I sense danger, Mistress,” said the Tutu.
“Yes, I sense it as well,” remarked Fern.
Fern had heard the rumors that a dark specter was roaming Folksburywoods. “I don’t like this, Franny. Winter is a time of quiet in the woods. It must be the work of a necromancer,” Fern told her hedge witch twin.
“Izba felt something yesterday. She thought it best to send word to the Mountain Council. It must be a Janggi,” said Franny.
“Janggi, as in Himalayan yeti?” asked Fern.
“Not quite. A Janggi is a mountainous shadow dweller. It draws the life force from its victim. Like a necromancer,” said Izba, the magical cat.
“When will the guardian from the council be here?” asked the Marsh Wizard.
“Around sunset,” answered Franny.
“You two go see Ursula and see if she has heard anything from her people,” instructed Fern.
“If anybody knows anything, it would be the wise woman,” remarked Izba.
Fern went to meet the guardian at the forest’s edge. Arriving at sunset, the marsh wizard met Tutu the Yakba.
“Ho, Mistress Wizard, how fare thee,” asked the guardian.
“Ho, Guardian of the Mysty Mountains, I walk straight,” replied Fern.
The two discussed the possibility of a Janggi having invaded the forest. “If what Izba says is correct, we must move everyone to safety,” said the Yakba.
Tutu told Fern to climb on his back to save time reaching Ursula’s home. The wise woman stood before her door with a look of pure terror.
“What’s the matter, Ursula?” asked Fern.
“Franny and Izba went after the creature,” cried the wise woman.
“That was unwise. If the Janggi should touch them, they will perish,” the Yakba said.
“We’ll have to find it first. Ursula, you take the forest folk to Hyden’s castle. He’ll protect them,” snapped Fern.
“We need to go to my house. I need a few things to stop that shadow devil,” the marsh wizard said.
Upon securing her supplies, Fern and Tutu raced to the dark hollow where the Janggi was.
“We need to use the utmost care. You will become paralyzed if it should pass over us, ” Tutu warned.
The guardian and wizard entered the hollow’s cavern.
At the cave’s far end were Franny and Izba, motionless. “I fear we are too late,” said the Yakba.
Fern’s heart raced as she approached the black mass between her and her twin. “There you are,” came Franny’s bubbly voice. “Come over here and see this thing,” said the witch.
“Are you mad? It will kill you,” cried her sister.
“Not in this life or any other. Spooky here is quite indisposed,” remarked Franny.
Fern and Tutu circled the Janggi to stand face-to-face with the spectator. “It’s dead?” questioned Tutu.
“More frozen than deceased,” said Izba.
“Explain before I turn you into a monkey for such reckless behavior,” commanded the elder twin.
“I can’t take all the credit. Izba was the one who figured out how to stop the thing. I just cast the spell,” said Franny.
The hedge witch revealed the solution was simple. Everyone had been using fire spells, which had no effect. Izba considered a different approach. He thought that if we attacked it with a blast of cold, it should cause the Janggi to overload, permanently freezing it.
“Izba and I have been working on an icicle spell for the winter festival. We saw the Janggi enter the cave, so we followed and launched a few hundred ice bolts at it. That slowed it down enough for me to cast the frost spell,” explained Franny.
“Let me get this straight. You used a party spell to immobilize one of the most deadly beings known to the guardians,” asked Tutu.
“Well, Franny did use the frost spell, but yeah, that’s about it,” said Izba.
“Do you have a place for this in your mountain sanctuary?” Fern asked the Yakba.
“I’m sure the council can accommodate, considering how deadly it is,” replied the guardian.
“We should go to Hyden’s to let everyone know it’s safe to go home,” said Fern.
“Hyden’s? Wow, I haven’t been there in ages, and his party snacks are to die for,” cried the hedge witch.
“Are you sure she’s your sister?” said Tutu to Fern with a wry smile.
Fern arrived at Franny’s home the following day with Hyden’s puff pies. It was a thank-you for being the best hedge witch and little sister anyone would wish for.
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