A/N: In this chapter, we'll say hello to a Classical Troll OC from Reby Montana! The OC's name is Cloé. Thanks, Reby!
Chapter Nine – Playing Detective
"Can't get me! Can't get me!" Coral Blush laughed as he wove his way through the squish balls thrown at him.
"Hold still!" Blue laughed as he chucked another squish ball.
"I'll get him!" Ozzy aimed and threw the squish ball with expert precision. It hit Coral Blush's back and sent him tumbling, and he fell to the ground giggling.
"And…time!" Cadence called. The squish ball game came to a halt and everyone playing gathered around the canvas. Cadence wiped her brow, accidentally streaking paint across her forehead.
"Wow, Cadence!" Clampers gasped. "This is amazing!"
"I can't believe you were able to get all that even when we were moving around so much!" Ozzy breathed.
"Truly incredible." A Classical Troll girl said. "Thanks for including me."
"Even being up on your crow's nest couldn't keep you from this picture, Cloé." Cadence assured. "I got everyone!"
"Yeah…but it doesn't look like there are enough kids." CJ sighed. "I thought for sure we'd get one of the biggest squish ball games ever."
"I did invite as many kids as I could." Cadence said. "I, too, was hoping to practice painting more faces."
"I invited the triplets from dance class." Blue said. "I told them last week that it would be next week, which means it was this week, as in today, but they never showed."
"You know, I noticed a lot of kids missing from class today." CJ said.
"Our drum session didn't seem as loud as usual." Ozzy realized.
"Didn't you guys hear?" a Funk kid gulped. "Haven't you seen the adults?"
"I did see that there are more grown-ups hanging around than usual." CJ glanced to some of the nearest adult trolls. Despite their casual appearance, they never took their eyes off the kids.
"What's going on?" Ozzy wondered.
The Funk Troll kid looked around and gestured for everyone to gather closer. "Kids in Music Central are being—"
"Eaten!" someone roared, causing the kids to scream and fall down. Damion held his stomach from laughing so hard.
"Seriously, Damion?" Landon smacked his brother upside the head. "We're going to be late! Let's go!"
"You won't let me scare the little kids. You won't let me scare the adults. I suppose next you're going to say I shouldn't scare the little old lady who lives next door to us!" Damion complained.
"You shouldn't be scaring her! She's five times our age!" Landon snapped.
"Uh, guys?" Ozzy piped up. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Landon said. "And ignore my idiot brother. Nobody is being eaten."
"I mean, kids are going missing." Damion shrugged.
Landon punched his arm. "Damion! We weren't supposed to mention that!" He glanced to the nearby adults, but they seemed outside of hearing range.
"What do you mean?" Cadence whimpered.
Landon pinched the space between his eyes and sighed. "We don't want to worry you kids. The good news is you're being watched over by the adults. But you need to take caution, okay? Some of your peers went missing during the sculpture party, and a couple other kids vanished since then."
"But the sculpture party was weeks ago!" CJ gasped. "You're saying those kids haven't been found yet?"
"You don't need to worry about it." Landon assured. "The adults are taking care of it, and lots of the teenagers like Damion and I have been recruited to lend a hand in watching over the kids still in Music Central. Just don't go wandering off without telling someone." Landon ushered Damion away.
"Uh, I need to go home now. Bye!" Cloé scurried away, as did many of the other kids, leaving only the Mashups.
"That would explain why Aunt Delta always offers to babysit us these days." Clampers said.
"But we're not babies." CJ huffed. "Let's ask her about this." It didn't take long to do that. All they had to do was ask a nearby adult where Delta Dawn was, and the Mashups were delivered to her at the castle.
"Come to play in the castle?" Delta Dawn sounded hopeful, like she would prefer they stay in the fortified fortress.
"Uh, yeah." Clampers said. "And to ask you a question: are there kids missing in the kingdom?"
Delta Dawn paused. "Oh. You heard of that."
"Are we in danger?" Cadence asked.
"Can we do anything to help?" Ozzy questioned.
"No and no." Delta Dawn assured. "Listen, the other leaders and I are handling it. We're tracking them down and everyone will be home safe and sound. You don't need to worry about this. We will protect you."
"But if we can help—" Clampers protested.
"No." Delta Dawn spoke a little more firmly. "Let the adults handle it. In the meantime, the castle has a lovely game room. Why don't you all go play?"
"Okay…" The Mashups intoned in disappointment. Clampers led them to the game room, and they pulled down a board game to play it. Nobody really paid much attention to the game.
"I really wish they would stop saying, 'let the adults handle it.'" Ozzy blew his bangs from his face. "We made a Rainbow Stone by ourselves, found a magical Wishing Well by ourselves, and made a sculpture to represent an entire kingdom by ourselves. Who says we can't handle this?"
