When Milk Chocolate was about to go to sleep, he heard a man crying outside. He wondered what it was. He got up from his bed and he took a peek outside. Everything seemed normal, maybe it was just somebody crying in the woods. He took a look at the woods again and saw that something was not right. The trees looked as if they had sunk into the ground. Then he remembered the clattering sound that he heard from the woods that morning.
“Mango! Come here, please,” called Milk. Yoghurt Mango was his sister. “Anything weird out there?” asked Mango. “You see, I’m kind of sleepy. So, how about talking about it tomorrow,” said Mango as she went back to sleep.
Milk sighed and continued looking outside. “I’m going up, I mean I’m going out there to have a look at the woods,” said Milk while he put on his jacket. “Something is wrong, the woods is sinking.” “I’ll come along then,’ said Mango as she got up from her bed. “I’m not going to let you go outside all alone. But please ask for permission from Mum first, Milk.”
“Mum, can Mango and I go upside, I mean outside to take a look at something for a while, please?” asked Milk. “Alright,” said his mother. “Just don’t do weird things out there and do not stay out there for too long.” Milk and Mango went out to inspect the woods. “Hi Pomegranate Jam, what are you doing here?” asked Milk and looking at Pineapple he said, “And Pineapple Cookies, you are much taller!” Pomegranate and Pineapple were their neighbours but they had not seen each other for months. “What do you mean by upside, do you mean outside?” asked Pineapple. Milk sighed “Yes, I always make that mistake.” ”I heard a man shouting in the woods and I could not sleep,” said Pomegranate. “Well, did you notice that the woods look kind of weird? The whole woods seems lower as if the trees had sunk into the ground. So, I came upside to inspect it,” said Milk.
“Don’t waste your time, everyone. We must find out what’s happening over there,” said Mango. So off they went to the woods. Just before they reached there, “Stop!” shouted someone while putting his hand in front of the children. It was Mr. Apple Pie the gardener. “What are you children doing out here?” he asked. Milk answered, “Were just going for a tour in the woods and ….” Pomegranate give Milk a nudge and said, “What he meant was we’re inspecting what is wrong with the woods. It looks weird. That’s all.” Mr. Apple said, “Fine, you can take a look at the forest but don’t be up too late because it’s already time to sleep and it could be dangerous out there.”

My brother's desktop lately freezes randomly for unknown reason. What I mean 'freeze' here is that it totally hangs. Mouse doesn't respond, keyboard doesn't respond, and the only way to get out is to force shutdown by holding the power button. I have no idea what could have been causing this. The desktop is not even 2 months old yet. Anybody here have any idea?

Tea Blossom's friend, and the China counterpart of Peppermint Fizz. Her attitude is more or less a copy of Peppermint, and Peppermint herself got to taste her own rejection medicine when the two met for the first time.

Mint Tea is unmatched at handcrafting. She is able to craft beautiful accessories and make a perfect copy of any kind of accessory she sees within minutes. However, she is very shy about this talent so she never wears any accessories she has made, which had filled her jewelry box to the brim.

Quote:Year 1

Chapter 7: Cheated?


Days have passed after the day we had arrived at Fort Markash. Every bridges Wulfgar had tested had turned out to be fake. Because he hit the cliffside pretty hard whenever he fell down, about half the time he fainted and Boli had to pull him up, and then he had to rest for some hours. At the other times, he climbed the cliffside with Boli pulling him, got exhausted from it, and had to rest for several hours. Seeing that made me understand why Wulfgar had ordered Boli to stay put and not testing bridges. Wulfgar needed Boli to pull him up whenever he fell down. Meanwhile, me and Huck had been doing nothing other than watching and helping to move the campsite every night to the next intact bridge. At this rate, I worried that Wulfgar would not consider us helpful at the end of this hunt and refuse to help me in my project. It was already dusk of this day and Wulfgar had just destroyed another bridge.

"You have been working hard, your majesty," Boli said to Wulfgar, who was sitting on the ground and panting.

"I be cursed. Today three wrong bridges again. All I got are bumps and bruises!" Wulfgar said.

"Hang in there, your majesty! Only four bridges left! Tomorrow we will find the correct one!" Boli said.

"I don't know anymore. Twenty tries out of twenty four bridges, and all were wrong. Either I'm unlucky..." Wulfgar said. "Or all of them are fake."

"How can that happen? If all of them are fake, then how could the ancestors get across?" I asked.

"Perhaps memorizing which tile the trap trigger is and walk without stepping on it is the actual safe way?" Wulfgar said. "Can't ignore the possibility."

"Oh man, I'm starting to worry that it might be true," Huck said.

"Anyway, it's getting dark. Let's call it a day and sleep," Boli said. We then heard a rumbling noise.

"What was that? Another bridge collapsed?" I asked.

"No..." Wulfgar said. "That was my stomach rumbling. We haven't eaten for five days straight."

"I feel kinda the same," Boli said. "What about you two, boys?"

"I still can handle it," Huck said.

"I somehow don't feel hungry at all," I said. Perhaps worrying that I would not get any help from the dwarves had been suppressing my hunger.

"You can go back to the village if you want," Wulfgar said as we all sat down on our bedrolls.

"What? And missing your birthday? No way!" Boli said.

"Me too!" Huck said.

"Yeah!" I said.

"Is that day tomorrow? Crazy... I'm so hungry I have no strength to be angry," Wulfgar said as he lied down on his bedroll. "I only can remember how good you are at cooking, and that shows how hungry I am."

"Want dirt yam?" Boli asked, grinning a bit.

"No! I still would rather eat mud!" Wulfgar shouted.

"I have no objections, your majesty," Boli said, and we all went to sleep. While sleeping, I kept thinking about the possibility of all bridges being fake. If that was really true, I had to think of a way.

At the following morning, we all woke up not feeling too well. Probably because all of us had been living with only water and no food. Wulfgar seemed quite worse than us because he had been doing all the physical works and taking injuries in the process.

"Err... your majesty?" I said timidly.

"I told you to call me by name at this time," Wulfgar said. "What is it?"

"I think... I got an idea," I said.

"Really? Let's hear it!" Wulfgar said.

"Since there's a chance that the all the bridges might be fake, I think we better make our own bridge," I said.

"Good point, but how?" Wulfgar asked.

"I'm thinking of tying the rope to make a lasso and then throw it to the bridge pole across," I said.

"Fine idea, but the ravine is wide. The distance across is too far to throw a lasso," Wulfgar said.

"That's what the remaining bridges are for," I said. "If you can run about half the bridge before it falls, it should be close enough."

"Hmm..." Wulfgar said, seeming to be thinking. "Worth a try. Let's do it!"

Wulfgar then as usual tied a rope to the bridge's left pole and his waist, but this time he brought another rope which had been made a lasso and tied up at the other pole of the bridge. He then took a deep breath and began to run through the bridge. Soon, I heard a click and the bridge collapsed. Wulfgar threw the lasso before he fell down, and fortunately the lasso fell right at the pole across. Wulfgar grabbed the rope and moved across as the rest three of us cheered at him. After that, both Boli and Wulfgar worked together from each side of the ravine to set up a rope bridge.

