by Tony Abbott
“What did you see?” asked Neal.
“The black stairway from before,” Eric replied. “Only this time, a woman was coming down. It was her, the Queen of Light —”
Max gasped. “It’s what Portentia predicted. A golden light. That’s your vision!”
Eric frowned. “The light wasn’t exactly golden….”
“Did she say something?” Keeah asked.
Eric shook his head. “No, I did. Then she smiled at me. Snow began falling all around us.”
“What did you say?” asked Julie.
“A magic word,” Eric replied. “Her name. Zara —”
At once, the mountain trembled.
Max jumped. “Another earthquake! We’ll fall off the mountain!”
Before they could move, the icy rock beneath them split open and — vooom! — a wall of ice shot up from under the ground. It was tall and white and glistening.
Neal jumped back. “Let’s get out of here!”
“No, look!” said Keeah, keeping her balance as the trembling continued. “It’s not an earthquake. It’s … it’s … the castle of Silversnow!”
Vooom! Another icy wall shot up from below.
Vooom-vooom-vooom! A tower, an archway, a set of curving stairs, a row of columns, ramps, floors, ceilings, and walls all erupted from the icy ground of the mountain.
Before their eyes, a vast and fabulous castle was being formed.
“The castle of Silversnow!” Keeah said, her voice full of wonder and awe. “It’s magnificent!”
When the last wall shuddered into place and the rumbling subsided, the giant castle stood before them, a gleaming fortress of white, a palace of frost.
“Let’s … let’s go in,” said Eric.
Huddled and trembling, they all stepped into the castle.
Wind rushed into the upper windows, sending snowflakes scattering down into the great hall.
“The knights are in here somewhere,” Keeah said. “We must wake them after so many years.”
On the back wall of the main room was a giant door, shimmering with silvery ice.
“Is that the jeweled door Portentia talked about?” asked Julie. “The frost is like jewels.”
“Maybe,” said Neal. “But if that’s where the knights are sacking out, I hope someone brought the key —”
“We don’t need one,” said Keeah. “Look.”
The princess was staring down a hallway behind them. Carved above the hall was a snowflake-shaped shield crossed by two battle-axes.
“This is the sign of the Knights of Silversnow,” said Keeah. “They’re this way.”
“I’m afraid,” said Max.
“I think we all are,” said Neal.
At the end of the hallway was a room aglow with silvery light. Three large beds stood inside. On each lay a figure in full armor dusted from head to foot with frost. Their helmets, nearly as large as garbage cans, stood by their beds.
The knights didn’t move.
“Are they sleeping?” asked Eric. “Or … you know? After all, it’s been four hundred years.”
Keeah took a deep breath. “There’s only one way to know.” Closing her eyes, she began to whisper strange words, forming the syllables on her tongue over and over.
She makes it look so easy, Eric thought as he watched her raise her arms straight up.
Then — poom! — blue light flowed from the tips of her fingers. It flooded over the knights.
“Knights of Silversnow — awake!” she said.
With a popping, crunching, clattering noise, ice blew off the first knight in huge chunks.
Suddenly, the figure bolted up in bed.
“Oh!” chirped Max, sliding backward into Neal, who slammed into Julie.
The knight was a huge man, with a big round face, a bulbous nose, and a craggy beard of icicles.
First one eye popped open, then the other. He blinked when he saw the kids.
Then he shook his head like a dog, sneezed twice, and said —
“Oy, what a nap!”
When the knight swung out of bed and planted his enormous feet on the floor, the kids could see just how very big he was.
Seven feet tall and four feet wide at the shoulders, the knight brushed the high ceiling when he stood.
“Oh, but I’m stiff!” he boomed, his voice echoing throughout the castle and back again.
Keeah blinked. “You make even my dad look small!”
He grinned down at her. “Thank you, little one. Now! What brings you all here? Wait! Don’t tell me! It’s gizzleberry pie time! No, wait! The royal sink is plugged! No, no, you’ve lost your pilka! Wait, I have it! Galen’s gotten himself into trouble again!”