"Missing kids seems like something a bit above our pay grade." Blue noted.
"We're getting paid?" CJ tilted her head in confusion.
"I bet we could find those kids easily." Clampers said.
"If the grown-ups are having trouble, what can we do?" Cadence asked.
"We're closer to the ground. That's better for finding clues." Ozzy pointed out.
"Plus, maybe we'll think of something the grown-ups didn't." CJ added. "We have to at least try, right? Those kids might need help."
"But where do we begin?" Cadence asked.
"We ask around." Clampers said. "Secretly, without Aunt Delta hearing us, because I think she's going to be watching us more often."
"Let's get started now!" Coral Blush urged. "See what everyone else knows and we don't."
The Mashups returned to Delta Dawn and politely requested/pleaded to go outside for the rest of the afternoon. Delta Dawn allowed it. As they journeyed towards the market, Delta Dawn stayed close behind: always within sight but out of earshot.
"Hi Nova Swift!" CJ greeted the trendsetter at a clothing booth.
"Well greetings, little nuggets!" Nova Swift greeted the children.
"What brings you to Music Central?" CJ asked. "Need some more inspiration to bring back to Pop Village?"
"Yes, and I thought I would take it from that lovely sculpture you designed." Nova Swift said.
"Were you at the party?" Blue asked. "Did you hear that some kids are missing?"
"I did." Nova Swift sighed. "I'm just so relieved my cousin Vega wasn't here when it happened. Oh, but you don't need to hear about this."
"Well, we're just worried." Cadence said. "We want to know what happened so we know how to be more careful."
Nova Swift nibbled on her lip. "Well, I guess that's true. Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure how it happened. It's like the kids just walked a few feet away and then disappeared. I would say make sure you have someone nearby who knows where you are or where you're going."
"Thank you." The Mashups said as they moved deeper into the market. They stopped at Carol's stand next, where she sold a variety of cheese-related goods.
"Not much to tell, really." The Rock Troll shrugged, squirting canned cheese into her mouth. "Last I heard, several kids disappeared on their way to—or maybe it was at—the snack table."
In fact, the Mashups heard something similar from every other adult and even teenager they interviewed.
"So, either the kids each fell down a hole when they got to the snack table, or someone was waiting there to snatch them." Ozzy guessed.
"Wait, we were hanging around the snack table, too." CJ pointed out. "How come none of us got snatched?"
"We were all together, in a group." Coral Blush said. "I bet these kids got snatched while they were alone." He looked around and spotted a familiar Techno Troll teen. "Hey Meadowbrook!"
The aqua green and teal troll glanced up at her name, and she floated over to the kids. "Hey Coral Blush. What's up?"
"We're playing detective!" Coral Blush announced. "Want to help us?"
Meadowbrook giggled. "I would be delighted. How can I help such a smart little band of detectives?"
"What can you tell us about the missing children?" Cadence asked.
Meadowbrook's smile dropped. "Why in Poseidon's name do you want to know about that?"
"We just want to help." Clampers said. "Please? None of the other grown-ups will tell us anything."
"Yeah, because grown-ups don't want to freak us out unless it's entertaining to them." Meadowbrook shrugged. She thought for a moment. "As long as you guys promise to go to an adult when things get dangerous, I can tell you something I heard."
"Really?" the Mashups asked excitedly.
"I mean it, though. I want a legit promise from all of you." Meadowbrook insisted. "Promise me that, if you get in over your head, you'll find a grown-up to help you."
Each Mashup raised their right hand. "We promise."
Meadowbrook relaxed. "Okay. I don't know if this helps much, but I talked with Damion and Landon the other day. We were discussing the party, and Landon claimed that he saw a child wander away from the party. It's like they were drawn away by a voice or a weird light or something."
"Like a siren?" Cadence noticed her friends' strange looks. "It's a creature who sings beautifully and draws sailors to their deaths."
"I don't know. Like I said, be careful." Meadowbrook floated away.
"You know what we need to do?" Clampers said. "We should go back to where the party was held and retrace those kids' steps."
"Let's do it tonight." Ozzy suggested. "Maybe we'll see that light or hear that sound."
"We'll have to sneak out after our families go to bed." Blue warned.
"What about our promise to Meadowbrook?" Cadence asked. "How will we know if things are too dangerous?"
"I'll decide when to get a grown-up." Clampers offered. "You guys can count on me. I'll keep you safe; and if we need a grown-up, I will tell you."
"Then we're in agreement?" Coral Blush waited for everyone to nod.
Ozzy noticed Riff hovering over him during dinner, but he understood his brother's concern. He managed to convince Riff that everything was fine and he would be okay. Riff still tucked him into bed and gave him a tight hug before leaving him to sleep. Ozzy felt a little guilty about his plan to sneak out, even when he knew his friends and those missing children relied on him.
