Quagmire's Revenge

by Alisa Guttadauro

  “Then…Then who is up there?” Ruby pointed, “And who sent Boon to me?” Adorna looked grim, “I don’t know who’s up there, but we have a decision to make, do we go up there and face whoever the imposter is, or do we go back and get the others and rescue Sagacity and the goddess?”

  “Well,” the old witch cackled, “Are they coming!” “I don’t know grandmother,” said Querd. Magpie Murk, the Murk brother’s grandmother, smacked her old, crusty lips together as she waggled her crooked finger at him, “You boys will be the death of me!” she laughed and then started hacking. “Ah, it’s ready,” she cackled again, as she clapped her hands together. “Bring me a mug, you useless wart!” She bellowed. “Querd gave her a mug from his bag. The old hag then scooped up the green liquid from the cauldron she’d been working over and filled the mug to the top. She held it to her lips and said, “Here’s spit in your eye!” and she choked down the horrid tasting drink. Querd covered his face and closed his eyes as a big cloud of red smoke appeared and the mug fell to the floor and shattered. When the smoke cleared he opened his eyes and gasped, as there before him stood the green goddess, well, not the real one, but a reasonable facsimile. Luckily, Ambrosia, the goddess’ parrot had been outside and remained undetected by the horrid trio. She had had just enough time to send the warning to Ruby and the group before they walked into Magpie’s malicious trap. “What’s the matter boy,” hissed the old witch, “never seen your old granny looking this good, eh!” At that, the wicked warlock turned away in disgust. “Let’s get ready for our guests,” the fake goddess trilled.

  Willow was pacing the floor as she waited for the potion she was making to cool. “Mother please try to calm down,” said Raven. “I know you’re worried, we all are.”

  “Yes, but I have a horrible feeling your sister and the others are walking into danger, and I cannot shake it,” replied Willow. Phinnia flew in and saw the grim duo. She whispered, “I have news.” Since the others were elsewhere doing various tasks, Phinnia pulled the two witches aside to make sure no naysayers were listening and said, “As you know, Daffilda has avian powers. I sent her to Shimrock Mountain to keep an eye on our friends. She was in the form of a blue bird. She went up to the mountain and sensed something was not right. She flew higher and higher, but the higher she went, the less her powers worked for some reason. Anyway, she was able to see into the green goddess’ chamber, and the goddess was not there. She found Ambrosia, Isoldina’s parrot on top of the roof, and the colorful bird informed her that she was able to warn Ruby and the others not to continue the journey. Then Daffilda peered into the window and one of the Murk brothers was there, with an old witch, whom he called ‘grandmother.’ Daffilda was so startled she almost gave herself away. She was able to fly down a few feet, and saw Radkiel and the others retreating. What they do from there is up to them though. Daffilda was starting to get weak so I telepathed her to come back, it’ll be a little while before she returns.” Willow covered her hand with her mouth and let out a little cry, “Magpie Murk!” “Oh no!” exclaimed Phinnia, “That old buzzard is still around?” “Who is Magpie Murk?” Raven asked aloud. “Magpie Murk!” repeated Serena as she walked into the room, after overhearing the name. “Why are you even mentioning that gruesome name?” shuddered the store owner. Raven’s nostrils were starting to flair as no one answered her question. “What?” asked Serena when she saw the looks on their faces. Phinnia repeated her story and Serena looked grim as well. Then, seeing how Raven was about to explode, she turned to her and said, “Magpie Murk was an evil sorceress and grandmother of the Murk brothers. She has outlasted numerous battles and was once a very powerful witch. She had been banished from the kingdom some years ago, and no one had heard from her since. We all thought she was dead. The Murk brothers must have been hiding her somewhere." "Who knows how many cretins those two creeps have on their side!” groaned Raven, then she shouted, “Look!” An owl with a small scroll in its claws flew in through the window. It landed on Raven’s shoulder. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, “Don’t you ever have your claws trimmed?” The owl winked at her, and Raven’s jaw dropped. Suddenly the owl flew up and transformed into a human and landed next to her. Raven wobbled and the handsome wizard caught her in his arms. “Sorry for the dramatics,” he apologized, “But it was the quickest way to get here, my name is Noble, and I’m a knight of the king and queen.” He bowed, “Stark and Herald sent me to let you ladies know that they arrived to Beauteous safely, and they have warned the king and queen of the goings on here. The majesties granted you are to have an army, and Stark and Herald will be back with the army soon. I am to stay on here, if that’s okay…” “It’s fine by me,” Raven burst out. Willow and Serena both giggled, and Raven turned crimson, “What I meant was, the more help, the better.” Serena cleared her throat, “Raven, why don’t you get this nice young man something to eat, he must be hungry after his journey.” Noble smiled, “I don’t want you to go to any trouble.” “Nonsense,” replied Willow, “you two go ahead.” The two young people started to walk away when Noble turned and said, “Oh, my lady, I almost forgot, the queen sent a message for you.” He handed Willow the scroll of paper, and followed Raven into the kitchen of the back room. Willow opened the small paper with trembling hands. Serena looked over her shoulder and read out loud, “My dear friend Willow, I wish I was writing to you during a happier times. Stark and Herald, have let the king and I know of the dire circumstances of our kingdom. As you know, I lost my powers when I became queen, and that being said, I do still have my instincts, and I’ve had a feeling there was danger lurking, but could not figure out exactly what it was. We have prepared an army, and are sending Stark and Herald back with said army shortly. Please take care of our son Noble. I sent him on ahead; he has become a great warrior. The king and I will stay here with a smaller group of guards to protect the castle. Please understand we need to be here in case there is an attack on Beauteous. Willow, I am sorry we have not been in touch before this dreadfulness, safe journey my dear friend.” Serena put her hand over Willow’s as she saw her shed a tear.

