Chapter 1. - Through a Stone Doorway
In a time of great unrest in the spirit worlds, Travelers come from beyond our realm seeking That Which Is Hidden. Their path is long and difficult. It leads in a direction unknown. Untold obstacles and mysteries await, and though some of these appear impossibly puzzling, each must be overcome for the Travelers to find what they seek.
≈The Lost Rugosa Prophecy
Light mist fell as two figures struggled up the last steep slope of MorningGlory Mountain. Odd-shaped figures, they were. The first had four long legs, a knapsack with pink wings, and a gray hat with spot of orange. A slim serpent’s head peered out from the pack. The second figure was huge and black with burly legs front and back and a hump on each shoulder. One hump bristled like a cactus. The other had dark wings and a powerful hooked beak.
“It’s not much farther now,” said Manford, the moose, walking in front. “The path levels out just ahead.”
“I don’t know why I keep letting you talk me into these things,” said Flossie, the pink flamingo, riding next to the pack on Manford’s back. “Climb the mountains, roam the forests, see everything there is to see ― that’s all you ever think about.”
“But it’s fun, Flossie,” Manford replied.
“Oh, yes, it’s fun. I keep forgetting. It’s also cold, windy, drizzly, and soon it will be dark: more fun.”
“You shouldn’t complain,” said Ssam, a garter snake who wore a black bow tie and bowler hat. “Manford has to walk up the mountain. We get to ride, and you can fly if you want.”
“Oh, you’re right, I suppose,” Flossie said. “I didn’t mean to be a frump. But this is just the beginning, mark my words. With his mother touring Europe with The Great Bucknikov for the summer, and Manford home alone, who knows what madness he’ll drag us through before winter comes again.”
“I have a hundred things in mind,” Manford said. “We’ll have such a great time.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Veronica, the bear, who wore headphones and listened to music as she walked along. “My mom’s off with the circus for another season so I have nothing to do but have fun.”
“Count me in,” said Ssam.
“Getting out of this weather will be quite enough for me,” said Flossie.
“It won’t be long now,” Manford said.
“Maybe you’ll see the Mountain Spirit tonight, Manford,” said Golly, the golden eagle, riding on Veronica’s left shoulder. The Mountain Spirit was a mysterious being that appeared in the form of a glowing cloud. So far, only Manford had seen and talked to it.
“I hope so,” Manford replied.
“I want to see it, too,” said Needlenose, the porcupine, riding next to Golly. “I’ll stay awake all night if I have to.”
“A snoozer like you?” said Flossie. “That’ll be the day.”
“Maybe you can stay awake if you only eat one potato chip every five minutes,” said Princess Columbine, the monarch butterfly, who made the splash of orange on Manford’s hat.
“I might have to,” said Needlenose. “I didn’t bring very many.”
“I flew fifteen bags up here yesterday,” said Golly.
“That’s not very many.”
The hikers reached the top and made their way among huge boulders strewn about the mountain’s summit, an area known as The Place With No Trees. The mist turned to rain and Columbine scooted into the pack with Ssam. A cold wind blew, sometimes gusting so strong it pushed them from the path.
They approached the humped center of the mountain near dark. Climbing the final rise, they reached the abrupt edge of a circular area, fifteen feet deep and thirty feet across, sunk into the ground before them. They hurried down the path into it to seek shelter from the wind.
They walked about marveling at the curious space around them. The floor was smooth sand. A ring of stone slabs formed the walls ― rectangular stone blocks each fifteen feet high, about four feet wide, two and a quarter feet thick, and set almost seamlessly side-by-side. The adventurers had taken refuge here from a terrible night wind once before. The room had been still, calm, even warm below the level of the surrounding mountaintop. But it wasn’t quite so this time.
“Something’s different,” said Flossie.
“What do you mean?” asked Manford.
“Remember how safe and comforting it felt when we were here before?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, tonight it’s still raining in here.”
“It wasn’t raining then,” said Veronica; “it was just windy.”
“That’s another thing,” Flossie said. “I remember that the wind passed right over us then. Now I feel it, and it’s cold.”
“You were cold last time, too,” said Needlenose. “You had to wrap up in Manford’s scarf to keep warm.”
“That’s true,” Flossie said thoughtfully, “but it still seems different. Look at the floor. Remember how smooth and tidy it was?”