Crossing the bridge was really scary for me. The webbing of the rope bridge was not that tight, so there were holes on it. Seeing the deep dark fall below the bridge gave me shivers and my legs felt like jelly.

"C'mon boy!" Wulfgar said from the other side.

"Hang in there, buddy!" Huck said from behind me.

"I'm... trying..." I said. It took me a great amount of effort until I finally reached the other side.

"Hate to admit it, but crossing this felt pretty hard," Boli said.

"That's because we're too hungry," Wulfgar said. "We're getting weaker and weaker as we speak. Let's not waste any more time."

We all then walked around the wall until we arrived at the front entrance. Behind the gate we saw that between the gate and the stone building there was nothing but a field of square stone tiles.

"The treasure is just right there! Let's go!" Wulfgar said, seeming very excited. He then ran straight towards the staircase of the building. However, when he stepped on a tile, the tile shattered, revealing a deep hole below it. Wulfgar fell down but he managed to grab the ledge of the floor and dangle there.

"Pull me up! Quick!" he shouted. We rushed to him and pulled him up from the hole. After that, all of us retreated back to the front wall, leaning and panting.

"Now what?" Boli asked.

"I don't know. Nobody knows how many of those tiles are traps," Wulfgar said. As he said that, I suddenly realized something.

"Maybe we can know," I said.

"Really? How?" Huck asked.

"See the things growing on the tiles?" I said.

"Hmph! Dirt yam! So?" Wulfgar said. Indeed there were dirt yam plants growing on several parts of the tile field.

"Tiles next to the dirt yam plants should be safe. Plants cannot grow without soil, can they?" I said.

"Oh yeah! You're right! Good job again, boy!" Wulfgar said. We then went to the bottom of the staircase by stepping only on tiles next to the growing dirt yams.

"Alright, what next?" Boli said.

"There should be no more trap," Wulfgar said, starting to climb the stairs.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, following him.

"The treasure will be gone if the building falls," Wulfgar said. I actually didn't get his logic, but I kept following him anyway. The climb was tiring even though the building was not that high. Probably because none of us had eaten anything for days. When we finally reached the peak, there was an open door, and behind it was a room filled with a pile of treasure. What I found strange was that the treasure pile was located on a thick stone platform with a stone pillar at each corner of the platform. Above the pillars, there was another thick stone platform very close to the ceiling of the room.

"No wonder they made those dangerous traps," Wulfgar said. "This amount of treasure is enough to establish a kingdom."

"But why all these are put here just like that?" I asked.

"I bet they were confident with the traps outside," Wulfgar said, taking one jeweled necklace from the pile. Suddenly we heard a clicking sound followed by a rumbling noise.

"Run away!" Boli shouted, pulling Wulfgar with him. We did as he had said immediately. The room collapsed with a loud rumbling noise, and all of us made it just in time to get out and take cover at the stairs. Thankfully, the rest of the building still stood firmly.

"No," Wulfgar said. "No! NO!"

"Are you two alright?" Boli asked.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Me too," Huck said.

"Come and help me!" Wulfgar said as he ran back to the remains of the room. "We must dig the treasures out!"

All of us then tried to lift one large piece of debris away, but failed.

"This is useless... we are too weak," Wulfgar said, panting like the rest of us. "Once again, I failed because of hunger! ...and pride."

"Why are you saying that?" Boli asked.

"I have to be honest..." Wulfgar said. "I didn't immediately went down the hill after reaching the ground back then. I was so hungry I started digging out one dirt yam. But then I remembered that the yam was toxic if uncooked. I then swore not to eat it ever again. But now, I'm willing to pay any price just to eat one!"

"Let me..." Boli said before interrupted.

"Never mind. We will go back to the village and beg for food," Wulfgar said. "But please leave me alone for now."

"Alright," Boli said. "Let's go, boys."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked as the three of us left Wulfgar.

"Don't worry about him," Boli said. "Now I only need you two to do something."

"Huh?" I and Huck said at the same time.

Later, Wulgar was lying down on the pile of debris. He was so tired he had fallen asleep there. He had wanted to be left alone, so he could sit there daydreaming about the treasure he had been wanting for many years, which was just right there next to him but also very far from his reach. Another reason was that he didn't want to be seen crying over the treasure he had just lost. He had no idea how long he had been asleep, but what woke him up was a poke at his shoulders.

"Huh?" Wulfgar said, still half asleep.

"Happy birthday, your majesty!" Boli said together with me and Huck. On his right hand was a plate of a whole dirt yam with vapor coming out from it. Wulfgar was surprised seeing that.

"What? Isn't that... dirt yam? How?" Wulfgar asked.

"When we were separated at the village, I traded some of my food supplies for the recipe," Boli said. "It turned out to be easy, just boil it in salt water for half an hour."

"So you already know the secret?! Why did you left me to eat air for a week!?" Wulfgar shouted, seeming very upset.

"You yourself refused to eat it, remember?" Boli said.

"Well, alright. My bad then. But what about the boys?!" Wulfgar asked, still pretty upset.

"I actually cooked one for them after you fell asleep on the second night after we lost our food," Boli said.

"Man, better not remember that again," Huck said. "The taste was terrible indeed!"

"I say beyond horrible," I said. "After that, every time I remember the taste, my hunger just disappeared."

"Heh, alright then," Wulfgar said, taking the dirt yam from the plate. "The taste sure will be disgusting, but I need strength to dig out that treasure."

Wulfgar then slowly, full of doubt and fear, bit the dirt yam. He then chewed it and was immediately surprised. He then ate the yam viciously as if it was very tasty.

"The taste is... great! How?" Wulfgar said, still eating the yam.

"The accessories in my waist bag are actually my seasoning set," Boli said. "Every night, after everyone fell asleep, I cooked a dirt yam trying different combinations with the recipe until I find one which gave a good taste. I found this combination last night."

"Good job! Have you all eaten this as well?" Wulfgar asked.

"Unfortunately, all those experimenting on the recipe depleted the seasoning set I have," Boli said. "The one your majesty is eating is the result of last night, just heated up."

Right after Boli said that, Wulfgar froze in place. His mouth stopped chewing, and his eyes then looked at the half-eaten dirt yam. The silence lasted for some more seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Wulfgar shouted. "Who am I to eat in front of hungry people?! Go eat the rest!"

"Don't worry about us," Huck said.

"All three of us ate a regular dirt yam before going back here," I said. "Still tasted terrible, but hunger kinda helped."

"That, is the birthday present from us," Boli said. "Happy birthday once again, your majesty."

Wulfgar stood in silence after hearing that, and then he ate the rest of the yam in his hands.

"Alright, no more slacking! Get here and help me move all this debris!" Wulfgar shouted.

All of us then worked together to move the pile of debris little by little. It took several hours until we finally managed to move the last rock obstructing us from the treasure. It was quite a surprise seeing that the entire treasure pile was still intact, but I understood why.

"So that's why there was a second ceiling right above the treasure," Boli said.

"Indeed," I said. "It was built to protect the treasure in case someone triggered the trap."

It took us another several hours to move all the treasure across the ravine. By the time we finished transporting the last of the treasure, it was already dusk. We then set a camp right next to the treasure pile we had transported.

"I will stay here to watch over the treasure. You go back to the village and tell them that they can come to take their share of the treasure," Wulfgar said.

