Voyagers of the Silver Sand

  “You see what!” the Ninn gargled.

  The warriors slouched through the flap and were gone. The one who had spotted the cloud on the sun stood guard outside.

  The tent had a bed, a small table, a wide chair, and a smoldering fire on which something was slowly cooking.

  “I was in a Ninn tent once before,” said Eric, twisting his hands. “A kind Ninn lady let me go. I guess it would be pretty impossible for that to happen again.”

  “While we’re waiting for the impossible,” said Neal, “how about you and Keeah blast yourselves free, then untie us?”

  Keeah wiggled her hands and tried to point her fingers. She shook her head. “It’s too tight. I can’t get a good aim.”

  Eric tried the same thing. “My hands are too close together. If I tried to free you, I’d probably blow myself up.”

  Neal frowned. “But I’d be free, right?”

  Eric just glared at him.

  Julie tried to wiggle out of her ropes, too, but only got herself more tangled. Quill nearly bent his tip trying to untie Max’s bonds.

  “This is hopeless!” said the spider troll.

  “Wait. I hear a voice,” said Quill.

  “If it’s Galen, maybe he can free us this time,” said Neal.

  “I hear it, too,” said Julie. “But it’s not Galen. It’s someone … singing.”

  From just outside the tent came the sound of a little voice singing softly.

  Tortu roams from dune to dune,

  Crisscrossing every inch of Droon.

  And like the wandering turtle dome,

  We Ninns are searching for our home.

  With each beat of the song came a playful splashing sound like the tinkling of bells.

  A moment later, the tent cloth quivered, and a small Ninn girl in a purple dress wiggled under it. She had big red cheeks, and her wispy brown hair was tied into pigtails. She held out a short stick covered with metal rings.

  “I’m Theesha. Do you want to play?” She shook the stick. Shing-a-ling!

  Eric smiled. “Sorry, we can’t. Our hands are tied up —”

  “I can free you!” she said.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t,” said Keeah. “You’ll get in trouble with the warrior outside.”

  The girl peeked out the flap of the tent. When she pulled her head back in, her nose was wrinkled in laughter. “That’s no warrior. That’s my father! Hey, Minky, come in!”

  From the back of the tent came tiny snuffling and snarling sounds. A moment later, a young groggle the size of a small puppy loped under the tent and came to the children.

  “Chew, Minky!” said the Ninn girl.

  Making a happy little purring sound, the groggle chewed the kids’ bonds one by one.

  “Thank you, Theesha,” said Keeah, rubbing her wrists. “Now we really need to be going. We need to find something. You haven’t seen any treasures around here, have you?”

  The girl frowned. “We don’t have anything like that,” she said. Then she brightened. “But you can have my ripple stick! Really.” She handed it to Keeah.

  “Thank you,” said the princess. She shook it once, then slipped it under her belt.

  “Something is happening,” said Max.

  “Come this way,” said Theesha. “Maybe you can find the treasure!”

  Pulling Keeah by the hand, she slipped out the back of the tent and trotted quickly down a narrow alley between two rows of tents. The children and Max followed. When she got to the end of the alley, Theesha stopped and crouched behind one big tent.

  Looking around, the kids saw that all the red warriors had gathered and were looking up.

  “He comes! He comes!” they shouted.

  “Not Ko, I hope,” whispered Eric. “That’s impossible.”

  Another dark shadow crossed the sun, but it was neither a cloud nor Ko’s dragon ship. It was a jet-black balloon with tattered banners and ribbons flying about it. But more frightening than the balloon itself was the young man standing inside its basket.

  He was a teenager dressed all in black. He wore a long cloak with a high collar and a helmet of spikes down the middle of his head. A set of dark fins grew behind his ears.

  “Holy crow,” gasped Julie. “It’s Sparr —”

  The balloon slowed overhead.

  Eric recognized Sparr’s face. But there was something strange in his eyes. He was older than the boy they had come to know in the present, and he had changed. His look was narrow and shifty, his brow was low, and his lips were hard and cruel.

