Episode 118: The Mystery of Mossy—October 15, 1841
Amber
I stuck my yellow-gold beret upon my head. Another hike with the Buttercups. A few years ago, I would have thought going on a hike and staying in a tent would have been insane for me. But as I wanted to be a hero like Sofia, I had to rough it. Being away from palaces for a bit would help me understand the common folk. And that would help me become an even better future queen.
"Are you ready to go on the hike?" Sofia called through my door.
"I'm coming!" I seized two bangles from my bureau. "I just had to get two last things!" I threw open the door.
She looked down at the bangles. "Are you bringing jewelry to camp again?" A tutting smile rose to her face.
"They're not for me," I shoved them in my bag, "They're for Mossy. You know how we love to barter our jewelry."
"So, you're going to swap those bracelets for something she has," she thought aloud. "What are you hoping to get in return?"
"Well, I read in The Global Crown Jewel Compendium about these gemstones called fog rubies," the page in the book floated back to me. "They're named for their cloudy color, and they can be mined in Swamp Rock Hill! If Mossy has some, I can trade my bangles for them and turn the rubies into a fabulous new pair of earrings."
"Sounds like a good idea," Sofia started to walk down the hall. "I'm sure you'll make them look great."
"And Mossy can turn these bangles into a pair of clip-on earrings!" I looked down at my nearly bare vest as I followed her. "I wonder what sort of badges I'll get."
"Well, I have a ways to go, too," she tugged down her sleeves. "Ms. Hanshaw's going to hand out the Poppy Scouts uniforms today."
"The Poppy Scouts?" I tensed.
"That's the next step in being a nature scout," she held out an arm. "It's when you get all your badges. Then, you get a brand new uniform."
"What do you do once you're a Poppy Scout?" I followed her down the stairs.
"You help the Buttercups earn badges," she held up a finger. "And you earn all-new badges, like Advanced First Aid, Raft-Building, or the Detective Badge."
Advanced First Aid could make me queasy, but the other two sounded interesting. "What badges are you hoping to earn?"
"I'd like to get…the Detective Badge," she raised a finger. "ISA's gotten me to think a lot, so I'd like to have something to show it."
"Raft-Building seems good, too," I joined her before the front doors. "That would get us out of some trouble."
We passed through the doors into the courtyard, where Ms. Hanshaw, Ruby, Jade, Meg, Peg, and a few other girls gathered.
Mandy and Lucinda stuck out from the newer faces.
"Hi, Sofia! Hi, Amber!" Ruby waved as we darted down the steps to join her.
Tweet! Ms. Hanshaw blew her whistle. "Buttercups, round up!"
We quickly lined up, with Ruby in the front and myself at the back.
"I see some of you are outgrowing your uniforms," her eyes traced over Ruby, Jade and Sofia. "Girls," her dark eyes moistened, "This is a day I've looked forward to for a long time." She pulled out a brown dress with a deep emerald vest from her bag.
Upon its right breast was a circular pin with a red poppy.
"It's time for you to prove yourselves worthy of reaching the next level. As Buttercups, your main focus was learning lesson," she returned the dress to the bag. "But as Poppies, you will be teaching lessons, and this begins with our hike to Swamp Rock Hill today. As you all are getting bigger, I think it's time we try a longer route. We're going to hike through the rocky path. Do any of you geographically smart Buttercups know where the rocks lead?"
Sofia raised her hand.
"Yes?" She pointed to her.
"The rocks are the beginning of a mountain range that splits Enchancia from DunBroch," she replied.
DunBroch? I never knew Swamp Rock Hill was that far away from the castle.
"That's right," Ms. Hanshaw nodded. "Lucky for you Buttercups," she noticed my worried expression, "The mountain range is a long one. Swamp Rock Hill is miles away from DunBroch."
"That's good," sighed Meg.
"Buttercups, move out!" Ms. Hanshaw waved us along. Tweet!
"Buttercups, Buttercups, fast and slow," we chanted as we marched, "Buttercups, Buttercups, time to go!"
The line formation had changed almost completely by the time we were a mile or two down the path. Ms. Hanshaw was still in the lead, but I was now in the middle with Sofia, Ruby, and Jade.
