“I think you critters are more trouble than yer worth!” Pugglemud remarked. “I never heard of no strange plants ’round here.”
“Well, this one is strange,” Oki squeaked. “It coughed on me!”
“Did you say ‘cough’?” Professor Bumblebean asked, but before Oki could answer, he threw down his book and began flipping through another.
Long green stalks were now beginning to grow out of Oki’s ears and the top of his head, and giant tears began rolling down his cheeks.
“There’s no reason to cry,” Jinx told him. “We’ll find a way to fix you.”
“That’s not it,” Oki said. “My eyes are stinging so much that I can’t help crying.”
“Stinging!” Kendra cried. “I don’t get it.”
“Don’t worry,” Professor Bumblebean said, “I’ve read about this plant. It changes you into whatever you are thinking about when it coughs on you. This is very interesting!”
“Not to me!” Oki cried.
“Oh, no,” Kendra groaned. “Oki, just what were you thinking of when that plant coughed?”
“Days of Een!” Uncle Griffinskitch cried, as he gazed up at the giant round bulb that was now overtaking the mouse’s entire body. “Onions!”
“You idiot!” Jinx snapped at Oki. “Always thinking about onions.”
“Well, technically speaking, I’m sure he was trying not to think about onions,” Professor Bumblebean said.
“Oh, my,” Oki murmured. “I don’t think I’ll ever go to the bathroom again!”
“Well, ya gotta,” Pugglemud said, trying to console the mouse. “You just can’t go turnin’ off them waterworks, don’t ya know!”
“Waterworks?” Oki said. His feet had completely disappeared, and now he rocked back and forth on the round bottom bulb of the onion plant that he was becoming.
“Myself, I only go once a day,” the Dwarf announced. “But I pass a lot of wind, so maybe that makes up fer it.”
“This isn’t helping,” Oki fretted, but it was becoming harder and harder for him to speak, for his mouth was disappearing.
“It’s beans that give me the worst gas,” Pugglemud continued. “Whew! You don’t want to be around me after a plate o’ good beans!”
“I hardly want to be around you at all,” Jinx snapped.
“Oh, please everyone, stop arguing so that the professor can find a cure for Oki!” Kendra cried.
“Ah, here it is!” Professor Bumblebean declared, pounding his fist on his open book. “It’s called the wheezing wonder plant of Krodos. Its scientific name is—”
“Oh, do hurry, Professor,” Kendra said. “Isn’t there some way to help Oki?”
“Of course,” the studious Een replied, pushing up his glasses. “There’s an antidote to this unfortunate condition our dear Oki has contracted. Let’s see . . . oh, Elder Griffinskitch, I’ll need your help to collect some ingredients. Then we need to boil up a small potion.”
“But how will Oki drink it?” Kendra asked worriedly.
“Well, we spray it on him,” the professor replied. “Rather like fertilizer, I do think.”
Uncle Griffinskitch peered into Professor Bumblebean’s book and began memorizing the list of ingredients.
“I’ve got it,” he said after a moment. The old wizard turned and quickly hobbled out of sight.
“Oh, look at him now!” Kendra exclaimed, for now Oki could not be recognized at all. He had completely transformed into a giant onion.
“He must have been thinking about a pretty big onion,” Jinx remarked.
“Or not thinking about one,” Professor Bumblebean added.
It was only an hour or so later when Uncle Griffinskitch returned with a small sack full of strange flowers and grasses. “Let’s get a pot boiling,” he said. “We’ll have to risk a fire for once. I’ll do my best to shield us from any monsters that might be out there.”
“I wouldn’t be worrying about that anyhoo,” Pugglemud said as Kendra and Jinx began gathering up a small pile of sticks for the fire.
“Why do you say that?” Professor Bumblebean asked.
“Because this ain’t the friendliest part of the world, don’t ya know,” Pugglemud replied. “Even Ungers and fellers like them know enough to stay away . . . less they mean to go rob the castle like us folks.”
“Well, despite your intentions, we certainly aren’t here to rob or plunder,” the professor declared.
