Dewberry and the Lost Chest of Paraqon Page 3

  “What do you think it means?” asked Snapdragon.

  Dewberry thought for a while before she answered. “It looks to me like the four carved figures are about to heal the lying down figures, like they have a cure for their illnesses.”

  Primrose was looking thoughtfully at the markings, and shaking her head. “Or the four might have hurt the others with the objects they are holding in their hands.”

  For some reason, Primrose suddenly felt extremely uneasy about this whole situation. “I think we should leave the chest alone for now, Dewberry,” she said, “and consult an older fairy. Something isn’t right here.”

  Snapdragon stepped forward immediately and said, “I agree.” She trusted Primrose’s judgment and was also feeling very unsettled about the chest and the rock markings.

  However, Dewberry was determined. “We’ve come this far; we can’t quit now. This is a great gift of knowledge for mankind.”

  Primrose and Snapdragon still looked skeptical, and they backed up a few steps.

  Dewberry stared at her friends’ uneasy faces and sighed. “If I don’t understand what’s inside when I open the chest, we will leave it here and consult a mentor. Okay?”

  Neither Primrose nor Snapdragon nodded. They just glanced at each other worriedly.

  But Dewberry was not to be stopped. She mumbled to herself as she lifted the lid of the chest. “But there’s not much danger of my not understanding what’s inside, since I am the Fairy of Knowledge.”

  As the lid of the chest opened, Dewberry’s face glowed brightly with the reflection of the colors of the contents. Her cheeks, forehead, and nose all sparkled brilliantly with glints of red, blue, yellow, and green light. Then she stood back from the chest, smiling at her friends.

  Four glittering clouds rose from the chest simultaneously in the forms of a red tornado, a blue lightning bolt, a yellow fireball, and a green snakelike wisp. Rising slowly into the air, each of the four clouds went in a different direction. Then, each one split into a hundred smaller identical clouds and began moving away in the sky, very fast.

  Before the girls lost sight of the four groups of clouds, they noticed that the shapes divided themselves again into more hundreds. The moving multitudes of colored clouds were very faint for a while, then the fairies lost sight of them completely.

  Dewberry turned to her friends, looking puzzled. “I don’t feel any smarter,” she said, “and I don’t think I have gained any more knowledge. Maybe I was supposed to grab one each of the clouds before they moved away.”

  Primrose and Snapdragon just looked scared when Dewberry added happily, “But as fast as they seemed to be multiplying, I’m sure the whole world will be enjoying the lost knowledge by tonight, or tomorrow, at the latest.”

  Chapter Five

  P Periphery and the Real Legend

  Primrose and Snapdragon were still silent a few moments later when Dewberry pondered, “I guess we should ask the hawk to take us home now.”

  The girls glanced around for the hawk and were troubled to discover him nowhere in sight. They hadn’t noticed, but at the very instant Dewberry opened the chest, the hawk was watching, horrified. He took off in fear, and haste, just as the first four clouds had risen into the air.

  The fairies didn’t have long to worry. Barely a moment after they discovered that the hawk had vanished, a lynx, with a small man riding on his back, bounded up to them. The man wasn’t like an elf or a dwarf. He was simply a very small man, just the right size, in fact, to be riding on the back of a lynx. The man was also bald and a bit wrinkled.

  “Oh dear!” he exclaimed in a rather high-pitched voice for a man. “Oh no! This is terrible,” he added, sliding off the lynx.

  The lynx was a golden brown color with dark gray speckles and spots, and he had a short tail. As soon as the man dismounted, the cat leapt to the top of a small boulder and lay down, watching over them. His pointed, furry-tufted ears twitched as his rider began speaking again.

  “I am Pundit Periphery,” the tiny man squeaked. “It has been my task for many years to keep the knowledge of how to locate the Lost Chest of Paragon scattered and hidden, so that no one would be able

  to find it. Somehow, you have pieced it all together and located the chest.” Mr. Periphery shook his head in agony, shuddering, as he wailed, “Not only have you found it, but you have opened it!”

