The Case of Firebane's Folly

by Liam O'Donnell

  Firebane looked toward the dim lights on the balcony and frowned.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “My soldiers were a bit too enthusiastic with their sedatives. You slept for much of the day. But you are awake now, and I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here.”

  “It had crossed my mind,” I said.

  “It has to do with that stolen crown.” Firebane’s forked tongue flicked out between his massive fangs.

  “You know it’s missing too?” Hugo said. “First Gilthil, and now you. Does everyone know?”

  “Not at all, Hugo,” Firebane said. “Gilthil is a wise lagalander who often sees more than others. I happen to share that same trait. I doubt anyone else other than your spider queen and the thieves know the crown is missing. And I’d like to keep it that way. The resetting of the braces happens tomorrow. Queen Azelia and Lord Dunhelm of the dwarves will arrive in Lava Falls first thing in the morning. If word got out that the crown is missing, there would be widespread panic across the Depths. We can’t have that.”

  “Can the resetting be delayed until we find the crown?” I said.

  “I’m afraid not,” Firebane said. “The pressure on the braces builds up over time. For them to remain intact, all that pressure must be absorbed by the Crown of Peace each year. To wait any longer would overload the braces and cause them to collapse. Unfortunately, that is the only way I could design them to work properly.”

  “You designed the braces?” Tank asked.

  “The braces are ancient,” Hugo said. “They’ve been around as long as the mountain has been here.”

  “And so have I.” Firebane grinned. “When the Abyss first formed long ago, the dwarves and spiders could not find a way to close it, and neither could I. The leaders of each land agreed that the first monsters to find a way to close the Abyss would be crowned rulers of the Dark Depths. I created the braces, which stopped the mountain from falling into the Abyss.”

  “You solved the problem,” I said.

  “So I thought,” Firebane said. “I expected them to name me their ruler, but instead they mocked my device. They claimed I had failed because I did not close the Abyss. It remained open and dangerous. The spiders said my braces would not work for long. They called my machine Firebane’s Folly.”

  “But they were wrong,” Tank said. “The braces do still work. They just need a tune-up every year like any other machine.”

  “That’s what I tried to explain,” Firebane said. “I had even designed a ring that acted like a key to reset the braces. The dwarf king at the time was a stubborn but wise fellow. He took the ring I created down to his forge deep under the mountain. He reshaped the metal into the Crown of Peace and added a panzantium stone at its base.”

  “That’s the big purple gem in the crown,” Hugo said. “Some believe panzantium has magical powers.”

  “That’s what the dwarf king believed,” Firebane said. “It was his idea that we pass the crown and share control of the Dark Depths. He said the panzantium had powers that would ensure the crown was handed over each year.”

  “What happens if a ruler doesn’t share the crown?” Tank asked.

  “We don’t know,” Firebane said. “No one has ever tested it. The crown has always been passed around and the braces reset.”

  “Until now,” I said.

  “Precisely.” Firebane turned to the glass doors leading to the balcony. “That is why we are going on a trip. Follow me.”

  Firebane flew us across the lava lake and over the roofs of the buildings and homes of Lava Falls. Tank and Hugo both grinned through the whole journey. The beating of Firebane’s wings calmed my racing brain. It feels good to have someone on your side. Especially if it’s an ancient dragon the size of a department store.

  After another lap around the lake because Hugo practically begged, we landed on the roof of the town hall. We climbed off Firebane, and he shifted back into dragonkin form. He led us to a trapdoor set into the roof.

  “We’ll slip in through here,” Firebane said. “Too many curious monsters in the town square. No need to announce our visit to all of Lava Falls.” We followed him through the trapdoor, down a ladder and into a dusty corridor. At the end of the hall stood doors to an elevator. He pushed the button next to the doors. “It’s mostly storage up here. Old files. And stuff.”

  The elevator doors opened, and we went down. And down. And down.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. My gut felt like it had already reached the ground floor.

  Firebane smiled.

  “You’ll see.”

  Beside me, Tank wiggled her ears. “This is going to be so cool.”

