Zann couldn't see what was scaring his parents.
All he could see was their terrified faces and the powerful magic swirling around them.
"No!" Zann cried as his mother screamed and his father let out a yell of fear.
Then he felt a sharp pain on one side of his head, and the vision faded away.
He was still in the vortex. Wyssa had let go of his arm, but now she was pinching his ear—hard.
"Ow!" Zann exclaimed. "Stop that!"
"I'll let go of your ear when you let go of that wormhole," Wyssa said.
Zann realized he was clinging to the edge of a wormhole.
He had grabbed it without even knowing he was doing so.
Was that because of the dream? Could this wormhole be a clue?
"Wait," he said, peering into the wormhole.
He caught a glimpse of purple-leaved trees waving in a soft breeze. "I want to see if—"
Wyssa gave one last yank on Zann's ear, and he lost his grip.
A second later the wormhole was out of sight behind him.
"What was that all about?" Perda asked.
Zann couldn't respond. He was too breathless and confused by what had just happened.
"Hold on tight," Wyssa said. "A useful world is coming up shortly.
You two can rest there and regain your energy while I put my potion together."
She pulled them through a new wormhole.
They landed in a beautiful little park in the middle of a town.
However, Zann barely had a second to take in the scenery before he gasped and grabbed his nose.
"Ew!" Perda cried beside him. She was pinching her nose shut. "What is that stink?"
"Where are we?" Zann's voice sounded funny now that he was holding his nose. "Why does it smell so bad?"
Wyssa sniffed the air. "We're in Niffia. It may not smell nice to us.
But it's a peaceful place with friendly, intelligent, and welcoming people.
You'll be safe here while I work. Oh, and your magic should function normally in this world.
So you two might want to create some food to fortify yourselves for the rest of our journey."
Zann couldn't imagine wanting to eat anything in this place.
Before he or Perda could say anything else, though, Wyssa zapped out of sight.
"Ugh," Perda said. "I can't believe this stench!"
"Yeah. I can't stand it any longer."
Zann let go of his nose and rubbed his hands together. "Protect!" he said.
He frowned as a puff of smoke wafted up from his hands. Nothing else happened.
"What are you trying to do?" Perda asked.
"Create a Shield spell around my head." Zann grabbed his nose again.
"I thought Wyssa said our magic would work here."
Perda shrugged. "Magic requires focusing our minds.
It's pretty hard to focus on anything except this awful smell."
Zann saw several figures hurrying toward them across the park.
They looked like regular humans except for one thing: they had no noses!
"Welcome!" a man said. "Are you visitors to Niffia?"
"Yes," Zann said. "We, um, won't be here long. Sorry to bother you."
"No bother at all!" The Niffian beamed.
"We love visitors, and yet we have so few. May we show you around town?"
For the next half hour, the Niffians gave Zann and Perda a tour.
The rest of the town was just as charming as the park.
Everywhere Zann and Perda went, friendly Niffians stopped to say hello.
Even the songs of the birds were beautiful.
"Too bad we don't know any spells to shut off our sense of smell," Perda whispered to Zann.
"Yeah," Zann muttered back. He wasn't paying much attention to the tour.
He wished Wyssa would hurry, and not only because of the smell.
He was worried about Gliss, Darb, and Zing.
Finally Wyssa zapped into sight.
"Wyssa?" One of the Niffians greeted her with a smile.
"It's been far too long since we've enjoyed a visit from you!"
Wyssa bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality, my friend.
I'm grateful that you're always so generous with your natural resources.
Once again I've found exactly what I need for one of my potions."
Wyssa held up her hands, which were now covered with strange purple symbols.
"Ah," another Niffian said with a smile.
"Yes, our native oogberry is useful for many spells, isn't it?"
"Indeed," Wyssa said. "Now I'm afraid my young friends and I must be going.
We have urgent business in the vortex."
"Travel safely," a Niffian said. "I hope we'll see you all again soon."
"Thanks," Zann said. He had enjoyed meeting the Niffians.
But secretly he hoped he'd never have to smell anything like Niffia ever again!
Soon Wyssa, Zann, and Perda were passing through the wormhole.
"Whew!" Perda exclaimed. "I've never been so glad to be back in the vortex!"
"What happens now?" Zann asked Wyssa.
Wyssa stared at her hands. "These markings will let us know which wormholes have been used recently."
The group drifted through the vortex. After a few minutes, the purple symbols began to glow.
"There's a wormhole just ahead," said Wyssa.
"Someone has passed through it recently." She reached out as an opening spun into view.
A moment later Zann felt himself leave the vortex.
"Oof!" he grunted as he landed on cold, hard ground.
This new world was so dark, Zann could barely see his hand in front of his face.
A strange buzzing sound filled the air.
It seemed to be coming from all around them.
Feeling nervous, Zann snapped his fingers. "Light," he whispered, holding out his hand.
A glowing orb of light appeared in his hand.
A second later it exploded into a huge fireball!