  Mr. Periphery abruptly sat down on the ground cross-legged as he moaned, “What is to be done?” Wringing his hands, he looked sharply at the girls, exclaiming shrilly, “Fairies! I would have never believed this of fairies! How old are you anyway? And where are your mentors? This is terrible!”

  Primrose was the first to be able to speak. “Please, Mr. Periphery. I am ten. My friends are nine. Our mentors don’t know that we are here. But we don’t understand what has happened. Please tell us what is wrong.”

  Mr. Periphery looked slightly more calm, but none less stern, after Primrose addressed him.

  “Sit down with me,” he said, indicating the ground in front of him. As the three fairies took their seats, he continued. “Most people call me Mr. P. You may too, if you like.”

  Sighing deeply, he went on. “It has been my job for many long ages to keep the details of the Legend of Paragon out of the hands of inquisitive people who are susceptible to temptation. You might have some knowledge of the history of Paragon, but you probably do not know the truth.

  “King Paragon was a conqueror, an evil tyrant who was never satisfied with simply ruling over his own kingdom and torturing his own people. He sought out neighboring kingdoms to conquer and new people to torment. Paragon believed that he was superior to other human beings and that he was born to dominate them.”

  Wide-eyed, the fairies listened carefully as Mr. P continued. “Paragon had three marshals working under him— Criterion, Exemplar, and Apotheosis. They were just as terrible and horrible as their leader. Together, they exerted cruelty and oppression over all of their subjects. In the interest of their military strategies and conquering techniques, they consulted dark witches and wizards, and did much research into ancient magic. They bargained with Malatrocious, the Specter of Evil, and obtained dark secrets from several demons working for him.

  “Paragon obtained a weapon in the form of multiplying curses from four of the specter’s servants: demons who specialize in hunger, conflict, drought, and disease. Paragon hoped to overcome many enemies with these specific evils. He stored the collected curses in this chest.”

  Mr. P’s shaking hand lightly touched the top of the chest as he went on. “Unfortunately, for him, Paragon was unable to use the curses quickly enough to conquer an invading army. A neighboring country had recognized Paragon as a threat and had organized several armies into one to try to stop him. Before Paragon could use his secret weapon, the invasion had begun.

  “Fearing that the opposing army might find a way to use his own weapon against him, Paragon hid the chest, intending to seek it out later when reorganizing and planning his own advances. However, the invading army took no prisoners. They killed Paragon and his marshals, along with everyone else. But the map and obelisk survived; and Exemplar, before he died, managed to record clues of how to locate the map, the first link to finding the chest.

  “Now, let me tell you what the real problem is.” Mr. P sighed as he continued. “As I said, the chest contained powerful curses constructed by demons in control of hunger, conflict, drought, and disease. The Specter of Evil and his demons bargained with Paragon to help him conquer his enemies with these vicious tools. Of course, Paragon didn’t know that these dark spells would have eventually overcome his own peoples too. Darkness and evil are powerful vacuums, and they are never satisfied with just a bargain.”

  Mr. P’s voice was both stern and sorrowful as he again addressed the young fairies. “Since you released the ancient curses, all of mankind will now suffer. Where food was plentiful, there will now be hunger. In places of peace, conflict will now prevail. Drought wi
ll take over lush areas of the planet, making them barren and inhospitable. And illness will spread rampant over the earth. Human beings and animals will suffer terrible pain and misery from this. Opening the chest means the end of everything that is good in this world.”

  The fairies all stared at Mr. P in horror.

  Primrose’s chin quivered, and Snap dragon was struggling to say something, but she had a huge lump in her throat, and all she could manage was a gasp.

  Dewberry was shocked, but was not quite as troubled as her friends. She looked from one to the other, then she put her hands together, rubbing them lightly as she addressed Mr. P. “Okay, so what do we need to do to fix this?” she asked.

  Mr. P just stared at her. And so did Primrose and Snapdragon. Even the lynx glared at Dewberry from his position on the rock above.

  Shaking his head unbelievingly, Mr. P said, “You think this can be fixed? Did you not understand what I just told you?”

