Get your own Free Home Page"Well, what is it that you need?" inquired Himself the Elf, who had just appeared on a table in the laboratory of the famous Wizard of Oz.
"We just wanted to make sure the Hammer was in good working condition," replied Number Nine, who had summoned the dwarf.
"Well, in that case, I'd better go back home."
"Why not stay here and help us?" suggested the Wizard, as he looked up from the Magic Belt, which he was inspecting. "We're making sure all of Ozma's magic appliances are still in good working order."
"Our next item is the Silence Stone," stated Number Nine. "How are we going to test this? I don't suppose anyone would be willing to not speak for seven years."
"Let me see it," said Himself. So the Wizard's assistant handed the Stone to the Elf, who announced, "I don't sense any magic in this."
"But it contains great power. Anyone who is hit on the head with it cannot speak for seven years."
"Well, it seems to have lost its power. Just watch this."
Before anyone could stop him, Himself had hit his own head with the emerald. He then said, "You see? I can still talk."
"Something must be wrong with it!" exclaimed Number Nine.
"Or maybe it just doesn't affect magical beings like our friend Himself," suggested the Wizard.
"I tell you, it doesn't work," insisted Himself. "It's just an ordinary emerald."
The Wizard's assistant took the jewel from the dwarf and examined it himself. Soon, he asked, "Wasn't there writing on this Stone before?"
"Yes, of course," replied the Wizard. "The writing explained the Stone's powers."
"Well, there's no writing on it anymore."
The Chief Magician looked at the emerald, and had to agree that there was no writing on it. "This means one of two things. Either the Silence Stone has lost its power, or this isn't the real Silence Stone. Either way, we'd better do something about it."
"But what are we going to do?" asked Number Nine.
"Well, first of all, we'll look in the Magic Picture, and see where the Stone is."
So the Wizard, the Munchkin, and the Elf walked through Ozma's Throne Room and Royal Hallway, and soon came to her sitting room, where the Magic Picture hung on the wall. After drawing the Picture's curtain, the Wizard commanded, "Magic Picture, show us the Silence Stone!"
The country scene in the Picture faded away, and was replaced with a picture of the Wizard, standing in Ozma's sitting room, and holding the Stone. This led the Chief Magician to conclude that he had the real Silence Stone, but that it had somehow lost power.
"But how are we going to fix it?" inquired the assistant.
"Let's look at this logically," advised Himself. "What do you know about this Stone?"
"Well," replied the Wizard, "it was the property of the Rulers of Oz for many years. Then it somehow fell into the hands of a Sorceror named Soob. It was stolen from him by pirates, and Peter Brown brought it to the Emerald City when he first came here."
"Then it would seem to me that you should pay a visit to Soob the Sorceror."
"Do you think he's still alive?"
"I'm sure of it. No one could ever destroy a great magician like Soob."
"Did you know him?" questioned Number Nine.
"I met him once, when I was young. But I've heard a lot of stories about him."
"And how are we going to find Soob?"
"Well, the first step is to look in this Picture. Magic Picture, show us Soob the Sorceror."
The image in the Picture once again faded away, and this time, it revealed an old man with a flowing, white beard and pointed ears. He was meditating on a floor mat in a strange temple.
"Do you have any idea where this temple could be, Himself?" asked the Wizard.
"No," was the elf's reply. "You see, Soob travels quite a bit. When I saw him, he was living at Zamagoochie Mountain, but that was a century ago."
"Why don't we use your Searchlight, Wiz?" suggested the Wizard's assistant.
"Because I loaned it to Trot and Cap'n Bill for their voyage on the Nonestic," replied the Chief Magician.
"Then let's go to Glinda's Palace. Maybe her Book of Records can give us a clue as to the whereabouts of Soob the Sorceror."
"All right. I'll leave a note." And the Wizard took a pen and a pad of paper from his pocket. The magician dictated a message to the pen, and the magical implement wrote this message on the paper. It read: "Gone to Glinda's. Be back by six. Ozily yours, Wiz and #9."
After hanging this note on the door of the Wizard's suite, the Chief Magician swallowed a Wishing Pill, and wished himself, Himself, and Number Nine to Glinda's Palace. At the castle, a female guard admitted the three magic-users to the room containing the Great Book of Records. Glinda was in the room, reading from the famous book.
"Hello, Glinda," said Himself, as he hovered in front of the Good Witch's face.
"If it isn't Himself the Elf," smiled Glinda. "What brings you here?"
"I came here with the Wizard and Number Nine."
Glinda turned around and noticed her guests. After the greetings were completed, the Wizard explained that he was looking for information on Soob the Sorceror.