  He’s already begun to turn evil, thought Eric.

  “Ninns!” Sparr yelled out, leaping to the rim of the basket. He held the ropes and stared down at the gathered warriors.

  The Ninns looked back but said nothing.

  “I have some good news and bad news!” Sparr announced. “First the bad news. Look for Ko no more! He has flown away on his dragon ship and will not return!”

  Neal snorted. “Until you bring him back!”

  Keeah shook her head. “We’re at the exact time that Sparr began his life of evil.”

  “And now the good news!” the boy said, swinging on the ropes. “I am your new chief, your commander, your leader. Allow me to introduce myself. I am … Lord Sparr! You will follow this symbol!”

  The sorcerer then unfurled a large banner on the side of the balloon’s basket. On the banner was the old Droon symbol for Sparr’s name: an upside-down triangle with a lightning bolt running through it. The lightning bolt meant that Sparr was a son of Zara.

  “I’ll get my stuff labeled when I go bad, too,” whispered Neal. “It’s the thing to do.”

  “As a sign of my magical ability, I have built a palace of power,” Sparr boomed as the balloon began to rise again.

  Julie shook her head. “What’s with bad guys and palaces?” she said. “Why can’t they just live in regular houses?”

  “In my palace are amazing new treasures to help us conquer Droon!” shouted Sparr.

  “Treasures!” said Eric.

  “And I have already captured my biggest enemy —”

  “Galen!” whispered Max. “He’s captured Galen, and he has the treasure!”

  “Join me at my Rose Palace,” Sparr said finally as the balloon rose even higher. “And we shall take over Droon. Follow me — now!”

  “We will!” Eric whispered.

  Suddenly, Quill jumped. “Oh! I see Saba!”

  The kids turned to see a plume of dust rising from the distant dunes. But it wasn’t coming toward them. Saba was racing across the open sand and away from them.

  The sorcerer’s balloon flew up, and the Ninns hustled back to their tents to pack.

  “Sparr’s heading for his palace,” said Keeah. “Saba must be going there, too. Guys, we have to get there before any of them —”

  “I know how!” said Theesha. “Minky has a mommy!” She whistled and — flap-flap! — a large groggle swooped down to them.

  “Go, find your treasure!” said Theesha.

  Keeah hugged the Ninn girl. “Thank you for everything. We’ll always remember you.”

  In a flash the kids, spider troll, and feather pen climbed onto the groggle’s back.

  “Groggle,” said Max, “follow that balloon!”

  A moment later, the flying lizard lifted away and chased Sparr’s black balloon as it rose higher, higher, and higher over the golden desert below.

  “We’re losing Sparr!” said Max, sitting between Julie and Eric on the groggle’s back.

  “Go, Minky’s mom,” urged Neal.

  “But stay hidden,” added Keeah. “We need to find the palace, but we can’t let Sparr see us.”

  With a powerful flap of its wings, the groggle swept under the balloon, following its course.

  They flew farther and farther from the tent city. Finally, just as they drifted over one large dune, the kids saw Sparr’s palace looming up before them. Built of rose-colored stone, it had many levels of fountains, courtyards, columns, r
amps, and hanging gardens from the ground all the way up to its pointed summit.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Quill.

  “It’s beautiful … and it’s mine!” cried Sparr. “But who are you and where did you come from?”

  Startled, the kids looked up to see the sorcerer glaring down at them.

  “Uh … the future,” said Neal.

  “The future?” said Sparr. “Well, it’s never too early to teach you a lesson. Take this!”

  Ka-blam! He hurled a bolt of jagged red light. Minky’s mother arched back suddenly to avoid the blast, and before they could stop themselves, the children fell off.

  Luckily, they were close to the top of the palace. They splashed down into the uppermost fountain and slid down to the next level and the next and the next until they rolled — soaking wet but safe — onto the main level.

  Jumping to their feet, they saw the groggle peck at Sparr. His balloon spun out of control, slammed into the palace, then crashed and rolled down every terrace all the way to the ground.

  “Ouch,” said Neal. “That’ll leave a mark.”

