Chapter:4 A strange dinner

The next morning the Journey towards the Pankot Palace began the village had given them transport which was elephants,Indy had already sat up on his,but Webby saw that she had no one for herself she wondered for a minute if she really would come with but then a tiny elephant came up to her and on it sat Short Round who reached out a hand to her.

" Here share with me"

She felt some big gratitude to the boy and her smile never left her as she took his hand and got pulled up on the animal's back.

She was about to say thanks but some sound behind them made them both turn around and saw a scene that made them laugh a little.

Willie had some problems with getting on her animal and when she finally did she sat backwards but at least she was up and complained as they moved forward:

" Indy I can't go to Deihi like this!"

" We are not going to Delhi doll,we are going to Pankot Palace" was his answer and ignored her whining as they left the village behind them and towards Indian nature.

As the animal lover she was,Webby immediately saw the little elephant under her as a friend,patted it on the head and gave him compliments for the most part.

Willie was so far from her that anyone could be. She was just completely annoyed with her transport,mostly by the smell it seemed since she was constantly pouring perfume on the animal's head which he didn't seem to like.

" Stop complaining,this is expensive stuff" she said and poured more and continued with:

" You really need a bath"

Just as she said that the elephant's trunk sprayed some water on her which made her fall off into a dirty puddle. Water covered her from head to foot.

"I think he heard you" Webby said, unable to resist the moment even if she felt bad for Willie she had been pulled into all this from nowhere.

Many hours later they had set up camp. Willie hung up her clothes to dry,but thankfully she had gotten some clothes from the village that she would only wear until the wet ones were dry which they thankfully now had.

Indy and Shorty sat near the campfire playing some kind of card game,and Webby sat close to the little elephant, feeding it while she listened to the conversation between the others.

" So how did you find your little bodyguard,and has the girl always been a part of your team?" Willie asked as she quickly began to dress.

" No,Webby hadn't been a part of my team until now but I think she will handle this well" Indy answered his eyes never left the cards he Held. He was unaware that Webby felt happy at those words,she had just defended him one time but he still believed in her.

She crawled closer to Indy and Shorty and repeated Willie's question:

" Shorty if it is okay that I ask the same,how did you come to be with Indy,your parents must be worried?"

Short Round lowered his gaze for a moment but Indy answered for him:

"His family got killed in a robbery,he has lived on the streets since he was four,caught him trying to pickpocket me, didn't I short stuff?"

Webby put a hand to her beak and stared at Short Round,she couldn't believe that he had suffered so much at such a Young age.

She was about to say something when a scream got her to turn around,and of course the scream came from Willie who had mistaken a bat for her clothing,a bat that now screeched in her face making her panic.

Indy turned to first Willie then to the kids and stated something they all agreed on:

" You know the most annoying thing about her is the noise" he said and went back to his cards.

Willie on the other hand continued to yell,dropped the bat and ran back and forward which only lead to more encounters with the animals of nature meanwhile Indy and Shorty began to argue about who won their game,but Webby was instead focused on Willie,she encountered lizards a monkey and even a owl everything made her continue her screaming until Webby grabbed her and led her towards the fire.

" Miss Scott,don't worry nothing will hurt you"

She nodded but when she sat down she let out some terrifered words;

" This place is completely surrounded,everything is crawling with living things"

" Well that's why they call it the jungle, sweetheart" Indy answered as Willie quickly moved right next to the fire right behind her elephant.

" Why are you dragging us to that deserted palace? Fortune and glory?" Willie asked and Indy answered by picking up the piece of parchment that the child that escaped the palace had given him.

" Well this is a piece of a manuscript,and this pictograph represents the Sankara" he explained but then Willie took the parchment from him which made him a bit worried.

" Gentle,gentle that's hundreds of years old"

But the famous singer just looked at the parchment and pointed to it with a question:

" Is this some kind of writing?"

Indy took it back and confirmed it:

" Yeah it's Sanskrit,it's about the legend of Sankara he climbs mount Kalisa where he meets Shiva the Hindu god".

Webby crawled closer glanced at the parchment and wondered:

" What is he giving the priest?"

"Rocks"

Willie stared at him like he was crazy but Webby was more interested in the story.

" Shiva told Sankara to go forth and combat evil,and for help he gave him five sacred stones with magical properties". Indy finished but Willie really started to doubt his actions.

" Magic rocks?" She answered and continued with a own little story.

" My grandfather was a magician,he spent his entire life with a rabbit in his pocket and pigeons up his sleeves,he made a lot of children happy and died a very poor man"

She then walked past while she said:

" Magic rocks,fortune and glory,sweet dreams Dr Jones"

Webby quickly came to Indy's defense:

"Miss Scott,there are things in this world that we don't understand, and just because they might be legends doesn't mean they don't exist".

