Chapter 5

"Round and Round, With Nowhere To Go."

'Well, now we're here, what are we going to do?' Ray asked.

The Magician turned to look at the Sage as he stared glumly out of the cave at the mist-covered lands before them. He seemed relaxed enough even after everything that had happened in such a short time, he had adjusted well. The Staff was clasped in his hand but seemingly forgotten for the moment.

The cave itself was fairly shallow and smelt of dead leaves, and wasn't much of a place to take refuge for any length of time. The three of them (and the baby Dragon) were cold and wet and miserable, they had no idea where they were, or what they were going to do next. Inside, Presto had a totally unfamiliar feeling of panic; he didn't usually feel this sort of panic in the Realm, but this time was different. No Hank. No Dungeonmaster. No riddles. It seemed like there was nothing to help him.

'What are we going to do?' Ray repeated.

'I don't know,' Presto said with a heavy sigh.

'Well, I don't wanna be rude y'know,' the Sage said, turning round to look at Presto with an inquisitive look on his face. 'But you're the ones that have done this before.'

'It's not exactly the same,' said Presto. There was a cold sinking feeling through him; no, it wasn't really the same at all.

Behind him, deeper in the cave Bobby sat, glaring at the wall in front of them, tapping his Club on the ground in a restless and very aggressive kind of way. Presto didn't like the look of calm on the young boys face either. That was surely just for show! And when Bobby decided to drop the act, everyone should run for cover!

Further back was the small Bronze Dragon that seemed to have adopted them. It was curled up like a cat next to the wall and appeared to be asleep. But it had an odd kind of look about it, maybe it wasn't even a look, maybe it was something that Presto could just sense. Every time he looked at it, he had the urge to check that nothing had suddenly appeared behind them and was about to attack. He didn't usually feel so jumpy, but that little creature was gonna cause them Trouble. Definitely. Without a single doubt!

But it got worse.

Now, apart from the fact that Hank and Eric were still missing, he had managed to loose both the girls, and Joseph as well.

The gang of Orcs had appeared out of nowhere, and his spell had hardly been his best ever, but it was enough to get them away from danger, for the moment, at least.

But how that was going to help, he didn't know.

He closed his eyes and put his head in his hands.

'Hey, Presto,' said Ray gently. 'It's ok. We'll think of something. Don't worry.'

'Yeah… sure…' said Presto, not bothering to look up. 'It's not as if the answer is going to fall out of the sky, is it?'

'Isn't it?' replied Ray instantly, and Presto opened his eyes to look at the Sage. 'You know this place better than I do, but it seems to be that just about anything can happen!'

'You've got that right,' muttered Bobby for the back of the cave. Presto didn't like the tone of the young boy's voice. But Ray was right. Anything could happen, they just had to figure out what was going on.

They were silent for a moment. The Dragon snuffled in its sleep and gave a big yawn, without a care in the world. Presto sighed. It must be nice to feel secure in a crazy world like this. He had almost forgotten how it felt, even though he had spent time back at home, in his nice little house with his Mom and Dad. He sighed.

'What is that thing?' asked Ray at last, pointing at the sleeping Dragon.

He had used his right hand, the hand with the Staff in it, and the Staff suddenly began to glow.

'Wow!' muttered the Sage, looking down at the bright Staff. Then he shook his head, frowning as if presented with a puzzle.

'Are you ok?' asked Presto. 'What's happening?'

Ray looked up at him, still confused.

'The Dragon. He's called Tang,' Ray said. 'He's a baby Bronze Dragon and Venger wants him.'

Presto looked at Ray in astonishment.

'How do you know that?' he asked.

'I don't know, I just "know", y'know! I think the Staff just told me!'

'Well, I suppose you are a Sage,' Presto said thoughtfully, looking at the Staff. 'Maybe it tells you things, information, insight into other things.'

'Maybe it works like an Eight Ball,' said Ray with a grin. He held up the Staff again and tapped the crystal with a fingernail and gave it a little shake. 'You know, "Sorry, ask again later"!'

'Ray, I don't think that it works quite like…' Presto could tell the Sage wasn't listening, but even so, he was unprepared for the question Ray came up with.

Ray suddenly pointed the Staff directly at Presto and asked:

'Is Presto telling the truth about the other Realm?'

The Magician didn't even have a chance to react. There was a frightening surge of magical power, Presto could feel it all the way through to his bones. The gemstone at the tip of the staff pulsed with light and suddenly the Staff was thrown across the room, sending Ray flying in the opposite direction.

Bobby and Presto were by his side in a moment.

'I hope that was a yes,' said Bobby.

Ray smiled weakly at them.

'That was a "stop asking stupid questions, of could he damn well is!"!' He stood up, rubbing his hand gently. 'I feel terrible!'

There was a squeak from beside his knee, and Presto looked down to see Tang there, Ray's Staff in his mouth, like a puppy fetching his master's slippers.