  Primrose and Snapdragon were looking at Dewberry sadly, as though it were the end of the world. But Dewberry just looked confused, and she was very persistent. “There has to be a way to fix this,” she said. “It was caused by ancient magic, right? There are always ways to fix problems caused by magic with more magic. Just tell us what to do, or tell me where to look for the answer.”

  Shaking his head again, Mr. P answered. “The magic was contained. It was right where it was supposed to be. None of those curses can ever be canceled or destroyed or reversed. They are too strong—too full of evil. Magic did not cause this problem,” he said, his voice straining. “You did. You worked very hard to piece together information that was purposefully hidden. And you ignored the warning on the rock. When you opened the chest, you released something that is unstoppable. There is nothing you can do.”

  Dewberry stood up quickly, her face white, and she wandered a few steps away from the others. Panic and shock were now overtaking her. She couldn’t breathe. There was no reason to doubt what Mr. P had just told her, except that because she had caused this problem, she must somehow find a way to fix it. She Must! Her face was now flushed and red as she gasped for air and said, “I…but…there has to be some way.”

  She had no time to ponder further because an owl had just arrived carrying Brownie Christopher, leader of the brownies, along with Madam Toad, Madam Swallowtail, and Madam Goldenrod.

  The instant the chest had been opened, the hawk, sensing terrible danger, had contacted Brownie Christopher, who had then sought out Madam Toad.

  The young fairies were very relieved to see their mentors and their fairy

  leader. And at this moment, they weren’t even fearful of their own consequences regarding their actions. They were just hopeful that the older fairies would be able to sort everything out.

  Chapter Six

  TMentors’ Council

  Mr. P engaged briefly in conversation with Madam Toad before departing on the lynx. Madam Goldenrod told the girls to fly onto the owl’s back. He was kindly going to take them all home. Brownie Christopher left the gathering riding a small red fox that had appeared suddenly, out of nowhere, at the base of the rock cliff.

  Dewberry, Snapdragon, and Primrose said nothing on the trip home. They were each dropped off at their own individual houses and instructed to speak to no one about what had happened.

  With the girls safely at home, the mentors proceeded to Madam Toad’s house on Belvin Street. Madam Toad was really Mrs. Jenkins, and she lived in a large, three-story historic home. In addition to Madam Swallowtail and Madam Goldenrod, Madam Finch and Madam Monarch were also able to attend the meeting to try to help sort this mess out.

  Already, certain parts of the world were being affected by the evil curses. Illnesses were springing up, causing pain and suffering. Drought was drying up lakes and riverbeds, and settling over places that normally had lush vegetation growing this time of year. Fighting among ordinarily peaceful peoples had begun. And stored food was beginning to rot.

  After reviewing the various spells and magical abilities of the fairies, Madam Toad and the others came to the conclusion that no one in the realm of fairies could fix the problem. No fairy wand was strong enough, and no amount of pixie dust could fight the spreading evil.

  Upon learning about the trouble, Madam Toad had immediately consulted a kindly witch named Drucilla, and had asked her to request help from among other witches, if possible, to solve this problem. Unfortunately, Drucilla arrived at the mentors’ meeting and informed Madam Toad that she had talked to fellow witches, both light and dark, and that none of them could think of a solution. The witches could try to help cure individual illnesses, but they could not battle this problem on the larger scale. Neither light nor dark magic of the witches held the answer to fighting the demons’ curses.

  Similarly, Madam Toad had already talked to a dwarf, a leprechaun, and a gnome before departing to retrieve the three younger fairies.

  The dwarf, leprechaun, and gnome representatives all arrived together and expressed the same problem the witch had reported. No magic in their com munities was powerful enough to provide a solution. However, the gnomes did know some food preserving spells, since they did a lot of canning and drying. And they would also gladly share some of their stored food to help combat starvation, if needed. But, of course, this would only be a temporary solution. Gnome storerooms would empty quickly once the curse of hunger became more widespread.

  Madam Toad’s final hope rested with the elves, the oldest and wisest of all magical creatures.