Willie didn't answer, she just sat down far away from Indy and got ready to sleep.

" I would sleep closer if I were you" Indy said as he too prepared for his sleep.

" Dr Jones I would be more safer by sleeping with a snake"

And right then as she said that a snake slithered down from a tree behind her and on to her shoulder which made Indy back up and Webby tried to signal to the danger but Willie seemed more annoyed than afraid.

" I Said cut it out!"

She grabbed the snake and tossed it, making Indy jump up in fear.

" I hate that elephant" she said,not realizing the danger she just had been in and Webby decided to not say anything since she knew what reaction that would cause,and she did not want to hear it again.

She looked towards Short Round with a question on her mind,but he was already asleep to her disappointment so she decided to do the same since no one was awake but before she joined them she took two blankets wrapped one around Shorty and the other around Willie since she thought that they both needed some comfort with all this.

Then she laid herself close to the fire,felt her hands grip tighter on her doll, her eyelids slowly sunk downwards,and then she fell into a deep,dreamless sleep both nervous and excited for the adventure's continuation,with many thoughts in her head:

" What will happen tomorrow?"

" Will we actually find the children?"

" What is Uncle Scrooge and the boys doing now?, well I guess the boys at least are happy that I'm gone"

Meanwhile in the airport in Delhi:

Scrooge and the boys had landed in Delhi some hours ago and Scrooge now stood at a telephone and had called home to inform Mrs Beakley about the situation and her reaction was not a calm one:

" Mcduck, I let my granddaughter accompany you on these adventures because I believe that you can keep her safe,and now you are telling me that you let her get kidnapped!"

Scrooge tried to keep his voice calm,but the panic in it was clear:

" Mrs Beakley believe me I already feel more guilty then what is needed but I will find her,I promise".

" Please do it"

Then the call was over,and left him clutching the phone in a more sense of panic and loss.

" What am I supposed to do,how can I find her, I will never forgive myself if something bad happens to her".

Meanwhile the boys sat at some chairs,and they didn't really understand their Uncle's worries,sure Webby was gone,but that had happened before,so why exactly was this any different?

" You know I think Uncle Scrooge is overreacting a bit". Huey whispered to his brothers who nodded.

" Yeah if you ask me,this is sort of a waste of time,I mean he really doesn't need to worry so much". Dewey countined.

" I'm sure she's out there playing with her doll,like always" Louie said,finishing their conversation as Scrooge now walked over to them.

" Come lads,we need to get some sleep so we can continue searching.

The boys rose from the chairs and followed towards the airport hotel,and when they were there the boys asked in unison:

" How will you find her Uncle Scrooge?"

They couldn't help but be a bit curious since they had no idea where she was even if they didn't really cared so much as Scrooge,sure they didn't want her to get hurt,but they weren't anxious like him.

" I show you"

He opened the door to their room and on a table laid one big map of India and a river was marked with a line that traveled downstream.

" From what we saw from the plane,they all jumped out and used a raft to travel down the river so when we landed I asked for a map and if you look here".

He pointed to the side of the river near the end where a path seemed to lead to a village that he had marked to.

" It's a long shot but it's possible that they might have traveled here so tomorrow we will travel there and bring her back."

Webby awoke early next morning,almost before the sun had even reached beyond the mountain tops,it would be a nice day. The guides from the village had already started to pack up the camp,and Shorty, who seemed to have awakened some minutes before, helped them.

He gave her a little smile as she pushed the blanket off her,and asked:

" How was your sleep?"

Her smile back at him was much brighter and her answer became:

" It was actually pretty comfortable"

She then got a bit unsure about this question but decided to just ask:

" Shorty what Indy said yesterday,about your family,was that really true?"

The boy's eyes got a bit wet. He was quiet for a long time but finally nodded.

" It is true,it was horrible, even if I was just four I still remember everything from that day,but please don't ask about that,I don't want to talk about it".

Webby slowly moved towards him,put a arm around his shoulder and hugged him closer to him.

" I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you"

He looked up at her and gave her a sad little smile:

" You don't need to apologize I understand if you were It's just, it's hard to think about"

She nodded,but still kept her arm around him, and in maybe ten minutes, they just sat like that without moving at all,but then she revealed something about herself as tears slowly filled her eyes:

" You know I have never met my parents,I've been an orphan my whole life, and I don't know anything about them,well I still have my granny but it still stings when I think to much about it".

Now Shorty was the one who looked surprised and sad, and now he put an arm around her as comfort and once again they sat in silence for a while with both their arms around them, feeling each other's pain but also had some relief to have found someone that understood their pain.

They slowly left the arm embrace and sat quietly but their hearts were forever touched by this moment.

One hour later,they all were on their way again,on the elephant,riding towards the adventure.

And after maybe some few more hours Shorty pointed to a building on top of a hill,which was…

" That's it, Pankot Palace". Indy said as they continued,now closer to the goal.