“It’s full of our footprints now,” said Manford, “just like last time.”
“But leaves have blown in and piled up against the wall. Your spirit friend always kept things neat, even smoothing out our footprints while we slept. I think there’s something wrong.”
“You’re right about the leaves,” Golly said. “I’ve flown over here many times and it was never like this.”
“Maybe the spirit moved away,” said Ssam.
“That wouldn’t make sense,” said Needlenose. “The vision Columbine had said the spirit would always be here.”
“That’s right,” said Columbine. “MorningGlory Forest was nothing before the Mountain Spirit came. It and its helpers made the mountains and forest into what they are today. Why would it move away?”
“I think you’re right, Flossie,” Manford said. “It is cold in here, and it is raining, and it’s messy, too. I wonder why.”
“If the spirit shows up, we’ll ask it,” Columbine said. “Maybe we can find out more about my vision, too.”
“Pardon me for changing the subject,” said Needlenose, “but is anyone hungry?”
“I am,” said Veronica. “Let’s eat.”
They gathered at the upwind side where the effects of the weather were least noticed. Needlenose opened supplies Golly had flown ahead and handed out what each had packed for dinner. Nothing grew in The Place With No Trees. The entire rocky and wind-blown top of the mountain was above treeline. Whether your diet was twigs, mice, berries, fish, or chocolate donuts, if you wanted something to eat, you had to bring it.
Princess Columbine sipped blueberry juice Flossie had brought for her while the others dug into their favorite treats. Needlenose crunched potato chips loudly. As usual, his enjoyment was such that nearly everyone was soon crunching along with him.
As they finished and began to choose places for the night, Veronica noticed a soft light on the path that led down from the encircling ridge above. She turned to point it out but the others were staring at it, too. Soon a glowing white cloud drifted into the sunken area with them and paused in the center of the sandy floor.
“Welcome again to my mountain,” it said in a quiet voice.
“Mountain Spirit!” said Manford.
“Gosh,” said Needlenose, “I’d hoped to see you, but never thought it would really happen.”
Manford introduced each of his companions to their visitor.
“I’m pleased to meet each of you at last,” the spirit said. “We have many things to talk about.”
“We do?” said Flossie.
“You have questions to ask.”
“Yes,” said Columbine, “I wanted to know more about my vision.” She paused, looking slightly puzzled, then went on with sudden understanding. “Oh, you sent me the vision, didn’t you?”
“I did, and you’ve come here, among other reasons, to learn if it was true. This is what I intended.”
“You wanted us here?” Manford said. “You could have found us anywhere, anytime. You did before.”
“Coming here was necessary, I’m afraid.”
“I’m confused,” said Veronica.
“First things first,” said Flossie: “was Columbine’s vision true?”
“Before I answer, perhaps the Lovely Princess will tell what she remembers of it briefly for everyone.”
“Of course,” Columbine said, pleased to be asked. The others settled down in their places to listen.
“Hundreds and hundreds of years ago,” she began, “all the spirits of the world gathered for a council. They decided on territories each would have and you chose MorningGlory Forest. But there were no mountains or trees here then; it was flat, barren ground.
“You advertised for helpers to make this place into something better. Many animals answered, but most of them wanted you to do all the work while they took it easy. You sent them away. Finally, two creatures came that really wanted to help. They were very small and couldn’t do much but you turned one into a giant moose, the other into a giant bear. A bird came along, too, and it became a giant eagle.
“Then you mapped out what you wanted and the four of you built everything that’s here. You heaped up the mountains, dug the creeks and ponds, and planted the forest. When you finished, the huge creatures slept for seventy years while the forest grew. They woke up as normal-sized animals; the power you’d given them had seeped into the land. The vision ended there. I guess you’ve lived here ever since, and so have your helpers’ descendants.”
“That is so,” the spirit said. “Now to answer your question: yes, your vision was true. But there is more to the story. It neither begins nor ends with what you’ve told.”
“She got the Reader’s Digest version, you mean,” said Flossie.
“Possibly so,” the spirit said, sounding faintly amused. “Permit me to tell you the rest.
“To what Columbine has said of the creatures coming and going and the building of the mountains and forest, there is little to add. It was just as she remembers. What’s missing is what happened before the meeting of the spirits, which was called the Council for Coherency, and what has happened since.
