Bumblestook: Book 1, The Accidental Wizard (41 page)

Maybe he
would-a
figured it out if the Wizard’s incantation (“Yebleth gonnish agribba-
non
! Gebleth yonnish abbriga
yon
!) had been in a language he understood. If only he had remembered then, the advice his Pop had passed on to him!
Wizards-s-s
, said Pop, spitting to show his distaste.
B-b-be wary of them, boy. Summa them speak in s-s-secret languages—make up the
words, summa them d-d-do. Give ‘em wide berth’s my advice to you, but if by chance you can’t d-d-do that, you make ‘em translate, that’s what you d-d-do! They has to do it, but only if you ask—it’s the law of the land—remember that, t-t-too!

Again, advice that was certainly plain
and clear and he might have remembered it, had he not been dreaming of a new hidey-hole—as big as a cave it would have to be, to hold all the treasure that would soon be his.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda!
Too late
now
. No going back. In his eagerness to get his paws on
larger, shinier, more satisfying treasure, he had ignored the clues and made a fateful choice. Now he was stuck, in a body many times his size, unable to fit into even a badger-size burrow; his hoards of hidden treasure far beyond his reach.

And the very
worst
part was, Malador always seemed to know whenever he found a little something for himself, demanding that he hand it over. Like the trinket he had picked up in the Human house. His eyes glazed over, and his mouth hung slightly open. He imagined its tiny figures and the snow drifting slowly down, whirling, swirling, sparkling, sparkling…

With a moan of deep despair, Niblix, the Skurrier, scrunched down even further; making himself as small as possible (but not small enough, no, never again small enough) behind a tumble of fallen rock, in the bowels of Malador’s mountain.

******************************

They approached the glowing dome with caution, well aware of their vulnerability under water. Surrounding them, like a loose-fitting glove, the Field of Force flickered with a faint orange glow. Above their heads, the Magic Hose waved its metallic snout back and forth, alternately sucking out the bad air and blowing in the good. A rope was wound about everyone’s waist, linking them as they walked across the floor of the lake. The Wizard led the Gr-r-rog and Bungaree, with Heloise bringing up the rear.

“I don’t know how far this Field will stretch,” Ranger Gray had warned, “so be sure to stick close.”

“Like a burr in fur, ” Tom had responded under his breath. His earlier bravado had fled, with the ominous, ever-present pressure of the water overhead. His eyes (glowing like lanterns) rolled left to right, his whiskers twitched and every strand of hair on his body stood up on end.

In sharp contrast, Yap still skipped merrily along, oblivious to any danger. Tom envied the youthful innocence, that allowed the Gr-r-r-og to
so
completely place his trust in Ranger Gary’s Magic.

With Chip to guide them, it wasn’t long before they followed the same path that Farley, in his bubble chariot, had taken earlier. Their eyes, too, were drawn to the mysterious glow in the distance. Eventually, they entered the Seaweed Forest. As they wound their way through the tangle, they were thankful that the Field of Force deflected the slimy tentacles, of the underwater plants.

“Odd,” Ranger Gary remarked, as the plants grew markedly thicker and taller. “Lake plants don’t usually grow this large. I suspect Magic is at work here—most likely a Sizing.”

The closer they got to the source of the light, the more the water around them was infused with a sickly, yellow-green glow. At last, they came to the slime-covered barrier, through which they could see only the faintest of shadowy shapes.

“We’re here, we’re here!” Yap yipped with excitement, holding out the compass rock. It’s row of lights (no longer blinking) pointed straight ahead.

“I’m going to clear off some of this muck,” the Wizard told them. “But just enough to get a little look-see. We don’t want to alert whoever, or
what
ever’s inside.”

Extending his hand (still enveloped in the protective field) he made several small circular motions against the barrier. Long, thin, strands of green slime rose languidly from the surface, leaving a peephole about the size of a half dollar. Cautiously he peered in.

“Whatayasee, whatayasee? Is it Farley? D’ya see Farley?” Yap whined, jumping up and down behind the Wizard’s back, trying to look over his shoulder.

“And Fiona Faire—is she in there?” Tom asked anxiously.

“Sorry guys, I don’t see the kids. But go ahead and look for yourself. There doesn’t seem to be any immediate threat,” said Ranger Gary, stepping aside.

The others pressed forward, quickly created their own peepholes and looked inside.

