Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger

by Lee Edward Födi

  “No,” Winter replied. “I have seen no reference to it in any of the ancient texts. As far as I know, there is no land of Unger. So how could there be a door to it?”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “Perhaps it’s just a fable.”

  “Perhaps,” Winter said. “But I don’t think so. Many things lie out there, beyond the magic curtain, of which we Eens are ignorant. And, from what you say, this Unger gave his life to tell you of the door.”

  Kendra had managed to keep quiet up to this point, but now her anxiety got the better of her. “But how could an Unger get through the magic curtain?” she blurted.

  “Some strange magic, for sure,” Winter said. “But I do not think he truly crossed the curtain. I think he transported himself to the exact spot outside of your house. Then, just as he died, he transported himself away. He must have been a wizard.”

  “An Unger wizard?” Uncle Griffinskitch scoffed. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

  “And you have heard of everything, have you?” Winter scolded, but the effort of raising her voice caused her to break into a fitful cough again.

  Kendra turned red with embarrassment for her uncle; very few dared to speak to him in such a manner.

  “Of course, we have another clue,” Winter said. “You say the Unger mentioned a place called the Greeven Wastes?”

  “Aye,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “I suppose you think this has something to do with the Wizard Greeve?”

  “Don’t you?” Winter asked.

  “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered; and it was a peculiar humph, one Kendra couldn’t quite decipher.

  “Who’s the Wizard Greeve?” Kendra asked.

  “He was a first Elder of Een,” Winter replied gravely. “Here, pass me that book, child, and I will show you the tale.”

  THERE WERE MANY BOOKS scattered about, but Kendra immediately guessed the one Winter wanted, for it was old and tattered, and had a mysterious quality about it. She passed it to the sorceress.

  “Few know of the legend,” Winter explained, opening the book on her lap. “The Elders don’t really like to speak of it. Indeed, there’s only one other copy of this book; your uncle has that one. Now where’s the place . . . ah, yes. Here it is. Read this, child.”

  She handed the book back to Kendra, just as her stool sprouted upwards again.

  “Down seat, down I say!” Winter cried.

  With this admonishment, the stool slowly lowered; Kendra could have sworn that she heard it sigh.

  “I’ll really have to get that fixed,” Winter said apologetically. “But that’s for another day. Read the legend, Kendra. It starts at the top of page 251.”

  Kendra wriggled firm in her seat (to brace herself against any further mischief on the stool’s part) and then read the following words:

  In the Days of Een, when all were one, goodness flourished in the lands and the race of Eens knew only happiness. In those ancient times, there came to be the first council of Elders. Upon seven seats in the Elder Stone sat seven Elders, and they were all brothers. For many seasons, these first Elders guided the Eens wisely; but one brother, the Wizard Greeve, came to know envy and hatred. He desired to lord power over his brethren and so he used his dark arts to plot against them.

  But one of the brothers, the Elder Longbraids, discovered the treachery of the wizard Greeve. And so it came to pass that six brothers turned against one; and they banished Greeve from the lands of Een.

  To the north did the dark wizard journey, to the verdant plains, rushing rivers, and lush forests did he carry his wickedness. And there did he construct a temple, a deep underground maze that served as a terrible monument to his fiendish heart; and in that place the plants withered, the rivers shrank, and the great trees fell. That place became a wasteland and there, in that jumble of rock and ruin, did the heart of the wizard Greeve swell with hunger for revenge against his brothers.

  And so it came to pass that the Wizard Greeve devised a plot to triumph over the remaining Elders of Een. Each of them did he vanquish with his dark arts, each of them knew his dark heart—save for one. The lone survivor, the Elder Longbraids, fled to Een, his beloved land, his heart afflicted by his brother’s deed. And now did Elder Longbraids seal off the land of Een by the spell of the magic curtain, a great barrier he did create so that the land might be protected from the hideous monsters that came to skitter or crawl or slither across the wide earth. The wizard Greeve, his heart was not soothed after exacting revenge upon his brothers. His hatred remains yet, in that wretched place, and all who trespass there come to know the curse of Greeve . . .