“Though the council took place about twelve hundred years ago, there were ages and ages of time before that. It was a confusing time. The spirits of the world were hopelessly disorganized. Many squabbled over territory, and, as you’ve heard, the council’s purpose was to settle that. But these disputes weren’t what you might suppose. It wasn’t that I wanted this mountain and another spirit did, too. That would have been simple to resolve. The confusion was far more complex.”
The animals listened intently now to hear the spirit’s quiet voice above the wind that gusted overhead.
“One spirit claimed to be the Spirit of the Clouds,” it went on. “Another said it was the Spirit of the Wind. A third called itself the Spirit of Light. It sounds simple and harmless ― good legend or folktale material, perhaps. But clouds, wind, and light are everywhere. Sometimes wind pushed the clouds where the Spirit of the Clouds didn’t want them to be. Sometimes clouds blocked the light where the Spirit of Light wanted it to shine. And sunlight shining on lakes and mountains sometimes created rising currents of air where the Spirit of the Wind wanted something else. The spirits were always in each other’s way and could hardly agree on anything.”
“It does sound confusing,” said Ssam.
“It gets worse,” the Mountain Spirit went on. “One said it was the Spirit of Tomorrow. It claimed to be in charge of everything that would happen tomorrow, but took no responsibility for what happened today.
“Another called itself the Ocean Spirit. It was arrogant and suspicious and wanted everyone to stay out of its territory. That meant, of course, that wind couldn’t blow there, light couldn’t shine there, clouds couldn’t drift there, and, I suppose, there would be no tomorrow there. The oceans turned dark without light and still with no wind. The Ocean Spirit grew angry and accused others of plotting against it.
“We had a Waterfall Spirit, too. Not the Water Spirit or Meandering Stream Spirit ― just waterfalls. It said falling water needed a special magic about it that only those watching could understand.
“Still another, bless its simple soul, was the Spirit of Tiny Blue Flowers. How tiny, others wanted to know? Flowers you had to look for, it said. Flowers you didn’t notice unless you paid attention, but only those that were blue.”
“Were there spirits for other flowers, too?” asked Veronica.
“Yes,” the voice from the cloud continued, “and sometimes a single meadow would have a dozen spirits disagreeing over what belonged to whom. It was senseless. We had spirits of everything: the Fire Spirit, the Spirit of Lemon Pie, and the Spirit of Uncommonly Bright Ideas. There was the Gravity Spirit, too, the Spirit of Long Division, the Happiness Spirit, the Haunting Melody Spirit, and the Spirit of Things Furry and Soft. There were dozens more. To add to the confusion, some would change their minds and suddenly become spirits of something else.”
“Pocket-Watch Spirit today, Spirit of Rubber Ducks tomorrow,” said Flossie “― it sounds like a flaky bunch.”
“Everything was terribly mixed up with everyone getting into everyone else’s business. The simplest things needed permissions from and favors to dozens of local deities. Plans could be ruined if you missed even one.
“The purpose of the Council for Coherency was to establish order. It took nearly fifty years to organize and get everyone to attend. We discussed a seemingly endless list of proposals for organizing our Worlds. About the time Columbine’s vision started, many weeks had gone by and we’d at last agreed to give each spirit everything within a particular geographical area.”
“How well did that work?” asked Manford.
“Some wanted bigger areas than others, as you might expect. The Ocean Spirit wanted to keep the oceans; others wanted whole continents. Fortunately, there were only 117 spirits so we were eventually able to satisfy everyone.”
“Why did you ask for what was just a small, barren area at the time?” wondered Golly.
“I thought no one would want it. It seemed big enough for me and looked like a suitable place to build the kind of home I thought I’d like.”
“We think it’s great,” said Needlenose.
“Thank you,” the Mountain Spirit replied, “I’ve always been happy here, too.”
“What else happened that I didn’t see?” asked Columbine.
“We attached conditions to the assignment of new territories or ‘worlds,’ as we called them.
“First, each spirit would take a new name based on the physical features of its world. I became the Mountain Spirit, for example, after the mountains I planned to build here. This, at last, clarified who would be ‘spirit of’ what.
“Second, we would each occupy our worlds peacefully.
“Third, we would not change our names or geographic boundaries without agreement of our neighbors.”
“Those make sense,” Manford said. “Did you decide anything else?”
“Unfortunately, no, and I’m afraid the part that’s missing is what has become so important.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ssam.