“That’s right!” said Neal. “He’s in Goll and we need to get him out —”
“I knew it!” boomed the knight, his beard dropping icicles to the floor with every word. Then he laughed heartily. “By the way, my name’s Old Rolf. This one here is Lunk.”
He kicked the frosty bed next to him. “Hey! Sleeping Beauty! Wake up. We have visitors.”
Lunk turned over but did not wake up.
Old Rolf snorted, scooped some snow off the floor, packed it, and dropped it on the sleeping knight — splat!
Lunk jumped up. “Hey, who hit me?”
“I did!” Old Rolf laughed. “Wake up! We’re needed to free Galen. Droon’s in trouble! These kids have come for us. Wake up tiny Smee, too.”
“Tiny” Smee was anything but tiny. In fact, he was so tall that his feet dangled over the edge of the large bed.
“Wakey-wakey, Smee!” said Lunk, tickling the third knight’s toes. “The legend says wake up!”
Smee rolled over and fell out of bed — thud! When he got up, he blinked lazily at the kids. “Hi,” he said, yawning and scratching his ears.
“Well, here we are!” boomed Old Rolf. “The Knights of Silversnow, at your service! Now, just what has Galen gotten himself into this time?”
“He’s trapped in Goll,” said Keeah. “And there are earthquakes —”
“Oooh! Don’t like Goll,” snarled Lunk. “Have to go through the Darky Darkness to get there.”
“Darky Darkness?” said Neal.
“Galen was chasing Lord Sparr,” added Julie.
“Ooooh! Don’t like Sparr, either!” growled Lunk. “Beady little eyes, fish fins for ears. Gives me the creeps, he does!”
The castle floor trembled beneath them.
“The earthquakes are getting closer,” said Eric.
“All the more reason to free Galen,” said Old Rolf. “Come on, then. Let’s go find him —”
“Wait a second, where’s my boot?” shouted Smee, peering under his bed. “It’s missing.”
Neal laughed. “These guys are going to find Galen? They can’t even find their clothes!”
“Finding Galen is not the only problem,” said Eric. “Sparr has called his army of Ninns here.”
“That’s right,” said Julie. “And some creepy creatures called haggons are coming —”
Smee bolted up, still bootless. “Haggons, you say! Oooh, haggons are not our friends. Haggons are our enemies. If it’s haggons, then it’s —”
“Battle-axes!” boomed Lunk. Then he stomped over to a large icy chest and kicked it with his enormous foot. The lid flew open, revealing two double-bladed axes with long wooden handles.
“And there’s my boot!” said Smee, tugging out a boot three feet tall. He pulled it on and helped Lunk remove the axes from the chest.
Old Rolf knelt next to his own bed, fished under it, and pulled out what looked like an enormous mixing bowl. He flipped it over and buffed the frost from the front of it.
It was not a bowl. It was a large silver shield with a snowflake design on the front. “Shield of Silversnow, how good to see you again!”
“Um, that’s a big shield,” said Julie.
“Big?” Old Rolf chuckled deeply as he slung the shield easily over his back. “Why, it’s as large as the morn
ing moon on the pink mountains of Saleef! Now, let’s party in the Darky Darkness!”
“Still not clear on what this Darky Darkness is,” Neal mumbled as they tramped out.
Eric pointed to the giant door at the end of the main hall. “Where does that big door lead to?”
Keeah nodded brightly and pulled out her diary. “Is it someplace wonderful and magical?”
Old Rolf glanced at his fellow knights, coughed once, then said, “I couldn’t tell you. That door’s never been opened. It’s been locked forever.”
“Right. Always,” said Lunk.
“Al … ways,” Smee added with a yawn.
Eric shared a look with Keeah. She narrowed her eyes at the door even as the knights led them all from the castle to the mountain summit.
“Winter in the Ice Hills!” said Old Rolf, sucking in a huge breath, then puffing out a cloud of white mist and poking holes through it with his large fingers. “Galen always liked this time of year!”
Lunk chuckled loudly. “He was frolicking about in the snow when we first found him.”
Julie blinked. “You found Galen?”
