League of Extraordinary Robots

Chapter 1
THE SPOILED PRINCE

In the land of Mayfair, lived a king by the name of Alfred and his wife, Queen Jasline. King Alfred and Queen Jasline had two children, the oldest Prince Harry and his younger sister, Princess Cilla.
Prince Harry was a very happy little prince because you see Harry was very spoiled and rotten. Nobody, absolutely nobody was allowed to say ‘no’ to Prince Harry when he wanted something, or to punish him when he did something wrong or even to criticize him. Whatever Harry wanted to have, Harry had and whatever Harry wanted to do, Harry did and that was just the way it was.
Prince Harry was always getting into mischief, whether it was chasing his sister around the castle with his scary mask or snatching the clothing off the line for the hired help to re-clean them all over again. Harry thought this last was hilarious and he would laugh at all the servants, as he caused their jobs to be much harder as they had to do some of them all over again.
“Please, your Highness,” said the little laundry girl, who was just barely tall enough to reach the clothesline to hang things up. “Please don’t throw the washing on the ground again. My back hurts and I am so tired of washing clothes and hanging them on the line.”
Prince Harry just laughed and grabbing the King’s royal cape off the line he chased the little laundry girl all over the yard until he knocked her down with it, then he dropped it down over her head and of course it was so wet that by the time she got it off from herself she was soaking wet and very, very angry.
“I’ll give him what for,” she muttered to herself and started after Prince Harry with the king’s royal cape tucked under her arm.
“I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.” The little laundry girl had four brothers and she knew just how to deal with boys when they acted spoiled and rotten.
“No, no, you mustn’t,” cried one of the laundry women, who ran out and grabbed the laundry girl by the arm and pulled her back. “No one is allowed to discipline the prince or even to criticize him, remember? The last people who told King Alfred that his son was spoiled and rotten disappeared and have never been heard from again. Remember, it is strictly against the law to say anything negative about the royal family. I know that boy is trouble on wheels, but you just mustn’t say anything or you’ll be the one in trouble.”
The little laundry girl went with the older woman but the look she gave Prince Harry, well, if looks really could kill, nobody would have had to worry about Prince Harry’s mischief again.
Every day Prince Harry had a birthday party, even though it wasn’t his birthday. And when it was his birthday, well, you can imagine the kind of a celebration they had then. The king and queen wanted to please Harry and stop him from having his tantrums, so they supplied him with a birthday party every day.
They knew that if Harry did not have his birthday party he would be a very unhappy little boy and an unhappy Harry was a terrible thing, a very terrible thing indeed!
Most importantly, the town’s people got tired of it. A birthday party every day for the same person became boring. Prince Harry had everything he could ever want, so every time someone would bring him a gift, Harry would toss it to the floor like a piece of garbage, often without even bothering to unwrap it.
Royalty and high society came from near and far to see Harry, because they knew that someday he would be the king, but when they left, they had a bad taste in their mouths.
“That boy is a spoiled brat!” said Harry’s Great Uncle Claudius to his wife Isabella. “He’s just like his father was at that age.”
“Shhh,” said Great Aunt Isabella, pushing him quickly towards their carriage. “You know better than to say anything like that. It’s against the law to criticize a member of the royal family, remember? What if someone heard you?”
“But I am a member of the royal family,” argued Great Uncle Claudius. “If anyone heard what I said and told, why then they’d be criticizing a member of the royal family so I’m safe, right?”
“I’m not sure and I don’t want to find out,” said Great Aunt Isabella. “Now hurry and get yourself in that carriage before you say something that will get us in trouble.”
“All right, all right,” grumbled Great Uncle Claudius. “But somebody, who shan’t be mentioned, could do with some good old fashioned discipline. A birthday party every day, the idea, such foolishness! His grandfather and I weren’t raised that way!”
“If you’re talking about the royal pain I completely agree with you, your highness,” said their coachman, as he held the door open for them to climb into the coach.
“Reginald!” said Great Aunt Isadora sharply. “I’ll thank you to keep your mouth closed about such things. I don’t want to disappear never to be seen again even if you two wouldn’t mind.”
“Yes Princess Isadora,” said the coachman. He managed, just barely, to keep a straight face but Great Uncle Claudius grinned as he climbed into the coach behind his wife and gave him a big wink.
“It’s a shame, a real shame,” said Great Uncle Claudius when they had driven far enough away from the castle to know that no one was near enough to hear what they were saying. “That boy is totally out of control and his parents just stand by and let him do as he feels fit. Because they are the king and queen, no one is brave enough to say anything. Even the members of the royal family are afraid to speak about Harry’s rude behavior. His parents aren’t doing him any favor. It’s a shame, a real shame.”
Now that you know a bit about the royal family, let me tell you about the land of Mayfair itself and the other lands around it.
Mayfair was one of the few mystical, magical lands left; most of the others had been invaded by the Bots. Actually invaded may not be the right word. The Bots weren’t a warlike group that overpowered nations and took over, in fact, they were really very friendly and kind beings, it was just that there were so many of them, that when they moved into an area, they simply took over and because they were such an advanced society and had so much to offer, most of the residents were glad to have them there.
King Alfred however did not like the idea of having the Bots move into Mayfair. He very much liked being the king and having his own way about everything and he wanted things to stay just the way they were. It is very easy to see who young Prince Harry took after isn’t it?
King Alfred ordered a 100 million mile wall to be built. “It is the longest wall ever built,” he told the people of Mayfair. “I will have guards guarding the wall day and night, thousands of guards lined up to keep watch. They will make sure that none of the evil Bots get into our beautiful land. I will make sure that you are all protected from the evil Bots.”
The king didn’t add that in keeping watch so that no Bots could enter Mayfair, the guards were also keeping watch to make sure that none of the people of Mayfair could leave without the king knowing about it and giving permission and King Alfred was not about to give permission. “I like things just the way they are,” he told Queen Jasline. “And that’s just the way I plan to keep them.”
“Please your majesty,” called Julius, an older man who had lived in Mayfair all of his life, at least so far, as he liked to tell people. “None of us have ever seen a Bot. Could you tell us what the Bots are like?”
“Gladly,” said King Alfred. He held his hands high in the air and curled his fingers so that they looked like claws and made the scariest face he could possibly make. “They look sort of like this only worse,” he told the people. They are huge ape like creatures over fifteen feet tall and they weight over a ton or more. They carry big clubs and they could kill each one of you with one blow of their clubs without even half trying. They came to some of our neighboring lands in armies of hundreds, killing and destroying everything in sight. But you don’t have to worry, we have our wall and as long as you stay right here in our own land, right behind the wall, you will be safe from the Bots but if you go out beyond the wall you will be in danger of being caught and destroyed by the Bots.”
Many of the people were beginning to feel sick of the royal family. “I feel as if we are being held prisioners in our own land,” whispered Andrea, to her neighbor Bettina. “I think the king is just making up about the Bots in order to keep us all here, but on the other hand, what if he’s not? What if he’s really not?”
Many of the people felt the same way but they were careful not to let the king or any of his guards hear them say so because of the law about saying anything negative about a member of the royal family. None of them wanted to disappear in the night, never to be seen again.
There was one old man by the name of Wisker, who always questioned the king, but he was careful to do it underground in his secret tunnel that not even King Alfred knew about. Wisker wasn’t just any old man; he was an old wizard who at one time had worked for the king, performing magical tricks for the king and his royal visitors. The king had gotten sick of Wisker’s same tricks and had thrown him to the side. “You are not a real wizard,” he had told Wisker. “You don’t do real magic, just silly tricks. You are not a real wizard at all!”
Now this wasn’t true. Wisker was not only a real wizard but a very powerful one at that. He was tall, with very pale skin, and he wore a black cape and a black hood to match. He had a magical book, one so very powerful, that he dare not let it leave his hands. “This book is full of magic spells,” Wisker told his friends. “I hate to think what would happen if it ever fell into the wrong hands and someone found out how to open it.” The book was made of pure leather and had a golden lock to which only Wisker himself knew the combination.
One day Wisker went to the royal throne room to confront the king. “You are not ruling the kingdom of Mayfair fairly or wisely,” he told him. “You must change your ways or a punishment is coming upon your land.”
King Alfred laughed. “You are a silly old fool,” he told him. “Now get out of my sight before I have you tossed away where no one will ever see you again.”
King Alfred didn’t believe that Wisker was really a magician but simply a trickster but he wasn’t sure and he didn’t dare have him thrown out into the darkest part of Mayfair where the sun never shone and from which nobody, NOBODY had ever found their way back.
“If he is a real wizard, I might need him to be on my side at some point,” he reflected, so he satisfied himself with just calling Wisker an old fool and letting it go at that.
Wisker began traveling in and out from the land of Mayfair. He would cast a magic spell and the guards would never even notice him as he passed by them. He traveled to this part of the land outside of Mayfair and to that part of the land outside of Mayfair until at last he satisfied himself that he knew what the Bots were really like.
After that Wisker began calling for nightly meeting in the graveyard. Many of the citizens of Mayfair attended and those who were too afraid to attend would get their information about what had been said from their neighbors who had been there.
“The king is lying to you,” Wisker told the people. “For some reason he is keeping the people of Mayfair hostage and not telling them the truth about the Bots.”
“You tell one thing and King Alfred tells another,” said one man. “How do we know what to believe? How do we know who is telling the truth?”
Wisker reached into of his long cape and pulled out a large silver coin. “This will show you that I have been out of the land of Mayfair,” he told them. The coin had a picture of the Bots on it and was crafted from the finest silver available and by the hands of a very skilled craftsman. As the coin was passed around through the crowd for all to see, it began to shine brighter and brighter until by the time it got back to Wisker it was shining brighter than anything any of them had ever seen before.
One man, by the name of Nigel, stepped forward and reached out to touch the coin again. He very carefully laid one finger on it.
“How did you get this?” he asked Wisker, as he gently rubbed his finger over the glowing design on the coin.
“I got it from a Bot,” answered Wisker. “The Bots are mere harmless creatures and the king of Mayfair is not telling his citizens the truth.”
“How do we know that you didn’t make it?” asked Bettina, who together with her friend Andrea was in the crowd. “You are after all a wizard.”
“I may be a wizard, but I could never imagine something like this,” answered Wisker.
The people continued to gaze at the coin and then they began to wonder what it was really like outside of Mayfair.
“Well, how do we get out of here?” asked Nigal. “I for one want to see what it is really like outside of Mayfair.”
“First we must keep this a secret,” said Wisker. “We must take it slow. If the king finds out that we know he isn’t being truthful with us, he will have us all beheaded. I am a wizard and a powerful one, but the king has magic too, by virtue of his position as king and I am not sure if I can defeat him or not.”
“We must be very careful,” called out a voice and the crowd murmured in agreement.
Wisker looked out over the crowd and they all quieted, waiting to see what he would say next.
“I will choose one person to take on my next journey,” he announced.
“Take me, take me,” called out several voices.
“No, take me,” said one skeptical old man by the name of William, raising his hands and demanding to go.
“No,” called out one woman. “You are the town drunk. Who is going to believe you no matter what you say when you come back? Take me, Wisker, take me with you.”
“No,” said William. “I would be the perfect one to go with you. I may be a drunk but you all know me and you all know that I am not a liar. You all know that whatever I would tell you when we came back would be the truth.”
“Yes, you are the one whom I will take with me, William,’ said Wisker. He drew out his magic wand and the group quieted once again, anxious to see what was about to happen. He twirled his wand around in the air above his head. “Dibbldy dobledy wibbldy woo,” he said, in a voice much unlike his usual speaking voice. Then he pointed his wand straight at William and continued. “We’ll go on this trip, just me and you.”
Suddenly the wand let of sparkles of light and within miutes Wiskers and William disappeared. The people looked all around, where had they gone? Suddenly there was a big bang and the underground tunnel began to shake. Lights, the colors of rainbows bounced off the tunnel walls. There was one more big blast and then all was quiet, very, very quiet. Then the people could hear the sound of the soldiers’ foot steps above them.