But when they got into a small jungle,the caravan suddenly got Indy to step down and walk forward to the guide all the way forward who seemed terrified by something but Webby couldn't see what.

"What's happening,Indy?" She called out.

" Don't come up here!" He answered almost as a warning which made her a bit nervous. What exactly did Indy see,that made him not want them to be there?

But she quickly got other things to worry about as their guides quickly lifted her and Shorty their elephants and ran away with them,leaving the four of them all alone.

" Hey Wait,what are you doing?!" She yelled after them but no answer came,they just ran away like they had seen a monster.

" We walk from here" Was Indy's response when he saw what had happen,so they began their little walk but Webby had one question to him:

" Indy, what made everyone just run away like that,it was like they saw some kind of demon or something".

The archaeologist got a troubled look on his face but answered very calmly:

" You are actually not so far from the truth there,but believe me you don't want to know what I saw"

She didn't ask anything more since she realized that what he saw wasn't something she wanted to know about.

She had no Idea how long they walked but finally they got to the palace's entrance and walked up a small pathway and into the courtyard,where they saw some guards standing in position and a male tiger stepped out from maybe some side building and walked up to them.

" You look very lost I must say,but I can not imagine how you three would look at home." He said to them.

" We are not lost,we're are on our way to Deihi"

Indy quickly explained and introduced them all:

" This is Willie Scott"

He put a hand on Short Round's shoulder:

" This is Mr Round"

" Short Round" The boy finished.

Webby introduced herself before Indy did,she wanted to speak for herself:

" Webbigail Vanderquack,but just call me Webby"

" And I am Indiana Jones" Indy introduced himself, which the tiger seemed to recognize.

"Dr Jones? The eminent archaeologist?"

He Held out his hand which Indy took and he continued:

" Ah I remember first hearing your name when I was in Oxford".

He then introduced himself:

" I'm Chattar Lal,prime minister to his highness the Maharaja.

He shook Willie's hand:

" I'm enchanted"

She got a bit fluttered by that:

" Oh Thank you"

" Welcome to Pankot Palace"

Chattar Lao said as he put his arms around Short Round's and Webby's shoulder's and led them in the palace,with Indy and Willie after.

Chattar Lal suddenly stopped in his step and turned towards Webby with a curious look:

" Excuse me Young lady,but was your name Webbigail Vanderquack?"

She became a bit confused with his reaction:

" Yes?" She answered a bit unsure what he wanted.

" I have heard some rumors that Scrooge Mcduck's housekeeper had a granddaughter that he sees as family and she happens to have the same name as you,is it possible that you are her?"

" Why do you ask?"

" Oh I just wanted to know if he was here with you,it would be a honor to meet him"

She began to feel a bit frightened of this guy's presence but managed to be calm and gave a truthful answer:

" I'm sorry but Mr Mcduck is not here"

A bitter look appeared on Chattar Lao as he said

" Oh I see" and removed his arms from them both and led the gang through the palace.

" Webby, what was that about?" Shorty whispered when they were at a distance from Chattar Lao who didn't hear them.

"I have no Idea,but I don't like it one bit" She answered and couldn't help to feel that something might be wrong with that man.

Some hours later, it was time for dinner, Webby and Willie had be given a nice dress to the occasion,and when she had gotten hers Webby had quickly walked out to find Indy and tell him what Chattar Lal had said,but when she found him,the aforementioned man introduced Indy( who now was dressed in his professor's suit) to a bear dressed in a red uniform with medals.

" Mr Jones this is Captain Blumburtt,from England"

Indy shook hand with the captain who rencongized him:

" And you must be Dr Jones I presume".

Indy nodded,as Lal explained the captain's presence:

" Captain Blumburtt and his troops are on a routine inspection,the British find it amusing to inspect us of their convenience,but I'm pretty sure that's was already Done in the 30:s,so I don't really understand why it is happening again now."

The captain cleared his throat and answered:

" Well we were on a journey towards Delhi but we decided to make sure that everything is going well here of course on our way,and I hope that is not inconvenient to you sir"

" Of course not,I'm grateful,and his highness is too I can assure" Chattar Lal said before he walked away,but it was clear that he was a bit on his guard.

Now when he finally was gone,Webby stepped forward, the captain saw her and was a bit surprised to find a child here but greeted her with kindness.

" Oh good evening dear" he said as he kissed her hand as a nice gesture which made her blush a bit since no one had Done that before.

Now Willie entered the room with a dress,and she was very Interested in meeting the Maradjan.

" Mr Lal,what do they call the Maradjan's wife?"

" His highness has not yet taken a wife"

Now her interest has really risen a bit.

" Well maybe that's because he hasn't found the right one?"

