, but in the flesh. And somehow he seemed more dangerous to the prince this time than he had in the cave on Stormwatch mountain. Perhaps it was that the prince’s eyes were opened to the truth about the dragon, or maybe it was that the dragon no longer hid his true wickedness.
In fact, now it was the dragon’s turn to throw his head back and laugh in triumph.

“Fool!” He roared! “Did you think that I would allow you to rob me of this moment of victory after centuries of plotting and scheming for this very moment? You have no power over me! I am the one who gives you your power!”

Panganiban’s face grew terrified as he realized his mistake and he raised his staff to protect himself. It was too late! With cat-like reflexes, the dragon pounced upon him, snapping the wizard’s staff in two and knocking him against the cave wall. Then spinning around, the serpent took hold of his treasure.

“At last, I have the key and no one shall imprison me again!”

Chapter 7: Into the Trap

2009-03-27T16:08:00.003-05:00

When the sea serpent burst into the chamber, Princess Nataleigh and Frangen both ran for their lives. Neither of them was aware of Nathan’s previous conversation with Mama. Nor did either of them understand that the raging, axe-waving Viking on the monster’s back was a friend of the prince who was here to rescue them. They both thought the worst had happened and that they were about to be devoured. And this time the princess did not have the Serpent’s Eye in her hands to protect her from the beast’s fiery breath.

So they ran blindly down the tunnel right behind the wizard and the black king unnoticed by Kugelbone’s guardsmen who were completely focused on the raging sea serpent. As the sounds of battle faded behind them and the tunnel came to its first branch, the princess came to her senses and pulled Frangen back to a safe following distance.

Panganiban and King Kugelbone were soon joined by Hagwig who was still carrying the Serpent’s Eye.

Nataleigh began to shake with anger at the tiny little witch who had stolen her prize and wanted to rush out and tackle her by surprise, but Frangen put his hand out to calm her as they listened.

“Hagwig, where have you been?” shouted King Kugelbone, clearly put out by this whole affair.

“I have found that which we seek, my lords.” She said, caressing the Eye and stepping closer.

The king’s eyes would have grown wider with excitement had they not suddenly been forced shut by a sudden burning stench that struck them like a bucket of raw sewage. He gasped instead and stepped away from her, as did the wizard.

“Egads, woman! What have you been rolling in? Where did you find the Eye, in the creature’s toilet?”

“Pardon, my lords, but Hagwig suffered great peril to bring the key to the Magic Castle for you.” She said, bowing low.

“Now if we can only get out of here, and escape the reek of the place.” King Kugelbone complained.

“This way, my lord,” Hagwig said and stepped back into the shadows of the largest tunnel.

Nataleigh noticed that it was the tunnel she and Frangen had marked on their way here from the submarine and hoped that the three villains were not following those marks back to the submarine. On the other hand, she was going to need more help if she was going to wrestle the Eye back from them. Perhaps Heindel had some more gadgets he could put to good use capturing these three or maybe Maid Madelyn would be revived and ready for a good fight! She only wished she had a way to contact them and warn them. Either way, she was determined she was not going to let the Serpent’s Eye out of her sight.

It didn’t take long for her to confirm that the thieves were indeed following her marks and that they were nearing the sea cavern where the sub was docked. But just before they reached it King Kugelbone suddenly lagged behind the others. Nataleigh didn’t know why except that he seemed as though he were getting tired. Whatever the reason, it frustrated her because it forced her and Frangen to slow down and lag behind even further which meant that they lost sight of the witch and wizard who kept running up ahead. Soon however, they returned to assist the king who had seemingly caught his breath now and the chase resumed.

Cautiously, princess and inventor crept through the dark tunnels quietly following around corner after corner and down branch after branch of tunnels until they came to the final group of tunnels that split off from the main tunnel before it rejoined the large sea cavern. When they got to this branch, they found Hagwig alone. She appeared to be trying to decide which tunnel the others had gone down, as if she had been left behind. And she was holding the Serpent’s Eye!
Nataleigh’s breath caught in her throat. This was too good to be true. The witch had been forgotten and she still had the Eye! This was their chance to recapture it! Surely she and Frangen could manage it two against one.

Turning to Frangen, she leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “This is our chance! Do you have anything in your tool bag to help us capture her and take back the Serpent’s Eye?”

Frangen shook his head and whispered back. “I don’t know about this, your highness. Something doesn’t seem right about it. Why would they leave her behind with the treasure?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care!” She hissed back. “This is our only chance and I’m taking it with or without you. I can take that witch by myself. She won’t get me again with her little bag of tricks!”

“But, your Highness,” Frangen started to protest.

It was too late. Nataleigh was done talking. She jumped out of the shadows and charged Hagwig.

The inventor sighed and started to follow when suddenly there was a whooshing sound and a great net fell from the ceiling of the cave trapping the princess! The net was weighted with lead balls around its edges and Nataleigh was instantly tripped up in it. Instantly she found herself unable to rise from the cave floor and helpless!

Before Frangen could move to help her, Hagwig pounced upon her and out of the main cave behind her Panganiban and King Kugelbone appeared. The king was wielding his large battleaxe which he had just used to chop the rope holding the net trap. He moved to block the inventor from the captive princess. Then Panganiban raised his staff and Frangen felt his eyelids grow heavy. A moment later he was snoring on the cave floor.

Chapter 6: Another Confrontation

2009-03-21T22:37:00.005-05:00

Down the tunnel the prince, princess and inventor ran, hoping to gain on the wily thief. As they drew closer to the mechanism chamber where Nathan, Vonkar and Flindee had been dumped on their arrival through the secret tunnel, the Prince realized that he hadn’t seen his friends since they all scattered from the cavern. In all of the gagging smell and stinging eyes he hadn’t even seen which way anyone had fled the chamber. The only thing he was fairly certain of was that Ma and Pa sea serpent had gone the other direction. That, at least, reassured him.
But what had happened to Vonkar and Flindee? When the stinkball struck, Vonkar had been near the sea serpent. He hoped now, that Vonkar and Papa hadn’t found somewhere else to continue their battle. He feared that it really could end up with one of them dead, though neither was the villain that the other perceived.

And what about Flindee? Nathan wasn’t sure where the Jester had gone. He had a vague recollection of the Jester whoopin’ it up with his puppet friend on a high ledge in the cavern while all the fighting was going on below, but he couldn’t imagine where Flindee could have gotten to now. He only hoped the silly dwarf would not get himself into more trouble with all of these pirates and black armored soldiers running around.

They entered the mechanism room which was still dark after having reset itself. Frangen switched on his hat lamp and shined it around the room. There was no one to be seen.
The princess didn’t pause long as they entered. “This way,” she urged. “Hagwig must have gone back the way we came in! Let’s get out of this room before the trap goes off again!”

“Trap?” Nathan questioned. “What do you mean trap? This isn’t any trap? This is the secret entrance from Skull Rock Fortress that I came down through. It leads to the beaches above. If you’re worried about traps, you should slow down before we run into Hagwig’s friends! Besides, I don’t think any of them knows the way out of these tunnels. They talked like they were lost down here for hours before we came along and showed them the right way to go. Not the brightest group, but definitely more than a match for the three of us if we run into them down here in the dark!”

“How right you are, my young hero,” came a familiar voice and suddenly the chamber was lit with the same eerie blue light that had bedazzled the prince and his friends the first time they were here. The light came, of course, from the glowing staff of Panganiban who once again was surrounded by King Kugelbone, Captain Claw, and their henchmen.

Not again, Nathan groaned. This time he didn’t have Vonkar by his side to put up a good fight and he didn’t think he was going to get lucky enough for the sand trap mechanism to suddenly activate and give him another distraction that he could use for escape.

“So you managed to escape us, help the maiden, and, we assume, return with the greatest prize in Darrowold.” Captain Claw chimed in. “Congratulations, though it looks like you’ve lost your friends. Too bad for you. You’re going to wish you had your Viking warrior in a moment, unless you just want to cooperate and give us the Serpent’s Eye now. And while you’re at it, tell us where the rest of the treasure is.”

“But did he and his friends kill the sea monster?” King Kugelbone spoke up with a note of concern in his voice. “It won’t do us much good to find the gold if the creature is still guarding it. Tell us what you’ve done, knight. Did you get the Serpent’s Eye and where are your friends? And why do you all stink so much?”

Prince Nathan stepped in front of his sister, bravely confronting the group. “We’re not telling you anything, but you can tell us where the witch went!”

The villains exchanged glances with each other.

“Hagwig?” King Kugelbone asked, confusion on his face. “What do you mean? We’ve not seen her since the lights went out in this chamber and the wizard accidentally put us all to sleep with his dratted staff! We thought she ran off and was lost in the tunnels somewhere. You mean you’ve seen her? Did she follow you then?”

Nathan looked at them blankly for a minute trying to make sense of this. So Hagwig hadn’t run to them when she escaped with the eye? Then where had she gone? He wondered.

Nataleigh had already lost patience with this group. Realizing that they didn’t have the eye, she didn’t want to waste any more time here. Perhaps it was the new improved height of her brother and herself that gave her this new boldness, or perhaps it was that she had grown accustomed to being fawned over on this quest, but suddenly the Princess was filled with indignation and made yet another bad judgment call.

“I am Princess Nataleigh of Amiera and this is my brother, Prince Nathan of Amiera. We are no mere dwarves that you should demand anything of us! We are the children of the High King of Darrowold and the rightful owners of the Key to the Magic Castle. You will step aside for us at once if you value your lives. We are not to be hindered in our quest by you or anyone living down here!”

Nathan’s eyes grew wide at his sister’s behavior. He was sure she had lost her mind now. She obviously had no idea what kind of trouble they could get into by telling people who they were. It was obvious, she hadn’t met Snagglefang.

Again, the three villains exchanged glances and there was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Nataleigh’s words sank in. When the silence was broken, it was Panganiban who spoke this time.

“The prince and princess of Amiera,” he whispered with narrowed eyes. “How did I not see it before? Snagglefang would bestow great favor on the one who brought him such a gift.”

“Take them!” He shouted suddenly. “Take them alive, quickly!”

Frangen immediately brought up his stinkball launcher but it was blasted from his hand by lightning from the wizard’s staff before he could fire. And before any of them could move to escape, the pirates and the huge armored guards had them surrounded with weapons drawn. Neither the prince nor the princess had a weapon and before Frangen could produce any further helpful gadgets, Captain Claw had him pinned with his massive crab claw.

It was over that fast. But then things took another turn. From out of the tunnel behind them came a roar and a giant two-headed shadow burst into the mechanism chamber!

“Leave those precious children alone, you fiends,” thundered the incensed voice of Mama sea serpent!

Papa spewed fire at the ceiling and everyone scattered to escape their oncoming stampede. Nathan was about to run for cover as well when his attention was caught by something on the sea serpent’s back that caused him to stand his ground.

It was Vonkar! The Viking was perched between the two serpent necks, battle axe held high, shouting his war cry over the sound of roaring flames!

A grin broke across the prince’s face as he realized that somehow the impossible had happened.

“Vonkar!” he cried. “What are you doing up there? I thought you wanted to…”

“Ah! I thought I’d try it your way for once, lad!” He shouted back, interrupting the prince. “Besides, you know I can’t attack a woman, especially not one as persuasive as Mama, here! Just don’t tell Grizzle I replaced him as my war steed for even one battle! He gets sensitive about such things.”

Nathan laughed! He was so overjoyed at the sight of his friend and the sea serpent who had become an ally that he couldn’t help himself.

Most of the pirates had been cut off from retreat by the sea serpent’s initial charge into their midst and were now turning to fight for their lives like cornered rats. To Nathan’s surprise, Papa was not the only one involved in the fight. One of the pirates, a skinny fellow with skullcap and a club, struck the sea serpent’s side and was surprised when a ten foot tongue lashed out of Mama’s mouth to ensnare him and draw him in! Many more were caught across their chests by the huge serpent tail that swung back and forth angrily.

Of course, Vonkar would not be denied a piece of the action. Leaping from his perch on the serpent’s back, he dove for the two large armored warriors who guarded the retreat of their king up the opposite tunnel! Though it was two against one, Nathan had no doubt that his friend could handle himself with Foegrin swinging wildly about him.

The prince wished at that moment that he had a weapon of some sort with which to help. Looking around for something he could use, he suddenly realized instead that his sister and Frangen were both gone!

Chapter 5: Pursuit

2009-03-18T23:34:00.002-05:00

“Nat, wait!” Nathan shouted and moved to catch his sister as she disappeared from the nursery. But he was no match for his sister’s speed with all of his armor slowing him down. All he could do was clank down the corridor after her and try to keep her in his sights. But that became more challenging with each step as they both ran back into the putrid fog created by Heindel’s stinkball launcher. Of course, Nataleigh had a face mask that allowed her to keep going, but Prince Nathan’s eyes were beginning to sting and he couldn’t even cover his mouth properly to breathe because his sleeves were made of metal instead of cloth. It was only sheer willpower and fear for his sister that kept him pushing ahead. The prince was determined that he was not going to let her slip away from him again after all they’d been through, especially when she was running right back into the danger he thought they had escaped. The sea serpent was still out there and his vision had not faded.

How could I have been so stupid and let her escape me like this? He wondered.
When he finally got to the cavern, he did not find what he thought he would find. Nataleigh was not out in the middle of the cavern picking up the Serpent’s Eye off of the floor, nor was she being chased by a killer sea serpent. To Nathan’s surprise, she was far off to his right struggling with Hagwig, the sea witch! The little raggedy witch had followed them and seized upon the opportunity to grab the Eye when she found it unguarded. Now she was trying to escape with it, but Nataleigh had returned just in time to catch her. Now the two of them were wrestling over the Serpent’s Eye at the main entrance to the cavern where he had first entered the serpent’s lair!

Seeing her brother enter the cavern, Nataleigh cried out for his help.

“Nathan, quick” she shouted. “We can’t let her get the key! Darrowold is in danger if they get it! Help me!”

But before the prince could react, the shriveled little dwarf reached in her robes and threw something in Nataleigh’s face that popped and sparkled. Shocked, the princess released the Serpent’s Eye to protect her face and the witch disappeared down the tunnel with a cackle.
Nathan ran to help his sister who was temporarily blinded by the flashes. She had also dropped her breath mask in the struggle and was gasping again for fresh air.

A moment later, Frangen ran up to them, breathless but still wielding the stinkball launcher.
“Your highnesses, what is going on?” he asked.

“Hagwig,” Nataleigh choked with frustration. “is escaping with the Serpent’s Eye! We’ve got to stop her, Frangen! We can’t lose it now after all we’ve gone through! And my brother doesn’t seem to CARE!”

With that she shoved Nathan away. “What is your problem, anyway? Why do you keep getting in my way? Don’t you have any idea how important that thing is?”

Now it was Nathan’s turn to get upset. “Maybe not,” he shot back, “but I know how dangerous it can be, especially to you! That’s why I’ve followed you halfway across Darrowold! Do you have any idea how close you came to being fried serpent chow? And do you have any idea how to use that thing if you get it?”

“I don’t have time for this!” Nataleigh cut in. “While we’re arguing, the most powerful object in Darrowold is being stolen by the BAD GUYS, brother! And I can guarantee you that THEY already know how to use it which means if we don’t stop them right now, Darrowold will be enslaved to their wishes and then it won’t matter whether I know how to use it or how dangerous it is to me because it’ll be over for all of us! Now are you going to help me or keep getting in my way? Make up your mind!”

The prince looked around and saw no sign of the sea serpent or anyone else for that matter. Maybe the danger to his sister was past, but he still didn’t like the way she was obsessed with getting the Serpent’s Eye. Never-the-less, she was right about one thing. They couldn’t just let Panganiban and the others get it. He had met the true evil of Darrowold and he knew that Panganiban served Snagglefang. And if the key to the Magic Castle fell into the dragon’s claws, the damage to Darrowold could be worse than even his sister understood.

“Fine! I’ll help you,” he agreed, “but stop yelling at me and let’s work together to…”

“Great! Let’s go!” Nataleigh interrupted and took off up the passage again. Frangen shrugged and they both took up the pursuit behind the determined princess. Only Nathan understood that Hagwig was not alone and that they were running toward what could turn into a trap!

Chapter 4: Sibling Rivalry

2009-03-18T22:15:00.004-05:00

As the excitable young dragon sagged to the cave floor, Nathan and Frangen jumped up in alarm. Nataleigh simply rolled her eyes and ignored the silly sea serpent. She didn’t at all feel well. Her stomach was still turning and it didn’t help any that Frangen was standing nearby with the offensive weapon still dripping on the cave floor. The inventor still had his protective mask on, though Nataleigh was quite certain that it wouldn’t matter much if he didn’t. Frangen seemed quite immune to his brother’s infernal concoction.

Anna Monee leapt to her cousin’s side and began waving her fins in front of her face in embarrassment as the prince and the inventor bent to assist.

“She’ll be alright,” she assured them. “She’s just um… well that is… we’re probably your biggest fans… your majesty.”

The little sea serpent blurted the last statement out louder than she had intended and blushed a fluorescent pink.

The prince felt a moment of awkwardness, not knowing quite how to deal with a little sea dragon having a crush on him, but thankfully Frangen interrupted.

“Not to worry. I have the exact formula to wake her up,” he said as he knelt beside Coralee. But whatever the formula may have been it was not needed. As he turned to reach in his utility belt, a small drop from the stink ball launcher dripped to the floor a few inches from Coralee’s nose and she sprang to life again with a horrid gasp as if she were waking from a nightmare.

Frangen, of course, moved to assist her further and the poor little dragon pulled away from him in fright, staring at his weapon. Then her eyes glanced to the prince and princess. Seeing them all watching her, tears of embarrassment began to fill her eyes and she ran off down the tunnel that Nataleigh and Frangen had entered upon their arrival with Anna Monee. Anna Monee followed, trying to calm her cousin down and Frangen was left scratching his head in puzzlement.

“That was awkward.” Nathan said, turning back to his sister. “So are these all friends of yours? Wow. I didn’t expect a whole family of sea serpents.”

At that, Nataleigh’s head finally lifted and she looked at him with irritation. “What do you mean you didn’t expect a whole family of sea serpents? Just what did you expect and what are you doing here anyway? Did father send you here to get me?”

“Not really.” Nathan shrugged. “But he knows I’m here, I think. I was trying to find you and bring you back home before he noticed, but things didn’t go the way I planned. I had some trouble and then I had to track you half way across Darrowold to find you before you…”

“Bring me home?” Nataleigh’s anger was beginning to rise as she listened to her brother. “Bring me home? Who do you think you are, fetching me home like I’m some little child or a pet? I don’t need you to come after me or check up on me. And I certainly don’t need your protection, LITTLE BROTHER! I found the…”

She was shouting now and had risen from the table to confront him. But then she stopped short as she realized that she no longer towered over him. Once again she was struck by the realization that he had grown. They were now eye to eye and her brother did not back down as she advanced. He simply stood looking at her with confusion and something else that she couldn’t put her finger on, but it somehow incensed her. Was it compassion?

