by Jim Eldridge
Milo appeared from inside the caravan and looked towards the troll and the old horse.
‘How are they doing?’ he asked.
‘Robin’s fed up,’ said Jack.
They heard the sound of wings flapping loudly above them, and they looked up as Blaze the phoenix came hurtling down out of the sky and skidded to a halt on the roof of the caravan, grabbing with his claws to stop himself sliding off.
‘Careful, Blaze!’ said Milo. ‘You could hurt yourself coming in as fast as that.’
‘Something’s happened!’ said the phoenix.
‘What?’ asked Jack.
‘Lord Veto’s disappeared!’
Jack and Milo exchanged puzzled looks.
‘What do you mean, disappeared?’ asked Jack.
‘Just that,’ answered Blaze. ‘He’s vanished. Gone. Him and Warg, his Chief Orc, have left Veto Castle. And no one knows where they are.’
Big Rock and Robin joined them, brought over by the raised voices.
‘What’s that about Lord Veto?’ asked Robin.
‘Blaze says he’s disappeared!’ repeated Milo.
Jack shook his head. ‘No. He’s just gone off somewhere with his wrestlers for a tournament, or for some sneaky and crooked scam. He does it all the time.’
‘Not in this case,’ said Blaze. ‘They’re saying that he owed money to lots of people, and he can’t pay. So he’s run away,’ added Blaze. ‘Now Veto Castle is going to be sold at auction, along with everything in it, to clear his debts.’
Jack looked worried.
‘When’s the auction taking place?’ he asked.
‘Tomorrow,’ said Blaze.
‘Then I have to go there right now,’ said Jack. ‘There’s something I have to get hold of before the place is sold and the new owners move in.’
‘What?’ asked Big Rock.
‘It’s to do with my parents.’
‘You’ve never told us about your parents,’ said Milo. ‘Who were they?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Jack. ‘Lord Veto told me they worked for him and died in an accident when I was just a year old. He said he kept me on out of kindness.’
‘That doesn’t sound like Lord Veto …’ said Robin.
‘No,’ agreed Jack. ‘And he wasn’t kind at all. He was harsh and cruel to me, and to everyone who worked for him. I started as a kitchen boy for him when I was four years old, and was there for six years, right up to the time when he threw me out. If you hadn’t come to my rescue that night, I don’t know what would have happened to me.’
‘If you didn’t know your parents, how do you know there’s something to do with them inside Veto Castle?’ asked Milo.
‘They left me a ring,’ said Jack. ‘My mother sewed it to my baby clothes. One of the kitchen women, who used to help take care of me after my mother died, told me she’d done it so it wouldn’t get lost. She also told me if Lord Veto found out about it, he’d throw it away. So I hid it behind a brick in the wall next to my sleeping basket in the kitchen. If I’d known Lord Veto was going to throw me out, I’d have taken it with me.’ He sighed. ‘If someone buys Veto Castle and starts knocking down walls, they’ll find it and take it. Either that, or it will be lost for ever. I have to get it back before that happens!’
CHAPTER 2
As they drew near to Veto Castle, they could see what looked like a camp set up in the grounds, with caravans and tents sprawling around beneath the high walls of the old fortress. A big board had been put up next to the main gateway: FOR SALE BY AUCTION. EVERYTHING MUST GO.
‘Looks like everyone’s here to try to get a bargain,’ said Milo.
Robin pulled the Wrestling Trolls caravan through the open gates and they found a place to park, away from the rest of the camp. The crowd seemed to be mainly humans, though there was a large contingent of goblins and a few orcs were strutting around scowling at everyone.
‘They look like Lord Veto’s orcs,’ said Jack.
‘I expect they’re here hoping to get hold of their wages,’ said Robin. ‘I bet Lord Veto owes them money.’
‘Lord Veto owes everyone money!’ snapped an elf who’d appeared beside them. ‘He owes me a hundred gold coins for work I did for him! If you’re here to get money, you’ll have to wait in the queue.’
‘No, we’re here for the auction,’ said Milo. ‘We’ve come to look at the stuff that’s for sale. See if there are any bargains.’