"Alright, I will be back by morning," Boli said. "What about you, boys?"

"I'm kinda too exhausted to walk down those stairs," I said.

"To be honest, me too," Huck said.

"Alright then," Boli said. "By the way, there's a dirt yam in the cooking pot if you get hungry. Made with the remaining broth of last night."

"Bleh!" Wulfgar said after he noticed the cooking pot near him. "I ate that because I was starving, not because I liked it! And the acual present I want is the treasure, not that yam! Remember?"

"I see. Then I'll take my leave," Boli said, and he left us. I and Huck went to sleep immediately because we were very exhausted. However, I was not fully asleep yet when I heard a few things.

"Of all vegetables I have eaten, dirt yam is the most disgusting of all," Wulfgar said to himself while shivering. "And now I'm hungry again..."

After Wulfgar said that, he stared at the cooking pot for a while. He then took the dirt yam from the pot and began eating it.

"Ah well, I'll just eat this. Pretty good actually," he said. "I must thank everyone for the best birthday present of my life."

I felt somewhat happy hearing that. Wulfgar was a good person at heart despite the few downsides I had seen or Boli had mentioned. I was still a bit worried on how he would decide on helping my project, though.

As Boli had said, he returned by morning bringing a number of young people from the village below. Everyone then brought the treasure to the village chief's house, and then they split the treasure as Wulfgar and the chief had agreed upon. Every people of the village looked very happy, knowing that their life of poverty was about to end thanks to the brave old treasure hunter.

One week later, we were already back at Dwarven Capital. King Wulfgar immediately put all the treasure he had obtained into his private stash in his castle. After that, he brought us, including Boli, to the conference room to talk about his decision on helping my project.

"So... you once said about needing a help from us for your project," King Wulfgar said once all of us were seated. "What kind of help?"

"For now, I think I need a power source. A generator," I said.

"Generator? What generator?" King Wulfgar asked.

"Uhh... electricity generator?" I said timidly.

"Electricity? What is that?" King Wulfgar asked.

"It's a type of power. It's like..." I said, having no idea how to explain.

"Maybe we can say that electricity is like small lightning?" Huck said.

"Oh, you mean shock power?" Boli said.

"Well... maybe?" I said, unsure of what Boli had said.

"If that's what you mean, I can have one ready for you within a week," Boli said.

"That's good to hear," I said.

"Do you approve this, your majesty?" Boli said.

"All the help repaid with one shock power generator. Why not?" King Wulfgar said. "Alright, dismissed. Talk to Boli if you need to discuss anything more. I'm taking my leave."

After saying that, King Wulfgar left the conference room without looking at any of us.

"What's up with him?" Huck asked.

"His majesty was trying hard not to scream out of happiness," Boli said.

"Huh? Why is that?" I asked.

"A shock power generator is actually quite cheap and easy to make. Your help back then can worth a thousand generators at least," Boli said. "You only asked for one, and his majesty is always happy to pay cheap for big gains."

"What?! Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Huck said.

"I'm really sorry, but if I would have done that if I could. Saying anything that ends up raising the king's expense without raising gain is a crime punishable by life sentence," Boli said.

"That's just... doesn't make sense," I said, feeling really upset.

"I already told you that he was quite greedy, didn't I?" Boli said.

"I had better thoughts of him, but not anymore after he cheated us like this!" Huck said, seeming very angry.

"No! He did NOT cheat you!" Boli said in loud, angry voice. "You helped him, he agreed to help you, you asked for one generator, and you get one generator! Which part of that is cheating!? ANSWER ME!"

"But I... we..." Huck said, seeming shocked by Boli's reaction.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I should have not said it like that. Please forgive me," Boli said.

"I... I need to go out for a while," Huck said, quickly leaving the conference room. I could guess that he went somewhere quiet, a place where nobody would see him crying.

"Please... try to control your temper for us..." I said, trying to hold my own tears. "We are... not... your fellow... dwarves who are used to such temper.... We are humans, and we're still kids..."

"Yeah... you're right... I'm sorry," Boli said. "It's just that despite being greedy, he gained all the wealth he has through legitimate means. He never, ever, resort to deceit and trickery. That was why I got upset when your friend said that his majesty cheated you. His majesty did not cheat you. The problem was that you did not know the value of what you have done for his majesty."

"I guess we just have to move on then," I said.

"Indeed," Boli said. "By the way, what will the generator be fueled by?"

"Gem berries," I said.

"Gem berries? Oh, that's a different case then," Boli said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.

"A generator powered by gem berries is very complicated to make and costs a massive amount of resources," Boli said. "The resources needed for making such generator can be used to make about three thousand steam powered generators."

"How come?" I asked, being surprised at what I had just heard.

"I better not explain that. Too complicated," Boli said. "Anyway, with just one gem berry the generator can run for about a whole week without stopping."

"That's incredible!" I said.

"Heh, so in the end you're the one who gets the better part of the deal," Boli said with a bit of a grin.

"Will the king be angry about this and stop us?" suddenly Huck asked. He had just returned from wherever he had just been.

"No. His majesty is a man of his word. The deal was 'you want a generator, you get one generator'. What kind of generator is never mentioned," Boli said, still grinning.

So, as Boli had told us, what was supposed to be a bad deal for us turned out to be a very good deal for us. Right after our conversation, Boli took us back to Emerald City with his car, saying that he would deliver the gem-berry-powered generator within a month. When we arrived, all our friends welcomed us, eagerly asking about how our adventure had been. I then told Henry about the new generator, and he seemed very happy with it. I really hoped the new generator would be a stepping stone to move another step forward, towards Strawberryland.

-End of Chapter 7-

Even though I love new technology (with the exception of Windows 8 for obvious reasons), I still have a soft spot for CRT TV sets. Sure, they can't display HDTV or 480p content, but they do excel at displaying standard definition content such as old VHS tapes, SD TV programs and retro video games. However, one place where a CRT will never return is a computer monitor. LCD > CRT for computers these days. But I digress...

You may remember that I recently got a 19'' CRT which was originally intended for retro games. Well, I found a better one...



20 inch "Sylvania" CRT TV from 1991, which I recently scored at an auction. It's a charming little set with a great picture, perfect for my mostly standard-def content and retro games. The name? It's named after this one-shot character from a certain show featuring a young polar bear doing stuff at the North Pole...


Meet Nanouk! Husky puppy one-shot who should have became a main character in DKE, but since the series lasted only 13 episodes, you could only do so much I guess.

What does this mean for Anna-Lena? She will be an480p and HD content monitor, perfect for my forthcoming Wii U. She will also monitor my DVD recordings as well. Basically, anything component and upwards in terms of video quality. As it stands, both sets can view my satellite receiver output, but I don't plan on viewing both at the same time. As crazy as my current set up is, that is a tad overkill.

But, once I get an apartment, these two sets will go to their intended places. Anna-Lena in the bedroom for my Wii-U and whatnot, and the CRT in the main room. A less crazy setup indeed.

Final word... being made in 1991, Nanouk does have a very simple way of a menu system...