The people were very fearful. They knew that if they were caught by the royal guards something terrible might happen to them. They quickly put out and the lamps and remained extremely quiet, just as quiet as quiet could be.
After a little while one man whispered, “Someone should go and see if the coast is clear.” Everyone agreed that what he said was true, but no one felt brave enough to be the one to go and look so they all just stayed there together as quiet as quiet could be.
In the meantime, Wiskers and William, were having their own adventure on their way to the city of Bots. They found themselves encased in a light which landed on the ground and they stepped out of it. William was so amazed at Wiskers powers that he began to bow down to him but Wiskers grabbed him by the hands and pulled him back up. “No, you don’t bow to me,” he told him. “I am not worthy of your praises. I am but a man who has been granted special gifts.”
William got up and looked all around. He realized as he gathered his thoughts that he was no longer in Mayfair but in a whole different world. His eyes bulged almost out of their sockets as he looked around. He had never seen anything like this in his life. “This can’t be,” he whispered to himself, then he began to run towards the towns of the Bots.
Wiskers ran after him. “Hey, slow down,” he told him. “You’ll have time to see everything, You don’t have to hurry.”
William stared all around, his mouth open in amazement. Instead of buildings made of wood or stone, he saw buildings made of steel that floated through the air. Instead of horse drawn carriages, he saw vehicles that flew in mid air at the speed of light. Bright lights were everywhere and most importantly there were the Bots. They were robots with huge glass heads, big blue eyes, and white fabricated bodies. They moved as fast as light and as far as William was concerned there had to have been a million of them.
“What in the world are they?” he asked Wiskers as soon as he found himself able to speak.
“They are the Bots I have been telling you about, the advanced civilization. Come on and socialize. I know many of them and I’ll introduce you. When the Bots saw Wiskers it was evident that he was well known and that the Bots loved him. One small Bot ran up to Wisker and jumping high in the air gave him what we in our world would call a high five. “Well hello, Charlie,” said Wiskers
“Well hello to you and your friend,” answered Charlie.
William became very frightened and began to clinch his fists and to hide behind Wisker Charlie the Bot followed William. “It’s alright, I won’t hurt you,” said Charlie, in a baby voice. Benji stared at him, not quite sure what to think.
“It’s all right,” said Wisker soothingly. “The Bots are friendly folks. Charlie here is just a young boy. He’s the same age as our own Prince Harry.
Charlie reached out his hand in peace to William. At first William was afraid to shake Charlie’s hand, but he trusted Wisker when he said that Charlie was not a threat so he extended his own hand in friendship.
Charlie was so glad to make a new friend that he began to do back flips all through the streets, almost getting hit by a car. Wisker spun his magic wand and caught Charlie up in a bubble and lifted him away from the traffic, bouncing him up and down in the air as he did so.
“What a strange creature,” said William.
Wisker smiled. “That is one of the war like apes that King Alfred has been telling us about,” he told him. “I told you there was more to Mayfair than the king wants people to know.”
William nodded, still looking around this way and that in amazement to see a world so different in its advanced technology from what he was used to seeing and here it was, right under his nose.
“Charlie, Charlie, where are you?” called a lady Bot, as she hurried along, sounding rather panicky.
“It’s all right, he’s right here,” said Wisker, as he brought Charlie down from the ball of bubble that he was in. “I was afraid he was going to get hit by one of your vehicles, so I caught him up.”
Charlie’s mother was very upset and it was evident that she did not want Charlie hanging out with the humans. She grabbed Charlie by the hands and quickly pulled him away from Wisker, giving Wisker an evil look as she did so.
“Why was she so angry with us?” asked William, puzzled.
“It’s not us, it’s King Alfred. He declared war on the Bots.
Instead of learning about them he chose to destroy them. He told them they were not wanted or welcomed in Mayfair.”
Wisker pulled William back away from traffic. “We’d better get you to a safer place” he told him. “You’re not used to all this and we don’t want you getting run over. Let’s go have some fun while we’re here.” Wisker took William to an arena where bots were cheering and betting on their favorite racer.
William couldn’t believe his eyes. The arena was larger than any arena he could possibly have imagined. “Wow!” said William as he looked all around and saw the Bot statues everywhere and the huge screens displaying the races going on. “Look, look,” he cried pointing, as he spotted himself on one of the screens in super size. He shook Wisker by the arm as he pointed.
Wisker grinned. He remembered how he had felt the first time he had visited the arena. “I know, isn’t that amazing?” he said. William nodded and continued to stare at the screen.
“Would you like to bet on a team?” asked one of the Bots. Wisker quickly picked and ticket and choose driver number five. It was easy to see that he was an old timer at this. William on the other hand was overwhelmed by what he was seeing and didn’t even take a ticket from the Bot. The Bot finally got tired of waiting and headed off to find some other betters. “Hey Wisker, next time bring someone who is more fun,” he said as he was leaving.
Wisker laughed. “You really need to lighten up,” he told William.
Soon the race started and on the track were race cars, painted in bright mutable colors and each one numbered. The track was so advanced that it floated in the air, giving the audience a 3D feeling. Wisker’s car, number five, was bright and shinny. The driver hopped out of the car and waved at the crowd. He was a tall Bot, wearing blue racing gear and helmet.
“He is the most popular driver of all,” said Wisker to William. “But he has a lot of competition on the track. There are many Bots ready to take his fame away from him.”
“Hi Wisker, my human friend,” called Driver Number Five. The crowd went wild with cheering as one of the big screens showed Wisker waving back.
“They really like you said William.
Wisker just smiled and went on watching the race.
The race started. The engines roared and the Bots screamed. William suddenly noticed that there were more humans in the land of the Bots than he had thought. “I see humans all through the crowd,” he thought to himself.
“Wisker, there are humans here,” he said urgently, giving Wisker’s arm a slight shake to get his attention.
“Why yes there are,” answered Wisker calmly. “Those are humans that managed to escape from the land of Mayfair and found refuge with the Bots. The king is lying to the people when he tells them that the Bots are mean and evil. They are truly great creatures who want nothing more than to be our friends.”
William looked all around at the crowds of people, both Bot and human and was amazed to see that they were all living in harmony.
Suddenly the truth of what he was seeing began to sink in. “You mean the king has lied to us all these years?” he asked.
Wisker just nodded and then turned his attention to the race. “Car number five is in the lead with one more lap to go,” he said excitedly.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven….,” yelled the timekeeper. The crowd went wild as the seconds counted down. The cars flew over the heads of the people and by an inch, number five won.
“Great bidding,” said a Bot, as he paid Wisker and sped off.
“That’s how I got the coin to show the people in Mayfair,” remarked Wisker, as he carefully tucked away his winnings.
William was in a state of shock at what he was seeing as he suddenly began to realize what it all meant. He began to wander through the crown, touching the Bots and talking with the humans who lived with the Bots. “Didn’t you once live in the land of Mayfair?” he asked one couple whom he thought he recognized.
“Yes,” they answered. “But the king is lying to the people and telling them how mean and warlike the Bots are and you can see for yourself that that is not true.”
William began to shake his head in disbelief. “I can’t get over the fact that the king is nothing more than a liar,” he said.
“We must go now,” said Wisker. “It is time for us to go back and tell the rest of the people the truth.”
“No,” screamed William suddenly. “I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here where people can trust each other, humans and Bots alike.” Suddenly William threw his hands up into the air and ran off into the crowd like a crazy man, kicking and screaming.
Wisker waved his wand. “Wibbledy, wobbledy, bibblede de, William, come right back to me,” he intoned.
The magic spell lifted William right off the ground and put him right back with Wisker. “It is time for us to go back to the land of Mayfair and tell the people the truth,” Wisker told him.
“No, I can’t go back, it’s all a lie,” said William. He quickly pushed Wisker down and ran off. Wisker tried to find him with his magic wand but William, zigged and zagged through the crowd and Wisker couldn’t find him anywhere.
Wisker summoned the Bot police, but William was long gone, probably hiding somewhere in the shadows, and they were unable to find him either.
“Now I have a dilemma on my hands,” Wisker told the Bot police. “I need William to tell the people of Mayfair that the land of the Bots is real and now I have nothing. I won’t use my magic to force him to come back, but I’m afraid that he may be in shock from all of the advanced technology he has seen, the speeding vehicles and the speed of light trains. I really need to find him to make sure that he is all right.”
“We will help you look for him,” the Bot police assured him. “Between us we ought to be able to find him.”
Wisker waved his magic wand and flew off, looking for William here, there and everywhere. He conjured up large snakes to help him. He waved his magic wand and pouf, out of thin air, there were the snakes. They were each ten feet in length and very colorful. So colorful as a matter of fact that they glowed in the dark. They each had a great sense of smell and Wisker used his magic to let them know exactly how William smelled. Not that William had a bad smell you understand, but each person has their own particular odor and this would make it easier for them to perhaps find William. “I want you to go quickly and search the grounds and sniff out the city to find William,” he told them. The snakes set off on a mission to find William. They went through the sewers and water drains and under the darkest tunnels. The snakes searched and searched but found nothing. They slithered through the streets, knocking over trash cans, crawling up walls, and looking through windows, but they could not find William. Finally they came upon an old drunken man sleeping behind a trash can. He had the odor of William about him, but it wasn’t very strong. Still, they weren’t sure if he was William or not, so some of them slithered up the man’s body and held him tight, while they all summoned Wisker with their minds.
Wisker appeared within seconds and looked at the man. “This is not him,” Wisker told the snakes and they quickly let him go. Wisker noticed that the man was wearing William’s jacket. “You are wearing my companion’s jacket,” he told the man. “That is why my snake friends picked up the scent. How do you come to have my companion’s jacket?”
The man answered but he was so drunk that Wisker could not understand a word that he said. Wisker asked him again but it was all to no avail, he couldn’t understand a word that the man was saying. “Well,” thought Wisker finally. “It is time to go and I guess I’m going to have to go back to Mayfair empty handed.” Wisker let out a deep sigh. “I know what the truth is and I will tell it to the people but deep down inside, I am afraid that the people of the land of Mayfair will never, never believe me.”

Chapter two
The Liar

“It is time for me to return home,” Wisker told the Bots who gathered around him. “I can no longer wait for William to be found. I will pay you very well to keep looking for my friend. Here is most of the money that I won tonight. I must keep some of it to show to the people of the land of Mayfair as proof that I have been here. If you have not found William by the time that I next return, I will find a way to get more money to pay you to look for him.”
“That will be easy,” called a Bot named Robin. “You will just bet on number Five and you will have all of the money you will need.”
Wisker and all of the Bots in the group laughed. “Someday that may not be true,” Wisker told them. “All of the racers are working hard to improve their skills and someday one of them may even get better than racer number five.”
Wisker looked around. “Well, I guess I’ve got to go home now,” he told them. “I am afraid that when I go back home without William the people will see me as being a liar,” he let out a deep sigh. “Never the less, it is time to go back.” He held up his magic wand and said, “Wibbledee, bibbledee, dibbledee dome, now is the time for me to go home.” A gateway opened and Wisker stepped through it. Soon he was back in the secret tunnel. The people quietly clapped when they saw him.
“The queen’s foot soldiers are out and searching the grounds,” said a man named Jeremy, coming close to Wisker and speaking quietly. “Where is your proof?”
Wisker hung his head low. “My companion William will not be returning,” he confessed. “He loved it so much in the new world, it was so big and shocking, that he decided to stay there and make it his home.”
“You are a liar,” cried Maggie. “William is my husband and there is no way that he would have left me and his family.” She began to cry and to mmoan for her husband.
“But indeed he did,” said Wisker. “I have tried to find him, but he just disappeared.”
“You are a liar, a liar, a liar!” cried Maggie. She pulled her apron up over her face and cried and cried.
The people in the room soon became divided. Some believed what Wisker was saying and others did not.
