A Sticky Situation
As they reach the area adjacent to the abandoned mine, with Marla and Marrow leading the group, they stop to perch upon a hill high enough that they can see what the situation is before proceeding. The mine entrance itself is situated at the top of an enormous pile of rock and dirt that had been excavated during the tunneling of the mineshaft. A compressed and smoothed-out slope with minecar tracks descends the pile of debris down to a terminus where the valuable contents of minecars used to be emptied and transported elsewhere. The entrance has been boarded up ever since the mine was shut down many years ago, but it appears to have been cleared of obstructions to now make it accessible again.
There are three individuals present nearby the base, one of whom looks monstrous, and they appear to have weapons. It seems they have set up a tent to shelter in, so it is quite possible that they have been there one or more nights. The monstrous one is standing near the river bed watching over a swirl of magickal energy while the other two are guarding near the trail that leads up to the minecar terminus.
Marrow explains the plan for herself and the other guards to hide amongst the trees while sneaking up and around to surprise them from behind. She directs Crow to stay right where he is so that he does not get in their way or hurt. He agrees to do just that and the guards leave to begin their attack, but Cat has other plans.
"Are you just going to sit back and do nothing while there is this golden opportunity to defeat some villains, Mr. Superhero?" she asks to tempt him into action.
"I did promise that I was going to stay here."
"I didn't hear you say that you prooomised. I just heard you say, 'Yes, I will stay right here and wait for you to return.'"
"It's the same thing. It's implied. I don't actually need to say the word 'promise' when I say that I will do something. And I am a man of my word. I do what I say I will do."
Cat snorts a "humph" at Crow's steadfastness. "Well, I didn't promise I'd stay put. How am I supposed to fulfill my duty of protecting the castle if I'm not over there stopping what's harming it?"
"Don't let me stop you. We can continue to wait here while you go over there and stop them."
"But I can't do that unless you're near me. It's part of the rules, remember? I'll get whisked away back into the mirror if I stray too far."
Knitten chimes in, "Daddy should adventure! Daddy should defeat some villains!"
Crow is now flustered. "It's just that --... Tell me, w-what do you think I could do over there anyhow? I'm a castle caretaker, not a -- a soldier winning medals for valor. I'd just be in yours and the guards' way in a real fight. You've got your absolutely amazing spellcasting, or what-is-it, along with fighting abilities. I don't. I'm not what you need for this sort of 'protecting the castle' business, up against real foes with real weapons and magick."
Cat shakes her head in disagreement. "I told you once before, Crow, when we first met; you're exactly the person I need. Don't ever doubt yourself or what you're capable of. Even what you lack in ability or knowledge, you can learn. Among so much more, you've taught me that. Your strengths can be valuable in other ways than the obvious. Besides, I'll totally understand if you choose to stay off to the side and out of danger once we're there."
Crow mulls over what she said and finally gives in, deciding that he has a necessary duty to be there, ready to help out with some of the inventions he brought, just in case they are needed for this unexpected situation.
They sneak over quietly, until fighting begins between the guards and the villains, which is when they hurry. Scurrying through the brush, they arrive not far from one of the villains. She is a rather small golden lion tamarin monkey holding two large goo shooters and laughing maniacally as she squirts a turquoise substance from them at Marla and the two guards confronting her. They are getting coated in the syrupy glop and seem less and less able to move with each hit.
"That's a bit of a mess," Cat says in a low voice so as not to draw the villain's attention. "Not a lot of artistic technique in the way she sprays. Of course, that's just my opinion."
Crow reaches into his pouch. "I think I may have something to remedy that goo. It would be best if we could get her to stop spraying though so that my solution doesn't have to be repeated over and over again while getting the guards loose." He pulls out the vroozle launcher that Cat saw sitting on his workbench yesterday.
What is a vroozle? It is the rather large pit from inside a swizzleyump, which is not a vegetable and not quite a fruit. The flesh of the swizzleyump is exquisite once the bones are removed and it is prepared similar to a steak, and it is a favorite dish of the king. As a result, Crow is able to collect the vroozles which are discarded by the cook. When launched at filth, mildew, or tarnish on the castle walls, the vroozle splatters and dissolves it within seconds.
"Ahh. The more you know." Cat waves her paw and a rainbow trails from it. "Alright, Crow, then let's get to it!"
Next, Crow retrieves his orange and brown safety mask with built-in goggles and places it over his face, under the cap and trusty goggles atop his head, then adjusts everything to his liking.
"The cape! The cape!" Knitten cries out and Crow tries to shush her.
"Alright, I'll wear it for you," he whispers before also producing the yellow rain covering from the pouch and attaching it into place, streaming from his shoulders. "Cat, do you think you could try to get those squirters away from the monkey while I use some vroozles to unstick the guards?"