Yeah. You just hit the menu button on the remote and cycle through very primitive looking color sliders and other settings. One weird feature is that he has a "reminder" feature. Turn it on, and you can always have the channel number in the lower left corner. :?:

Quote:Year 1

Chapter 6: Fort Markash


"Alright, listen up, boys!" King Wulfgar said while we were still on the way to Fort Markash with Boli's airship. "I need to do a briefing before we begin the hunt!"

"Yes... your majesty," I said, kinda timidly because I was not sure how I should address him.

"I'm not a king now," King WUlfgar said, getting off from his seat and walking towards the back of the airship. "I'm just an old treasure hunter trying to hunt a treasure I once couldn't get, so call me by name!"

"Uhh.. Yes Wul... no, this doesn't feel right," I said, following him with Huck to the space at the back of the ship. I saw four backpacks stored there, two were considerably larger than the other two.

"Heh, if you were older, I would have you drink together with me until you call me by name," Wulfgar said, taking a large scroll from one of the larger backpacks and spreading the scroll over the floor. "Anyway, here's the map of Oz."

After WUlfgar spread the scroll on the floor, I looked at the map which was almost entirely covered by a single continent. The continent bordered an ocean from South to East part, and there was a pretty large island, covering about one-tenth of the map at the southeast corner. There were writings on the map, probably the names of the places. However, the writings were not in alphabet, instead they were in characters I could not recognize.

"Is this the map of the whole world?" Huck asked.

"No, this is only a continent map," Wulfgar said.

"How many continents are there in the world?" I asked.

"Nobody knows for certain," Wulfgar said. "Hey! Are you trying to distract me?"

"Oh, sorry your maj... I mean... Wulf..gar," I said timidly.

"Heh, whatever. Anyway, this is Emerald City," Wulfgar said, putting his index finger at a black dot roughly at the center of the continent. "And this is Dwarven Capital."

The distance between Emerald City and Dwarven Capital shown on the map was surprisingly close, only about two centimeters, while the map was at least two meters wide and one meter tall. I was quite astonished to see that Oz was very large, and it was still not including other continents out there.

"Fort Markash is located in Granite region, which is right here," Wulfgar said, pointing at a region about 15 centimeters Northeast from Emerald City. "Walking there would normally take months, but thanks to this airship we will arrive there in about eight hours."

"That's good to hear," I said.

"Not so easy, boys!" Wulfgar said. "This airship does not have good resistance to harsh weather, and the winds in Granite are very unpredictable and unfriendly!"

"Oh man," Huck said. "So what should we do?"

"We will land just outside Granite, and from there we will switch to land route!" Wulfgar said, pointing at a place away from Granite.

"So we are going to walk all the way to Fort Markash from there?" I asked.

"Of course not!" Wulfgar said. "Why do you think this airship is this large?"

"Uhh, no idea," Huck said.

"Oh, to bring Boli's..." I said before interrupted.

"Exactly! The land vessel is in this ship as well!" Wulfgar said. "Though he told me the name is... what was it... kat, cah, cas?"

"Car," I said.

"Yes, that one," Wulfgar said. "Simple indeed, but I have no idea how he got that name. He usually just name his vehicles like how they are used. Like this 'airship', a ship but in the air."

"So, how long will it take to arrive at Fort Markash?" I asked.

"The distance from landing point to Fort Markash is about two thousand kilometers," Wulfgar said. "And before you comment on it, yes it's very far. Even with the car, it will take about a week to get there. Any questions?"

"Does the car have enough fuel for the trip back and forth?" I asked.

"I got it covered! No worries!" Wulfgar said.

"Enough food and water for all of us?" Huck asked.

"Check!" Wulfgar said.

"I guess no more questions then," I said.

"Cheers for a successful treasure hunt!" Wulfgar said.

"CHEERS!" All of us, including Boli, shouted.

Eight hours later, Boli landed the airship right in the middle of a grassland. Then he took his car from the storage space at the back of the airship. After checking that everything were ready and not forgotten, Boli took four cube things from one of the larger backpacks and put them a few meters away from the ship in rectangular formation. He then pressed a button on the last cube he had put, and all four cubes suddenly erected metal bars to other cubes. Everything happened very fast that within seconds what I saw was a large metal cage fixed to the ground, with the airship inside it.

"We will be leaving it for at least two weeks. Can't be too careful about it," Boli said.

"Are you going to drive in the dark?" Huck asked. Indeed it was already near midnight.

"Of course not!" Boli said while laughing. "We will set up camp here and depart tomorrow morning."

"Oh, I see," Huck said. "I must admit that I'm not to good at setting the tent."

"Me too," I said.

"Tent?" Boli said, and he laughed. "I have never said that we will use a tent!"

Boli then took another cube thing from the same backpack. This time the cube was a bit larger than the previous four cubes. He then walked to an open space, put the cube on the ground, and activated it. He then ran away from the cube, and then there was a small explosion which left a lot of smoke around where the cube had been placed. When the smoke cleared we saw a house, the shape of which was similar to an igloo but made from metal.

"Hmph! I've never had it this easy back then!" Wulfgar said. "I didn't even have a tent! I built my own shelter with anything I could find around!"

"But now we have this, so let's just live with it!" Boli said. All of us then entered the instant house to rest for the night.

The trip to Fort Markash went by without anything significant happened. We rode the car during the day, making a stop every lunch time and dinner time, and set up camp once night arrived, making the sky almost completely dark. During this trip I learned a few things about Oz, such as the wildlife which was not much different than our planet, and the seasons cycle which was also the same with our planet. After one week, we arrived at a village under a tall hill, which seemed to be the village shown in the projection before. It was already dusk when we arrived.

"Fort Markash is right at the top of that hill," Wulfgar said.

"And that is the village you told us about, right?" Boli said. "Let's go there."

"Why should we?" Wulfgar asked.

"To make sure your deal with the village still stands," Boli said.

"If you say so, alright," Wulfgar said, walking to the village.

"You two, accompany him," Boli said.

"Huh? What about you?" I asked.

"There's something I must do," Boli said. "I'll meet you again at the other side of the village."

"Alright then," Huck said.

The two of us then followed Wulfgar into the village. The village was a really poor village, looking at the dilapidated houses and the inhabitants who didn't seem to have any meaningful activities.

"This village is still as poor as the last time I was here," Wulfgar said. "That means the treasure is still not found yet."

"Hey, that dwarf looks familiar," Huck said, looking at an old dwarf who was sitting alone.

"Isn't that... the village chief?" Wulfgar said. "Wait here. I'll go talk to him."

"Alright," I said. Wulfgar then approached the old dwarf.

"Treasure hunter...?" the old dwarf said, seeming to recognize Wulfgar.

"Yes, it's me. You still remember our deal back then?" Wulfgar asked.

"Of course I still remember," the old dwarf said. "Pity you didn't make it back then."

"And now I'm here to try again," Wulfgar said. "This time I will come back with the treasure!"

"Best of luck, friend," the old dwarf said.

"Let's go," Wulfgar said to us. We then walked to the other side of the village. We then waited there for a few more minutes because Boli was not there yet.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Boli said as he arrived.

"Where have you been?!" Wulfgar said.

"Just a few small things," Boli said.

"Whatever. Let's just go now," Wulfgar said. "Despite the available path and stairs, climbing this hill will take a while. I want to arrive at the top before dark."