  An elf named Trace arrived in answer to Madam Toad’s summons. He had helped the fairies on a mission before. Trace appeared out of thin air in Madam Toad’s

  parlor just as the dwarf, gnome, and leprechaun were leaving.

  After the situation was explained to him, Trace left briefly to consult with other elves. He returned ten minutes later and told the fairies, “The Elder Elves agree with me that the only answer is to consult Mother Nature directly. There really is no other choice. I know her current location, and I will take you to meet with her. But we must do this quickly. If there is any way to stop the spread of the curses, Mother Nature must get involved right away.”

  Chapter Seven

  Mother Nature’s Decision

  Mother Nature was the guardian of magical creatures and the supervisor of all activities of nature. Madam Toad agreed with Trace, but she was not especially looking forward to meeting with Mother Nature. The only previous meetings Madam Toad had had with the fairy guardian, Mother Nature had initiated herself. It was extremely troublesome to seek her out.

  Madam Toad didn’t particularly want to admit that one of her fairies had caused this problem, even though there was no denying it. She had hoped to solve the matter herself without involving Mother Nature. Mother Nature could take any form of nature and was often in dangerous forms such as tidal wave, mudslide, and volcanic eruption. No one could ever be sure of meeting her in a safe form like sea foam, fog, or morning dew.

  Madam Goldenrod and Madam Swallowtail agreed to make the trip with Madam Toad. Since their own fairy charges had caused this terrible problem, they weren’t about to let Madam Toad face Mother Nature alone.

  Trace readied the fairies for the elf Travel-Sleep-Spell. “You will need to dress warmly,” he said. “It is cold where we are traveling to.”

  The fairies all bundled themselves in the warm cloaks that they often used for their winter outdoor fairy activities. Madam Toad’s cloak was a silky greenish-brown color. The cloak Madam Swallowtail wore was a soft, velvety black. And Madam Goldenrod had a deep, mustard-yellow satin cloak. The fairies fastened the garments tightly around them. When they arrived at their destination, it would take forty-five minutes for them to come out of the Travel-Sleep-Spell.

  Just our luck, thought Madam Toad, Mother Nature is probably in blizzard form. But I guess we deserve this for not keeping a closer eye on Dewberry.

  Elf travel was instantaneous. Trace carefully watched over the sleep
ing fairies for the forty-five minutes needed for them to come out of the spell. It had only been late afternoon when they left Texas, but it was very dark when they arrived in Alaska because sunlight was scarce in that part of the world during the wintertime.

  Trace stood a little ways off from the fairies, waiting to take them home after their discussion with Mother Nature. He didn’t want to interrupt, and he didn’t feel the need to give input. Trace knew that Madam Toad was capable of looking after herself in this type of situation.

  However, it was a few moments before Madam Toad or the other fairies could speak because they were absolutely entranced by the sight of Mother Nature. She was in the form of the Northern Lights, also called the aurora borealis. Soft ribbons of colored light fluttered across the sky, glittering and undulating in red and blue rippling waves, almost like ghosts dancing over the hazy clouds and under the twinkling stars. Mesmerized by this sight, the fairies were not even cold. The trance was broken when Trace cleared his throat, which was a good thing or the fairies might have stared forever, forgetting the reason for their visit.

  Once she came back to her senses, Madam Toad spoke right away. “Mother Nature, the fairies need your help to fix

  a terrible mistake. Dewberry opened the Lost Chest of Paragon. Demonic curses were released and are now spreading over the earth. Hunger, conflict, drought, and illness will soon overcome us all.”

  Madam Toad also briefly explained the details of all of the events that occurred, including the meeting at her home. Then she paused and waited apprehensively with the others for a response.

  When Mother Nature spoke, her voice was deep and earthy rich, reverberating through the trees. And the sound seemed to come from both the sky and the ground at once. “There is no magic that can fix the problem you describe. The curses should have stayed contained in the chest. They are unstoppable curses. No being, earthly or otherwise, could cancel that type of magic. Even the demons who created the curses could not reverse them. Too much evil is involved.”