Molly spungle : The Secret of Red Stone

All was finally silent with only a few crackling and hissing sounds as the green vapor disappeared and the red flames returned to Ran-Da. The red dragon hissed loudly in the sorcerer’s face. Molly gazed admiringly at the red dragon, grateful once more for his heroic rescue.

Jar-Ed glared angrily at what was left of his sleeping chamber. The walls and rooftop were gone. He paced uneasily on the remaining floor. The sorcerer’s face turning purple in fury, he screamed at them. “You will not escape me again!” he bellowed, brandishing the red stone pendant as if it were a weapon. “I now have the power of the pendant on my side and I don’t believe it’s unstable,” he sneered at them. He thrust the dangling pendant at Molly and Ran-Da, swinging it in their faces.

Pushing Molly behind him, a mighty roar sprang from the red dragon’s throat, smoke and flames spewing from both nostrils. Molly knew this time that Ran-Da would not hold back his own rage. She huddled behind the dragon, secure in the knowledge that Jar-Ed no longer had the black wand.

Before Ran-Da could aim his mystical energy at the sorcerer, however, liquid red stone dripped from the pendant upon his feet. A wide band of bright white light burst forth lighting up the room. The red stone puddle gurgled and swirled around the sorcerer’s ankles, making its way rapidly up his body.

Jar-Ed, still desperately waving the pendant, continued screaming shrilly, as he became more encased in the fluid stone. Finally, only his face remained exposed. Not making a sound, his face contorted in distressed confusion, Jar-Ed stood helpless in the rising red stone flow, covering his face and hair. For a moment, only the cold glittering blue eyes were visible until at last they vanished under the liquid stone. The pendant dropped from his thumb. This time Jar-Ed had not escaped his fate.

Relieved and grateful, Molly grasped the fact that the evil sorcerer had become a harmless statue. Staring at the unmoving Jar-Ed, Molly said in wonderment, “The pendant dealt Jar-Ed its own justice.”

A second later, King Simon, with Hoddi close behind, burst into the destroyed bedroom, breathless and full of concern.

“I see our biggest problem has been taken care of!” exclaimed the king, relief covering every inch of his face. He gazed around his old room in wonder.

Hoddi examined Jar-Ed closely, touching the red stone and marvelling at its rich red lustre. “I guess that’s the end of our horrid friend,” he remarked, a crooked smile breaking out on his round face.

“We have the rest of Jar-Ed’s men captured and tied up with their own chains!” King Simon told Molly. “My men are keeping a close eye on them. However, I think they won’t try to escape after seeing Ran-Da in action. He scared them to death,” laughed the king.

“Bejingles, he did!” giggled Hoddi. “They won’t be going anywhere.”

Suddenly, the red stone fractured and broke apart. The statue that Jar-Ed had become, crumbled onto the floor in front of their eyes, turning slowly into red dust. A brisk wind sprang up from out of nowhere, scattering the particles through the open window. Where he stood, only moments before, lay the red stone pendant, glinting dark red in the moonlit room. No trace of the evil sorcerer remained.

Later that day, Molly and her friends watched as Ran-Da built a fire pit in a field far away from the palace. Filling it with firewood, the red dragon set it on fire with his fiery breath. When the flames flickered high, Molly tossed the black robe and the wand into the flames. Ran-Da then dug a deep pit as Molly put out the fire and gathered the ashes. The others watched solemnly as Molly sprinkled them in the deep hole.

“I am absolutely uncertain whether there is still evil lingering within that robe and wand,” said King Simon.

“Now no one will find them or be able to use them now,” answered Molly, her relief plain to see. Smoothing the last bit of dirt, they all felt safer than they had in quite some time.

The damage to King Simon’s castle disappeared as if it had never happened. Jar-Ed’s men would be transported to various places throughout the World Outside and would be imprisoned for their treachery.

“It’s time to return to the Hills of Halle,” said Molly, anxious to reassure her fairy friends that all was now well. “My friends can all go home now,” she added, “and not have to fear the wicked Jar-Ed ever again!”