What had happened to her brother? Literally overnight (at least over a few nights) he had changed, matured, physically grown in stature to become someone she didn’t quite recognize. Worse then that, she envied him and that bothered her to no end. Everything she went questing to accomplish, somehow he had done it, while she felt suddenly as though she had failed. Why?
She too had grown physically. She hadn’t paid any attention to it over the course of the adventure, but now she realized that steadily and quickly, since the moment she had left the Ivory Palace to come down to Darrowold, she had been growing, aging, changing. But somehow her growth didn’t seem right and she couldn’t place her finger on why.

Had she not proven herself? She had, after all, completely by herself, sought out and retrieved the Serpent’s Eye. Surely that…

And then realization struck her like dragon fire in her belly! She had dropped the Serpent’s Eye! After all she had done to get her hands on it she had carelessly left it lying on the cavern floor right at the serpent’s feet! The idea was unthinkable and she swooned with emotion where she stood for a moment.

Nathan stood unmoving as his sister railed upon him. He was both shocked and a bit worried for her after all they had been through. He had no way of understanding her feelings and thought that perhaps all of the stress had caused her to snap. After all, she wasn’t a little girl any more. She had grown and didn’t that usually mean that girls became more emotional and unstable? All he could think to do for the moment was to stare at her with pity as she appeared to meltdown before his eyes.

And then without warning, she spun away from him, grabbed Frangen’s mask right off his face and ran from the nursery cave back toward the cavern pool before either of them knew what had happened!

Chapter 3: Heindel's Infernal Concoction

2009-03-14T21:56:00.007-05:00

No one even paid attention to the dwarf inventor or the young sea serpent that had interrupted all the arguing. The foul aroma that rained upon all of them was like a physical blow to the stomach that made everyone gag, choke, and forget everything else except finding clean air to inhale. Heindel’s mixture also burned the eyes, making everyone grasp at their faces and drop what was in their hands as they scattered half-blind in all directions.

Mama & Papa sea serpent leapt from the pool toward their kitchen cavern where papa, whose head was the closest to the stink-ball when it exploded against the ceiling, plunged his head into the waterfall sink and began to splash his eyes! Mama grabbed a seaweed rag from the counter and held it to her nose with her tail, gagging and calling for her babies through teary eyes.

Vonkar had also been struck hard by the explosion directly over his head. In fact the Viking had been showered with the stinkball’s contents and could not escape the odor that attacked his senses. Stumbling around half blind for a few seconds, the dwarf warrior finally dropped his axe and plunged into the very pool that the sea serpent had just fled to wash off the tiny eggs that clung to his skin and beard.

The Prince and Princess were just far enough away to escape being splattered, but close enough to get the full nauseous effect of the attack. Both of them fell to their knees, rubbing their stinging eyes furiously and struggling not to retch as they gasped for breath.

Even Flindee was affected, though from his perch on the far side of the cavern, he was spared the full force of the aroma. Never-the-less, the jester was quick to abandon his high and lofty “Announcer’s Booth” and skip toward an exit, holding his hat over his face. (Quattlebom was not so fortunate. The poor puppet coughed and sputtered and finally passed out from the smell.)
It was Frangen himself who pulled the prince and princess out of the blast zone. Wearing a special mask that Heindel had designed to protect the gun’s user, he ran out into the cavern and lifted each of the children under his burly arms. He was forced to practically drag them both from the cavern and back down the tunnel leading to the serpent nursery where Anna Monee was waiting. A moment later they were joined by Coralee who had finally come to find out what was going on and what had happened to the princess.

“Ewww! Anna Monee, I told you to bathe the dwarf, not let him wallow in more muck!” Coralee whined, holding her nose and looking at the bedraggled group! “What is going on here? How did the princess get all stinky too and who is this with her?”

Anna Monee opened her mouth to respond, but was struck with another wave of foul odor that was working its way up the passage. “He’s the pr…” was all she could manage before being interrupted by a fit of coughing.

“Oh, never mind!” Coralee chided with a grimace. “Let’s get back to the nursery and away from this awful stench!”

With that, she fled back down the tunnel, followed closely by Anna Monee, leaving Frangen once again to assist the prince and princess who were still struggling to breathe.

When they finally arrived at the sea serpent nursery cave, both brother and sister were finally beginning to recover, though Nataleigh still looked green in the face. They both plopped down at the small table in the center of the room as Coralee began to question everyone.

“Well, is someone going to tell me what’s going on? I turn my back for two seconds and everyone’s gone. And then, I find you again and everyone stinks like squid juice! And I still don’t know who THIS…” She stopped then, in mid-sentence, as the prince turned around to look at her and she realized he was no dwarf. Sitting before her was a handsome young man, taller than any dwarf and having a regal bearing that marked him as a son of the high king; the noble prince of Amiera!

Coralee squeeled and then feinted on the spot.

Chapter 2: Reunited

2009-03-14T21:45:00.005-05:00

The horrifying scream was like cold water in the face of everyone. Even Vonkar halted and turned back to see what had happened and Papa blinked, realizing even as he released the flame, that his target was no more than a girl.

“Papa, no!” Mama shouted in horror.
Flindee squeezed his fingers shut again over his eyes and hugged Q closer.

Nathan’s scream was still echoing off the cavern walls when the flames cleared and Princess Nataleigh stood, untouched, still holding the Serpent’s Eye in her outstretched hands. Her eyes were wide in shock and she was breathing heavily, but she appeared unharmed by the raging heat of the flames which had just surrounded her. Not even her clothes had been singed!
The Serpent’s Eye glowed more brightly and seemed to have grown slightly, but it had apparently protected its bearer.

Now it was Prince Nathan’s turn to blink in surprise. And then, as the truth dawned on him, his face brightened and his scream turned to laughter.

“Nataleigh!” he shouted and began running again.

At the sound of her name, the Princess snapped out of her daze and spun toward the voice that had called her. What she saw shocked her even more. A handsome young man was charging toward her with tears in his eyes and he looked vaguely like her brother. He even sounded kind of like her brother, but his voice was deeper. Too deep to be her little brother. And this young knight towered over the dwarves. Surely it couldn’t be her brother. He had been the same height as a dwarf the last time she had seen him just a few days ago. Yet, it was her brother, grown at least a whole foot taller and somehow more mature.

“Nathan?” she stuttered as the prince threw himself upon her and nearly knocked her over with a crushing embrace. “Ouch! Hey, easy! You’re hurting me!”

In his excitement, the prince had forgotten that he was still wearing his dragon armor and that it probably wouldn’t feel very good to get bear-hugged by someone in a full plated suit. Realizing what he was doing, he released her and held her away at arms length, grinning.

“It’s you!” he beamed. “I’ve found you and you’re ok! I can’t believe it!”

“You found me?” Nataleigh frowned. “You mean you’ve been looking for me?”

“Of course!” Nathan said. “You’ve been gone for days and I was so worried about you running off after that dumb Serp…”

He froze in mid sentence, suddenly aware of what he was saying. The joy of being reunited with his sister vanished, replaced by the reality of where they were and what she held in her hand.
Looking down at her hands, his eyes fell upon the glass ball and then glanced around them. The conflict had ceased momentarily as all eyes were upon them, even the eyes of Flindee and Q.

“Give me that!” he shouted and grabbed for the Serpent’s Eye.

“Wait a minute! What are you doing?” Nataleigh protested as she resisted his attempt to relieve her of her treasure.

The two of them began to struggle over the Serpent’s Eye, trying to get the other to release it.
Seeing the conflict resume, Papa Sea Serpent began to rumble in his throat again, still not understanding who this group of thieves were. Of course, as the sea serpent began to get agitated, so too did the Viking.

“Oh no you don’t, ye foul fiend!” Vonkar growled in return, raising Foegrin menacingly. Unlike the sea serpent, Vonkar had figured out the identity of the young woman standing with the prince and he wasn’t about to let a monster harm her now that they had found her.

Of course, as Vonkar threatened anew, Papa grew angrier and the battle was about to start all over again, when suddenly there was a bang that echoed through the cavern and a large wet ball of goop exploded against the ceiling of the cavern right over everyone’s head.

Once again, all conflict and threats of conflict came to an immediate halt as a horrible stench flooded the entire cavern and took everyone’s breath away!

“Papa, stop! They’re friends!” came the voice of the little sea serpent, Anna Monee, from a small cave entrance on the other side of the cavern. Beside her stood Frangen with Heindel’s stinkball launcher aimed at the ceiling.

Chapter 1: The Viking vs the Serpent

2009-03-11T21:58:00.005-05:00

As the head of papa sea serpent broke from the water spewing flame, Prince Nathan feared his rescue mission had gone from a victory to a disaster! Just as he was about to get help from the sea serpent, find his sister, and maybe even take possession of the Serpent’s Eye without trouble, Vonkar had arrived, shouting threats and killing all friendly negotiations. But worse than that, the prince feared that if he didn’t stop the Viking quickly, more than negotiations would be killed!

Rushing to stop Vonkar, Nathan waved his hands over his head to get the crazy berserkers attention. It, of course, was no use. The Viking too had found the end of his quest. Indeed, he had found the end of all quests! To kill the fabled two-headed sea-serpent that guarded the greatest treasure in all of Darrowold was the warrior’s lifelong dream and nothing would talk him out of it! Nathan knew he could never convince his friend that this giant “monster” was actually a good creature. There was only one thing Vonkar understood and that was brute force!

So Prince Nathan did the only thing he could do, though he knew it was going to hurt. Running as fast as he could, the prince charged the warrior!

Vonkar was nearly to the waters edge by now, his axe ready to strike even as the roaring head of the sea serpent was dropping upon him, jaws open wide. The three came together at nearly the same time. Fortunately, the prince struck first, knocking the dwarf to the ground a heartbeat before the collision. As he rolled to his feet, however, he wasn’t sure which one he had saved, the Viking or the dragon. Just as he had slammed into the dwarf, Vonkar had been sidestepping and bringing his axe up to meet the lunging sea serpent’s neck!

Flindee, meanwhile, had found a high ledge in the cave where he could watch the action in safety with his best friend and co-commentator, Quattlebom. The jester sat with his feet dangling over the ledge alternately using the puppet stick as a microphone and then flipping it right side up to let the puppet head speak, though of course, no one could hear anything Q had to say.
“Whoa! That was a close one for the prince!” He shouted with excitement into the puppet-stick “microphone” to an imaginary crowd of people, “but what a tackle, ladies and gentlemen! Vonkar never knew what hit him! Of course, I’d say that serpent is lucky to have his head still attached the way ol’ Fogey was swingin’! What do you think, Q?”

Flipping the stick, he wagged the puppet’s tongue and then continued commentating into the other end again.

“You’re right, Q.” He conceded. “I completely forgot there were kiddies in the audience. I’ll try to tone down the colorful descriptions of this titanic and potentially bloody combat… oops! I did it again.”

He covered his mouth with one hand while the puppet head flipped up to bob again near his ear.
“I couldn’t agree more, Q! It is getting ugly down there! Now Papa is pulling his head back while Vonkar and the Prince are dazed and getting back to their feet! Do you think he’s going to strike? I’d say a spanking is coming from the papa but Vonkar doesn’t stay dazed for long. Yes! He’s up, axe ready again. I told you, Q! There’s no keeping this good soldier down!”
Q’s head flipped around again.

“Yes, both teams seem to be huddling for the next play. And there seems to be disputes between the players and their coaches. Stand by, ladies and gentlemen while we sort this out!”

Down on the cave floor, Prince Nathan had jumped in Vonkar’s path and was physically struggling to stop the crazed Northern warrior while Mama sea serpent had wrapped her long neck around papas to restrain him, now realizing that their attacker was a friend of the prince. Neither was having much success as both of the combatants were enraged by battle.
Flindee continued his blow by blow commentary. The loopy jester was treating the whole fight like a staged wrestling match between two actors for entertainment instead of the dangerous confrontation it was in reality.

“The combatants are back in action! Vonkar the Vocal of clan Axtagrind has just thrown off his manager and is charging back toward Papa Pirahna-face! And now the sea-serpent pair have come to an agreement. Papa is huffin’ and puffin’ while mama pulls back again! I think we’re about to see flames again! Pull out those umbrella’s people, it’s going to get hot in here!”

“Wait a minute!” Flindee jumped to his feet shouting into the microphone with excitement, “something is happening down on the field! It appears there is an extra player running out from the dugout! And she’s running right into the middle of the play! Is she crazy? This is unbelievable! She could get injured! Someone has to do something about this!”

Quattlebom’s head snapped up, trembled, and then was spun into Flindee’s shoulder to hide his face.

“I can’t watch either, Q. This could be disastrous!”

And with that the jester covered his own face with his free hand, parting his fingers to peak at the last second.

Out of a side cave ran Princess Nataleigh, lost in the excitement of her moment of victory, her eyes fixed upon the small, yet priceless object in her hands. She did not see the activity around her, nor realize her danger until it was too late and she stood directly in front of the towering and angry sea serpent.

As the fire built in papa’s throat, his eyes fell upon the thief and the prize she carried… HIS prize! His most valued treasure and the one thing his master had charged him to protect! Seeing it being stolen right under his nose, his anger turned to rage, his vision clouded over and the fire in his belly grew hotter even as he changed targets from warrior to thief!
Prince Nathan jumped up from the ground a second time after being shoved down by Vonkar and began to chase after the infuriating dwarf who had grown deaf to everything but his own stubborn battle cry when he saw his nightmares rise up before his eyes and become reality! The suddenness of it shocked him to a brief halt.

There was his sister! She looked older, taller then she had the last time he had seen her, but there was no mistake. Like a vision running headlong toward him, he watched her stumble into the path of the lunging monstrosity that had haunted him since Snagglefang’s cave! She seemed blind to everything around her. And then he saw why. In her hands was a glowing ball of green mist, smaller than in his dreams, but unmistakable; the Serpent’s Eye held her enthralled as he had seen in the nightmare! It was happening yet again, only this time he knew he wouldn’t wake up and find it all a bad dream. And this time, he was even further from Nataleigh. There was no way he would reach her in time to save her!

Frozen in place, all he could do was watch as the dragon’s chest heaved and a torrent of flame roared toward his helpless sister.

At the last moment, Nataleigh’s attention was finally wrenched from her treasure and she halted, looking up just as the blast of fire engulfed her!

Nathan screamed!

Darrowold Progress Report

2009-01-16T03:38:00.006-06:00

Here ends Part 2: Quest for the Serpent's Eye.

I am officially 39 today and I think I can safely say that this will be the year I finally finish the first draft of Darrowold, including the audio version for and with my kids! I am mere pages away from finishing the final part, maybe 4 or 5 chapters and I have gotten over the final writers block. I hope to finish part 3 by the end of this month and then begin recording it with my family in Feb. Then it will just be a matter of mixing and editing the audio and burning it to disc! With any amount of focus, I should finish the whole project by next fall in time to give out full sets for Christmas 09! My motivation really has become my kids more than ever lately as I'm realizing how old their getting on me. If I don't finish this thing this year, Nataleigh is going to be moving out to college on me and Rebekah will be too old to care about it. As it is all of the kids' voices, especially Nataleigh and Nathan's have changed so much, I actually had to write their maturing process into the story.

Speaking of the audio, if you re-visit earlier chapters from Part 1 now on this blog, you will find the audio drama tracks that we have created at the bottom of each as a simple video. Believe it or not, it is actually easier to do video on a blog then audio, so I converted them with simple picture backgrounds. The audio tracks are fully dramatized by my family and I with sound effects from free on-line sources and movie soundtracks. And you can show this feature to your kids and let them read along on the blog as they listen (since there isn't much in the way of pictures to look at on the videos). Please be sure to let me know what you think of the audio drama. That really is my pride and joy. Of course, it's MY kids doing the parts and stuff, but still... I've always been a fan of radio drama and I think these are quite good, frankly. If I do say so myself. The audio drama has really become my main motivator so I am quite excited to make them available on line to more people hopefully.

Enjoy!

Coming Soon: Part 3 - Race for the Forbidden Power

And on Audio: Part 2 - Quest for the Serpent's Eye
Here's a small taste of the Part 2 Audio...

Chapter 18: "...And Take the Serpent's Eye."

2009-01-14T16:24:00.003-06:00

No pearl, gem or jewel in the treasure chamber compared in size or beauty to the shining ball of mist that was the Serpent’s Eye. The 2 foot diameter orb was set within an ornate bronze stand molded in the shape of a great serpent that held the ball in its coils. And to ensure that it could not be removed from its mounting, the head of the bronze snake had been crafted so as to rest on top of the ball staring at those who approached it with impassive eyes. The entire object stood nearly as tall as a dwarf and at least as wide as one.
Nataleigh suddenly found herself wondering how she was going to lift such a large and heavy treasure, let alone carry it through a maze of caverns to the sub. She wondered if Heindel had invented any contraptions for moving heavy items. Of course, first she had to figure out a way to get this family of sea serpents to part with it. But that didn’t concern her too much. She was feeling more and more confident in her ability to influence the little ones, especially Coralee.
The young sea dragon moved into the room ahead of the princess looking for some jewels she liked, talking to herself excitedly. Finally her eyes fell upon a string of pearls and she gasped excitedly.
“Oh! How about these? I bet these would compliment my dorsal fin perfectly!”
But before the princess could answer, a sudden roar echoed through the caves snapping Coralee out of her daydream and raising the hair on the back of Nataleigh’s neck!
“Oh no,” Coralee shrieked, dropping the pearls, “It’s Anna Monee’s papa! He’s angry about something. We’ve got to get out of here before he catches us! Come on! Hurry!”
She dove for the entrance, hooking Nataleigh’s arm with her tail and dragging her out. Back in the passages, Coralee looked quickly down both tunnels to make sure the coast was clear. Papa’s roar echoed up the passage from the left, and it didn’t sound too far away!
“Stay close!” She beckoned to Nataleigh. “And be quiet!”
Seeing the passage was unoccupied, the young dragon released the princess and hurried back towards the serpent nursery. It never occurred to her that her new friend would dare to risk staying behind, but that was exactly what Nataleigh did.
As Coralee dashed up the cave passage, Nataleigh dropped back into the Treasure cave, spun around and ran for the platform at the end of the room!
The Serpent’s Eye sat there, beckoning her! There was no way she was going to run away from it now, when she had come so far to get it. This could be her only chance to get her hands on it, and the princess did not plan to let it pass.
But she had to move quickly! At any second, Coralee could look back and realize there was no one following her. If that happened too soon, she could return to catch her guest in the act! Or much worse, the daddy sea serpent could arrive and catch her first! That was the thought that drove Nataleigh’s heart into her throat as she ran.
Leaping up on the platform, she stopped, breathing heavily more from fear and excitement than from being tired. She was standing next to the gleaming ball which was nearly as big as a dwarf sitting in its bronze fixture and suddenly she remembered that she had no way to carry it!
Panicked and out of time to think rationally, the princess simply grabbed the bronze stand with both hands and heaved up on it. To her surprise, it lifted from the floor, light as feather. This was so unexpected that she nearly tumbled backwards off of the platform.
Then something else strange happened and Nataleigh’s breath caught in her throat. The entire object, Serpent’s Eye and Bronze stand together, began to shrink. Within seconds the two foot wide crystal ball had reduced itself to a two inch crystal ball that rested in a small bronze fixture small enough to rest on top of a wizard’s staff. It looked more like a glass marble than a powerful magic ball!
Shocked, the princess stared at it for several moments forgetting her need for haste until the roar of an angry sea serpent echoed through the cave again. The sound startled her and she snapped out of her daze.
Snapping back around, she saw, to her relief, that she was still alone in the cave. But now she realized that the only way in or out of the treasure cave was back the way she came in and she could be trapped at any second!
Without another moment to lose, Princess Nataleigh leaped from the platform and made for the entrance as quick as her legs would carry her, holding her treasure in front of her and smiling like a maniac.
Her quest was complete! She had found and recovered the Serpent’s Eye before anyone else! And she had done it alone! In the end, not even Frangen had helped her! Nataleigh was the hero she had always wanted to be! For the first time since this adventure had begun she was sure it had all been worth the trouble after all!
Wait until Nathan hears about what I’ve done... she mused. Won’t he be impressed? Even Father will have to admit he was wrong about girls being involved in dangerous quests. I can handle myself as well as any boy.
Pleased with herself and full of the excitement of the moment, Nataleigh hurdled out of the treasure cave and down the passage to the left. She had forgotten the echoing roar that came from that direction. She had forgotten what that roar represented. Indeed, for a brief moment of madness, she had forgotten to be afraid at all…
… And so she found herself rounding a corner and running right out into the middle of a clash between a giant, angry sea serpent and an axe-wielding dwarf Viking!

