Chapter 10 - The Dark-Side of Gardina...
Everyone at school is excited and buzzing with talk about the quiz and the camp out on the field. Abs and I are excited too, but our feelings have nothing to do with the school activities. I have brought my old black ski pants and a black hat for my night camo outfit. I also have a long sleeve black pull over and black socks and trainers. I had to paint over the white stripe down the side so that I am completely covered in black. I have a few items in an old black kit bag but am not sure if I will take these into the castle.
The plan is to take part in the quiz so everyone sees me at school. Then in the confusion of everyone leaving to go to the field and meet their teachers I will slip behind one of the library shelves and wait for the library to close. Abs reminds me to have a browser stick at hand for the rite of passage into Gardinia. When I think the coast is clear I will go to the Botany shelf and disappear. Those few moments in the library will be scary but luckily there is a full moon tonight so there will be some light to see by.
Abigail is ready with a story to tell anyone who asks where I am, but she thinks everyone will be so busy and excited about the camping part of the evening that no one will even notice I am not there.
“Sam, I’m a bit worried about the bees and the stinging Gympie trees,” she says with a hint of fear in her eyes. She has brought along some seriously strong gardening gloves and some funny looking gauze to put over my head. “You may need these as protection,” she says.
I laugh at the thought of a net over my head. When I see Abs is a bit hurt by my response, I assure her, “Thanks heaps Abs, I promise I’ll use them if I need them, you are such a great friend.”
The quiz goes by in a blur of questions and answers. The children rush out of the library heading towards the camp out. I hang back and take a side step into the Botany section of the reference books. I catch a last glimpse of Abs as she sneaks a little wave and then I hear the sliding doors close. I am alone in the library! When I am sure that I really am alone, I change into my cat burglar camo- outfit and prepare to be swept up into Gardinia.
I land with a bump right at the foot of the castle path and watch and wait for Lupa to meet me. It is evening and the light is fading.
Lupa arrives and I follow him to the gnome’s garden cottages.
He knocks on the first cottage door and the chief of the gnome council appears. He nods his head and leads us to the back of his cottage. Everything is ready for our search and rescue mission. A map of the gnome tunnels, a headlight for me to wear and a snack pack of special gnome homely treats prepared by his wife. All that’s missing is the giant eagle owl to carry me into the dark-side of Gardinia. At that moments there is a scuffling sound and a little gnome, also all dressed in black is standing beside me. He has replaced his pointed gnome hat with a black beanie and looks like a mini me. It is Chervil.
I try not to look surprised as he says, “I am reporting for duty to assist you in the search and rescue operation. I want to volunteer to help the Princess Gazania and her scientist, Basil, to escape.”
I am about to tell Chervil that he is far too small and that I think he should stay at home with his family. However, I can see he is not going to leave and actually in gnome years he is probably not that young. I nod my head and agree.
“Welcome aboard Chervil, you are a very brave little gnome,” I say sincerely.
At that precise moment there is a swooshing sound of enormous wings and the giant eagle owl swoops into the back yard and settles down in front of us. He bows really low and flutters his giant eagle owl eyes showing off the most amazing orange eyes.
I wish I had more time to admire this magnificent bird and his enormous strong legs and beak but we have a mission to accomplish and must get going. We need the cover of the dark night. The owl has a large basket that he is going to use to carry us across the overgrown forest and past the dangerous stinging Gympie trees. He will drop us off inside the castle grounds as close to the dungeon entrance as possible. Little Chervil hops in the basket first and then I join him.
“Basil, the gnome, is my best friend,” Chervil explains. “We grew up together. I must help him to escape, even if it is dangerous. Thank you for letting me come along Sam.”
“I agree Chervil, best friends should always stick together,” and I think for a moment of Abs and how she has helped me since I started to be involved in trying to rescue Princess Gazania.
Together we hang onto the side of the basket as the giant eagle owl lifts us up into the air. The basket sways a bit and I feel just a tiny wave of air sickness come over me. It soon passes as we look over the edge of the basket into the dark forest and huge bushes that cover this side of Gardinia. I have no idea of what may be lurking in the forest below and just looking at it makes goosebumps appear on my arms.