“It’s Harvey and Myrtle—that’s Farley’s mom and dad! We found ‘em, we found ‘em, we found ‘em!” Yap yipped happily, doing a comical, waggety-tail jiggety-jig.

“Yep, that’s them all right. But where are the kids? It’s them I want to see. If they’re not here, then where could they be?” Tom’s voice was strained with worry.

Ranger Gary laid a steadying hand upon the Bungaree’s shoulder. “Farley said the Compass Rock would lead us to his parents and that’s exactly what it did. There was no guarantee we’d find the children here as well. All we can do is follow the Quest and trust that, if we do our part, we’ll all meet up again before the end. Since our task appears to be the rescue of these Bumblestooks, let’s start figuring out how to bust them out of here.”

“Are you sure about that? They seem quite comfortable right where they are,” Heloise re-marked, peering through her peephole. “How inter-r-resting—one of them is drooling.”

“Oh, that’s Farley’s dad. He does magic tricks,” Yap piped up.

The Leonin raised one brow skeptically. “Does he, now? Well per-r-r-haps he could just Magic himself back home and save us all the bother.”

“It’s not
real
Magic—just foolish
tricks
,” Tom said irritably. “The sort of thing Humans do, just for kicks.” He took another look through his own peephole at the slumbering Bumblestooks. “Just how are we going to get them out of there? I don’t see a door anywhere.”

In one smooth motion, Ranger Gary pulled forth the sawed-off branch that served as his wand, his thumb pressing the well-worn spot on its smooth, silvery bark. The hidden, ivory-colored shaft emerged, telescoping into a wand as it cleared his pocket.

“Leave that to me, but be warned! As soon as I cut an opening in the dome, the water will start rushing in. We all need to be ready to
ride that wave
and get to the Bumblestooks, before they drown. I’ll extend the Field to include them. Then, all we have to do is wait for the place to fill up with water and walk back out the way we came.”

“
Finally
some excitement,” Heloise remarked, golden eyes glinting. “I was beginning to think your little adventure was nothing more than a str-r-roll in the waterpark!”

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t get
too
exciting,” the Wizard replied. With a flick of his wrist, the tip of his wand sparked. “Everybody ready?”

Yap bobbed his head eagerly, Heloise nodded coolly, and Tom gave a quick, tense jerk of his chin. They all faced the barrier expectantly, as a concentrated stream of fiery sparks shot out of Ranger Gary’s wand and struck the slime-covered surface.

Not far from the dome, the bubble had ducked into an underwater cave. It proceeded to travel upwards, inside what appeared to be a natural chimney. Crude stairs had been carved into its sides, presumably for the use of the Golem. The ascent was long, but not without diversion, for the inhabitants of the vertical tunnel were fascinating creatures.

Clinging to the sides were an odd species of starfish; odd because starfish are not known to live in lake water, being denizens of the sea. Additionally strange were the number of arms they sported. Farley spotted one with at least twelve curling appendages. Also highly unusual, were the colors of their bodies. They glowed flamingo-pink, lime-green, electric-blue and sunset-orange, in hypnotic patterns over their bumpy surfaces. They gave the tunnel the eerie look of a dark city street, lit only by the presence of flashing neon signs.

A pale, frilly-gilled, salamander-type creature followed them part of the way. It swam round and round the bubble’s circumference, before darting off into one of the many crevices lining the tunnel walls.

Mubglub rode along, while a few members of his tribe scouted ahead. Osheanna’s form (disconcertingly transparent) could be seen flowing alongside, an elemental being at ease in her element.

Eventually, they emerged inside a small cave. Its walls were laced by the tell-tale, glowing slime trails, left by the species of giant snail seen earlier. Its depths were hidden in darkness.

The children followed the Vish, as the bubble’s translucent skin allowed them passage onto a rock shelf, then closed up tight behind them. As it submerged, Osheanna rose to the surface in her fountain form, bubbling upwards in silver-green froth, before settling into the liquid torso of a woman. She stretched out her arms to both children, speaking in the language of the water. Farley and Fiona approached as she beckoned. As the Water Spirit touched their cheeks, a surge of energy flowed from her fingertips, refreshingly cool and revitalizing. The children felt their knawing hunger subside and the tiresome toll of the long journey fall away. Osheanna nodded (her featureless face somehow conveying satisfaction) and her liquid arms dropped, languidly. She spoke to the Vish in their mutual language.