'Hello there, Tang,' said Ray with a smile. He knelt down and reached out his hand. The Bronze Dragon sniffed at it and then allowed the Sage to pet his head and take the Staff back from out of his mouth.

'I suppose we could ask how we are going to find Eric and Hank and get ourselves back home!' suggested Bobby.

'I don't think that is a good idea,' said Ray. 'That doesn't sound like the sort of question we should be asking it!'

'What are we gonna do, then?' snapped Bobby. 'I've gotta go and find my sister!'

Deafening alarm bells started ringing in Presto's head. He had to do something. Right now! A rising sense of panic stared in Presto's chest.

What were they going to do?

From the vantage point of the cave, they could see right down the valley. In the centre of the crater was a huge, black, nasty-looking Castle. Only Venger could have come up with something like that. So if that was Venger's Castle, then it was likely that Hank and Eric were there too, or somewhere close by.

And also, if Diana, Sheila and Joseph hadn't managed to escape the Orcs, then they would probably have been taken there too.

Ray was looking at him, waiting for some sort of response, waiting for something… Presto's heart dropped about four feet. Ray was waiting for him to take the lead!

Oh, God! He had to be the leader!!

He didn't know what he was doing! He didn't have all the answers! He didn't… he couldn't…

Presto took a deep breath.

Panicking wasn't going to help. He had to get a grip and calm down. After everything that had happened; Venger, Hank and Eric, the girls, the Orcs, there was only one real choice.

'I think that Castle is our next destination,' he said. And he waited for the howls of disapproval.

But none came.

Presto waited in stunned silence for a few extra seconds, just in case they were kidding him, but neither of the others said anything to contradict his suggestion. In fact, Ray was nodding.

'That's seemed like a good idea,' said Ray. He paused and thought about what he'd said. 'Well, obviously walking into the most terrifying, heavily guarded place was can see isn't in itself a good plan, but I think you're right, anyway!'

Bobby was still silent, and Presto knew the Barbarian well enough to know that he would make any disagreement with the leader known!

Suddenly, Tang sat bolt upright, his little, greenish-brown ears twitching. Before Presto could speak, Tang turned round and vanished towards the back of the cave. He stood very still, and seemed to merge into the background so he was very well hidden.

Ray and Presto looked at each other.

'I don't think that's a good sign!' murmured Presto. Ray nodded.

There was the rustle of leaves from close beside them and immediately Bobby and Presto were on alert, crouching near the front of the cave. Ray followed their example, even though he was clearly uncertain about what good his Staff would do against an enemy.

They waited.

There was silence for another minute or so, but then there was another rustling, closer this time.

Presto frowned, thinking about where they were. This cave wasn't much shelter for them, but maybe it was home to something else. True, it didn't smell like an animal's home, it had no signs that life had ever lived there, but perhaps some sort of predator used it as a place to rest overnight.

His hand tightened around the Hat. If it was something nasty he was probably going to have to deal with it; or at least distract it for long enough until Bobby used the Club. At that moment he missed Hank and Eric much more than he ever thought possible.

Eric was an unbelievable pain in the ass, but he had slowly become good at being the Shield-man, and he could be relied upon to protect them when they needed it.

Hank was their leader, he was always out there, in front, knowing what to do and helping them all through. And Presto know that the Ranger wouldn't be cowering on the ground just now. He wouldn't be hiding in a cave with no escape route!

The noise was very close, and Presto held his breath. Beside him, Bobby was sitting next to him, his Club in his hands, tense and ready for an attack.

Just a few metres down from the entrance of the cave, the branches of some of the nearby bushes suddenly swayed and were pushed apart.

A small, slender figure emerged, crawling out of the plant and into the fading sunlight of early evening.

And Presto's heart virtually stopped.

Of all the things he had expected to see, she wasn't one of them… Varla! Varla!

Seeing her so unexpectedly left him incapable of doing anything but staring. Bobby must have recognised her too, but he didn't move when he saw her. Ray again followed their lead.

Presto could only stare, open mouthed at the vision before him. It was like he hadn't seen her in years.

She looked different; her hair was much shorter, cut a little like Sheila's and it seemed to be lighter in colour, as if she had been out in the sun for too long. The flawless, pale skin on her face was darker, tanned by the sun. She was dressed in close-fitting dark clothes that helped her blend in to the surrounding countryside and had a tight belt around her slim waist. She looked warily around, like a cat looking for its prey.

But despite all the minor differences and the changes his heart ached at the sight of her.

He wanted more than anything else to reach out to her and sweep her up into his arms again. He wanted to hold her close and never let her go. Since that last day they had been together, he had missed her more than he could ever express in words.

'Varla!' he whispered. At least, he had thought it was a whisper. He had thought he wouldn't be heard. But the girl before them whipped round fiercely at them, looking directly at Presto. She moved like lightning, her hand moving to her side to pull out a slender, razor-like knife that Presto hadn't noticed before.

She was heading straight for him!