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He had not slept well in the dungeon For days he had dozed in odd stretches, ular series of naps than any nor, he felt awake enough to get up He could also probably fall back to sleep if he tried He considered calling Bracken with the
coin, but decided he should wait rather than risk rousing the unicorn for a trivial concern
The door to his cell opened without warning He heard no footsteps approach, no key rattle in the lock By the tied shut
"On your feet," a harsh voice called through the peephole in a loud whisper "Have a look"
Seth juainst it but it wouldn’t budge Beside the door sat a canvas sack Seth pressed his face to the peephole, looking up and down the hall as best he could Dim and silent, the onlyin the wavering torchlight
Returning to his cot, Seth retrieved his coin fro the edge caused it to start glowing Coin in hand, Seth returned to the sack He could hardly believe his eyes when he looked inside and beheld a copper teapot shaped like a cat and a narrow, seg with a handwritten note and a cube of walrus butter, the shabby sack contained the Translocator and the Sands of Sanctity!
This had to be a trick Still, he grabbed the note and started reading hastily
Take these artifacts and escape froe at once Just twist the center of the Translocator and think of home An attempt to rescue you has failed, and these were the only artifacts I ed to pilfer Time is short Leave ieon, you can help lead rescues later Everything depends on you leaving ihts have within the Society I will contact you soon Do not delay The note was unsigned
Why was the Translocator here? So Could this be a trap? What kind of trap would grant hio? What kind of trap would give ao of the artifacts essential for the Society to accomplish their objectives?
He popped the walrus butter in his mouth, chewed, and sed Maybe the artifacts were fake But ould be the point of that? They sure looked authentic
Rereading, he tried to process the e There had been a rescue attempt, but it had failed Who would have participated? Trask? Tanu? Whoever had been captured would need his help But right now he didn’t even knohere to start looking
Should he follow the advice in the note and teleport straight home to Fablehaven? What about his friends? He pressed his thu coin "Bracken," he whispered
What is it, Seth? The answer came swiftly He doubted Bracken had been asleep
"I have our ticket out of here Somebody just slipped me the Translocator"
Are you serious?
"Where are you?"
In my cell
Seth had not yet visited his cell "Have I been near there?"
Not really They keep me down deep
"The Translocator ca would it take you to get someplace I’ve been?"
At least ten otten word that there has been soht A bunch of people captured You should get out of here while you can If you have the Translocator, you can coht I’ll be back, I promise"
Just take the coin with you It should work even over great distances We can devise a plan "Gotcha See you soon" Good luck
Seth hearddown the corridor Had he ever heard guards rushing in the dungeon? Not that he could recall Heart pounding, Seth slid a finger counterclockwise along the edge of the coin, then slipped it into his pocket He pocketed the note as well Tucking the teapot under one arrabbed the Translocator
If he pictured Fablehaven, and twisted, he would be home But what about Maddox? He pictured Maddox’s cell and twisted For an instant, Seth felt like he was folding into hi in Maddox’s cell His friend was not there
"Bad ti, Maddox," Seth muttered to the empty cot He consoled hiure out how to save Maddox and the others as well
As he prepared to twist the Translocator again and return to Fablehaven, a realization stopped hiht where the Oculus was sitting, knew the location of the secret compartment that held the Font of Immortality What if he returned to Fablehaven with all of the lost artifacts?