  As she finished, Kendra gave her braids a long tug, thinking deeply. “So this place—where the wizard Greeve went to live—this could be the same place that the Unger called the Greeven Wastes,” she said presently.

  “It would appear so,” Winter said.

  “I still don’t know what all of this has to do with the Door to Unger,” Kendra mused.

  “As the legend says, the Wizard Greeve constructed a maze in the wastelands,” Winter explained. “Perhaps the door leads to the maze. All we seem to know from your Unger visitor is that the door is located in the Greeven Wastes and that it opens but once a year.”

  “But there’s something strange about this legend,” Kendra remarked. “It seems as if something’s missing.”

  “Aye,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered rather testily. “There are some who believe there is more to the legend, that part of it has been lost through the ages.”

  “Do we know what became of the Wizard Greeve?” Kendra asked. “Do we know what his curse is?”

  Winter smiled weakly at her then turned to Uncle Griffinskitch. “Old friend,” she said, “do me a favor and go to my study. You’ll find a book there called Spells of the Ancients. I would look at it.”

  Uncle Griffinskitch nodded and said, “Come, Kendra.”

  “No, let the child stay with me,” Winter said.

  “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch mumbled, which Kendra knew was his way of saying, “Very well.”

  “No one knows the nature of Greeve’s curse,” Winter told Kendra once the old man had left. “But I can tell you one thing, child: the curse was something that was of great interest to your mother.”

  “Really?” Kendra asked excitedly. “Why?”

  “She felt the Legend of Greeve was somehow important to Eens, here and now in the present,” Winter explained. “But her interest upset the Elders, even her brother—your Uncle Griffinskitch. The two argued about it endlessly. Your uncle called her interest in the legend an obsession.” The old sorceress paused for a moment. Then she said, “It’s my belief, Kendra, that your mother left Een to try and find the Greeven Wastes, all those years ago.”

  “Oroook said he knew my mother,” Kendra said.

  “Perhaps he did,” Winter said. “If the Ungers took your family, then Oroook certainly had the chance to meet her. I can tell you this, child: if you go in search of the Door to Unger, you may well be following in the footsteps of your family.”

  “Then I must go in search of it,” Kendra said. “Don’t you think, Elder Woodsong?”

  A faint smile played across Winter’s face again and she closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. For several minutes she said nothing, and Kendra sat in silent discomfort, wondering whether the old woman had fallen asleep. After what seemed like an eternity to Kendra, Winter raised one of her frail hands and pointed to a large panel of artwork that was carved into the stone wall right above her tiny bed. The carving looked very old. It had once been painted, but most of the color had chipped or faded away.

  “An interesting picture, isn’t it?” Winter asked, looking at Kendra. “Tell me, child, what do you see?”

  Kendra had no idea what the scene had to do with the Wizard Greeve, or with finding her mother. But that seemed Winter’s way, to always speak in riddles, so Kendra turned her attention to the stone carving. In it she could see tiny Een peopl
e (she could tell them by their braided hair) mixed in between giant monsters: there were Ungers, Goojuns, Izzards, Orrids, and Krakes. To Kendra, it looked like some of the figures were holding staffs, or maybe spears.

  “I see monsters and Eens,” Kendra replied after a moment. “It looks like there is a great battle between the two sides.”

  “Hmmm,” Winter murmured mysteriously. “It is a most curious picture. Of all the carvings to be found on the Elder Stone—inside or out—this one is the oldest.”

  Just then Uncle Griffinskitch reappeared. “I could not find your book,” the old wizard said. “Are you sure it was last in your study?”

  “Oh, dear,” Winter said, reaching beneath her pillow to reveal a small black book. “It would appear that I had it with me all along. Sorry to send you on such an errant mission, old friend. In any case, I suppose I don’t need to look at the book at all now.”

  “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered and Kendra could not help to notice a mischievous twinkle in Winter’s clear blue eyes.