"I probably could, except she may not be on a proper imaginatory wavelength for me to have an effect."
"You mean she might not perceive you and you would pass right through them like you did with the Shrews of One Mind Thrice? Oh, that has got to have been tough in all your previous times of protecting the castle to have gotten anything done. How did you manage? Ooh, that's right, you probably can't remember. Hmm, well, there's got to be something we can try. Maybe you just won't know until you try it though. Give it a shot, Cat. Just see if you can't spark her to see you."
Knitten says, "You should have a name, daddy. What is your superhero name?"
"Good question," he tells her. "Mmm, not a lot of time to ponder about it right at this second, but let me see what I can think up." He shifts his brain into high gear and in record time comes up with a name that might work. "Oh, I know! Our notorious 'villain' Piklok called me 'calamitous' because I stood up against his kitchen robbery, so why not use that as a quality villains will fear? What do you think of 'Calamitous Crow'?"
"Hmm, that's not half bad," Cat says, "but maybe try it as 'Calamity' because I think it would roll off the tongue better."
Crow tries it out: "Calamity Crow. Ca-la-mity Crow. Calamitous Crow. Calamity Crow. Yeah, I like it! Then henceforth, whenever I am in costume saving someone, I will be known as Calamity Crow."
Knitten shouts, "Daddy is secretly Calamity Crow! Yaaay!"
"Well then, Calamity Crow," Cat says, "I think we'd better get to it because I don't think the situation is getting any better for the guards."
"Oh! Yes! Uhhh, hmmm, some way to get her seeing you. Some waaay..." Crow taps his foot against the ground and nibbles his feathers while he thinks hard and fast again for a solution. "Ooo! I thought of something we can try. First, you get around to the other side of where she is. I'll get the monkey's attention, then I'll toss a vroozle across to you so that she sees it being tossed, and then you throw the vroozle at her. Maybe seeing it stop in the air and then fly at her will make her realize that someone invisible must have thrown it, and then you'll become visible to her. Wait, would you even be able to catch and throw a vroozle with your tiny legs?"
"I can assure you that I'll be fine. But that would be putting you into danger. Are you sure you want to attempt this?"
"Well, as you said, I shouldn't doubt myself or what I'm capable of. Let's do it!"
They sneak into position for their plan to help the guards, who are extra gooey by this point and lamenting about how they are going to clean all the goo out of their fur.
The plan goes well. Similar to how Piklok was surprised by Cat during their first encounter, the frenzied, little golden monkey spots Cat after she bats the swizzleyump pit toward her with one skillful flick of a floofy tail, like she had when playing with the ball in her room. Then the monkey is briefly blinded when Cat pops some reflective confetti to disorient her and knocks one of the goo shooters out of her hand over to Marla, who uses it to drench the villain in her own turquoise goo.
After that, Crow goes about freeing each guard from their sticky confines with the vroozles from his launcher. The not-a-vegetable-but-not-quite-a-fruit pits do exactly what Crow was hoping they would, dissolving most of the goo off of the guards' cat and bunny fur and freeing them.
Marla is overjoyed that she can now see Cat, ever since witnessing her redirect the vroozle with her tail. She is baffled at first as to who is under Calamity Crow's masterful mask of mystery, and seems to be in genuine shock when Crow lifts the mask for a moment to reveal that it is him. The other guards do not notice and Marla promises not to tell anyone. Somehow, the mask and cape are a better disguise than Crow thought they would be; at least, good enough to fool Marla. She is smart, but not a detective.
After thanking the two of them for their timely intervention, Marla briefs them, revealing that the golden lion tamarin announced herself as Treecle when they attempted to surround and apprehend her. She points out that Marrow and the other two guards are close-by battling an oversized, musclebound wildebeest named Yorbert who wields a giant, spike-covered mace. No one had gotten past them yet to confront the witch, Wispnell, a bizarre cross between an owl, a snake, and a spider, who is maintaining her incantation which reroutes all of the river's water through a magickal portal to somewhere else. Treecle had blabbered that all three of them are working for Old King Bazlan, whom Marla has heard only whisperings of, to accomplish whatever mysterious scheme he has in motion.
"Yaaay! A boss battle awaits!" Cat rejoices, as the others are surprised by her cheerfulness of the prospect. She is just itching to use her powers again, and this will supply her with the outlet she needs.
With Treecle captured, one guard stays to keep her from escaping while Marla and the other guard go to challenge Wispnell. Despite his helpfulness, Marla recommends to Crow that he stay back so as not to get caught up in any of the witch's magick.
Crow wants to be useful again though. His plan had been a success and gave him an exhilarating boost to his self-worth. Now, he would like to repeat that process. Being a superhero may just be his new favorite thing.
