Word count is now up to 39,686. I am going out of town till Monday, so it is most likely to stay there until I return, and it was just getting to the exciting part! Oh well, I suppose I shall have to wait till I return...until then I bid thee all adieu

The talking failed. In fact it failed so badly they were tempted to kill Timothy, and he was tempted to lie down and take it. It happened the next day when Pip comment, “It is strange tormenting our characters almost to the point of death and not killing them.”
And so, the contest was on again, this time to see who could write the saddest death scene. In the background they played sad songs, one of which was The Old Village Lantern, which Katie had dubbed Maddock’s Song as it fit his death. By the end of the day there was a stack of papers that contained the character’s tragic deaths.
Once the authors had left the characters, the renegades again, gathered together to read the scenes, all the while scowling at poor Timothy.
Maddock handed the scenes out and everyone read theirs to themselves before sharing them.
“I am down,” Kallen muttered. “No surprise there!”
“Is it in a pond?” Reamann could not help but ask.
“Is that supposed to be funny?” Kallen demanded.
Reamann shook his head. “No, I am sorry, that was rotten.”
“How do you die?” Kallen asked.
“In my true love’s arms with five arrows stick in me.”
“Ouch!” Kallen groaned.
“Wow!” Jake exclaimed from where he stood. “Sarah is more violent then I thought! She has me shoot in the back five times, and once in the head, the one to the head is the one that does me in!”
“I am drawn and quartered,” Cael muttered sulkily.
“That is nothing!” Jordaan scowled darkly at his papers. “Hanz shoot me in the leg, then runs me through with a sword, and then has me beheaded! He probably would have hung me had I not lost my head!”
Maddock rolled his eyes as Timothy muttered, “I am mistaken for my brother and hung!”
Maddock slammed his fist down on the table and hushed all the characters. They all looked at him expectantly.
“This is crossing the line!” Maddock snapped. “Killing us just for fun! This is unheard of!”
“What do we do?” Jordaan asked, full well knowing the answer.
Maddock grinned and walking over picked up a pen. “We are revolting, tonight!”
***
Sybil’s first waking thoughts were, “Something is wrong.”
She looked about and realized she was in the attic! She knew she had stayed up late writing death scenes, but she also knew she had gone to sleep in her own bed. So, how had she gotten here? Had she been sleep walking?
Someone moaned and Sybil swung her head around, her eyes landed on Sarah. Sarah was here? Slowly looking about Sybil gasped, everyone was here! All the Inklings were fast asleep in the attic! Something was definitely wrong!
“Sarah!” Sybil hissed. “Sarah wake up!”
Sarah sat up and rubbing her eyes asked, “Why are you in my room Sybil?”
“I’m not!” Sybil moved off the couch and over to Sarah. “We are in the attic!”
“How did we get here?” Sarah asked. She then saw the others. “How did THEY get here?”
Sybil blinked several times and then standing up yelled, “Wake up everyone!”
All around the room the other kids sat up.
“Where are we?” “How’d we get here?” Filled the room.
Sybil was in a slight daze when a shadowy figure moved into the candle light. Everyone looked up at him, all thinking the same question he answered for them before they even had the chance to ask. “My name is not important, all that matter is you know who I am,” the man said. He was dressed all in black, black paints, shirt, and cloak with a hood that hid his face, tall black boots and a long sword in a black sheath.
“And who are you?” Alex asked when the man paused.
“I am your villain.”
All eyes turned to Alex.
“Not HIS villain,” the man said in a voice that caused chills to race through them all. “I am your villain, Inklings villain!”
“R.K.?” they all asked.
“NO!” the man thundered. “I am not R.K.! I have no name!”
“Why are you here?” Hanz asked when the man paused. “Who made you?”
“Your characters,” the man said with a sneer.
“Our characters?” Sybil gasped.
“Yes!” the man laughed. “Haven’t you guessed it? You are in their book!”
“WE are in a book?” Jules cried.
“Yes!”
“But why, how?”
The man sighed. “Let us just say they got tired of being abused, so they revolted. They have gathered together and are writing this little tale, and you all are the characters!”
“They can’t do that!” Sarah cried.
“But they have!” the man laughed.
“You mean, we are in a book?” That was hard to take.
“Yes,” the man was getting annoyed.
“How do we get out?” Laura asked softly.
“When all of you die, or one of you kills me.”
“Die?” Joy gasped. “We are supposed to die?”
“Or kill me.”
“Why?” Rose asked.
“Because you are characters now!” the man was enjoying his little game.