"Soob? Why, I believe I've heard that name before," stated Glinda. She then turned back through hundreds, maybe even thousands, of pages in the Great Book. It took her a few minutes, but the Sorceress eventually found what she was looking for. She then said, "That's right. He was a student of Merlin. He served as Royal Sorceror of Oz for some time, and then left the Kingdom for the Island of Ashangabad. But he returned to Oz a few times after that. Now, let me see if there are any more recent entries pertaining to Soob."
While Glinda searched for information, the Wizard skimmed through a book of spells, Number Nine read from an old volume of hoztory, and Himself took a nap on the chandelier. After five hours of studying the Great Book of Records, the Good Sorceress was ready to tell the others what she had found out.
"It seems that, just six months ago," began Glinda, "Soob retired to a temple in Nimenvell. I have not heard of such a country, but I could look it up."
"No, thank you, Glinda," said the Wizard, as he consulted his pocket-watch. "We're supposed to be back at the palace by six, and it's already five forty-five."
"You know, Professor Wogglebug might know something about Nimenvell," suggested Number Nine. "I think he's still in the Palace today."
The three guests bade Ozma farewell. By means of another Wishing Pill, they returned to Ozma's Palace. The Wizard, the assistant, and the elf appeared on one of the walks through the Queen's beautiful gardens. Princess Dorothy and Betsy Bobbin were reclining on golden chairs in a nearby gazebo.
"Do either of you ladies know if Professor Wogglebug in the palace?" called Number Nine.
"Yes, he's in there," replied Dorothy.
"That's why we're out here," added Betsy.
"I think he's giving some sort of lecture in the Council Chamber," explained the Princess of Oz.
Number Nine thanked the girls for their information, and the three magic-users went into the Emerald Palace and came to the Council Chamber. When Himself knocked on the door, the Wogglebug told the magicians to enter.
The Professor of the Royal College, a man-sized insect, was attempting to explain something complex to an interested group of three people. These three were Herby the Medicine Man, Jack Pumpkinhead, and one of the Royal Record-Keepers.
"So, does everyone understand?" asked the insect.
"Well, no," replied Jack. "But then, I've had this same head for the past month."
"Excuse me, Professor," said the Wizard, "but do you know anything about a place called-What was it again?"
"Nimenvell," stated Himself.
"Nimenvell? I believe I have heard of such a place," announced the Wogglebug.
The Professor paged through a giant volume that was on a desk, finally coming to the entry that he was looking for. "Nimenvell is a country in the mountains between Oz and Hiland-Loland," explained the insect. "It was discovered fifty years ago, but it has never been thoroughly explored."
The Wizard told the Wogglebug about the Silence Stone, and about how he wanted to locate Soob. The Chief Magician then said, "But I can't go, myself. Number Nine and I have to complete our tests on our magical treasures."
"Well, I would be quite willing to undertake this journey," volunteered the Wogglebug. "I could add to my information on the Land of Nimenvell."
"I'll go, too," stated Jack Pumpkinhead. "We can use my Ozoplane to get there."
"I would go with you, but I have to develop a cure for Evna Flu," said Herby.
"I'll go to Nimenvell!" announced Himself. "I haven't travelled much recently, and I haven't left Oz in over a century."
So, after the Wizard had given a basket of magic to the Wogglebug, the insect and the Pumpkinhead mounted the Sawhorse, who sped them to Jack's Ozoplane, with Himself flying behind the wooden equine. The Ozoplane was kept behind Jack's pumpkin house, and usually served as a concert hall for the Pumpkinhead's famous Orchestra and Glee Club of shoes. But the plane was still quite airworthy, and the Ozites had no trouble in getting the craft off the ground.
"Next stop, Nimenvell!" shouted Himself cheerfully.
"What is this Nimenvell place, and why are we going there?" questioned the Sawhorse. The wooden horse had decided to travel with the others, but he did not know of the object of the quest.
"Nimenvell is a country in the mountains to the east of Oz," explained Professor Wogglebug. "According to Glinda's Book of Records, a Sorceror named Soob resides in this nation. We need Soob's assistance in repairing the Silence Stone."
"I see," said the equine.
The Professor flew the Ozoplane over the Munchkin Country, while Jack, Himself, and the Sawhorse looked out the window and pointed out places that they had visited.
"There's that forest where we got lost, and those giant termites tried to eat us," observed Jack Pumpkinhead. "Remember that, Sawhorse?"