“Sure, whatever you say,” Pugglemud responded.
“Just how much gold do these giants have, anyway?” Professor Bumblebean inquired.
“Beats me,” Pugglemud said. “All I ever heard is rumors. I never actually met anyone who went to the castle and lived to tell about it!”
It took twenty minutes for the cauldron and its belly of ingredients to come to a boil, another hour for it to simmer, and yet another for it to cool. It was an anxious time for Kendra, but at least it helped take her mind off her own troubles.
The sun had completely set by the time Professor Bumblebean and Uncle Griffinskitch finally took the potion and poured it into a small pouch. Jinx used one of her tiniest knives to poke a line of holes in the bottom of the pouch. And there they had it—a homemade watering can.
Uncle Griffinskitch waved his staff, and the bag magically floated above the large onion that had once been Oki, sprinkling potion on the plant’s long green stalks. In only a few minutes, these stalks began to wither and retreat, the bulb of the onion started to shrink, and soon enough, Oki was standing before them, good as new.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re okay,” Kendra told her friend, hugging him tight.
“My mom was so sure that something horrible would happen to me,” Oki said, clearly relieved to be back to his normal self. “But I bet you she never imagined that I would have been turned into an onion!”
“There you have it, Captain,” Professor Bumblebean said to Jinx. “My books have proved their usefulness after all.”
“It’s true,” Jinx said. “I even used some of your pages to start the fire.”
“Excuse me?” the professor cried, not realizing that Jinx was just joking.
“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted. “This has been enough excitement for one day. Everyone to bed. Tomorrow, we venture into the mountains.”
THE SUN HAD BARELY PEEKED over the horizon when the company awoke the next morning. They hurriedly broke camp and set forth into the mountains. After an hour or so, they arrived at a wide crevice that cut the mountainside in two.
“I’ve never seen such a strange canyon,” Jinx remarked.
“That’s because this ain’t no canyon,” Pugglemud said. “It’s a path.”
“A path!” Professor Bumblebean exclaimed. “My word! It’s gargantuan.”
“Well, it was made by giants, don’t ya know,” the Dwarf said. “They hacked a road right through the mountain. This here path should lead us right to the back door of the castle.”
“Oh, my,” Oki fretted. “Maybe I’ll just stay here and guard the entrance to the mountains and make sure no one follows you in.”
“Make sure you don’t think of onions then,” Jinx said. “That way you won’t notice the giants when they come up behind you.”
“On second thought, I’ll just stick with you guys,” Oki said quickly.
Without further discussion, they entered the mountain crevice and began their way up the rough and rugged path. The cliffs on either side rose sharply above them, casting them in shadow. Soon, they were all huffing and puffing, for the path was so steep that in some places it felt as if they were climbing rather than walking.
About midday they turned the corner and came face-to-face with a gigantic axe, lying haphazardly against one side of the mountain pass. The menacing weapon looked as if it had been there for hundreds of years. Its wooden handle had mostly rotted away while its blade was dented and streaked with rust. Next to the axe was a clutter of strange objects: bent and twisted shapes of yellow. Some wer
e black and charred as if they had been scorched by fire. There was also what seemed to Kendra to be an immense boulder, though it was also yellow, and strangely round on top.
“Let me guess,” Jinx said, gazing upon the huge axe with an envious glint in her eye. “This must have belonged to a giant.”
“W-w-we must be drawing closer to the castle, I suppose,” Professor Bumblebean declared, stammering with fear in spite of himself.
“But what are all these other strange objects?” Kendra asked, looking at the yellow shapes. “They look like logs. But then where are the trees?”
“There ain’t no trees because they ain’t logs,” Pugglemud declared. “They’re bones! The bones of a giant. And see, that big boulder-like thing? That’s what’s left o’ his skull.”
“Oh, my word!” Professor Bumblebean gasped, finding himself a seat on a rock.
But Oki did the opposite of sitting. At the mention of a giant, he let out the loudest “EEK” of his life, then turned tail and ran down the path, back from where they had come.
