Goblins on the Prowl (12 page)

“What?”
I cried.

“Helagon does not want the stone simply as a plaything. He wants to open the Pit of Thogmoth. If he succeeds, all of Nilbog will be destroyed.”

“Pit sound bad,” Igor said. “What is it?”

It was Stanklo who answered. “Beneath Nilbog lies a terrifying place of fire and demons. With the help of several powerful human magicians, we sealed it shut over two hundred years ago. It was the finest human-goblin collaboration ever.”

“Why would Hewagon want to open it?” Bwoon­hiwda asked.

“That's the great mystery,” Sophronia replied. “Possibly for wealth. It is rumored that there is a trove of gold and jewels in Thogmoth. But mere wealth seems beneath Helagon. It might be to raise an army of demons to aid him in conquering the
world. Perhaps it is just for the destructive joy of it.”

“But doing that would be madness,” the king objected.

“Helagon is mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Sophronia replied. “But then, no one really does know him. We know something drives him and he will stop at nothing to reach his goals. But
what
drives him, and what those goals are—money, power, or something darker and more dangerous—we cannot discern. Now listen. You need to know the rest of the story. John was correct when he told you it was rumored the wizard who was turned into the stone toad had sought the Black Stone of Borea. The stone had long been lost, but that had not stopped many a power-mad magic-­maker from lusting for it. Helagon was the worst of them, and has made obtaining it his life's ambition.”

“We found a warning about him carved into the pedestal that held the stone toad,” I said.

“Yes, I put it there myself. Helagon was the one we were trying to shield the stone from at the time John has told you of.”

“How could you have done that?” Werdolphus said. “You wouldn't even have been born at that time.”

Sophronia flicked her hand, as if brushing his comment aside. “I've spent most of the last seventy-five
years in a magical sleep that keeps me from aging. I wake but once a year, in order to check on the toad.”

“Does Helagon do that too?” I asked.

Sophronia's mouth twisted. “I don't know how Helagon manages to stay young, and I would rather not think on it. His method is likely dark, disturbing, and cruel. Now let me continue. My husband and I are part of a group of wizards called the League of Teldrum. The League has worked for centuries to keep the stone away from those who would abuse its power. Now watch, and I will show you the
true
story of the stone toad!”

Stories are like onions. They have many layers, and can make you cry.

—Stanklo the Scribbler

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE STORY BENEATH THE STORY

Sophronia stepped back from the crystal wall and made a series of gestures. Images appeared on the wall's clear surface. To my surprise, the people in the images were
moving
. It was as if one of the paintings in the Baron's castle had come to life! Soon I realized that the pictures were acting out the story Sophronia was telling.

“At the time John told you of,” she said, “the stone had been missing for many years. My husband—Edrick is his name—learned that it had somehow found its way into the village where the giant, Harry, lived.”

A picture of the village appeared. People were walking in the streets. Then we saw Harry towering
over the houses. No wonder his mistakes had caused such big problems!

“Though Edrick had discovered that the stone was in the village, he had no idea where.”

“Shouldn't he have been able to sense something that powerful?” William asked.

Sophronia shook her head. “You would think that would be likely, if you didn't understand the stone. It is . . . well, it's almost as if the thing had a mind of its own and was trying not to be found. Our concern was that launching a full-scale search would alert Helagon. So we concocted a desperate plan. The giant, Harry, was part of it.” Sophronia smiled for the first time since we had met her. “In truth, John's relative was a bit brighter than the official story gives him credit for.”

The image of a handsome man appeared on the crystal wall.

“This is my husband, Edrick. After getting Harry to agree to help us, Edrick disguised himself as a minor but extremely greedy wizard.”

The image showed Edrick twisting his spine and hunching over. His curly brown hair turned gray and scraggly. His eyes bulged and looked quite mad. Raising his hands, he clutched at the air. As he did, his fingers grew long and bony.

I gasped. This was the man I had seen in the mirror I found in the pedestal!

“It pained Edrick to assume this hideous form,” Sophronia said. “And not just because he was a bit vain of his looks. The twisting of bone and the stretching of flesh required for such a transition is agonizing. However, it was necessary to shield him from the eyes of our enemies.

“Much of what happened next is just as John told you. Edrick, in his role of greedy wizard, demanded ever-increasing tribute from the townspeople, always hoping for the Black Stone to show up.”