Suddenly the towers and spires of the dark castle loom into sight. I wonder if this castle has a name. What would Bella Donna and Uncle Ru call their home?
As we get closer the eagle dips down towards the castle gates. They are dark and black and covered with a thick creeper. At the top of the gates you can just make out the name, Chillingsgate Castle. The dark-side castle does have a name and it sends shivers down my spine.
The giant eagle owl flies steadily over the gates towards the first set of towers at the top of the castle. We are going to get off here and make our way down into the castle and go right down into the depths of the castle’s dungeon and hope that this is where Bella Donna and Uncle Rumex are putting their plans together.
Under the cover of night with a moon and some stars, we make our way through the castle’s gate and find the entry that leads down to the castle’s dungeons.
Some light is provided by a fire torch. The shadows from these flames cast weird shapes all around us.
We creep down the spiral stairway and hope we will soon reach the dungeon. Finally, we are rewarded by finding a large room at the bottom of the stairs. In the middle of this room is an enormous table and it is laid out as if it is a game of model figures waiting to go into battle. I have seen similar games in model toy shops but this one is different. As I get closer I realize that this isn’t just any game board. This board has some very interesting figures placed on it! There is a white castle with white wolves round it and a King and Queen sitting on their thrones. There is a path leading up the center of the board and on one side of the path there is a little village of cottages and a greenhouse with a herb garden.
I get closer to the board and see a cluster of gnomes standing outside the village and then with a shudder I realize the game board is Gardinia. The one side of the board is the kingdom of King Costus and the gnomes are there in his kingdom.
The other side of the board is dark and grey. Its castle looks gloomy and foreboding. The dark castle, Chillingsgate castle, is protected by the grey wolves and I see each wolf is standing on a storybook. What an interesting platform for the wolves, a connection to the library perhaps. It looks as if one of the wolves is missing as there is a book on the board without a wolf figurine.
I look at Chervil and whisper, “What is Uncle Ru’s game plan?”
Chervil looks terrified, he shakes his head and I can see that his knees are knocking together.
I walk a bit closer to get a look at the gnomes and the greenhouse and then draw back in shock! There are two extra figures with the gnomes, two taller figures in Bedford View uniforms, a boy and a girl. A big shiver goes down my spine as I realize it is me and Abs!
We thought we were super undercover cops and that no one knew we were involved. How wrong we are! What did Uncle Bert say? Know your enemy. Oh my how silly we have been to think that Miss Sorrel or Uncle Ru were not aware of who we are.
Suddenly I realize I am in great danger. All the mean talk in the library and deliberate interference with my read-athon points is part of their wicked plans. I wonder why the library is part of the plan to destroy Gardinia. I decide to keep that thought for an
other time. Right now we need to get as close as we can to the kidnapped Princess and the little gnome who was captured with her.
Chervil and I study the game board. “Samuel,” whispers the gnome, “I think they plan to overthrow King Costus!”
I must not forget the storyboard that Abs and I have created. We had some pretty smart ideas and clues to lead us to the point of knowing Uncle Ru was behind the kidnapping. If Uncle Ru is playing war games then what is his secret weapon. Kidnapping Gazania is only a part of this evil plan to take over Gardinia. Uncle Ru has something else up his wicked sleeve.
I am trying to figure this out when I feel someone tugging at my top. It’s Chervil. He beckons me to follow him and we go cautiously across the room to a large wooden door that is bolted from the outside.
Behind the door we hear the sound of someone calling in a hoarse whisper, “Help me!”
Chervil and I listen carefully and try to open the door. My helpful little gnome pulls a pin from his pocket and picks the lock. Then we pull back the huge bolts that keep it locked. It is tough but we manage. In this deep, dark room sitting all alone is Basil. He stumbles out of the room and we wait for Gazania to follow. There is no sign of the Princess! Basil shakes his head and wipes a tear from under his eye.
“She is not here,” he says sadly. “They have taken her somewhere else and there was nothing I could do to save her.”
I can tell he is devastated and Chervil tries to comfort his friend. What are we going to do now? Gazania is not here?
Basil takes a deep breath and stands tall. “We cannot go back to the King without his precious treasure, his daughter Gazania. I refuse to leave her in this dark and dangerous place.”
