'So you brought Crown Prince Jorillam to the Enchanted Forest , intending to abandon him here,' Mendanbar said.
'Actually, it was my idea,' the Crown Prince put in. 'After the other thing didn't work out, we needed to think of something fast.'
'Other thing?' said Telemain, fascinated.
Prince Rupert looked embarrassed. 'I hired a giant to ravage a village by the eastern border. He was supposed to show up yesterday, and I was all ready to send the documentation in to the club when I got a letter of resignation saying he'd quit that line of work and wouldn't be coming.'
Mendanbar and Cimorene exchanged looks.
'Did he say why?' Cimorene asked.
'No, just that he'd done enough pillaging for one giant, thank you all the same, and now he was going to try something new.'
'So I said Uncle Rupert should abandon me in the woods,' Jorillam said.
'That's much more wicked than hiring a giant, isn't it? And I'd get to have some adventures, too, instead of sitting home while Mother and Father are off on their quest. Only first we couldn't find the forest, and then we got chased by some wizards, and then we found the forest just in time and lost the wizards, except we got lost, too, and Uncle Rupert wouldn't leave. And then we were captured by a witch and she brought us here. Are you going to throw us in a dungeon?'
'What was that part about wizards?' Mendanbar demanded.
'I thought you'd be interested,' Morwen said with considerable satisfaction.
'But that was before we got to the Enchanted Forest,' Prince Rupert said in a bewildered tone. 'Why would the King of the Enchanted Forest be interested in that?'
'Never mind,' said Mendanbar. 'Just tell me what happened.'
'Well, we were just coming out of the old Pass of the Dragons,' Prince Rupert said. 'It cuts straight through the Mountains of Morning to the Enchanted Forest, and hardly anyone uses it these days, so I thought it would be a good choice. Only things must have changed, because when we came out of the pass we were in a wasteland, and not in the Enchanted Forest at all.'
Mendanbar, Telemain, and Cimorene looked at each other. 'Describe this wasteland,' Mendanbar said.
'It was-it was bare,' Rupert told him. 'Um, well, bare. No grass or trees or anything. Just… just…'
'Just bare,' Cimorene finished for him. 'Did it look burned?'
'Yes, now that you mention it. I didn't examine it closely, you understand, because that was when the wizards came out of the cave and chased US off.'
'We had to run for miles,' Crown Prince Jorillam said with relish.
'They almost caught us.'
'It was a long way, but it wasn't miles, 'his uncle corrected. 'And they lost us as soon as we got to the trees.'
The forest must have shifted, thought Mendanbar. Good for it. 'Thank you very much,' he said aloud. 'You've been very helpful.'
'We have' Prince Rupert said.
'Does that mean you're not going to throw us in a dungeon?' asked Crown Prince Jorillam, sounding disappointed.
'Not at all,' Mendanbar said. 'Willin, after we're gone, see that His Royal Highness, here, is made comfortable in one of the dungeons. The one under the North-Northwest Tower, I think.' Mendanbar smiled to himself, thinking that it might do the overeager young prince good to climb up and down six flights of stairs to get what he wanted, and it certainly wouldn't do him any harm.
'Of course, Your Majesty,' said Willin in tones of perfect understanding.
He paused. 'May I inquire where you are going and when?'
'To rescue the King of the Dragons,' Mendanbar said, 'and as soon as possible.'
Willin swallowed hard, Prince Rupert choked, and even Morwen looked slightly startled.
'The only question is, what's the best way of doing it,' Mendanbar continued. 'Any suggestions?'
'We can't just charge in and attack the cave,' Cimorene said, frowning.
'The wizards could kill Kazul before we got to her. And if the area around the cave looks like that bit you showed us a few minutes ago, it simply won't be possible to sneak up on them.'
'What we need is a back way in,' Telemain said. 'I don't suppose there is one?'
'Every cave in the Enchanted Forest has a back way in,' Mendanbar said.
'The problem is finding it. Do you know anything about that part of the forest, Morwen?'
'I'm afraid not,' Morwen said. She turned to the cats. 'Chaos? Jasper? How about you?'
The cats looked at each other, blinked, and looked back at Morwen.
'They aren't familiar with the area, either,' Morwen said with regret.
Willin coughed. 'If I may venture a suggestion, Your Majesty…'
'Go ahead,' Mendanbar said.
'I believe there is a list of caves, passages, vestibules, and entrances in the Royal Archives,' said the elf. 'Would you care to examine it?'
'Immediately,' Mendanbar replied. 'I might have known you'd have a list somewhere with the right information, Willin. I should have asked you at once.'
The elf bowed deeply, looking very pleased. 'I shall bring it without delay, Your Majesty,' he said, and whisked off down the corridor.
'Hey!' cried Crown Prince Jorillam. 'Are you going to fight the wizards? Can I come?'
'Yes, we are, and no, you can't,' Mendanbar told him. 'You're going to be locked in the dungeon, remember?'
'But a fight with wizards is much more interesting than being locked in a dungeon,' Jorillam complained. 'I want to watch.'
'Maybe so,' Cimorene said. 'But that's how it is with dungeons. You aren't supposed to get a choice about whether you're going to be locked up in one, you know.'
This was evidently a new idea for the young prince, and he did not look happy about it. 'But-' 'But, nothing,' Mendanbar said. 'I'm the King, and I say you go to the dungeon instead of fighting wizards, and no argument.'
'Yes,' said Morwen. 'We have much more important things to argue about. Such as how to get rid of the wizards once we find them.'
'Buckets,' said Cimorene. 'Lots of buckets, and soap, and lemon juice.
Where do you keep your buckets, Mendanbar?'
'Around somewhere,' Mendanbar said vaguely. 'I'll have someone bring us a few. Can the three of us carry enough buckets to get rid of all the wizards?'
'Four of us,' said Morwen. The cats yowled. 'Yes, I know, and of course you're coming, but you can't carry a bucket of soapy water, so for purposes of this discussion it doesn't matter,' she told them.
The cats gave her an affronted look, turned their backs, and began making indignant little noises at each other.
'It seems probable that the wizards will be present in force,' Telemain said. 'They were certainly aware of Prince Rupert's appearance among them this morning, and they may well have detected your unsuccessful locating spell, Mendanbar. Consequently, I would wager that there will be far too many to dispose of by means of your, er, interesting methods, Princess Cimorene.'
'We'll bring some buckets along anyway,' Mendanbar said. 'It can't hurt.'
He nodded a summons to the blank-faced footman by the front door.
The footman came over at once, and Mendanbar told him to bring half a dozen buckets of soapy water mixed with lemon juice out to the entrance hall immediately. The footman, who had worked at the palace for a long time and was used to peculiar requests, bowed impassively and departed.
'Any other ideas?' Mendanbar asked.
'Can't the witch turn them into toads?' said the Crown Prince.