Chapter 17: "...Courageous Heart will Play its Part..."

2009-01-14T16:22:00.005-06:00

Even as Prince Nathan and his friends were making startling discoveries about sea serpents, Princess Nataleigh and Frangen were following a different path with similar surprises. Only minutes earlier Nathan had missed them in the darkness of the corridor just before he entered the serpent’s home. What he could not have known was that mere heartbeats before he entered the corridor his sister and Frangen had already met a sea serpent and disappeared from the passage just missing him…

Nataleigh felt the blood drain from her head and thought she was going to faint for a moment as the two-headed shadow took shape out of the darkness. Frangen stepped in front of her, reaching to cock the stinkball launcher and aim for the serpent’s nostrils!
But his target was much lower to the ground than it should have been, barely taller than the inventor. And now as they looked at it more closely in the lamplight of Frangen’s hat, they both realized that one of the heads had no nostrils at all. It looked more like a stuffed toy with a paper tongue sticking out and button eyes. In fact, it was a stuffed toy. It was a rag dragon made of green silk and sewed together with large, golden thread and it was perched on the back of a small, obviously young sea dragon with only one head.

The little dragon screeched in shock as she found herself suddenly staring down the barrel of a stinky ball launcher and into the eyes of the muddled dwarf who pointed it at her. She jumped back and dropped her rag doll, putting her flippers to her mouth as she hiccupped smoke.
For a moment, no one moved as Frangen and the tiny serpent faced off, both shaking where they stood. It was hard to tell which was the more frightened.

Finally, seeing the fear in the serpent’s face, the Princess regained her composure and stepped forward, pushing Frangen’s weapon down.

“Hold on a minute, Frangen!” She said. “This isn’t a monster. It’s just a baby. And we scared her, the poor thing.”

Moving slowly she began to move forward and talk soothingly to the baby dragon.
“It’s ok, little one. We’re not going to hurt you.”

The little sea dragon seemed to relax instantly, her big blue eyes blinking in the spotlight and she even began to wag her forked tail.

“My name is Nataleigh. I’m a princess from the Ivory Palace and I love dragons, especially beautiful little sea dragons like you with your sparkling green scales. You’re just adorable.”
Suddenly the baby dragon came to life. Her eyes opened wide and she squealed again, only this time with delight.

“Do you really think so? OH, I knew you were real! And you’re nice too! Wait until I tell Coralee!”

And then she leapt forward practically knocking the princess to the ground as she threw her flippers around her in a big serpentine hug.

For a second, Nataleigh panicked again, thinking the dragon had turned on her and was attacking after all. She stiffened. But as quickly as the little sea serpent had grabbed her, it released her. Then sitting back on her tail like a sea lion, she clapped her flippers together and giggled.
“Are you really the princess of Amiera? I told Coralee that you existed! My name’s Anna Monee! I’m seven months old. Coralee’s my cousin. She’s eleven. She says humans don’t exist. Can you believe that? How silly ‘cause here you are!”

The princess was astonished by this turn of events. First she’d thought they were about to get eaten by a giant sea serpent, and then she’d thought this was a helpless baby. But now she realized that this little female sea dragon was neither. Instead she had discovered a bundle of energy with flippers. She smiled in spite of herself then looked at Frangen.

The inventor hadn’t moved, except to drop his jaw. He simply stood with his stink-ball launcher at his side dripping foul liquid on his shoe and not knowing what to make of this situation.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” laughed the little dragon. “You’ve got to meet her! She spent the night last night and we’re playing house. I was the mama and papa and she’s my child. I just left her back in the playroom down this side passage. We were pretending that it was our house and I was going grocery hunting while she took her nap. But forget that now! She’s got to meet you and see that you’re real! And then I’ve got to show you to my mama and papa!”

Anna Monee turned to go, but Nataleigh hesitated at the mention of a mama and papa sea serpent.

“Um, are your mama and papa going to be, uh… happy to see me?” she stuttered. “I mean, will they be glad to talk with me? They won’t think I’m dinner… that is that I’m uh, here for dinner, will they?”

“Of course not! Don’t be silly! Though Mama always insists that everyone stay for dinner.” She cocked her head to one side in thought. “But Papa is the keeper of the Key and you’ll want to talk to him about that since it practically belongs to you. Maybe you can convince him to get rid of it! He spends too much time on it anyway… But never mind that right now. First you’ve got to meet my cousin. Come on. Just follow me.”

This time, without waiting, she spun around, picked up her rag dragon, and scooted down the tunnel. After only a few dozen feet, she took a quick turn to the left and disappeared down a smaller side passage that neither of them had noticed before.

The Princess turned again to Frangen who simply shrugged his shoulders. Then both of them followed, still somewhat reluctant, but caught up in the infectious joy of their new little friend as she called for them.

A moment later they too had disappeared down the small side tunnel, the light of Frangen’s hat lamp gone just as Prince Nathan ran down the corridor in the dark, missing the side tunnel in his panicked search for his sister.

* * *

And so, while Prince Nathan explored the sea serpent kitchen and cavern pool looking for her, Princess Nataleigh and Frangen followed the baby sea serpent down different tunnels to a cave that was obviously the sea serpent family nursery.

The nursery cave was smaller than the cavernous living area with the pool, but it was still large by the standards of dwarves and human children. The cave seemed smaller than it was, however, since it was cluttered with toys of every kind. Nataleigh was amazed at how many toys and playthings sea serpent children played with. In fact they weren’t much different than human or dwarf children toys. There were sea-weed stuffed toys and dolls, rocking dragons, clamshell dish sets, water color paints on a large rock table with seahorse-hair brushes and even books lining shelves. The princess wondered how sea dragons read books with flippers for hands, but before she could wonder about much else, Anna Monee was introducing them to her cousin.

“Coralee, Coralee!” she bubbled. “Look what I found out in the passages! Humans, Coralee! See. I told you they were real!”

Coralee was obviously older than Anna, standing a whole serpent’s head taller with pinkish blue scales rather than the green that Anna Monee’s family had. She was a very pretty sea dragon and obviously took great pride in that fact. Her eyelashes were long, her claws painted and her scaly skin was sprinkled with some kind of glittering dust or powder.

Coralee was obviously shocked and a bit frightened at the sudden appearance of strangers in the nursery, but she recovered quickly as they approached. In fact, once she saw the princess her eyes grew as wide as saucers and she became almost as giddy as her cousin.
“Anna Monee, where did you find them? She’s beautiful!”

“Why thank you,” Nataleigh stuttered, not knowing quite how to handle the compliment.
“So you’re the Princess of Amiera?” Coralee sighed. “Oh how dreamy. You must have the most wonderful make-up and clothing. Please sit and tell us all about it. I just love to learn new beauty secrets!”

Suddenly she wrinkled her nose and drew back. “Ew, what’s that awful smell?”

Frangen had just walked up behind the Princess, his stinkball launcher still dripping foul muck all over the place. In all of the excitement, the inventor had completely forgotten his brother’s warning about keeping it held upright. Now he blushed in embarrassment as the three girls covered their noses and groaned.

“Sorry.” He apologized sheepishly.

Coralee looked as if she were going to be sick as she gave quick instructions. “Anna Monee, why did you bring this dwarf in the lair? You know what your father says about dwarves! They are filthy and they shed hair all over the place! And this one stinks! Gross! My stomach!”

Then waving toward another tunnel, “Take him to the bathing pool down the corridor before I pass out! And make sure he uses soap!”

Anna’s face fell at the command. She wanted to stay and be part of the girl talk that was sure to take place while she was gone, but she shrugged and headed out. Frangen looked lost. Holding the launcher up so it would no longer drip, he followed the younger sea dragon, still tracking stinkball juices from his boots to the floor with every step.

“Oh, that stuff is horrid!” Coralee said through her flippers turning back to Princess Nataleigh. “Who is that and why did you bring him along?”

Nataleigh was disgusted by it herself, but her mind was preoccupied by something Anna Monee had said when they first met her. All the way from the corridor to the nursery, the princess had been replaying the little serpent’s statement about a key over and over in her mind. What had she said? Her papa was the keeper of the key? But more importantly, Anna had said it belonged to the Princess. Could this key be the Serpent’s Eye? And if so, why would it belong to her? Was it her father’s maybe? The possibility filled Nataleigh’s heart and mind. She was so close to her goal! She could feel it. All she had to do was get these two young sea serpents to help her, and that didn’t seem like it would be too difficult with how much they seemed to gush all over her.
“His name is Frangen. He’s helping me to find something that my family lost. That’s why we’re here.” The princess explained. “Coralee, I’m looking for the key that Anna’s father is keeping for us. Do you know anything about it?”

“A Key to what?” Coralee asked without interest. “Anna’s papa has all kinds of little trinkets in his treasure cave, but we’re not allowed to play in there. Besides, I’d rather get some advice from you. They say that if you want to look good, ask a princess, especially human princesses! Oh, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about neck-ridge treatments and horn buffing!”
Coralee moved over to a bowl shaped stone next to the stone table and slid into it, plopping her fins on the table top. “Now, tell me what you think of my talon colors. Do you think this color compliments my scales?”

Nataleigh rolled her eyes and sighed. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she had thought. Coralee, especially seemed one track minded. The princess had to think of a way to get her mind off of beauty treatments and on to this treasure cave she had mentioned. Suddenly an idea hit her.

“I think your talons and eyelashes, even your scales are gorgeous, Coralee. But have you ever considered jewelry?” Nataleigh teased. “That’s what you’re missing if you ask me. There’s nothing that hi-lights glittering scales and glowing eyes like some sparkling jewels around one’s neck. And dangling a string of them from your tail or wearing a bracelet around a fin or two, that’s simply to die for!”

Seeing the young sea serpent’s eyes widen with delight, the princess continued to bait the hook.
“Pearls! That’s what you need. Nothing would match the undersea aqua shades of your scales like pearls. The bigger the better! Do you have any around that we could try on you?”

Coralee’s eyes dimmed and she lowered her head as she considered the answer. “No, my parents say I’m too young for jewelry and so do Anna Monee’s. Neither of us have any yet. I have my crest pierced, but I can’t put anything in it more than a boring ol’ stud.”

“Oh, come on now.” Nataleigh tempted. “Surely we can scrounge something up around here, just to see how you look. They don’t have to know. I mean, it’s not every day you have a princess around to give you some tips. Right? If we try some stuff out, I can tell you what looks best on you and then when you’re old enough you’ll know what to go with.”

“That’s true!” Coralee brightened and then frowned again. “But I don’t know where to get any of the good stuff.”

Nataleigh smiled and reeled in her catch like an expert fisherman. “What about that treasure cave you mentioned? You said you couldn’t play in there, but we won’t be playing. This will be some serious business going on. I bet there are some gorgeous pearls in there that would look just dazzling on you. Should we go take a peak?”

“You think so?” Coralee beamed again.

“Absolutely! Come on.”

The sea serpent bounded up and led the princess out of the room the same way Anna Monee had just taken Frangen, but she quickly took a different passage to avoid being seen by her little cousin. A few tense moments of creeping down passages later and they were at the entrance to the treasure cave. Princess Nataleigh quietly entered and nearly gasped at the beauty of the chamber.

Everything one would imagine a treasure to contain was in this place: piles of gold and silver, treasure chests - some closed, some tipped over and spilling their contents onto the floor – giant gems, pearls and strings of jewels tossed about and hanging on perfectly molded golden artifacts. There were finely crafted weapons, suits of armor, statues and even some furniture with silk cushions sitting around the chamber. But the princess was not sidetracked by all of this wealth for long, for sitting on a platform at the end of the cavern sat what had to be the object of her quest: The Serpent’s Eye!

Chapter 16: "...The Guardian Must Die!..."