  “Of course I am not upset with her for staying on at Beateous, but I am annoyed she hasn’t been in touch before this,” said Willow. Serena patted her hand and replied, “Of course, I think we are all a little upset about how things unfolded years ago, but, now is not the time for past regrets, we have a battle to get ready for.” “Yes, you are right,” sniffed Willow, “Let’s get started on those potions!”

  Isoldina was getting worried because Sagacity was getting weaker by the minute. Neither one of them had use of their powers on Murk Island. Whatever spell Nefari used on them, which was most likely conjured up by Magpie, was very potent. One minute she was welcoming Sagacity to Shimrock Mountain, and the next, she was waking up on Murk Island, bound and gagged. Sagacity was the oldest and wisest wizard in the kingdom, but he was worn down. It didn’t help that the Murk brothers were pretty much starving them, only throwing them an apple here and there and warm water. The worst of it was the fact that they were in Quagmire’s lair, and it seemed he always had his eyes on them. If only they could get him to sleep, but then there was his evil vulture counterpart. “All cannot be lost,” the green goddess said to herself, “Think, think!” She was startled from her thoughts by the loud growl of Quagmire, and the crush of his tail hitting the ground, “SSSludge!” the dragon hissed, “What news do you have for me?” The creature flew down to his master. Isoldina may have been weak, but her extra sensitive hearing was still in her favor, and she listened fervently to what the moldy bird told Quagmire. “Soooo,” replied the fire breather, the king and queen are forming an army, well now, I think we can summon one up as well, don’t you think so, my feathered friend?” Sludge babbled, “Master, I don’t think…” Quagmire slammed down his enormous tail, “No, you don’t think! Now, go find those two idiot brothers, and get me an army or you’ll be nothing but a pile of feathers when I get through with you!” Sludge made a gurgling sound and flew away
. Isoldina smiled, she knew just what she had to do.

  They finally reached the top of the mountain. It was eerily quiet, and for a few moments, no one made a sound. Then Radkiel whispered, “We all know what we have to do, correct?”

  Everyone nodded. Ruby made sure the sleeping mum was secure in her backpack. Everyone had their wands out, and held them tightly to their bodies. Boon stood bravely on Ruby’s shoulder. Radkiel mouthed, “Now!” Adorna and Radkiel stormed the door to the dwelling, and knocked it down. Both of them blinked unbelievingly, when they saw the green goddess turn around and smile. Then Thaddeus bellowed, “It’s not her, watch out!” Suddenly, Querd came out of the shadows with his wand drawn. He sent a fireball toward Thaddeus, and Radkiel jumped in front of him and sent it back at Querd who jumped out of the way and laughed.