We then climbed the hill through the path and stairs. The climb was very tiring for me, to the point that I almost couldn't feel my legs. I really wondered why Huck seemed to have no problem climbing for what seemed like hours, and the two dwarves climbed carrying a very large bloated backpack each.

"I wonder why you bought so much food from the village we passed by yesterday," I said, trying to divert my attention from my exhaustion.

"I don't want to repeat the same mistake," Wulfgar said.

"Mistake? What mistake?" I asked.

"Less talking, more climbing," Wulfgar said. "If you're tired, have Boli to carry your backpack."

"No thanks. I'm good, I think..." I said, although it was very clear that I was almost at the limit of my strength.

"The peak is just around that corner," Wulfgar said, pointing at a corner of the path. "Hang in there, boy."

"I'm... just... fine..." I said, struggling to keep my pace.

"It's been so long that..." Wulfgar said as he turned around the corner. "...I forgot how it felt to be here."

When I finally made it to the peak, what I saw was the view of a stone wall with a very deep ravine in front of it. Behind the wall I could see a stone building, which seemed to have a shape of a pyramid with the center of one side having a long staircase to the box-shaped peak. With further observation, I noticed that every side of the building was surrounded by both the stone wall and the ravine. What I found a bit strange was the fact that there were many stone bridges around the building that could be used to cross the ravine. I also noticed that four of the bridges had collapsed, which gave me a bad feeling.

"We will set up camp near the first bridge that is still intact," Wulfgar said, and we walked to the nearest intact bridge and put down our luggage.

"Too bad this place is too uneven and rocky to place the instant house," Boli said. "Let's live with bedrolls and campfire then."

"This ravine sure gives me chills," Huck said, carefully looking down the ravine.

"There sure are a lot of bridges," Boli said while he lit a campfire. "Don't tell me that..."

"Yeah, only one bridge is correct. The others will collapse if you try to cross it," Wulfgar said. "That's what happened to the treasure hunter's team. I myself made three other bridges collapse."

"How come?" I asked. "I mean, how did you manage to stay alive?"

"I'll show you tomorrow," Wulfgar said. "It's getting dark. Let's have dinner and then get some sleep."

All of us then ate our dinner while sitting around the campfire. It was the very first time for me to camp without a tent. Fortunately the sky was clear so I didn't worry about rain.

"Let's sleep for tomorrow," Wulfgar said.

"By the way, have you seen the dirt yams growing around here?" Boli asked. Indeed there were some dirt yams around us.

"Yeah! And if you dare to pick one up I'll smack you!" Wulfgar shouted.

"Your voice is law," Boli said. All of us then went to sleep.

In the morning, after having breakfast, Wulfgar immediately prepared himself to cross the bridge near us. He tied a rope to the bridge's post near at the edge of the ravine, and then to his waist. He then started to tip toe through the bridge.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"Stay back! Or you might fall!" Wulfgar said, slowly walking. "I'll let you know if it's safe!"

Despite what he had said, I couldn't help coming close to see what was going to happen. Suddenly, I heard a clicking sound. The bridge then vibrated hard and all of the stones making the bridge were thrown upwards like being launched by a catapult.

"Watch out!" Huck shouted at me. Quite an amount of stones launched from the bridge fell down towards me, and I could only stand stiff. Fortunately, I was saved by Boli at the critical moment.

"He told you to stay back, didn't he?" Boli said.

"Sorry..." I said, feeling really ashamed.

"Oh no!" Huck shouted.

"I don't like the sound of that," Wulfgar, who had been climbing the rope he had tied to the post, said as he reached the edge of the ravine.

"Don't worry, we're all fine," Boli said.

"Aaaargh!" Wulfgar screamed after he realized the bad thing Huck had seen. The stones from the bridge had fallen right on our backpacks. Mine and Huck's were fortunately safe, but the two large backpacks were crushed. "But our food are all crushed! Help me, maybe we can still save some!"

Wulfgar then rushed to move the stones away from the backpacks. The rest of us helped, but the stones were too big and heavy for me and Huck, who were just two little kids.

"No good! All the food is absorbing the water!" Wulfgar said. "What about the other backpacks? Do they have any food?"

Both me and Huck opened our backpacks, and found only water bottles inside.

"I filled their backpacks only with additional drinking water supplies," Boli said. "I thought that we brought more than enough food already."

"And your waist bag?" Wulfgar asked, looking at Boli's waist bag which he still wore.

"In here there are only... accessories," Boli said.

"No choice then! Eat all you can! They will be spoiled by this night!" Wulfgar said, rushing to eat all the crushed food.

"Hey, calm down, your majesty!" Boli said, stopping Wulfgar. "Don't panic just because of food problem."

"You don't understand!" Wulfgar said. "Hunger is the deadliest enemy! It was the cause of my failure back then!"

"Let's sit down and calm ourselves," Boli said, and all of us sat down around the pile of crushed food.

"Would you tell us your story about that?" I asked while picking some food that was still pretty much intact.

"It all started right after I spat out that dirt yam," Wulfgar said while also doing the same thing. "All my food supplies had been exhausted one day before. I had thought that I could resupply at that village, but that dirt yam... I'd rather not talk about it again."

"I see. But you continued anyway?" Huck asked.

"Yeah, I thought I still had enough strength, so I climbed here," Wulfgar said. "When I got here, I knew that something was suspicious with all the bridges, so I took some time to examine one of them, trying to find anything suspicious. However, it was in vain. I couldn't see the trap trigger. I then had no choice other than walking through it using rope as my lifeline like what you saw. You know what happened next."

"And that happened three times?" I asked.

"Yeah, but the third time I fell down, I realized my mistake," Wulfgar said. "I had become very weak because I had neither eaten nor drunk for nearly two days. I couldn't climb up and my head felt really dizzy."

"How did you get out of there?" Huck asked.

"I had no choice other than pulling myself up little by little, and that took hours," Wulfgar said. "I finally managed to reach the ground again, but I felt like I could faint anytime, so I went down the hill and really fainted when I reached the bottom. The village chief found me and took care of me, but as soon as I woke up I decided to leave the place immediately."

"Because he served you more dirt yam?" Boli asked.

"You guessed it," Wulfgar said. He kept eating everything he could eat from the pile until his stomach bloated, meaning he ate too much.

"I don't understand. Why don't you go back to buy food and try again?" I asked.

"I'm ashamed, afraid to become laughing stock of the village chief," Wulfgar said. "Alright, now I'm full and ready... Ugh, I ate too much."

Eating too much caused Wulfgar to have a bad stomachache. He had to rest for half a day until he could stand up again.

"If we conserve our water, we still can last six more days," Wulfgar said. "Boys, you better don't move around too much. Boli, you too."

"Why me too? I can understand for them, but I'm strong enough to test the bridges," Boli asked.

"I need you to conserve stamina for later," Wulfgar said.

"We can go back to the village down there for some food and water," Boli said.

"Heh! I don't want to go down there empty handed a second time!" Wulfgar said, tying a rope to his waist.

"The water we have is only enough for six more days, until your birthday," Boli said.

"Don't mention that word again!" Wulfgar said, seeming very upset. "The only present I want is the treasure!"

