The A-team to the Rescue in the Labyrinth!
Chapter Three – The Escher Room
Meanwhile B.A. found he was in the Escher Room in Jareth's castle. He couldn't believe his eyes; "This can't be real! I must be dreamin'! Those fools must've drugged me again to put me on an airplane; they know how much I hate flyin'! Where were they going on a plane this time, though? The last thing I remember is the red book and Murdock's wand. I don't remember eating or drinking anything at Ed's house they could have drugged. I could really be in trouble this time! I don't know what to think!"
B.A. walked up and down the stair cases and walkways of the puzzling room. It seemed to change at every turn! Often he couldn't decide if he was going upwards or downwards, gravity seemed defied! He could see the door that led outside the room. At times it looked like it was right in front of him, yet he could never reach it! "This room needs a lesson in physics!" he exclaimed.
B.A. became quite frustrated after what seemed hours in the room. He even tried jumping off a few of the platform ledges, ones that didn't look too far to jump, yet to no avail. He became quite hungry, thirsty, and tired. Out of breath, he said, "This is like bein' in a hamster wheel! I feel like some kind of lab rat!" Then he added; "Where's a magic wand when you need one! What are those magic words? I could use them now, anythin' to get outa' here!"
Jareth walked into the room to see how B.A. was adapting to his new environment. "Did you put me in here, fool? I want out!", erupted B.A.'s infuriated words without any greetings or introductions.
Jareth replied, "You're quite a clever chap, aren't you? Get right to the point! I like that! What do you do for a living?"
"I give punks like you more than they bargain for!" B.A. responded.
"Oh really!" said Jareth, "Then how about upping the stakes?"
"What do you have in mind, fool?", queried B.A.
To this Jareth replied, "First of all, if I hear one more insult from you, directly into the Bog of Eternal Stench you will go! And secondly, I will give your friends more time to solve the Labyrinth if you rescue Sarah and bring her back here."
"Where is Sarah?" asked B.A. and Jareth gave him the dispatch: "My evil sister, Lileth, Queen of Werewolves, decided she wants an heir to take over her kingdom so she can escape to the Aboveground and retire. She wants Sarah to marry our cousin, Sir James Prowl-foot, become a werewolf, and rule the kingdom with him. My sister is attempting to obtain a magic potion as well that will turn her into a normal human instead of a werewolf. She wants to live near SoHo, in London (Where else, of course!). I don't want Sarah to become a werewolf, personally, she does mean something to me after all I put her through here in my Labyrinth years ago; I want to help her get out of this mess if I can."
B.A. replied, "Why don't you rescue her yourself? And why doesn't Sir Prowl-wolf or whatever his name is just take over and become king? Why is Sarah forced to marry him?" To this Jareth replied; "If I rescue her, it could cause a war between our two kingdoms. Werewolves are of course much more ruthless than goblins. They could take over my kingdom. If you get caught, you'll tell them you're Sarah's friend from the Aboveground; not a word about my involvement! As for Sarah marrying, it's my cousin's demand to marry her in exchange for helping Lileth develop the potion. Only then will he agree to rule the kingdom. And by the way, B.A., if you tell Sarah anything about your friends' attempt to rescue you, I will tip you and your friends straight into the Bog of Eternal Stench; is that clear? Keep in mind, I'm watching at all times!"
"Yes, it's clear!" replied B.A. with a little difficulty holding back the word "fool" at the end of the sentence.
Jareth's cousin, James, indeed had a great gift for developing potions. After all, he's the one who taught Jareth how to make the powerful potion he put inside the peach he gave to Sarah when she was trying to solve the Labyrinth to save her baby brother years before.
Jareth then took a crystal orb from inside his cloak and showed B.A. the road to the werewolf kingdom. He said, "I will show you how to get to my sister Lileth's kingdom to find Sarah, only you must arrive during daylight and leave before nightfall. Werewolves are dangerous at night. During the day they're humans and sleep in shifts with one eye open, with someone always on the lookout for strangers."
B.A. then asked Jareth about the white owl Sarah saw more than once before she disappeared. He divulged that it was him trying to warn Sarah, but he couldn't talk to her in owl form and couldn't change into his kingly stature unless she called out his name since Sarah defeated him in the Labyrinth years ago.
Lastly, Jareth took the crystal to show B.A. what happened during Sarah's abduction. Queen Lileth appeared in the park disguised as a nice, normal woman and said she was conducting a college survey. At the end of the survey she asked Sarah, "Have you ever been to the Underground, my dear?" This took Sarah by surprise and Lileth told her that Haggle, Sarah's friend in the Labyrinth, was in trouble, that he was kidnapped and needed her help. Sarah said, "Oh, you must mean Hoggle!" She went with Lileth to the Underground immediately to save him.
It surprised Sarah at first to see Lileth in her queenly stature in the Underground; she looked striking dressed in red and black. Lileth did remind Sarah of someone else from there, of course, her brother the Goblin King. Queen Lileth was hospitable at first, though, and gave Sarah a tour of her castle including the dungeon where Hoggle, the dwarf, was kept. Lileth then said she would release Hoggle if Sarah became Queen of the Werewolves in her place and marry her cousin, Sir James Prowl-foot.
Sarah said, "What will you do with me if I refuse?" "Then I will turn you and Hog-snort into slaves to serve here in my castle for the rest of your lives." "It's Hoggle." said Sarah. "Yes, Hog-wild, my dear, or whatever." replied Queen Lileth.
"So I'm trapped here either way!" Sarah replied. "At least you could be Queen and your friend can go free." Queen Lileth answered, then continued, "I will give you two months to marry my cousin; that should give me plenty of time to prepare my journey and retirement. My cousin is now on a long journey, an errand I sent him on. When he returns, any day now, you will meet him. Meanwhile Hog-nose will have to stay in the dungeon and you can familiarize yourself with my kingdom; only be careful at night, all my subjects are werewolves and I'm one too, dear! The quicker you decide to marry, the safer you will be from them and from me as well! You take more and more of a risk each day you decide to wait!"
B.A. set off on his journey to rescue Sarah immediately. That is, after a quick meal to refuel his energy. Along the way he met Ludo, the nice beast; Sir Didymus, the high-spirited fox; and Ambrosius, the friendly sheep dog, all friends of Sarah. Jareth knew they could be trusted and sent them to meet B.A..
Sir Didymus said to B.A., "Take us with you! I am very brave and so is my loyal steed, Ambrosius! We are at your command!" Ludo then said slowly in his deep gruff yet easygoing beastly voice: "Ludo and Sarah, friends!" B.A. Replied, "I could use your help, come with me!" "Ludo scared!" said Ludo and B.A. replied, "Don't worry, we'll be there only during daylight. We must hurry!" B.A. thought, "I still can't believe this is real! It must be a dream!"