[Estelyn Telcontar]

And so the members of the Itship wandered about the fortress, increasingly less oriented both physically and mentally, each coming closer to his or her personal nightmare of madness. Who knows what might have befallen them had they not suddenly heard a melodious voice echoing through the hallways and passages, calling them back to sanity, or at least a reasonably close facsimile thereof.

“Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3 – I hope this Cell-antír… speaker system… thing is working. Companions of the Fellow/Galship, we are in grave danger within the tower. Please proceed immediately to the nearest exit. The lights will show you the way – just follow the yellow brick road.”

To their astonished eyes, yellow stones set in the shapes of arrows lit up from within. Taking courage, each of them followed the path with hurried steps, rejoicing as they met the others at the junctions. Finally all were reunited just outside of the entrance.

There Chrysophylax waited restlessly, gazing at the pinnacle of the tower, where dark clouds had gathered, ominously billowing about the ramparts. Lightning flashed in jagged streaks and a rumble stranger than thunder emanated from the darkness.

Terrified, Pimpiowyn grasped her horsehead pendant with one hand and Vogonwë’s hand with the other, their previous enstrangement forgotten. Gravlox laid a protective arm around Merisuwyniel’s shoulder; Orogarn clutched his crystal and Etceteron his flask. Even the sturdy Dwarf moved closer to his dragon companion.

They watched spellbound as the clouds moved, shifting to form a gigantic shape. Round and soft and plump it was, and blindingly white, with a ridiculously innocuous smile on its face and a small blue hat perched jauntily on its head. One thought filled their minds – that it must be a particularly horrifying evil creature to choose such a deceptively innocent appearance.

“Ai!” wailed Vogonwë, reaching to his quiver for arrows and throwing them quickly before his courage failed him. His aim was true, but the arrows had no effect; they simply stuck in the quivering mass without doing any harm to the creature.

“Break the Kazoom!” Kuruharan shouted, brandishing his axe and throwing it in a mighty arc. Unfortunately, it passed right through their foe and the cut closed behind it.

Pimpiowyn, not to be outdone, tore the horsehead pendant from its chain. Looking at it one last time in fond memory, she told herself sternly, “One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters.” Then she threw it with all her might. A long-drawn, glorious whinny accompanied its flight. Hobbit aim being what it is, it met its mark and exploded upon impact. The white mass began to burn, and for some strange reason, the smell made her think of graham crackers and chocolate, becoming even more hungry than before.

The others cheered, but their joy was short-lived, for the burning wound was quite small in the large body of their enemy. Then Chrysophylax raised his mighty head and spewed forth a flame that engulfed the creature, setting it on fire. Its surface charred, cracked and blackened, yet it was not consumed by the fire. A black smoke filled the air as it raced toward them, its shadow reaching out like two vast wings.

“If we only had the third Cell-antír!” Merisuwyniel cried out. “Gravlox has the golden one from Sourone and I have the one of mithril from my mother’s room. There is another, made of silver, which has been lost. The three together have the power to conquer this foe, she told me. I had hoped that we would have time to search for it.”

Suddenly there came a voice from behind her, chanting words in a strange tongue:
A! Pettygast Gilthalion!
Silver globus bringius,
Ho, Tom Bombadil,
needius is nearius.

Astonished, the companions turned around to see Etceteron speaking. They were rather used to hearing indistinct sentences from him, but these words affected them powerfully. What’s more, they stopped the foe in its tracks. It paused uncertainly. Orogarn Two held up his crystal; a light shone from its depths, blazing suddenly like a white torch in his hand. It flamed like a star that leaping from the firmament sears the air with intolerable light. Its beams entered the cracks in the charred surface of the creature, causing it to writhe in pain.

Then to their surprise, a strange apparition appeared. A beast that seemed to have six legs and two heads suddenly landed in their midst. One of the heads arose, a leg swung over the body and to their complete and utter astonishment, the wizard Pettygast stood before them. In his hand he held a tarnished orb, announcing, “I found this at a yard sale yesterday – thought it might come in handy. I guess it’s just what you need now!”

Merisuwyniel and Gravlox reached into their bags for the other two orbs while the wizard polished his to a silvery sheen. All three then held them aloft; the light from Orogarn’s crystal reflected from the globes, joining to a single, powerful ray that sparkled and crackled, finally destroying the evil creature with a gigantic, gooey, messy explosion.

Overjoyed, the companions danced and hugged each other, and if some of those hugs were more fervent than others, who was to blame them in the excitement of the moment? After awhile they fell to the ground in exhaustion and looked at each other. “Now what?” Pimpiowyn asked the question that they all had on their minds.