  After much more dropping, we stopped with a thud.

  “We’re here,” Firebane said.

  The doors slid open. Firebane stepped through and we followed. A sea of chaos boiled beneath me. Firebane marched forward, smiling like a barker at a kobold carnival.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Above the Abyss

  There wasn’t much between me and a belly flop into oblivion.

  My feet were rooted to the metal walkway ringing the Abyss. Tank threw herself at the railing and froze, wide-eyed and still. Hugo had four legs on opposite railings, holding on like a furry kite. This first sight of the Abyss was too much for them. Unlike the others, I had seen it before.

  The Abyss was exactly as it had been in my nightmare the night before. The same swirling sea of chaos that had rumbled through my dream now churned under our feet. Firebane grinned at our confused stares.

  “Questions?”

  “Um, yeah.” Tank cleared her throat. She had managed to stand up and now had her zoomers on. She watched the chaos spin around us. “If we’re standing over the Abyss, why are we not dead?”

  “The spirit of curiosity is alive and well with our tinkering troll,” the dragon said. “We are alive because of my genius.”

  Tank spun the zoomers onto the dragon. “Are these the braces of balance?”

  “All 346 of them!” Firebane beamed. “They run the entire circumference of the Abyss.”

  “That means all the way around,” Tank said to me.

  “I knew that!” I snapped.

  Firebane continued. “The gravitational pull of the Abyss is so strong, it will swallow anything that gets within its grasp. Above us you will see rock. A lot of rock.”

  A ceiling of dark, jagged rock ran into the darkness in all directions. Above the Abyss, it crumbled and cascaded downward. Pieces bigger than a family of ogres snapped off the ceiling and tumbled into the gaping maw of the Abyss.

  “That is the bottom of Rockfall Mountain,” Firebane said. “We’re inside a pocket of rock deep below the deepest tunnels. That elevator is the only way in or out of here.”

  “You built the town hall on top of the Abyss?” Tank said. “Was that a good idea?”

  Firebane smirked. “It has allowed us to watch it and ensure it doesn’t grow. But I can see why you might be nervous. Believe it or not, some believe that the Abyss gives as much as it takes.”

  “I have heard that,” Hugo said. “There is a group of the queen’s advisors who say the Abyss is responsible for much of the life in the mountain.”

  “Well, monsters are allowed to believe what they like.” Firebane sighed. “No matter how silly.”

  “I kind of like the idea,” Hugo said. “It helped me not be scared of it growing up. But now that I’m standing over it, I’m not so sure.”

  “Indeed.” Firebane turned to the control panel behind him. “The braces are the only thing ensuring the Abyss doesn’t devour the mountain.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Hugo asked. “By the order of my queen, we can’t tell anyone it’s missing.”

  “Your queen is correct to keep the theft a secret, Hugo,” Firebane said. “If word got out that the crown is missing, there would be panic from the Depths to the top of Shadow Tower.”

  “Yeah, but the monsters of the mountain deserve to know that
their home might be plunged into the Abyss,” I said.

  “That still might not happen.” Firebane’s eyes twinkled. “We can’t tell anyone the crown is missing, but we know who took it.”

  “Yeah, a nameless dwarf and an ogre who could barely drive a school bus,” I said. “That’s not going to help us.”

  “Perhaps I can fill in some details.” Firebane stepped away from the reset mechanism. Two faces now appeared on the machine’s display screen.

  Mr. Ravel stared out from the screen. His hatchet eyes sent a shiver down to my tail. Next to the ogre, the dwarf with the scar glared at us.

  “That’s them!” Tank gasped. “That’s Mr. Ravel and the dwarf who knocked over Fizz.”

  “Nearly knocked me over,” I corrected. “How did you track them down?”

  “I have eyes and ears throughout Lava Falls,” Firebane said. “These two were spotted coming into the city late last night. They are both well known to the Lava Falls authorities.” Firebane pointed a claw to the image of the dwarf. “That is Bramgrum Rocksplitter. He is a renegade engineer wanted across the Dark Depths for many other crimes. He’s the mastermind behind the operation to steal the crown.”