  Adorna quickly fired her wand toward Querd and knocked him down. The imposter then in a raspy angry voice yelled, “How dare you, that’s my grandson!” Then the hag sent a lightning bolt toward Adorna. Gregor pushed Adorna out of the way, and pointed his wand toward the witch. Electricity flew back and forth. Magpie started to cough and Radkiel took the opportunity to strike at the old witch. She fell to her knees just as Querd shot a bolt at Radkiel. Ruby couldn’t take anymore, and as the fire behind her eyes was unleashed, she hit Querd and he cried out in pain as the flames which kept coming at him, were growing hotter and stronger.

  Adorna yelled, “Ruby enough, you’ll burn us all down!” Gregor ran over to Ruby and went behind her to gently talk her out of her rage. “We still need him to get to Quagmire,” spoke up Thaddeus. At that, Ruby began to calm down. Her hair was wild, and all she could think about was how much she wished her father was there. Magpie, starting to recover, stood up and shot a fireball at Ruby, and it hit her shoulder. “Ahhh!” cried out Ruby and she went to her knees.

  Boon flew over the old wretch and starting pulling her hair with his claws. Gregor and Thaddeus ran over to Ruby as the imposter tried to zap Ruby again. All of a sudden, the little mountain mum popped up out of Ruby’s backpack and out of her eyes shot liquid ice, which froze Magpie in her place. Boon had just enough time to fly out of the way, and squawked his annoyance. Then the little ball of fur turned toward Querd who tried to run, but wasn’t quick enough, and he too was frozen on the spot. Thaddeus quickly healed Ruby’s shoulder with the word, “Curative!” Radkiel Remarked, “Our little friend here has bought us some time,” he pet the small animal on the head, “But, we don’t know how much, so I suggest we get out of here, and get back to dragoness to help the others.” Ruby scooped up her new furry friend and said as she ruffled her furry face, “Well little one, we have something in common, don’t we?” Ruby winked at the little mum, who winked back and cooed. “What about these two?” asked Gregor as he pointed to Magpie and Querd. “We’ll take care of them later,” answered Adorna, “Back down the mountain we go!”

  “Sagacity!” whispered Isoldina. She gently shook the old wizard into coherence. “Please, I need to tell you something.” Sagacity slowly opened his fevered eyes, and hoarsely whispered, “Yes, my dear, I’m listening.” He coughed, and the goddess gave him a drink of the warm water she saved for him. “You have to hold on, the vulture has gone on an errand for the dragon, and my sister, the queen, does not have her powers of sorcery anymore, but, she does still have visions. I think I can connect with her telepathically and let her know where we are. She can send help, and we can get our powers back. Please hold on!” The old wizard nodded and passed out again. Isoldina ripped a piece of cloth from her dress, dipped it in the water, and tried to revive her old friend as she frantically began trying to connect with Queen Primrose, in her mind.

  The king and queen were in the middle of sending off Stark and Herald with the army to Dragoness, when the queen suddenly cried out and grabbed her head with both hands. King Edgeworth grabbed the queen and remarked, “My lady, what is it, are you ill?” Stark and Herald both turned around at once. “Ugh,” cried the queen, “Please…please wait” Stark and Herald bowed, then Stark said, “Your majesty, how can we help?” “I…I’m getting a vision,” she stammered, “I still get them; it’s all that’s left of the powers I once had.” Everyone stood quietly and waited for the queen to continue. She squeezed her eyes shut, and then cried out, “It’s Isoldina, she’s in trouble, and the missing wizard is with her, and he is very weak….they’re,” she winced, “They’re being held by Quagmire!” “No time to lose,” exclaimed the king, “Go to dragoness, and get our kingdom back!”