  “Kendra and I were just discussing the Door to Unger,” the old sorceress said. “It seems to me that you should leave as soon as possible if you hope to find it before the first summer moon.”

  “And who has decided we are going?” Uncle Griffinskitch asked hotly.

  “But we have to!” Kendra cried. “This could be our only chance to find our family, Uncle Griffinskitch.”

  “As far as we know, the Ungers could be trying to lure us into a trap,” the old wizard grumbled.

  “Anything is possible,” Winter said. “But I think it’s a chance you’ll have to take. For many years, the disappearance of your family has been a mystery. Finally, a crack of light is showing through a door that has otherwise been closed. Follow that light, old friend, follow it.”

  Uncle Griffinskitch stroked his long beard, deep in thought. “Humph,” he muttered after a moment. “On your advice, we shall go in search of this door. May the ancients help us in such a quest!”

  They bid the old woman farewell, and made their way down the stairways of the Elder Stone. Kendra’s mind was racing. Everything was happening so quickly. Elder Woodsong was gravely ill, Burdock Brown had made himself leader of the council, and somehow they had to find a mysterious door in a fabled wasteland, which could be anywhere in the outside world. On top of that, they had only a few weeks in which to do it.

  Things couldn’t get much more complicated, Kendra thought to herself.

  But, as she was to soon find out, she couldn’t have been more wrong.

  YOU HAVE PROBABLY BEEN TOLD that it’s rude to stare. If that’s true, then the town of Faun’s End was a very rude place as Kendra and her uncle crossed the bridge from the Elder Stone and entered the busy town square. Everyone seemed to suddenly stop and look at them.

  “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted. “What’s going on here?”

  “Oh, you won’t like this!” said Gilburt Green, the town baker.

  “Eh? What’s that?” the old wizard asked.

  Gilburt turned and pointed to a large board that had been nailed to a signpost in the center of the town square. Kendra and her uncle quickly pushed their way through the crowd and looked upon the sign. It had been freshly painted, and read:

  By order of the Council of Een Elders

  The magic curtain has been sealed

  by magic enchantment

  FOREVER.

  This measure has been taken

  to protect the Land of Een

  from the outside world.

  Anyone who attempts to break the magic of the seal,

  or tries to leave the Land of Een, will be considered a traitor

  and will be imprisoned immediately.

  Signed, Burdock Brown

  “Oh no!” Kendra gasped. “We’ll never find my family now! We’ll never find the Door to—,”

  “Hush now, Kendra,” Uncle Griffinskitch said quickly, ushering her away from the crowd that was gathered around the sign. “Everywhere there are ears. We must be careful with our words. We can trust a precious few now.”

  “Everything has changed,” Kendra whispered to her uncle as they headed back to their home. “Almost overnight.”

  “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted in agreement. “A tree will rot for fifty years—and then suddenly it falls.”

  Later that night, as the white moon gazed down upon the tiny land of Een, a secret meeting took place in the yew tree house where Kendra and her uncle lived. Six in all crowded around the candlelit table in the small kitchen. Joining Uncle Griffinskitch and Kendra were four important friends. The first of these, of course, was Honest Oki the mouse, who was Kendra’s closest companion. Next was Juniper Jinx, the fiery grasshopper who just that morning had been fired from her job as the Captain of the Een guard. Jinx was the smallest creature at the table, but she was also the strongest, for as a young child she had accidentally swallowed a potion that had given her super strength. Next at the table was Professor Bumblebean, a tall and well-mannered Een who was the head of the famous Een Library in Faun’s End. Professor Bumblebean was quite bookish in appearance, for he had a small pair of glasses perched precariously on the end of his large nose and he had a stubby pencil tucked behind his ear. Last, was Ratchet Ringtail, the outspoken raccoon who fancied himself an amateur wizard and extraordinary inventor. He was also known as somewhat of a troublemaker, but he was a close and loyal friend to Kendra.