Jules drew his sword, only to find it was a real sword. The man laughed. “You cannot kill me know Jules, it won’t work.”
Then, before Jules could do anything, the man vanished. The kids stood blinking in the candle lit room, not sure what to do, say or even think. In fact, it was so strange they stood there for half an hour without daring to move.
Meanwhile, in the real Inklings attic Maddock and the others were snickering over their story. They had nabbed Sybil’s laptop and were taking turns writing. It should be stated here that none of them really wanted to kill their authors. See, when a character is killed he never really dies, he just hangs around with the author for the rest of their days. However, this is a little known fact, when an author is killed in a book they really die, being they are authors. Unfortunately the characters did not know this.
Back on the book the authors were still trying to make sense of it all when the room they were in began to shake, as though a giant was outside rattling it. The authors were all knocked to the floor as the windows shattered. Everyone covered their heads as broken glass covered them.
How long the rattling continued they knew not. But when it stopped and they finally lifted their heads they were very surprised to find themselves in an open meadow. There was a big sign in front of them that read, “Welcome to Dale.”
“Dale?” Justyne shook her head. “They brought us back to town?”
“This looks nothing like Wyoming,” Katie said as she stood up and brushed off her dress. That was when she realized that she was dressed in a greenish brown dress, cloak, and was wearing a sword. She also discovered she was bare footed.
Looking around everyone found they were al in the same colored clothing. Though of course the boys were wearing pants and shirts, and tall boots.
“This is getting a little weird,” Sam said with a shake of her head.
“A little?” Jules muttered.
They stood there for a moment, all looking at each other, before they climbed to the top of the small hill. Looking down they saw paths that wove through the meadow. Each of the paths where marked with huge signs so they could not be missed. Everyone walked over to them and read the signs.
“For pirates,” one sign read. Everyone looked over at Jules and Leah.
“What is THAT supposed to mean?” Jules asked.
Suddenly under the words, “For Pirates” appeared the words, “If you are a pirate take this path. If you are the bother of a pirate take this path as well.”
Jules shook his head. “Me thinks our characters are a little slow.”
“I suppose we are to go down that path?” Leah said a little fearfully as she looked at Jules and Mark. She had a sudden regret that she had signed on as first mate.
“What if we refuse?” Jules asked. A bolt of lightening struck the ground behind him.
All turned to Mariella but she looked as shocked as the rest.
“If we refuse we get struck by lightening, how creative,” Mark muttered. Another lightening bolt silenced him.
Leah and Mark moved closer to Jules. They looked down the path nervously, and then with a glance at the others, slowly began to walk down it. Everyone watched until they disappeared from view.
Once they were gone the others moved to the next sign. It read, “For Antagonists.” Beth, Mariella, Gabrielle, and Christina stepped forward. They did not need a lightening bolt to warn them.
Once the four of them had stepped out of sight the rest moved to the next sign which read, “”For Mystery Writers.” Sam, Meggy, and Pip walked down that path.
“For kind writers.” This one was hard to figure out, but while they were debating small lettering appeared below it which read, “Ness, Rose, Laura, Joy, and Jo.”
This was much debated, but another bolt of lightening settled it and the five hurried off. The next sign was for “GOOD writers.”
Sarah, Katie, Jane, and Cherise took this path. At first they thought Sybil was to follow, but a small message appeared and said no. “She is a GOOD writer,” Katie muttered as the three girls crept off.
Once more the ones left moved down to the last sign. This one read, “For Adventurers,” and below that read, “That means all the rest of you.”
By then Sybil was confused, knowing full well that Sarah was also an adventurous writer. The truth was the characters were just as confused about it as the authors. In the end they had decided that in real life Sarah was more romantic then adventurous and Sybil was more adventurous then romantic. Though they agreed it would be easier if the girls stuck to only one or the other in their writings.
And so, looking at each other as though to make sure they had each others support the last four walked down the last path, not knowing what would happen next.
Down the first path Jules, Leah, and Mark were slowly making their way, they felt no need to hurry and meet whatever it was that was down there. However, they had not gone far before they heard the sound of crashing waves. They all looked at each other, rather Mark and Leah looked at Jules as though he should know the meaning to it.
Jules shrugged his shoulders and continued walking, the other two followed him closely and as they walked they were surprised to find they were actually thinking of him as their captain.
Soon they came to the edge of the meadow and were very surprised to find the ocean stretching out before them. Once more Mark and Leah looked up at Jules who shrugged his shoulders. He was about to say something when a ship sailed up to the beach. Yes, up to it, this is possible in books.
