2 Sands of Time

CHAPTER Two Sands Of Time A wide sea of sand stretched away as far as the eye could see. Sand hills—dunes—rolled and dipped all the way to the horizon. "Wow!" Neal said. "This is my first desert." The moonbeams made the dunes glitter with golden light. "This is awesome," Julie said. "Droon is beautiful at night." Eric breathed in the cool air. "Let's climb over that dune," he said, pointing to one of the high, curving hills of sand. "For a look." They stepped down from the bottom step.

The sand was warm. They climbed to the top of the dune and peered over. Not far away was a striped tent. Shaggy, six-legged beasts stood outside. The kids remembered them from their first time in Droon. The beasts were called pilkas. "Somebody's camping," Neal whispered. Eric noticed a strange purple flag flying over the tent. "Careful," he said. "You never know what you might find." "We don't have much choice," said Julie, pointing behind them. "The stairs are fading." The three friends watched as the rainbow-colored steps vanished in the sky. "I hope we find them again later," Neal said. "Wherever they are." Slowly, they approached the tent. A large flap hung down over an opening. "Let's peek in," Julie whispered. Suddenly, a voice spoke from inside the tent. "Come in!" Julie held her breath and pulled up the flap. The three friends looked inside. Their friend Princess Keeah was sitting on a rug spread out over the sand. She was dressed in a light blue tunic. In her long blonde hair she wore a golden crown. Next to her sat the old wizard, Galen Longbeard, and his assistant, Max.

Lining the inside of the tent were piles of extra-plump purple-colored pillows. "Welcome back!" Keeah said, laughing when she saw the kids.

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"We've all been waiting for you!" Max chirped happily. Max was a spider troll. He had eight legs and could spin sticky webs and climb up walls. But his face was pudgy like a troll's, and his bright orange hair sprouted straight up. Eric smiled as he and his friends entered the tent. "How did you know we were coming?" "I can see the future!" Keeah said. Julie gasped. "You can?" "Keeah," said Galen sternly, "you must respect your real magic powers. You should not invent others you don't have… yet." The princess made a face. "I'm sorry." She turned to the three friends. "Actually, I can't see the future. I just dreamed about all of you, and I guessed you were on your way." Eric shot looks at Julie and Neal. "We had dreams, too. But we didn't understand them." "In Droon, wizards—and sorcerers—can use dreams as messengers," Galen said. "Sometimes they foretell what will happen. We may understand more at dawn, when we begin—" Neal tugged a purple pillow over to the rug. "Hey!" the pillow snarled. "You pinched me! I was having the nicest nap, too!" Neal jumped up. "Whoa… sorry!" He looked around. "Wait, did that pillow just talk to me?"

Max chirped in laughter. "That's a Lumpy!" Neal made a face. "Lumpy or not, in the Upper World, pillows don't talk!" Keeah smiled. "Max means it's not a pillow you sat on. It's a Lumpy. A purple Lumpy!" It was then that the kids noticed small round faces on the chubby pillows. Their cheeks bulged, and their noses were like purple tennis balls. One of the creatures stood up, stretched, and yawned. It had short, fat arms and squat legs. "I am Khan," he said. "King of the purple Lumpies of Lumpland. Just over the last dune on your left. We Lumpies are the best desert trackers in Droon. We sniff out trouble." He paused to sniff the air. "Danger is everywhere!" "Uh… pleased to meet you!" Eric said. Galen rose, wrapping his long blue robe around him. "Now, come outside. We must talk about tomorrow." The air outside the tent was cool and sweet. "It sure is peaceful here," Julie said. "It wasn't yesterday," Keeah told them. "That's the reason we're here." "What happened?" Eric asked. "Lord Sparr," Khan said, shaking his purple fist in the air. "He nearly destroyed one of our villages with his red jewel. Luckily, the terrible flame burned his hand, and he fled."