“We kept a record of the council proceedings to document what we did. The Coherency Council Accords, it was called, but it was to be more than just a record.
“The Accords were to become our constitution.
“Besides defining territories, the Accords were to contain a full declaration of everyone’s rights, obligations, and the rules we were to follow. All spirits gathered were to agree and approve them as the principles that governed our worlds.
“But we never finished the job. The group’s attention wandered once territories were assigned. Just when we got to the most important things, everyone wanted to be done with it, to go off to start building their new worlds. Theoretical matters seemed routine and dull. Thus the Accords were left undone.
“As a result, the council broke up before the Accords’ greater purpose was even discussed. Instead of being a grand and guiding achievement, the document was worthless. Hardly anyone even remembers it now.”
“Has there ever been another council?” asked Golly.
“No.”
“You mean that in twelve hundred years,” said Needlenose, “you spirit creatures have never gotten together again, even to see how things were going?”
“We have not.”
“That’s very strange,” Flossie said, “but there’s something else strange here, too. In the times you visited Manford ― in this room, in Pierre’s cave, in the meadow ― you stayed only a few minutes, said only a few things, then went away.”
“How do you know that?” said Veronica.
“I read the books, silly. Now tonight, all of a sudden you’re Mr. Chatterbox, telling us tales, answering our questions, not in any rush. That’s not a problem, but it is different. Just like this room is different. You were always so tidy before. Now your housekeeping is starting to go. Something’s not quite right here. I think you have something on your mind.”
“I’ve been wondering about something, too,” said Golly. “When you first arrived, you said it was necessary for us to come here. You drew us here with Columbine’s vision. Is there a problem?”
“Yes, that is the reason for my visit, and also yours, as you will see.” The voice from the cloud seemed to grow slightly weary as it continued.
“We spirits lived in harmony for many hundreds of years. The lands we built prospered and populations spread in abundance. For some time now, however, several spirits have been ignoring our agreement and advancing into areas not their own.
“It began when they took over lands never claimed or assigned. Harmless enough, but they moved on from there. They seized remote, desolate worlds where the only occupants were the spirits to whom the areas had been given. When those were gone, they started driving off populations of inhabited worlds and taking over those.”
“Didn’t anyone try to stop them?” asked Golly.
“I’m afraid not. Displaced spirits protested, of course, but the incidents began long after the council. Most spirits were too busy with their own concerns to pay much attention. Besides, we had no process or governing law for such things with the Accords left unfinished.”
“Are we being invaded?” asked Princess Columbine.
“We are,” the spirit replied. “The Spirit of Western Seas has moved past the coastline onto the land in the west. The Spirit of Rocky Lowlands is moving toward us from the east. We’re caught in the middle.”
“Can’t you call another council and settle it?” asked Manford.
“We never established how to call further meetings. That was one of the many things left undone.”
“But you called a council once,” said Columbine. “Why not do it again?”
“It would be pointless to do so without the invaders being there,” the spirit replied, “and there is no reason for them to attend.”
“Why not?”
“Because they control half the spirit worlds. Why would they come to talk about giving them up?”
“Half!” Ssam said in an unexpectedly loud voice. “You let the problem go this long?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“Surely something can be done,” Manford said.
“We must begin with the Accords.”
“You said they were worthless,” said Veronica.
“The Accords are the only record of what territory was given to whom. We must start there, with proof that these takeovers are violations.”
“And with that, maybe you can get another council together, put things back in order, and finish what you originally intended,” said Needlenose.
“Yes, possibly.”
“Sounds like a long shot to me,” said Ssam.
“It is,” the spirit said, “but it’s all we have to work with.”
“Where are these Accords?” Golly asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Every copy is gone?” said Flossie.
“There was only one.”
“One copy! What kind of management is that?”
“The council adjourned in disarray. No one made copies because there seemed no reason to. I suppose we intended to keep the original unfinished document itself in a safe place but that was twelve centuries ago. No one remembers now what became of it.”
“Have you looked?” asked Veronica.
“The Accords are not for me to find. In any case, I cannot. I must give my attention to the invaders.”
“How long have they been after you?” asked Golly.
“Many years. It was slow and hardly noticeable at first, but has grown worse of late.”
“What could happen?” asked Columbine.
“I will be forced to leave this mountain in defeat if I can’t stop them.”
