In the United Kingdom territory of Scotland, there is a little town known as "Loch Loud". Fittingly, it was once ruled by the ancestors of the Loud family four hundred years ago, who has since moved across the Atlantic Ocean. Their current generation eventually came to live in the little town known as Royal Woods, Michigan.
Loch Loud has a castle, where the Duke lives and is guarded by the dragon of the loch. When the most recent generation of the Loud family came to Scotland on holiday, Lincoln was hailed as the Duke. But at the end of his family vacation, he abdicated the crown and passed it unto the town's groundskeeper, Angus, who was hailed by the citizens as the new Duke of Loch Loud.
It was a sunny day at Loch Loud, and Angus was having a splendid time providing to the citizens. Even though he was the Duke, he always felt it was important to provide for them just as much as rule over them, and that is what made him so honored by the citizens. But as he was singing and humming, he suddenly got interrupted by a grouchy voice:
"Angus, would you please cease your inane dribble? It's giving me a headache."
The voice came from the current groundskeeper, Morag. She used to be the castle keeper, but she intentionally tried to push the Louds away using the Dragon Stone and rule the land like her own ancestor, all for undying peace and quiet. But after she was stopped, she was punished by the dragon and sentenced to be the groundskeeper instead.
"Sorry, Morag," Angus told her, "I'm just in such a jovial mood. Can't you see what great joy it brings me to bring unto the people good deeds?"
"Yes, yes," sighed Morag, "I suppose so." But Morag wasn't fond of Angus or the other citizens singing.
That evening, as Angus was bringing food to Lela the Loud Castle dragon, he was still humming to himself. As he began to feed her, he began to sing:
"Lela, oh sweet Lela, the loch's big special dragon. I've brought you your sweet dinner right here inside my wagon. And do not grieve any worry, instead be full of glee. Because I've brought you some soft straw, for your eggs one, two, and—"
But suddenly, Angus stopped. He stared at the inside of Lela's cave, and he sounded horrified.
"…Three?" he asked with concern. "No!" he called in despair, and his voice echoed throughout the town.
The next morning, Angus had called Morag and Lela to the castle courtyard. As he walked around the garden, he looked very serious.
"This is an utter disaster," he sighed. "How could Lela's third egg have just disappeared? Surely, Lela would have heard it being taken, for dragons have sensitive hearing, do they not?"
Lela hung her head in shame and grunted sadly.
"Oh, woe is me," Angus sighed, "whatever am I to do about the missing royal egg?"
Morag stood still for a moment, but then she spoke up. "Excuse me, Angus," she told him, "but would you mind telling me why I am here?"
"You are the groundskeeper, Morag," Angus told her. "Wouldn't you have noticed it was missing?"
Just then, the townspeople all came up to the castle, and they all looked cross. They were all speaking at once, but Angus managed to calm everyone down long enough for him to speak.
"Everyone, please," Angus told them. "Would somebody like to explain what is the problem?"
"It's that groundskeeper, Morag!" shouted one person.
"She's been stealing our stuff!" declared another.
The people all began shouting about their missing possessions at the same time, but Morag stepped up.
"Hold on a moment, everyone," she tried to explain. "I have done no such thing! I have not stolen anyone's possessions!"
"That's not what you were like before!" another person declared, and more voices kept making more accusations.
"You stole the crown from Duke Lincoln!"
As Angus listened to everyone, he sighed with despair. He didn't like the idea that Morag had not turned her life around, but he didn't want to turn on the rest of the town. As he looked up at Lela, even she grunted in anger, so Angus knew that she was accusing Morag of stealing the missing egg.
Finally, Angus sighed. "Well, I suppose there's only one thing to do, everyone," he said, and he stepped up to Morag. "Morag, as Duke of Loch Loud, I hereby banish you from the castle and town until further notice."
Morag gasped. "What?" she asked. "You can't be serious! After everything I've done for you all!"
"I'm sorry, Morag," Angus told her, "but it's your word against everyone else's. So please, pack your belongings and leave the premises immediately."
Morag really wanted to say something to prove that she was innocent, but she knew that she was helpless against Angus, Lela, and the rest of the town. So, she reluctantly went inside the castle.
After Morag had packed the last of her belongings into her luggage, she made her way down to the main hallway before leaving the castle. Angus was there to make sure she would leave, as was Lela.
Morag shamefully looked down at Angus and Lela, who were both staring up at her. "Angus," she told him, "I promise, I haven't stolen Lela's egg."