‘You’ll have to wait until tomorrow,’ said the elf. ‘The castle’s being locked up until then. They’re worried that people will take stuff away in payment for what they’re owed. That’s why we elves have demanded the local guards come here to make sure no one gets in before then. There are lots of angry people here and we’ll need protection if things get rough.’
With that, the elf went off.
‘It looks like Lord Veto has upset a lot of folks,’ commented Blaze.
As they looked around the camp, they saw that many people did indeed appear to be very angry. There were arguments going on, raised voices and fingers being pointed accusingly.
‘This is a dangerous situation,’ observed Milo. ‘With the place locked up, and everyone watching everyone else suspiciously, I don’t know how we’re going to get in and find this ring of yours, Jack.’
Jack looked around to make sure he couldn’t be overheard, then he whispered, ‘I know a secret way into the castle. Remember, I lived here all my life. There’s a tunnel. The entrance is a hole near the riverbank. Lord Veto’s grandfather had the tunnel dug so he could get away if the castle was attacked.’
‘Yo! Guys!’
The cheery shout made them turn, and they saw Princess Ava and Meenu heading towards them.
‘Princess!’ smiled Milo. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘When I heard about the auction, I had to come along and see it for myself,’ said Ava. ‘Veto Castle, up for sale! I can’t believe it! What about you?’
‘Jack’s here for something precious,’ whispered Milo.
Quickly, Jack explained to Ava and Meenu about trying to find the ring he’d hidden inside the castle kitchen.
‘Hey, count us in!’ offered Ava eagerly. ‘Right, Meenu?’
‘Absolutely!’ agreed Meenu.
‘Although it’s not going to be easy,’ added Ava, her face suddenly concerned. ‘Have you heard who’s selling Veto Castle?’
‘No,’ said Jack. ‘Who?’
Princess Ava looked around to make sure that no one was in earshot, then she whispered, ‘The Voyadis. They took it when Veto couldn’t pay them what he owed.’
‘Wow!’ exclaimed Milo. ‘If Lord Veto owes them money and can’t pay, it’s no wonder he’s run away.’
‘Who Voyadis?’ asked Big Rock.
‘They are a very powerful and very rich family,’ said Princess Ava. ‘But they’re also very secret. The chief of the clan is called King Voyadi, but most of the others are shadowy figures who are rarely seen. They prefer to stay out of the public eye.’
‘King?’ said Jack. ‘So they’re royalty?’
‘No,’ said Ava. ‘But they own royalty. In fact, they own lots of different kingdoms. What they do is lend money to royal families and people with castles and land.’
‘Like Lord Veto.’
‘Right,’ nodded Ava. ‘When my father was King of Weevil and we were struggling for money, the Voyadis offered to lend him what the country needed. But when my father worked out how much he’d have to pay back, he said no. They charge lots of interest on the money they lend. So if you borrow a hundred gold coins, you have to pay a hundred gold coins every year for as long as you’ve borrowed the money.’
Milo did a quick calculation.
‘So if you borrowed a hundred gold coins from them for five years, you’d have to pay back five hundred gold coins.’
‘Plus the original hundred you borrowed,’ said Ava. ‘And the longer you don’t pay, the more you owe them. And because the Voyadis are clever, what happe
ns is they suddenly turn up and demand all the money they’re owed. And if you can’t pay them, they take things in place of payment. Castles. Land. In some cases, whole kingdoms.’
‘That is clever,’ said Robin. Then, as the others looked at him in disapproval, he added quickly, ‘But very wrong. Clever, but wrong.’
‘So these Voyadis must have turned up here and demanded that Lord Veto pay them the money he owes them,’ finished Ava.
‘But I don’t understand why Lord Veto would run off,’ said Jack. ‘I’ve never known him to be afraid of anyone. He’s a nasty bully who’s got his Wrestling Orcs to protect him.’
‘That may be,’ said Ava, ‘but the Voyadis are really dangerous. They have an army of deadly creatures working for them.’
‘What sort of deadly creatures?’ asked Robin.
‘All sorts. Monsters. But the most dangerous are the ninjas. They’re deadly assassins who can move without being seen. People say they are so terrifying that even orcs are scared of them. So I guess that’s why Lord Veto ran away.’