Old Rolf raised his giant hand. “Found him myself! Poor boy was wandering in the snow just south of here. Shivering he was, all wrapped in strange clothes. He was looking for Ko’s palace.”
“Told him the way was long, but he wouldn’t be talked out of it,” said Lunk. “He came back later and got us to fight side by side with him until Goll was crushed to smithereens.”
“Then we went to sleep,” said Smee. “Ah … sleep …”
Keeah scribbled busily in her diary. “Did Sparr do a sleep spell on you? What happened?”
“Nothing happened!” said Old Rolf. “After Goll fell, we got tired of waiting for Galen to call.”
Smee nodded lazily. “So we fell asleep….”
“Those were the days,” said Lunk, his eyes growing misty. “I remember Galen had a wizardy toy with him. A magic wand, a beautiful thing, all gold and shiny. Big purple flower at the top. Most powerful object we ever saw. He lost it, though. A sad day for the forces of good.”
Eric felt his heart race. He pulled the wand from his belt and held it up. It began to glow.
“A goblin stole it,” said Keeah, her face radiant in the purple light, “but Eric found it.”
Instantly, the three knights sank to their knees.
“The Wand of Urik!” they chimed together.
Smee and Lunk were still so stiff, they had to help each other up again.
“So, Eric,” said Old Rolf. “You’re a wizard, too?”
Eric shrugged. “I guess.”
“Well, then!” the knight boomed. “We’ve got two wizards, two clever kids, a spider troll, and three Knights of Silversnow. If ever there was a band of battlers to enter the Darky Darkness and find Galen — we are it!”
“Shall we go?” asked Lunk.
“I think we should go,” said Smee.
Keeah looked at Eric, Julie, Neal, and Max. She nodded. “Then let’s go!”
Without another word, the band of eight headed across the snowy summit of the Ice Hill and down into the Darky Darkness.
Which, true to its name, was dark.
Very, very dark.
The way to the Darky Darkness was through a tunnel that slanted down into the mountain. Long icicles hung from the craggy ceiling.
“Galen, ho!” called Rolf at the mouth of the tunnel. The snowy floor beneath their feet crunched with every step.
As they tramped down, Eric wondered again about Goll. It was an ancient civilization lying under Droon. Much of it had been buried by quakes and floods after the defeat of Ko, but its cities still lay below the surface, wrecked and deserted.
“Phew!” said Max, covering his button nose with one of his furry legs. “Goll must be nearby. I can already smell it!”
Old Rolf ducked his head under a low-hanging fringe of ice. “It’s not far. Galen knew that. That’s why he built Silversnow. To guard against the day when Sparr would return home.”
Eric’s breath caught in his throat. “Wait. Sparr was born in Silversnow?”
“Er, well, not quite,” said Old Rolf, eyeing his fellow knights. “Near here, though. Turn left!”
“Near here?” muttered Neal as they went on. “What’s near Silversnow? Clouds? It’s the highest point in Droon.”
“This way,” said Old Rolf, leading them deeper and deeper into the caves under the castle.
“Left, then right, then left again!” called Lunk, winding his way downward.
“Wait,” said Keeah. To the right was a smaller cave. “Eric, you should see this….”
He joined her and looked in. “Holy cow!”
“That’s not the Darky Darkness,” Old Rolf said. “The double-D is up ahead. Then we find Goll.”
“Just a second,” said Eric.
In the cave stood chunks of heavy black stone, cleaved from the walls, cut, shaped, and polished to a finish like glass.
“Black stone,” said Julie. “Just like your visions, Eric.” She turned to the knights. “What is this place?”
“It’s a mine,” said Rolf. “At least, it used to be. Miners would dig up and carve the stone. This is where Ko found the black stone for his palace.”
“And for those black stairs!” said Eric.
“Where?” said Smee, looking all around.
“In my mind,” said Eric. “I get these visions.”
“I think we should be moving along,” said Smee. “Galen needs us. We need Galen. Come.”
Reluctantly, the kids turned back. But as they did, the wand in Eric’s belt suddenly beamed its purple light over dozens of small wooden objects scattered on the floor.