“Captain!” Uncle Griffinskitch shouted. “Stop him!”
But Jinx was already on her way. With one mighty leap, she landed on top of the frightened mouse and threw him to the ground.
“Shut it!” she cried, clamping a hand over Oki’s mouth. “Do you want the whole castle to know we’re here?”
Oki quieted down. Jinx pulled the mouse to his feet and brought him back to the group.
“They’re jus’ bones, don’t ya know,” Pugglemud told Oki. “This feller here has been dead a long time by the looks o’ it.”
“He certainly didn’t perish from natural circumstances,” Professor Bumblebean remarked, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. “He must have been compromised in some dreadful conflict.”
“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered, and Kendra knew it was the type of humph that meant he was eager to move on. “Let’s go,” he ordered.
Oki looked so terrified that he could barely move his legs. Kendra took his little paw, hoping to calm him, but she nearly had to drag him past the skeleton and up the path.
They had gone only a short distance farther when the castle of Krodos came into view. Even after witnessing the skeleton, the castle was bigger than Kendra could have ever imagined, a colossal collection of towers and turrets that rose ominously out of the craggy cliffs to block out the sun.
“I do say,” Professor Bumblebean murmured. “The pictures in The Illustrated History of Krodos simply don’t do the real thing justice. This castle is . . . is . . .”
“I don’t believe it,” Jinx said with astonishment. “Are you actually at a loss for words, Blabberbean? I’ve been waiting for this day for weeks.”
As they drew closer, they were able to get a better view of the castle. There was no questioning that the fortress had once been the site of some grisly battle, for the stones were battered and streaked with thick black soot. Some of the higher walls were punctured with holes.
“This castle is a mess,” Kendra remarked.
“She looks like a pretty face that’s been punched in the nose, that’s a what,” Pugglemud added.
“How are we supposed to get inside?” Kendra asked.
They could see an immense door set in the side of the castle, but it was as tall as a tree. There was no way they could even begin to think of opening it, even if it weren’t locked (which they were sure it was). Jinx thought they should be able to squeeze underneath the door, but it was the type of gate that was pulled from the top, so there was not a sliver of space available.
“Can ya open it with yer magic?” Pugglemud asked Uncle Griffinskitch.
“Not in a way that won’t wake every giant in Krodos,” the old Een replied.
“Now what?” Kendra asked.
Then suddenly Jinx gave a whoop. “Look here!” she called. “I’ve found a way in.”
HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED all over for something, only to finally find it sitting right in front of your face, in the most obvious place? Well, that’s exactly what happened with our heroes at the gates of Krodos. They had been looking for a giant door, when in fact the whole time there was a normal-sized door right in front of them. They had simply overlooked it, for it was made from the same stone as the rest of the castle wall and had no visible markings. In fact, it didn’t even have any handles.
“How strange,” Jinx said. “Why would giants have such a small door?”
“I reckon they got theirselves Goojun slaves and such,” Pugglemud said. “Those poor fellers would need a way in and out too, don’t ya know.”
“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted. “Their misfortune, but some luck for us.”
“Let’s get inside,” Pugglemud said. “On the other side of this here door is all that wonderful gold . . . tee hee!”
Captain Jinx pushed on the door, but it would not budge.
“Now what?” Oki asked.
“Perhaps I can find a password that will open the door,” Professor Bumblebean mused, opening up his pack of books.
“Never mind those books, Bumbleweenie,” Jinx said, drawing her sword. “I’ll see if I can pry it open.” She slid her weapon into the thin crack of the door and pried it with all her might.
“Ouch!” the door suddenly cried, so surprising Jinx that she leapt backwards.
“That voice came from the door!” Professor Bumblebean cried in astonishment.
“Of course it did!” the door exclaimed, and now they could see a pair of eyes and a large mouth magically appearing in the rock face. “You’d scream too if someone stuck you with a sharp sword!”