"Your desire is law," Boli said as Wulfgar tied the other end of his rope to an intact bridge's pole. "Be careful."

"Stop being fussy!" Wulfgar said, starting to walk through the bridge. "Taking risk is my way of life! And I always rise again whenever I fall!"

Right after Wulfgar said that, I heard a clicking sound, and then the bridge collapsed. Wulfgar fell down and the rope kept him from falling all the way down, but the swinging movement from the fall caused him to hit his head hard to the cliffside. We pulled him up and found him almost fainted.

"I feel really old. In the past, I hit the cliffside with my face..." he said before he fainted for real. He finally woke up a few hours later, and moved on to the next bridge. This time, he tried crawling while rubbing the stones on the bridge with his hands. However, that method didn't work. I heard another clicking sound and the same thing happened again. I really hoped he would find the real bridge soon before he hurt himself really badly.


-End of Chapter 6-

Fifth biological child of Stella Grapes.

Hey, I don't know if the people around here can help me.. but I really don't know where else to turn.

I told you all about that fancy gaming rig I got right? Well.. right out of the box and the graphics card that apparently is supposed to be able to play everything and everything is constantly freezing or something. Error messages telling me that the device has stopped responding and stuff, every game no matter how intensive eventually crashing... I'm really confused what's going on here. What's the problem, how to solve it..

I don't know what kinda information you need, but I'll make sure to provide. If you think you can help me I would really appreciate it.

If you want/care to, post your home entertainment setup in this thread! I'll go ahead and start...



On the left is Anna-Lena, my 32'' RCA HDTV. My primary TV viewing window for watching TV and DVDs, with PS2/Wii/Famiclone gaming thrown in. At picture time, Anna-Lena had Baby TV showing, and the CRT set was playing my new SSC 2004 DVD, but the CRT didn't cooperate with the camera. The game systems surrounding Anna-Lena are Lars (PS2) on the left, and the RetroDuo SNES/NES Famiclone on the right. Anna-Lena does have extremely slight input lag compared to the CRT, but I can actually control my games just fine with it. (timed moves in SMRPG on the VC are still possible)

The reason for three VCRs? I happen to convert old VHS to DVD whenever I can, and sometimes tapes don't play right in one VCR, but play fine in another. That's why. I want the best quality VHS picture I can get when I do a transfer to DVD.



The "KMC" (Kmart) 13'' CRT set I found at an auction for just $5. Made in 1984... almost 30 years old. I'm intending on using this set for the very old retro games like Atari 2600 or my Pong clone, but it has some strange quirks due to age. I may end up trying another set out later on. If this set (or any 13'' CRT set) had stereo audio capability, I could also use this for my NES/SNES/Genesis retro gaming as well due to instant response time and overall better picture, but I require my game audio to go through my audio receiver for the best sound possible. The KMC does have an earphone out, but it's mono.

I tried to display a picture of Custard, but CRTs can be trouble with digital cameras.




My former full time TV set before Anna-Lena came to be.... Ruby. She works really good, but one problem... my room has somewhat low light, and she has a photocell that controls the screen brightness. Due to the low light, her picture brightness is nowhere near as bright as Anna-Lena or the old 13'' CRT unless you shine a light directly at the photocell. An interesting idea for 1984, but they should have included a switch to turn the sensor off.

As it stands, Ruby is now a seperate stand for my Dish DVR, my audio receiver, Elsie (Wii), and my FC3 Plus Famiclone.

Quote:Year 1


Chapter 5: Treasure Hunt


"Hey, you just said that we were almost there, but I still don't see a city," I said to Boli, who was still driving.

"That's because the Dwarven Capital is built not to be seen from afar," Boli said.

"What do you mean by that?" Huck asked.

"Just wait a minute," Boli said. "After we pass this slightly uphill road, you will see."

As Boli had said, the road the car was running on was slightly uphill. I could see the peak of the slope and it was not far away. I was curious on how the Dwarven Capital looked like, because Boli had said that it was much larger than Emerald City. Emerald City itself was actually not that large, but I still wanted to see how much larger the Dwarven Capital was.

"Alright," Boli said as the car reached the peak of the uphill road and stopped there. "Welcome to Dwarven Capital."

I was stunned by the view I saw. The whole city was located right at the bottom of a very large land depression. The shape of the land depression was roughly round, and I could roughly guess that the size of Dwarven Capital was about the same as Pearis. The depth of the land depression was not too deep, about half as high as the tower in Pearis, the name of which I unfortunately had forgotten, but it was still deep enough that none of the buildings were taller than the depth. From that point I could understand why the Dwarven Capital couldn't be seen from afar.

"I'm out of words," I said.

"That's the Dwarven Capital? Awesome," Huck said.

"Alright, let's go to meet the king!" Boli said, running the car again. Because the slope towards the city was pretty steep, the road was made into a series of hairpin turns. It took quite a while until we arrived at the bottom of the depression and went straight into the city. The first thing I noticed as the car ran slowly through it was that unlike Emerald City where the buildings were made from wood and stone, all the buildings in Dwarven Capital were made from stone and metal. A lot of dwarves were walking on the road, which made me notice that there were no other cars in the city.

"Hey, Boli," I said. "For a city this large, I don't see any other cars."

"Because the king banned all cars," Boli said.

"What? Why?" Huck asked.

"There was a time when all people had a car they had made themselves," Boli said. "Imagine how the road had become when all people had a car."

"I can imagine that," I said with an image of a total traffic jam in my mind.

"Therefore, the king gave an order for all people to disassemble their cars," Boli said.

"Huh? Then why your car is still here?" Huck asked.

"I'll tell you later. We have arrived," Boli said, stopping the car. All of us then got off from the car. I looked around expecting to see a castle, but instead all I saw was a marketplace.

"Where's the castle?" I asked.

"You mean the king's castle? Ha! You won't find him there now!" Boli said, laughing a bit.

"Huh? So where is he now?" I asked.

"Just follow me," Boli said, walking to the marketplace. The three of us followed Boli through the marketplace. While walking I looked around, seeing all the people, merchants and customers alike, doing their business. Some merhants were advertising their items through shouting around, some others were dealing with a customer, and there were a few who just sat down in silence. Not long later, I noticed a very lively merchant who shouted loud about his items for sale and how they would make good bargains. Quite a number of people stood around him, and most of them ended up buying his merchandise with satisfied face. I somewhat couldn't believe it because the merchant looked quite old with his white hair, white moustache, white beard, and a few noticeable wrinkles on his face, yet he acted as if he were still young.

"That one merchant sure is lively despite his old age," I said.

"I second that," Huck said. "Sorta unbelievable."

Boli then chuckled and said, "Behold the king of the dwarves! King Wulfgar Goldhunt!"

"What?! That merchant is the king?!" Huck said, completely surprised.

"That's... unexpected," I said.

"Yes, our king is also the most successful merchant in the kingdom! I already said that he is the richest dwarf, right?" Boli said.

"So, what are we going to do now?" I asked.

"I don't think I can cast the spell in public like this," Glinda said. "People might misunderstand that as an assault."

"Yeah, no way we can do that," Huck said, scratching his head.

