Chapter Eight
Because of the bad weather, they had to move more slowly along the path down to the beach. Everything was wet, and there was a lot of debris in the form of branches. They had to walk carefully or risk a twisted ankle. Twice they had to clamber over fallen trees.
Ruby took the lead as they traveled, and was first into a wide clearing.
A loud metallic noise caught the attention of Onyx, and she looked to her right in time to see a metal trash can bounce off a tree and fly straight toward Ruby. She ran forward and pushed the redhead down, landing on top of her. The can missed them by inches.
"HEY!" protested Ruby, "What are you doing?" She looked over her shoulder into Onyx's light blue eyes.
"Saving you," was the reply, and Onyx got up, holding out her hand.
"Saving me from what?" asked Ruby, taking it and standing up.
"You both nearly got hit by that trash can," said Amethyst, pointing to where it had come to rest against a large bush.
"Thanks, Onyx," said Ruby, nodding to her.
"Hey, if I have to walk into life-threatening danger, so do you," said the dark troll, "No excuses."
They all laughed, and went on down the trail.
At the end, they were shocked by what they found. The beach had been flooded, and waves were steadily pounding it. The high spot at the end of the point was there, but now an island. The water was lapping at the ground just feet from where the trail now ended.
"Oh, no," said Sapphire, "I hope Sandy isn't trapped out there!"
"Here I am, Sapphire-friend!" said the now familiar gravelly voice, and the ogre came out of the bushes to their right.
The blue-haired troll gave a sigh of relief. "Good to see you."
"You too, all of you," he replied, "But I have news. The boat arrived last night, soon after sunset. If you look carefully, you can see it." He pointed toward the atoll.
Squinting, they could just make out a mast and the very top of the cabin.
"You said the atoll's inlet was too shallow to use," said Amethyst.
Sandy nodded. "It was, but they used a spell and dug it out. They used the sand to make the atoll higher and hide the boat better. It will also protect the boat from the storm."
"Have they come over here yet?" asked Ruby.
"Yes, this morning about a half-hour ago," he answered, "The lifeboat was taken out of the water and tied to a tree over there." he pointed.
"Then we have no time to waste!" said Ruby, "Which way did they go?"
"Follow me," said Sandy, and led the way into the bushes, the BFFL close behind.
Fifty or sixty yards travel and they found a trail leading toward the heart of the island. They headed inland, Sandy in the lead.
"I'm glad we're going inland and away from the water," said Amethyst.
"Yeah, one danger lessons, and the other grows," said Onyx.
The rain and wind picked up again, but deep in the jungle they were somewhat protected. They did have to watch for flying branches, and more trees had fallen.
Overhead the lightning grew more frequent, and the thunder louder and closer to the flashes. They almost had to yell to be heard.
"Hey," said Topaz at last, "I remember this place! We're nearly to the Hidden Pond!"
Through the wind and rain they could see she was right. The stone cliffs that enclosed it were rising before them. Another quarter mile's walk would bring them to the passage.
"We'd better be careful," said Ruby, "Those guys are probably there now."
The odd group moved on to their destination, which was occasionally hidden by a sudden blast of heavy rain, or illuminated starkly by powerful lightning, followed by loud thunder.
They got to the passage, and Ruby called a halt. "I'm sensing something," she explained. She put out a hand, and slowly moved it toward the opening. Then it stopped, seemingly against nothing.
"There's a magic barrier here," she said, as quietly as she could. The others crowded a little closer to her. She pushed against it, and her hand popped through. "It's a weather barrier, like we used," she said. "We can get through it. Come on."
It took a bit of effort, but each troll and the ogre made it to the other side. The wind was calm here and the rain not falling. The sounds from outside were muted, but still audible.
They found themselves in a familiar opening, a rounded wide space with steps leading down across the way from them. There were a few items to the sides; debris and a backpack that from the size was obviously an ogre's.
Sandstone picked it up and looked in. "Food and water," he reported. He brought out a wrapped item and dropped the pack. Opening it, he took a bite of the large sandwich. "Mmmm... just like mother used to make."
"Sandy..." said Sapphire.
"Hey, it just take a minute!" he protested, "Besides, fighting evil ogres takes a lot of energy!" He finished off the sandwich and joined the trolls as they looked nervously down toward the bottom.
They crept cautiously down the ancient, worn steps toward the bottom, where the Hidden Pond was. Near the bottom they stopped when voices were heard. Peeking around a bend in the stairs, they saw a group of six ogres standing by the water.
"Why you put up such a strong barrier?" asked one voice. It was gravelly like Sandstone's. "Someone might know."
"The whole island is vacant," was the answer. "Nobody left to detect us."
Sandstone gasped, and gestured for the troll-girls with him to withdraw a bit. He crouched to their level and spoke very quietly. "I do not know the others, but I have seen the leader before. His name is Rhodochrosite, and he is the strongest magician on Ogre Island."
He looked over them toward the bend in the steps. "He was at the meeting, stirring up trouble against your kind."
"So we need to take him out first," said Ruby.
"Yes, that would be best," said Sandy.
"Even better if we take out all of them at once," put in Onyx.
"But where will we take them?" asked Topaz, "Everything is closed. Besides, I'm already dating Jasper."
"Not take out on a date, take out as in stop," explained Amethyst as Ruby slapped her own forehead in frustration.
"Oh, good," said Topaz, "I don't want to date an ogre, anyway." She looked at Sandstone. "No offense, but I already have a boyfriend."
He shook his head. "None taken, Topaz-friend."
"So what are we going to do?" asked Onyx.
"Freezing spell bead?" suggested Sapphire, "It worked well in Trollenburg."
"And it works for me," said Onyx, plucking one off of her sleeve with a grin.
The others took one as well.
"Okay, on three, we go down the steps and use the beads," said Ruby.
"I will follow after," said Sandy.
"One... Two..." said Ruby.
A flash of light and an incantation from the clearing stopped her.
"The magic here is mighty strong, and hidden well for time that's long. We want it now, and so appeal, its hiding-place to now reveal!"
They put down the beads and went back to the bend.
Below, the ogre magician stood in a ball of light that suddenly raised into the air. It paused, then flew over to a seemingly blank section of the stone wall, passing through it. A loud rumbling sound began, and a door-shaped opening in the rock appeared.
"There it is!" said Rhodochrosite loudly, pointing. "That is the passage to the island's magic, and the downfall of the troll nation!"
Just then Topaz made a misstep and tripped, sliding down the remainder of the wet steps, saying "OW!" as her backside hit each one. At the bottom she flipped and landed on her hands and knees, just a bit worse for wear.
The ogres turned and looked at her.
"Um... hi!" she said, "Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" She giggled, nervously.