"Unfortunately, I do," replied the wooden horse. "But I remember a more pleasant experience that I had there, at the Longway Downs. I won the entire set of Longway Trophies."
"Longway Trophies?"
"You know, those golden cups that Button-Bright uses to drink out of."
"Oh, those. I still don't know why you didn't use them to decorate your stall."
"You know they wouldn't have fit in with his decorating scheme, Jack," laughed Himself. "And there's that fairy forest where I lived for a few years. My family moved around quite a bit. Maybe someday, I'll go back and visit my old homes."
"There's Halidom. Remember when the Scarecrow and I entered that jousting match?" the Sawhorse asked Jack.
It took some time for Jack to recall this match, since he had had many heads since then, but he finally did. It had taken the Scarecrow's opponent about five seconds to unseat the straw man.
"Speaking of the Scarecrow, there's the farm where he was made," said the Pumpkinhead. "And there's Dorothy's old house." The Kansas farmhouse in which Princess Dorothy had first travelled to Oz still stood where it had landed, and it had become a major tourist attraction.
It took very little time to fly over the Munchkin Kingdom, and the plane soon reached the Shifting Sands, part of the great desert that surrounds Oz. This desert could turn all living flesh to dust, and constantly shot poisonous fumes into the air, but the Ozoplane was not affected by this barrier. Just beyond the desert was the territory known as Mountain Land, which had been explored by very few Ozites.
"We should be arriving in Nimenvell soon," announced the Wogglebug, as he slowed the aircraft down and consulted a map.
"Looks like an interesting place," observed Jack Pumpkinhead.
"Yes. I wonder if Soob lives in one of those temples," said Himself, who had noticed four impressive shrines.
"Those four temples are located at the corners of Nimenvell," stated the Professor, who had noticed these landmarks on his map. "The best landing place would be that plateau. I shall endeavor to bring the plane to a stop there."
Professor Wogglebug pulled two levers, and the Ozoplane slowly descended to a grassy plateau, where it came to a complete stop. Jack, Himself, and the Sawhorse then rushed out of the flying vehicle. After arming the security system, the Professor followed his companions.
"Where should we go now?" inquired Jack.
"I thought I saw a village to the west, when we were in the Ozoplane," declared the Sawhorse.
"Yes, I can see it," stated Himself, whose eyes were much sharper than those of his friends. "It's on top of a mountain, but not very much higher than this plateau."
"Hop on," advised the Sawhorse, "and we'll at that village in a jiffy."
The insect, the elf, and the Pumpkinhead climbed onto the Sawhorse's back, and the equine ran to the west. It took a mere five minutes for Ozma's steed to reach the path to the village. Three minutes after that, the travellers had reached the gates, and Himself was ringing a door-bell.
"What do you want?" asked the large man who came out of a white gate-house. This man was about six feet tall, and was clothed in a purple toga. His brown hair was quite unkempt, as was his beard, and his face bore an unpleasant expression. When he spoke, he slobbered and showed his many sharp teeth.
"Who are you?" questioned Jack Pumpkinhead.
"I am Tortormo, Gate-Keeper for the town of Vimmor," replied the man. "And who are you?"
"I am Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., Dean of the Royal College of Art and Athletic Perfection, and one of the most renowned scholars in the Land of Oz," replied the insect. "My companions are Jack Pumpkinhead, a close friend of Queen Ozma of Oz, the Sawhorse, the Queen's Royal Steed, and Himself, Elf of the Silver Hammer."
"You're not from around here, are you?" asked the guard, who had been paying little attention to the Professor's speech.
"No. We are from the Land of Oz, which lies across the Shifting Sands from your own Kingdom of Nimenvell."
"Well, outsiders have to pay a toll of ten thousand nimens, or they can't enter the town of Vimmor."
The Wogglebug became worried at this, because he had not brought any money on this journey. However, Himself quickly solved this problem by conjuring a pile of golden nimens.
"This should be enough," stated the elf, as he showed the money to Tortormo.
"All right. You can come in," said the Gate-Keeper, as he opened the iron gates of the village.
"Thank you, my good man," said Professor Wogglebug. The Professor and his companions quickly entered the town, and began walking down the broad main street. Many types of trees grew along the sides of this road, each with a plaque to identify it.
"An odd and interesting specimen," said the Professor, as he sketched a tree in his note-book. "A vemvem tree."
"We used to have trees like this in some of my old forest homes," stated Himself, who was examining another tree.
"I believe I was made from this kind of tree," announced Jack Pumpkinhead.
"So, you like our trees, do you?" asked an elf, who stepped out from behind a large plant. "Vimmor is known as 'The Tree Capital of Nimenvell.' We have trees from all over Nimenvell, and from many other parts of the world. I am Telletus. My clan tends these trees."