“Please listen to me,” pleaded Wisker but he had very few listeners now and soon the people began to move out and to shake their heads with disbelief.
“Wisker is just an old crazy wizard who lies to us,” said Nigal sadly.
“Please listen to me,” pleaded Wisker. “What I am telling you is the truth.” But the people didn’t believe him, no matter what treasures he showed them from his recent trip.
“He just used a magic spell to make those things,” cried Bettina. “He isn’t the great wizard we used to believe him to be. Now he is just a crazy old wizard. Who lies to us.”
Soon Wisker was left all alone in the room. I t was completely silent and dark. Wisker began to blame himself for taking Benji with him. “Now there is no way that I am ever going to get anyone to believe me,” he said to himself.
Suddenly Wisker heard footsteps coming through the tunnel. They weren’t just the footsteps of a few people but of hundreds and they were all coming towards Wisker. “Someone has told the soldiers where I am,” thought Wisker. He went to pick up his wand to disappear and found that it had been stolen. “There is no way out,” thought Wisker. I am in very serious trouble.” Wisker quickly hid behind an old table.
“Come out, Wisker,” shouted King Alfred. Wisker raised his head and came out from behind the table.
“You will spend eternity in prison,” King Alfred told Wisker. It was evident that the king was very upset.
“But my lord, you are lying to your people,” said Wisker.
“You fool!!! These low grade humans could never understand what their eyes will be seeing,” said King Alfred disparagingly.
Wisker looked at the king whom he had once protected and served. “I am so very disappointed in you,” he told him sadly. “I can’t believe that you are willing to keep your people in a bubble and not let them know that there is another world out there.”
“Take him to prison,” said King Alfred, pointing at Wisker. “Never let him see the light of day again.”
“I am not going without a fight,” thought Wisker. “You are a stupid fool,” he shouted at the king. “Nothing but a lying, stupid fool!” The guards began to punch and kick Wisker and dragged him by his cape to the prison.
“Please listen to me,” pleaded Wisker to the guards. “Your king is lying to you.” Wisker pleaded with the guards who had once been happy to claim him as their friend, but it was all to no avail. Wisker was put on public display and everyone in Mayfair was there to witness the fall of Wisker.
“You fools, the king will kill you all,” shouted Wisker as he was dragged through the public square.
Many of the people there had once been Wisker’s friends, but now they were his enemies. “It is not safe to be Wisker’s friend any more,” said Jeremy, as he began to clap. “Don’t look sad or you’ll be finding yourself the next one to be dragged off.”
Deep down, many of the people began to wonder if there was something to Wisker’s story, but it was too late to do anything about it, at least right then.
After Wisker had been dragged off, the people of the land of Mayfair went to their homes and found that the front door of each home had a letter nailed to it.
Daniel took the letter off from his door and read it out loud to his family. “If any citizens are caught defying the kingdom of Mayfair and the royal family they will be sentenced to Dragon Island where no one has ever come out alive,” he read.
“The king also wants it to be known that anyone who was a part of Wisker’s secret meetings will be punished.”
Daniel’s family was very frightened. They hurried into their home and quickly locked the door behind them. “The King has found out about the secret meetings and the secret tunnels,” whispered Daniel.
“Will you still try to find out the truth?” asked Dorcus, Daniel’s wife. She just barely whispered the words for fear someone might be listening and overhear what they were saying.
“Yes,” answered Daniel. “We can’t be held prisioners in our own land, we just can’t.”
The people of the land of Mayfair were very frightened and they became suspicious of everyone. The king wanted the names of all the people who had been against him and soon neighbors began to be afraid that other neighbors would tell on them and small fights and even wars broke out, neighbors against neighbors and tribes against tribes.
“This is exactly what I wanted to have happen,” said the king in great satisfaction. He sent out his foot soldiers to gather all the people who had betrayed him and all the people were so frightened that they all told on each other.
Some of the king’s soldiers came out into the courtyard. They played some important sounding notes on their long horns and all the people gathered around to hear what they had to say.
One of the soldiers climbed up to a high platform built into the fence and began to read. “The king is setting some new rules,” he read “The citizens are no longer allowed to celebrate holidays, not even birthdays. The citizens are mandated to work I the fields from sun up to sun down. The king is taking away any money that the people have, any property and anything of value. Anything that has any value from now on belongs to the king. That is just the way it is and just the way it will be from now on”
Many people began to cry and to wish for Wisker. “I wish Wisker was here,” whispered some of the people, but they didn’t dare to whisper it too loud for fear of being over heard and being caught and punished by the king. The king became mean and arrogant. The people were now suffering and there was no one to help them. “Please forgive us, your majesty,” begged some of the people. “We promise to have parties and dancing in the street and never to criticize your majesty again.”
“No!” thundered the king. “The only ones in this kingdom who are allowed to have parties are my son, Prince Harry and his sister, Princess Cilla. You will enjoy the parties, no matter how terrible they seem. Prince Harry and Princess Calla are the only children in the kingdom allowed to receive gifts. The other children in the kingdom are my property, just the same as the cattle and the horses are my property. The only reason they are allowed to come to the parties is so that my son and daughter have other children with whom to play.”
“This country is nothing less than a prison now,” whispered Bettina, to her best friend Abigail, whom she knew she could trust implicitly. “I remember when the king used to say that we were like family to him and it was evident that he really felt that way too.”
“I know,” whispered Abigail. “The king has lost his mind and we are nothing but prisioners now. Some of the people have begun to secretly hatch a plan to get Wisker out of prison but that is going to be very hard. Wisker is guarded around the clock and if any of us were ever caught trying to free him; well I hate to think what might happen to us.”
One morning the people of the land of Mayfair got up to find that by the guard gates there was a bull. Now this wasn’t just any ordinary bull, this was a massive bull, with horns that stretched out for miles. The bull spat out rainbows of fire, which while they were very pretty, they were also very dangerous, scotching trees and walls. “They will scotch us too if we get too close,” said Daniel. “We must be very, very careful.”
Some of the men of the kingdom began to dig a new underground tunnel. Every night they would sneak out of their homes and take turns digging the underground tunnel, trying to break into the prison and free Wisker.
At the same time that the people who lived outside of the palace were working to free Wisker, the palace maids and butlers were also plotting against the king. The maids would fix the king sleeping tonic that would knock him out cold, then they would send coded messages through out the kingdom to tell Wisker to hang on, they were all trying to help him.
One day there was a hitch in the plan. .”There is no way that we can outsmart the king,” thought one of the maids. “Soon he will find out what is going on and God help all of us! I am going to tell the queen what is happening and ask for her protection. Maybe I’ll get a big reward.”
The queen was very angry when she found out what was happening. She called a large group of her own personal guards together. “Go out into the land and revenge the plot on my husband,” she ordered.
The guards went out by the thousands, running through the kingdom, arresting everyone from maids to peasant workers. “Burn these homes to the ground,” ordered one of the chief guards. “These people will have no use for them again; they will all spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
A storm of betrayal went through went through the town, all because of what the maid had started.
The maid was very frightened. She hid herself in the queen’s room and looked out the window. “Oh what if the king doesn’t win and this backlashes on me?” she thought to herself. She saw her village being burned to the ground. She saw people whom she knew being carried off to jail, she saw many being tied and bound and carried off to jail and for the first time she realized what she had done. “Maybe the queen and king will give me pardon,” she thought to herself but it was not so.
“If you will turn against your own people you will turn against me the same way,” the queen told her sternly. “I cannot trust you. You are guilty of treason.” The queen turned to her royal guards. “Haul her off to jail,” she ordered. “She is not to be trusted...”
The people in the prison were very angry with the maid. “We almost had a way out of prison but because of your inability to hold a secret, the plan is now in danger of failing,” they told her. The maid huddled in a corner by herself, trembling and shaking with fear. Many of the people shunned her and called her a traitor.
“Please forgive me,” begged the maid, but none of the people was willing to listen to her. They shunned her and threw stones in her direction and no one, not one single person, felt sorry for her. “You silly woman, you have risked our freedom,” shouted one of the prisioners at her. All the maid could do was cry and hang her head low, but no one felt sorry for her, not one single person.
Overhead the prisoners could hear the footsteps of people running through the land. “Maybe it is people trying to escape or maybe it is the guards marching through the village, taking everyone they can to prison.”
There was only one man who was not affected by this terrible ordeal and this was Sir Porcupine. Actually his name of course wasn’t Sir Porcupine, it was really Thomas, but the king had nicknamed him porcupine because of the way that his hair stood up on his head. Sir Porcupine acted very foolish and made the king and queen laugh at his silly antics. “That Sir Porcupine is a few cards short of a full deck,” King Alfred told Queen Jasline as Sir Porcupine tumbled around on the floor, pretending to try to turn summersaults and failing miserably.
Sir Porcupine and his family was spared and moved into the palace with the king and queen. “This is your very own home space,” King Alfred told Sir Porcupine and his family. “The palace will be your home just as it is mine.”
The king and queen thought that Sir Porcupine was their true friend, even if he wasn’t very bright. If they had only known the truth, Sir Porcupine was extremely bright and he and Wisker were the best of friends, even though they didn’t show their affection in front of the king or queen.
Sir Porcupine kept a close eye on the king and queen and listened to all their private conversations, every chance he got. “I vowed to whisker that I would set him free,” he said to himself. “And I along with many brave citizens of the land of Mayfair am going to do my very best to keep that vow.”
In the meantime, the sleeping tonic that the maids had been slipping to the king had an unexpected effect. It sent him into a very deep comma. The queen was beside herself with anxiety. “I don’t know what to do,” she moaned. “I want my husband to come out of this comma and be well.”
Sir Porcupine continued to keep a close eye on the queen and to listen to every private conversation that she had with the royal guards. One day he heard what he considered to be the ultimate betrayal.
“I want you to bring the guillotine to the public square,” Queen Jasline ordered the royal guards. I am going to get rid of that pest Wisker and his followers.”
Sir Porcupine felt his blood chill in his veins. “I have to get Wisker freed,” he said to himself. “But how am I going to do it? Most of the men are in jail and there is no way that I can dig the rest of the tunnel to release the wizard by myself.”
Sir Porcupine took the long way around to get to the prison, slipping into this place and that place so that he would not be seen and at last he was at the prison and tried to find a way to get in. There was one major problem, a mammoth problem to be truthful, and that was the bull, whom he found waiting for him. The bull began to snort and to kick dirt in the air when he saw Sir Porcupine. Then he blew fire at Sir Porcupine, narrowly missing his face.
“It’s a very good thing I have on a knight’s shield and armor to protect myself from the burning flames,” thought Sir Porcupine. Sir Porcupine thought and thought. “How can I get past the bull and rescue Wisker,” he asked himself.
Finally he had an idea. Sir Porcupine got hold of an extra strong dose of the sleeping tonic that the maids had been slipping to King Alfred. He fed the sleeping tonic to a goat and then he fed the goat to the bull, who gobbled it all up in one bite.
Sir Porcupine hid behind a bush. “I’ll just wait here for the poison to take effect,” he said to himself. He watched and kept track of all the royal guards who entered and who left the prison guards.
Soon there was only one guard at the gate. The bull had finally fallen asleep and the guard stretched his arms out and yawned and sat down on a nearby stool. “I’ll just take a little nap,” said the guard. “There’s no one out there and if anyone should come along, the bull will wake up and he’ll take care of him.” The guard leaned back using his hands for a pillow and soon he was fast asleep.
“I’ll just make sure that the guard will not wake up for a while,” said Sir Porcupine to himself. He took a poisonous dart and shot it straight into the guard. “There, that will keep him sleeping for awhile,” said Sir Porcupine, with evident satisfaction.
Once the guard had slipped into an even deeper sleep, Sir Porcupine snuck in to the prison and ran from cell to cell, looking for Wisker. He found Wisker in the very farthest cell, guarded by a golden harp and a ghost. Sir Porcupine pretended to be a guard, by putting on his armor and face shield.