‘In that case, I’m glad we’re not going to have anything to do with these Voyadis,’ shuddered Robin.
‘Nothing to do with them … except to get into Veto Castle and get my ring back before the auction,’ said Jack.
‘That’ll be a problem,’ said Ava, frowning. ‘The Voyadis won’t allow it!’
‘They not know,’ said Big Rock. ‘Jack know way in.’
‘A tunnel,’ added Milo.
Princess Ava looked at Jack, delight on her face.
‘Really?’ she said.
‘Yes,’ nodded Jack.
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ said Ava. ‘Let’s find this tunnel!’
CHAPTER 3
Before they sprang into action, Ava insisted on returning to her caravan with Meenu to put on her Masked Avenger wrestling outfit.
‘I can’t go scrambling around in tunnels like this,’ she pointed out, gesturing at her billowy frock. ‘And say we come up against trouble? I need to be properly dressed for it.’
Ava and Meenu ran off through the busy campsite.
‘Maybe I put my wrestling costume on as well,’ suggested Big Rock.
‘No,’ said Jack. ‘Your costume is already falling apart. Crawling through a tunnel could finish it off.’
‘Crawling?’ echoed Robin doubtfully. ‘How small is this tunnel?’
‘I’ve only seen the entrance, and that’s pretty small,’ said Jack.
‘I could get stuck,’ said Robin. ‘And so could Big Rock.’
‘I think it gets bigger once you’re inside,’ said Jack. ‘The entrance was kept small to hide it.’
‘You think it gets bigger?’ queried Robin, still doubtful.
‘We be okay,’ said Big Rock confidently. ‘Jack know what he doing.’
‘I suppose so,’ grumbled Robin. ‘But what if this army of deadly creatures comes after us? It’s all right for you. You’re a troll made of rock. Deadly creatures just bounce off you. But I’m a horse, and we horses are made of … well …’
‘Meat,’ said Big Rock.
‘Yes,’ said Robin. ‘Good-looking and clever – but made of meat. And therefore very much at risk from deadly creatures.’
Just then, Ava – now dressed in her Masked Avenger outfit – and Meenu reappeared.
‘Right,’ said the Masked Avenger. ‘I’m ready! Lead on, Jack!’
‘I was just saying –’ Robin began to explain to her.
‘Yes, all right, Robin,’ said Jack. ‘We’ll make sure we’re careful that no one notices us when we go to the tunnel. We don’t want anyone following us, or sending a deadly army after us.’
‘Really?’ commented Robin sarcastically. ‘Don’t you think people might notice a huge troll, a girl in a masked wrestling costume, a horse, a phoenix and three others all sneaking off somewhere?’
‘Actually, there’s such a mixture of people here that we don’t look out of place,’ pointed out Meenu. ‘Look. There are goblins, elves, orcs – and the humans here look weirder than any of them.’
‘Good point,’ said Jack. ‘Okay, let’s go.’
He led the gang away from the camp towards the small wood bordering the river that ran through the Veto Estate.
‘The entrance to the tunnel is in the riverbank,’ he explained to the Avenger and Meenu.
‘Isn’t that dangerous?’ asked the Avenger. ‘The river could flood into the tunnel.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Jack. ‘But that’s only ever happened a couple of times before.’
‘You mean it has flooded?’ said Robin, shocked.
‘But not for years and years! It’ll be fine!’ insisted Jack.
As they neared the cluster of trees and bushes, they heard worried voices coming from just beyond it. They took cover behind the foliage and peered out.
Right ahead of them, in the riverbank, they could see a small, dark hole. The entrance to the secret tunnel! But standing next to it, their heads close together, talking, was a group of orcs. They were obviously upset. Jack guessed it was because they’d been abandoned by their master, Lord Veto, and were owed wages.
‘Orcs,’ muttered Milo. ‘It looks like they know about the tunnel.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ said Jack. ‘Orcs are sneaky.’
‘But in that case, why are they hanging about? Why haven’t they gone in?’ asked Meenu.
‘Because the tunnel is a very dangerous place,’ said Jack. ‘And most orcs are cowards.’
‘Dangerous?’ queried Robin nervously. ‘You mean, because it’s small and might flood?’