We watched as villagers lined up at the wizard's tower, carrying everything from chairs to chickens.

“I'm sure the people were thrilled with that,” I said sourly. I was annoyed by the way Sophronia and her husband had treated these poor villagers.

“They were unhappy and furious,” Sophronia replied sharply. “And they had every reason to be. But it was vital that Edrick not seem to be looking for the stone itself.”

“Why?” William asked.

“Because it would alert Helagon to what we were after! The man had spies everywhere. Believe me, the townspeople would have been far more unhappy
if Helagon had come sweeping in to find the stone. It's unlikely
his
search would have left a building standing!”

She took a breath, as if trying to calm herself, then said, “It wasn't until the villagers had brought almost everything they owned that Edrick found the stone among their offerings. This is why it had to be Edrick who did this, by the way. In all the League he was the only one powerful enough to resist the stone's ability to suck out a wizard's magic. Anyway, once he had the stone safely in hand, he delivered the final threat, the Spell of Stonely Toadification.”

“If he already had what he wanted, why did he keep threatening the villagers?” I asked, more annoyed than ever.

Sophronia smiled. “Keep listening. The threat was the cue for young Will Smith, who was in on the plan, to fetch Harry. This is where your ancestor comes into the story, William.”

The image on the crystal wall now showed a boy, who looked a great deal like my William, dashing out of the village. He arrived, panting, in front of a cave. Unlike in John's story, Harry wasn't shaving. But after Will told him something, he hung a mirror around his neck and then patted lather all over his face. That
done, he picked up Will and started for town.

Sophronia spoke again. “When Edrick threw the blast of magic that struck Harry's mirror, it was not bad luck that sent it flying back toward Edrick. We had crafted Harry's mirror specifically to attract and reflect the magic . . . and Edrick was wearing an amulet designed to catch it. When the magic struck Edrick, he was holding the Black Stone. As he transformed, the stone was encased within his toadly form—and thus safely hidden from the world!”

The image on the crystal wall showed Edrick's “nasty wizard” form becoming the stone toad we knew so well.

Tears leaked from Sophronia's eyes. “The League and I had hoped to return my dear one to human shape in only a few years. But our enemies were constantly watching, and we dared not risk losing the stone. Finally I opted to take the magical sleep, waking but once a year to visit Toad-in-a-Cage Castle, where the stone toad had been taken for safekeeping.”

“So that's why you kept showing up!” Werdolphus said.

“Of course!”

“Wait!” I said. “Did you need food and water while you slept?”

“No, the spell had protections to keep me safe from those needs. Why?”

I explained our concerns about the Baron. She bit her lip and shook her head. “This is bad. That spell clearly came from Helagon, and it is unlikely he ­bothered to protect the Baron. Bwoonhiwda was right—he must wake or perish.”

“What can we do?” William cried.

“Defeat Helagon, which will not be easy. Now let me finish my story so you will understand. After many years another problem arose. We needed Will Smith to work the spell that would return Edrick to his true form.”

“Why?” William asked.

“Because we had placed some of the magic that would be needed inside him.”

“Why in the world did you do that?” I asked.

“It was another safeguard. Even if Helagon figured out where the stone was, he couldn't get at it without knowing about Will and getting him to cooperate. That cooperation was part of the spell. Will had to be
willing
! A bit of a pun, but an important one. Anyway, because of this I also checked on Will each year. Our young friend was not taking the magical sleep, so naturally he grew older. People sometimes fear age,
but I envied William. I longed to be with Edrick, living a normal life, growing old together, rather than being awake for only a few days every year.” She sighed heavily, then said, “One year when I woke, I learned that Will had died unexpectedly. I grieved to lose our friend. I also cursed myself that we had been so cautious for all these years. But really, there had not been a time when we'd felt it was safe to return Edrick to his true self. Fortunately, Will had a son who would also work as part of the restoration spell, for the magic had been designed to pass to the next generation at his death. Alas, that son, also named Will, had gone missing!

“I was frantic. I would never get Edrick back if we couldn't find Will. I informed the League of the situation, and we began a desperate search. After many decades we located Will's great-great-grandson, and just in time! There was a war going on, and the boy, a mere infant, had been orphaned. He likely would have died had the League not found him. We delivered the baby to the Baron's castle, where he was raised in secret.”

