Chapter 7

The son of Ozma

(The timing is the night of the abduction and overthrowing of the Crown, and from the eyes of Ozma's baby boy).

Pastoria Alec Tippetarius, or simply just Alec as he preferred to be called, was crying and screaming for his mother's help and protection as Shelltergard Thropp burst through the window and tied his parents up behind the bed. Shell and a younger man with a white wooden staff exchanged words but I still cried, I wanted my mom and not this creepy skeleton man! A few minutes passed and the boy with the white staff was gone. Then, in a red flash, so were my parents! And finally, Shell threw me down but just before I hit the ground, I blacked out. My head went numb, and my consciousness withered away.

When I woke up I had completely changed. I had aged in the disappearance from Oz and now felt a full grown adult, roughly the same age in appearance anyway as that boy with the white staff. Good, I thought to my self, I still have memory. But where am I?

Alec had been banished magically from Shell, who read a destruction spell from an old molding, decrepit book, no doubt the Grimmerie most likely. But Alec having aged from newborn to 20 overnight so to speak, had logically outgrown the wrappings his royal mother dressed him in. Luckily for him it seemed he was indoors, and with no one else in sight. Crawling on the floor of wherever it was he was in, he searched for clothes. The atmosphere echoed like a cave, and had high ceilings like a Great Hall in the Emerald City, but there were no lights on. He could tell now he was on Earth judging from the boring construction forms and the language. HE could also tell by now he was in a mall, a very large mall, again thankfully at night but a mall nonetheless.

He found clothes that reminded him most of home, a green camouflage jumpsuit with shortsleeves and good boots. Now he was read to start figuring out how to get back to Oz. He had nothing with him, and had no way to contact anyone in Oz. More than that he knew noone on this boring planet.

Then it dawned on him. He was Ozma's son. That meant he was born with incredible magic. quickly he ran outside and tried to think. "What would Ozma do? Think, THINK!"

Then it came to him, a spell to manipulate both weather and dimension. To call the portal, open. Dark clouds rolled in, thunder clapped and rumbled throughout the industrialized city, and rain came. He held his hat on his head and the wind began to pitch…

(back in Oz)

The next morning Anthony woke up feelin very well rested and much much better. Princes Nastoya however was no where to be seen, and the room looked as if it had been attacked. No blood, so hopefully everyone escaped, but there was a very cool stick, nay, pole, wait. Yes it was a staff! There on the ground and small, dull and shaped like the leg of a dragon. There was a sparkling bottle next to the small dull dragon like staff and he picked it up. The cork came out with a pop and the sparkling dust formed a cloud before his view a showed a message.

Blue Wizard,

I have left to you the Staff of Ellob, and trust you will keep it safe and use it well. I cannot say where I am goin nor why I left, but must tell you that Yackle wishes to meet with you, and you shall let her. Fear not kind one, for there is another friend who will shortly find his way. Again I fear for espionage so cannot say who but know that help is on the way from somewhere over the rainbow and from the Mauntery.

Ozspeed friend,

P.N.

Head of the Scrow in the Vinkus.

After Anthony read the entire messge, the sparkling dust cloud filed back into the bottle and disappeared. Anthony Sighed. There was so much to be confused about, so little was stated as a fact. Suddenly he could hear Julia's voice in his head. Stop analyzing everything Anthony, just trust someone besides Glinda for once. Then it hit him. He had no one in Oz but the one who saved him from the Death Marsh. If she wasn't a friend, I don't know who is. So then by default I should assume her letter was true: That there is someone from Earth trying to find me, and that Yackle now wants to meet with me. Before I left the Cabin in the Tree where Nastoya brought me, I picked up the dragon staff. I gasped in amazement and bewilderment and awe. The iron pole grew to be proportionally my height, the top of the staff where the dragon claw was opened its fingers and now held tightly a greenish blue orb, that had swirling clouds inside and orbiting the glowing ball, at the bottom was a gem stone of the identical glow and color. I smiled and accepted the new staff as my own, more importantly, the new staff accepted me as its one true wielder. Now armed I searched for a new robe. A wizard can not be seen with out robe right? sprawled out along the floor was a long sleeved, dark black woolen robe. it was not hooded, but had an accented cape-like property that I like and it fit perfectly. I couldn't wait to find out what its special attributes were. I still had my crown that Glinda gave me with the defeat of Mombi, and now nodded to the room as if Nastoya was still there in respet and gratitude, and in a swirl of black wool, I parted the cabin and headed South for Quadling, where Yackle's last known position was to my knowledge. Hopefully on the way I'd see a sign of the new Earthling.

I cant take the yellow brick road, that path is too predictable, and Shell is no doubt aware of everything I am doing. So instead, I would hike down the eastern side of the Greater Kells, and camp out at Knobblehead Pike near the former Witch's Castle, Kiamo Ko. From there I'd head a bit more south westerly towards Nether How, winding in and out of the mountains to confuse any spies, and finally head west through Kumbricia's Pass to enter Quadling under cover of the Mountains and hopefully night or storm as well. For now though, first goal was complete, to be armed and clothed appropriately. Now I needed to signal the earthling who was desperately trying to reach me. So I tried out my new staff.

"Alright Dragon staff, let's see what ya got," I challenged. The bluish orb lit remarkably bright, and I slammed the bottom down on the ground, my trademark stunt by now. At first nothing happened. So I repeated. Again it didn't look like anything happened. A third time. Then I noticed something, Each impact the staff made, shot a purple ob of something up into the sky.

"Maybe it's a position beacon or something, to let the person know where I am. The dragon clawed staff tapped its nail on the glowing ball. Was it talking to me? Another tap. Could it speak too? Two taps. Ok, so we have some sort of coded communication though one tap for yes it seemed, two for no. This was pretty sick I thought, to communicate thought to my staff, and get an answer.

I'm completely insane am I saying Im talking to a staff and hearing a reply now? Oh geez I need a girl, I said to my self, in a sort of comedic way despite how I was alone. With a laugh I concluded that I had indeed obtained an incredible staff of power, and itched to try out its destruction skills with Shell. But that's way in the future. Every five minutes I used the staff to send beacons to the earthling. by the time I reached not even the secret descsion trail in the Kells did the wind become unbearable however. IT formed a funnel cloud and the sky darkened. The Emerld City roared, as if someone was yelling in anger from within, protesting something that was happeneing. Faster and faster and louder the wind swirled around and around, sending me a few hundred feet in the air and backwards, killing any forward progress I had made thus far. The dark winds swirled in an orderly fasion now and I finally remembered what it was. It's a twister, a twister I thought. But not a normal Twister.