Note: There's really a game named "The Royal Game of the Goose". I'll explain the rules as we go, but in case someone is curious, you can find the rules at:
http://www.recoveredscience.com/gooserules.htm
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"David, the pepperbox is in this cabinet right behind you," says Leo. The Book of Shadows lies before him on the kitchen table, open on the page showing the ogre's picture and the recipe for the vanquishing potion. "Can you get it, please?"
"Sure," says David, already opening the cabinet and searching for the pepperbox.
"Cole, there are some ingredients on this list that I believe we're out of," says Leo.
"Just tell me what you need and I'll go get it," says Cole.
"Well, there's pomegranate's seed and... hey!" -- Leo takes a step back when the pages of the Book of Shadows start to flip on their own.
"What's that?" David asks, alarmed.
"Hum, just a little help from above," says Cole, whilst taking a cautious step back.
"And you're backing away because...?" David says, raising his eyebrows.
"Well," Cole sighs, "this Book isn't very fond of me."
"The Master of the Game?" says Leo, frowning as he looks at the contents of the current page. "What the hell...?" -- he gives an uncertain look upwards -- "Listen, Penny, we appreciate your help, really..."
"Who's Penny?" David whispers to Cole.
"The girls' grandmother," Cole whispers back.
"...but first," says Leo, reaching out and starting to flip the pages back to the ogre's picture "let us gather the ingredients for the vanquishing potion and..."
Leo never finishes the sentence as the Book of Shadows suddenly slam shut, painfully catching his right hand.
"Ouch!" he shouts, shaking his hurt hand. "Penny, what's the matter with you today?"
"I doubt it's her," says Cole, chuckling. "With this temper, it's more likely to be Prue."
As he says this, the Book of Shadows is slid across the table by an invisible force until it stops before Cole.
"See?" Cole says, smirking. Looking up, he says: "Anyway, thank you but I have no intention of touching this book ever again. Leo," he adds, motioning for Leo to approach, "would you please?..."
"Sure," says Leo, casting a slightly annoyed look upwards. "Death hasn't softened you a bit, huh?" he mutters.
"The Master of the Game," says Leo, reading it out loud, "this demon is known for taking innocent people to his domains, where they must play for their lives. His realm is a board game, and the people entrapped there are the counters."
"So, that's where they are?" David asks, joining them and giving the pictures in the Book a curious look.
"At least, according to Prue," says Leo scratching his head. "But I don't see where the ogre fits in."
"Maybe Phoebe's premonition wasn't related to their present situation," Cole offers. "I'm constantly shimmering from one realm to another, maybe I'll bump into an ogre in one of them."
"Maybe..." says Leo, uncertain. "Anyway, how do we get the girls out of there?"
"There seems to be no vanquishing spell or potion," says Cole, stretching his neck to peer at the Book from his safe distance. "The only way to vanquish the Master of the Game is..." -- he reads it out loud -- "to beat him in his own game?? That's new."
"His own game," says Leo. "Which game?"
"The Royal Game of the Goose," says David, still looking at the Book of Shadows.
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"What was that?" says Piper, casting a wary look around.
"I don't know," says Paige, "but it was weird."
One minute ago they were in the middle of a meadow, surrounded by nothing but grass. Then they took a few steps and the world around them flickered and, all of a sudden, there's a lake a few steps to the left. And trees where there were no trees before. As if with a few steps they had actually walked several yards.
"I like it less and less..." Phoebe sighs.
Suddenly, they hear a flapping sound coming from above. The girls look up just in time to see a huge bird that looks like something come out of a nightmare: it's about fifteen feet high, with fiery red eyes and dark ruffled feathers, and it comes flying straight to them. Piper raises her hands, but before she can use her powers the bird takes her in his beak, and flies upward again.
"Oh my God!" Phoebe yells, horrified.
"Piper!" Paige calls out, reaching out for her sister.
She's deeply relieved when a chiming sound is followed by the feeling of her hand clasping around Piper's wrist. Her relief doesn't last long, though, as she realizes that, instead of orbing Piper to her, like she saw Leo do one week ago, she orbed herself to Piper, and is now hanging in space several yards above the ground, while Piper screams:
"Orb us back to the ground, you're gonna break my arm!!!"
Before Paige can do so, the bird suddenly lets go of Piper, and the two sisters are falling fast towards the ground, shrieking in terror. Fortunately, Paige regains her wits in time to orb them both back to the ground safely, but when they look around they see that they are in a completely different location and, what's worse, Phoebe is nowhere to be found.
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"The Royal Game... of the Goose?" says Cole, between worried and amused.
"It's a board game," David explains. "My cousins and I used to play it quite often when we were kids. You see, everything is here," -- he points at the pictures as he names them -- "the Prison, the Inn, Death... the Bridge," he adds, looking at Cole.