“My Mistress wishes you to know that her Blessing shall follow you always, although she can no longer travel by your side,” Mubglub said. “It will protect you from harm, as long as you follow the One True Path of The People.”

“How will we know if we’re on the right path?” Fiona asked.

“In your heart, you will know,” Mubglub said, placing a webbed hand over his chest.

“But, what if we get lost?” asked Farley.

“Your heart will know the way,” Mubglub replied with finality.

Farley shrugged. “Okay, if you say so. But, aren’t you coming with us?”

“The path you must follow is too dry for the likes of me. Should your journey bring you back to the water, I would be pleased to be of service once again.”

“Oh, well, I guess this is good-bye then, cuz we need to get crackin’ if we’re gonna save my mom and dad before that golem thing gets back,” said Farley, sticking out his hand. “Nice meetin’ ya, Mr. Mubglub. And thanks for everything!”

The Vish stared at the boy’s outstretched hand, as though puzzling over what to do with it. Slowly, he stuck out his own, whereupon Farley grasped the scaly palm and gave it a good, firm shake. Recovering his balance, Mubglub placed his hands together, bowing stiffly. The children mimicked him, bowing in return. Then, the Vish leapt into the water, with barely a splash, while Osheanna devolved quickly into a bubbly froth.

Quite suddenly, the water’s surface was still and calm and the children were left all alone. As they looked around (especially down the dark tunnel that lay ahead) a glint of hysteria peeped out of the corners of their eyes and apple-sized lumps of un-spoken fear, rose to stick in their throats.

Then, their eyes found each other. A look of solemn resolve settled over their features. They had no time to be frightened! Vulnerability was a luxury they could not afford; it belonged to those whose fate it was to be saved, not to those whose job it was to do the saving! Young as they were, they could not have put this into words, but understood it in their hearts. Thus, armed only with pocketknives, flashlights and firm resolve, they stepped into the darkness, and onto the One True Path.

*******************************

When the taller one spoke, the shadow being’s entire self was set a-quiver, like a guitar string, plucked. It’s Master’s commands entirely forgotten, it pressed forward, as close as it dared. It took care to stay in the darkness, lurking just beyond the dangerous light, wielded by the mysterious man. The creature followed, even though the men approached the place that haunted it’s every waking moment; the place from which it had been drawn into Malador’s service and the place to which it would be banished forever, should it fail to please the Master.

It knew, just ahead the tunnel would end; opening up into a spacious cavern, its rock walls extending endlessly upwards. In the cavern’s center, was the dreaded Pit of Despair, surrounded by a barrier of glowing metal that repelled all attempts to escape. It could hear the mournful cries emanating from that awful place; cries that assailed its psyche, like anguished howls of multitudes of tortured beasts.

“We draw near,” Kondor remarked. “The sound has become more intense.”

“I noticed that as well,” said Bartholeumous.“It reaches deep into one’s soul. We must hold strong to our resolve, for the very sound of it is enough to make one’s blood run thin and cold as water and ones legs turn, upon their own accord, to flee.”

“My purpose will lend strength to my legs and fire to my blood. You needn’t fear, I will not falter,” Kondor declared, with a lift of his chin.

“Of that I am quite sure,” Bartholeumous replied respectfully. “Let us forge ahead.”

Emerging from the mouth of the tunnel, they faced a mighty psychic storm. It assailed them with howls of such extreme anguish and despair, that it threatened to strip their minds of all analytical thought. Bowing their heads and gritting their teeth, they fell to their knees and crawled forward; anchoring themselves, by bending their considerable wills to focus on their purpose.

Thus the Wizards arrived at the center of the cavern, with their sanity barely intact. Raising their heads, they saw before them a glowing barrier of white gold, approximately four feet high. They struggled to look over the top, pulling themselves up its cold, smooth surface.

Now, they could see that the metal barrier was a low wall, encircling a dark pit, at least 10 feet in diameter. Its black maw yawned wide, as if hungry for their souls. They clung to the sides of the barrier, as an invisible power, with gale-force strength, threatened to blow them away. Looking down into the darkness, they sensed (rather than saw) things moving, writhing and roiling like a sea of black eels, far below. As they watched, it seemed as though the creatures sensed their presence as well and began boiling upwards, toward them!