"How do you want to earn your new uniforms?" Sofia puffed up to Ruby.
"I could teach Amber few weaving and sewing lessons," she rubbed her chin. "Would you like that?" She turned back to me.
It would help me with my arts and crafts, not to mention keeping my gowns in shape. "Of course," I lit up. "And I'd love to earn more badges."
"Great!" She pumped her fist. "I'll start you off with something as soon as we find our first base."
Hopefully that would be soon.
"What were you thinking, Jade?" Sofia looked to her.
"Hmm," she scratched her head. "Mandy's pretty good at naturalist stuff. Maybe I can teach her tool-making and things like that."
"You'll have to ask Mum if you can borrow her kit, but I think she'll let you," Ruby shrugged. "What are you going to do, Sofia?"
"I'll help Meg and Peg," her eyes drifted to them. "But I'd like to help everybody."
That was Sofia.
"You're big for a Buttercup," a voice poked behind me. "Especially one with few badges."
I turned around to see a younger Buttercup with her hands on her hips.
"I'm just a little new here, like you," I looked over her somewhat familiar face. "What's your name?"
"Becky. All the other big kids have full vests," her eyes narrowed. "What's with you?"
"Sofia, Ruby, and Jade have been Buttercups since kindergarten, Mandy's a good explorer, and Lucinda's a witch," I raised my nose. "When you don't have skill or experience, you don't earn badges easily."
"Well, that makes sense," she shrugged. "I could see you were a bad Buttercup based on that sissy way you hold your skirts."
What? "Excuse me," my eyes jumped to my raised skirts, "But this is proper. It ensures they don't get ripped or soiled."
"Whatever you say," she threw up her hand and cut in front of me.
Who let her be rude?
Suddenly, the line halted. What was going on?
"Excuse me," I pushed myself between Ruby and Jade.
A decent gorge lay in front of us, twenty feet across, two feet wide, and six feet deep.
"What should we do, Mum?" Ruby looked up to Ms. Hanshaw. "Find another way to Swamp Rock Hill?"
"We can't jump over this gorge," she fingered her lips, "But Buttercups always find a way—and help others pass through tough spots. Time to bring out the big girl kits, Buttercups," she threw down her bag. "There's a little gorge ahead, and we ought to work together to make a good bridge."
A bridge? I scanned the surroundings.
The trees were too small and skinny for good branches.
But plenty of boulders flanked the path.
If only we were big enough to carry them over.
Then the idea flashed. I raised my head and cupped my hands around my mouth. "Mossy!"
"Who's Mossy?" Becky moved forward. "Your pet chipmunk?"
"Mossy!" I called again, my voice sharper. "We have kind of a big problem that's just right for you!"
"Oh, great," she rolled her eyes.
Then, a soft padding crept up, bushes and trees rustled, and a familiar large green face stuck out. "Did someone call for Mossy?" Mossy the swamp monster stepped out when she saw us.
Becky's eyes widened at her ten foot tall frame. "Aah!" She jumped behind Ms. Hanshaw.
Now I wanted to laugh at her.
"Oh no!" Mossy threw out her arms. "Mossy does not want to scare anyone. Mossy is a friendly swamp monster."
"R-really?" She poked her face out.
"Yes," Sofia joined Mossy and me. "Mossy loves helping people and princess stuff. Do you have an idea for bridging the gorge?" Her eyes jumped between us.
"I saw the trees are too small," I gestured to them, "But Mossy can roll boulders into the gorge," my hand moved down to the rocks. "Can you do that?" I looked up at her.
"Mossy is strong enough to lift a rock," she nodded.
"Great idea," Sofia clapped her hands. "And once Mossy gets the boulders out of the ground, we can all help her."
"We'll need…four boulders," Ms. Hanshaw studied the gorge. "I don't think that'll be too much effort."
"And I think we can bring in a boulder ourselves," Lucinda winked at Sofia and drew her wand. "Do you know the spell?"
"Yes, but I'll have to use this as my wand," Sofia raised her amulet. "How about we lift the small, brown granite one?" She pointed her amulet at a short, flat boulder.