"Heh! Watch this!" Boli said. He then shouted loud. "Attention! Prime Minister Boli speaking! All people, commence Birthday Protocol! Effective immediately!"

Right after Boli shouted, all people who had heard him stood in silence for a few seconds, then they looked at King Wulfgar.

"Oh, shoot!" King Wulfgar said, immediately jumping from his stand and running away. All people around then chased him. I and Huck were both surprised on what we saw, and we had quite an amount of questions in our mind.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions now," Boli said. Both me and Huck nodded. "I'm the second in command in this kingdom. That is the main reason why I could keep my car. Birthday Protocol is a special order I can issue once a year. When it is in effect, King Wulfgar must be captured and brought to the city square for public interrogation. About his birthday present that is."

"And you do this every year?" Huck asked.

"Yes! Every year!" Boli said.

"That kinda sounds weird..." I said. "I mean, if you're only second in command, the king can cancel that order anytime he wants, right?"

"Indeed, but he has never done that in all these years! Strange, don't you think?" Boli said. "Anyway, let's go to the city square."

We then went back to the car and rode it to the city square. Along the way, I saw King Wulfgar being chased by a lot of people. The view was quite unbelievable because King Wulfgar, despite his old age, ran really fast and jumped around obstacles like they were nothing. The view didn't last long because soon he disappeared into an alley with many people still chasing him.

"Do you think they will catch the king? He is so fast," I said.

"No worries! He can't do much if the entire kingdom is chasing him!" Boli said with a little laugh.

"He somewhat looked happy," Huck said.

"Maybe he actually likes doing that? Nobody knows!" Boli said. "Anyway, we're almost at the city square."

"I hope this will go well," I said.

As Boli had said, we soon arrived at the city square of Dwarven Capital. It was considerably more spacious than the one in Emerald City. One strange thing I noticed about the city square was the presence of a stone throne right in the center. Boli parked his car right next to the throne, and we all got off the car.

"Now all we have to do is wait," Boli said.

"Do the people always catch the king?" I asked.

"They never succeed!" Boli said, laughing.

"Huh? I kinda don't get it," Huck said. "How can Glinda cast the spell if the king won't be here?"

"Just wait and see!" Boli said. Soon enough, we saw the king still running away from a huge crowd, looking pretty exhausted. He ran straight to the throne, and then he did a high spinning jump which ended with him sitting on the throne. It was quite visible that he was running out of breath.

"Alright, I've had my workout. Let's just get this over with," King Wulfgar said. "No, I don't want any presents, at all. End of stor... hey! What are those humans doing here?! Isn't that one the witch from Emerald City?! Don't tell me..."

"Birthday Protocol, level two! Effective immediately!" Boli shouted, interrupting the king's speech. Immediately, the crowd which had chased the king swarmed him from every direction. I couldn't see what was happening, but I could hear the king screaming angrily. When the crowd finally cleared, we saw that the king was still sitting on the throne, all chained up to it. He looked very angry.

"Boli! How dare you break our principle of not getting any help from other races!" the king shouted.

"I just have to! Every year, Birthday Protocol always ended up the same, and this time I'm going to see it end differently!" Boli said.

"Forget it! If I get a birthday present from you, I will have to give you a present too! And all people will follow!" the king said. "I have never asked for birthday present anyway, and never will!"

"We only need to know what you want now," Boli said.

"Forget it! I will shut my mouth!" the king said.

"Which is the reason I brought Glinda here," Boli said. "Glinda, please proceed."

"Are you sure about this?" Glinda asked.

"Oh we are as sure as we can be!" the crowd around us said at the same time.

"I be cursed! I'm surrounded by traitors!" the king shouted. Glinda then once again began murmuring words I didn't understand while waving her wand in a certain pattern. After half a minute, she shot a purple ray right at the king's head. Right after that, there was a large bright purple cloud forming above the king. Little by little a blurry image appeared on the cloud, and I understood that the cloud would act as a large screen for displaying the king's projected mind.

"Now with the mind projection spell on you, we will get the information we need from you," Boli said. "What do you want for your birthday?"

"I want to punish you!" the king shouted, and a picture of Boli being kicked hard at the behind by the king appeared on the cloud.

"Ouch..." Huck said.

"And I want to expel the humans out of here!" the king shouted, and a picture of me, Huck, and Glinda being chased out of the city appeared on the cloud.

"Glinda, I think you should amplify the spell to project his subconsciousness," Boli said.

"Boli! Your name will be crossed out from my will!" the king shouted as Glinda shot another purple ray at his head.

"Your majesty have told me that three times before during this week, remember?" Boli said.

"Alright! Fine! I'll play along!" the king said. Soon, on the cloud we saw a picture of the king sitting on a golden throne, followed by a picture of a castle sparkling with jewels embedded on the walls. "See? Now you know!"

"Do you seriously think we can afford a golden throne?" Boli said.

"Just give up!" the king said while laughing a bit.

"Is there anything that is affordable but you don't have?" I asked. The king looked at me without saying anything, and then a new image appeared on the cloud. It looked like some sort of yam, and the color was pale red combined with dark brown which made it looked like it was covered in dirt.

"What is that?" Huck asked.

"Beats me," Boli said. "At least it looks cheap."

"That's... Dirt Yam," Glinda said. The king then laughed.

"You're well-versed, witch!" the king said. "That's right! It's a Dirt Yam! It's barely edible and tastes just like its name! Just give me one and I'll be happy!"

"Is he really serious?" Huck asked Boli.

"We just need to find out," Boli said. "So, your majesty, please tell us your story about it."

"I'm already in a bind, and literally. So whatever," the king said. "Give me a second to recall my memories."

Soon, a new image appeared on the cloud. It was a young dwarf walking clad in exploring outfit, complete with a large backpack and excavation tools. It took me a few moments to realize that the depicted dwarf was King Wulfgar when he had been young.

"When I was young, I was a treasure hunter," the king said. "This story happened about 40 years ago when I stumbled on a legend about an ancient fort named Markash. During its active days, the fort had been used to keep treasures for funding wars. When I found out about the legend, the fort has been abandoned for centuries, but the treasures were still there."

"How did you know that the treasures were still there?" Boli asked.

"I never hunt a particular treasure without gathering information about it first, silly!" the king said as a new image appeared. It was young Wulfgar reading books in a library. "I stumbled on that legend when I read a published journal of a treasure hunter. It was written there that his team tried to take the treasure inside the fort but failed. In fact, everyone other than himself perished during the expedition."

"Quite a sad story," Huck said.

"Anyway, when I got to the location, there was a village, a very poor village, which coincidentally was inhabited by dwarves like me, I went straight to the chief to ask for detailed information," the king said. "Hey, is this cloud able to make sound?"

"No, but that can be easily arranged," Glinda said, shooting another ray at the cloud.

"Good. Now here's the conversation between me and the chief of the village," the king said as a new image appeared. In the image there were two dwarves talking. One of them was young Wulfgar, and the other was probably the village chief. The chief wore a tunic which seemed very worn out.

"You're looking for Fort Markash? It's up there on the peak of that hill," the chief said, pointing at a tall hill right next to the village.

"Are there treasures inside the fort?" young Wulfgar asked.

"Yes, the treasures are still there in Fort Markash, a lot of gold, silver, diamond, you name it," the village chief said. "Our ancestors were very rich."

