by Tony Abbott
The Guardians shook their heads.
“It was hidden long ago by the earthquakes that destroyed Goll,” said Bodo. “The only true way is to follow Galen’s poem. But you must hurry. Find the Scroll and you’ll find the wand. Find the wand and you’ll help save Droon!”
“But where do we start?” asked Julie.
Vasa grinned. “We have told only one person where the Scroll is. He will come when we have gone!”
Then the two tiny figures nodded to each other, and their green glow brightened until it hurt the children’s eyes to look at them.
The next moment — fzzz! — the images faded.
The Guardians were gone.
The children stood alone in the darkness.
“Um, okay,” said Neal. “So where is the person who knows where we’re going?”
At that moment, Leep, Galen’s prize pilka, galloped into the pass and screeched to a stop right before the children.
Sitting backward in the saddle was a bearded wizard in a long blue robe and tall cone hat. He looked exactly like … Galen!
Hopping down and sticking out his foot, he announced, “Good morning! Galen am I.”
Everyone laughed. It was not morning.
And the wizard was not Galen.
He was the double Galen created to take his place while he was away. The only problem was that this wizard did and said everything wrong.
Neal shook his head. “It doesn’t seem right to call you Galen. Maybe we should call you Nelag. That’s Galen spelled backward.”
The pretend wizard bowed. “Nelag. I like it!”
“Good,” said Keeah. “Nelag, our mission is to find the Moon Scroll. Where is it hidden?”
“Not far,” said Nelag. “In the East, beyond the Forest of Bells, to the middle of the Saladian Plains, at the Ring of Giants. We shall find it at moonrise, so I suggest we go very slowly. We have plenty of time.”
“What?” Keeah blinked. “The Forest of Bells is in the West. The Saladian Plains are hours from here. And it’s nearly moonrise already, so we need to go quickly!”
“Isn’t that what I said?” said Nelag, tugging his long white beard and winking merrily.
Eric sighed. “Well, this is going to be fun. The only person who knows the way is someone who says everything wrong! I guess we go —”
Thwang! An arrow clattered on the stones.
“And we need to go now!” said Keeah.
A band of Ninns charged noisily through the shadows. “Stop the children!” they chanted.
“Okay, we’ll stop,” said Nelag.
“Which means — let’s ride!” cried Neal.
With that, they all leaped onto the pilkas and raced away from the red warriors. As they did, the sky above them silvered with the coming of the moon.
The small band rode furiously out of the pass and toward the great, looming Forest of Bells.
“The forest gets its name from the purple-and-blue blossoms hanging overhead,” said Max. “They are like great chiming bells!”
When they reached the darkness of the trees, the pilkas charged in without stopping. As they raced through, the flowers began to chime.
Plang! Bing! Dong!
“Such pretty music!” said Nelag.
“Yeah, and if the Ninns couldn’t track us before, they sure can now!” said Neal, looking nervously behind them. “Let’s hurry out of here.”
Amid the chiming and bonging of the bells, the small band broke out the far side of the woods and onto the great flat Saladian Plains.
The plains stretched for miles under the darkening sky.
“The moon will rise very soon,” said Keeah, casting looks all around. “But so far, I don’t see anything — wait a second, what’s that?”
Everyone looked to where she was pointing.
A group of large objects loomed in the distance, blacker than the black night itself.
“The Square of Dwarfs,” said Nelag.
“I think he means the Ring of Giants,” said Keeah. “It looks like a circle of stones. That’s where we’ll find the Scroll!”
The pilkas tore across the waving grass to the very center of the plains, then padded softly up to where twenty-four giant blocks of stone stood upright in a circle.
So awesome, Eric thought.
Sliding to the ground, the children stepped into the ring of stones. As soon as they entered the circle, all noise seemed to stop.
The night air grew hushed.
The only sound was their own breathing.
“What is this place?” whispered Julie.
“Ticktock, it’s a clock!” said Nelag.
Neal looked at him. “Uh-huh, right.”