"Morag, as much as I don't want to do this," Angus told her, "I can't just neglect the people of Loch Loud. If we had more evidence proving that you were innocent, then I would give you the chance to prove it."
As Morag came down the stairs, she paused for one final look at the painting of the Duke and his family of ten sisters and his two parents back in the 1600s. The Duke and his family looked exactly like Lincoln and his own family and seeing the picture reminded Morag of them.
Suddenly, Morag gasped. "Excuse me, Your Grace," she said to Angus, "but may I perhaps acquire permission to make a phone call?"
"To whom?" asked Angus.
"To someone whom I believe can help me prove I'm innocent," Morag answered.
"Hmm…very well," Angus confirmed.
There was an old-fashioned rotary telephone and a phonebook next to the painting, so Morag opened the phonebook to a random page. Then she picked up the phone itself and dialed a number on it.
Meanwhile, over in Royal Woods, it was still early in the morning, even before the sun had come up. In the Loud House, Lincoln was fast asleep in his bedroom—which was just a broom closet—when he was suddenly woken up by a ringing noise. The sound came from his phone, so he reluctantly picked it up and spoke into it.
"Hello?" he asked sleepily. And then, when he heard the response, his eyes widened. "Wait… Morag?!"
"Yes, Lincoln," Morag answered. "I know I was probably the last person you would ever expect to call you, but I have a problem." As Morag explained the situation to Lincoln, he began to grow suspicious.
"Wait…how do I know this isn't just another plot of yours for peace and quiet?" Lincoln asked her. "After all, I nearly lost my life and my family to you!"
"Oh, well," Morag sighed, "I guess if I can't convince you…maybe Angus can." Right away, she handed the phone to Angus. "Here, talk to the boy!" she told him.
As Lincoln and Angus discussed what was happening, Lincoln became more convinced. "Well…I guess I can make it work for you, Angus," he told him. "But I'm going to have to get a little creative…"
A few days later at Loch Loud, Morag was still exiled from the town. She had been banished to a small island off the coast of Scotland, and the residents were gradually delivering her food and water. It was very peaceful and quiet on the island at first—until seagulls pooped in Morag's hair.
Morag growled in frustration. "Oh, what is taking so long?" she scowled. But at that moment, the sunlight behind her was blocked out! As she turned around, she saw a ship sailing past the island, and at the bow was Lincoln! He also had Clyde with him.
"Hey, Morag!" Lincoln called. "We're here!"
A sailor rowed a lifeboat to Morag's island and brought her to the ship. As she climbed onto the deck, she saw Lincoln standing there and smiling.
"Oh, Lincoln," Morag smiled, "I never thought I'd be happy to see you!"
"Don't worry about a thing," Lincoln told her. "My best friend Clyde and I will help you figure out the case of Lela's missing egg." Then he and Clyde each grabbed their shirts. "This is a job for…" Then they ripped off their shirts and threw them into the air! "One-Eyed Jack and Ace Savvy!"
As the dramatic entrance finished, Lincoln was dressed as his favorite crime-fighter, Ace Savvy. But as Clyde was revealed alongside him, he wasn't dressed as One-Eye Jack. He was instead dressed as Lincoln's favorite spy, David Steele.
Morag was confused. "Um…what is this tomfoolery?" she asked.
Lincoln glanced at Clyde and frowned. "Clyde, why are you dressed as David Steele?" he asked. "I told you this was a crime-fighting case."
"Sorry, Lincoln," Clyde explained, "but I was so busy trying to convince my dads to let me come with you that I forgot which of our stuff I was supposed to pack. So, I packed our Ace Savvy costumes, our David Steele gadgets, and our ARGGH ghost-hunting equipment."
"Okay, we'll make it work," Lincoln relented, "but we will just have to keep a low profile. I don't want anyone else knowing who we are in these costumes."
Clyde agreed, and he and Lincoln went back inside the ship, leaving Morag puzzled. "Were they really wearing those costumes under their clothes this whole time?" she wondered. But then she just shrugged.
Soon, the three of them reached Lela's cave from where her egg had been stolen. As Lincoln and Clyde stared at the eggs' nest, Morag stood at the mouth of the cave. Lela stared at her firmly, and Angus stood beside her.
"So, the egg just disappeared?" Lincoln asked Angus.
"Yes, Sire," answered Angus. "On the afternoon of the day it disappeared, I saw it lying here with the others. But then when I brought a fresh load of straw that evening, it was gone."