“The ghost plays the harp when someone is escaping,” whispered Wisker, as Sir Porcupine slipped close to the bars of the cell. “It will wake up anyone who is sleeping. It will even wake up the dead.”
Suddenly the ghost spotted Sir Porcupine and realized that not all was as it should be. He was about to play the tune that would wake up the dead when Sir Porcupine made a dive for the harp and with super human effort, managed to snatch it from the ghost’s hands.
Without the harp, the ghost could not be heard. H ran around the prison, trying to scream, but it did no good. The harp was now in Sir Porcupine’s hands and he was not going to give it up.’
Wisker arose from his state of depression and worthlessness. He had grown old and weary.

Chapter Three
Freeing Wisker

Wisker was in a state of shock to see that someone had come to save him. “I have waited so long, so very long,” he sobbed. Wisker was a mess. He had been treated very badly, with little food and little water and no sunlight for his skin. Just as Wisker had grown old, so had his spirit. I am too old to fight,” said Wisker. “I’m sorry, I would if I could, but I am just way too old.”
“Get up,” said Sir Porcupine. “You must fight. Too many people risked their lives to save yours. We need your help.”
Wisker looked around and saw all of the people that were in prison. When he saw all the people that had cared enough for him to risk their lives, even though it meant prison, Wisker tearfully sobbed and at the same time he began to gain his strength and his composure.
“You must go and find Benji, your old companion,” said a lady in a nearby jail cell. “Bring him back and the king will see that you are not lying.”
“If only I had my magic wand,” said Wisker. “It is my only way of getting out of Mayfair.”
“I have it right here,” said Sir Porcupine, and so he did. He pulled out the magic wand that Wisker had not seen in months.
Wisker rubbed his hands almost reverently over his favorite wand and then began to kiss it. “I will bring justice to you all,” said Wisker. “I promise you, I will bring justice to you all.” Wisker ran off out of the prison yard and into the forest on the border of Mayfair, with Sir Porcupine close behind him. “”Will you be my companion?” Wisker asked Sir Porcupine.
“Anything for you, my old friend,” said Sir Porcupine.
Suddenly there was a rumbling of the ground, suggesting that the royal soldiers were on their way. “Quick, over here,” said Sir Porcupine, pulling Wisker off the beaten pathway and into a shrub of trees, just as the soldiers came speeding in their carriages and on horses. Wisker and Sir Porcupine quietly stayed put, scarcely daring to breathe,
“Look over in those bushes,” ordered the captain of the soldiers. “I think I just saw something move.”
Wisker and Sir Porcupine stiffened, trying to hold as still as still could be. Suddenly a large rabbit jumped out of some nearby bushes and ran toward the soldiers. The soldiers started to pull their swords to do battle but then they saw that it was just a rabbit.
“We aren’t here to fight battles with rabbits,” said one of the officers. “Spread out and look around. We need to find Wisker and Sir Porcupine.” The soldiers looked and looked until they got tired of looking and decided that Wisker and Sir Porcupine were not in the area.
The soldiers put up wanted signs showing pictures of Wisker and Sir Porcupine. “Wanted, dead or alive, by the king and queen of Mayfair,” read one of the officers. “There, that ought to do it. Come on men, they aren’t here; we’ve got other places to look. Let’s go. You know the queen isn’t going to be happy if we come back empty handed. The queen is as bad as Prince Harry when it comes to having her own way.”
The soldiers rode off and both Wisker and Sir Porcupine let out deep sighs of relief. “Come, we must hurry!” said Wisker. Wisker and Porcupine began to follow the trail to the way out of Mayfair. As soon as they came to what they considered to be a safe spot, Wisker tried to use his magic wand, but it wouldn’t work. Over and over he tried but still nothing happened.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Sir Porcupine.
“My wand is not working,” said Wisker. He looked the wand over and over from one tip to the other. “Here’s the problem,” he said at last. “Someone has tampered with the magic seal and golden dust has either broken off or been smudged off.”
“Now what do we do?” asked Sir Porcupine.
“The only way to fix this is to find the master of all wizards, Jeronomo,” answered Wisker, studying his wand carefully to see if he could possibly have missed something.
“Who is he and where can we find him?” asked Sir Porcupine.
“In the Death Valley,” answered Wisker, as he looked with disgust at his wand. “Someone has really mistreated this wand. The queen probably let her spoiled son Harry play with it.”
“I am so sorry that has happened,” said Sir Porcupine. Sir Porcupine was an ordinary human, not a magical one like Wisker, and he felt a personal responsibility when one of his own people did something that hurt others.
“It’s not your fault,” said Wisker to his friend. “But now getting out of Mayfair has just become much harder. There are wanted signs all around and bounties placed on our heads.”
“How come the people of Mayfair never come to this forest?” asked Sir Porcupine curiously. “It seems like such a nice place. to play and have picnics.”
“Because of the king,” answered Wisker. “The king is afraid he’ll lose his power of being ruler and forbade the people ever to leave the land of Marfair. There are many more lands out here and the king is so greedy that he has locked his people in Mayfair. He is afraid that if they see another world that they like better than Mayfair that they will decide to stay there and never come back.
But right now we have some serious business to attend to and a long task ahead of us. Even if we could get to the land of the Bots, we could not stay there. We have a responsibility to free the people of Mayfair from the tyranny of the king and queen.”
“But we are wanted by the entire land of Mayfair and beyond,” said Sir Porcupine. “The palace has put out a hefty reward for our capture and we have no choice but to try our best to escape. You know what will happen to us if we’re caught.” Sir Porcupine put his hand up to his throat protectively as he thought of the guillotine that the queen was having set up in the public square in Mayfair.
“We have no other choice but to try our best to escape,” said Wisker. “And to do this, we have to travel down the forbidden parts of the land. First we must go to the Wood of Berlington.”
Wisker and Sir Porcupine began to walk. “I can feel an evil aura over us,” said Wisher, who, being a magical being, could sense magical things, even though his wand was broken.
“You know the Woods of Berlington is haunted don’t you?” asked Sir Porcupine.
“Yes I do,” answered Wisker. “Now keep your head down and pull your hood over head.” He did the same thing himself as he spoke. “We don’t want people to recognize us from our wanted posters if we can help it.”
The Burlington woods were very scary. The trees began to whisle and the rocks began to taunt the two passer bys by calling out, to them. “You silly men, why do you come to Burlington woods?” called one of the rocks.
“Pay no attention to them,” Wisker told Sir Porcupine. Sir Porcupine nodded, but Wisker could see that Sir Porcupine was very much afraid and he would comfort him by smiling now and again.
Soon the dirt began to move like a winding snake under their feet. “Run,” cried Wisker and the two men began to run, faster and faster. Suddenly Sir Porcupine tripped on his cape and fell to the ground. Before he could get up a gain, out of the dirt rose a large three headed dragon, with ivory horns coming out of its faces and heads. The dragon was an ash color, with the tip of his tail a bright fluorescent
orange. The dragon’s scale flaked off as it pounded on the dirt, trying to squash Sir Porcupine.
Wisker ran out in front of the dragon, trying to save his friend. “Stop!” he ordered,, in that tone of voice which only wizards are able to command. “My wand isn’t working, but the dragon doesn’t know that,” thought Wisker to himself.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the monster. “I said stop!” he thundered.
The dragon was so afraid that it ran back into the earth, leaving nothing more than a large hole. “That was close,” said Wisker, tucking his wand carefully away.
“Why was it so afraid of your wand?” asked sir Porcupine.
“Many years ago wizards ruled the land and they had mighty powers, even greater than they have today. Dragons remember this and are fearful of the powers of wizards.”
Sir Porcupine and Wisker hurried along the path. The forest was slowly coming alive. The trees and the e plants were beginning to change colors, their fangs and tongues smelled fresh blood. The plants sent out their roots to gather the trespassers. Soon once again the dirt moved and the roots of the plants and trees were after Wisker and Sir Porcupine.
“We must jump into the lake,” Wisker told Sir Porcupine. The two men ran and took big leaps, first this way and then that as the roots of the plants began to chase them. With one push off, the two men flew into the air and made a big splash into the air. The trees and the plants cried out in anger and frustration; they had missed out on their food.
Little did Wisker and Sir Porcupine know that they were being watched as they hurried along. Behind a large rock was an unknown creature that stood about four feet high. The creature had red scales, big black eyes and a glowing halo above its head. Its hands and feet were webbed, sort of like a ducks and its tiny ears could hear the slightest movement. The creature watched for a little while, then slightly wiggled its right ear and disappeared into a green mist.

Meanwhile in the lake Wisker and Sir Porcupine were being pushed and shoved around by the strong waters. Wisker managed to hold onto a tree limb which seemed to give him a secure respite, at least for a little bit. “Porcupine, Sir Porcupine,” he called softly, trying to locate his friend, but Sir Porcupine was no where to be seen. If Wisker had but known it, Sir Porcupine was having his own adventure, tumbling down waterfalls. Wisker called out to his friend again, but it did no good, there was no answer. The two men were now apart, both following down the river going about their separate ways.
Wisker held onto the tree limb with all his might, trying to decide what he should do next.
One part of him would have liked to have given up, but he kept in mind all of the people that he had left behind, all of the people who had risked their lives to save his, and he knew that he must keep on going, that he owed his life to the many people of Mayfair and he must do all that he could to save them. “Failure isn’t an option,” he thought to himself. “I also must do all that I can to find Sir Porcupine. He risked his life to save me and I can’t just throw away my life without doing all I can to rescue him.” Wisker listened carefully to see if he could hear anything of Sir Porcupine but although the areas was anything but quiet, there was no sound of a human voice.
“Porcupine, I will never forget you,” called out Wisker at the top of his voice. “I will find you someday.” Wisker listened carefully to see if there was an answering call but although Wisker didn’t know it, his call was drown out by the crashing waves of the water hitting the rocks.
Wisker wiped away a tear and then carefully pulled himself up onto the banks of the river to rest, for just a tiny bit. Wisker held his head and began to cry. “The one companion who was dear to me I have lost,” he said to himself. “I could not save him.”
Suddenly the leaves and shrubs began to rumble and Wisker could hear the trotting of hooves becoming louder and louder. Wisker quickly jumped up and hid behind a large stone. After a moment he peeked out and saw five headless riders conversing with each other, using some sort of hand signals to communicate. They turned their bodies this way and that as if somehow they were looking around and for a moment, Wisker thought he had been spotted, but the headless riders just turned away and rode off.
Wisker’s knees were shaking so badly that he fell to the ground. He began beating his hands in the dirt in frustration until they began to bleed. The blood, being the blood of a magic wizard, gave off an odor different than that of ordinary humans and suddenly out of the woods came a bunch of blood thirsty diamond ants. These ants are small with a spec of a diamond on their heads. They live off the blood of dead animals or in this case, bleeding wizards.
“Get out of here you blood suckers,” shouted Wisker in an angry voice, but the ants weren’t about to leave until all of the blood on the ground had evaporated through their skin. When this had been accomplished, they turned their attention to Wisker and his bleeding hands, but Wisker began to beat at them with his magic wand and since he proved to be a good aim and to kill several with one blow, they quickly gave up and ran for the shelter of the forest.
Wisker could feel himself starting to sink into a state of depression, but he quickly shook himself and refused to give into it. “Soon I may have to face even more demons,” said Wisker to himself, as he gathered his thoughts and began to move on. I must do my best to keep my wits about me. Many people risked their lives for me; I can do nothing less than to do the same for them. I will need to quickly find a safe shelter where I can rest for a little while if I hope to remain alive.”
Wisker continued along the path for a few more miles and suddenly it began to snow. Wisker turned and was going to turn back from the cold but it was too late, the woods were beginning to disappear. Everything seemed to have disappeared and Wisker found himself surrounded by snow. He was so cold and hungry that all he could do was cry. “It is my fault,” he told himself. “I never should have come this way. I should have waited and thought out a different plan. Now Sir Porcupine is lost and I am probably going to freeze or starve to death and I won’t be any help to Sir Porcupine of the people of the land of Mayfair, after all they have done for me and it is all my fault.”