  Bramgrum had a face like a bad report card. His beard looked like it was home to a family of gremlins. His eyes burned with anger. Just looking at him made my scales shake.

  “Bramgrum recruited Scorn,” Firebane said. “The spider captain helped the dwarf sneak into the queen’s chambers to steal the crown.”

  “And what about Mr. Ravel?” Tank asked. “I’m guessing he’s not really a school-bus driver.”

  “The only buses he drives are the ones he steals.” Firebane chuckled. “That is Hagnar Grushnik. A petty criminal on the run from Slick City police. He’s hiding out down here in the Depths.”

  “And keeping busy by helping steal priceless artifacts,” I said.

  “Exactly,” Firebane said.

  Hugo scanned the photos with his eight eyes. “If we know who they are, why don’t you just grab them like you did us?”

  “If only it were that easy, Hugo.” Firebane sighed. “We tracked them to the harbor in Lava Falls but lost them shortly after that.”

  “So you don’t know where they are?” I said.

  “Correct.” Firebane reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box with a short antenna and a small light. “But this will help us find them and, hopefully, the Crown of Peace.”

  Tank’s ears perked up. “That looks like a tectonic-frequency tracker.”

  The light on the box flashed and pinged like a bell.

  “Very good, Tank.” Firebane handed the device to my friend. “That’s exactly what it is. Its frequency rate has been modified to focus on tracking the Crown of Peace.”

  “That makes sense.” Tank took the tracker and studied it closely.

  “It does?” I said.

  “It does, Fizz.” Tank rolled her eyes. “The faster the light flashes, the closer it is to the crown.”

  “It’s wonderful we have a machine that goes ping,” I said. “But what are we going to do with it?”

  Firebane’s grin doubled in size.

  “You are going to steal back the crown.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Diving Deep in a Leaky Bucket

  Firebane rolled through the streets of Lava Falls.

  Even this late in the evening, the town was busy. The dragon cut a path through the crowded streets as we traveled from the town hall. Firebane was in his dragonkin shape, with his wings hidden under a large cape. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was a regular old dragonkin.

  But I knew better. I also didn’t like what I was hearing. Why did a dragon who ruled much of the Dark Depths need help from a pair of fourth-grade detectives and their spider friend?

  Firebane had explained it all as we rode the elevator back up to the surface. This time he led us through the town hall’s main doors and into the town square. From there we followed him through the crowded market, past groups of dwarves, trolls and other monsters. I quickened my steps and walked alongside Firebane.

  “Let me see if I understand this,” I said. “You want us to follow that pinging machine into a wanted criminal’s hideout and steal back the Crown of Peace.”

  “Exactly!” Firebane said. “You are a sharp goblin.”

  My scales bristled at the compliment. “I’m sharp enough to know your guards last saw Bramgrum the dwarf get into a submarine at the lava-lake harbor. Goblins don’t like swimming in lava.”

  “Neither do trolls!” Tank called from a step behind us.

  “Nonsense. You’ll be perfectly safe.” Firebane dismissed our concern with a wave of his hand. “We believe Bramgrum is hiding in a cavern under the lake. The tracker has pinpointed the crown’s location to an abandoned dwarven mining station down there. With any luck, you’ll surprise the thieves and be able to grab the crown.”

  “That still sounds like a tall order for a bunch of kids,” I said. “Why don’t you get help from the spider queen?”

  “She is already aware of your mission,” Firebane said. “She agrees that we should keep news of the theft secret to avoid panic. And the queen is keen to not have any more treachery from her soldiers. Captain Scorn’s defection is enough. We are among the few who know life in the mountain will most likely end tomorrow unless that crown is found. Imagine what would happen if the monsters around here knew what we know.”

  “They’d freak out,” I said.

  “Exactly. It would be chaos down here and all the way up to Slick City,” Firebane said. “The resetting is tomorrow. Queen Azelia and Lord Dunhelm of the dwarves are due to arrive at the gloomshroom’s first light. Our only hope is a small group sneaking in quietly to reclaim the crown.”