Instead of answering Chattar Lal walked to the end of the large dinner table and announced:

" His supreme highness,guardian of Pankot tradition, the Maharaja of Pankot Zalim Singh!".

As he stepped aside two guards opened a door and his highness stepped in but to the guest's surprise,it was a child,maybe the same age as Shorty.

But it was clear that he was royalty his whole clothing was covered in diamonds.

Now everyone else took their seats, Willie and Shorty sat together and Webby sat with Indy since she felt a bit safe with him and she really needed to be close to someone since her feeling that something was wrong hadn't left her, which was good since she decided not to miss any of the conversation between Indy,the Captain and Chattar Lal.

" Captain Brumbrett was just telling me something interesting about the history of the palace,the importance it played in the mutiny".

Indy said which got Chattar Lal to look and say:

" It seems like the British will never forget the mutiny of 1857."

" Well you know I think there are other events before the Mutiny,going back a century,back to the time of Clyde that are more interesting."

" And what events are those?"

" Well if my memory serves me correctly this province was the center of activity for the Tugge"

Webby heard a plate being set down on the table but she decided to continue listening to the conversation.

" Dr Jones you know perfectly well that the Tugghe cult has been dead for nearly a century" Chattar Lal answered almost like that was something he wanted them to desperately believe in.

" Of course the Thuggie was an obscenity that worshiped Kali with people sacrificers".

That news got Webby wanting to throw up but luckily she holded back and despite what she just heard,she decided to continue listening.

" Well I suppose the stories of the Tuggy cult die hard"

" There are no stories anymore"

" I'm not so sure,we came from a small village,the people there told us that Pankot Palace was growing powerful again because of some ancient power".

The Prime minister just scoffed at this:

" Ancient village stories Dr Jones they are just folklore,and I think you are starting to worry the Captain"

Webby looked over at the captain who tried to…. Slap away a eel from him,what did that come from?

She looked up,saw the answer and quickly looked away,and meanwhile tried not to puke.

Now she really tried to just focus on the conversation.

" You know the village also told us that the Palace had stolen something"

Chattar Lal seemed a bit frighted at these words but he answered with a steady voice:

" Dr Jones in this country it is not usual for a guest to insult his host"

Indy grinned a bit and answered:

" I'm sorry I thought we were talking about folklore"

Chattar Lal now turned towards Webby and asked her:

" Miss Vanderquack, I must ask you what exactly is your purpose here,your uncle must be very worried about you".

She still felt a bit frightened but answered:

" Well let's say I'm here to help"

Chattar Lal's eyes never left her as he asked:

" Intriguing… help who if I ask?"

She began to really feel stressed but luckily The captain saved her:

" Excuse me for interrupting,but One,I think that our young friend needs a break and two,Dr Jones, what exactly did they say was stolen?"

Without removing his eyes from Chattar Lal Indy answered almost like he wanted a reaction from the Prime Minister:

" A sacred rock."

A laugh left Chattar Lal.

" You see Captain,a rock!"

Suddenly a scream was heard which made Webby turn her head towards Willie who had a bowl of soup before her but the contents in it didn't seem to be appetizing,and from her previous sight of the food here she didn't want to know more of it.

" Yes, A rock that seems to be connected to the legends of the Sankara Stones" Indy countined.

" Dr Jones we are all vulnerable to vicious rumors,for example I seem to remember that in Honduras you were accused of being a grave robber rather than an archaeologist"

Webby looked surprised as Indy seemed a bit embarrassed and tried to explain;

" Well the newspapers greatly overdid the situation".

" And wasn't the sultan of Madagascar who threatened to cut your head off of you if you ever returned to his country?"

" No that was just a misunderstanding" Indy quickly answered since he didn't want to talk about that experience.

" And that's exactly what we have here Dr Jones,a misunderstanding"

Webby wasn't really at what she just heard,what kind of person was Indy,he seemed to have a life similar Uncle Scrooge but he also seemed to live it in a more cunning way,but she didn't see that something bad,cause he was a good person,why would he rescue her four times if he wasn't?

But she got interrupted by the Maharaja who now spoke for the first time and everyone halted with their dinner to listen.

" I heard the stories of the Thuggee Cult,I thought the stories were told to frighten children, later I found out that the cult were once real and did unspeakable things. I'm ashamed that what happened here so many years ago and I can assure you,this will never happen again in my kingdom"

Everyone stared at the child who finished his speech,then it was quiet for a while until Indy Said:

" If I offended you I'm really sorry"

The feast started again,but no one noticed that Chattar Lal and the Maharaja locked eyes with each other.

But even if someone had noticed it would have been forgotten when the dessert came to the table which was something that would be hard to forget and it also caused two young women to faint,unable to grasp what they saw.

A/N: A thing I want to explain:the reason why I Toned down the dinner scene was because I didn't know how to write it without being too gruesome but if you have seen the movie you know what type of dinner they got.