Part XVII - The Wolf's Gate | Phantom City | White Castle Mystery
The Blue Door
The Blue Door looked like a slice of Blue Agate, with a bright, blue, long oval center shining through layers of fog like an eye, and ripples of blue, white and turquoise spreading outward from the middle. A watery, rocky pathway lay ahead and there were tall trees in the distance.
Levi checked the time on the Dragonfly Clock and the Dragonfly's Tail pointed at Seven O'Clock, right in the middle of the Blue Rose and just before the Purple struck. Zoe stared at a map she had laid out on the ground in front of her and said, "It looks like we are near GlassWater Creek and approaching the Valley of 1,000 Flowers." Zoe pointed at the map with a stick, "It shows here we have passed the Cult of Athena above the Winding Narrow River, and the Blue Mountains lie ahead." Levi took a few quick pictures of the cathedral-like bridge that lay before them in the blue mist before he picked up his Travel Pack and caught up with Zoe.
Valley of 1,000 Flowers
The Lily of the Valley is said to protect forests from evil spirits and fairies are often seen drinking from its tiny white cups. Legend has it that the Valley of 1,000 Flowers' strong fragrances lure travelers into their midst and into an intoxication from which they never recover.
Zoe saw a Purple Flower on the mountain path ahead and picked the flower part off the stem. Levi stooped over and carefully dug the rest of the plant completely out of the ground and shook the dirt off the roots. Zoe took a picture for the inventory and Levi put the rest in his Travel Pack.
"Come on Zoe. Let's see if we can find someone who knows more about the perfumed Flowers in this valley." Zoe was reading the map again.
"It looks like we might be able to reach the White Castle by nightfall if we take this route through the mountains." Zoe put the map away and a short time later, the travelers found themselves at the entrance to the White Castle. Levi banged the door-nocker on the castle door loudly several times until a tall, white-bearded elderly gentleman opened the door and looked down at them questioningly.
"Greetings! What are you doing here?" The tall, white-bearded gentleman looked past the travelers to see if anyone else was with them.
"Where have you come from?"
Levi spoke first, "We found the Blue Mountains and crossed over a narrow, winding river before we met at the Wolf's Gate. We heard The Wolf was dead and we passed safely through the Valley of 1,000 Flowers with the small flower collection we brought with us. We are wondering if you know anything about a small, lavender flower called "The WolfsBane."
The elderly gentleman welcomed them inside and offered them tea, bread and sliced roast beef. As the travelers finished a light supper, their host looked up from his newspaper and said,
"I don't know if your lavender flower is what killed the Wolf but mark my words, the Purple Dragon will be the bane of our existence if we don't figure out what happened on Meteor Night."
The Lotus Elixirs
Later that evening in the castle...
Levi and Zoe find Malachite [1] and a Glass Menagerie of one thousand different kinds of potions, perfumes, elixirs and every other kind of remedy one might hope for.
[1] Malachite illustration by JaskaS-Adopts
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