  Willow, Serena, Raven, and Callioth surrounded the cauldron in the fireplace as they chanted. They’re eyes were closed as they held hands and swayed back and forth. Callioth opened one eye and whispered, “I’m starting to see something!” As the liquid cleared, the ladies could make out some shapes, and then Raven squealed, “Look, they’re coming down the mountain!” “A little worse for wear, I’d say,” noticed Willow. “No one appears to be injured,” remarked Callioth, “We can be thankful for that!” “Oh,” exclaimed Serena, “It’s getting dark, we are losing the seeing.” “No, wait,” replied Callioth, “We are being shown something else; it’s getting foggy and gray though.” “Oh!” exclaimed Willow, “It’s the green goddess!” “Where is she, and who did the others see at Shimrock mountain?” “She looks distressed and wan” whispered Serena. Abruptly the women jumped back as a big ugly head showed in the big pot and an earsplitting wail sounded. Then the cauldron went black. Stunned, from what they had just witnessed, Raven pulled out her wand when Noble walked noisily into the room. Serena grabbed her hand, “Relax,” she said gently, “It’s Noble, and you don’t want to zap him.”

  Startled, Noble said, “I’m sorry my ladies, I hope I didn’t interrupt, have you news?” The witches’ all looked at each other. Phinnia and Kerina walked in with supplies from the forest, and saw all of the serious faces. “What?” they both asked in unison. “We performed a seeing,” replied Callioth, “and what it showed, is worse than we thought. It came into view that Quagmire has somehow captured Isoldina.” Phinnia gasped, and her hand went to her mouth.

  Callioth continued, “We also saw Adorna and the others making their way down the mountain. It seems like they did some fighting, judging by their disheveled appearances. “If Isoldina was captured, then where is she?” asked Kerina. “That’s what we’d all like to know,” replied Raven in a concerned voice. Phinnia spoke up, “We have our supplies, so we can start crafting weapons and make elixirs. Kerina has brought her people and has sent word to the wickets that are still on Wickardia.” “As per the queen’s orders,” began Willow, “A small group is to stay behind in each land to procure its safety. We cannot abandon any part of the kingdom for fear of it being taken over by the Murk brothers and the evil dragon.” Willow looked at Serena, and Raven picked up on her mother’s thoughts. Willow immediately put her fingers to her lips to tell Raven to keep quiet. Raven shook her head in agreement and said out loud, “I’m going to make sure my sword is in order, Callioth, will you come with me please.” “I can go with you my lady,” said Noble. “You are needed here Noble,” said Willow, “I promised your mother you would be here when Stark and Herald returned.” “Very well, my lady,” he replied to Willow. Raven said she and Callioth would return soon, and they took off to check on the trident.

  Callioth put her hand to her mouth as they approached Raven’s home. The flowers out front were all dug up and she could see the windows of the house were broken, with glass shards askew. Raven frowned, “We’ve stayed away too long!” Afraid of what they were going to find inside, they stepped cautiously into the doorway, both with their wands out. “Aaaaaak!” A vulture came tearing at them, but Raven was quick, and stabbed the beast with her sword, wounding him. Unfortunately it was able to get away. As the two women made their way further into the home they shook their heads at the destruction of the once beautiful cottage.

  Callioth grabbed Raven’s hand, but Raven was too angry to be upset, and shrugged
it off. She ran to her bedroom, and saw that the small rug near her bed hadn’t been touched. She removed the rug, and Callioth helped her open the trap door, that led to the underground room where the weapons closet was. With trembling hands, Raven waved her wand and mumbled the words, “Release, Reveal, Unconcealed!” The closet door snapped open to reveal the shiny trident. Both ladies let out a breath of relief, and then Raven said, “Thank goodness that bird is an idiot.” Suddenly there was a rustling sound, and they both threw up their wands in anticipation. Abruptly, Callioth starting laughing and pointed when Raven looked at her.

  There was a small rabbit scurrying away with a large carrot in its mouth. Raven smirked, “Well, someone got what he wanted.” Then she became serious, “I think I should stay here, no telling when someone else will be back looking for the trident.” “I’m inclined to agree with you, but you shouldn’t stay here alone. I’ll go back and tell the others what happened, and send Noble to stay with you.” Raven smiled for a moment, but then said, “Are you sure we can trust him?”

  Callioth replied, “He is the majesties’ son, why are you having doubts about him?” “I guess because I just met him,” Surmised Raven, I don’t know him at all.” “Did you ever think that maybe he feels the same way, and he came to help us, anyway?” asked Callioth. The teen half smiled, “Since you put it that way, I’ll give him a chance, but if he gets out of line…” she put her hand on her sword.