In the center of the circle sat a flat, round stone ten feet across. This stone was colored a deep, rich blue. In the exact middle of it sat a smaller stone bearing a strange symbol.
“Oh, my,” chirped Max. “I’ve seen that mark before. That is my master’s name in the old language! Galen was here long ago. We must be close to the Moon Scroll itself!”
Keeah turned to Nelag. “Well, we’re in the Ring of Giants. Where will we find the Scroll?”
“It will find you,” said Nelag. “I said the Ring was a clock. It’s not time yet. I suggest we wait.”
They did wait, sitting together on the large blue stone at the center of the Ring, but watching the distance for signs of approaching Ninns.
Night breezes began to waft across the plain.
“Does everyone remember what Galen said of the Scroll?” said Max, peering out into the forest. “He told us the Scroll would explain everything. He said now, more than ever, we need to know the truth. That’s what he said.”
Eric remembered Galen saying that.
But if the Scroll was full of truth, would it also tell them why Sparr called Eric one of us?
And what about the magic wand that the Scroll would lead them to? If they did find it, could its great power keep Julie from moving?
In the hush of the circle of stones, Eric turned to the princess. “We have some bad news,” he said. “Julie’s moving away.”
Keeah’s eyes grew wide. “Is this true?”
Julie nodded sadly. Then she told the princess everything that was happening. How her father had taken a new job. How she was going to have to move away very soon. How she worried that she might not be able to come to Droon again.
“Galen said our adventures were just beginning,” said Eric. “But it looks like that’s wrong.”
“We were hoping you might have some magic to help me,” Julie said.
“Yeah,” said Neal. “Some really cool spell to zap things back to the way they were.”
The three friends looked at Keeah expectantly.
She breathed in deeply. “Magic is … it shouldn’t be used to make problems just disappear. If you change one thing, something you never thought of might change, too. You can’t always control it.”
“But what about the wand of Urik?” said Eric. “It’s supposed to be pretty powerful, right?”
“No one knows what power it possesses,” said Keeah. “Besides, it’s easy to get caught up in the power of magic and not think about the trouble you can cause with it. Believe me, I know.”
“Is that what Sparr did?” asked Neal. “He got too into the power and turned all evil and stuff? I mean, did he start out a good guy like Galen?”
Or like me? thought Eric. Am I like Galen? Or am I like Sparr? Could I go bad, too? Is that what Sparr meant?
“No one really knows how Sparr got to be the way he is,” said Keeah. “His past is hidden in the shadows —”
“Bright shadows!” said Nelag suddenly.
Neal laughed. “Bright shadows? That doesn’t make too much sense.”
“Wait,” said Max. “Nelag’s right. Look.”
A bright light did appear in the shadows beyond the ring of stones. It looked like a big silver face peeping up over the far horizon.
“The moon!” cried Nelag, jump
ing with delight. “The moon is rising. Everyone, it’s time!”
Then it happened.
A single narrow beam of moonlight pierced between two of the upright stones.
Then — zing! zing! zing! — the beam bounced from one stone to another until it struck the very center of the blue disk, and the ancient symbol of Galen’s name began to sparkle and glow.
Sproing! The small center stone popped up.
“Oh, my!” gasped Keeah.
Underneath the stone was a narrow leather bag about a foot long. Keeah bent down and pulled it out. Opening the bag, she removed a rolled-up tube of old, yellowing paper.
“The Moon Scroll!” murmured Max. “The words of Galen himself! It has not been read for centuries. Oh, this is so exciting!”
The paper itself was rolled tight around two silver rods. On either end of the rods were large crystals that gleamed brightly in the moonlight.
“It’s beautiful!” said Julie.
“So are they!” said Nelag, pointing a crooked finger toward the distant trees. “Such a nice red color, aren’t they?” he said.
Max sighed. “Nelag, trees are not red —”
“But Ninns are!” said Galen’s double.
