Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Page 14
“Stay behind me!” the knight
yelled as he charged the guard dog. The great beast lept and
exploded into Sir Diego. Man and beast rolled across the ground as
fists flew and jaws snapped. When they finally were still, the
knight was kneeling with the dog's neck firmly locked in his arms. A
few more growls escaped before the animal went limp and Sir Diego
dropped it to the floor.
Essie flew over, “Are you all
right? Is it...”
Sir Diego stood and brushed
himself off. “Just sleeping, your highness. He will have a nasty
headache when he wakes up, but we will be long gone by then.”
They wound their way through the
passages and chambers of the castle until they came upon a great
audience chamber. The far end of the chamber was centered upon a
great, black throne. For the first time, Esperanza saw her captor.
Mularky wore red, shimmering robes. His black eyes glinted with a
mixture of anticipation and rage. “Ahhh, the troublesome knight
and the fairy princess. I had a hunch that you would come after me,
so I prepared a small welcome for you.” The magician's deep voice
trailed off as he snapped his fingers...
The princess looked around,
realizing she was back in Fairy Meadow...but something did not feel
right. Everything was fuzzy and shifted when she moved her head.
“Hello! Is anyone there? Am I dreaming?”
Page 13
“Good doggie. Nice Doggie.
Sleepy and Lazy Puppy who never, ever barked or bit anyone,” Sir
Diego's voice came out in a whisper as he backed away, hands raised.
Essie rolled her eyes. “Oh,
please,” she said as she flew towards the dog's nose. The dog
growled and tensed, preparing to pounce. “Everyone knows that
there is a spot you can rub that puts any dog to sleep.” She easily
avoided the mighty jaws snapping at her. “It is halfway between
the back of the jaw bone and the ear.” She flew right beside the
dog's head and found the spot, giving the beast a good scratching.
The dog stopped barking and
stood up straight. Its tail wagged; its leg twitched; its eyes
rolled back into its head and the mighty guard dog collapsed, fast
asleep.
Essie, turned to the knight,
“Come along, mighty sir knight. But be quiet, everyone else seems
to be asleep.”
The pair snuck through the
castle as the stars twinkled in through the windows. Sir Diego led
the way through the winding hallways and shadowed chambers. Finally
they came to a large, locked door. “The holding cells are in
here,” he whispered, “but it can only be opened by magic.”
They walked to the next door and silently entered the dimly lit room.
A small fire crackled in the hearth as Sir Diego made his way to the
window on the far wall. “Mularky's library,” the knight
muttered. “This is where he researches his targets' locations and
weaknesses.” Shaking his head, he opened the window.
Page 12
“TICKETS! PLEASE!” the
upriver seahorse yelled.
“Well that could get old
fast,” Sir Diego muttered.
Essie could not agree more.
“Very well,” she said, “Let's go downriver.”
“As you wish, madam,” the
seahorse rumbled as they launched from the shore. As they rode the
river, the princess turned to her travelling companion and asked,
“How did you end up in that cage?”
The knight shrugged. “Fairly
standard Evil Wizard tricks. I was going through the castle and
freeing everyone I could find. I came around a corner and ran into
Mularky himself. He raised his wand, I fell asleep and woke up in
that blasted cage. I...” He trailed off, “Look...in the
sky...that is smoke! That is smoke coming from the direction of my
village! Boat, let me out on this bank...let me out now!”
The landed on a clear patch of
shoreline. Sir Diego leapt out and began running towards his
village. Suddenly he was tackled by three men who had been hiding in
the bushes. Bandits!
The princess could not leave her
new friend alone against such odds. She flew out of the boat and
dove into the fray.
“Princess!” the knight
called from under the pile, “Leave me! I can...oof...I can handle
this! Go help my village!” All four men rolled down the bank into
the river.
Help
Sir Diego? Turn to page 19
Fly
to the Village? Turn to page 20
Page 10
As the princess followed the two
mice through the dark and dusty passageway, Essie realized two
things. First, she would never be able to find her way back without
guidance. Second...Mr. Oliver P. Fluff liked to talk. He really
liked to talk.
“...swinging by his whiskers
into the beehive. That was quite a birthday, I can tell you.” He
chuckled to himself. “But what about you my lady? Have you made
any progress in finding the sword?”
Princess Esperanza tilted her
head to the side, “Sword? What sword?”
The Fluffs exchanged a look of
surprise. “Why, the Sword of Secrets, dearie,” said Rebecca just
as Oliver began, “We just assumed you had been captured just like
all them others who had been searching...”
Essie's head shook, “What is
the Sword of Secrets?”
This time Mr. Fluff spoke first.
“The Sword of Secrets is said to be the only thing that can break
the curse on this land.” He paused to push aside a cobweb. “Why
it was 10 years ago this week that the great Sorcerer Mularky invaded
this land and enslaved its inhabitants. Stories say that only the
Sword of Secrets can break his power. Many have gone
searching...none have returned.”
To
search for the Sword, turn to page 15
To
confront Mularky, turn to page 16
Page 9
“I won't leave another poor
creature caged for people to stare at,” the princess seethed. She
saw that Sir Diego's cage had a large lock holding it closed. The
keyhole looked big enough for her to reach into. She flew down to
the lock and gently felt the inner mechanism. She closed her eyes
with concentration, “If I push this here...and jiggle this
latch...” The lock sprang open to the delight of both the fairy
and the knight.
Sir Diego lept from his cage,
grabbed the support rope and swung down to the ground. “Come on,”
he called over his shoulder, already at a full run.
The princess joined him as they
went up the stairs. The staircase was pitch black except for the
flickering of an occasional torch. Noises echoed down to them as
they climbed. Screetches, wails and howls sent shivers up Essie's
spine. “I wish I had my wand,” she said.
“I wish I had my sword,” Sir
Diego said.
They came to the top of the
stairs and froze. Standing in front of the door was a large,
snarling dog. It's eyes blazed with fire and drool fell from its
bared teeth. “It looks like Mularky was expecting my escape,”
the knight sighed.
The hound began moving towards
them, eyes locked on the fairy with its hackles rasied, ready to
pounce. Essie's heart raced.
To
try calming the dog, go to page 13
To
try fighting the dog, go to page 14
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