"Gliss doesn't seem very excited about the expedition," Zann said to Boz the next day.
They were at Teplo's house, preparing to depart.
"Why are her parents making her go?"
"Her uncle Gar is an important member of the expedition," Boz said.
"Gliss' parents thought this would be a good educational opportunity for her."
Zann didn't believe it. He wondered if Gliss' parents were trying to push her and Zann together again.
They probably weren't happy that she had become so close to Darb, a Void.
Teplo rushed in, his goose snapping irritably at his heels. "Ready to go?" Teplo asked.
"Ready." Boz grabbed Zann by the elbow and snapped his fingers.
Zann barely had time to grab Zing before his grandfather zapped them away.
They landed on a grassy lawn, in front of an ancient stone mansion. Beyond was deep forest.
"Where are we?" Zann spotted a large ship.
A heap of colorful fabric was attached to it by a number of heavy ropes. "And what's that?"
"This place is called Moonstone Manor," Teplo said, appearing beside them.
"And that's the airship that will transport us to the Cave."
Zann was surprised. "I know people can't just zap to the Cave of the Unknown because of its weird energy—"
"Correct," Teplo interrupted. "The Cave, as well as the relics inside, constantly sends out destabilizing surges.
It makes performing any magic near the Cave very dangerous."
"But I didn't know there was a special airship," Zann continued.
"I assumed we'd fly there on dragons or something."
"The Cave's unstable energy frightens most creatures," someone said.
It was Venna. "Even the best-trained riding dragons usually refuse to fly anywhere near it."
Venna was representing the Red Council on the expedition.
Beside her was a tall, handsome man.
Venna introduced him as Tok, the airship's pilot. She turned to Zann.
"This vehicle is the traditional way of traveling to the Cave of the Unknown," she said. "Come inside and have a look."
The airship's main room looked like someone's living room.
Tok led the way down a hallway and into another room.
Three large, vicious-looking creatures with fiery red scales were writhing in a tank of thick glass.
When Zann and the others entered, the creatures spit balls of flame at them.
Zann jumped back, and Zing cowered behind him.
But the flames didn't penetrate the glass wall.
"Are those dragons?" Zann asked. "I've never seen any like that!"
"They're known as flame furies," Teplo explained.
"They originally came from another world."
"And many years ago," said Boz, "several young furies were smuggled into Magica.
They've been breeding in the darkest reaches of the forest beyond Mount Mystery ever since. Few people know they exist."
Venna nodded. "The original owner of this manor caught these three furies and found a way to harness their fiery power to travel to the Cave."
She swept a hand at the vehicle. "He called it the Dragon Wagon."
Zann stared at the fierce creatures. He wished Darb could be there to see them.
Darb loved learning about new magical creatures!
"When we're ready to go," Tok explained, "we'll release an image of the snuffer, which is the furies' natural enemy from their home world.
The furies will blast it with their flaming breath until the image is removed."
"Or until the image is so singed that the furies realize it's not real," Teplo said.
"Indeed." Tok chuckled. "We have to replace the fake snuffer for each journey."
Zann wondered what kind of terrifying creature could scare the furies.
Before he could ask, several other people entered, including Gliss and her uncle.
Uncle Gar greeted everyone cheerfully, but Gliss looked glum. Zann could tell she wasn't thrilled to be there.
"Let's get started," said Venna. "We have a long journey ahead."
Tok nodded. "Snuffer up."
A metal sculpture popped into view at the back of the furies' tank.
"That's a snuffer?" Zann exclaimed. "There's one of those on my parents' storage shelf at the lab!"
"That makes sense," Teplo said. "Their last journey was to the Cave. Well, second-to-last."
The airship shuddered and lifted. "You should go sit down," Tok said to the group.
"It can be tricky keeping your balance when the airship takes off."
The furies' fiery breath quickly filled the Dragon Wagon's cloth balloon.
Soon the airship was flying over the treetops.
Zann spent the first hour of the journey peering out the window.
Then Gliss' uncle called Zann's name. "You kids don't have to sit here with us boring old people," he said with a wink.
"Why don't you two explore the rest of the ship together?"
Zann forced a smile. He didn't want the adults to know that he and Gliss weren't on good terms. "Sure. Let's go, Gliss."
They headed into the hallway leading to the furies' tank.
"Are you still mad at me?" Gliss asked tentatively.
"You know how important finding my parents is to me."
He glared at her. "At least you should know."
"Zann—" Gliss began.
Zing interrupted her with an excited squawk. The little dragon rushed forward.
"Zing, leave the furies alone," Zann said. "They'll roast you alive!"
But Zing wasn't heading for the tank.
He was scratching at a large feed bin.
The expedition leaders had packed plenty of food for humans and dragons alike, since it was risky to conjure anything near the Cave.
"Is he hungry?" Gliss wondered.
Zann hurried over to the bin. "I guess Tok wouldn't mind if Zing had a snack."
He swung open the top and gasped in shock.
Perda and Darb were crouched inside!
"Surprise!" Perda stood up. "We didn't want to miss all the fun!"