"But why this village looks poor?" young Wulfgar asked.

"The path to the treasure is rigged with traps. Only the village shaman knew the safe way to the treasure, but he unfortunately passed away before the information could be inherited. That is why our people are now very poor," the chief said. "Pity, the treasure could be used for our well being."

"I understand that the treasures belong to your people," young Wulfgar said. "I will find them, and as my reward for finding it, 75% of them will be for me."

"Like I said, our people are very poor. 25% won't be enough for them," the chied said.

"I will be putting my own life at stake, you know. Alright, 60% for me," young Wulfgar said.

"Alright, that's a deal," the chief said, and the two of them shook hands. "To stamp our deal, let us eat our traditional food together!"

"Sure!" young Wulfgar said, and the two of them walked to a nearby house. Right outside it, there was a woman dwarf cooking something in a cauldron.

"Here is our traditional food, cooked by my dear wife. The main ingredient of this is highly poisonous if not cooked with our special recipe," the chief said as the woman took something from the cauldron and gave it to young Wulfgar. It was a Dirt Yam, cooked whole. "The name is Dirt Yam. You bite first and I will follow."

"Alright," young Wulfgar said. He looked at the yam and took a bite. I noticed his eyes suddenly opened wide, which meant the taste was a shock to him. He then swallowed it with a face expression as if he was suffering.

"My turn then," the chief said, taking the Dirt Yam from young Wulfgar's hand. He then took a bite from the other side of the yam and swallowed it. "Go now, traveler! And good luck!"

Young Wulfgar left the village without saying a word. After he was far enough, he spat out the Dirt Yam from his mouth. Apparently he had feigned swallowing it.

"That was... the most disgusting food I have ever tasted!" young Wulfgar said. He then walked to climb the hill.

"And in the end, I failed to get to the treasure," King Wulfgar said. "Now I have told you everything, right?! Let me out of this!"

"I still don't understand what we should give for your majesty's birthday," Boli said.

"You fool! How come you still don't know?!" King Wulfgar said as the people released the chains and Glinda dispelled the cloud. He then jumped at Boli, grabbed Boli at the shoulders, and shook him hard. "That Dirt Yam is the symbol of what I want!"

"So what you want is..." I said.

"Exactly!" King Wulfgar interrupted while still holding and shaking Boli. "It was the only hunt from which I returned with empty hand! The treasure of Fort Markash!"

"So, your majesty, how about going there and hunt the treasure again?" Boli asked while King Wulfgar was still shaking him. "If we work together I'm sure you will get the treasure this time."

"Going there again?" King Wulfgar said as he stopped shaking Boli. "Don't be silly! It's so far from here!"

"Airship is complete and ready to fly," Boli said. I was a bit surprised by what Boli had just said.

"What? Since when?" King Wulfgar asked, looking surprised as well.

"Since yesterday," Boli said.

"Heh, alright. Go pack up your things. We will leave in two hours!" King Wulfgar said.

"As you command, your majesty!" Boli said.

"By the way, you two!" King Wulfgar said, looking at me and Huck. "You didn't seem to be helping the witch. Why are you here? Just to watch my humiliation?!"

"Umm, not really," Huck said.

"I am wondering if I can get help from the dwarves for my project," I said.

"Help? Ha! The dwarves never help and be helped by any other race!" King Wulfgar said. "Not for free anyway. So, what do you have for the trade?"

"Uhh... Trade?" Huck asked.

"Yeah! Trade!" King Wulfgar said. "Be it an object or a service, we dwarves never give something without receiving something of similar value in return!"

"Well... we don't have anything..." I said.

"Then forget it!" King Wulfgar said. "Return here once you have something to trade with!"

"Please don't be so harsh with them, your majesty," Boli said.

"Hmph! Alright, I'll give you a chance," King Wulfgar said. "Come with us for the treasure hunt. Your help there might or might not worth to trade with, but we will see."

"Huh? What?" I said, being surprised.

"We're going with them to Fort Markash. That's what, buddy," Huck said, gently hitting me with his elbow. "Thank you for the chance, your majesty!"

"Get prepared and meet me right here in two hours!" King Wulfgar said, and he walked away. The crowd gave him way as he walked. There was a silence for a minute, and then Boli cleared his throat.

"Birthday Protocol, dismissed," Boli said. "Thank you for your cooperation. We finally got the information we want."

The crowd cheered and clapped hands, and then all people went back to their activities. While all those were happening, I had been doubtful about going to Fort Markash. I was never suited for such expedition, and the fact that people had perished looking for the treasure instilled fear in me.

"Are you afraid, boy?" Boli asked.

"Uhh... Y-yeah..." I said.

"Don't worry. I will protect you!" Boli said. "And don't forget that King Wulfgar is experienced on that place!"

"I know, but still..." I said.

"Are you coming with us, Glinda?" Huck asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't," Glinda said, looking pretty exhausted. "The king's innate magic resistance forced me to use a lot of energy. I must go back to Emerald City to rest."

"I see. You can come with us. I will take you to Emerald City before going to... wherever Fort Markash is," Boli said.

"Perhaps your king won't like that," Glinda said.

"Heh, don't worry about that," Boli said.

"What should we prepare?" Huck asked.

"Nothing. I will prepare everything for you," Boli said. "Go walk around the city if you want, and be back here in two hours."

After saying that, Boli rode his car and left us. Glinda was pretty exhausted so we stayed there with her and waited. I spent those two hours thinking what kind of deadly traps I would have to face in Fort Markash, and despite what Boli had said, I was still very afraid. I didn't want to perish like those treasure hunters, not before bringing all my friends back to Strawberryland.

Nearly two hours later, suddenly we heard a sound of roaring engine from above. All three of us looked up and saw an airship which probably was the one mentioned by Boli. It looked like a helicopter with short wings and the propellers were positioned at the tip of the wings. I could notice that the propellers were attached to the wings in a way that they could be tilted forward and backward as needed. At the back of the airship there was a larger propeller which faced directly behind, which meant it was used for moving forward while the ones at the wings were used for taking off, hovering, and landing. The airship then landed at the open area near us, and a door at its side opened.

"I think that means we should go in," Huck said.

"It seems so," Glinda said.

"Alright..." I said. "Let's go."

All three of us then entered the door of the airship. Inside, there was enough room for us to walk around a bit. Boli was sitting on the pilot seat, and King Wulfgar was sitting on a passenger seat behind it. There were more than enough seats for all of us, so all three of us picked a seat to sit on and buckled up.

"Alright, next stop: Emerald City!" Boli said, and he flew the airship to Emerald City. I didn't know the speed of the airship, but it only took less than an hour to arrive at Emerald City.

"We're here!" Boli said. "Where should I land?"

"You don't have to land," Glinda said, getting off from her seat and standing up. "I can teleport myself to Emerald Castle."

"Rest well, Glinda," I said.

"Tell our friends that we will be okay," Huck said.

"Thank you. I will," Glinda said, and she teleported away.

"Alright, we're off to Fort Markash now. Go get some rest. This will be a long trip!" Boli said, and he flew the airship away from Emerald City. I could only hope everything would turn out fine.

-End of Chapter 5-