"Well, whoever the culprit is, they left a few clues," Clyde explained. "Look at this." Clyde showed everyone three clues that were left behind in Lela's nest: A purple gemstone, the Royal Scepter, and a pair of plaid dresses.
"Interesting," Angus replied. "Those were a few of the other artifacts that were reported missing before."
"This gemstone looks just like the Dragon Stone that Morag used to control Lela," Lincoln replied. "But it's too small to fit in the scepter."
"Well, that means it must have come from the town's jeweler," Morag insisted. "And the scepter was only in the hands of the castle's scepter keeper."
"But this plaid dress," Clyde added, and he picked it up. "It's rather too small in size for Morag, isn't it?"
"Rather harsh," Morag insisted, sounding offended, "but I suppose it is."
"Wait, what's this?" Lincoln asked, and he saw something stitched onto the back of the collar: "To Leni Loud, from Scott," he read. "Then that leaves three groups of suspects in the case."
"And how do you boys intend to resolve this case?" asked Morag.
"Oh, it's simple," Clyde answered. "David Steele just follows the suspects…"
"And then Ace Savvy does the interrogating," Lincoln finished. With that, the two boys grabbed their pieces of evidence and headed off to find the suspects.
Morag sighed. "Oh, I do hope those two boys know what they're doing," she replied.
Angus smiled. "I'm sure they do," he said optimistically.
First, Lincoln and Clyde went to the jewelry store in town. As Clyde peered through the window dressed as Agent Alloy, he could see customers coming in and out. Many of them were holding trinkets that had the same purple gemstone as the one from Lela's cave. As one customer walked away from the counter, she had two individual purple gemstones in her hand!
"Agent Steele, this is Agent Alloy," Clyde said through his walkie-talkie, "we have found our suspect. Now it's time for some interrogating."
As the jeweler stepped away from the counter for a moment, she was stopped by Lincoln as David Steele. "Hold it right there, ma'am," Lincoln told her, "David Steele here, and I have some questions for you."
"Excuse me?" asked the jeweler. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my shop?"
"I'll be asking the questions here," Lincoln told her, "and perhaps you would care to begin by explaining…" Then he revealed the purple gemstone. "This?"
"Where did you find that?" gasped the jeweler.
"It was in the dragon's cave at the castle," explained Lincoln, "which I assume was planted there by you to frame Morag for the theft of Lela's egg!"
"What?" gasped the jeweler. "No, that's not true! I've been looking for that to complete a gift I've been making for Lela for when her eggs hatch!"
"I'll believe it when I see it," Lincoln replied.
"Okay," the jeweler replied, and she showed Lincoln a large picture. It was a portrait of Lela with three baby dragons that looked just like her. There was a small gap in part of one of the babies' spots where the gemstone fit in perfectly. "Do you see? I've been making this for months as a present for Lela when her eggs hatch."
"Wow," Lincoln admitted, "that is very good."
"Yes," the jeweler frowned, "but don't you even think about spoiling the surprise, whoever you are!"
Lincoln frowned and unbuttoned his coat, revealing his standard orange polo. "It's just me, Lincoln Loud," he admitted.
"Oh," the jeweler replied. "Well, in that case, no harm done."
Outside, Clyde was amazed by the portrait. "Oh, wow," he sighed, "it's so beautiful. It looks just like something my Nana Gayle would have created."
As Clyde gazed in awe upon the jewel portrait, Lincoln came out of the store and pulled him away. "Well, her alibi checks out," he sighed. "That leaves two suspects left."
Next, they went to the castle with Angus to talk to the scepter keeper. This time, Clyde was dressed as One-Eyed Jack while Lincoln was still Ace Savvy. They gathered up the keeper within the main hallway and began speaking.
"So, you claim that the Dragon Scepter was missing on the day that Morag was banished from the castle?" asked Lincoln.
"Where were you on the day it went missing?" Clyde added.
The scepter keeper was confused. "Um…here at the castle," he answered. "I work here. Don't you two think you're going a little over the top here?"
"We're asking the questions," Lincoln interrupted. "Now, don't you think it's rather inconvenient that the scepter was missing on the same day as Lela's egg?"
"But it was found in the same place at the same time?" added Clyde.
Suddenly, the scepter keeper gasped. "Oh, my goodness! You boys are right!" he declared.
"We did it!" Lincoln and Clyde declared. "We found our thief! Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack—"
"I remember that I brought the scepter with me when I helped the Duke bring Lela her food," answered the keeper. "I must have left it there by mistake."
