‘You might have told us at the start that the stampede wasn’t anything to worry about,’ Fox called over her shoulder to Iggy.
‘I did try,’ Iggy replied. ‘But it was quite hard to be heard over all the yelling and pushing.’
Heckle, on Iggy’s shoulder, ruffled her feathers. ‘Iggy is wondering whether all heroes have bad tempers at the start of their quests or if it’s just the ones who arrive in business suits.’
Iggy rapped the parrot on the beak, then sensibly moved the conversation on. ‘It’s a shame the swiftwings couldn’t tell you themselves that they’re on our side, but none of the magical creatures or the animals in this kingdom can speak. Except, I suppose, the Lofty Husks. The swiftwings are incredibly fast at running and flying, though, so we Unmappers named them to suit their personalities.’
Fox chanced a look behind her. There was just one swiftwing left on the jungle floor and, after a few false starts and a considerable amount of puffing and panting, it launched itself into the air. It wasn’t graceful as the others had been – more winged donkey than flying stallion – but it wobbled this way and that until eventually it disappeared through the canopy.
‘We call that one Total Shambles,’ Iggy explained.
Back within the boundary, there were dozens of unicycles flooding in across the Hustleway. Adult Unmappers, dressed in similar clothes to Iggy, hastened in from all directions. They were heading towards the same cluster of trees that the children’s unicycles seemed to be aiming for. These trees weren’t as tall as the ones Fox had seen beyond the boundary, but they were wider. Much wider. They had to be, to allow room for their beautifully carved doors, shuttered windows, winding staircases and jutting verandas. For these fifty hollow trees were home to the two hundred Unmappers who lived in Jungledrop.
‘Welcome to Timbernook,’ Iggy said. ‘I—’
He was interrupted by a growl so loud and close that both Fox and Fibber tumbled backwards off their unicycles and plunged towards the forest floor. They fell, screaming, only to find themselves landing upon a plant built entirely of feathers, which made falling onto it feel rather like sinking into a mattress.
The twins stood up shakily and came face to face with something large and fur-covered and incredibly sharp-toothed. It looked like a panther only its fur was gold.
Fibber grabbed his briefcase, which had also toppled out of the unicycle, then his sister and pushed her in front of him. ‘Eat her first!’
The golden panther had paws the size of dinner plates, each one fringed with giant claws, and eyes that were as dark and deep as a well. It narrowed those eyes at Fox.
Panicking, Fox pointed up at Iggy. ‘Or you could start with him?’
The golden panther opened its cavernous mouth and the twins shook with fear, but to their surprise and relief the animal didn’t eat anyone. Instead, it spoke, a female voice that was low and coated in a growl.
‘Children from the Faraway?’ The panther blinked. ‘Can it be?’
The twins edged backwards until they were pressed up against a large tree. The panther took another step closer to them. Fox could feel the creature’s breath – hot and heavy – on her cheeks. But the animal didn’t growl or flash her teeth. In fact, she didn’t look hungry at all. Her large dark eyes seemed surprised and curious and perhaps a little bit hopeful.
The panther dipped her head. ‘I am Goldpaw, one of the four Lofty Husks that rule the kingdom of Jungledrop. The rest of my kind are patrolling the rainforest to ward off Morg’s Midnights – Brightfur to the west in the Blazing Ridges, Spark to the east in the Elderwood and Deepglint up north in the Bonelands, but I know I speak for all of them when I say that you are a most welcome sight.’
‘So, just to confirm,’ Fibber said, clutching his briefcase to his chest, ‘you like growling, but you’re not going to eat us because you’re in charge here?’
‘It is never a good idea to eat heroes at the start of their quest,’ Goldpaw said. ‘That sort of behaviour gets everyone into a dreadful muddle.’
The panther watched the twins carefully as if weighing up what sort of children they might be. Fox was used to being weighed up by her parents – their eyes were always judging and looking disappointed – but somehow it wasn’t the same with Goldpaw. Her eyes blazed with belief and it made Fox feel, for the very first time in her life, ever so slightly less useless than usual. And, once again, she found herself imagining what it would be like to be the hero who saved the world. But, once again, she found herself remembering Casper Tock and his poky little shop, so she managed to blot the thought out before she got carried away.
Goldpaw frowned. ‘I did not hear a dragon roar to fulfil the candletree prophecy that help was, at last, on its way.’
‘I did!’ Iggy cried from the Hustleway. ‘The Snaggletooth Cave roared because the Here and There Express charged out of it, puffing steam and carrying these two heroes from the Faraway, and the whole thing looked just like a dragon roaring!’ He paused and then bit his lip. ‘I know I was out of bounds after curfew and I shouldn’t have been, but Heckle flew off again… and really it all worked out for the best.’
Goldpaw drew back from the twins and turned her attention to Iggy. Fox was surprised to see that she listened as if she actually cared – as if small, irritating children like Iggy might in fact matter, after all. ‘The parrot that follows you around, repeating everyone’s feelings? You strayed beyond the boundary to find her?’ she asked.
Heckle, who had been taking a nap inside Iggy’s hair, shuffled out onto his shoulder again. She preened her feathers and looked around but, before she had time to pluck out Goldpaw’s