Wisker stumbled on, not about to give up but dreading what might happen next. Suddenly a large bison appeared in the path in front of him. It was a huge thing, with horns that stood out about eight feet and the amount of fur that it had could make clothing for a few hundred men.
Wisker was so cold that he didn’t stop to give thought as to whether the bison was friendly or not. It had what he needed and he just approached it with that in mind. He stumbled over to the creature and leaned against it, letting its body heat flow into him. The bison moved so that he was helping to support Wisker as he stood there. Wisker could feel some of his strength coming back with the heat from the bison’s body. As he leaned against the bison, Wisker began to get an idea. “I know how I can take some of the bison’s heat with me if he’ll let me,” he thought to himself.
Wisker began to pluck some of the bison’s fur and to weave it together with his fingers.
First he wove himself a long coat, then he plucked enough to make himself a hat and a pair of gloves. After he had himself all nicely wrapped up in the coat, hat and gloves, Wisker made himself some heavily padded shoes for his frostbit feet. “I have never felt any warmer or more comfortable in my whole life,” thought Wisker.
Wisker went to say thank you to the huge beast when he realized that it had disappeared, there wasn’t anything there, just the huge footprints that showed where the bison had stood.
“Thank you, shouted Wisker to the skies, hoping that the bison would hear him or that someone or something would hear him and carry his message to the bison. With his appreciation, a gift fell from the skies, nuts and large eagle eggs. Wisker held out his hands to catch as many as he could and many fell to him. Wisker put some in his pockets and munched on others.
“This is a very humbling experience for me,” thought Wisker. “Once I was the royal wizard, the advisor for the king. I didn’t just entertain the royal family and their guests with my magic, but I used my magic to know what was going on in the land of Mayfair and to keep the king advised as to how he could best serve the people. I never wanted for anything in my life. But then things changed. The king stopped caring about serving the people and only wanted what would best please himself and his family. I am nothing more than a peasant now and am considered an enemy by the king and queen. Enough of an enemy so that if they find me they will either imprison me for the rest of my life or kill me with their guillotine.”
Wisker wiped away a tear as he remembered what good friends he and the king had been at one time and drastically things had changed. As he tracked through the snow, Wisker began to count the golden nuts on the ground to keep his mind from wandering. “If the king would only let the people come here and gather nuts, no citizens of Mayfair would ever be poor again,” he thought. “But right now I have to keep my mind on my task at hand and that is to restore my name and save all the people that risked their lives to free me.” Wisker looked all around. “There seems to be no land in sight,” he thought. “All that I keep seeing is nothing more than a blanket of snow and the snow seems to be coming down very heavily.
Suddenly Wisker heard rustling sound, as if a wagon of some sort were coming. He quickly ran to hide behind a large pile of twigs. He peeked out from around the twigs to watch to see what was coming and down a long stretch of snowy pathway came a group of giant masked men, pulling a wagon “They don’t seem to mind the cold,” thought Wisker. .”Because all they are wearing are handmade leather, collars and long pants, no shirts or robes and none of them are shivering or covered with goose bumps.”
The men had marks all over their bodies and a red symbol burned into their chests. The men had yellow skin and massive hands and feet. “Even though they are men, they seem to be being used like animals,” thought Wisker, as he watched the men strain to pull the wagon. Leading the masked men was a slender built man, who was adorned in white rabbit fur from head to toe. His facial features could not be made out. “I’d better stay hidden yet awhile till I know more about them,” thought Wisker. He watched as the group stopped to take a rest. The large men were so thirsty that they licked the snow off of the ground like wild dogs. “Oh I hate to see that,” cried Wisker to himself. “I wish I could give each of them a glass of water, but I am powerless, so I guess I’d better just stay hidden, I don’t want to make things worse.”
Soon out of the wagon stepped a large woman. “She has to weigh about three hundred pounds or more,” thought Wisker. The woman has pink lips, green skin, bitty ears and big blue eyes. Ass she moved, green slime came from her; out of her nose, from her hair, out of her skin pores, from between her toes and, well, the odor was just awful. Wisker quickly covered his nose as the large lady rolled in the snow to wipe herself off. The odor was so horrendous that the snow began to melt and the animals in the woods began to run away.
“Soon we will take over Mayfair,” said the woman, as she climbed back into the wagon.
, soon out of the wagon stepped out a large woman, she had to be about three hundred pounds or more, with pink lips, green skin, bitty ears and big blue eyes, as she moved green slime came from her, out of her nose, from her hair, out of her skin pores, from between her toes, and the odor was foul, whisker quickly covered his nose, as the large lady roll in the snow to whip herself off, the odor was so horrendous that the snow began to melt and the animals in the woods began to run away. "Soon we will take over Mayfair" said the hideous creature as she got back into the wagon.
Soon the wagon took off, but Wisker continued to hide behind the pile of twigs. “I’d better stay here just a few more minutes, just in case they should decide to come back,” he said. “I wish I could warn the people of Mayfair, but they would never believe me. I need to find Jeronomo and quickly, too many things are falling apart and I need his help right away.”
Wisker soon got a burst of energy and went marching down the snowy path. As he was walking along, a whirlwind came and scooped him up and Wisker found himself flying through the woods. Wisker did his best to set himself free but he whirlwind was too powerful, so Wisker just saved his energy and waited to see where the whirlwind would drop him.
Finally the whirlwind dropped Wisker gently to the ground, right in the center of a large animal fight. “Great, thanks a lot,” shouted Wisker sarcastically to the whirlwind. Wisker had landed feet first on the dead animal over which the two animals were fighting. Wisker quickly move his feet and at the same time looked at the beauty and the size of the two animals who were fighting. They were two snow leopards, about eight feet tall and weighing about a thousand pounds. They had long fang teeth hanging over their lips and huge globs of saliva dripping from their mouths. It was evident that they were both hungry for their catch, but there was only enough for one. “I’d better get out of here before I become dinner for one of them,” thought Wisker. As the two animals growled at each other and slowly crept, waiting to attack, Wisker slowly moved out of the way, trying his best not to get noticed. Suddenly Wisker tripped on his long coat and fell with a loud crash. Soon it was a feeding frenzy. The two animals began to attack each other and fight for their food and Wisker scrambled up and ran for cover.
Wisker quickly climbed up a tree and out onto a tree branch from which he watched the two animals fight. It had begun to snow again and Wisker decided not to try to battle Mother Nature. “At least not yet awhile,” he told himself. Finally the snow leopards went their separate ways and when it appeared that the coast was clear, Wisker decided that it was time to be on his way and quickly slid down from the tree and resumed walking through the woods. Wisker was so tired that he could only keep his eyes half way open, just enough to try to be sure that he stayed on the path.
After a few more hours of walking, Wisker noticed that he was becoming hot, and as he completely opened his eyes, he saw that it had stopped snowing and that he was now in another land. He looked to see what was behind him and he could see that behind him it was still snowing, but it seemed as if the snow was completely blocked from coming any further.
“I am so hot, I’d better take off these warm clothes and carry them before I pass out from the heat,” said Wisker. He quickly took off his handmade coat and threw it to the side. As quickly as it landed on the ground the coat vanished. Wisker ran over to where he had thrown the garment but it was gone. He searched and searched but there was no trace of his coat. Carefully Wisker slipped off his boots, being sure to keep his hands on them so that someone or something wouldn’t think that he didn’t want them any more. “I just might need them again if I come to another land where it is snowing,” he thought. Wisker put his hat in one boot and his nice warm gloves in other and tied the lacings of his boots together. Then he slung them around his neck and began to walk on.
Wisker looked around. The land through which he was now walking was a beautiful one. It was covered with flowers of all different kinds and colors and rabbits were running through the fields. Wisker smiled as he watched the rabbits, they seemed so joyful and happy.
“I have to find Jeronomo and save the people of Mayfair, but I am so tired and weary, I just have to take a rest.” Wisker’s feet were covered with sores from so much walking and his back was in pain. Wisker saw a small stream running along through the field and sat down beside it. “Oh it feels so nice and comfortable here,” he thought.
Wisker watched the small stream as it flowed through the field; it was such a restful thing to see that it made him feel restful himself, at least a little bit. Suddenly a face appeared in the stream. “What is your business here?” asked the face.
Wisker was so surprised by the sudden appearance of the face that at first he didn’t know what to say, but after a moment he answered, “I am looking for Jeronomo.”
The face in the stream just gazed back and soon it appeared much clearer to Wisker. It was pure white with blue eyes. It looked more lake a mast than a face belonging to someone. Soon the face rose up from the water and the eyes opened and shut as the water rolled off of it.
Wisker jumped up. “What is your name?” he asked the strange being.
The face never answered but instead made circles around Wisker, circles from head to toe, surrounding Wisker. Then he said, “I am Oslo, the road to Jeronomo runs through me.”
“I am a long time friend of Jeronomo,” explained Wisker. And I have been imprisoned for awhile.”
Oslo just laughed and jumped back into the water, making a big splash.
“Wait, wait,” shouted Wisker, but the entity never waited and Wisker was left all alone. Wisker stared at the stream, waiting for an answer. Soon the stream opened up and a large tree appeared.
“Come on down,” said the being. At first Wisker was a little frightened and didn’t know if he’d go down or not.
“I guess if I’m going to get anywhere I’ve got to take a chance,” he told himself. He looked down into the hole. It was so spectacular. The tree was so tall that it swayed back and forth. Wisker could not see the bottom because there were clouds floating by and large birds flying with their young.
Wisker took hold of the tree and holding on tightly, he began to climb his way down. The tree was soft, but it showed sign that it had been around for centuries. Wisker found a very old coin, dating back hundreds of years.
The tree had many nests, from birds of all kinds to squirrels. As Wisker continued to look down, all he could see were the clouds and the blue skies. Suddenly a rush of wind came and blew against Wisker causing him to begin to slide down the old tree. “Oh no,” cried Wisker, trying desperately to hold on but gravity was so strong that he continued to slide. Wisker’s wand shot out of its special pocket and Wisker tried his best to grab onto it, but it stayed one step below him. Wisker cringed at the thought of losing the one and only possession that he thought would help him to save Mayfair.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it right now,” thought Wisker. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until I’ve landed and then see what I can do.” Wisker just let himself continue to slide down the tree until he had slid all the way to the bottom, landing with just a soft little bump.
Wisker’s face lit up with a smile of joy as he recognized the land. From having been there many years ago. He ran to kiss the ground. “This is the land of Bimini,” he cried, twirling around as he tried to see everything at once. “Bimini is so beautiful. It is surrounded by water, has very little grass and is ninety-five percent sand, beautiful wild plants and flowers. The sand rolls under one’s feet.
There are never any nights and large volcanoes spout lava into the air and most of the people live in stone huts and live off of the land.” Wisker was so excited and happy that he just shouted all of the wonderful things he could remember about B mini.
For Wisker there was more to Bimini than the eye could imagine. Bimini was the land where he had first gotten to test out his powers to save the people from the war king and Wisker had won the battle. “My face is etched into stones; my messages are stamped on walls and taught in the schools. The people here will be so glad to see me. They will welcome me with open arms. They will help me to find my wand and to save the land of Mayfair from the king’s greed.”
Wisker is so excited that he runs towards the town, anxious to see his old friends again and to get their help. “The people of Bimini are so beautiful,” thought Wisker. “They are made of a mixture of sand and skin and they have big blue eyes and coarse black hair. I will be so glad to see them and I know they will be glad to see me too.”
But things are not as Wisker expected. His face is etched off from the stones, his words are erased off of the walls and the people do not welcome him with open arms.
“What’s going on?” asked Wisker as the people surrounded him and started driving him towards the temple, poking him in the back with spears every once in awhile.