“That’s terrible!” said Manford.
“And we get new landlords,” said Flossie. “I can see it now. They’ll argue among themselves. They’ll call in consultants. They’ll ask us endless questions about why we do this and why we do that and why everything is the way it is. Then they’ll ignore everything we tell them and start remodeling, turning this place into seacoast or rocky desert. No, thanks, I rather like my pond.”
“This must be the part where you tell us how to help you,” said Needlenose.
“Yes,” the spirit said, “I have a request of you.”
“What, as if I didn’t know?”
“Find the Coherency Council Accords.”
“Do you know where we should look?” asked Veronica.
“No.”
“Do you know what we should look for?” asked Golly.
“No.”
“Do you know who to ask?” asked Columbine.
“No.”
“And I suppose you can’t come with us,” said Manford.
“I’m sorry, but I must remain to protect MorningGlory Forest as best I can till you return.”
“Return from where?” said Flossie. “We don’t know where to go, we don’t know what we’re looking for, and the one being who might be able to help us can’t go along. We might not even know when we’ve found it, whatever it is, if we do. This isn’t stacking up very well.”
“If you can’t look for the Accords, how are we going to find them?” asked Columbine.
“There will be clues to guide you.”
“Like on the maps we followed to Pierre’s treasure,” Manford said, his eyes brightening.
“Perhaps.”
“Will there be lots of them?” asked Veronica.
“Will we know one when we see it?” asked Ssam.
“What do we do next?” asked Flossie.
“Instead of asking these questions,” the Mountain Spirit said, “you should think this problem through. You’ll have only yourselves to rely on once you leave me.”
“The necklace,” said Veronica and Needlenose at once.
“Exactly.”
Manford dug in his pack for the necklace Needlenose had made for his birthday the year before. It had mysterious magical properties that sometimes helped them see things lost or hidden. He put it round his neck, then the animals sat in a circle around the spirit and joined hooves, paws, wings, head, and tail. They closed their eyes. Each thought about whatever seemed appropriate to think about and directed his or her energy around the circle toward Manford.
Manford formed a picture of the sunken area in his mind and looked around it. Soon the necklace began to glow.
The floor, he thought: sand, blown-in leaves, footprints ― nothing odd there, except that it’s messier than usual. The walls, he continued, beginning at the entrance and picturing the wall of stones encircling them: nothing but stone next to stone next to stone until you come to the doorway. Then it’s stone after stone again until you’re back at the entrance. Nothing mysterious there....
The scene in his mind began to fade. The brightly glowing necklace began to dim. Manford’s thoughts groped about in the darkness. Doorway? There’s no doorway....
He opened his eyes. The only light came from the Mountain Spirit. Not even a glimmer came from the necklace.
“You saw something,” said Golly.
“A doorway,” Manford said. “I saw a doorway in place of one of those huge stones.”
“And it wasn’t where the trail comes in?” said Ssam.
“I saw that, too. This was another opening like it.”
“Where?” asked Veronica, standing up as though ready to start moving the massive slabs of rock.
“Directly across from the entrance, I think,” Manford said. “It’s dark now. Maybe we should wait till morning.”
“As if we could sleep wondering about it,” Veronica said. “Let’s give it a try.”
They felt their way along the smooth walls. There were twenty-three stone blocks set side-by-side, each weighing probably five tons. That put the twelfth stone directly opposite the entrance. Veronica dug her claws into the tiny crack between that stone and the next and pulled. Her claws popped out and scratched noisily across rock, almost like fingernails on a blackboard. Flossie shivered.
Veronica pushed and pulled on the rock. She beat on it with her powerful arms and slammed her entire weight into it. She went up along the top edge and tried to tip the stone inward. When all of that failed, she tried again on the rock to the left, then to the right. Just as always happens in a predicament like this, nothing worked.
“Hold on a minute,” said Ssam, “we’re not thinking this through.”
“What do you suggest?” said Golly.
“We’re missing the obvious.” Ssam, his bowler hat pushed back on his head, turned to address the Mountain Spirit.
“This has been your home for twelve hundred years, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you built it. You carved these stones and fit them together so precisely. Isn’t that what you told Manford the first time we were here?”
“Yes.”
“So you knew about this doorway Manford saw.”
“I did.”
“Do you know how to open it?”
“Of course.”
“Would you mind telling us?”