"Aye, that is what happened," Angus replied. "I remember that now." He handed the scepter back to the keeper. "Make sure this gets back to its rightful place."
"Yes, Your Grace," replied the scepter keeper, and he hurried off.
Lincoln and Clyde frowned. "Well, that just leaves one suspect," Lincoln sighed.
"Perhaps you boys shouldn't just assume Scott has stolen the egg," Angus suggested. "Why don't you just see him as yourselves?"
Lincoln and Clyde agreed.
Finally, Lincoln and Clyde, now dressed as themselves, went with Angus to see Leni's old boyfriend, Scott. He was knitting inside his own house when the boys knocked on the door. Scott answered and was surprised to see Lincoln.
"Oh, it's the old Duke Loud," he replied.
"Hello, Scott," Lincoln told him. "My friend Clyde and I happened to find one of your old dresses to Leni inside Lela's cave."
"Ah, Leni," Scott sighed, "me old friend. I can only wonder how she is doing back home."
"Yes, she's doing okay," Lincoln explained, and he handed the dress to Scott. "Anyway, we happened to find it at Lela's cave. Do you know how it got there?"
"Of course," Scott answered. "It was that deceitful mistress, Morag. She snuck into my house in the middle of the night and swiped it from my knitting table! I could see it all as I lay in me bed, dreaming of the day in which Leni and I could meet up once more."
"Are you sure it was Morag?" asked Clyde.
"I know it was," Scott confirmed angrily, but then he smiled. "The brown hair and the green dress gave it all away! But still, thank you boys for finding it for me." As he closed the door and went inside, Lincoln and Clyde frowned.
That evening, Lincoln and Clyde were packing their things and getting ready to sail back to America. Angus and Morag stood in the same room as them, and Angus felt sorry for them. Morag only felt sorry for herself.
"Well, we didn't find the real culprit," sighed Clyde. "We tried as David Steele, we tried as Ace Savvy, and we even tried as ourselves."
Lincoln turned to Morag. "We're sorry we couldn't clear your name, Morag," he told her.
Morag just smiled. "Oh, don't worry too much," she sighed. "I can't blame you for your efforts." But then she frowned. "But now I don't stand a ghost of a chance of being accepted by the town again."
Suddenly, Lincoln gasped. "Wait, say that again!" he told Morag.
"Um…I don't stand a ghost of a chance of being accepted by the town again?" Morag repeated.
"That's it!" Lincoln declared, and then he turned to Clyde. "Clyde, you said you brought our ARGGH ghost-hunting gear, right?"
"Yeah," answered Clyde. "Why?"
"That's the answer!" Lincoln declared. "Maybe a ghost took the egg!"
As Clyde and Lincoln grabbed their ghost-hunting equipment, they ran out of the room. "Let's make like Hunter Spector and find that ghost!" they called together.
As Morag stared at them, she was puzzled. "I'm starting to believe those two don't have a very active social life back home," she said to nobody.
Back at Lela's cave, Lincoln and Clyde were scanning the area with their equipment while Morag and Angus stood behind them. As they came to the spot where the egg originally sat, Lincoln saw something. He touched it with his bare hand, and then he shook it off.
"Well, there's definitely a ghost," he replied. "There's ectoplasm here."
Clyde saw the trail of ectoplasm heading out of the cave. "It leads this way," he replied, and he followed it outside. Lincoln, Angus, and Morag followed him out.
Outside the cave, there was a light blue ball of light hovering in the air. Only Lincoln and Clyde could see it because of their equipment.
"Okay, ghost," Lincoln declared, "show yourself!"
The ball of light glowed and came into Morag and Angus' vision, but then it flew away into the castle!
"Follow that ghost!" Morag called, and they all hurried after it.
The four of them chased the ghost throughout the castle. But as they did, they accidentally made a big mess of things. They knocked over the suits of armor, shook up the rugs, and even knocked over decorative Loud heirlooms! Thankfully, the ghost caught all the fragile items and safely returned them to their rightful displays.
Finally, the ghost made a turn into one of the rooms Lincoln's sisters stayed in during their holiday. As they opened the door, they saw the ghost facing away from them. But as it turned around, Lincoln gasped.
"Lucille?!"
The ghost was Lucille Loud, the gothic sister of the original Duke from four hundred years ago. She was summoned back to the castle by Lucy and they very closely resembled each other.
"Greetings, my cousin," Lucille smiled. "I have not seen you for so many a moon."
"It was you who stole the egg, wasn't it?!" Clyde declared.
"Egg?" Lucille asked. "What egg?"