2009-01-14T16:17:00.003-06:00

What the Princess and Frangen could not have known at that terrifying moment was that the very trap they thought they had just escaped was actually the mechanism that had just dropped her brother and his two friends into the chamber behind her.
Prince Nathan, Vonkar, and Flindee shielded their eyes from the brilliance of the crystal. None of them moved they were so shocked by the sudden appearance of the Wizard. Panganiban’s long white beard trailed from his bald head nearly to the floor and his bushy eyebrows blanketed his eyes in shadow. He looked quite impressive as he stepped out of the darkness in his velvety black robe, trimmed in purple.
And Panganiban was not alone.
Standing at his side was the notorious Captain Claw, dressed in a rich, red captain’s coat with matching hat and yellow beard all in curls. Claw was missing one leg at the knee and in its place was a wooden pike. But the feature that gave him his name was the giant red crab claw that replaced his left hand. As they looked up at him, he grinned and snapped his pincers on the brim of his hat in salute. Three pirates flanked the captain and sneered at them.
Next to the captain of the Shabby Crab stood King Kugelbone, black armor glinting in the light of the crystal. Kugelbone wore a crown of silver upon a bushy bearded head full of hair that was nearly as red as his kingly tabard. He looked every bit the hot head that his subjects knew him to be.
Two of those subjects, his personal body guards, stood behind him. Both were giants compared to the average dwarf, in height and in bulk, and both were heavily armored and armed. Nathan was amazed at their impressive weapons. One had a hefty log fastened to his forearm that the prince doubted he could even lift with both arms.
The sight was daunting to say the least and Nathan knew they were outnumbered and no match for this group. And Vonkar, their only real fighter, wasn’t even holding his own weapon at the moment, thanks to their fall through the secret entrance… and thanks to Flindee and his obsession with his pineapple.
“Well, well now, what have we here?” Captain Claw asked with a confident guffaw. “You three sand rats wouldn’t be trying to follow us now, would ye?”
“Follow us?” King Kugelbone chimed in with disgust. “I thought we were following them through these tunnels!”
“No, your majesty,” Panganiban assured him. “These three just arrived through the same secret entrance that we did yesterday. The question is how did they know about it? Only Snagglefang, the Dragon, and I know of this entrance.”
“You mean to tell me that we’re back in the very chamber where we first arrived? This is absurd, wizard!” Kugelbone railed. “You promised me the Serpent’s Eye and all we’ve been doing is walking in circles through these caverns for hours with nothing to show for it!”
“Patience, your majesty,” Panganiban soothed. “I did not lead us astray as you think. The Dragon’s old lair has been deserted and the Eye moved. But the footprints we found back in the passages are following something bigger that I did not recognize at first: a sea serpent, I think. Whoever these footprints belong to will lead us to what we seek. I am certain of it. And when they have dealt with the beast, we will claim the prize. But first we must deal with these newcomers who stand between us and our reward.”
Vonkar suddenly bristled at the challenge, his initial shock gone. Flexing his muscles and growling as he spoke, he took a step forward. “And how do ye propose to deal with us, brigands? If it’s through force, ye’ll find that Vonkar the Vocal is a warrior not to be taken without great cost!”
“Vonkar, wait!” Nathan called to the Viking from behind. The prince was the furthest away from everyone else and nearest the large metal shoot through which they had fallen, but the wizard’s statement about a footprint trail in the tunnels and what they were following rang in his ears like church bells and he moved forward a pace or two as well.
“What did you say about footprints and a sea serpent?” he begged. “Which way did they go?”
At all of the threatening forward movement, King Kugelbones’ guards bristled as well and stepped to his side, mere paces from the Viking and the Jester. (Flindee, of course, was unconcerned by the whole confrontation, seeing it only as a welcomed distraction to Vonkar, and an opportunity to finally slice and peel his pineapple with the warrior’s axe.)
Panganiban lifted his hand to halt the two guards and addressed the prince. “I am quite certain that you would like to know which way our trail leads, but the prize is not for you, my young friend. We have come too far to lose it now, sea serpent or no.
“And I am equally certain that the two individuals we are tracking will be no match for the beast. Why one appears to be no more than a girl, judging by the thin, lightweight footprints. Right, Hagwig?”
Suddenly, out of the shadows to Nathan’s right, another figure crept. This one was also cloaked in black, but they were not the rich, velvety robes of the wizard. This individual was shrouded in musty rags with a conical, fluorescent seashell hat perched over her crooked nose and hiding her eyes. She was wrinkly and hunched and her voice cracked as she replied.
“Oh yes. I am sure of it, great lords. In fact, we are very close behind her now. Her footsteps resume beyond the sand and up this other tunnel. I even thought I may have heard her soft, sweet voice echoing from it just now. We must hurry!”
She clapped her crooked hands together gleefully as she cackled with excitement. Panganiban smiled smugly.
“And we shall, my dear Hagwig. We shall. But first we must make sure that they are not aided by our three newly arrived heroes. You see, it wouldn’t do at all to have them team up against the Guardian of the Eye and actually win. No. No. I’m afraid these must be stopped here. The Guardian will finish off the others and we will claim the power at last.”
“NO!” Nathan screamed.
He now realized how close he was to his sister and how close she was to danger and he had heard enough. Images from his dreams flooded his mind and the Prince of Amiera launched himself across the sand, but not at the men in front of him. Instead, he raced at the old woman and the tunnel behind her!
There was instant chaos!
Hearing the prince’s shout, Vonkar was already on the move, bellowing forth his own battle cry and lunging for his axe. Fortunately, he had no struggle with Flindee, for at that crucial moment, the Jester was so startled by the sudden shouts, he jumped straight up into the air, dropping Fo’egrin and back-flipping over the charging Viking. Of course as he leapt, he managed to keep control of Quattlebom and his several slices of pineapple, all of which he juggled in a perfect circle without missing a beat.
King Kugelbone’s two massive guards were the first to move on the other side, brandishing their weapons and moving to engage Vonkar. Captain Claw shouted for his pirates to stop the prince and Panganiban began to wave his staff in the air while reaching into his robes with his free hand.
But all of them were dropped to their knees by the sudden shifting of sand as the creaking of gears and the sound of moving machinery filled the air. The secret tunnel sand shoot was resetting exactly as Frangen had suspected it would! A large funnel was opening under the floor grating and the huge volume of sand that had poured into the room was now sinking through it and pouring out of the room to be sucked back up to the surface.
The sinking sand dragged at Panganiban’s robes and the wizard was pulled to the floor. Caught completely off guard, he dropped his staff and the light of its crystal went out. At that same moment the huge steel door in the wall closed, blocking the light from above and plunging them all into total darkness.
Prince Nathan was the least affected by the sudden shift, being nearest to the edge of the room and the most determined to leave it behind. Though he was somewhat slowed down, he had shoved past the cowering sea hag and nearly reached the tunnel entrance before the lights went out.
Nathan was not concerned with wizards, witches, pirates or black knights. Let them have their battles. All that the prince cared about at that moment; the only vision in his minds eye, was the single image of a scaled monster lunging for his sister and the thought that he might be just a heartbeat too late… again!
Into the giant tunnel he stumbled, running blindly ahead through the darkness, arms outstretched before him and calling his sister’s name. She did not answer.
Didn’t that witch just say she thought she heard her footsteps down this corridor? He wondered. What could have happened to her already?
His vision spurred him on to greater speed, heedless of the dangers that could lay right in front of him in the darkness! Fortunately the tunnel went on straight for perhaps a hundred feet before it began to turn and descend deeper underground. By then the armor he was wearing began to drag at him and he was forced to slow down and catch his breath. Finding the nearest tunnel wall, he began to feel his way along the passage completely alone now in the impenetrable darkness.
But before he had time to think too much about it and lose his courage, he began to see a light ahead. Down the tunnel and just around the winding corridor, he began to make out a flickering blue light on the walls that could only be sunlight filtering through water. His hope grew. Perhaps there was another entrance to these tunnels ahead, and he would find his sister there and they could both escape all of this madness. He decided at that moment that he had had quite enough adventure and was ready to return home.
Unfortunately, his hope was dashed as he rounded the corner to find, not a cave entrance, but another large cavern; this one with many stalactites and stalagmites and rock pillars. The shimmering blue sunlight he had seen in the tunnel filtered up out of a large pool of ocean water. In the center of the pool was a small, round island and what appeared to be several large boulders making a kind of stepping stone path from shore to shore.
Looking around the cavern, Nathan also began to notice other odd details. The cavern was divided into smaller areas, almost like the rooms of a giant’s house, and not all of them were naturally made by rock pillars. In some places it appeared that boulders and even some tree logs had been moved and set in place by something very large to create makeshift walls. And as he examined some of these rooms, he began to notice objects that looked to be almost like giant tools or household items.
One room in particular, looked for all the world like a kitchen of sorts. There was a large flat rock in the center of the room with various sized piles of dried seaweed around it, almost like a table surrounded by chairs. And in this same area, there was a shelf of rock about 10 feet from the floor with giant seashells, coral reef, and stone objects scattered on it. Nathan thought it looked curiously like a kitchen counter scattered with cooking utensils, especially since there was a large, water-filled pool carved into the top. Water was trickling into it from the wall and poured over the side in a small waterfall that ended on the floor and followed a small trench to the cavern pool.
Nathan cupped some in his hand and tasted it. It was spring water. He had forgotten how thirsty he was and took a moment to stick his face in it and drink deeply. But as he did so his uneasiness grew. This place was too nicely set up to be just another cavern. Something lived here and he needed to get out quick.
Where was his sister?
Moving to other chambers of the cavern, he noticed more evidence that something lived here and now some of them were disturbing: bones of sea animals and pieces of dwarven ships were placed around the cavern like decorations. After a few minutes, he finally noticed another cave that led out of this cavern near the back.
Nataleigh must have gone that way. There’s nowhere else to go. He reasoned and was just moving toward it when he heard a voice calling his name.
“Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” It was Flindee. “Boy you sure took off in a hurry. You missed all the action!”
The jester came bounding across the cavern from the main tunnel entrance smiling from ear to ear. “Of course, so did I, come to think of it. Someone turned out the lights and all you could hear was a bunch of grunts and groans and shouts.
“I’m sure Vonkar must have gotten in a few good licks with that axe of his though! Heh, heh. What’s he call that thing again? ‘Fogerty’? ‘For grins’? ‘Frogger’? I don’t know. Somethin’ like that? Of course, those other two fellas were bruisers too, so I don’t know who got who, but I could swear, by the time I found the tunnel and followed after you, I heard snorin’. That was kinda weird, huh? Probably Vonkar. I bet that big gorilla with the log on his arm clobbered him good and sent him to meet Mr. Sandman. Ha, ha! Get it, Mr. Sandman? All that sand in there… Aw, nevermind. At least no one else followed us, huh?”
As soon as the prince saw the jester, he started waving his arms and gesturing for him to quiet down, but Flindee was oblivious. He continued to ramble on as Nathan moved across the cavern to stop him.
“Hey! Look at this pool!” He shouted. “Boy does that look refreshing. And I can finally rinse off my pineapple chunks! I still got ‘em, you know. Ol’ Foggy the axe chopped ‘em all up for me real nice while you guys were all jabber jawin’ back there. And Mr. Vocal was too distracted by the big baddies to notice.”
Before Nathan could reach him, the jester hopped, skipped and jumped right out onto the boulders lying in the water. Perched on one with his feet planted between some spiked ridges in the rock, he dipped and began to wash his pineapple chunks next to a stream of giant bubbles plopping on the surface.
“Ew, this outta be good!” he quipped. “Have ya ever had salted pineapple before?”
Nathan reached the waters edge now and risked calling to the jester. “Flindee, get off of those rocks! I think something lives in this cavern and we still need to find my sister!”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” He apologized, plopping his first chunk of pineapple into his mouth. “Mmm. Delicious. Ok, keep your tights tight and give me just another second.”
But they were out of time. At that moment, the rock on which Flindee stood began to move and the bubbles in the water turned to steam. And suddenly, Nathan realized what Flindee was standing on!
“Flindee, get off the rock, quick!” He shouted. “It’s not a rock!”
It was too late! In an instant, a giant, green-scaled serpent head lifted from the pool and looked up at the foolish dwarf clinging to its horned crest.
The prince’s heart nearly stopped as he watched the head rise into the air to tower twenty feet above him. This was it! This was the moment he was going to be devoured; swallowed whole by the horror that rose up before him straight out of his nightmares!
“Sshhhhhh!” The serpent hissed and Nathan stood frozen in place, waiting for it to strike. And then he realized that the hissing sound had a very feminine sound to it.
“Sshhhh.” It hissed again. “You’ll wake Papa, dearies. And he gets rather grumpy when he gets woke up. Believe me. We don’t want to do that. Best if he gets his rest.”
Nathan just stood there at the edge of the pool staring up at the serpent and blinking like an idiot. Did this giant, fearsome, sea monster just call him “dearie?” And did she say there were two of them?
Once again, the incorrigible jester jumped in as if nothing was strange about the situation at all, giving the prince a moment to switch his mental and emotional gears.
“Well, howdy, ma’am.” He greeted with an embarrassed chuckle. “I didn’t mean to jump on your head, there. I mean, who knew? Heh…heh. Um, can I offer you a salted pineapple chunk?”
He reached down to wave a tiny pineapple piece in front of the serpent’s giant eye.
“No. No.” She smiled and lowered her head so that Flindee could jump off. “I’m afraid I’m on a strict seafood diet. Don’t eat any of that surface growth, don’t you know. Besides, I should be offering you two little gentlemen something. You’re in my home after all. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I can’t do much without Papa-fish. We are attached, you know.”
She nodded toward the water beside her and Nathan and Flindee noticed that the other boulders were actually the long neck and head of another serpent head still sleeping right next to them. And then they realized that the island in the center of the pool was actually the serpent’s large body which was connected to both heads.
“You mean…” the prince stammered. “You mean that you’re the… the two headed sea serpent that guards the... the…? But you’re… nice.”
The serpent flicked her tongue and shook her head with amusement. “Well of course I’m nice. I’m a Mama serpent. Now aren’t you just the cutest thing with your little speech problem. Oh, I do wish I could get you some crawdad cookies. You’d love my secret recipe.”
Flindee liked that idea and began to get excited. “Can’t you just drag ol’ papa-fishhead over there to the kitchen? I’d love to have some cookies to go with my pineapple.”
“Oh no no. Papa would wake up for sure and when he gets woke up early he starts spewing all kinds of foulness. We don’t want that now.”
“But…” Nathan stuttered some more. He was still in total shock at this turn of events. “You mean both of your heads are attached to the same body, but one is a… g gi… fem… mother head and one is a… male… I mean, a father head? How can that be possible?”
“Well now, isn’t that the very definition of marriage, little man, the two become one? Really, what do you dwarves teach in your schools?”
“And you are the guardians of the Serpent’s Eye of Snagglefang that everyone has been talking about?”
“Snagglefang?” Mama blanched at that. “Why that pearl doesn’t belong to Snagglefang. Is that what he told you? Oh, he is such a troublemaker, that one. He steals it from his own family and then has the nerve to call it his own. Really. Someone needs to turn him over their knee, as you dwarves put it, and lay a flipper on his scaley hide. I don’t care if he was first born!”
She bent her head closer to them and whispered.
“My husband is the keeper of the family treasures, but that one is his favorite. Oh, he spends more time with that thing, polishing it and shining it up, than he spends with his family sometimes. I’d like to get rid of the dumb thing, personally. But I don’t know. He’d be SO upset if he lost it. Dragons do like their treasures you know, especially the males. I think it would take a command from the maker himself to get Papa to part with it now.”
“You mean you’re dragons?” the prince asked in sudden revelation.
“Why of course, love. Sea Dragons, that is.” Mama answered patiently. “When we became mates, the maker made us one, but that rascal, Snagglefang is our brother all right. He’s been trying to get the Eye back since we moved into this place and sent him packing as the master told us.”
“So my father told you to take the eye from Snagglefang?” Nathan asked. His interest and excitement were growing as the conversation continued. Maybe this quest wasn’t so hopeless after all. Maybe they could get the eye like Nataleigh hoped with no trouble at all.
Mama suddenly stopped and stared at the prince. “Your father? Did you say, your father? Why how could that be unless…”
Mama moved her big head right into Nathan’s face and perused him up and down, even sniffing him with her large, steam-filled nostrils.
“Well, I’ll be a sea-monkey’s uncle, you are the Prince! And the spitting image of your father, if I might say so, your majesty. Well, that changes everything! Perhaps I should wake Papa up after all…”
But at that moment, a bellow was heard from across the cavern and they all turned to see Vonkar, axe held high above his head, charging toward them.
“For me sacred honor and clan Axtagrind, have at thee ye foul serpent and leave the friends of Vonkar the Vocal in peace! We have come here to dispatch of thee, ye guardian of the Eye!”
Nathan’s eyes widened in fear and he began to shout to the Viking to stop, but Mama was faster. Startled and suddenly fearing for her life she shouted for her mate!
“Papa! Save us!”
There was a burst of steam from the water and suddenly the second head of the sea serpent burst out of the pool with a fierce roar. Flames shot to the ceiling and it fixed its eyes upon the intruders with a baleful glare!

Chapter 15: "...Beneath the Hand and Drifting Sand..."

2009-01-14T15:48:00.003-06:00

Earlier that same day, about the time Crysolis was landing on the opposite side of the island and her passengers began their long trek through the jungle to Skull Rock Mountain, something stirred the waters in an underwater cavern beneath the Island. The blackness of the huge cavern was invaded by a glow rising from the pool of ocean water at its center and bubbles interrupted the stillness of that ancient place. Suddenly, a giant, metal beast broke the surface and bobbled to a halt, its high wattage floodlights illuminating every corner of the cavern.
After a few moments a hatch opened in the top of the submarine and a bald head popped up to survey the area. It was, of course, Frangen. The industrious dwarf hoisted himself out and over the edge into the water where he swam for the cave shore, rope in tow. Once on dry ground, he found a stone column to wrap the rope around and heaved, drawing the submersible in as close as he could to shore.
About that time, Princess Nataleigh peeked her head up from the hatch carrying a lightweight platform. With Frangen’s help, they secured it both to the submarine and to the shore for easy crossing. Once all was secure, Heindel joined them on the Submarine’s topside dragging behind him another strange contraption.
“Frangen, take zis vis you.” The inventor said as he handed it to his brother. “It is ze best protective device ve have onboard ze submersible.”
Frangen was instantly excited by the gift and took it gleefully. Nataleigh eyed it curiously.
“So what does this one do?”
Heindel glowed with the usual pride as he explained while Frangen proceeded to strap the gizmo to his back and then cock it like a shotgun. He even sniffed it with disgust once or twice in the process.
“Zis is ze portable, vun man stinkball launcher complete vit mass ammo backpack auto loader. Ze backpack is made of brontosaurus hide to contain ze foul stench.”
Nataleigh wrinkled her nose, not sure she agreed that the smell was contained as Frangen cocked the contraption one more time and she caught a wiff of what was in the backpack. For a moment she wondered if those stinkballs were made of something else that came from a brontosaurus, but she knew better than to ask.
Of course that didn’t stop the proud inventor from telling her. “Ze balls are my own special concoction. I take two parts skun…”
“No time for details!” Nataleigh interrupted nervously. She really did NOT want to know what Heindel’s concoction was made of. “I’m sorry, Heindel, but Frangen and I must get moving if we’re going to find the eye before Panganiban and the pirates do. Who knows what kind of magic powers he has to help him. They could have teleported down here, used x-ray vision to find it and disappeared by now, for all we know.”
Heindel harrumphed in response. He was as indignant to her comment about magic as he was at being interrupted. Being a dwarf of science, the inventor believed very little in magic.
“Don’t be silly,” he chided, “a bunch of superstitious monkey antics and tricks. Science is vhere ze true answers lie. Zat magical type fellow is no match for my knowledge of chemistry and olfactory repugnant fumes. Ve’ll see who is sent scittering away when he shows his grumpy face.”
“Thank you, Heindel,” the princess said, and she meant it. The three dwarves had gotten her farther than she’d dare to hope. Of course, the cost had also been greater than she ever imagined. This was real danger, alright. Just what she’d said she wanted, but now she wasn’t so sure after their encounter with the giant octopus.
“Take care of Madelyn and Boz. We’ll be back as fast as we can. I’m sure your stinkball launcher will work just fine.”
Heindel smiled and turned to his brother. “Frangen, remember to valk softly. You remember vhat happened in ze test run when Bozvin shook ze bag too vigorously. Don’t forget vhat zat does to Reek Roach eggs. And keep ze gun tip up. You don’t vant anything dripping out of ze barrel that von’t vash off!”
“Ya, ya, Heindel. I know, already. The princess is right. We must go!” And with that, the muscular dwarf jumped from the platform on to the cave floor and turned to help Nataleigh down. He still wore no shirt, but in addition to the backpack and launcher he carried, he had also produced a miners hat with a floodlight. Planting it squarely on his head, he began to turn his head back and forth to scan the rocky floor of the cave.
Nataleigh followed closely behind, wondering if there were other monstrous creatures that lived on or beneath this island besides a giant octopus. She looked around the cavern and noticed other smaller cave openings around the cavern wall. Some of them were big enough for a large dragon to walk through with plenty of wing room. Suddenly she felt very small in all of this open space.
Their search revealed seashells scattered everywhere, and some old coins of various types, but not much else. The coins were scattered in a general path that led toward the largest cave entrance and soon they could make out scratches and scrapes in the rock floor where something of immense size had been dragged in that direction as well.
The trail slithered back and forth in the sidewinding fashion of a snake – a very LARGE snake. Nataleigh found her imagination running away with her as she gazed into the blackness of that large tunnel.
Suddenly Frangen stopped and picked something up from the floor of the cavern.
“A sea serpent scale,” he confirmed. “A very large one too.” He handed it to Nataleigh.
The thing was as heavy as an iron cooking pan, but glittered a shiny seawater green. The princess was actually surprised at how pretty the scale was coming from such a horrible monster as this serpent must be.
“Do you think we should keep going this way, Frangen?” she asked apprehensively. “What if this thing is still around?”
”Didn’t you say that this thing you were looking for was a serpent’s eye?” Frangen asked as a matter of fact.
“Well, yes.” She stammered. “I mean… no. That is… um, that’s what it’s called, but…”
“Then where better to look than in the serpent’s lair? Don’t worry, your majesty. Heindel’s stinkballs can stun even a sea serpent… I think. Of course, they’ve never been tested on something so large. But I understand that sea serpents have very large nostrils so they can smell their victims coming from great distances and pounce on them without warning even in water.”
Nataleigh looked as if she would suddenly feint at the mention of being pounced on by a giant hungry sea serpent. Frangen continued rambling on, trying to make her feel better.
“But that should work in our favor. One good shot up the nose and it’ll never eat another thing again… at least not without getting sick. You’ll see, princess.”
Somehow, the thought of the sea serpent getting sick after it ate her, didn’t do much to make Nataleigh feel much safer. Never-the-less, they continued into the large cave, following the winding trail. After all, Nataleigh reasoned, there was no better trail to follow.
The tunnel they entered twisted and turned and went on for what seemed like hours, all of which were filled with fear, as the princess and the inventor delved deeper into the bowels of the island not knowing what lay around each dark corner. After some time, they began to find other passages branching off from the one they followed and they realized they were going to have to mark their trail so they could be sure to find their way back. The serpent’s trail seemed most noticeable down larger tunnels, but soon, even the smaller ones showed signs of its passage and they began to wonder how many tunnels and passages there were under this island and which one was home to the serpent.
“This is a maze down here,” the princess groaned at one point. “This could take us weeks at this rate and if we choose the wrong one, we could end up meeting some hungry creature ready to eat us!”
Things grew worse when they began to notice footprints along the tunnels that were made by dwarves. Frangen identified them as probably belonging to pirates or perhaps knights or both and now they feared that they were too late to claim the Eye. The bad guys had already been here.
But then Frangen noticed that the prints were going in both directions. Soon they found them crossing their tunnel going first up one tunnel and back and then up another tunnel and then back the way they had come yet again until it became quite clear that their opponents were lost.
“They’ve not been marking their trail,” Nataliegh observed. “They must be going in circles!”
“And I don’t think they recognize the tracks we are following,” Frangen agreed. “If we can just keep from bumping into them along the way, we may still find the Serpent’s Eye first.”
“As long as we find the Eye only… and not the rest of the serpent.” Nataleigh whispered. She was still quite nervous about the idea that their might be something down here that could eat them.
They continued following the most noticeable trail of the sea serpent until they had left the dwarven footprints behind. Princess Nataleigh’s hopes began to grow again. This must surely mean that we’re ahead of them now. She thought. If only we can sneak past them on the way back…
At last, the tunnel they were following ended in a large chamber that looked dwarven made rather than natural. The walls were smooth and straight and the ceiling high and there were some metal contraptions that Nataleigh could not identify. At the far end of the room, about 40 feet away, the natural tunnel they were following continued as if some large worm had tunneled into the side of this room and out the other side again.
The floor was the strangest feature of the room. Instead of a solid rock or dirt floor, there were metal plates with fist-size holes piercing them in a checkered pattern around the room and sinking in toward the center. And in small piles around the room and filling every crevice and nook were traces of white sand as if from the beaches above.
Frangen immediately ran into the room to examine things, wishing out loud that his brothers were with them. The first thing he examined was a round iron door in the far wall that was hinged at the top and connected to some large hydraulics used to open and close it from the top.
“But where is the lever which controls the machinery?” Frangen wondered. Finding no answers to this riddle, he turned his attention to the floor. “This is very strange, your highness.” He explained. “This flooring is hollow and from what I can see through the holes, there is a pit that shrinks into a funnel beneath us. I think this room is a drainage filter. I don’t think we want to be in here if this metal door opens.”
Princess Nataleigh was bewildered and a bit curious.
“You mean that if that round metal door opens it might pour water in on us?”
“Or sand.” The inventor offered. “It is all over the place. Maybe this is some kind of giant sandbox.”
“Or maybe it’s some kind of booby trap!”
Nataleigh suddenly became alarmed. “Let’s get outta here, Frangen, before we set it off or something!”
Grabbing the dwarf by the arm, she jerked him up and pulled him toward the other cave exit. Frangen was still talking about the machinery, only half paying attention to the princess as he was pulled along.
“I seem to remember a story about my great great grandpa Vindelshneezer designing a hydraulic sand box filtering system to sift out all of the toys that children lose while they are building sand castles. It had metal floor plates with holes like these that would let the sand fall through but not the toys and he connected a pump system that would suck the sand out through a pipe and blow it back into the sandbox from the top so that the sand was never lost.
“Of course, children kept getting sand blown in their faces when the pump was activated… but they never lost any more toys. Grandpa Vindelshneezer was a genius and the first inventor in our family.”
“That’s great, Frangen, but we don’t have time to examine every invention we come across in these tunnels.” Nataleigh reprimanded, grunting with the effort of practically dragging the nostalgic inventor. “We’ve got to find the Eye before the pirates do, now come on! Whatever comes out of that door is probably not going to be very helpful to us anyway.”
At her words, Frangen snapped out of his reverie and resumed tracking up the tunnel. The princess breathed a sigh of relief as they left the chamber behind, wondering what kind of danger they may have avoided. The idea of tons of sand pouring out of the wall on their heads did not thrill her. And then she wondered where all of that sand might come from.
As if in answer to her ponderings, they suddenly heard the machinery in the room behind them come alive. The hydraulics of the machine could be heard hissing in protest and then the screeching of the hinges as the massive door must surely be lifting.
Frangen started to turn back, but the princess stopped him. Now they could hear what sounded like something pouring in large quantities from the metal door. They could not see back up the tunnel, but they could hear it echoing upon the metal plated floor as it poured in.
“See?” Nataleigh shouted over the noise. “I told you it was a trap! And we barely escaped it! Let’s get out of here before sand starts pouring down the tunnels too!”
“But, your highness, the floor is structured in such a way as to keep the sand from…”
Frangen was suddenly interrupted in his explanation. Over the sound of the pouring sand, they heard the definite sound of something moving up the passage ahead and before either could react to shut off their light or hide, they saw a shape materializing out of the darkness. It had two scaley, green heads and sharp, clawed flippers!