“Well, if I had known you could feel it, I wouldn’t have done it,” Jinx grumbled, acting somewhat angry that the door had scared her so.
“Oh, great,” Oki murmured. “I’m getting rather tired of things talking that normally should not.”
“Hey? What’s that?” the door asked.
“Nothing,” Uncle Griffinskitch said, stepping before the door. “We mean to pass.”
“Well, you won’t be doing that unless you can solve my riddle,” the door said.
“We had no idea you were a riddle door,” Jinx grumbled. “You could be a lot less difficult, you know.”
“And you could be a lot less dangerous with that sword,” the riddle door retorted.
“Enough!” Uncle Griffinskitch said impatiently. “Please, then—give us your riddle.”
“Very well,” the door said. “Now, let’s see . . .” It rolled its large black eyes, as if deep in thought. “Once there was . . . no, no . . . I used that one last time. Hmm, how about . . . oh, no, no . . . that will be far too easy!”
“Get on with it!” Jinx griped. “We haven’t all day.”
“Oh, all right then,” the door muttered. “I get so few visitors. You could stand to be a bit more polite, you know. Nonetheless, here is your riddle: There is an Unger who lives on the other side of the marsh, in the boot of a giant. Seven children she has. Exactly half of them are boys. How can this be?”
“That’s an impossible question!” Kendra cried. “Half of seven is three-and-a-half. And you can’t have half an Unger, can you, professor?”
“Of course not,” Professor Bumblebean replied firmly.
“Well, this is your folks’ type o’ business,” Pugglemud said. “I ain’t no good at these little word games. I got you fellers outta the marsh, so now you get me through this darn door.”
“We’ll solve it, not to worry,” Professor Bumblebean assured the Dwarf.
“Maybe one of the children is really small,” Kendra suggested. She couldn’t help thinking of Trooogul. He hadn’t been all that small, but she supposed baby Ungers might be.
“You can’t count an Unger as half just because it’s small,” Oki said.
“Give up yet?” the riddle door asked with a mischievous chuckle.
“Of course not,” Jinx said. “We just need a bit more time.”
“There is no answer!” Oki cried in fr
ustration. “The door just doesn’t want us to get in.”
“Oh, I assure you, there is an answer,” the door declared.
Uncle Griffinskitch stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Humph,” he muttered. “Let’s review the facts. The Unger has seven children in total.”
“Don’t forget—she lives in a boot,” Oki added.
“That hardly matters,” Jinx told the mouse.
“Well, it must be a big boot after all,” Oki said.
“Does she cook onions in there?” Jinx teased the mouse.
“Silence!” Uncle Griffinskitch snorted. “Concentrate on the facts of the riddle.”
“Well,” Professor Bumblebean said, “We know there are seven Ungers. Half of them are boys.”
“Then what are the other half?” Kendra asked. “If half are boys, then the other half must be girls.”
“Of course, you only get one guess,” the riddle door said. “If you guess wrongly, then I’m afraid you’ve missed your chance.”
Professor Bumblebean sighed and scratched his head. “Well, we must be particularly careful then,” he said. He made himself a seat out of a pile of his books and sat down on it so that he could think extra hard.
It seemed to take him a long time. The door sighed with impatience from time to time, and Kendra tugged on her braids out of nervousness. Then, suddenly, the professor burst to his feet, his eyes afire with excitement. “I do say!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got the answer: they’re all boys! And that, Mr. Door, is your answer. Exactly half of the Ungers are boys because they are all boys!”
“Good job, Professor,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “The riddle is solved.”
The riddle door sighed again. “Indeed, it is,” it said, the disappointment clear in its voice. “Therefore, you may pass.”
With a long, moaning creak, the door swung slowly inward, revealing a passageway that stretched away into darkness. Jinx peered into the tunnel and gulped so loudly that Kendra heard it. Then with a wave of her sword, Jinx led the way inside. As soon as the last of them passed through, the riddle door closed behind them with a loud “click” and an even louder chuckle, and the company suddenly found themselves in pitch darkness.
Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers Page 9