"Okay," says Leo, looking at the pictures. "So we have to go there and... play this game?"
"Apparently," says Cole, uncertain. "How do we win it?" he asks, turning to David again.
"The first player to reach the last field wins," says David. "It's a race game: you roll the dice, advance your counter by as many fields as the sum of them, and if you land one of the 'special houses' you are rewarded... or punished. The Bridge, for example..." he starts to say, then he thinks again. "Listen, we're wasting time: I'd better explain it to you on the way."
"On the way?" says Cole, raising an eyebrow. "Oh no, buddy, there's no 'on the way' for you: you're not going anywhere. Leo and I are, but..."
"What do you mean, I'm not going anywhere?" says David, frowning. "It's my girlfriend there, like hell I'm not going with you!"
"David, be reasonable," says Leo, standing between the two men. "You may think you've learned a lot about the magical world on the past few days, but, trust me, you haven't seen half of it yet. It would be way too dangerous: we could get lost of each other there, and you wouldn't have the means to come back, nor to protect yourself."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," says David, annoyed. "And I'm the only one here who knows the rules of this game. I am going with you and that's it."
"Damn it, David," says Cole, "if I take you with us, Paige will be gathering the ingredients for a potion to vanquish me first thing when she gets back here!"
"I can handle Paige," says David, stubbornly.
"Yeah, like anyone could tell a Halliwell what to do!" Cole snorts. "Anyway, that's not the point: the point here is, we don't know what we're gonna find there, and..."
"That's exactly my point!" says David. "I know! Or, at least, I know more about that world than the both of you together."
Before Cole can make a caustic remark, Leo's hand falls on his shoulder, pulling him back.
"Excuse us for a second," Leo says to David, while he pulls Cole not so gently towards the other side of the kitchen.
"Will you cool down already?" he whispers. "As much as I don't like the idea of taking an innocent to a demonic realm, David is right: we need all the help we can get, and right now he's the only help we can get."
"Oh, for crying out loud! He's just gonna stand in the way!..." Cole protests.
"Hey!" says David. "I'm standing right here, you know?"
"The guy may not have powers," says Leo, "but he has brains, he has proved it already."
Cole sighs heavily but says nothing, and Leo pursues:
"And I'll make sure Paige doesn't vanquish you. Now, come on, we have a game to play."
Turning to David, he says, in a conciliatory manner:
"All right, the three of us are going together. Just try to stay close to me while we're there, so that I can heal you if you get hurt." Walking towards the Book of Shadows, he adds: "Now let's see how we get there."
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Phoebe watches in dismay as the bird and her sisters disappear in the distance.
"Oh God..." she moans. "Now we are screwed!..."
Afraid that another bird might show up, she rushes towards the woods. Phoebe considers calling out for Leo again, but soon dismisses the idea: she knows Piper was right when she said that, if he could answer, he'd already have. Letting out a heavy sigh, she runs her hands across her hair, considering her options. She can try and find her sisters, but she has no idea where to search. She can stay here and wait for Cole and Leo to come for the rescue, but apparently they don't have any idea of where she is, either. Leo won't answer to their calls. Cole... Phoebe bites her lower lip, uncertain. Summoning him would be a long shot. And a rather dangerous one, too, considering it'd be Belthazor she'd be summoning, not Cole. Yet she can't think of anything else to do. Cole was able to control his demonic self in the past; he never hurt her, even in his demonic form. When a large shadow shows her that another bird is flying over the trees, Phoebe recoils further into the woods, deciding that desperate times call for desperate measures. She takes a deep breath and starts to chant:
"Magic forces, black and white,
reaching out through space and light:
be he far or be he near,
bring the demon Belthazor here."
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Piper and Paige have been walking silently side by side for ten minutes when Piper says:
"Paige?"
When Paige turns to her with inquisitive eyes, Piper proceeds, blushing slightly:
"I'm sorry for having been so harsh on you earlier. I know it wasn't really your fault. I mean, you definitely shouldn't have read the spell out loud when you didn't know what it was but..." -- she sighs, giving Paige a sheepish look -- "we all make mistakes."
"That's okay," says Paige, smiling as she puts her arm around her sister's shoulders. When Piper winces, Paige immediately retracts her arm, saying: "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry! I should have healed you! Here, let me see your arm."
Paige puts her hands on Piper's arm; while they start to glow softly, Piper adds, smirking:
"I guess sometimes PMS can cause more damage than demons, huh?"
"Tell me about it," says Paige, giggling. "Thanks goodness you didn't share that with me: it's bad enough that I have my one share of it every month."
They start walking again, and Paige asks, as the thought strikes her:
"Wasn't it Cole who got your other power last week?"
"Yes," says Piper. Then she adds, with a mischievous glint in her eyes: "And he has indeed been kind of edgy during those last few days..."