“You are very close to figuring it out.”
“You mean,” said Flossie, “we’ve tried most everything that won’t work so there can’t be much left.”
“Correct.”
“So instead of pounding on things, we should think about this some more,” said Veronica.
“And get some sleep,” said Columbine. “It’s sure to be easier in daylight.”
“Will you be here in the morning?” asked Manford.
“No, I will leave you now,” the spirit said. “I’ve accomplished my purpose and grown stronger for a time.”
“How did you do that?” asked Ssam.
“I drew power from the circle the seven of you formed when you sat with the necklace. That’s why it stopped glowing.”
“Will it still work?” asked Needlenose.
“Yes, it will. Good-bye now. Thank you for coming to help me. And remember: this is an important journey you are about to begin; let no one stay you from it. The Accords must be recovered. Only you can find them.”
“What...” the seven friends said.
The white cloud drifted slowly around them, then floated up the path to the mountaintop and was gone.
“Why do I get the feeling our spirit buddy wasn’t telling us everything?” said Ssam.
“And what did it mean that only we could find whatever it is?” said Veronica.
“At least it could have opened the door,” Flossie said.
“Don’t worry,” said Manford, “we’ll figure it all out. We always do.”
The animals slept soundly huddled out of the wind against the stone wall. Veronica awoke first, Manford soon after. The sky was beginning to brighten.
“No open doorways,” Veronica said, glancing around.
“No,” said Manford, “but there soon will be.”
“Did the Spirit of Uncommonly Bright Ideas give you the answer in the night?” asked Flossie, poking up her head on her long, pink neck. Manford was silent.
“I dreamed I was the Blueberry Spirit,” said Veronica. “I could make blueberries appear instantly anywhere.”
“Is the Potato-Chip Spirit awake?” said Ssam, peering out from Manford’s pack.
“I am,” said Needlenose. “Is breakfast ready?”
“We should talk to it,” Manford said suddenly.
“Talk to what?” said Columbine.
“The stone doorway. We haven’t talked to it yet.”
“You mean like ‘Open Sesame,’” said Golly. They glanced at the stone but it didn’t move.
“No, but something like that,” Manford went on.
“What?” asked Ssam.
“I don’t know.”
“And I thought you were onto something,” said Flossie, shaking her head.
“I think he is,” said Needlenose. “There could be a password like the one Ssam gave us when we first met him, or a secret word like the one that made clouds from that little rock.”
“It would be easier than trying to move a five-ton slab,” said Veronica.
“Let me try something,” said Needlenose. He shuffled across the sand and stood before the twelfth stone. He was quiet for a moment ... thinking ... then:
“We come seeking the Coherency Council Accords,” he said confidently. “I request entrance so our journey may begin.”
Nothing happened for a time. The wind whistled as it blew above them. No one spoke.
Then they heard a heavy scraping and grinding sound. It hesitated at first ― starting, stopping, starting again ― then the sound grew louder. The stone was moving. Sand fell from where the huge stone met the one to its left and a vertical shaft of light began to show. The light grew brighter, wider. The stone was swinging open like a door.
“Whoa, look at this!” said Ssam. Through the open doorway, they saw a tunnel wide and high enough for them to walk upright. There was no obvious source of light yet the passage seemed to glow evenly. They could see it curving to the right and leading gently down ― down inside the mountain.
“How did you know what to say?” Veronica asked.
“I just asked for what we wanted,” said Needlenose. “At least, I think it’s what we wanted.”
“If the Accords are anywhere to be found,” said Golly, “this is probably as good a route as any.”
Veronica stepped through the doorway, looking and sniffing in all directions.
“Here’s something,” she said.
“What?” asked Columbine, fluttering to Veronica’s head.
“Words carved into the tunnel wall: ‘Ride the Carousel,’ it says.”
“It’s a clue,” said Manford. “The spirit said we’d find clues.”
“So we’re supposed to find a merry-go-round,” said Needlenose. “That sounds like fun. Let’s go.”
The band of adventurers gathered their supplies without further discussion. With Manford in the lead, they passed through the stone doorway and headed along the curving passage leading into MorningGlory Mountain.
No one looked back.
No one heard the stone door gradually swing closed.
No one saw the words carved in the rock wall slowly fade and disappear.
Order Manford of MorningGlory Mountain - Books 1 & 2->