An instant later, the air filled with the noisy clanging and bonging of bells, as a squad of sword-toting Ninns burst from the flowery forest and charged toward the stone circle.
“Akkk!” cried Neal. “Ninns! Surrounding us! All around! On every side! What do we do?”
“We don’t do anything,” said Keeah, looking down. “The Scroll is doing it for us!”
As the moonlight began to fade, other lights — sudden silver lights — shot out of the Scroll’s glittering crystals. They shone down onto the flat blue stone they were all standing on.
And the stone began to turn.
“Whoa, merry-go-round!” said Julie, nearly losing her balance. “Better jump off —”
“No!” said Keeah, grabbing Julie’s sleeve. “I think this is our way out of here —”
As the stone turned, it began to rise. In seconds it had floated up above the Ring of Giants.
“Stop the children!” shouted the Ninns.
Amid a shower of flaming arrows, the blue disk floated above the silent plain. It rose toward the forest treetops, skimming the high branches and whooshing past the leaves.
“We’re on … a flying saucer!” said Neal.
The Ninns collected on the plain below them, shaking their fists — but they were too late.
Clouds drifted over the moon, the Ring of Giants fell dark, and the disk rose higher and higher into the night sky.
Keeah turned to her friends, her face bright with the Scroll’s silvery light. “The journey of the Moon Scroll — has begun!”
The children huddled together on the floating disk as it swept over the dark earth.
The night air wafted coolly over them.
Max glanced nervously over the side at the ground flashing below, then turned to Keeah. “The Ninns will surely continue the hunt, my princess. My master’s Scroll will lead us to the wand of Urik. So let us read. Its words haven’t been heard for five centuries!”
Taking a deep breath, Keeah unwound the ancient paper. She squinted, then blinked, then sighed. “There’s a reason the words haven’t been heard for ages,” she said. “Galen wrote it backward. It will take me forever to read this!”
“But we don’t have forever,” said Julie.
“I can probably read some,” said Neal, “but it takes time to turn everything backward —”
Neal stopped. He looked at Nelag.
Everyone looked at Nelag. The fake wizard was facing away from them. His shoes were on his hands, and his hat was on his feet.
“Mr. Backward,” said Eric. “Um … Nelag?”
The wizard turned. “You called?”
Keeah handed Nelag the Scroll. “Can you read this?” she asked.
Nelag glanced at the writing on the Scroll. He tugged his beard, scratched his ears, licked his lips, then spoke. “It says:
‘I am Galen! I sing now of my wanderings in the land of Droon —’ ”
Everyone shivered to hear the words of the old wizard come alive again.
“Keep reading,” said Max. “Keep reading!”
The stone disk soared over the dark landscape as Nelag began to read again.
“ ‘Armed with the powerful wand of Urik,
I came to battle the Evil One, Emperor Ko.
I sought to revenge his terrible deeds.
But Ko sent three goblins to defeat me —’ ”
“The wand of Urik,” said Neal. “That’s what we need to find — whoa — what’s happening?”
All at once, the stone dipped toward a range of jagged hills. As it did, the silver light again flashed from the Scroll’s crystals. This time it struck the rocks below.
“Oh, my gosh,” said Keeah. “Look!”
The Scroll’s light shone like a spotlight on a solitary figure, wrapped in a blue cape, his light brown hair whipped by a stormy wind.
“It’s a boy,” said Julie.
“That boy,” chittered Max, “is none other than my master — Galen himself — as a child — oh!”
It was true. The boy was Galen. None could mistake the blue cape and the sharp-eyed look of the boy clambering from rock to rock. And hanging in a golden sheath on his belt was a wand, a big purple flower blossoming at its tip.
Neal gasped, “Urik’s wand! Hey, Galen, we need that wand!”
“He cannot hear you,” said Nelag. “We are here and now. He is there and then. I shall read more of his early words.
‘Legends of Ko’s palace led me down the Ice Hills
Where the first goblin sprang upon me …’ ”
Eeerk! Crunch! A sudden, terrible squealing and creaking sound came from the rocks.
