the serpent hissed to the bat. The bat dropped its golden object onto the floor in front of the serpent, and the serpent examined it closely, touching the object with its slithering tongue. Then with its flat scaly head, the serpent pushed the object that the bat had brought, beside the object acquired from its victim. "Did anyone see you?" the serpent asked the bat.
The bat hesitated.
"Answer me you pathetic creature!" the serpent hissed, causing the bat to cower toward the entrance of the crevice.
"I ... I'm not sure," the bat said in a small voice.
"What do you mean, you're not sure? Did anyone see you or not?"
"When the boy and the girl entered the room, I ... I panicked. I was going to fly out the window, but at the last second, I decided to hide behind the curtain until they left."
"They better not have seen you," the serpent said with frowning eyes.
The bat suddenly had a realization. "Actually, now that I think of it, I know that they didn't see me, because the boy said that he thought I was a bird." Feeling more at ease, the bat crawled along the rock wall to get closer to the serpent. "As the boy went to shut the window, he heard someone coming toward the room from outside in the hall, so instead of shutting the window, the boy and the girl hid by the cabinet so that they wouldn't be seen in the room. Then, when they figured that the coast was clear, they left the room in a hurry, and the stupid boy left the window and the cabinet open." A nasty grin lingered on the bat's face. "And that is how I was able to get the golden goblet."
Even though pleased with the bat's accomplishments, the serpent didn't have it in itself to congratulate the bat. "Stop gloating and get down here and open the book," the serpent said.
The bat hobbled over to the book laying beside the two objects.
"Open it to the last written page," the serpent hissed.
The bat did so, and read,
"Werrien invited Kristina to sail with him to Tezerel."
"Oh what fun," the serpent jeered, its glowing eyes illuminating the page. More writing began to appear as they stared at the page.
"Werrien and Kristina are leaving the palace to head to the ship,"
the bat read.
They suddenly heard a high-pitched buzzing sound coming from the entrance of the crevice. Then an insect resembling a mosquito flew through the crevice to the serpent and the bat. Though the insect looked like a mosquito, it was the size of a large bird. Its color was dark-dirt brown, and its needle nose was blood red. Protruding out of its face were its eyes, which were yellow, with rectangular pupils, like that of a goat.
The insect landed on the ground beside the serpent and the bat, and the serpent turned to acknowledge it.
"Well?" the serpent said, "Did you accomplish your task?"
"Yes," the insect said in a high-pitched vibrating voice.
"Are you certain you got the formula correct? If you didn't mix it just right, it will have a totally different effect."
"Yes, I mixed it exactly how it was written in Rupert's black book."
"Perfect! Then only a fraction of a drop will be needed for each one." A repulsive smile enveloped the serpent's face. "It will spread like wild fire. Now go quickly and inject as many of them as you can." The serpent gloated enthusiastically.
The insect bowed to the serpent and then flew through the crevice and out of the cave.
~ ~ ~
In a navy blue jacket and with his sandy blond hair tousled slightly, Werrien stood by Taysha and Lisheng, who were harnessed to a carriage. He saw Elzwur, Leacha, and the three girls heading his way. "Finally!" he said to Elzwur. "I was starting to wonder if you were coming at all."
"I'm sorry if we're late, Your Highness," Elzwur said, his stony eyes shifting to Kristina and then back to Werrien.
Werrien winked at Kristina, letting her know that he was only giving the tense dwarf a hard time. "It's okay, Elzwur. As punishment, today I'll have you scrub the main deck on the ship and then go to bed early, without dinner,"
The bat hesitated.
"Answer me you pathetic creature!" the serpent hissed, causing the bat to cower toward the entrance of the crevice.
"I ... I'm not sure," the bat said in a small voice.
"What do you mean, you're not sure? Did anyone see you or not?"
"When the boy and the girl entered the room, I ... I panicked. I was going to fly out the window, but at the last second, I decided to hide behind the curtain until they left."
"They better not have seen you," the serpent said with frowning eyes.
The bat suddenly had a realization. "Actually, now that I think of it, I know that they didn't see me, because the boy said that he thought I was a bird." Feeling more at ease, the bat crawled along the rock wall to get closer to the serpent. "As the boy went to shut the window, he heard someone coming toward the room from outside in the hall, so instead of shutting the window, the boy and the girl hid by the cabinet so that they wouldn't be seen in the room. Then, when they figured that the coast was clear, they left the room in a hurry, and the stupid boy left the window and the cabinet open." A nasty grin lingered on the bat's face. "And that is how I was able to get the golden goblet."
Even though pleased with the bat's accomplishments, the serpent didn't have it in itself to congratulate the bat. "Stop gloating and get down here and open the book," the serpent said.
The bat hobbled over to the book laying beside the two objects.
"Open it to the last written page," the serpent hissed.
The bat did so, and read,
"Werrien invited Kristina to sail with him to Tezerel."
"Oh what fun," the serpent jeered, its glowing eyes illuminating the page. More writing began to appear as they stared at the page.
"Werrien and Kristina are leaving the palace to head to the ship,"
the bat read.
They suddenly heard a high-pitched buzzing sound coming from the entrance of the crevice. Then an insect resembling a mosquito flew through the crevice to the serpent and the bat. Though the insect looked like a mosquito, it was the size of a large bird. Its color was dark-dirt brown, and its needle nose was blood red. Protruding out of its face were its eyes, which were yellow, with rectangular pupils, like that of a goat.
The insect landed on the ground beside the serpent and the bat, and the serpent turned to acknowledge it.
"Well?" the serpent said, "Did you accomplish your task?"
"Yes," the insect said in a high-pitched vibrating voice.
"Are you certain you got the formula correct? If you didn't mix it just right, it will have a totally different effect."
"Yes, I mixed it exactly how it was written in Rupert's black book."
"Perfect! Then only a fraction of a drop will be needed for each one." A repulsive smile enveloped the serpent's face. "It will spread like wild fire. Now go quickly and inject as many of them as you can." The serpent gloated enthusiastically.
The insect bowed to the serpent and then flew through the crevice and out of the cave.
~ ~ ~
In a navy blue jacket and with his sandy blond hair tousled slightly, Werrien stood by Taysha and Lisheng, who were harnessed to a carriage. He saw Elzwur, Leacha, and the three girls heading his way. "Finally!" he said to Elzwur. "I was starting to wonder if you were coming at all."
"I'm sorry if we're late, Your Highness," Elzwur said, his stony eyes shifting to Kristina and then back to Werrien.
Werrien winked at Kristina, letting her know that he was only giving the tense dwarf a hard time. "It's okay, Elzwur. As punishment, today I'll have you scrub the main deck on the ship and then go to bed early, without dinner,"
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