Crombie squawked and spread his wings. His proud colors flashed as he flew up and made for the lake.
'Wait, featherbrain!' Chester cried. 'They'll see you by air! That will give us all away!' But the griffin ignored him.
They watched Crombie wing handsomely out over the water, his plumage flexing red, blue, and white. 'I have to admit the ornery cuss is a beautiful animal,' Chester murmured.
Then the griffin folded his wings and plummeted toward the surface of the lake, spinning in the air. 'A curse!' Bink cried. 'They shot him down with a curse!'
But then the figure straightened out, regained altitude, and winged back. Crombie seemed to be all right.
'What happened?' Bink demanded as the griffin landed. 'Was it a curse?'
'Squawk!' Crombie replied. Grundy translated: 'What curse? I merely did my turnabout to get a closer fix on the fiends. They reside under the water.'
'Under the water!' Bink cried. 'How can we go there?'
Humfrey brought out another vial and handed it to Bink. 'These pills will do the trick. Take one every two hours while submerged. It will-'
'There's a mound starting!' Chester cried. 'A spy!'
Humfrey whipped out yet another vial, uncorked it, and aimed it at the upwelling dirt A jet of vapor shot out, striking the mound. Crystals of ice formed. The mound froze.
'Fire extinguisher,' the Magician explained. 'Very cold. That squiggle is frozen stiff in its tunnel.'
'Let me kill it while I can catch it!' Chester said eagerly.
'Wait!' Bink said. 'How long will the freeze last?'
'Only a couple of minutes,' Humfrey said. 'Then the squiggle will resume activity with no impairment'
'And no memory of the missing minutes?' Bink asked.
'It should not be aware of the lapse. Squiggles aren't very smart.'
'Then don't kill it! Get out of its observation. It will be convinced this was a false alarm, that we were never here. It will so report to its master, throwing the enemy off the track.'
The Magician's brow lifted. 'Very intelligent, Bink. You are thinking more like a leader now. We shall hide in the bottle, and you and Chester can carry it with you. Quickly, before the freeze abates.'
The griffin remained uncertain, but acquiesced. The Magician set the vial, performed his incantation, and man, griffin, and golem vanished.
'Grab the bottle, get on my back, hang on!' Chester cried. 'Time's almost up!'
Bink snatched up the lone vial remaining, jumped on Chester's back, and hung on. The centaur took off. In a moment his hooves were splashing through the shallow water. 'Gimme a pill!' Chester cried.
Bink fumbled out a pill from the bottle, praying he would not spill the works as he bounced around. He popped one into his mouth and handed the other forward to Chester's raised hand. 'I hope these work!' he cried.
'That's all we need-another wrong bottle!' Chester exclaimed. 'Gobble a foaming insulation pill?'
Bink wished the centaur hadn't thought of that. Insulation, or freezing extinguisher-ouch!
He glanced back. Was it his imagination, or was the dirt mound growing again? Had they gotten away in time? Suppose the squiggle saw their footprints?
Then Chester hit a drop-off, and they plunged underwater. Bink choked involuntarily as the liquid covered his mouth-but the water was just like air to his breathing. In fact, it was like air to his whole body, except for its color. They could breathe!
This experience reminded him of something. In a moment he had it: the Queen's anniversary party! That had been illusory underwater scenery, while this was genuine. Unfortunately, the Queen's version had been prettier. Here things were murky and dull.
Chester plodded on, picking his way carefully through the unfamiliar aquatic environment. Dusky clouds of sediment stirred up around his legs. Curious fish looked the pair over. Chester now held his bow in his hands, in case they should encounter a sea monster. Apart from the tension, it was soon rather dull going.
Bink drew out the bottle that held the Magician and put his eye to the side. Vaguely he made out the shapes of a tiny griffin and tinier man. They were in a carpeted room like that of a palace, and were looking at moving pictures in the magic mirror. It seemed very comfortable. Much nicer, in fact, than forging through the murk toward fiends.
Another ugly thought came. Suppose he had grabbed the wrong bottle himself, and popped the Magician into his mouth in lieu of a water-breathing pill? Such things were very scary right now.
Bink put the vial in his pocket, reassured that his friends were secure. He wondered what would happen if he shook the bottle violently, but resisted the urge to experiment. 'Let's go visit the fiends,' he said with false cheer.
Shortly they approached a splendid marine castle. It was formed from seashells-which meant it was probably magical, since few seashells formed in lakes without the aid of magic. Little whirlpools ascended from its turrets, apparently bringing air down to the inhabitants. Instead of a moat, the castle had a thick wall of seaweed, patrolled by vigilant swordfish.