“Me?” William asked.

I was the only one who could see how wide his eyes were at this story.

“Of course you,” Sophronia replied.

“But why in secret?” he asked.

“Because if nobody knew who you were, then nobody who might want to use you to wake the toad and release the stone would find you. We didn't even tell the Baron how important you were.”

William was shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Sophronia continued her story. “Now, each year when I visited the castle, I would check on both my husband and you, William. This year you were finally old enough to participate in the spell that would rouse Edrick from his long and stony sleep. I was filled with joy at the thought of seeing my beloved husband in his true form again. But I was too eager, and so let that eagerness overwhelm our years of caution. Though I was heartbroken and horrified when I had to flee, I didn't worry about Edrick, as I assumed he'd remain safe in the castle. It never occurred to me you would begin to break the spell on your own!”

“It does seem awfully convenient that William and Fauna managed that,” Werdolphus said.

Sophronia shook her head. “There was nothing convenient about it! I'm not sure what happened to start things—it might even have been the book
itself, wanting to be used after all these years.” She sighed, and tears trembled in her eyes. “My poor, half-­transformed Edrick. I don't know if he is even aware of his real identity. I suspect the reason he took you, William, was that he sensed you are somehow important to him. I can promise you he would never hurt you. But he has to be horribly confused, being trapped in that stone body.” She turned to the rest of us and said, “You
must
find him before Helagon does. Find him and help him regain his true form.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” I asked.

“You'll need the book and the mirror.”

I groaned. “We left them at the castle.”

“Why in the world did you do that?” Sophronia cried.

“How in the world were we supposed to know we should bring them?” I snapped, angry at the way she assumed we should have known to bring them with us. “It's not as though anyone told us.”

“I'm sorry,” Sophronia said. “That was uncalled-for on my part. It's just that I'm so desperate.”

“Well, Karl figured it out, and he's bringing them. But we have no idea when he'll get here.”

I decided it was kinder not to mention that I thought it was unlikely he would arrive at all. To be
honest, I wasn't that worried about whether this Edrick got back to human form. But clearly we were going to have to deal with him to rescue William.

Sophronia twisted her hands. “Now that the awakening has begun, there is a time limit to complete it. If Edrick is not returned to human form by the next full moon, he will forever be trapped as a toad. You must release him. And Helagon must
not
get the stone!”

Stanklo cleared his throat. When we looked at the ink-stained goblin, he said, “The next full moon is tomorrow night.”

Sophronia gasped.

“Speaking of time . . . ,” said William. He took out his watch, flipped it open, then cried, “Yow! I have to get back to my body, and fast!”

Instantly he was gone.

Stanklo shook his head. “As I was about to say, under the circumstances, it might be best for these travelers to follow the plan suggested by Guardian Wongo and make their way to Flegmire's cave. Though she is quite mad, she often has uncanny insights. And she might know where the toad is hiding.”

King Nidrash stroked his chin. Finally he said, “I agree, Stanklo. But they must have a guard.”

“Likely to attract attention,” Borg objected.

“Then instruct the group assigned to follow at a moderate distance and approach only if there is an attack. Also, we need someone to show our visitors the way.”

“Herky know way to Flegmire's cave,” Herky said softly. He was trembling, obviously terrified. “Herky do it for William.”

As we left the underground city, we were followed by Captain Grickle and the Seventh Mischief, the same goblin guard group that had rescued us earlier. I didn't particularly like the idea of their trailing us. Even so, it was good to know we had backup if there were any problems. And they stayed far enough behind us that it was almost as if they weren't there.

We had been walking for two or three hours when we came to a downhill path so steep we spent the next several minutes doing nothing but watching our feet. When the path leveled out, I looked up and gasped at the towering pillars of white and tan ahead of us.

“What mushwooms!” Bwoonhiwda said.

I had to agree. The mushroom closest to me had a stem too big to put my arms around. Unlike a tree, its “trunk” was perfectly smooth. Even more interesting, from its gills—and from those of the mushrooms all
around it—drifted thousands of glowing spores, like fireflies floating to the ground. The gills themselves also gave off a gentle glow. Together they made this part of the underground world bright as a cloudless night with a full moon.

“Does the light hurt your eyes?” I asked Sterngrim.

“It's not bad. It was the fiery glare of your torch that upset my people so much.
That
was too bright!”