I bet Queen Barb feels this way sometimes. Ozzy thought. She's probably really worried about those kids, too.
If he let himself nod off, he would miss his friends. Ozzy reached under his pillow and pulled out the Rules of Magic book. He slid out of bed and sat next to his nightlight. He flipped through the book, perusing the pages to keep his mind occupied until it was time to meet his friends. A chapter about warnings caught his eye, and he read the first passage.
The Wishing Well is an artifact of pure magic. That is, magic that is good and pure in nature. Therefore, one who wishes for their own magic via the Well can expect to receive not only powers, but extended life and good health. However, the wisher must use their newly gained magic for good intentions. The wisher must take caution: using too much magic can shorten the magician's life, even when they are in good health. A magician who uses Wishing Well-received magic for evil can expect nothing but misery. If an enchanter uses their power for evil, they will be corrupted. Despite having eternal youth, their very soul will be poisoned, and they will become monstrous.
Ozzy remembered something else about monsters. He searched deeper in the warnings chapter, and he found another passage about evil enchanters.
Some evil enchanters use dark magic to subside their monster forms and regain their original forms and strength. The most common method are makeover spells. Some darker wizards and witches use spells that drain the life force of others, which helps them return to their original form.
Once again, Ozzy marveled at how dusty the book seemed on the outside, yet the pages inside were crisp and clean. Clearly, Kikimora either never opened this book at all or only opened it a few times.
Forgoing dinner due to lack of appetite, the troll leaders gathered once more to brainstorm. They were missing fourteen children from Music Central, and tensions ran high. Thank heavens no children were missing from the other kingdoms.
"It doesn't make sense!" Tresillo growled. "We're keeping an eye on those kids. I'm assuming every adult in this kingdom is watching out for them, and yet we've almost doubled our missing kid count since the party!"
"This is more than just kids wandering off." Essence agreed. "Someone is sneaking about and kidnapping them."
"But who? And why?" Trollzart demanded. "We have received no ransom letter, no demands. Why would someone take all these children?"
"We won't know until we find who kidnapped them." Poppy said. "But it's like they just vanished. We've checked everywhere, right?"
"There are no tracks in the forest." Delta Dawn confirmed.
"The K-Pop Gang, Dickory, and I scoured the forest in every direction for at least three miles." Hickory said. "Nothing. No trace."
"The kids are disappearing in the most random of circumstances." Trollex mused. "Some of them were alone and others were in a group."
"We've been hitting all these dead ends." Branch murmured. "Maybe we need to focus more on upping our defenses."
"We have round-the-clock sentries, and we still have kids disappearing." Gomdori pointed out. "We should focus more on finding this kidnapper."
"Yes, but we have no trail to follow." Dickory protested.
Delta Dawn noticed Barb fidgeting in her seat, clutching a book to her chest. Barb wanted to say something, but she was having a hard time speaking up. Delta Dawn put two fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle that silenced the chatter.
"Queen Barb has something to say." Delta Dawn announced.
Barb was equal parts thankful for Delta Dawn's help and mortified by all the attention. She exhaled. "We need to do both, with a little help from natural troll magic."
"Explain." Trollex requested.
"We should increase and spread out our guard. Two circles: one closer to the village and another a bit farther in the forest. Two layers of troll guards who can keep an eye on things." Barb opened her book and showed everyone the page she bookmarked. The image on the page showed a pair of purple-tinted glasses. "I searched our library for something that could help. This book talks about all sorts of magical devices. This one is a music tracker. Sounds create soundwaves, and we can see them with this. If the kids are singing or making any kind of music, the tracker will let us see the soundwaves and we can follow the trail to the kids."
"Even if they were scared, they're still trolls, and they'll sing as often as possible to keep their spirits up." Poppy grinned. "Barb, that's brilliant!"
"A splendid idea!" Quincy agreed. The other leaders sounded ecstatic by the notion, and Barb smiled.
"They should be easy to make." Barb said. "I can even whip up a couple pairs tonight and we can search first thing in the morning."
"Perfect." Poppy sighed in relief. "I think we're finally getting somewhere. Let's get some rest so we can resume our efforts in the morning." The leaders agreed to adjourn the meeting, and they retired to their rooms.
Branch waited for Poppy to disappear into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and then he went to the window. He shut his eyes and prayed with all his heart. Grandma, I hope you can help us. Even if you can't tell me where the kids are, get them to sing as much as they can. We can take over from there. Please, if you can. Help us.
Branch never knew that she could always hear him.
Ergo, he didn't know Rosiepuff spent half the night searching the forest for the children.
He didn't know she found them in a dark, cave-like prison, huddled together for warmth and comfort.
He didn't know the missing children would dream more peacefully that night, and each one of them would hear a soft, gentle voice encouraging them to sing as often as possible.