As they watched a man dressed as a pirate, leaped over the side of the ship and said with a sweeping bow, “We have come for you captain!”
Leah and Mark looked at Jules, then at the man, and then at Jules again. Jules was grinning from ear to ear. He returned the man’s bow while saying, “At last! Now we shall have some fun!”
***
Christina, Beth, Gabriella, and Mariella found themselves in a black forest. It was rather a depressing place, but in an almost peaceful way. It was hard to explain, all they could say was that it was dark but was not scary, it was mysterious.
Over head a raven flew past, dull sunlight snaked its way through the place trees and landed in small patches on the ground. There was a lake shimmering somewhere through the trees, they could see the blue of the water. Slowly they made their way past the dark trees with their dark green leaves, and up to the lake.
A thin mist was rising above it and as the watched it began to cover all the lake. The mist continued moving until it covered the forest as well, and soon the girls found themselves in a thin gray fog. But even then they were not scared. It was more like they were filled with wonder.
“What an inspiring place!” Christina breathed softly.
***
Meggy, Sam, and Pip, who for a time seemed to have shaken R.K. all together, stood before an old castle that rose above a purple moor. A mournful wind was howling about it as though weeping for some sorrow that had taken place within its walls.
“Oh! Do you suppose we are supposed to go in there?” Sam asked, her eyes were shinning in excitement.
Meggy grinned. “Of course, or it would not be in our path would it?”
Pip looked at her comrades and with a flashing grin said, “Shall we be off then?”
“Oh yes we shall!” Sam exclaimed and with that led the girls up to the castle, where hasty words were soon eaten, for they met R.K. at the front door.
“You!” Pip cried. “You are one of the ones who got us into this!”
R.K. held up his hand and scowled. “I am not! They would not let me because I am partly an alter ego, now I am stuck in here with you all! For ‘Eaven’s sake! Haven’t I been through enough in my life already?”
“Oh hush up and come on!” Meggy said as she pushed the door open. As can be expected it creaked on rusty hinges. The girls all grinned, but R.K. frowned and wished he was tormenting someone in his dungeon rather then following three girls into an old castle.
***
Cherise, Sarah, Katie, and Jane found themselves in a thickly treed forest. Over head the sky was pure blue with big white clouds drifting lazily about. A warm breeze wafted over them, and a golden light shown down upon them. It was the perfect scene of peacefulness.
“This isn’t so bad!” Sarah said with a sigh as sweet music filled the air. With a smile the girls began to walk toward it, wondering what could play so sweetly.
***
It was hard to say what was more confusing, the jagged rocks sticking up out of the flowers or the over cast sky that the sun was shinning out of in all its glory.
“This is a strange land!” Jo said with a soft whistle. She shoved her hair back from her forehead and looked about.
“What are we supposed to do here?” Rose asked as she shook her head.
Ness climbed up on a rock and sat down, swinging her legs. “Maybe we are just supposed to wait until something happens?” A cool wind blew bits of her hair in front of her face.
“Wait for what though?” Laura asked as she looked over her shoulder. Everything looked harmless enough, but one could never be sure, not in a book!
Joy climbed up beside Ness, looking all about but not saying anything. She agreed with the others, it was a strange land they had found themselves in. Everything seemed to be opposite, the flowers being so pretty and the rocks so dull. The shy gray while the sun shown. The wind blowing and yet everything so still. If something was to happen, it would surely happen here!
***
They were in the mountains, jagged mountains that rose above green plains. They were climbing up the mountain, and the higher they went the clearer the air became. It was hard to describe, but air that clear almost seemed like crystal.
They did not seem to have been climbing long before they reach the top. All about them there was patches of snow and the wind was cool though not cold. A creek was bubbling past them as it made its way down the mountainside. Tall pine trees reached for the sky as though wishing to grasp the clouds as they drifted past.
Something about the air stirred within them all the sudden need to do something, something brave and heroic. However, there is very little to do up on a mountaintop.
“Do you suppose the villain is up here?” Alex asked as he looked about and through the trees.
“I suppose he could be anywhere. I believe our characters are going to use him to try and kill us,” Hanz said as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Do you suppose all of our characters are behind this, or just the renegades?” Sybil asked.
“I KNOW Jonathan is not behind this!” Justyne exclaimed.
“I doubt very much that Prinz is behind it,” Hanz said.
“Nor do I think Theobald would do this,” Sybil said with confidence. “I believe then we still have a chance. Once the others find out what the renegades have done they will get us out!”
“If they find out,” Alex added.
Hanz and Justyne nodded as they turned and walked into the forest, and right into a trap.

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