All three of us walk over to the games board again. “Maybe there is something we have missed,” I say, encouraging the gnomes to take a closer look.
“Look there is a passage and it is leading to an underground cave,” cries Chervil excitedly.
“I want you two to wait here while I take a look at the cave.” The gnomes agree.
I am not prepared in any way for what I see!
The cave is full of bees!
This is where all of Gardinia’s bees are right now, but the astonishing thing is they are sharing this cave with their enemy, the Death’s Head Hawk moth. The big brown moths are feeding side by side with the bees on the honey they have made. The honey that has been stolen to feed the moths and make them big and strong. Could this be Uncle Ru’s secret weapon? A garden without bees cannot flourish as the bees must pollinate the flowers and bees need their honey to survive the winter when they hibernate and wait for the spring to start their cycle all over again.
The giant moths are very scary and an army of moths will cause a lot of damage to the gardens of Gardinia as they lay eggs and their caterpillars hatch out into munching monsters. It will be like a great plague!
Gently, so as not to disturb the bees and the gigantic moths, I close the door to the cave and go back to Uncle Ru’s massive operations room. Basil and Chervil are waiting there.
“I think we should leave this place now!” I say. “The Princess is not here and if we are discovered in this room who knows what will become of us.”
Uncle Bert’s words are echoing in my ear – ‘know your enemy’. While I am here in the depths of Uncle Ru’s castle...I must take a few mental notes before I leave. There is clearly a mastermind behind this whole plan and looking at the game board I feel there is not much time before the final battle is going to take place. Uncle Ru has already placed his little figurine behind King Costus’ throne ready to take over. The Princess, next in line to the throne has disappeared. The army of moths is ready and waiting but something is missing.
I look round the room and then I see the glass jar with the deadly night shade plant. The missing figure is Bella Donna. Basil steps forward as he sees me looking at the plant.
Basil says in a very hushed whisper, “Bella Donna is very clever and she knows a lot about plants and herbal remedies. Some plants can be used for good and evil. If the deadly nightshade gets into the wrong hands its leaves can be used to make a deadly poison. But in the right hands it can be used to heal and help.”
While I try to take this information in...Basil whispers something to Chervil. Chervil shakes his head and looks very worried. When I ask what is wrong, Chervil tells me Basil wants to stay behind and insists that we leave right now before it is too late.
I am shaking my head but Basil says firmly, “If I go with you then Uncle Ru will send the grey wolves to chase after us. You will not outrun the wolves and it will force Rumex to go ahead with his plan earlier. I will stay and be able to see what is going on inside the castle. I am learning a lot from Bella Donna and she is learning from me. Perhaps I can use some gnome wisdom to help her see how powerful medicine can be used to do good in our land.”
Basil hands me a jar and inside it are some very angry bees. I wonder what this is all about when I see that one of the bees is much bigger than the others. It is the Queen bee.
In a quiet but demanding voice Basil says, “You and Chervil should return to the gnome village with the Queen bee so she can start another colony. Don’t worry about me, I will be safe. Bella Donna won’t harm me, she needs me to teach her about the plants. And the Princess is not here so you should leave and use the new clues to work out where she has been taken.”
Basil is right. I nod in agreement. He will stay and we must go back to plan for the next part of the rescue. Where is Gazania? I know our time is up, it will be morning soon.
We all get a fright as we hear steps coming down the path that led to the cave. Someone is coming in from the outside.
What a relief, it is a garden gnome. He is all dressed in his tunneling clothes with a little miner’s lamp on his head. He beckons to us to follow him. I put on my gloves to protect my hands and pull my hat down over my ears. No one will see how ridiculous I look in the tunnel.
“Hurry up,” says Basil, “someone is coming down the stairs; lock me back in my room. Don’t worry about me and in this way no one will know you have been here.”
Basil goes back to his dungeon cell and I follow the gnomes into their tunnel clutching the jar of bees and hoping we will get back to the gnome village without any trouble. That will not be the end of my journey as I still have to get into the library and home again without being noticed.
Diary of a 6th Grade Spy - Book 1 - Zero to Hero Page 12