Chapter 14: "...Those Who Find the Cross of Cloth..."

2009-01-13T18:40:00.004-06:00

Vonkar was, of course, the first to react. For all his frustration with Flindee, the Viking was not one to stand idly by while a comrade sank into oblivion. Sprinting the short distance to where the jester was sinking, he gave a mighty leap right into the center of the whirlpool of sand and flung his axe over his head to hook it upon a large ivory colored branch stuck in the side of the boulder. Holding Fo’egrin with one arm, he grabbed Flindee around the waist with the other, but by this time the jester’s feet were buried in the sand and he was being sucked down by more than just gravity. The Viking could not pull him free!

Prince Nathan was right behind him. More cautious than the warrior, the prince moved around the outside of the sinkhole and tried to climb the boulder from the opposite side. But the boulder was tall and broad with no branches on that side and Nathan struggled to pull himself up. The only handhold he could find was a large crack to one side dangerously close to the edge of the shifting sand.

Flindee was still crying out in fear as he clung to his pineapple with one hand and his puppet with the other dangling precariously over the ever-deepening hole!

“Drop the fruit,” Vonkar shouted at him, “and grab hold of me, you fruitcake!”

The Viking’s strength was incredible, but Nathan knew he couldn’t hold on forever. He had to get up this rock and fast or his friends would be lost! Pulling off his metal gauntlets, the prince leapt for the crack and jammed his fingers into it. Pain shot through his arms as the rest of his body’s weight yanked down on his fingertips. The armor he wore dragged at him as well and made the climb more difficult, but at last he pulled himself to the top and reached for Vonkar’s hand!

Leaning over the boulder with his face pressed against the rough surface, the prince now noticed that the white branch Vonkar had hooked his axe over was not a branch at all, but a large bone stuck into the crevice of the rock. And it was cracking! No sooner had his hand grasped Vonkar’s arm then the bone snapped! The sudden jerk caught him off guard and pulled him from his perch before he could let go!

The next thing Nathan knew, he was being engulfed in sand and blackness…

As the sand poured over his head, he thought he would suffocate, but then it stopped and he felt himself sliding sideways through an opening and into a dark corridor of stone. Tumbling to the floor next to his friends, the prince sputtered and spit out sand as he rolled to his knees.

Next to him, Vonkar too was coughing and attempting to get to his feet, a grumbling shadow in the small ray of light behind them. Flindee was already on his feet, dusting Quattlebom off with an old, white cloth and talking to the puppet as usual.

“I’m sorry, Q. I know I shoulda listened to you and just used your hat. But how was I supposed to know that this here rag was attached to that lever? All I wanted was a clean piece of pineapple to eat.”

Suddenly he stopped brushing at the puppet and reached for something dangling from the cloth in his hand. It was the fragment of broken bone that Nathan had seen stuck in the crevice of the boulder; the very bone that had snapped under Vonkar’s axe a moment ago. Flindee turned it over in his hand.

“Hey, look at that. It’s not a lever. It’s an old bone.” He noted. “Isn’t that interestin’. I wonder why someone would attach this old piece of cloth to a bone stuck in a big ol’ rock at the bottom of a skull-shaped mountain.”

With that, he snorted loudly and, snapping the string that connected it to the cloth, tossed the bone absently over his shoulder. “Now what happened to my pineapple? I’m still hungry. I suppose both pieces are REALLY dirty now. It’s a good thing we still have this cloth to clean them with.”

He began to walk down the passage, still talking to himself, when the prince stopped him.

“Flindee wait!” He choked. Something the jester had just said clicked with him. He stumbled to his feet. “Let me see that cloth. Quick!”

Flindee frowned, clearly put out by the demand. “Aw, c’mon. I just need it for a few minutes.”

But Nathan ignored the disgruntled dwarf, snatching the cloth away from him.

“Well, I never!” Flindee stated, highly offended now. He stomped his foot and stormed away in search of his beloved pineapple.

The prince shuffled back over to the sand pile and held the piece of cloth up to the thin glimmer of sunlight that filtered through the opening through which they had poured. Unfolded, the cloth was cut in the rough shape of a simple cross!

“This is it! The cross of cloth!” He shouted. “We’ve found it! It was under a different stone tooth; a smaller one. Flindee found it directly below the eye of the fortress with the wooden door over it! It all makes sense now! That eye is a cave entrance to the fortress and probably has spy holes in the door for look-outs to see through. So it still might spy those below who find the cross of cloth! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

The prince was so excited at solving the riddle that he continued on oblivious to his friends. “So the bone in the boulder must have been the bone from the first line of the riddle. The secret passage was under bone alright. Ha! And beneath the drifting sand too.”

“I guess ‘drifting’ is one way to describe it.” Vonkar commented, now on his feet and looking around in the sand for his axe. “Sinking sand is more like it!”

“A play on words. All good riddles do that! Don’t you see, Vonkar? We’ve found the secret passage to my sister!” Nathan was positively jumping up and down now, the clanking of his armor echoing down the long dark tunnel.

Vonkar was unimpressed, being more concerned with other things at that moment. “Fo’egrin! Where’s me axe?” He croaked.

A lighthearted voice answered him from down the passage a bit.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve got it over here.” It was of course, Flindee. “Just let me finish trimming the skin and dirt off of my pineapple pieces and you can have it back.”

Before Nathan could stop him, the Viking gave a bellow of rage that rivaled Gart the Giant and launched himself at the hapless heretic!

“You would dare to misuse me sacred weapon a second time as a mere fruit peeler? I’ll peel your melon-head!”

Fortunately for Flindee, (though not so fortunate for their quest) someone else stopped the Viking before he could reach his intended victim. Even as Flindee’s face widened into a horrified mask of terror at the oncoming banshee (known as Vonkar the Vocal for a reason), a dazzling blue light illuminated the corridor. All three friends stopped in their tracks and shielded their eyes.

The light came from a glowing crystal atop an ebony wizard’s staff.

Chapter 13: "...Below the Eye That Still Might Spy..."

2009-01-13T18:13:00.002-06:00

Nathan spun to face Flindee who was looking at him blankly. “Don’t you get it, Flindee? The water is flowing out of the skull’s mouth like as if it’s belching the water out! So the tooth of stone must be one of these large rock teeth just like I thought!”

He ran over to the jester quickly and removed his hat, fishing around inside for Snagglefang’s directions. Two balls of string, a rubber ducky, seventeen paperclips, and a pack of snack crackers later, he found it.

“Under bone and tooth of stone, beside the belching froth…” he read as Vonkar finally caught up to them. The Viking was distracted by the commotion down the beach and it was obvious that his attention was not on their search.

“Ok, we’ve discovered the belching froth of water coming out of the skull face of the mountain for sure, and these two huge towers of rock in the water are the stone teeth of the skull. Now we just have to decide which one is the one we have to get under to find this secret passage.”

The prince read the next line: “’Below the eye that still might spy those who find the cross of cloth.’ According to this it’s got to be under one of the stones and also below an eye. But I don’t see an eye. The face on the mountain looks like a skull and skulls don’t have eyes. So what is that supposed to mean?”

He looked up and down the face of the mountain, looking for any sign of something that would help him solve the riddle. There was no doubt the mountain-fortress was properly named. The rock of the mountain-face was chiseled deeply to resemble the rounded shape of a skull with the small protrusion of a half-formed nose in the center and two eye-socket caves higher up. One cave was shallow enough to see the back wall of it and was little more than an indent in the mountain that formed a large ledge, but the other one was what gave the skull face a pirate look. That “eye” had been boarded over with wooden planks and resembled an eye patch. In fact, now that the prince looked closer, he could see that those wooden planks were hinged on one side as if used as a door leading into the fortress.

“That’s strange.” He said to himself. “Why would they put a door in the side of the mountain way up there above us like that?”

While Prince Nathan was pondering all of this and Vonkar was keeping watch on their surroundings, Flindee had grown bored and had turned his attention back to the pineapple in his hands. He was hungry, but was also still faced with the problem of cracking the spiny fruit open. But then he got an idea. Looking for something sharp to split the pineapple, his eyes fell on Vonkar’s huge axe. He realized at once that the warrior’s weapon was the ideal tool he needed to solve the problem. Unfortunately, he also realized that the grouchy Viking was not likely to suffer his beloved weapon to be dishonored by such an ignoble and un-war-like fashion. The other issue was that Vonkar currently had the axe in his hands ready for battle so there was no chance of Flindee borrowing it while he wasn’t using it. Of course, Flindee was never one to let little obstacles like grumpy, war-mongering warriors with big weapons stifle his plans. Quite the contrary, Flindee found that situations like this one stimulated his creativity. So it was that within just a few minutes discussion with Q, he had worked it all out.

Just as Prince Nathan was beginning to give up on figuring out the whole “eye” thing in the riddle, he heard Flindee suddenly let out a blood-curdling shout. Spinning around, he saw the crazy jester charging straight for the unsuspecting Viking from behind as if to surprise attack him! Too confused and scared for Flindee’s safety, the prince could only watch in horror as the mighty warrior, believing that he was under attack by the enemy, whirled around swinging his axe in a deadly arc! But the jester never got close enough to be hurt. Instead, after taking only a few steps, he hurled his pineapple directly at Vonkar’s chest and smiled as it was cut neatly in two by the swinging axe.

“And THAT is how you peel a pineapple.” He squealed in delight. Then, before Vonkar could recover his wits enough to realize what had happened, Flindee bounded over, scooped up the two halves of fruit and bounded away again.

“Bummer.” He said. “It got sand on it. Now I gotta find a rag or something to wipe it off with.” Followed by a short pause and then, “No Q, I’m not going to use my hat. You blow your nose on it all the time. That’s nasty!”

Vonkar just blinked at the mad little dwarf. Nathan was just as shocked as the Viking, but came to his senses a bit quicker and decided to get Vonkar’s mind off of the situation before he had time to get angry.

“Vonkar, I need your help deciphering this riddle. Can you help me?”

“This court jester is mad as a loon and hath less sense than a wee babe,” answered the warrior incredulously, “He hath insulted Fo’egrin, my mighty axe with as little care as a witless beast.”

“Vonkar, Flindee was just hungry. Don’t mind him. I need your help right now. Remember my sister, the maiden in distress. She could be facing this sea serpent right now and you could be missing the opportunity to put Fogan, or whatever it's name is, to more important work!”

At the mention of the sea serpent, Vonkar’s thoughts came back to the immediate task. “You are right, young prince. We waste time with this foolishness. Where is this secret entrance?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Nathan replied in exasperation. “The riddle says something about finding a ‘cross of cloth’, so I was thinking maybe we ought to look for that. But I’m not even sure we’re on the right side of the ‘belching froth’ or looking under the right ‘stone tooth’ or what ‘eye’ it’s supposed to be below, not to mention the rest of the riddle!”

For the second time, Vonkar blinked in confusion.

But before Nathan could explain the riddle, another shout went up from Flindee. They both turned to see the jester sinking into a sand trap next to a huge boulder nearer to the cave mouth! He was already buried up to his knees as the sand beneath him drifted into an unseen hole in the beach taking him with it!

Chapter 12: "...Beside the Belching Froth..."

2009-01-10T11:27:00.004-06:00

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.”

Chapter 11: "Under Bone and Tooth of Stone..."

2009-01-10T11:14:00.004-06:00

“Under bone and tooth of stone,” Prince Nathan said, reading the verse that was written on the back of Flindee’s paper airplane map. Chrysolis had finally found her way over the sea battle and brought them in for a landing behind Skull Rock Fortress and now the small band of rescuers were making their way through the jungle trees toward it.

“The first line is almost too easy, especially when we’ve got the map to go with it. The entrance to this secret tunnel is obviously around Skull Rock Fortress. In fact, I’m sure it’s under one of the rocks that look like the teeth of the skull near the bottom of the mountain.”

“That’s interestin’,” said Flindee, walking behind him and studying the paper over his shoulder. “I don’t get that at all. Q and I were discussing this the other day, and we’re pretty sure that the secret entrance is located in the cave of Gretchen the Ettin.”

“Gretchen the ettin?” said Vonkar with surprise. “How can that be? That foul fiend lives on the “Isle of Fumes” which lies in the Southern Pigmy Piranha Sea. My cousin, Valmer the Vagabond vanquished it last summer as a wedding present for Melaria, his bride.”

“Oh.” Said Flindee, scratching his head. “Well, maybe there’s another ettin that lives on this island. The way Q and I see it, it’s got to have somethin’ to do with an ettin.”

“What is an ettin and why does this have to have something to do with them?” Nathan asked.

“That’s simple.” Flindee beamed, happy that someone was actually asking him a question. “Ettin’s are these big ogre-like creatures with more than one head. Some have two heads and some have three, but I knew this minstrel once who claimed to have met one with six heads! He said it was pretty hard to talk to because every time one head would talk to him, the other heads jumped in rudely and then there was the issue of talking with it’s mouth full. Ettins do that a lot. Something about only two arms and so many mouths to feed. It keeps ‘em pretty busy. Could you imagine trying to…?”

“Flindee,” the prince interrupted. “What does that have to do with this verse?”

“Oh yeah.” The jester shrugged without skipping a beat and continued. “Well, they say that ettins have stones for bones. So I figure – that is, Q and I figure – that must be what the clues are talkin’ about. What else would have a tooth of stone, or a belching froth for that matter? I mean, I’m not sure what a froth is, but they sure belch plenty, what with all those heads constantly eating and…”

“But the map shows a big red 'X' right ON the picture of the Skull at the edge of the bay where we just were which is Skull Rock Fortress.” Nathan argued.

“You mean an ettin lives in Skull Rock?” said the clueless jester a bit excited at the idea.

“I don’t know, but don’t you think it makes more sense that the verse is referring to the stone teeth of the skull rock itself?” Nathan explained patiently.

“Not if there’s belching involved?” Flindee answered simply.

Nathan threw his hands up in despair and gave up trying to explain to the simple-minded dwarf, but he did make a mental note concerning ettins just in case. Truth to tell, he was a bit confused by the second line of the verse. What did “Beside the belching froth,” mean? He pondered this as they approached the backside of the mountain.

Vonkar did not participate in the conversation after his initial comments about his cousin, Valmer the Vagabond. The northern warrior had grown bored with all the talk, as he often did, and had moved ahead of them to scout for enemies. All of the fighting they could see from the air was out in the water or on the beaches of the island in front of Skull Rock, but Vonkar was not one to take chances on such matters. It was bad enough for the Viking that they were stumbling through dark, unfamiliar jungle on a strange island inhabited by pirates, but at the mention of ettins he could hardly contain his urge to climb up the nearest tree and holler a challenge to any foe within earshot!

The prince noticed Vonkar’s eagerness, and hoped that he would control himself. Nathan was quite sure an enemy would find them soon enough without the Viking drawing attention to them. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he was thankful to see Chrysolis pushing her way through the dense foliage behind them. Being so large, the poor dragon was struggling to keep up with the three dwarves. Nathan knew that dragons were more comfortable in the air than on the ground even under normal circumstances, but the nearness of the jungle trees and the lowness of their huge branches, made traipsing through the jungle nearly impossible for her. Never the less, Nathan was glad to have his dragon back. At least if Vonkar got them into trouble this time, Chrysolis was there to bail them out.

