“So, Rubydanis had to sleep somewhere, right? Let’s check the first door with the trapdoor to see where that leads.” I say and Ik Nal nods,

“Ik Nal remembers the evil one’s bedroom was down under the floor. The only way she got to it was through the trapdoor.”

“You certainly know a lot about Rubydanis’s house. Why is that?”

“Ik Nal used to be the evil one’s slave. She found Ik Nal interesting because of Ik Nal’s coloration.”

“That must have been horrible.” I shiver and Ik Nal’s face darkens.

“It was. Until Ik Nal escaped, that is.”

We return to the first door Aerglo opened and Ik Nal opens the trapdoor.

“Gole will not fit down there. Let Ik Nal go instead.”

I nod my assent, amazed by Ik Nal’s transformation from a sniveling wretch to a brave, calm, witch-slayer.

Ik Nal descends the trapdoor and climbs down a ladder. He goes down so I can’t see him. He returns a few seconds later, carrying a book.

“Ik Nal has found the evil one’s diary.” He explains and I frown.

“Can you read?”

“Ik Nal not know how to read.”

“Was there anything unusual down there?” I ask and Ik Nal looks at me strangely.

“Ik Nal knows everything down there is strange. Ik Nal not like. But Ik Nal will search again while Gole reads the diary for clues.”

“Wait. If you can’t read, how did you know that it was Rubydanis’s diary?” I ask and Ik Nal frowns,

“Ik Nal was shown the diary by the evil one, who told Ik Nal not to touch the book. She called it her diary.”

I nod as I slice through the lock on the diary with my claw and open it to the first page.

It reads,

“Day one in Floles.

Floles is beautiful beyond description. Today I saw the Striped Waterfall when I arrived out of the portal…”

I skip further into the diary, wondering how Rubydanis knew to bring a diary with her and how she knew she was in Floles immediately upon arriving.

“Day three in Floles.

I met the fairies of the Striped Waterfall today. They were very shy at first, but gradually became more friendly. I asked them if there were more creatures on this world and they pointed me to the elves living on the Floral Isle to tell me about the other creatures. This world feels too perfect. There must be some dark secret about this world.

I will investigate further,

~Rubydanis”

I skip further ahead and find myself at day fifty-one.

“Day fifty-one in Floles.

Met my first non-talking creature today. The pearlies have excellent shells made of solid pearl. Must be worth a fortune back on Madhar. I ate the first meat I’ve had since I arrived. I hunted a sundeer that strayed too close to me. I’ve taught the sundeer fear.

They didn’t know fear before I arrived. Now they run if I get too close. Progress is being made here…”

I stop reading in disgust. What on Nearth was wrong with Rubydanis?

I skip to the end of the diary and read what it says.

“Day six-hundred and seventeen in Floles.

I have created my kingdom in Floles. The Dark Lands are my own and soon all Floles will be turned into my kingdom by the trolls. The trolls are my subjects and they fear me. Rightfully so, for I have no qualms about killing them. In fact, I rather enjoy it.

The Silver Meadow is becoming a place of silent fear. My work is spreading throughout the land. Soon it will be complete. Soon I will rule all. Those who ridiculed me in Madhar will soon feel my wrath.

I am Rubydanis, Queen of the Dark Lands. No, I am Queen of Floles. The giants do nothing to stop me.  They can do nothing to stop me.

I am too powerful for them now. But something is coming. My correspondence with Terror was abruptly cut off. I do not know what has happened to him.

I fear the worst.

~Rubydanis”

“Nothing useful in here.” I huff as Ik Nal emerges from Rubydanis’s bedroom carrying a light blue book with green flowers painted on it.

“This is the evil one’s spell book. Ik Nal fears it greatly.”

I stare at the book and Ik Nal drops it in front of me. It lands with an ominous thud and I shiver. It looks so innocent and so kind. I’m sure Rubydanis looked the same way when she first arrived.

I cautiously open the book and find, not spells, but sketches and extremely advanced mathematics scrawled across the pages. I flip through the pages and read the titles where there are titles. Portal to Floles, portal to the Strange Lands, portal to Wyncam, precision portal creating, troll creating- wait, troll creating? I flip back to the troll creating page and scan over it.

“Death is a concept that has not been fully explored on Floles like it was in Autumn. In Autumn, death is rampant and killing is applauded. Here in Floles, it is a mystery.

I plan to solve this mystery. So, with the death of an innocent child that I lure away from its parents, I will create a new species. I will call them trolls.”

Okay, so she really did create trolls by murdering a helpless child. Great. Lovely. I’m disliking Rubydanis more the more I learn about her.

She makes cyagenians look good. I’m glad she’s dead. I force myself to focus on the problem at hand: how do I stop the trolls from spawning? I skip ahead in her notes on troll-spawning and continue.