‘That’s not all …’ admitted Jack.
‘What are the other dangers?’
‘Well, there are the ghosts,’ said Jack.
Big Rock snorted. ‘No such thing as ghosts!’ he said.
‘Yes, well, that’s what people in the castle said about the tunnel. They said it was dangerous because of the ghosts and the giant rats.’
‘Giant rats?’ asked Robin.
‘Yes,’ nodded Jack. ‘Huge ones. They said they’re big enough and tough enough to eat orcs. And then there are the spiders.’
‘Spiders?’ shuddered Big Rock. ‘Poisonous ones?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jack. ‘I’ve never been in the tunnel. All I know is what I’ve heard about it, and that it comes out in the cellars of the castle.’
‘Maybe we ought to leave it till tomorrow,’ said Robin.
‘Scared?’ asked Meenu.
‘Certainly not!’ said Robin. ‘It’s just that rats can be very bad-tempered, and if there are a lot of them, and they eat orcs … Well …’
‘Spiders,’ said Big Rock unhappily. And Jack knew he was remembering the time he’d been bitten by poisonous spiders and nearly died.
‘The problem is, how to get past the orcs and into the tunnel,’ said Milo.
‘No problem,’ said Big Rock. ‘Me and Masked Avenger deal with orcs.’ And he made the fart noise he often made when talking about orcs, to show his displeasure about them.
‘But there are ten orcs and just two of you,’ pointed out Milo.
‘Me and Masked Avenger beat ten orcs, no problem,’ said Big Rock confidently.
‘The problem is that a battle like that will cause a lot of noise, and that’ll bring other people coming to find out what’s going on …’ said Meenu.
‘And they’ll find out about the tunnel,’ finished Jack.
‘I’ve got an idea,’ said Robin. ‘Why don’t we –’
But before he could finish, there was the sound of rushing footsteps, and then an orc appeared, hurrying from the direction of the castle.
‘There’s a riot going on!’ he shouted in panic at the orcs gathered by the tunnel entrance. ‘People are talking about breaking into the castle to take stuff for what they’re owed!’
‘That was my idea!’ complained Robin, upset. ‘I was going to suggest getting rid of the orcs by telling them that there was a riot going
on and people were breaking into the castle!’
‘It would have worked,’ nodded Milo, as they saw the orcs rush off towards the castle, leaving just one lone orc on guard by the tunnel entrance.
‘But it was my idea!’ repeated Robin, really fed up.
‘And now it’s really happened,’ said the Avenger. ‘So, Big Rock: now there’s one orc and two of us.’
‘Good,’ nodded Big Rock. ‘I go talk to him.’
And Big Rock left their hiding place and strode to where the orc was standing guard.
‘You! Orc!’ said Big Rock. ‘Go away!’
‘No!’ retorted the orc. ‘I know who you are! You’re Big Rock, the Wrestling Troll. Well, I’m Dunk the Dangerous Orc and I’m telling you that you don’t scare me, so –’
Before the orc could finish what he was saying, Big Rock had grabbed him with both of his huge hands, turned him upside down and crashed him head first onto the ground.
‘Ow!’ moaned the orc, dazed.
‘Okay!’ called out Big Rock to the others. ‘I talk to him.’
‘Yes, so we saw,’ said Milo as the gang joined Big Rock by the fallen orc. They looked at the entrance to the tunnel – a smallish cave-like hole in the riverbank.
‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ said the Avenger. ‘Let’s go.’
And with that, she disappeared into the entrance.
‘Okay,’ said Jack. ‘Everyone into the tunnel!’
CHAPTER 4
One by one they squeezed their way in through the small entrance. Once they were inside, the tunnel became larger, just as Jack had said it would, and they were able to stand up in it. Tiny holes had been made in the ceiling to let in air from outside. They also let in some light so that, although the tunnel was dim and gloomy, they were still able to see.
‘Well, so far nothing’s attacked us,’ said the Avenger.
‘So far,’ repeated Robin gloomily.
They moved forward cautiously, listening out for noises that might betray anything else that was in the tunnels with them – any of the dangers that Jack had mentioned.
‘So far so good,’ said Meenu.