“Oh, I see what the trouble is,” Wisker thought to himself as he looked up and saw that the war king was back in control. “I have no choice but to run when they least expect it. I am in no way prepared to fight the war king by myself.”
Wisker watched for a chance to break away and suddenly he saw it. He spun and broke off running as fast as he could through the forest of trees. The people of Bimini chased after him, some throwing darts while others tried to spear him. Wisker ran for his life, fearing the same people that he had once helped.
“I just can’t run any further,” thought Wisker. “I’m just going to have to give up and hope that I can convince them not to kill me.”
Wisker collapsed on the ground and put his hands up in the air. Just as Wisker was about to give up, there was a loud boom and ground caved in between him and the people of Bimini, leaving a big hole. Wisker was so startled he gave a loud scream. The whole was dark, so dark that nothing could be seen by looking into it. The people or Bimni were afraid. They backed away and waited to see what would happen next.
Soon the ground began to shake and the earth cracked all the way down to the village of Bimni, breaking apart houses and temples. A large colorful snake came out of the hole like a winding wave and caught Wisker up on his large horn. “Who dared to wake me?” he asked, giving Wisker a slight shake.
“Sudo, it is I, Wisker,” said Wisker.
The snake looked confused. “The people of Bimni have played a trick on me!” he roared.
Wisker began to wiggle himself around and finally got himself loose from the snake’s horn and landed on the ground, right on his nose. He picked himself up quickly and turned to the snake. “What a beautiful beast you are,” Wisker told him. Sudo was indeed beautiful. He was multi colored with a long red line running down his back. He had ivory horns all over his back and face, long pointed ears, scaly skin and big, black eyes. He had large, golden bangles on his hands, feet and neck and long flowing black hair. The most amazing thing about Sudo was his size. When he stood up on his tail, he stood over fifteen feet high.
Sudo bent down and looked at Wisker closely. “It is you,” he cried joyfully. “It really is! I am so glad to see you old friend.” He looked at the people of Bimni who were standing on the further side of the hole, too frightened to shoot their spears. He gave off a deep growl and the people took off running as fast as they could to get the war king.
Sudo wiggled his body to get the kinks out of it from his long nap. “Well, I am glad to see you my good friend,” he told Wisker. “I must have been sleeping for years. The war king sent a young girl to cast a sleeping spell on me and now that I am awake I must take revenge. Will you help me, old friend?”
“I would indeed love to help you and would consider it an honor and a privilege, but I too have serious problems that I have to take care of also. I have to get my magic wand out of the tree in the sky and then I have to find the wizard Jeronomo and get him to fix it for me.”
“I have an idea that will be helpful to both of us,” said Sudo. If you will help me to get revenge on the war king, I will help you to get your wand and will get you to Jeronomo.”
“Agreed,” said Wisker, reaching up to shake hands with Sudo.
“The two old friends put their heads together and soon hatch up a plan; a very good one which both of them feels sure will work. There is only one problem. Wisker and Sudo are not the only ones hatching a plan and the plan being made by others is in direct opposition to the one made by Wisker and Sudo.

Chapter 4
Meeting Jeronomo

Soon Wisker and Sudo were catching up on old times. “I want my island back and I want the people to be free,” Sudo told Wisker.
“That is the way things should be,” Wisker told him.
Sudo gently lifted Wisker to his back and Wisker held onto Sudo’s long horns and off the two went, running through the sand and the shrubs of the island on their way to meet the war king. “I am running out of time,” thought Wisker. “We need to get this business here at the island taken care of and then I need to get to Jeronomo.”
By this time, the war king was sitting up his soldiers into place, thousands of islanders, with their daggers, bow and arrows and many little children with their poisonous darts. Most of the weapons were prehistoric in nature and did not pose a threat to Wisker and Sudo.
Soon the two came down the hill to be greeted by a large group of enemy soldiers. Thousands of arrows and daggers filled the air, heading toward Sudo and Wisker. Sudo spread his magical wings and up in the air they flew, diving and ducking through the crowds of weapons. Sudo took in a deep breathe and blew out fire at the islanders. The people began to run and scream to the war king for help but no one came. Sudo sat the island on fire. Trees began to burn; houses and temples fell to the ground in ashes. “I want my island back!” roared Sudo, as puffs of smoke came out of his mouth. Sudo Stamped his feet on the ground and made the island crack again. This time many of the villages sank through the cracks in the ground, never to be seen again. The only thing that one could hear was the moans and cries of the people as fell into the abyss.
“I want my island back!” roared Sudo again, his cry echoing over and over again as he flew over the island.
The villagers became frightened and ran toward the temple of the war king. “I’m sorry,” one of the guards told them. “In order to call upon the war king,
a young girl has to sing a sweet melody.”
While the villagers continued to fight Sudo and Wisker, a few of the elders found a young girl and took her to serenade the king. “Come quickly,” they told a young girl with bushy hair whom they found carrying a wooden harp. “We need your help to awaken the war king.”
The elders took the young girl to the rock behind which the war king was known to be sleeping. “Now sing your very sweetest song,” they instructed her.
The little girl sang and sang and soon there was movement behind the rock. “Who dared to wake me up? Shouted the war king. Slowly from behind the rock came out a creature. A creature so frightening it is hard to imagine any being who would not have been frightened. The creature was big, bigger than big, with muscles upon muscles that moved when the creature moved. Its large hands and big head came from behind the rock. It had eyes the size of saucers, deep green in color. Its dark skin was adorned with jewelry which the islanders had made. The creature had big teeth and long fingernails that scraped against the rocks when it arose and stood straight.
The little girl stopped singing, dropped her musical instrument and ran away as fast as she could, leaving the elders to explain to the war king why he had been awakened.
The elders trembled in fear as they approached the creature. “If please your majesty, you are greatly needed,” began the eldest of the elders, his voice trembling in fear. “Wisker is back and he has awakened Sudo and both of them are taking over the island.”
Before the last words could leave the lips of the elders, the war king let out an angry roar and stomped his way out from behind the rock and out to the island.
“The war king is on his way!” shouted one of the villagers, and the others took up the cry. Wisker and Sudo looked at each other and took off to the skies to meet the war king.
“He certainly is on his way,” said Sudo. “Listen to the thundering of the clouds and the turbulent ocean waves.
The islanders began to hide. Some even buried themselves in the ground where they could not be seen. “Hurry, hurry,” they cried. “Danger is approaching and those who want to survive must get out of the way!”
The war king was ranting and raving all through the island. He went to the sea, pushing the waves out of his way. The villagers bowed down and praised the king as he stepped on the shore.
“Where are Sudo and his cowardly friend?” shouted the war king. All of the villagers began to point towards the mountain and the king went stomping his way to find Sudo and Wisker. The people of the island followed, cheering and clapping loudly for their war king.
“”You fools!” shouted Wisker angrily. “Being loyal to the war king when you should be loyal to Sudo, your true protector.”
Soon the war king began to smash trees and temples. He even began to run over his own people, killing them instantly as he stepped on them with his huge feet.
Sudo pranced from behind the large mountain with Wisker on his back. “This is my land and I am ordering you to get off,” shouted Sudo.
The war king laughed wickedly. His evil laugh bounced off the mountain and echoed all over the island. “You fool!” he bellowed. “You have been asleep for a long time. The island is no longer yours. This land is mine!”
Seeing that there would be no talking or negotiating, Sudo quickly jumped at the war king, knocking him to the ground. The earth began to tremble and people quickly moved out of the way. Without his wand and magical abilities, Wisker was of no use as far as giving battle was concerned but he encouraged his friend to fight, which in many ways was just as good.
The war king stumbled to the ground, knocking over temples, structures and destroying villages. Sudo quickly pounced on the king, knocking him back down each time he tried to get up. The war king managed to gather together enough energy to shoot balls of fire at Sudo.
Soon Sudo and Wisker were running for their lives, flying through the air, trying to avoid the fire balls. Many of the villagers joined in the battle, shooting their poisonous darts at Sudo, but his skin was so tough that the darts just bounced off. The war king mustered up his powers and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Temple tops open!” The tops of the temples that were still standing opened up and when they did, large flying discs came out and began to chase Sudo and Wisker all around the island. The discs were large and oval in diameter and made of nothing more or less than pure gold that glittered in the sun rays.
The discs seemed to communicate with each other as they tried to find ways to corner Wisker and Sudo, who swerved this way and that, trying to avoid the golden discs. The discs gave off a loud humming noise that caused the people of the island to drop their weapons and cover their ears.
Suddenly Sudo seemed to be hypnotized. He stopped swerving to avoid the flying disks and began to hover in mid air. “Wake up, wake up they’re coming,” cried Wisker, shaking Sudo as hard as he could by his long horns. After a few kicks and shakes, Sudo came back too, but by this time he was faced with more of the flying discs than ever before. “The chase is on,” cried Sudo. “Hold on tight!” He dived from the sky and over the body of ocean water. The discs were right on his tail. Back and forth they flew, with the discs following every move of Sudo. Soon Sudo flew through the temple openings, causing the discs to crash by the solar energy that the temples gave off. One by one the discs eventually destroyed themselves, leaving the island in one big fiery ball.
Smoke was everywhere. Villages were destroyed; temples and structures lay in rubbles. The war king was not happy at all and giving off a tremendous roar, he began to run after Sudo. Wisker, who had loosened his grip on Sudo’s horns when the last of the discs had crashed, fell off Sudo’s back and went tumbling to the ground, into the hands of the e angry villagers.
Sudo and the war king got into a wrestling match. One minute Sudo was on top and the next minute the war king. Wisker and the islanders watched as if mesmerized, none of them had ever seen such a battle. Finally the war king picked Sudo up and threw him into the air, causing him to land in the turbulent ocean. Sudo went bubbling down; there wasn’t anything that Wisker could do to save his old friend except to watch in horror as his friend got carried away by the ocean.
The war king turned to Wisker. “Bow down to me you fool!” he shouted. Even though he did not have his magic powers, Wisker was both stubborn and brave. “I may not have my magic wand with which to defend myself, but at least I do not have to act like a coward,” thought Wisker. He turned his back on the war king and gazed out over the sea.
The war king became angrier than ever. “I said bow down to me,” he roared, stomping around so that he and Wisker were face to face and giving Wisker the meanest, ugliest look with which he could come up. Once again Wisker turned his back.
“Put him in prison!” the war king ordered his loyal servants. “Take him to the seas of the alligators.”
Wisker stubbornly refused to move until he was poked in the side with a spear by one of the fighters, then he reluctantly gave up and headed towards his fate. “The longer I can stay alive the better,” he thought to himself. “There is still a chance that something will happen that will enable me to help Sudo.” Wisker looked back now and again, hoping for some sign that is friend Sudo was ok, but there was nothing. The waters became calm and the turbulent waves stopped crashing against the land.
The war king gave a big laugh and proceeded to turn around, his arms raised in victory. “I am the victor,” he cried triumphantly. “I am the victor as always!”
Suddenly there was a big splash. Out of the water came Sudo, stomping back to the island and catching everyone by surprise. Sudo and the war king began to fight again, and the villagers began to run, wanting to avoid getting trampled as the fight continued. Wisker pulled himself free. “That’s my pal!” shouted Wisker to Sudo.
“Temple tops open!” cried the war king once more. The roofs of the temples which were still standing opened up and out came a large herd of fling discs, shooting and passing through the crowds. The fire balls went all over the place, once again burning trees and destroying the island.
“Join me, you villagers,” cried Sudo. “I am your true king, one who will not use you as slaves but who will serve and protect you.” The villagers of the island began to give his words a second thought. Some of the elders began to remember stories they had heard in their early childhood of a true king who had ruled them wisely and well.
“Let’s listen to his words,” cried some of the elders. “What he is saying may be true. Perhaps he is our true king. Certainly he can’t be any worse than the slavery to which we are subjected now. Let’s follow him! It can’t be any worse than what we have now.”