"Looks good to me," she raised her wand. "One, two, three—"
"Wingardium Leviosa!" They shouted.
Light shot from their wand and amulet, struck the boulder, and slowly ripped it from the soil.
They floated the boulder into the middle of the gorge.
The beams of light broke when it landed on the ground.
Becky blinked fish eyes, then pulled herself together. "Showoffs."
"Nice job," Lucinda wiped her brow.
"I'm kind of used to carrying big things," Sofia flipped up her hands.
Mossy heaved up another boulder and dragged it into the gorge.
Lucinda and Sofia levitated a third, and Mossy dropped in the last boulder.
"One path ready for Buttercups," Sofia high-fived Lucinda and Mossy.
"Splendid job working together and using your talents," Ms. Hanshaw applauded. "You've earned the Strength in Numbers badge." She drew out a red badge with the emblem of three fists raised in the air and pinned it to Lucinda's vest.
"Thank you, Ms. Hanshaw," Lucinda ran her finger over it.
The red badge was already on Sofia's shoulder.
"Move forward, Buttercups," Ms. Hanshaw marched across the boulders. "And Mossy," she looked behind her with a chuckle.
"I—had no idea you were friends with a swamp monster," Becky panted as she followed me. "I heard there was one around here, but everyone says he's big, noisy, and scary."
"We used to think so, too," Jade turned her head. "But it turns out we were wrong."
"It is kind of strange, though," I touched my chin. "Why would people think a shy, quiet creature is loud and scary? And male?"
"People can exaggerate what they don't understand," Lucinda drew up to us as our feet returned to the grass.
"But you'd think people wouldn't even know the real Mossy was there," I gestured to her. "She blends right in with the trees, and her feet don't make much sound at all."
"You know, you've got a point," Ruby shrugged. "There are all these legends about Mossy as this guy monster who stomps and roars around the swamp. Either some townsfolk really gossiped about a sighting of Mossy, or there's something else around here."
"Something else?" Becky gripped her hands. "Like an actually scary swamp monster?"
Footsteps thumped towards us from the path ahead.
"What's that?" She jumped behind Ms. Hanshaw and seized her vest.
"Just another hiker," Ms. Hanshaw chuckled as Herb, one of the royal groundskeepers, jogged out of the woods ahead.
Herb's boots screeched to a halt as he saw Mossy looming above us. "Swamp monster!" He wheeled around.
"Herb! It's okay!" Sofia broke from the line. "She's friendly!"
"Mossy is sorry for frightening Herb," Mossy knelt down and crawled out.
Herb slowly turned around, panting. "You're—not that scary," he clutched his chest. "I-I don't want to sound too insensitive, but…you weren't making all that banging and yelling last night, were you?"
"Mossy would never make loud noises in the dark," she waved her large hands. "Mossy hates when there is no light, and great sounds hurt Mossy's ears."
"Oh," he swallowed. "I just thought I saw a big, green-looking fellow making a commotion near the swamp."
My eyes froze.
Ruby and Jade clamped their hands over their mouths.
"Well, Herb," Ms. Hanshaw stayed straight, "We'll keep a lookout for whatever you saw. Enjoy your hike home."
"I hope you'll like this path," he bobbed his head to us as he jogged past.
"Oh my gosh," Jade lowered her hands. "There's another swamp monster! The legends were true!"
"We have to get out of here!" Becky spun around.
"Calm down," Ms. Hanshaw grabbed her vest. "We don't know if Herb really saw another swamp monster. That big, noisy creature he saw could be a lot of things. But that means it's up to us Buttercups and future Poppy Scouts to solve the mystery. Girls," she gazed at Ruby, Jade, and Sofia, "Looks you could earn the Detective Badge. Let's head on until we find a tenting spot," she strode on. "And if any of you want to split from the line to explore parts of the woods," her eyes sharpened on Ruby and Jade, "Tell me first."
"Got it," they quickly saluted as everyone got back in line.
Our feet marched from dusty ground to dappled leaves and pine needles as we entered the forest.
Everyone's eyes scanned about, our ears open to identify every noise.