“It took the blood of a goblin child to create a troll. I mixed its blood with my own blood and sprinkled a bit of living powder I had invented back in Madhar on it. This created a troll-spawning murk, one which I discovered can spawn hundreds of trolls each day. If I die, my trolls should die as well.

I’m not for sure on this point, as I haven’t died before. But I digress. To combat this effect if I die, I caused my murk to come alive as well, using my living powder. However, the powder will dissolve if it gets wet with water.

Blood will not dissolve it. Only water.  I have made the Dark Lands so that it never rains here. It is perfect, and no one will ever discover this.

I have practiced on my living garden in my house as well. If it is watered, however, every single prisoner will return to their normal state, rather than existing as plants…”

“By Nearth! I’ve figured out how to destroy the troll-spawning murk and save the people that Rubydanis turned into her garden! That arrogant witch wrote it all in here, thinking she would never die.” I exclaim and Ik Nal looks up at me in awe.

“Gole is brilliant then! Ik Nal wonders how Gole plans to do this?”

“We have to get water and dump it into the troll-spawning murk and on the plants. The garden will turn back to normal creatures and the troll-spawning murk will be dissolved.”

“What will happen to Ik Nal and other trolls?” Ik Nal asks curiously and I pause.

“I-I don’t know, Ik Nal. I hope you’ll be okay.”

“Ik Nal is okay if Ik Nal does not survive. It is okay, Gole. Ik Nal will has helped to save Floles. What greater honor can a good troll have than that?”

I put my forehead against Ik Nal’s, in a type of alterna hug, and Ik Nal laughs.

“Gole is silly. Ik Nal and Gole must free the prisoners and destroy the murk now.”

“You’re the bravest little creature I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a lot of creatures, both big and small.” I say affectionately and Ik Nal turns and leads me into the kitchen.

“The evil one had a sink in here that she got water out of.” He says seriously and I look around the kitchen.

The walls are grey, and the floor is made of black tiles. The counters are white and there’s an empty bowl on one of the counters. It seems large enough for us to water the whole garden with, so I lift Ik Nal onto the counter and he lifts the bowl.

“I don’t know how to use a sink, Ik Nal. I’ve never had to use one before now. You’re going to have to activate it somehow.” I say and Ik Nal grins.

He pulls a handle beside the sink and water flows out of the faucet. Ik Nal holds the bowl beneath the sink and fills it up. He pushes the handle back to its starting position and climbs onto my back with the bowl of water, carefully balancing it. Once he’s safely on my back, I quickly but cautiously walk through the kitchen door and into the garden.

I crouch down to allow Ik Nal to slide off my back and he starts watering the “plants”. Immediately, the “plants” begin to expand and grow until there are at least two hundred creatures standing in the room with us.

I see a few fairies and elves. I see a lot of goblins but more colorful than Whitehair. I see a bunch of gnomes, who are wearing brighter clothes than Sunshine was. But the rest of the creatures I don’t know what they are.

Ik Nal scurries back over to me and I scoop him onto my back. I look around at the creatures and see beautiful, elegant women. I see lively, jolly-looking, handsome people. I see a person who’s about as tall as I am.

Then there are shining people who look like Aerglo, who leave flowers everywhere as they stretch and run to each other. There are sparkling, ghostly people who whisper to each other, and I see a lot of regular humans as well. Then I see colorful people with just as colorful skin- skin colors that vary through all the colors I’ve ever seen.

They all look to me expectantly after ensuring that everyone is back in their regular forms, and I begin to address them.

“Greetings, you who were trapped by the witch Rubydanis. I am Gole the alterna from Nearth, and this is the slayer of Rubydanis, Ik Nal the troll.” I begin and I can feel everyone’s eyes shift to Ik Nak who’s on my back.

Ik Nal moves onto my head so he can see everyone clearly.

“A troll killed Rubydanis?” A fairy dressed in a grey tunic with black leggings asks suspiciously and I nod.

“He did. He is the only albino troll, and the only good troll.” I say and an elf with pale white skin speaks up,

“Thank you two for saving us from our plant prisons, but how are we going to escape the Dark Lands now that we’ve been freed?”

“Gole has read the evil one’s spell book and discovered that we must pour water on the murk to destroy it, just as pouring water on you has freed you all.” Ik Nal says and a murmur breaks out across the crowd.

“So, we have to risk our lives again?” A goblin asks in dismay and I nod sadly,

“I’m afraid so. Those trolls will fight tooth and nail to protect that murk from us. And who knows how many trolls there are around the murk? It would greatly aid us if you would all join us on our quest to save your world of Floles.”

Silence covers the crowd and I wait until someone responds.

“Well, let’s get to saving Floles then.”