“What are these?” asked Julie, stooping to pick one up. The object was shaped like a top, round and flat on one end and tapered to a point on the other. She sent it spinning across the floor —
Whirrrr-eee-ooo-eee-rrrr!
Keeah laughed. “What a silly sound!” Leaning over, she took up what appeared to be a model of a house with tiny rooms. Seated inside were several figures of chubby blue people. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
“They’re toys,” said Julie, picking up a little wooden bridge. On it sat a carriage with perfectly round wheels and more blue figures inside.
“Cool,” said Neal. “It’s so detailed!”
“Uh, we’re wasting time,” said Lunk, heading for the tunnel again.
Old Rolf shook his head quickly and held him back. “A moment.”
“Why are there toys in this cave?” asked Eric.
Old Rolf breathed out heavily. “The Orkins,” he said. “They worked in these mines.”
Keeah blinked. “I never heard of Orkins.”
“They were people,” said Rolf. “Big, blue, happy people — with a sad story.”
“Ko took the Orkins’ river from them,” said Lunk, “and put them to work here.”
“How do you take a river?” asked Neal.
“Ko charmed it,” said Lunk. “Made it come alive. Turned it into a snake. A snake of fire —”
“Kahfoo!” Julie blurted out.
“Bless you,” said Smee. “Want a tissue?”
“No, the snake’s name is Kahfoo,” said Keeah. “We’ve seen him. And right now Sparr is riding him through Goll. That’s what’s causing all the earthquakes.”
“Could be the very same beast,” said Old Rolf.
“The Orkin city was beautiful,” Smee added. “Boats bouncing on the water, wonderful towers reaching for the sun. It was a long time ago.”
“Without its river, the poor Orkin city fell into ruin,” said Lunk. “All the Orkins — their families, too — were taken underground to work in these mines. To dig black stone for Ko’s palace.”
Neal picked up a toy tower carved of wood and polished until it shone like brass. Tiny colored windows were set in the wood. “This is nothing like the Ninns’ junky tower.”
“What happe
ned to the Orkins?” asked Julie.
“The Ninns appeared and the Orkins vanished,” said Lunk. “It was so long ago, no one remembers how it happened —”
Black dust shook down from the walls.
“Enough talk,” said Old Rolf. “We must keep going.” He gently pulled the children from the entrance to the mine. “Galen must be found.”
Speeding around twists and turns, the knights led them deeper through the tunnels. Finally, Old Rolf stopped. Before them was a wide, dark opening, slanting down into the earth.
“Let me guess,” said Julie. “The Darky Darkness?”
Lunk nodded. “Uh-huh. Goll is down there.”
Neal’s eyes bulged. “How far down there?”
“A mile. Maybe two,” said Smee. “Ready?”
Neal jumped back. “But how … I mean, you don’t expect us to just … I mean … huh?”
Old Rolf laughed, unslung his massive shield, and plopped it on the ground facedown. “The bigger the shield, the more people it’ll hold. Hop on for the ride of your life.”
“Ride?” asked Neal, grinning. “I love rides!”
Everyone piled into the shield. When Rolf gave the signal, Lunk and Smee gave it a running push toward the opening, then hopped on.
“Wheeeeeee!” yodeled Old Rolf. “We haven’t done this since the Goll wars four hundred years ago!”
Fwish! Kkkk! Shooosh! They shot down into the Darky Darkness, coiling through steep turns, twisting and turning and nearly flipping over.
The kids squealed and shrieked. Max clutched Neal and Keeah tightly, while Julie and Eric kept each other from flying off.
Faster and faster, wilder and wilder, the shield shot this way and that through the dark.
“I’m — getting — sick!” Neal groaned.
“Just wait!” shouted Rolf. “It gets better!”
Ahead was a giant wall of black stone.
Julie gasped. “Oh, no! We’re not —”
“Oh, yes, we are!”
Wha-boom! The shield slammed into the wall and burst through it, bouncing and sliding and scraping across rough stone until Lunk and Smee stuck their feet out and stopped the shield.
“Gosh!” murmured Old Rolf, looking around.
They had entered the crumbled ruins of Goll.