They traveled for what seemed like many hours until they had come around the small mountain with the face of a skull on the front of it, known as Skull Rock Fortress. They were at the edge of the jungle where the trees met the sands of the beach and so far they hadn’t run into any trouble. But now they could see pirates everywhere along the beach scurrying into and out of boats and working to launch more boulders out into the bay by bending palm trees back and releasing them like giant catapults. Fortunately, there was so much noise from the continuing battle that none of the pirates heard the crashing sound of trees and bushes being knocked over and crushed as Chrysolis came near. Just to be safe though, Prince Nathan motioned for her to stop as soon as they realized how close they were to trouble.

Of course, as the Prince feared, it was not the dragon that he had to worry about, but the Viking. Vonkar was gripping his axe firmly in his hands, ready to run at the enemy and not even trying to hide himself in the jungle foliage.

“Vonkar, get down.” Nathan warned. “We’ve got to find a way to get past all of this without fighting and they might see you.”

“What?” The bare-chested, warrior dwarf said indignantly. “There be only thirty or forty of them. ‘Tis nothing between we two! Why should we not engage the enemy?”

“We don’t have time to fight!” Nathan explained. “My sister could be in that cave right now! We’ve got to get to her as fast as possible, and once we start the fighting, more pirates will come. How can we look for a secret entrance when we’re in the middle of fighting?”

“I will fight while you and the little silly man search.”

“But what if I need your help inside the cave?” The prince countered. “And who’s going to kill the sea serpent if you don’t come along?”

This made the Viking pause.

“Then what do you suggest?” He said in confusion. “Vonkar the Vocal does not sneak about like a treacherous thief and there is no where to hide along the beach even if we wanted to.”

“We need a different kind of diversion.” Replied the prince.

“Oh, like me and Q could do a stand up comedy routine and keep ‘em laughing while you guys slipped by?” Offered Flindee eagerly.

“Somehow, I don’t think these guys would find you very funny under the circumstances, Flindee.” Nathan said. “I’m afraid you wouldn’t last long. What we need is a distraction that they can’t ignore or stop too soon.”

“Like me.” Vonkar repeated, still seeing that as the only solution.

“Yes, like you, but not you.” Clarified the prince.

“Who else can face this many enemies with any hope of survival besides a warrior from the fierce northern clan of Axtagrind?” Questioned Vonkar.

The princes answer was simple.

“Chrysolis, of course.”

Chapter 10: The Hungry Sea Monster

2009-01-10T10:59:00.003-06:00

“It von’t be long now!” Heindel reported, peering out of the large glass view port at the front of the ship just below the command deck. He was watching Boz operate the digger outside while Frangen piloted the sub, dodging all of the debris that was falling from the battle above. “I tink he’s found somezhing. Ze drill bit just sunk into the rock like as if it punched through to zhe other side of a cave or somezhing!”

“Really?” Nataleigh jumped up and ran to the front of the sub to see what Heindel was talking about. This was it! They had found the underwater cavern of the Serpent’s Eye! Their quest was almost over and they would soon have it! Through the portal she could see the digger pull back and then move in to drill another whole next to the first. As he did, the thin layer of rock that he had drilled through began to crumble and give way. The cave beyond was open.

“That’s it! He did it!” Nataleigh shouted joyfully.

But before anyone else could join in her excitement, she watched, horrified, as a large, orange colored tentacle shot out of the newly opened cave and grabbed the little one-man digger! The princess screamed as Heindel, watching next to her, shouted orders to Frangen and jumped up to the command deck.

“Frangen, bring the ship around while I load the ‘Biters’!”

Nataleigh watched as the little inventor pushed his glasses up with determination and began to lift a torpedo tube as big as himself from the wall. The torpedo looked like a shark with a hinged jaw on the front and razor sharp teeth. Heindel struggled to get the torpedo into the launch tube at chest level. He was not as muscular as his two brothers were. Maid Madelyn moved to help him and they soon had one tube loaded.

“I’m in position, Heindel.” Frangen reported.

“Dhere’s no time to load zhe other von.” Heindel said, panting. “Just fire this von before it’s too late!”

Nataleigh turned back to the observation window. It was hard to see Boz now. The falling rock and the sudden movement of the tentacle had stirred up all kinds of murk from the bottom of the sea and the water was very cloudy. She thought she could see Boz struggling to unhook the harnesses that strapped him to the digger as the tentacle dragged the machine into the darkness of the cave.

“Wait!” She warned. “You might hit Boz! He’s trying to get loose from the digger.”

But even as she said it, he disappeared into the murky cloud and darkness. She held her breath, feeling hopeless as she watched.

Maid Madelyn jumped down beside her to get a closer look as Frangen moved to load the other torpedo tube. Heindel held the sub steady and they watched as the cloud began to disperse. All was settling down, when they saw another shadow darting from the cave. It was Boz!

The brawny dwarf was swimming for the submarine for all he was worth! And right behind him three more tentacles were pursuing!

“Frangen, are you ready?” Heindel asked. The first tentacle began to encircle one of Boz’s feet!

“Ready,” answered Frangen, and Heindel yanked on the firing chord!

Both torpedos blasted from the sub and struck their targets and Nataleigh saw why they were called ‘Biters’. As each metal tube struck a tentacle, the iron hinged jaws on the end clamped down, biting into the rubbery tentacles. Immediately the tentacles pulled back, releasing Boz’s foot and he began to swim for it again.

“Frangen, reload! Quick!” Ordered Heindel, already beginning to turn the sub around.

Then he turned to the girls and spoke a bit softer. “If you young maidens would be so kind as to assist Bozwin…”

“Say no more!” Maid Madelyn cut in. She was already moving for the ladder to the lower deck.

Nataleigh began to follow, throwing one more glance out the front window. She wished she hadn’t. As the sub turned away from the cave, she saw a huge, dark, bubbly shadow squeezing itself through the opening very quickly. It had many tentacles and they were already stretching out for them. And then she saw the creature’s black eyes and huge rubbery head and knew what it was. It was a giant octopus and it looked hungry!

Seeing those eyes the princess froze with fear until she heard someone calling her name. It was Maid Madelyn calling from the deck below for help. That snapped her out of her moment of panic and she jumped for the ladder, glad to run away from the horrible sight looming larger and larger in the front view port.

As she climbed down, she could hear Heindel shouting at Frangen to move faster and hoped that the torpedoes would be enough to stop the angered monster. Below, Maid Madelyn had already opened the diving hatch and was reaching into the water for Boz, but she was having a hard time hauling him up.

“I think it’s got him again!” She shouted with a grunt.

The princess jumped from the ladder and ran to help when out of the portal burst another tentacle! This one began to feel around the hatch for another target and was closing in on Madelyn!

Nataleigh stopped short, not sure what to do when she spied the saw-bladed power can-opener hanging on the wall nearby. Grabbing it from the wall, she looked for the mechanism that would operate it and hoped it didn’t need batteries. All she could find was a pull-chord.

“Hurry Princess! I’m losing him!” Maid Madelyn warned.

Nataleigh looked back to see that Madelyn’s grip was slipping from Boz’s arm and now the tentacle had found her as well! It was wrapping around her waist! Frantically, she yanked on the pull string. Nothing happened. She jerked it again and still nothing! Several more times she pulled the chord with all her strength and still the invention refused to work. It was useless!

“Princess!” Madelyn cried out again, this time in pain as the tentacle began to squeeze her and drag her down through the open hatch with Boz! Desperate, not knowing what else to do, Nataleigh threw down the contraption in her hand and ran to grab hold of her friend. But before she reached her the ship shook softly again and sparks of electricity leapt up from the water!

The tentacle stiffened with the shock and then released Madelyn and disappeared back into the ocean. Unfortunately, the maiden was stunned by the shock as well and Nataleigh reached her just in time to catch her before she sank into the water.

As she dragged Madelyn onto the floor, Boz’s arm reached up through the open hatch behind her weakly gripping the side rail. The princess grabbed his diving suit and helped him out of the water quickly, slamming the hatch behind him before another tentacle surfaced. Boz collapsed on the floor next to Madelyn and didn’t move.

Nataleigh noticed that the sub was speeding up. She sealed the hatch, then crossed over to check on her friends. Boz had what looked like a burn on one ankle and had lost a flipper, but he was breathing. Nataleigh guessed that the electrical shock had hit him as well.

Suddenly Frangen’s head popped through the open hatch above her and called down from the command deck.

“Is everyone inside?” He inquired a bit breathless. “Heindel is accelerating!”

“Yes! Go!” She shouted, then asked. “What happened out there?”

Frangen smiled from ear to ear. “Heindel’s newest addition to the submersible: ‘Tickler’ Torpedoes! They pack quite a punch, but that big beastie won’t be laughing for long. Heindel has found another cave where we must hide until it’s gone!"

And with that, he disappeared leaving Nataleigh below to care for her two friends alone and to consider the very real impact of her recent choices.

Chapter 9: The Battle of Skull Rock Bay

2009-01-10T10:45:00.003-06:00

High over the sea battle, dodging through the very sky that Princess Nataleigh was watching through the submarine periscope, Chrysolis did her best to bring her passengers safely through to the island shore. The flight proved difficult, especially since some of the shots being fired were coming from the island itself. Prince Nathan, Vonkar and Flindee all held on for their lives as the dragon was forced to bank left to dodge a spinning net one moment, then dive suddenly to avoid a flaming barrel the next. Some of the pirates from both sides had seen the dragon and were aiming directly at them now, making the flight even more dangerous as shots came from every direction.

Looking below, Prince Nathan could see the entire scope of the sea battle taking place almost wholly within the Island’s large bay. Captain Klaw’s immense black galleon, “The Shabby Crab” was unleashing everything it had on board as it’s crew attempted to make land. But in order to keep up the attack with it’s many cannons, the ship was forced to turn sideways and hold it’s position, providing cover for the smaller boats in the Captains fleet as they moved steadily forward.

Of course, the Black Beard brothers weren’t letting up either. Though the three bearded pirate brothers each had a ship of his own and hardened crews to man them, none of their ships could match the Shabby Crab in size or speed or firepower. Therefore they were forced to rely on the many smaller vessels in their fleet which had been rigged with all kinds of strange warlike contraptions to make them more effective in battle.

The most effective tool in keeping Captain Klaw’s forces at bay, however, was the fortress that gave the island it’s name. Skull Rock was a formidable tower of rock in the shape of a skull. Large fangs of rock protruded from the crashing waves of the bay at the mouth of a huge watery cave that looked like an open mouth. The Black Beard Brothers were deeply entrenched at Skull Rock, sending cannonball after cannonball careening out of the two caves that made up the eye sockets of the skull-shaped fortress. One of the caves even had a wooden barricade set up at its entrance with a window just large enough to fire a cannon through. It gave the appearance of an eye patch over one eye, adding to the imagery of the fortress.

On the beaches, various palm trees were being used as makeshift catapults, hurling gigantic boulders out into the bay. The battle was fierce, to say the least, with neither side giving way to the other.

“I wish we could see some sign of my sister from up here.” Nathan shouted over his shoulder to Vonkar. But of course, he knew that was unlikely since she would be in a submarine beneath the surface of the water or possibly within the sea serpent’s lair already somewhere under Skull Rock. The thought gripped his heart and he turned back to Chrysolis. “We’ve gotta get down there to the mouth of that fortress, Chrys! And fast! We’re running out of time!”

“Aye!” Vonkar added. “Get me down on solid ground, and I’ll show these pirates a thing or two.”

“Remember, Vonkar. We’re not here to get involved in a battle.” The prince cautioned. “We’re here to rescue my sister.”

“Aye, that’s our first priority, but to do that, we may have to engage in some battles, especially with a certain two headed beast that lies below.”

Nathan groaned. There was just no denying the Viking when he got it in his head that there was some evil to be defeated; some enemy to be vanquished. When Chrysolis had showed up at Bouldergold Castle yesterday morning, it became clear that not everyone would be able to go with the prince. As huge as Chrysolis was, she couldn’t carry more than three if she was going to be expected to fly all day and all night. The logical choice, then, was to take the two friends who had been with him from the beginning. Vonkar would not be denied, first of all, and the prince felt he needed the assurance of the warrior’s fearless attitude. Of course, that same fearlessness had almost gotten them killed when facing the giant because the Viking refused to back down from anything ever. That time they had been saved by Vonkar’s mighty bear, Grizzle. Unfortunately, a polar bear could not ride on the back of a dragon and Grizzle had to remain behind at the castle, much to everyone’s disappointment.

Flindee had to go because he was the only one who knew how to find the island, or so he had said. As it was, his directions weren’t the greatest. A day of travel and fifteen wrong islands later and they had finally found it. Nathan wondered if they mightn’t have gotten here sooner if they had just searched the whole ocean without the jester.

Another volley of explosive barrels was released and explosions filled the air in front of them! Chrysolis was forced to gain altitude again just as they were nearing the beach.

“This is never going to work!” the prince shouted over the blasts. He was getting frustrated. They had come so far and now they couldn’t get near the place where the map showed that they needed to get to if they were going to find the secret tunnel.

“Pr’aps it’s time we consider a different approach.” Vonkar suggested from behind.

“Like what?” Nathan asked. At this point he was ready to try anything.

“Why not fly AROUND the island and come in from the other side away from the fighting?”

If the prince had not been strapped to the dragon’s saddle, he would have fallen off. Had the fearless Viking just suggested that they NOT engage the enemy in a frontal assault? Maybe he wasn’t as careless as Nathan had thought.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” he replied. “That’s an excellent idea, Vonkar. Thanks!”

“Damsels in distress first, laddie.” He replied. “Then monstrous beasties. There’ll be time enough to deal with this rabble after that!”

Rolling his eyes and sighing deeply, the prince told the plan to Chrysolis. The dragon flapped her great wings, gaining altitude and taking them out of the battle. Soon they were hidden within the clouds and passing over the island safely. It won’t be long now! Nathan thought excitedly.

Chapter 8: Arrival at Skull Rock Island

2009-01-09T22:24:00.005-06:00

The Sub shook violently as Nataleigh and Maid Madelyn arrived on the bridge of the submarine behind Frangen. Heindel and Boz were already there, moving about frantically, flipping switches and twisting knobs of every kind.

“Frangen!” Heindel shouted. “Vhat took you so long? Help Bosvin to suit up for the Mini-digger! Quickly!”

“Mini-digger? What is that?” Madelyn asked, still unsteady on her feet.

Frangen moved to help Boz who had grabbed a diving suit from a hook on the wall and was beginning to dress himself in it. The suit was little more than an air tank with straps that was worn as a back pack. From it ran tubes that connected to a huge iron bowl with little glass windows built into it on three sides and fastened over Boz’s head like a helmet.

“Ze mini-digger is a smaller submersible connected to the front of zis one.” Heindel explained. “It has the drilling mechanism that we use for tunneling under the water, of course.”

“Great! So why is he getting suited up for that?” Maid Madelyn was getting impatient. “I thought we were under attack! This isn’t the time to be digging! It’s time to fight back!”

“Do not be silly! Ve are not fighters!” Heindel said as a matter of fact. “Ve are inventors. Besides, ve have reached ze island so it is time for digging. Ve have to find zis underground cave for ze princess. Right, your majesty?”

Just then, the sub shook again as something exploded under the water nearby. They all stumbled against the side of the sub and grabbed hold of whatever they could to stabilize themselves.

“What is that?” Maid Madelyn shouted.

“Barrels of explosives!” Heindel answered, sticking out his chest with some pride. “One of my better inventions!”

“YOUR inventions?” Maid Madelyn was shocked.

“Oh, yes.” Frangen added as he placed the helmet over Boz’s head. “Heindel invented most of the weapons the pirates use.”

Boz was now nearly suited. Sealing the helmet around his neck, he gave the thumbs up sign to Frangen and disappeared down a ladder in the floor. Frangen followed.

“Are you all crazy?” Maid Madelyn questioned. “Why are you supplying weapons to this bunch of cut-throats?”

“Vhat good does it do to invent somezing if you’re not going to share it.” Heindel shrugged his shoulders, then turned to peer out through one of the forward windows. “Ve supply all ze civilized dwarves of Darrowold viz our inventions. It keeps us busy. Vhere have you been living, girlee, in ze voods somevhere?”

Madelyn threw up her hands in exasperation.

“Wait a minute!” Princess Nataleigh piped in. She had been looking through the periscope to see what was going on up above and now interrupted the conversation. “I don’t think they’re attacking us!”

“What?” That got Maid Madelyn’s attention. “What do you mean, Princess?”

“There are two groups fighting each other up there! I don’t think they even know we’re here.”

“Zen vhy are zere boomers going off all around us, your majesty?”

“Because we’re right below them and caught in the middle of the war!” Nataleigh answered.

“Look!” She offered the periscope to Heindel who quickly looked inside.

“Oh, my wrenches and ratchet sets! I zink you might be right! Zere is a battle going on up zere! It looks like two pirate ships!” He paused, looking closer. “And ze are using my inventions! Marvelous! Zere verking too!”

Heindel pulled himself away from the periscope, clapping his gloved hands with glee. Then he stopped with a puzzled look on his face as if realizing something for the first time.

“Hey, vhat gives? Zhey stole my semi-automatic rapid- fire barrel launcher I invented last summer! So zhat’s vhat happened to it! Eww, zhose naughty pirate-types!” Slapping his head, he returned to gazing through the periscope. “Oh, oh. It appears they’ve found the glitch in it.”

Then shrugging his shoulders he said matter-of-factly, “Dhat’s vhy I didn’t give it to them. It vasn’t tested yet! Vait a minute… Now zhat’s fascinating. I didn’t realize that particular solution vould explode vhen shaken.”

He shook his head in disgust, then jerked his head from the periscope. “I tink w’ed better move from this location. Ve’re about to have company!”

“Company? What do you mean?” Nataleigh asked, taking the periscope again as Heindel moved to the piloting station and began to move the sub. She looked back into the periscope and immediately saw what he was talking about. One of the ships in the pirate fleet directly above them had blown a hole in it’s own deck and was sinking rapidly! It would soon be coming down on top of them if they didn’t move.

Suddenly a light flickered on a display board near an old microphone. “What’s that,” asked Maid Madelyn, pointing at the light.

Heindel frowned at her for interrupting his concentration, then flipped a switch by the microphone. “Yes, ‘Ratchet Man’, vhat iz it?”

The microphone crackled and Frangen’s voice could be heard in reply. “Boz is ready for launch, Heindel. Should we use our walkie-talkie code names now?”

Heindel threw his hands up in the air at the question and then answered slowly and patiently as if explaining the concept for the tenth time. Nataleigh figured that probably wasn’t far from the truth. “Yes, ‘Ratchet Man’. You need to use our code names now in case zhey might be listening to our transmissions from above. I told you, I just recently invented vire tapping. It’s zhe latest rage vit’ zhe pirates.”

“Oh. Sorry, Heindel.” Came the humble reply. “I mean… sorry, ‘Inventor Dude’. ‘Lab Rat’ is ready for launch. ‘Ratchet Man’ is clear.”

“Launching!” Heindel called out in reply. There was a brief shudder in the ship as the digger detached and pushed away from it with Boz inside. The ladies watched it for a moment, then Nataleigh returned to the periscope and her view of the battle above.