"It's very interesting. By the way, do you know where we can find Soob the Sorceror?" asked Himself.
"Soob? I'm not sure I've ever heard of Soob."
"Isn't Soob one of those old men who live in the temple?" questioned a female elf, who had come from behind the same tree as the first elf.
"My wife, Silessa," declared Telletus.
"When we arrived in Nimenvell, we saw four temples," stated the Wogglebug. "Which one of those would be home to Soob?"
"I didn't think you were from around here. Where are you from, and why are you here?"
"We are from the Land of Oz, which lies to the west of your country. We came here in an Ozoplane, a creation of the Wizard of Oz, in order to find Soob the Sorceror."
"I have heard of Oz. Several of our trees are from your country. As to the four temples, each one corresponds to one of the four natural elements."
"Ah, they would be earth, fire, air, and water, correct?"
"Quite correct, Sir," replied Silessa. "And I believe that Soob lives in the Temple of Water."
"How do we get there?" inquired the Sawhorse.
"Oh, I'm sure Aranock can take you there," said Telletus.
"And who is Aranock?" questioned the Professor.
"A giant silver bird. She comes whenever I blow my magical silver whistle."
The elf took a silver whistle from his pocket and blew it. Soon, an enormous bird soared into the sky above the town, and landed in front of the elves and Ozites.
"Does anyone here need the services of Aranock?" asked the bird, in a pleasant but powerful tone.
"Yes," replied Telletus. "These Ozites would like you to take them to the Temple of Water."
"Very well, Master Telletus." Aranock lifted the Wogglebug, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, and Himself with one of her huge talons, and began to fly toward the north.
"So, you are from Oz?" questioned the giant bird, as she flew. "Perhaps you have met Opodock, the brother of Aranock."
"I have heard of Opodock," answered the Wogglebug. "He once aided Ojo, the Prince of Seebania, but Ojo misplaced his whistle."
"My mother often told me that her tribe created two whistles, which would summon powerful birds," Himself told his companions. "Those two whistles must have been Opodock's and Aranock's."
"Well, this is the Temple of Water," announced Aranock, as she landed in front of a large shrine, with a wave and two fishes carved above the doors. "Aranock shall wait here for your return."
"Thank you for the ride, Aranock," said Himself.
"You are quite welcome."
The Ozites entered the temple, and saw a large swimming pool, which covered the entire room, except for the ledge on which the visitors stood. There appeared to be no inhabitants, and no passages to other rooms.
"I think I can see a door at the other end of the pool," declared Himself.
"You mean under the water?" questioned Jack Pumpkinhead. "I could never reach that."
"Neither could I," added the Sawhorse.
"Wogglebugs are unable to swim," stated the Professor.
"Well, I'll go through the door," decided the elf. "If I find Soob, I'll bring him out here."
Himself dove into the pool, and swam toward the door. He then opened this portal, and entered a chamber where mermen were sitting on the floor.
"Welcome to the Temple of Water," said a merman pleasantly. "What is it you seek here, stranger?"
"I would like to see Soob the Sorceror," replied the elf.
"Soob? Why, he does not live in this temple. His element is air, not water, although he does possess some knowledge of water magic. His home is the Temple of Air."
"Then I suppose I shall be leaving."
"Allow me to transport you to the Temple of Air. All of these temples, and the King's Castle, are connected by magic."
"Could you transport my friends, too?"
"What friends?"
"They are in the front room, since they could not reach the door to this one."
"Very well." The merman, accompanied by the elf, swam to the front room, where the fish-tailed man recited an incantation. The Ozites were quickly sent to another shrine, which was, as a matter of fact, the same temple that Himself, the Wizard, and Number Nine had seen in the Magic Picture.
"You must be Soob," said Himself to the bearded man whom he had seen in the Picture.
"Correct. I am Soob, and you are one of the winged elves of Oz, although you seem to be part leprechaun, as well."
"My name is Himself. My mother was a winged elf, my father was a leprechaun, and I met you once, back when you lived at Zamagoochie Mountain."
"Well, that was a long time ago. I can't recall the meeting, but I've lived for centuries, and met many people. Who are these others, Himself?"
"These are Professor Wogglebug, Dean of the Royal College of Oz, Jack Pumpkinhead, a creation of Queen Ozma, and the Sawhorse, Ozma's Royal Steed."
"Hello. Why have you come to Nimenvell?"
"Do you remember the Silence Stone?" inquired the Wogglebug.