The elders turned from the king who had once enslaved them. They stopped chasing Wisker and started fighting on the side of Sudo. Many of the villagers joined them and then more and more. “To the true king,” shouted one of the villagers.
“To the true king,” echoed many of the others and they began to fight anew, with a strength and hope that what they were fighting for would be true and worth the battle.
“If we fight and win only to go back into slavery, what have we won?” shouted one of the villagers, doing his best to get in a blow at the war king with his sword. “I will follow the true king!”
“To the true king,” echoed the others and they fought with a renewed energy.
In the mean time, Sudo and the war king were battling once again, back and forth on the shores of the island. Some of the villagers showed Wisker how to turn off the magic discs that were now destroying the land.
When the war king saw that the people were now helping to defeat him, he gave off an angry roar. He made one last call to his magical shrine. “Come forth!” he cried.
The stone shrine arose from under the island. It seemed to grow right before the eyes of the people. The shrine went up to the heavens and a large humming noise came from the inside. The noise got louder and louder. The villagers began to back back, none of them taking their eyes off from the shrine.
“There is something coming that is more dangerous than anything we have ever seen,” said the oldest of all the elders.
The war king whistled a loud whistle and the large door on the shrine opened and out came a green mist of clouds and puffs. A loud growl came from inside the shrine and the villagers began to scream and run towards the hill.
While all this was going on, Wisker and a few of the remaining villagers were in the other temple shutting down the golden disc. The temple was guarded by a huge oval ball, an eye actually, and it moved back and forth, forth and back, searching the surrounding area, keeping a close watch on the temple.
“I will slip over that way,” whispered Wisker to his companions. “When I get close to the door, I want one of you to distract the eye with a smoke bomb and I will do my best to slip into the temple without being seen.”
Wisker’s plan worked perfectly. Wisker got into the right spot and one of the villagers released a small distraction of smoke bombs. The eye moved away from its post and Wisker slipped into the temple unseen, in the split second that the eye was away from its post.
Once in the temple, Wisker looked around in amazement. “This has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen,” he thought. The flawless golden walls were covered with hieroglyphics which had been carefully carved into them.
In the center of the room, stood a large silver or metallic device that gave off a glowing aura and made a loud humming noise. Wisker was carrying a large stone and he quickly ran up to the device intent upon smashing it before whatever protective device was safe guarding it could give it warning, but the object gave off a big burst of wave of some sort of energy and knocked Wisker across the room. Wisker fell to his knees and then quickly got back up and struck the object with the stone. Over and over again Wisker struck at the object until it stopped producing the flying discs. The object stopped humming, its glowing aura went out and the object fell battered to the floor.
“Now I must get back to the shore line and see what I can do to help my friend, Sudo,” thought Wisker. Beat up and tired, Wisker made his way back to the shore line as rapidly as possible. “Well, it looks as if Sudo has been doing very well without my help,” thought Wisker, as he watched the battle between Sudo and the war king.
Suddenly things changed. “Well, perhaps I spoke too soon,” said Wisker. “I may have gotten back just in time.” Wisker watched as out of the temple of the other worshiping area came a large giant. The giant was not alone. It came with three golden discs in its hand. As the massive giant stepped out of the temple gates, Wisker saw that it had three heads attached to one body. Each head was a different color. One was red, one was green and the other was blue. “The third head seems to have been hurt,” said Wisker as he watched the gigantic creature. In fascination. “It seems to be missing an eye, and it must have happened recently too, judging from all the puss that is draining from the corners of it.”
The giant had on gold bangles around his necks, hands and ankles and was wearing nothing more than an ancient kilt around its lower body. Its chest had ancient markings burned into it and was filled with old spears and arrows. Wisker cringed as he saw the spears and arrows that were sticking from the giant’s chest. “Those must really hurt,” he thought to himself.
“Ahhroaoooor!” roared the giant. The island’s foundation cracked to the center, the trees immediately crashed to the ground and the temples collapsed as if an earthquake had hit them. One by one the ancient structures became nothing more than piles of rubble.
“Attack them!” the war king ordered the giant. The giant headed towards the villagers, its three heads spinning at once. The villagers appeared to be stunned. They stood as if mesmerized, unable to move. The giant’s spinning heads seemed to be holding them in some sort of a spell.
“Run,” Wisker told them. “Quickly, now run, run!” Wisker’s words seemed to bring the villagers out of their shock and they took off running, screaming and crying through the land.
“I have no pity on you,” the war king screamed after them. “You turned your backs on me for Sudo and now you will repay.” The giant began to throw his golden disc into the air and with one toss the disc opened up and out of it came a swarm of large, ancient wasps. The wasps began to buzz and to attack the people of the island, driving them away from the battle between Sudo and the war king, knocking them down and devouring their flesh. When Sudo saw what was happening, he left off his fight with the war king and ran to defend the islanders.
“You will not hurt these people,” he told the giant in a loud, commanding voice. With one big jump Sudo attacked the three headed giant, knocking him to the ground. Sudo and the giant were now doing battle, first one on top of the other then the other on top. Tossing and turning, throwing each other into walls and onto the ground.
The war king took advantage of the time to get rested, then he jumped up and began to help the three headed giant in his fight against Sudo. “Sudo was stuck fighting two foes at once and there was nothing that Wisker could do to help his friend. As he looked around Wisker read an ancient scroll on the temple walls. “Why this tells how the three headed giant was chained in the hidden temple by the people of the land and how he vowed revenge on the people who enchained him.
Wisker was the only one who knew how to read the ancient writings and the only one who could possibly speak directly to the three headed giant in its own language. Wisker propped himself up on a temple roof and with a large horn, he began to speak in the language of the creature.
When the heard it’s language that had been lost for centuries, it fell to its knees as if a ton of bricks had hit it. “The war king is the one who truly enslaved you,” shouted Wisker. “You promised to get revenge from him and now is your chance. The people of the island woke you so that you could get revenge.”
By now the giant was thoroughly confused and a little disorientated. He let out a loud scream and dropped the disc form his hands. Soon horns protruded from his head and his eyes began to look like cat’s eyes. “So, you’re the one who was responsible for my being imprisoned!” roared the giant. Without another thought, the giant pushed Sudo out of the way and began to attack the war king. The people of the island were escaping by boats and underground tunnels.
“Keep running,” said Wisker to the people. “Run, run!”
“You fool, he is tricking you,” said the war king to the giant, but the giant was not swayed and began to fight with the e war king. Soon the island was in a burning fury, as the two creatures fought.
Battered Sudo was guided to his secret hole by Wisker to heal. “After they destroy each other, the land will be yours again,” Wisker told his old friend. “After making sure that the remaining villagers were safe, Wisker and Sudo watched from a distance as the war king and the giant fought. The two massive creatures battled each other until both of them were badly beaten and both of them had lost their strength and were not able to fight anymore.
“Go and get them,” called out Wisker to the villagers. “Tie them both up and lock them away in the hidden temples for good.” He gave a loud blow on the sacred horn and the villagers came running in with their spears and shields, attacking the giant and the war king like a swarm of ants. With strong ropes made from the barks of the island trees, the two creatures were tied up and carried off to the secret temple where they would remain for eternity.
The two creatures growled as they were being tied up by the villagers, but neither of them had any strength left to fight. The villagers took advantage of this and quickly tied the two up.
Sudo summoned the temple with the secret knowledge that had been passed down to him from generation to generation. As he said the spell, the temple arose from the ground, sending sand and debris flying through the air. The villagers hovered back into a corner and looked on as the god they once disowned has now saved them.
As the temple came out of the ground, it was adorned with secret markings and carvings. Two large beasts stood at the entrance of the temple. The beasts were in the form of a large bull and each had a mystical orb on its head. The orbs were opening every now and again, letting off some type of smoke.
“Don’t worry my people, they are only awakening,” said Sudo as he saw that the villagers were all afraid.
Soon Sudo asked that the war king and the giant be put into their holding cells. All of the villagers got together and began to pull the massive creatures into their golden cell.
Once they were in, the two suddenly began to scream. “No, not this no,” they bellowed. They knew that they were locked up for eternity, never to rule over a nation of people again.
Quickly in and quickly out the villagers ran, the temple began to sink back to the bottom of the sands. “Horary, horary,” cheered the villagers, jumping and clapping as the temple, holding those who had once held them in captivity, sunk under the sands and was soon out of sight. Once the temple was under the sands and out of sight, the island made a loud rumbling noise and then everything became calm. The ocean waves, the animals and even the people were now on one accord.
“Thank you so much, my long time friend, “said Sudo to Wisker. “Thank you so very, very much.”
“You are welcome, my friend,” answered Wisker. “Now I must be on my way. I still need to find Jeronomo.”
“First we need to throw a party in your honor,” Sudo insisted.
“I’m not really in the mood for much partying,” thought Wisker, but it will be nice to spend a little more time with my long time friend.”
Soon many of the villagers who had left the island were coming back. They were bringing gifts and presents for their leader Sudo. Many truly wanted to honor him but many others were trying to get in good with their ruler, one whom they had abandoned and neglected and who had just risked his life to save them.
Both being very wise, neither Sudo nor Wisker demanded anything from the people. “Just protect your homeland,” Sudo told them. “For now we will have festivals and dancing in the street. There are new temples to be built and Wisker’s portrait will be hung all through the island.”
“As soon as the festival is over, I must be on my way,” Wisker told Sudo. I have to save the people of Mayfair; many of them put t heir lives on the line for me.”
As the villagers were worshipping their new king, Sudo called one of the villagers to him. “I need you to go into the heavens and retrieve the lost wand of Wisker so that he can repair it,” he told him.
“I shall do as you wish, your majesty,” said the villager. Taking several of his friends with him, he ran to do his master’s bidding. They climbed and climbed up long trees until suddenly they came upon Wisker’s broken wand, just lying on a tree branch.
“Here it is master, just as you asked,” said the villager whom Sudo had sent after the wand.
“Thank you, my loyal friend,” answered Sudo. “Now go and enjoy the festival, we have much to celebrate.”
Sudo looked the wand over and then hid it until the festival was over and the two friends had time to be alone. The partying was done and many of the villagers had gone off to their huts. “Here is something which you will be needing,” he told Wisker. “Now go and save your people, and if you ever need me I will be here. Here is a secret hole; it will take you where you need to go”
Wisker climbed into the hole and Sudo gave him a push which sent him sliding, up, down, and all around, much like riding on a roller coaster. With a load scream, Wisker went whizzing through the tunnel. It seemed to be a long ride down, over rocks and through tree trunks, in circles that seemed to be there just because they could be.
Soon Wisker spun to a complete stop, He looked all around. The magic hole showed him several roads to choose from, but he saw a light shinning a ways away from him. down one of the roads. “Sudo wouldn’t have sent me this way if he hadn’t known it was right,” reflected Wisker. “I think I’ll follow that light and see where it takes me. If it doesn’t seem to be the right way, why I’ll turn around and come back and try another way.”
Soon Wisker came to a land as mystical as any he had ever seen. The land was made of pure white sand that glittered in the sun rays. There were very few trees around and very little water. “I have no idea where I am,” Wisker thought after he had walked a ways and met no one. I think I will go back to the magic hole and try another road.” He turned to go back and saw that the magic hole was closing up and there was no way to stop it.
“Blast!” said Wisker. He was so frustrated that he threw his wand down to the ground. The wand bounced back into his hands and a much older wizard appeared.
“Now that is no way to treat a wand,” said the older wizard.
Wisker was very much familiar with that voice and turned around and looked this way and that. As he looked up he saw his friend the great wizard Jeronomo. “Thank the heavens it is you,” shouted Wisker, as he ran to hug his friend. Jeronomo was an incredible sight indeed with his long white hair and beard, his big blue misty eyes and a three ring silver and gold halo around his head. He was very tall and slender. He wore an all white garment and leather boots. Beside Jeronomo stood his two loyal servants, two large black cats that could cloak and uncloak. Wisker kneeled at his friend’s feet. “You are the greatest wizard of all time,” he told him. “I must pay you homage. I am going to need your assistance if you can but find time to help me.”