The sea was filled with boats and pirate ships of every kind, armed with catapults and cannons and other exotic weapons probably invented by her demented hosts. There were wooden rafts with shark-head rams mounted to their fronts and steel craft in the shape of great whales with mouths that opened and closed upon other vessels, shattering their hulls and sinking them. Everything from explosive barrels, to cannonballs, to giant grappling hooks attached to nets were flying through the air in every direction as the pirate factions quarreled over the legendary treasure of Skull Rock.

I’d hate to be up there trying to get through all of that without getting hit, she thought. And somewhere out there she knew Panganiban, Hagwig and King Kugelbone would be doing that very thing, making their move to claim the treasure for themselves. They had to find this under-water cavern fast!

The princess knew she would probably be in hot water when her father found out what she had done, but she was determined that she would soften his heart by proving that it was all necessary. Her father would HAVE to understand when she proved to him that she was the only one who could save Darrowold. She WOULD bring back the Serpent’s Eye if it was the last thing she ever did!

Chapter 7: Homesick

2009-01-09T21:59:00.003-06:00

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Princess Nataleigh rose from her small bunk on board the dwarven submarine.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Someone was banging on the steel door to the small chamber that had become, as Frangen, Heindel, and Boz called it, her “royal quarters.” The three dwarven inventors had all but driven the poor princess crazy with all of their fawning over her. “Your Majesty” this, and “Your Highness” that, was all she had heard for two days straight as they traveled across the pirate seas to find the Serpent’s Eye!

“Oh, now what?” Nataleigh groaned as she rolled out of bed and moved to the door. She fully expected to open it and find one of the bulky, little fellows bowing at her feet, and asking how he could be of service to her again. Yanking open the door, she was surprised to find herself staring, not at a prostrating inventor, but rather a fellow passenger on this voyage.

“Maid Madelyn!” She stuttered. The dwarf maiden did not look well as she greeted the princess.

“Good morning, Princess. If it is morning.” She grumbled through pale green lips. “How can anyone tell, down here in all of this darkness?”

Princess Nataleigh quickly helped Madelyn step through the door and sit on her bunk. “Madelyn, you look terrible. Can I get you anything that will help?” she inquired with obvious concern in her voice.

“Yes.” Maid Madelyn hissed as the muscles in her face tightened in agony. “You can order these addle-brained inventors to take us to the surface and let me off! I need fresh air and sunshine and you’re the only one they will listen to!”

“Madelyn, we can’t do that! We’re in the middle of the ocean! There’s no place for you to get off.”

“Then stuff me into a torpedo tube and launch me out toward the nearest island! I don’t care how you do it, just get me out of this iron beast!”

Nataleigh was shocked to see the forest maiden so shook up, but she did her best to cheer her under the circumstances. The best she could do was to distract her from thinking about the situation. So before long, they were deep in discussion about the amazing wardrobe of dresses the princess had back at Amiera complete with gowns, shoes and several gem-studded tiaras.

So caught up was she in her descriptions of the beautiful clothing with sparkling sequins and bedazzling jewelry that Princess Nataleigh found herself almost missing her home on Ivory Mountain. She did, in fact, miss her bed and a fresh change of clothes. And the lack of sunshine, fresh air, and room to move was beginning to ruin her sense of adventure. It seemed as though they might never reach their destination and she was beginning to worry that this “saving Darrowold” business might be taking too long. What was supposed to be a short visit below the clouds to warn the good dwarves had somehow turned into a lengthy quest. Surely she had been missed by now. Her brother would be worried.

For the first time since leaving home, the princess found herself considering the consequences of her decision to disobey. What might Nathan do when he discovered that she had left the palace? Would he come searching for her or would he contact Father and seize the opportunity to tattle on her? That last thought was not a pleasant one. What would Father do to her when she returned…?

Maid Madelyn suddenly interrupted her thoughts. “Princess, are you alright?”

Nataleigh realized that she had drifted off in mid-sentence. She had been describing her favorite rose petal and onyx dress trimmed in ermine furs complete with white silk gloves up to her elbows.

“Now you look pale.” Madelyn continued.

The princess glanced at her friend for a moment then composed herself. “Oh uh, I was just thinking about..…Jewel… Um, talking about gems and dresses always makes me think about… her sparkling, amethyst mane of hair!

“Really?” Said Maid Madelyn rather unconvinced. “For a moment there it seemed like an unpleasant thought suddenly hit you, like…”

“The submersible is sinking!” From out of nowhere came the warning shout and Frangen burst through the door. Then, realizing that he had just barged into a young ladies room without knocking, he threw himself to the floor and begged for forgiveness over and over again. He had shuffled backwards halfway out the portal with his face to the floor before the princess could get him to stop and finish his message.

“Forgive me, your Royal Majesty!” He continued at last (after Maid Madelyn finally dragged him to his feet). “What I meant to say was… the submersible is diving!”

“Diving?”

“Yes, your Highness. We are going deeper under water!”

Maid Madelyn groaned.

Princess Nataleigh was curious. “Why are we going deeper?”

“Because we are under attack, your Majesty!”

“Under Attack?” Both ladies exclaimed at the same time.

“By who?” Maid Madelyn continued.

“By the black beard brothers, of course!” Frangen said in exasperation. “We have arrived at Skull Rock Island!”

Chapter 6: Hope Renewed

2009-01-09T11:24:00.004-06:00

Prince Nathan awoke the next morning to a warm and wet sensation on his face and opened his eyes to see a large, white-furred bear muzzle sniffing all over him. Wrinkling his nose, he sat up and pushed the polar bear away.

“Grizzle, you big lunk. Get off of me!” The bear sat back and cocked its head at him, then shook it’s head as if trying to shake off water and grumbled at him, expressing hurt feelings.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The prince apologized. “You just startled me, that’s all.” He reached out and patted the giant animal on its head and gave it a scratch behind the ear for good measure. The great northern bruin nearly purred with pleasure, though it came out as more of a rumble.

Prince Nathan looked around remembering where he was. He had awoken to the brightest morning he could ever remember, even when compared to mornings on Ivory Mountain where the rising sun shone upon the glistening marble walls of his bedchamber. There was something about the blue of the sky above and the birdsong in the fresh morning air this day that made everything seem clearer and lighter to him. Even the grass on which he lay next to the stump, seemed softer and warmer than any bed or pillow he could imagine. The long night was over and nightmares had been replaced with rest and peace. He had heard his father’s voice and that was enough.

Now it was time to prepare! He jumped up, not sure when or how he was going to save his sister, but knowing that he must be ready when the solution came. He had his father’s promise for help. In fact, he now had his father’s blessing and that fact alone birthed a brighter light in his heart than ten sunrises!

“C’mon, big fella. Let’s go find the others and get some breakfast.” He said prodding the bear to follow.

Just then Vonkar strolled through the door and into the chamber. “Ah, you’ve found him, Grizzle. Well done. We’ve been looking all over these castle grounds for ye, laddie. Where’ve ye been hiding?”

“I’m sorry, Vonkar, for everything.” He said to the viking soberly. “I’ve not been very honest with you nor thanked you properly for your help. You deserve better.”

The warrior nodded in agreement. “Aye, you haven’t, and that’s not something to take lightly.” Nathan’s heart sank a little with shame. Then the viking smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “But, as Vonkar the Vocal is not one to hold grudges, I’m willing to start over and trust you from this day forward if you look me in the eye and give me your word that there won’t be any more deception slipping from your lips. It’s not befitting a Knightly Prince, after all.”

Nathan grinned from ear to ear as he looked up at this new friend. Clapping Vonkar on the opposite shoulder, he did just that.

“I promise, Vonkar. Today is a new beginning. I’m ready to go get my sister!”

“Aye, that’s the spirit, lad! We’ll track her down and rescue her, even if we have to ride Grizzle all the way to the ocean shore and swim across the seven seas to get there! And Vonkar the Vocal will be right by your side.”

They turned and exited the Chamber of Whispers, passing through the surrounding garden and into the main courtyard of the castle as they continued to talk.

“I’m not sure HOW we’re going to do it.” Nathan confessed. “I just know we’ll succeed.”

“Prince Nathan!” Another voice hailed them from across the yard. It was Brumble Wood and with him was the Jolly Men. They crossed to talk with him.

“It is good to see your majesty safe and well this fair morning.” The renegade leader greeted. “You have lead us on a jolly chase.”

Nathan began to respond, but before he could, yet another voice cried out his name and seemed to bounce nearer with each word. It was Flindee. The jester was barreling in their direction through the gathering crowd of people, limbs flailing as he cartwheeled, careened and even cantered along the way.

“Prince Vanderfluff! Oh, thank the “Tall One” you’re ok! We were so worried! Weren’t we, Q?” The colorfully clad dwarf executed a perfect landing in front of the prince, bobbling the puppet’s head in agreement. Then looking him up and down, the jester put his hands on his hips. “Say. What gives? How come you’re out here in your pajamas?”

“It’s a long story, Flindee.” The prince started. “I don’t have time to explain all that. Right now, I just need to get packed and ready to leave.”

This announcement created a stir among the others.

“Leave?” Asked Brumble Wood in astonishment. “Where will you go? The Princess and Maid Madelyn must be nigh half way out to yon island by now, believing first that the fair maidens succeeded in convincing those inventors to ferry them across the ocean!”

“And even if you could get across the sea to where she was, you have no way of making up for the time you have lost.” Tiny Bud joined in. “She has a whole day jump on you, your majesty.”

“And lastly, even if you could get across the ocean AND catch up to the princess, how will you know WHERE she’s at exactly?” Finished Billy Crimson. “This is impossible!”

“Ewe! I know the way!” Piped in, Flindee. But no one paid any attention to him.

“Let me see that map that you took from Flindee.” Nathan said to Billy, holding out his hand.

A bit taken aback at the sudden request, Billy paused for a moment, then reached into a leather pouch and pulled out the folded piece of parchment. Nathan took it and examined it as everyone else leaned in and tried to see it over his shoulder.

“There IS a crude map of the island here, but it’s mostly a verse that explains where to find the secret entrance to the sea serpent’s underground lair, not directions to the island itself.” He said a bit disappointed.

“I know where it is!” Said the jester again, jumping up and down behind them all now.

“You could get out into the center of the Dwarven Sea and be hopelessly lost without directions.” Said Tiny Bud. “And I don’t think any of us has ever been to the island or know the way.”

“I do. I do!” Shouted the jester, somersaulting around the outside of the circle.

“Perhaps the Jolly Men might accompany your majesty to the sea shore where we may forcibly persuade one of yon remaining scoundrels at Pirate’s Cove to guide us upon a lesser ship.” Brumble offered. “Surely, these villians have other vessels with which to traverse the oceans besides just their one large Galleon.”

“Yes, but how fast would such a vessel be?” Friar Tub pointed out. “And how could we trust one of those criminals to lead us in the right direction?”

“You could trust me? I promise!” Flindee was so exasperated now, he was knocking his head against the wooden head of Quattlebom! It was the hollow knocking sound of wood on empty head that finally caught the prince’s attention.

“Flindee, what’s the matter with you?” He finally asked.

“I KNOW HOW TO GET TO THE ISLAND!” Shouted the poor little dwarf as everyone finally fell silent and turned to stare at him.

“And how would YOU know how to get to a remote island in the center of the Dwarven Sea?” Asked Billy Crimson.

Realizing that he finally had everyone’s attention, Flindee stopped jumping around and straightened his hat with a dramatic pause…then his jester’s tunic. He started to adjust his tights as well, when Vonkar growled, interrupting his performance.

“Oh, well… That’s easy.” He went on, still drawing out the suspense as long as he could manage. “I used to go with Gart, the giant, on sea shell gathering expeditions for ol’ Snaggle-gums back in the day. And he likes only the best ones you know, so he would send Gart to the island to collect them for his bed. The problem was, Gart needed some brushin’ up on his technique. He was all bobbin’ up and down in the pool and not goin’ anywhere, so I had to get involved. I’m quite the swimming coach, you know. Before you know it, I had Gart doin’ it all; front stroke, back stroke, side stroke, even the breast stroke. Though he never was very graceful about it. One thing’s for sure, he’ll never go anywhere in water ballet compet…”

Bill Crimson cleared his throat menacingly and Flindee cringed. “Anyway, it was a tough job but somebody had to do it. How else would the boss get any decent sleep. So I went with the big lummox in the beginning.”

“And you’re sure you know the way to Skull Rock Island?” The prince asked again.

“Yeah, yeah. No sweat, I’m tellin’ ya! Get yerself a boat and I’ll get ya there.”

“Well, there we go, then.” Said Nathan with satisfaction. “I see no better plan. We ride for the coast, find a pirate with a ship we can ‘borrow’, and Flindee guides us to the island!”

“Are you sure that’s wise,” asked Billy Crimson, “trusting this bouncy little fruit cake to guide you across the ocean?”

“I don’t see where we have much choice,” said the prince. “We need to leave right away, grab our stuff and eat as we ride! Every minute counts. I only wish we could move faster; fly or something. If only Chrysolis were here.”

This last statement was spoken quietly to himself. He knew it was foolish to keep dwelling on it. She wasn't here and he would just have to make due.

Suddenly a bell rang out from the watch tower and shouts could be heard from the guards on the walls. But before anyone could figure out what the commotion was about, a huge shadow fell over the courtyard and they all looked up to see a dragon descending upon them! The beast was monstrous in size and covered with thick scales, horned and powerful. Guards scrambled everywhere, reaching for weapons and calling the alert, but what the prince noticed above everything else, were the beautiful sapphire wings that guided the lavender colored body in for a graceful landing next to him.

“Chrysolis,” he shouted! Running forward he threw his arms around the dragons neck and refused to let go, so overjoyed was he to see her. “Where have you been?”

The comforting rumble of the dragons voice warmed his body as she answered. “I could not find you and returned to the mountain. Your father sent me back.”

Chapter 5: A Cry for Help

2009-01-08T23:59:00.003-06:00

Darkness again surrounded Prince Nathan. But this time the darkness was not silent. There were echoes and whispers in the dark. They came at him from every side, mocking him, accusing him, haunting his every step. The voices were familiar.

“But your father gave instructions that you were never to go below the cloud cover.” The voice of Chrysolis reminded him over and over.

“Chrysolis!” He shouted into the darkness.

“No, no, little man.” He heard in reply. “No callin’ yer pet dragon!”

It was the slow witted, yet dangerous voice of Gart and Nathan felt the breath squeezed from his chest as he remembered the giant’s massive hand crushing him in his armor.

Then came the mocking laughter of Snagglefang. “Foolish Boy! Have you never been told of me? I’m the enemy!”

And the echo repeated through the darkness…“The enemy!” “The ENEMY!”

“It’s too late, boy!” The voice gloated as before. “Your sister wanted the Serpent’s Eye and I have given it to her! Now she’s mine, heart and soul…”

Out of the darkness, a green light could be seen growing in intensity. It emanated from a glowing ball.

As before, the prince shouted. “Get away from her, you snake!”

“Snake?” The voice repeated with growing satisfaction. “More than a snake, a SERPENT!”

The word cracked like thunder and the glowing green ball blinked! It was no longer a serpent’s eye in name only, but in truth! Suddenly, the light from within the eye was joined by the flickering light of fire that licked out between the sharp teeth of a reptilian jaw. And as the light flickered, the prince could make out the hulking shadow of a second head moving in to strike! He was in the lair of the Great Sea Serpent that guarded the treasure beneath Skull Rock Island and the monster was hungry! But its attention was not on the prince. Before it stood another figure and it flicked it’s forked tongue in anticipation.

“Nataleigh!” he shouted, “get away from…”

He stopped. It was happening again, just as before! There on a pedestal, between his sister and the scaled beast sat the accursed Serpent’s Eye almost within reach of Nataleigh’s outstretched arms. Nathan remembered the last dream; remembered the green mist within the ball crawling up her arms and pulling her in! He couldn’t move. Fear held him in its icy grip and wouldn’t let him. He remembered the emptiness of that mist; the cold as he fell…His attention suddenly returned to the present as he saw one of the heads of the sea serpent rearing back to strike the girl who had dared to enter it’s sacred domain.

Now Nathan moved. Something snapped within him and he moved. Even as the head came down, he dove for his sister… and this time he made it! Just as the jaws of the serpent struck, he shoved Nataleigh aside! He watched with joy as she stumbled to safety. She would live! Then he felt the teeth and all went black…

His shout rang out through the darkness of the guestroom as he bolted up from the bed, panting and clutching his chest. He was soaked with sweat and his heart struck hard at his rib cage. For seconds he just sat there breathing hard and calming himself down. It was only a dream. He was ok. Nataleigh was ok. Or was she? How could he know for sure if it was only a dream? In reality, he had no idea where she was at that moment. He felt so helpless.

After a couple of minutes, he got out of bed and lit a candle. Then, his mind made up; he dressed and left the room. Friar Tub was right! His father was the one who could make everything right and it was time he stopped trying to do everything himself. Silently he crept down the halls of the castle and out into the courtyard to the Chamber of Whispers.

It was even quieter than before as the entire castle was asleep. Prince Nathan entered and walked to the center of the room. The tree stump bowl was now filled with water and glittered in the starlight. No torches burned now, but the moon was up and nearly full, bathing the chamber in soft white. It was peaceful and Nathan felt his hopes rise a bit even as the weight of the world settled upon his heart. Looking toward the eastern sky, he saw his home, still shining like a beacon in the night and his heart broke.

Tears flowed down his face as he fell upon the edge of the stump and began to speak over the still water. “Father, help us! We’ve gotten ourselves into trouble by not obeying you. And I can’t make it right on my own. Please forgive me for not coming to you before all of this happened. Forgive me for trying to take matters into my own hands. Now I’ve lost Chrysolis and I can’t find my way home and Nataleigh is in danger. Father, if you really can hear me in this place, help me!”

The tears continued, dropping hotly into the small pool beneath him, until both tears and words were dried up. Then followed silence. And in the silence of the early morning, a wind stirred from the east and blew gently upon him. It carried with it the faintest of whispers, yet a whisper familiar and full of power.

“Nathan, my son. I forgive you.” It began, and the prince sat up, wiping the tears from his face.

“Father?”

“Do not be afraid, son. I will be with you as you go to your sister. My strength will be yours. Now sleep…”

Nathan rested his head back upon the edge of the stump and listened. Soon he slept, untroubled by fearful dreams.

Chapter 4: The Chamber of Whispers

2009-01-08T22:28:00.003-06:00

The hospitality of Bouldergold castle was excellent. Prince Nathan, Vonkar and Flindee were fed an incredible feast of roast pheasant and ‘taters, with several kinds of pies and various flavors of cider to choose from; breads, cheeses and even casseroles passed around by the guests (the dwarves of Bouldergold love potluck meals). Then they were treated to minstrel songs and poems and were called upon to share their own tales around the large oaken table of the great hall.