"Certainly. In fact, I remember the day I created it. The Silence Stone was my first major creation."
"Well, it does not work properly anymore."
"What, exactly, is wrong with it?"
"It no longer has its power, and the writing on it has been erased," explained the dwarf.
"Well, the Silence Stone is not extremely important, but if its power has been drained, some of my other inventions may have also lost power. I shall endeavor to discover the source of the Stone's power drain."
The Sorceror stood up, closed his eyes, and waved his arms in strange patterns, while chanting magic words. An image of a man appeared in front of Soob, but it quickly disappeared.
"I could not sustain the image. Whoever drained the Silence Stone must have also drained my other powers."
"I recognized the image," declared a man, who had been sitting on the temple floor. "It was Vell."
"Who is Vell?" inquired Jack Pumpkinhead.
"He was originally one of my brothers, at this very temple," explained Soob. "But he tired of our lifestyle, and became Royal Magician for the King. If it was Vell who stole my power, we should confront him."
By means of an similar incantation to the one that the merman had used, the man who had identified the image magically transported Soob, Himself, Professor Wogglebug, Jack, and the Sawhorse to the Royal Castle of Nimenvell. Here, the King, and the Queen, and the Courtiers were sitting at a long table and eating their dinner.
"Your Majesty!" called Soob. "We must see Vell!"
"Dr. Vell? Why, he's in his laboratory, working on some machine or something," said the King. "Norva, would you show Soob and his companions to Dr. Vell's laboratory?"
A maid, who had been standing near a door, walked over to Soob and the others, and said, "Follow me."
The visitors did follow the maid. After travelling through many corridors, the servant stopped before a steel door.
"This is Dr. Vell's lab," stated the maid. "Be careful in there. The doctor has a bad temper."
"I know," said Soob, as he opened the steel door.
The Sorceror, the elf, the Wogglebug, the wooden horse, and Jack Pumpkinhead presently entered the laboratory. Here, various chemicals, books, and devices were strewn throughout the room, in a quite disorderly fashion. A black-cloaked man with a grim face was making adjustments to a large machine.
"Ah, Soob," said this man, as he magically shut the laboratory door. "I have almost finished draining your power. I was doing it slowly at first, but I am now going to finish quickly, so that I can drain the power of the other Temple Keepers."
"But why?" asked the Sorceror.
"You waste your powers. Once I have them, I shall conquer this Kingdom, and then the world."
"Ruling the world would be too great a responsibility for one man, Vell."
"I would agree with you. Ruling the world would be too difficult for most men. However, I can easily rule this planet."
"You are insane, Vell. You must be stopped."
"Well, you will not be able to stop me, Soob. Soon, I shall drain all of your power, making you a helpless old man. I shall drain the powers of your companions, too, although none but the elf have much power."
Vell grabbed Soob and dragged him to the far wall. Here, he opened the door to a magical chamber.
"This chamber will allow me to drain your power more quickly," explained Dr. Vell.
The Royal Magician began to shove Soob into the chamber. However, before he could succeed, the Sawhorse ran up to Vell, and kicked him into the magical chamber. Soob then shut and sealed the magical door.
"Someone get the King," advised Soob. "I'll try to reverse the flow of this machine."
"And I'll help," announced Himself.
While the Sorceror and the elf made adjustments to Vell's machine, the Sawhorse rushed out of the room. He ran to the King's dining room, and told the monarch to follow him to the laboratory.
"King Quelna, Dr. Vell was draining my magical powers, and planning to take over Nimenvell," announced Soob, when the King and the Sawhorse had entered Vell's room.
"Treason!" shouted the King. "I knew I shouldn't have hired him. My wife talked me into it."
"Actually, if I remember correctly, your wife warned you against hiring Vell."
"Whatever. Vell's trial shall be held at once."
After Soob and Himself used the machine to restore the Sorceror's power, a trial was held. Dr. Vell was found guilty of treason, and sentenced to thirty years in prison.
"Would you like to come to Oz with us, Soob?" invited Himself. "You can see how it's changed."
"Not right now, Himself," said the Sorceror. "But someday I might visit Oz."
The Ozites bade farewell to King Quelna, Queen Klanta, and Soob, as well as to Telletus and Silessa, who had come to the castle for the trial. Telletus then blew his silver whistle, and Aranock returned the Ozites to the Ozoplane.
Jack, the Sawhorse, the elf, and the Professor said goodbye to Aranock, and boarded the Ozoplane. The Wogglebug flew the aircraft out of Nimenvell, and, as the Sun set, the four Ozites returned to their homeland.
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