  Despite their differences in appearance and personality, everyone at the table had one thing in common: They had all journeyed together in the world outside of the magic curtain. Now Uncle Griffinskitch had a plan to lead them on another adventure, this time to find the mysterious Door to Unger.

  As the candle burned down through the night, the old wizard told the company of the strange visit by the Unger, and of the creature’s mysterious message. There were many gasps and looks of astonishment, but all were quiet as Uncle Griffinskitch spoke.

  At last the old and whiskered Een finished by saying, “So, now you see my purpose in calling you all here this night. Kendra and I are leaving Een to find this Door to Unger. Hopefully this will lead us to our family. And we need your help.”

  “I’m in,” Ratchet said immediately. “I’ll go with you, Kendra, wherever you would go.”

  “Thank you,” Kendra said, feeling better just knowing that the large raccoon would be at her side.

  “You can count on me too,” Jinx said, raising her sword in salute to the mission. “I’d rather fight monsters along you, Kendra, than end up in Burdock’s dungeon—which is sure to happen if I stay here. It’s taking all my will to stop myself from charging into the Elder Stone and sticking my swords, one by one, into Burdock like the fat pincushion that he is.”

  Kendra smiled in the candlelight. Good old Jinx; her tongue was sharper than her swords, but her courage and strength would be a welcome addition to their quest.

  “I do say, you won’t go on this journey without my company,” Professor Bumblebean declared. “I suspect you will need my books and great learning, after all.”

  That left only Oki. Everyone turned to look at the small gray mouse. “There’s nothing I can do,” Oki squeaked. “Of course I’d like to come. But my parents will never let me leave Een again. Not after all the dangers we ran into last time.”

  “But Oki,” Kendra spoke up. ”You’ve already had your twelfth birthday.”

  “I don’t see how that helps,” Oki said.

  “Once you’re twelve you can apprentice with a master,” Kendra explained. “And if your master goes somewhere, then you must follow him.”

  “But I don’t have a master,” Oki said.

  “I would certainly take you,” Professor Bumblebean remarked. “However, I’ve been engaged in teaching our Captain Jinx—or should I say former Captain Jinx—now just Jinx, I suppose, in learning the art of letters.”

  Everyone just stared at the professor, for he loved to use such big words that few co
uld ever understand him.

  “I think what Professor Bumblebean is trying to say is that he is teaching Jinx how to read,” Oki said after a moment.

  “Of course that’s what I said,” Professor Bumblebean remarked. “I do say, how could I have been much clearer? Our poor Jinx never learned properly how to read, so I have taken it upon myself to instruct her.”

  “All right, that’s enough,” Jinx said shyly. “I don’t know how I manage to spend so many hours with you at once, Bumblebore.”

  “My word,” Professor Bumblebean said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I thought we discussed, dear Jinx, that you would no longer make fun of my name.”

  “Sorry,” Jinx said with a shrug. “Old habits die hard.”

  “The point is, we need a master for Oki,” Kendra said.

  “Well, heck I’ve always wanted a slave,” Ratchet declared. “I’ll take Oki.”

  “No, not a slave, Ratchet,” Kendra told him. “An apprentice. You have to teach him things.”

  “Oh, of course,” Ratchet said.

  “Well, what are you going to teach him?” Uncle Griffinskitch asked.

  “Inventing of course,” Ratchet said indignantly, with a slight scowl on his masked face.

  “Oh dear,” Oki murmured.

  “Look, do you want to come with us or not?” Ratchet said. “And besides, who wouldn’t want to learn from me? I’m a wizard of sorts, after all, and an inventor of—,”

  “Yes, yes, we know,” Uncle Griffinskitch interrupted. “An inventor of extraordinary talent and magical inspiration.”

  “Exactly,” Ratchet said.

  “Well, it’s settled then,” Professor Bumblebean declared cheerfully. “We’re all agreed to form a company to go out and find this Door to Unger!”

  “Er . . . Uncle Griffinskitch, there’s just one problem,” Kendra said, tugging her braids nervously. “If the curtain is sealed, how are going to actually leave Een?”