Vonkar, though uncomfortable with all the fancy dishes and fine clothes, enjoyed a good tale and shared many of his adventures freely to the delight of everyone. Flindee, of course, resumed his place as the King’s Court Jester, performing for everyone with juggling, jokes and acrobatics throughout the night. Unfortunately, his timing wasn’t always perfect. Many times he interrupted Vonkar’s stories at the most exciting moments, saying things like, “Hey, Did you ever hear the one about the seasick centaur and the merry mermaids of mercklefin?” or “Oh, That reminds me of a limerick I once heard about a Gimpy ol’ Griffen from Glawcken, who growls and squawks when he’s walkin’. It’s a hoot!” until Vonkar, fed-up at last, burst into song, drowning out the silly “superstar” with a bellow of bravado that brought the entire hall to it’s feet in jubilation, so delighted were they at the antics of the two combating performers!

Everyone was delighted, that is, except the Prince. Having now been told the full story of the Serpent’s Eye and his sister’s personal quest to find it before it fell into the wrong hands, Nathan was more concerned than ever for Nataleigh. But there was still no sign of Chrysolis. And without the dragon, Nathan couldn’t get anywhere very quickly, least of all to a remote island in the middle of the Dwarven seas. In fact, the prince realized for the first time that without his dragon he couldn’t even return home to his palace in the clouds.

“Boy, are we in trouble.” He muttered to himself as Vonkar finished his song and the cheering of the hall quieted down. To his surprise, there was a reply to his comment that came from behind him.

“We could be.” It agreed. “THAT all depends on your sister and Maid Madelyn now.”

Spinning to see who had overheard his muttered statement, the prince looked up to see Friar Tub behind his chair. Shockingly, the Friar had no food in his mouth – or his hands for that matter.

“Friar! I…uh, didn’t mean to say… that is…I didn’t know you were…” he stuttered.

Friar Tub just smiled and patted him on the back. “I understand, young man. You don’t need to explain. It is obvious that your love for your sister and your concern for her is clouding your ability to join in the festivities of the evening. That’s why I’ve come over to speak with you. Perhaps I can help.”

“Help? How?” The prince was skeptical. “Can you help me find my dragon or transport me to where my sister is?”

“Oh, no. I’m afraid I haven’t that kind of power.” Responded the kind-hearted friar with a shake of his balding head. “But I know someone who does.”

“What?” Nathan jumped up from the table. “Who?”

“Come with me, young prince.” He said and turned to leave the great hall.

Nathan hurried to follow no longer even aware of the humor and merry-making going on around him. In all the excitement of the entertainment, no one seemed to notice his departure either. His heart was beating wildly in his chest with renewed hope. Could there be a way to reach his sister yet? Was there someone who could help him?

Friar Tub led him outside and across the courtyard to a small, round, almost bubble-like building with a high roof and a small wooden fence enclosing a beautiful little garden. They walked up a few steps to the front door and entered it. Inside, candles burned along the slanting walls, casting a peaceful light over everything. Of course there wasn’t much in the building to illuminate.

Nathan looked around for the person who could help him, only to find the place empty. There was no one inside and almost no furniture as well. The only objects in the room were some cushioned stools just inside the door along the west wall where he was standing. In the center of the room a large basin had been carved out of a knee-high tree stump. And then he noticed that the floor of the room was carpeted by grass.

“What is this place?” The prince asked.

“This is the Chamber of Whispers.” Answered the friar reverently.

“The Chamber of Whispers?” Nathan repeated in obvious confusion. “Are we not supposed to talk in here?”

“You may talk. But the wise come here to listen.”

“Listen for what? Is this where I will meet the person who can help me save my sister?”

“You have already met that person, but I do not know that you will meet him here in this place.” Answered Friar Tub.

“Then what am I doing here?” Nathan asked, a bit of frustration rising in him now at the Friar’s mysteriousness.

“Seeking solutions.” Came the reply.

The prince nearly shouted now. “From who?”

At that, the humble little dwarf simply put a finger to his lips to quiet him and then pointed upward. Nathan followed the direction of his pointing finger with his eyes and to his astonishment realized that the roof of the building was not just high; it was gone! He was standing at the far end of a high-walled room with no ceiling! Stars could be seen shining overhead, lending their twinkling light to that of the candles. And at the far end of the room, visible just over the east wall, a shining tower could be seen far away, lighting up the night sky from the top of a white mountain.

“Amiera?” Nathan whispered.

“Yes. We are not entirely without knowledge of who you are here. Nor of who your father is.” Said the Friar, folding his hands into the sleeves of his habit. “Neither are we without the means of communicating with the Palace of the Heart when we wish to.”

“Communicate. What do you mean?” Nathan stared at Friar Tub in shock.

“This chamber was carefully crafted in this bowl-like shape to reflect sound across great distances when a person positions themselves in just the right spot.”

“You mean you can contact my father at the Palace from this chamber?”

“It has been done before. Long ago it was done quite often.” He returned the prince’s stare with a penetrating gaze. “The question is: Do you want to?”

The prince lowered his eyes, looking at the grass around his feet. The question struck him hard and he wasn’t sure he knew the answer. What would his father say to him when he told him what had happened and where he was? While it was true that his sister had been the one who first disobeyed by coming down to Darrowold, the point was that both of them were guilty. And while Nathan could point out that he had only come down to save her, he knew that was not a very good excuse, having not first told his father and obtained permission. After all, couldn’t Nataleigh use the same excuse for disobedience? She could say that she had only come down to save the dwarves from catastrophe as well. But was that an excuse? They had both taken matters into their own hands instead of trusting their father to handle it. How could he contact his father now, knowing the trouble they were in? How could he tell his father about the loss of Chrysolis and his capture by the most evil creature in the entire world of dwarves? How could he face him and tell him that he had failed to protect his sister? He couldn’t bear the thought!

“No.” He finally whispered almost to himself.

“What was that, young sire?” Friar Tub leaned closer. “Shall I leave you alone?”

“No.” Nathan said louder. “No. Show me to my room please. I’m tired. I just want to go to bed.”

“But… your father. Could he not h…?”

“No!” The prince interrupted. “He couldn’t! He won’t!”

There was a pause and the prince sighed deeply, shaking his head. “I mean, not yet, ok? I just need some sleep.”

And with that, he pushed past the friar and headed out.

Friar Tub bowed his head and sighed as well. “Be patient, my Lord. He is young.” Then he turned and left the chamber.

A soft, eastern breeze stirred the torches and a voice whispered… “I’ll be waiting.”

Chapter 3: Sir Vanderfluff Unmasked

2009-01-08T21:38:00.005-06:00

Reaching for his helmet, he yanked it from his head, letting everyone see his childish human face and shouted with all his might to get their attention! “I’m Princess Nataleigh’s brother from Amiera! Can’t you see that?”

Everyone stopped; shocked by what they saw. Before them was not the face of any dwarf on Darrowold, but the thin, fair features of a child out of Darrowold legends.

Friar Tub choked on his chicken. “He looks just like her!”

Nathan could see he had gotten their attention with his desperate action and took advantage of it. “Please. I just want to find my sister and take her home. We’re not supposed to be down here and I’m worried about her. Can you please help me? Just tell me where she went so I can help her!” he pleaded.

“It’s not my fault that I got captured by that nasty dragon and I never agreed to go on his stupid mission! In fact, once he found out who I was, he wouldn’t let me go. If it wasn’t for Flindee and Vonkar here, I would nave never escaped!”

One by one, the dwarves all began to lower their weapons in astonishment until finally, Brumble Wood broke the silence.

“Forgive us, young lad, for our suspicion,” he said, putting his hand on the Prince’s shoulder. “The portents thy sister brought to us were fell indeed and have rather unnerved us.”

“Portents?” Nathan asked. “He means news; information.” Friar Tub clarified. “The warning your sister brought us concerning the Serpent’s Eye has us all a bit jumpy.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand all of this about a Serpent’s Eye or whatever it is. I just want to know if my sister is safe.”

“I’m afraid not, young Prince,” continued the Friar. “At least no one knows if she is, but I’m afraid it is unlikely where she has gone.”

Nathan’s heart sank into his iron boot as the memory of his dark dream returned to him and the image of Nataleigh’s face captured in the eerie green ball burned into his heart. “Please tell me she hasn’t gone after this thing that everyone is talking about!”

The friar nodded ‘yes’. “Why?” Nathan questioned. “Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is? Why did you all let a little girl go on such a dangerous journey?”

“She was the only one who had the ability to get to it in time with that flying horse of hers,” Billy Crimson said matter-of-factly.

Brumble Wood hung his head. “Twas to our shame that we allowed such fey counsel to sway sound thinking and chafed to hinder the fair maidens departure.”

“What Brumble means,” explained Friar Tub. “is that we tried to talk her out of it, but it seemed like the only choice we had at the time.”

“She’s not alone, at least,” said Tiny Bud. “Maid Madelyn went with her and she ain’t no weak little girly. I’ll tell you that!”

“Is she strong enough to take on the fire breathing sea monster with two heads? Cause that’s what lives in that sea cave that she’s going to! Did you all know that? It’s suicide! That’s why I refused to go for Snagglefang! How could you send my sister to face that?”

There was silence for a moment, which was finally broken by King Balderdash. “I’m afraid the situation is more dangerous than you understand, young Prince. Come. Let us show you to a place where you and your friends can rest for the night. Then all will be made known to you and you will understand and appreciate the courage of your sister and why she has gone and why we are preparing for war here at Castle Bouldergold. For your sister may very well hold the fate of all of Darrowold in her hands.”

Putting his arm around the Prince, King Balderdash began to lead him further into the castle, beckoning for the others, including Vonkar, to follow.

Chapter 2: Flindee's Folly

2009-01-08T12:56:00.004-06:00

In all the sudden excitement, it appeared there was going to be a fight! The only one to stay calm was Gules LeRouge. The purple clad coachmen held up his arms to stop the guards and addressed the King. “Your Majesty, I believe this young knight may not be everything he appears to be, but let us not misunderstand his passion. I do not think he means to be a threat. I cannot believe that he and his friend would be foolish enough to attack us alone like this when they are so outnumbered. Would you, gentlemen?”

“How can you say this, Gules?” the King asked. “We cannot see his face and he travels with a barbarian from the North and a dangerous beast! And he nearly attacked me just now!”

Nathan came to his senses, realizing that he had overreacted and put up his hands in surrender, backing away. His heart was beating wildly at the prospect of catching up to Nataleigh, but he knew he had to force himself to calm down. “I…I’m sorry. I did not mean to…”

“Listen! His voice is not the voice of a dwarf, your majesty.” Gules cut in. Too late, Nathan realized he had blown his secret. He was discovered again by opening his big mouth! And just when he was about to find out where his sister had gone!

Just then, the familiar voice of Flindee piped up! “Of course he’s not a dwarf! I could have told you that!”

Everyone turned to look at the jester who was peeking over the side of the hay wagon. In place of his droopy hat, he wore a wig of hay that looked like a yellow lion’s mane around his face. This was the result of having just had his head buried under the hay pile a moment before.

“Snaggle-fuss figured that out back at the cave when he was giving him his mission.” he continued.

“His mission?!” The king blurted out twice as scared as before. “Do you hear that, Gules? He works for the Dragon!”

“That’s what I said!” Flindee assured them, pulling himself up and out of the cart. He grinned broadly, revealing a large piece of hay stuck between his two front teeth as he continued helpfully. “Ol’ Snaggleypoo sent him to find some kind of big glass ball in an underwater cave or somethin’ like that. I’ve even got the directions on how to find it right here.”

Everyone, including Nathan, stared in astonishment as the clueless, well-meaning jester reached back into the hay cart and pulled out his floppy hat. Before anyone could think to say a word, he began to yank out fistfuls of hay, followed by a yo-yo, a whistle, an oversized tooth brush, and a half eaten onion and finally a small piece of paper that had been folded into the shape of a paper airplane. “And Q worked so hard on it too.”

He began to unfold the parchment very slowly, his tongue pinched between his lips in concentration, trying not to forget how it had been folded in the first place. Growing impatient, Billy Crimson snatched it from his hand and finished opening it.

To everyone’s surprise, it was a map just as Flindee had said, and on it was the riddle that Snagglefang had recited back in his cave. The prince groaned, wondering how things had gotten so out of control so quickly. Even Vonkar was looking at him with confusion and doubt at this new revelation. How would he explain to them all that he had refused the dragon’s evil mission and was a captive, not the dragon’s servant, especially with Flindee convinced that he was and showing everybody and their brother stuff like that to prove it?

The guards lifted the points of their weapons back toward Nathan’s neck as Friar Tub spoke up. “A large glass ball in an underwater cave? That could only mean….” he paused for effect. “…the Serpent’s Eye! The Princess told us that it was hidden in an underwater cave and now we find this black knight trying to beat her to it! The Villian!” he spat.

“But why would he come here then?” asked Gules.

“Perhaps he was sent to stop the Princess.” replied Brumble Wood. “Wherefore this knave might be plotting with villainous intentions to remove yon royal maiden from our company and claim the prize for himself. Fortunately, he hath missed her and she is safely departed.”

“Yeah. And, unfortunately for him, she’s already gone. He’s gotta deal with us now.” Tiny Bud added, slapping his quarterstaff into the palm of his hand threateningly. “Him and his friend.”

“Wait! You don’t understand!” Nathan pleaded. But they weren’t listening now.

“Guards, take them both to the dungeon!” the King ordered. They were hopelessly outnumbered, even for Vonkar and the mighty Grizzle, though Nathan feared the Viking would die fighting before he would allow himself to be taken as a prisoner. So he did the only thing left that he could think of to do.

Chapter 1: Bouldergold Castle

2009-01-05T22:35:00.005-06:00

At the front gate of castle Bouldergold, the strange visitors were being entertained by the joyful reunion of a simple court jester with his beloved king. “Your majesty! We thought we would never see your fluffy, fat face again!” shouted Flindee as he bounded toward the golden armored King Balderdash who had come to the gate to greet them. “Just ask Quattlebom! He’ll tell you how positively discombobulated I was over being separated from your royal pudginess!”

With that, Flindee cartwheeled into the arms of the King and layed a wet, tearful kiss on his bearded cheek as he hugged his neck. King Balderdash twisted his head away from the overzealous jester only to encounter the wooden face and wagging tongue of Flindee’s puppet which seemed to apply it’s own form of wet kisses on his royal cheek, it’s tongue flapping up and down with excitement!

“Flindee! You’re back!” sputtered the king as he tried to pry the nimble little man from his chest. “How…uh…marvelous.”

The king sounded less than excited to see his jester as he continued. (This may have been due to the fact that both the jester and his puppet were continuing to lavish kisses all over the kings head.) “We thought that you had been lost to the evil of Snagglefang, the Dragon… oh, good and… uh… ‘brave’ Flindee.”

Three armored guards moved in to separate the clinging clown from their king, one of them even using his sword as a wedge between them.

“How did you escape him?” Balderdash stammered.

Flindee suddenly stopped kissing him and let go. Removing his hat, he scratched a small tuft of hair on the top of his childlike head. “Escape? I didn’t really escape! The ol’ sidewinder let me go! Come to think of it, he’s been pushin’ me to take a vacation back home and say hi to the family for some time now. What a guy! Or should I say…what a lizard!”

“At any rate, he ain’t so bad as far as bosses go; aside from the occasional outburst of temper when he doesn’t get a good night’s sleep. Boy you should see his nostrils flare!” Flindee mimicked the dragon’s face pulling his nostrils open with his fingers to illustrate.

“On second thought, you probably shouldn’t It ain’t a pretty sight. Not to mention, I’ve singed more perfectly good hats that way…” he looked sadly at a burn hole in his hat and stuck his finger through it.

Taking advantage of Flindee’s distraction with the hat, Brumble Wood cleared his throat and spoke up beside the king. “And who might these two strange wayfareres be that accompany you to Castle Bouldergold, Flindee? They wear strange garb and ride upon an uncanny steed.”

“Yes,” the King added, turning back to Vonkar and Prince Nathan, “and I would like to know who your friends are? They dress funny and are riding on a bear!”

Vonkar jumped down from Grizzle MacCloud’s back and approached the King just as Tiny Bud arrived with Friar Tub and Gules LeRouge. “I am Vonkar the Vocal Viking of Clan Axtagrind from the frozen lands of Northreach. I have traveled south from my home to seek out the devilish dragon of Stormwatch Mountain and rid Darrowold of his evil forever!”

“A Viking?” The King’s crown rose on his forehead with surprise. “Then what brings you here to my castle, snow warrior?”

“I rescued this captive knight from the clutches of the serpent’s minion upon the mountain’s peak and led him here to find help after learning of his quest earlier today.”

King Balderdash looked puzzled and looked around for his advisor. Seeing that Gules had arrived, he beckoned him nearer. “Gules, what is a ‘minion’?” he asked.

“A servant or slave of the dragon, your majesty.” Gules answered in the King’s ear.

“Oh, a servant, of course. I knew that.” Clearing his throat, he turned back to Prince Nathan. “And who is this young wandering knight whom you have rescued? His armor is not like any that my knights wear.”

Prince Nathan took a step forward and bowed low, the crest of his helmet brushing the ground before him. He did not take off his helmet, still afraid to let anyone know that he was just a boy. After traveling together for a full day, even Vonkar had not discovered just how young the prince was, or that he was not even a dwarf. The Viking believed him to be a young, valiant, dwarven knight, and that was the way Nathan wanted to keep it… at least for now. Fortunately, vonkar spoke for him, allowing him to remain silent a while longer.

“This fine young knight is Sir Vanderfluff, a valiant knight errant who lives his life by the ancient code of Ivory Mountain!”

“Sir Vanderfluff? I have never heard of any ‘knight errants’ by that name,” said the king, scratching his chin, “or wandering knights either, for that matter.”

“Ivory Mountain?” Brumble Wood interrupted, pulling at his bushy mustache in thought. “Curious.”

“What is curious, Brumble?” asked Gules.

“Only that this is the second time since the sun rose this fair day, that I have encountered a mysterious personage who has prodded my musings toward recollections of the fabled Crystal Castle upon yon Ivory Mountain,” stated the renegade leader. The others looked at him rather blankly until Gules translated.

“You say that this is the second person today that has reminded you of the Crystal Castle on Ivory Mountain?

“Of course!” Tiny Bud suddenly jumped in with excitement, “The girl we told you about, your Majesty! The one that was taller than me! She said she was from the Crystal Castle! Maid Madelyn went with her to stop King Kudgelbone and Panganiban and the pirates! That’s why we came here to warn you! Remember?”

“The giant girl with the flying pony?” said the king, flabbergasted, “What does it all mean?”

But at the mention of a giant girl with a flying pony, Prince Nathan forgot all about remaining silent.

“Nataleigh?” he shouted. “She was here? Where did she go?”

Several things happened at once. The prince jumped forward with a bit too much excitement, alarming the King’s royal guards who jumped to protect him with weapons drawn. Threatened by the sudden movement of the guards with their weapons, Vonkar reached for his axe and the Jolly men for their own weapons. Grizzle growled and Flindee Flipped out! (Way out! The simple little dwarf was so startled he did a triple back flip into a hay cart nearby, nearly leaving his stockings behind!)