  “What about your dragonkin soldiers?” I said. “I bet they could steal the crown quietly and avoid causing panic.”

  “I would prefer that,” Firebane said. “But Bramgrum the dwarf and his ogre partner have been quite good at avoiding my guards. Every time we find them, they vanish before we can catch them. I suspect I might have a defector in my army too. That is why I was so thrilled to find you here in the Dark Depths. I haven’t told any of my soldiers about your mission. Bramgrum most likely thinks you were eaten by Queen Azelia when she found you in her webs. You are the perfect monsters for the job.”

  I nearly tripped at the memory of how close we’d come to being Queen Azelia’s lunchtime snack. The rest of my class still faced that fate, if they hadn’t been eaten already. I was having trouble wrapping my detective brain around this case. I wasn’t sure whom I feared most, the dwarf I was tracking or the spider queen I was working for.

  We arrived at the top of a long set of stairs leading down to the harbor. A lake of lava stretched in front of us. Boats of all sizes floated on the fiery liquid. How they didn’t burst into flames I did not know. Dockworkers moved up and down the piers, loading and unloading cargo from boats.

  “Looks a bit like Fang Harbor back home,” Tank said. “Except with more fire.”

  “The cave is at the bottom of this lava lake,” I said. “You still haven’t told us how we’re getting down to the bottom of the lake without turning into charred monsters.”

  The grin returned to the dragon’s snout. “That’s where the dwarves come in.”

  Tank nearly fell off the stairs. “What is that?”

  Hugo scuttled over to the sub and was on top in a hop. Tank raced along the plank and onto the sub. They both disappeared down the hatch. Swallowed into the blackness of that mechanical contraption.

  Firebane appeared at my side.

  “It seems your friends know what they want.” The dragon grinned. Teeth sharp and ready. “The only question is, do you?”

  The fires of the lake danced on the magma waves. The rhythm of the flames soothed the rushing in my head.

  “Go on, Mr. Detective!” Firebane’s words soothed. “Find the Crown of Peace and you will be the greatest
detective in Rockfall Mountain.”

  “The greatest detective in Rockfall Mountain.” Firebane’s words spilled out of me. Saying them made me realize the dragon was right. If I retrieved the crown, I would be a hero. My name would go down in history. The smartest sleuth in Rockfall Mountain. My worries vanished. Firebane’s words danced in my mind. I stepped into the sub.

  The hatch closed with a slam, and everything went dark. The ringing in my head returned. Followed by a big burst of light.

  The Leaky Bucket creaked as it dropped under the surface of the lava lake. Liquid fire washed over the submarine, but we didn’t burst into flames or melt away. Through the front window we saw currents of glowing red lava swirling around the tiny craft.

  “Don’t you worry, my friends. We’re perfectly safe in here.” Howzin’s wide face lit up with a wide smile. “The Leaky Bucket is the safest sub in all of Lava Falls. No lava has ever breached her hull.”

  “Then why is she called the Leaky Bucket?” I asked.

  “For good luck, silly goblin!” The dwarf burst into laughter. He chuckled as he pointed to a row of controls in front of Tank. “All right, co-pilot, activate those switches one at a time, please. We need to speed up our descent.”

  Tank eagerly flipped the switches. The Leaky Bucket groaned again, and my stomach did a backflip. The lava outside the window swirled by us a little faster. The engine banged like it was trying to escape.

  “Don’t worry about those noises,” Howzin said. “The sub is just adjusting to all the heat. That lava sure is hot.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” I said.

  “Are you sure we’re safe in here?” Hugo hugged his chair with his long legs.

  “Perfectly safe!” Howzin said. “These subs travel through the lake every day, carrying supplies to the dwarf mines. The best gems are always under lava lakes. Relax and enjoy the view.”

  That’s kind of hard, when your view is filled with scale-scorching lava. Outside the windows a fiery world filled with life drifted by. Tiny shapes floated in the lava. They darted away as we got closer.