"The egg that was missing from Lela's cave!" Morag declared. "I got blamed for it even though I was innocent! And Angus banned me from the castle and the town!"
"Surely you jest with me," Lucille insisted, trying to sound innocent. "I haven't been anywhere near such an egg."
"We found the ectoplasm," Lincoln told her. "And we know why Morag was framed: She lied about you and your family leaving and never returning. So, you stole the egg from Lela's cave and planted evidence to frame Morag!"
Angus gazed around the room, and he saw all the stuff missing from the other townspeople! "You also stole the rest of the missing things so you could frame Morag!" he declared.
Lucille didn't say anything for a moment, but at last, she frowned. "Sigh," she admitted. "Okay, I admit it. Yes, it was I who stole everything."
Angus was shocked. "But Lucille…why would you do such a thing?" he asked sorrowfully.
"I was most enraged when you accepted Morag back to the town as its groundskeeper, Angus," explained Lucille. "Four centuries ago, castle keeper Aggie betrayed us by using the Dragon Stone to have Lolo drive us away, never to return. When Morag did the same thing to Lincoln and his family, they stepped up and stopped her."
Morag frowned. "Do you think I enjoyed being the groundskeeper anymore than you enjoyed me being back?" she asked. "All I've ever wanted was peace and quiet…but not like this. Not by being banished wrongfully for something I didn't do."
Lucille looked sad, although it was hard to tell because her eyes were concealed by her bangs. "I wanted to make my dear brother proud by driving away the family who drove us away," she admitted, "but this was not the Louds' proper way of doing so." She hung her head down shamefully. "I deeply apologize for my actions," she admitted. "I understand if you wish me to leave and never return."
Clyde, Morag, and Angus were unsure what to do, but Lincoln stepped up. "That's not true, Lucille," he smiled. "You deserve to stay here, as does the rest of your family."
Lucille looked at her descendant in shock. "You sincerely mean that?" she asked. "But I have done wrong upon the Loud family as well as Morag's, and the rest of the town."
"Maybe, but there's something else about the Louds: We always stand for what is right."
Angus and Morag smiled. "Well, if that's what Lincoln wants, I can agree to it," Angus replied. "But if Morag agrees, that is."
"Well, as long as you will reveal the truth and return everything to their rightful owners," Morag told her.
Lucille smiled. "It's a deal," she agreed.
The next morning, Lucille and the others returned everything to their rightful owners. Once everyone knew the truth about Morag, they all accepted her back to Loch Loud. They all gathered to say goodbye to Lincoln and Clyde as they prepared to head home.
"Well, you boys," Morag told them, "I don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you did for me."
"You're welcome, Morag," Lincoln told her. "Just promise us you won't try to drive us away again."
"I'll do my best," Morag chuckled.
As Lincoln and Clyde boarded the ship, they looked back and waved goodbye to Angus, Morag, and Lucille. They in response waved goodbye as well.
"Well," Angus smiled, "it looks like all's well that ends well."
"Not quite," Lucille told him. "There's still one thing I have to do."
At Lela's cave, Lucille returned Lela's missing egg to its rightful spot. Lela was pleased to see her egg once again, and she immediately forgave Lucille for taking it.
Lucille glanced at Morag again. "Morag, again I apologize for subjecting you to my misdeed," she told her.
"And I owe you an apology as well, Morag," added Angus. "I should have stepped up sooner and made a more honest effort to support you. As Duke of Loch Loud, it is my duty after all. So as Duke, I hereby welcome you back to the castle."
"Oh, I forgive you both," Morag smiled. "Thank you, Angus."
But just then, Scott came running back to them. "Morag!" he called. "Your ghost has stolen me dress again!"
"That cannot be," Morag denied. "I thought Lincoln already returned it to you."
"No," Scott answered, and he showed the dress he was given. "Originally two were missing." He showed them the inside of the collar, and it was blank. "The other one I am missing had 'To Leni Loud' written inside it."
"But then where could it be?" asked Lucille.
When Lincoln finally arrived back home, he unpacked his bag right away to throw his clothes down the laundry chute. But as he dug out his clothes, he found Scott's dress for Leni!
"Uh-oh," Lincoln gasped, "I forgot to give this back to Scott!" He left it by the chute and ran into his room… But then Leni found the dress and took it into her room.
Inside her room, Leni put the dress on. As she glanced at herself in the mirror wearing the dress, she was at first smiling. But then, she frowned. "O-M-Gosh, totes not my style. I look too scot."