Galen whirled around, and there it was.
A goblin, ferocious and terrible to look at.
It had the head of a dragon with large teeth, but the body of a man. It leaped over the rocks and was itself made completely of stone.
“Emperor Ko has sent me!” the creature growled. “Give me the wand!”
The boy stood firm. “I will, if you can tell me where Ko is hiding.”
The goblin laughed coldly. “Ko never hides!”
“So you’re saying he’s in his palace?”
The goblin stepped toward Galen. “Of course! I mean … no! Never mind! Just give me the wand!”
“I will,” said Galen, pulling the wand from its sheath. “Just repeat after me — stone is good.”
The goblin ground its stony jaws together. “Repeat after you!? Arggh! Stone is good….”
“Fountain is good,” said Galen.
“Fountain is good!” growled the goblin.
“Stone is fountain.”
“Stone is fountain — what?”
Too late. A rainbow of light burst from Galen’s wand — zzzzz! — and stone by stone, the goblin was rearranged into a fancy spouting fountain.
“Ha!” said Galen. “In a day, you’ll be ugly again. But for now — what a lovely fountain!”
“You go, Galen,” shouted Eric. “Chalk one up for the kid wizard!”
“It’s like we’re watching a video of the past,” said Neal. “Makes me wish we had popcorn after all.”
“Only it’s not a video,” said Julie. “It’s what really happened. And that wand is awesome. It really can change things.”
The Scroll’s light faded, and the stone disk floated up and away from the rocks.
Nelag continued reading.
“ ‘Seeking Ko’s palace, I crossed the plains of Kano,
And battled the second goblin, a fiery one.’ ”
The stone soared through the dark and dipped next over a patch of black and scorched earth.
“There was a great struggle here,” said Max.
The light shone down, and there was Galen at the exact moment a fiery goblin jumped out of t
he earth below. It bore a dragon’s head like the first but had red-hot flames leaping off him.
“Give me the wand!” the goblin demanded.
“Am I near the palace of Ko?” asked Galen.
“Ha!” said the goblin. “Is the Valley of Pits near here? Of course not! I mean yes! I mean — arggh! Just give me the wand! Ko wants it!”
“I’ll fight you for it,” said Galen. “But first, I must be comfortable. You give off a lot of heat.”
Galen took off his blue cape and laid it on the ground before him. “There. Now I’m ready.”
“Ready to perish!” growled the flame goblin.
But the instant the goblin leaped at him, Galen aimed the wand at his cape, saying, “Cape is blue. Water is blue. Cape is water!”
Zzzzz! When the goblin’s feet touched the cape, the cape became a swirling pool of water.
“Arggh!” The goblin sank into the water like a stone and — tssss! — vanished away to nothing.
“That’s one way to cool your fire!” said Galen.
Zzzzz! The water turned back into a blue cape.
“Yes!” shouted Eric. “Galen is amazing!”
The Scroll’s light went hazy, the scene dimmed, and the stone disk moved on. Once more, it swept across the dark surface of Droon.
“The stone is taking us far across Droon,” said Keeah, scanning the land rushing by below.
“We must be following Galen’s journey to Ko’s palace,” said Max. “Go on, Nelag, read us more!”
The pretend wizard squinted again at the Scroll.
“ ‘Before the Valley of Pits lay Grimpen Marsh,
Where the third goblin was, the worst of the three.
A thing of shadows, he was, a spirit of darkness!’ ”
The Scroll’s light shone on a vast marsh of black water, tangled grass, and thorny reeds.
And there was Galen, sloshing knee-deep in the muck, his wand flickering among the reeds.
“The Valley of Pits is near!” Galen shouted. “I can smell it already! I will find you, Ko, Emperor of Evil! And make you pay for what you did!”
Keeah glanced at Nelag. “What did Ko do?”
Nelag shrugged. “It does not say. Watch!”
Suddenly, there was a splash in the marsh, and it seemed as if the air blurred for a second.