  “Uh-oh, people,” said Julie. “We have company. Look.”

  She pointed three dunes away to where the phantom was running hard and getting closer. “Saba will be here in minutes!”

  “Let’s get inside the palace,” said Keeah. “To Galen! And the second treasure!”

  The children hurried under an archway dangling with vines and into a maze of columns and ramps and arches. Sunlight shafted down from open ceilings, creating shadows even in the brightest spaces.

  Suddenly, they stopped.

  In the middle of the maze was a statue of a young man with a faint beard, wearing a tunic and boots and holding out a curved staff with both hands as if he were defending himself.

  “Oh!” said Max, running to the statue. “My master. My poor, frozen master!”

  “Sparr must have cast a spell on him,” said Neal. He touched the wizard’s staff. “He’s frozen solid.”

  Keeah leaned over the base of the statue and traced several strange markings written on it. “There’s an old spell around the base. But it’s in a very odd language.”

  Eric looked at the symbols. On their last adventure he had seen strange characters in an ancient language, and from somewhere deep inside of him had come the sound and sense of those old words. They came to him again.

  “I can read it,” he said.

  “Are you kidding?” said Neal. “Awesome!”

  “Eric,” said Keeah. “You really have to tell us how you know.”

  “I don’t know how I know,” he said. “I just do.”

  Pulling in a deep breath, he spoke. The words sounded like whisperings in a tunnel.

  A sudden shower of blue raindrops jangled and tinkled as they fell around the wizard. There was a sharp cracking sound — kkk! — and then the statue moved.

  “Yeowww!” said Galen. He stretched and wiggled. Then he laughed and hopped down to the ground. “Well, that was not fun —”

  “Also not fun is — me!” snarled a voice.

  They turned around and Sparr was there again, standing in the maze of columns.

  He was soaking wet.

  “Thanks for nearly wrecking my balloon, kiddies!” he said, his eyes narrowing.

  With one swift move, Galen jumped in front of the kids. “The treasure must be deep in the palace. I’ll take care of this guy!”

  Raising his curved staff, he swung it around in the air until it made a humming sound. “So, Sparr. I’ve had my rest. Wanna play?”

  Sparr drew a jagged saber from his belt and lunged at the wizard. “It will be play, beating you! Shouldn’t you retire, old man?”

  “I’m not much older than you,” said Galen. “Where I come from, that’s called experience!”

  Clack! Blang! The two brothers charged at each other, racing around the courtyard, then leaping to a ramp and fighting their way up to the next level. With every step and jump, their weapons clashed and clattered.

  “Go!” shouted Galen. “Saba’s almost here!”

  The children, Max, and Quill raced into the depths of the palace. Soon, the desert light faded into shadows. There were strange noises, creakings, flutterings, and mysterious echoes. All the while, the passages grew narrower and colder.

  Quill trembled in Eric’s turban. “As bright as it was outside, it’s spooky inside the palace. The very air oozes dark power.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Neal. “Like Sparr himself.”

  They stopped finally at a giant black door.

  “I’m afraid,” said Max.

  “We should go in anyway,” said Eric. “The treasure is probably right in there.”

  Everyone nodded. But nobody moved.

  “I’m not going in first,” said Eric. “I just said we should go in.”

  “Don’t look at me,” said Neal, wiggling his shoes. “I have no powers. I’m just colorful.”

  “And I’m all done being a beastie,” said Julie. “Besides, I never fly inside.”

  Quill began to whistle softly. So did Max.

  Keeah sighed. “What a bunch of heroes we are. All right, I’ll lead. But don’t crowd me. I’ll need room to run if things get too scary.”

  Taking the lead, the princess pushed open the black door. Inside was a large domed chamber. A fire burned in a hole in the center.

  “What is this place?” asked Julie.

  “A real Chamber of Fear?” said Neal.

  Looking around, Eric guessed what it was. “Sparr’s workshop. Where he makes things.”

  Quill scribbled something noisily, then stopped with a gasp. “Like those things?”