“You are my friend, not my servant, get to your feet,” said Jeronomo, as he helped Wisker to stand. “Come with me, we will talk later.” Jeronomo took Wisker by the hand and flew him through the skies. Soon they stopped in the center of a small pond and Jeronomo commanded it to open. The water pealed back and soon the sand began to do the same, revealing the kingdom below.
Wisker was truly amazed. “I have never seen this before,” he said.
“The wizard world has been under attack and we have done what we can to hide from the eyes of evil men, like your King Alfred.”
Wisker felt very embarrassed. “I am not happy to be a representative of the king and his kingdom,” he told Jeronomo. “The king is not the man I once thought he was. He is selfish and wants things his own way. No one is allowed to leave the kingdom or to criticize any member of the royal family. He locks people in prison just because he feels like it. I was locked in prison for what was supposed to be the rest of my life. Many loyal friends risked their lives to rescue me and many are now imprisoned themselves as a result. That is why I am here.
I must get my wand repaired so that I can help to rescue the people of Mayfair. The king is a dictator and he is teaching his young son Prince Harry to be just like him.”
“Ah yes,” said Jeronomo, with a slight smile. “The boy is bit of a brat isn’t he?”
“I would say that is a very good description,” said Wisker.
The two friends landed in the kingdom below and it was even more spectacular than it had looked from above. There were numerous waterfalls, all in different arrays of colors. Every single citizen of the kingdom was of wizard descent. There were schools of magic, magic shops and a large magic academy. The wizard world was lit up with dazzling magic effects. Water danced in thin air and there were many suns and moons. Jeronomo saw the excitement that Wisker once had when he was a boy, the way that magic had once thrilled him. He also saw the sadness in Wisker’s eyes.
“So many things have changed. I am now becoming too old,” said Wisker.
Jeronomo laughed and ushered his friend to his home. “You can stay here with me for a while, since you no longer have a home here,” he told him.
Wisker looked about at the land that he had once loved and left behind. “So much has changed,” he thought to himself. He reminisced about the times when he was a young boy and always went to the small magic shop on the corner to the wizard Dougloff.
“Mr. Dougloff,” he would say, being especially polite as all the children in the wizard world were taught to be. “I have this much to spend today. You are the best at teaching all the young wizards how to develop their talents. What do you have to sell me for this much money?”
Jeronomo saw that Wisker was looking at Dougloff’s magic shop and gave a slight smile. He had known Wisker for a very long time and knew exactly what was going through his mind. “Go and check it out,” he told him. “I have some things to do, but I’ll be around when you come out.”
Wisker didn’t need this suggestion twice. He ran to the shop and burst through the doors, feeling very much like a small boy again. “It’s like nothing has changed, as if it has frozen in time,” said Wisker He wandered through the sop, and came across an old article about a gifted wizard named Wisker, who won the Wizardry award every year. Wisker ran his hands over the paper and then wiped the tears from his eyes. “This is my past,” he thought to himself. “I am still that wizard and I will help the people of the town of Mayfair and I will set them free.”
Suddenly out from a magic aisle out pop Dougloff. “He’s now old and a little frail, but he still has a lot left in him,” thought Wisker, as he ran to give his old teacher a big hug.
“Wisker, is that you, is it really you?” asked Dougloff.
“Yes indeed said Wisker. “It is really me and you are really you. A bit older but still very much the same wonderful Dougloff.” Suddenly Wisker found himself turned into a big green toad. “Hey what’s this for?” he mumbled, trying hard to make himself understood.
“That’s for making a mockery of the wizard world by using your powers to entertain a spoiled little prince amswered Dougloff sternly. He pointed his magic wand at Dougloff and flipped him up in the air, then set him to busily making summersaults around the table.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again, honest I won’t!” cried Wisker, knowing that what his old friend said was the truth. “Please Dougloff, I’ve had a strenuous time lately and I’m so lame and sore. Please don’t make me do this.”
Dougloff made Wisker do a few more summersaults and then some cartwheels and then turned him back to his normal self.
“See to it that you don’t ever do anything like that again,” he told Wisker sternly.
“No sir, I won’t,” said Wisker. “Honest I won’t.” The two wizards talked for awhile, feeling as if they could go on forever. They were catching up on lost times when suddenly Wisker realized that Jeronomo was waiting for him. He said goodbye to Dougloff and started to run out the door when suddenly he remembered his broken wand. “Please sir, do you think you could fix it? I know I can buy a new one, but I’m particularly fond of this one, it has always served me wisely and well.”
“Oh you mean the same wand that you threw to the ground?” asked Dougloff.
Wisker’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment and shame. “Yes sir, that one,” he answered. “After I get it fixed then I’ll ask Jeronomo to put some more magic gold dust in it and seal it properly.”
Dougloff quickly summoned one of his elves. “Please take this broken wand to the mystical river and clean it.”
“Yes sir,” said the elf as he carefully took the wand from the hands of its protector, Dougloff and quickly disappeared. It was evident that the elf had been well taught in showing proper respect for a wand. Wisker felt even more embarrassed when he remembered how disrespectfully he himself had treated his wand recently.
“I’d like to buy a jar of your best wand polish,” said Wisker.
“I think that’s a good idea,” said Dougloff. “When that wand gets back to himself I have a feeling you’re going to have a lot of apologizing to do. I don’t think he’s going to be very happy.”
“I think you’re right,” said Wisker. “You’d better make that the super large size jar, the one with all the extra ingredients guaranteed to pamper and please the most finicky of wands.” He remembered some other things he’d done in the way of being disrespectful to his wand and he cringed inside when he realized that soon his wand would be back to his normal self and was sure to be very displeased. “I don’t know if Dougloff knows about the other things or not,” he thought to himself. “He probably does, being Dougloff, but just in case I’m not going to bring them up.”
“Isn’t that the wand that gave you a good paddling when you were a boy?" asked Dougloff, trying to hide the twinkle in his blue eyes.
“Yes, that’s the one,” said Wisker, resisting the urge to rub his backside at the memory.
“What was it you did anyway?” asked Dougloff. He already knew the story, having heard it from the wand himself when he’d been in for his regular checkup, but he wanted to hear what Wisker had to say about it.
“Well I was playing with some regular human boys and they didn’t know I was a wizard and I didn’t tell them I didn’t want to be different.”
“And that was what made your wand so angry?” questioned Dougloff, as he wrapped up the jar of Super Special Wand Polish, large size.
“Well, not quite,” admitted Wisker. “The other boys were going fishing and I wanted to go too, so I tricked my wand into putting a sleeping spell on himself and used him as a fishing pole.”
Wisker stared down at the floor and tried to hide his tendency to smile at the memory, then he glanced up at Dougloff and both wizards went off into peals of laughter.
“Well, boys will be boys, even when they’re wizards,” said Dougloff and I’m sure we’ve all done things that we shouldn’t have, even when it came to the proper use of our wands.’
“All including yourself, sir?” asked Wisker, trying to sound innocent in the asking of the question.
“Most assuredly yes,” answered Dougloff. “Although I was much better behaved than the rest of the boys here in the kingdom you understand.”
“Oh I would never doubt that in the least sir,” answered Wisker, trying to sound respectful and not laugh at the same time.
Dougloff grinned. He reached under the counter and pulled out a small jar. “Here is a jar of gold dust for you,” he told Wisker. “The very best in the world. All you’ll have to do now is get Jeronomo to add the special magic ingredients and to seal it and your wand will be as good as new. You’ll have to deal with his righteous indignation yourself.”
“Hopefully the Super Special Wand Polish will help,” said Wisker. “And how much do I owe you for the gold dust?” he asked, pulling his money bag back out of his deep pocket.
“The gold dust is a gift,” answered Dougloff. “I haven’t given you a gift in a long time, boy, so I guess it’s about time.”
Wisker grinned at the familiar statement from his boyhood. “Thank you, Mr. Dougloff,” he answered.
The shop elf, who had taken Wisker’s wand to be cleaned in the Mystical River, came in carrying it on a beautiful purple cushion. “Here is the wand, gentlemen,” he said, not quite sure which of the two wizards to hand it to.
Dougloff reached down and picked the wand up. He tapped him four times with his own magic wand and said, “Bibbldee, bobbledee, wrinkles be gone, be just as good as the day you were born.” The wand shook and suddenly all the bends and crinkles that he had acquired through the years disappeared and he was just as straight as straight could be, just like the day that Wisker had first gotten him.
Wisker reached out and carefully took the wand from Dougloff. “From now on I’ll treat you the way a magic wand is supposed to be treated,” he told him. He slipped the wand into the special wand pocket of his long robe and slipped the bottle of wand polish and the gold dust into the deep pocket next to it.
“Well, I’d better get going,” said Wisker. “I hope I haven’t kept Jeronomo waiting.”
“I’m sure you haven’t,” said Dougloff. “He’s a wizard, remember? He’ll know just when to get back. Oh, wait a minute; I have something else for you. He started to hand Wisker a bag of Special Wheshill Wizard Candy. He looked at the bag quizzically for a second or two and then reached into the candy container and took out a big handful of candy and dropped it into the bag with the rest. “I didn’t think there was quite enough candy in there,” he told Wisker. “I seem to remember you have quite a fondness for that stuff.”
“Oh yes,” answered Wisker. “And I haven’t had any for years. Thank you Mr.Dougloff.”
“You’re welcome son,” answered Dougloff, smiling. “And you know Wisker, you’re a grown man now, it is all right if you call me Dougloff.”
“Yes, Mr. Dougloff,” said Wisker without thinking, then they both laughed.
“I hope that if I forget and say Mr. sometimes it doesn’t mean we’re not friends,” said Wisker.
“Of course not,” said Dougloff, smiling. “We’ll always be the best of friends.”
“Don’t forget to share that candy now,” he told him, just as he had when Wisker had been a small boy,
“No sir, I won’t,” said Wisker. Suddenly he had a thought. He turned back and with a big smile he handed both the elf and Dougloff some of the candy.
“Thank you Wisker, they both said. Then Wisker hurried out of the store, just in time to meet Jeronomo as he was arriving there.
“Here,” said Wisher, handing Jeronomo some of the Special Wheshill Wizard Candy. “A special treat compliments of Dougloff.”
“Ummm,” said Jeronomo. “I haven’t had any of this stuff in years. Thank you, Wisker.”
Wisker drew out his wand and the gold dust. “I have a special favor to ask of you,” he told Jeronomo. Would you add the special magic ingredients to the gold dust so that my wand will work properly? Again?
Jeronomo was quiet for a long time. “Wands are not for spoiled princes to play with or touch,” he said finally. “The power that a wand has makes it very dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“Yes sir,” said Wisker, feeling very much like a small boy, just as he had with Dougloff. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll never do anything like that again.”
“In that case I’ll be happy to fix it for you,” said Jeronomo. “Come, let us go to my house. You may stay with me of course while you are here.”
The two wizards walked to Jeronomo’s house or I should say castle, for such it was. Wisker took in a deep breath. “This isn’t like the house you had the last time I was here,” he told Jeronomo.
“You haven’t been here for a very long time,” Jeronomo told him.
Wisker looked all around. Jeronomo’s home was a brick castle that sat on acres of land. Golden rings hovered over the home. What are those rings for?” asked Wisker.
“Those are magical rings that transport me in and out of the wizardry world to many realms,” Jeronomo told Wisker. “In fact I was in the woods the day that you were being chased by the king’s men.”
“I didn’t see you,” said Wisker.
“I was wearing a disguise,” said Jeronomo. “I was a mystical creature with a helo.
“Oh, you are the one many people say they saw in the woods,” exclaimed Wisker. “Everyone thought it was a myth, but it was you all the time.
“Yes, it was I,” smiled Jeronomo.
“Suddenly Wisker was filled with emotion and turned to Jeronomo and asked, “Have you seen my friend William?”