"We thought the case was cracked, but suddenly it seems the legends had more truth to them than we once believed," Ruby leaned to Jade.
"Something's lurking 'round the woods when the sun goes down," Jade wiggled her fingers, "It makes a great big rumpus when it bangs around."
"We know it isn't Mossy," Sofia pointed to her.
"The Mossy that we know," Jade nodded, "'Cause she says she likes a little light and noises kept down low."
"Who is the monster? Who could it be?" We turned the line into a snake as each of us half-stepped from it to peer into the woods. "Who's making everyone turn around and flee? Who is the monster? What can we do but search around this forest hunting down the clues?"
"It could be a scary monster, with claws that rip and tear!" Becky gripped her face.
"It could be a big night worker," I recalled Duncan's large, bumbling frame. Maybe he banged around the woods last night.
"It could be a bear," Sofia raised her hands.
"We just know it is large, and might be kind of green," Ruby and Jade scribbled on the notebooks they pulled from their bags. "We know it makes a lot of noise after the sun sets past the trees!"
"Who is the monster? Who could it be?" We turned in a circle. "Who's making everyone turn around and flee? Who is the monster? What we will do? We'll find out just who you are, we're coming after you!"
"We'll list all we know and narrow it down until we find the creature who's been stomping around," Ruby showed Sofia her list.
"We'll ask lots of questions to anyone we see," she nodded, then watched a sparrow fly past, "So, we'll find the creature behind this mystery!"
"Who is the monster? Who could it be?" We trucked on, eyes to the trees and bushes around us. "Who's making everyone turn around and flee? Who is the monster? Only one thing we can do; we'll march around the woods," our eyes narrowed forward.
"Is it evil? Is it good?" Becky's voice quivered.
"We'll march around the woods until we track down you!" Our voices rose as we continued through the trees.
"What other stories have you heard about Mossy?" Mossy clutched her hands as she crept behind us.
"One night," Ruby lowered her voice, "Carol of the Arrow and her Helping Hands were trooping through the swamp, looking around for animals trapped in the mud. Then, as they got closer to Swamp Rock Pond, they heard a big thumping noise! Whack whack whack!" She picked up a large stick and struck it against a tree. "The swamp monster's enormous toes striking the ground, one toe after another! Carol and her band ran off in the opposite direction!" She pointed with a long arm. "But why do you want to hear these stories? The people who told them don't know who you are."
"Mossy wants to know what people think," she gripped her arms. "Mossy wanted to make friends, but people always ran away or chased her. Mossy had to hide to keep herself safe."
"I'm sorry," her eyes softened.
"When Mossy sees who did this to her," she curled her fingers into a fist, "Mossy will tell them how they made her lonely and feared for too long."
Something focused in Sofia's eyes. "One toe after another…" She touched her chin. "So, the thumping was…rhythmic?"
Ruby paused. "I guess so; you'd have to ask Carol."
I scanned Sofia. "Do you think 'the other Mossy' is the castle trolls?"
Ruby stepped back. "You have trolls?"
"They're a bunch of little green people who like to make noise by banging their clubs," Sofia waved her hand. "They live in a crystal cave under the castle."
"Noisy green people who bang clubs," Ruby's eyes narrowed, too. "We might have another suspect."
Tweet! Ms. Hanshaw's whistle halted us. "We're at Swamp Rock Pond, Buttercups! It's tenting time!"
Good thing I didn't throw mine out by mistake again.
Everyone split from the line and spread across the large clearing.
I joined Ruby, Jade, and Sofia in erecting tents that faced the wide, algae-covered pond.
Buzzing insects hovered in the air or skipped across the water.
"Wow," Ruby pointed to a glittering blue insect upon a large, half-submerged twig. "A dragonfly!"
The dragonfly flew off to a twig further down the lake.
"Sorry for startling you," she raised her hand.
"What are we going to do about our 'other Mossy' search now?" Jade turned to Sofia.
"We're at the spot where Carol and the Helping Hands probably heard him," Sofia scanned the clearing and pond. "He might show up."
"And what do we do if he really is a scary swamp monster?" My face tensed.
"Mossy will protect you," Mossy rose to her feet and put her hands on her hips.
—