  On a low anvil, amid hammers and bellows and surrounded by urns of water, sat three objects. One was a large red jewel that shed a dull crimson light. The second was a piece of gold jewelry in the shape of a wasp. The third object was a crown shaped like a snake, coiled upon itself. Its head stood entwined with its tail as if ready to strike.

  “The Three Powers!” said Keeah. “The Red Eye of Dawn, the Golden Wasp, and the Coiled Viper. We’ve come to the exact time that Sparr invented them!”

  The Three Powers.

  Since their very first visit to Droon, the friends had been trying to keep Sparr from rediscovering his lost magical objects.

  The Red Eye controlled the forces of nature.

  The Golden Wasp stung its enemies and turned them into wraiths for Sparr.

  And the most powerful of the three, the Coiled Viper, controlled the flow of time. It was the Viper that woke Ko from his long sleep and turned Sparr into a boy again.

  “Wait,” said Neal. “Are these the treasures we want? Did we find three all at once?”

  Keeah frowned. “They can’t be. They’re evil. Besides, there are three of them.”

  “We should destroy them,” said Max. “Without the Viper, Ko would still be asleep.”

  “Right,” said Eric.

  But he also remembered that young Sparr would never exist if it weren’t for the Viper. And as long as young Sparr was on their side, there was a chance that everything in Droon could change for the better.

  Keeah picked up the Golden Wasp. It lay in her palm, silent and still. “If this hadn’t stung Sparr, I might never have found my mother.”

  “And if not for the power of the Red Eye of Dawn, Demither the Sea Witch might still be the sorcerer’s servant,” added Julie.

  Eric stared at all three objects. “Maybe some things can’t be changed, no matter how bad they are, because good things come from them.”

  The children were quiet for a while.

  “Then Galen can’t destroy them either,” said Max. “He must do what we know he did do. He must hide them.”

  At that moment, Galen himself charged into the innermost chamber. “Some palace Sparr built. He’s lost in one of his own mazes —”

  He stopped. Seeing the Three Powers, he frowned. “Those are evil. We should destroy them now.??
?

  “Except that … we can’t,” said Julie.

  They quickly explained why the Powers needed to stay in history.

  “Charm the Powers into different shapes,” said Quill. “Then toss them to the winds! It’s one of Droon’s greatest legends.”

  Galen blinked. “Really? Well, I do like legends. Bring them and follow me!”

  The friends hustled back through the passages and out to the uppermost terrace of the palace. The sun was beginning to fall in the sky. The vast ocean of sand was tinged with streaks of blue shadow.

  Galen set down his staff, then began to utter words under his breath. Seconds later, the red jewel transformed itself into a small brown pouch. Grinning, the wizard threw it miles through the air until it could be seen no more.

  Eric noticed that the phantom was nowhere to be seen. “I think we’d better hurry.”

  “Okay, then,” said Galen. “Let’s see how far I can throw this guy.” Whispering more words, he turned the Wasp into a gnarly stick. Then he whirled it fast around his head and let go. Wham! It slammed into a nearby wall and bounced to the floor. Zzzzt!

  “That’s gonna make him mad,” said Neal.

  “Sorry!” Galen spun the stick fast again and it shot into the distance like a rocket.

  At last, he stared hard at the golden crown.

  “How about sending it to the bottom of the Sea of Droon?” suggested Keeah.

  Galen grinned. “Perfect.” He turned the gleaming Viper into a dull brown rock and hurled it across the sand with all his might. Cupping his ear, he listened. “All gone —”

  Suddenly, the sky darkened. It swirled with blue light. In the distance, the enchanted pilkas were racing away to the gathering storm.

  “There are the pilkas. And they’re leaving without us!” said Max.

  “But we have no treasure,” said Keeah. “We can’t leave —”

  “And you won’t!” roared a voice.

  All at once, Saba the phantom was upon them. He leaped up to the terrace from the level below, his horns spitting black sparks.

  “Back off, ugly,” said Galen, his fingers already sparking.

  “We don’t have any treasure,” said Julie. “Leave us alone!”

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Quill.