With a yelp, Dizzy leaped away from the scarecrow and rolled over the furrow. Coming up to his feet, he drew both swords from their scabbards.

“Get back!” he yelled at Kitty. The creature was stomping through the field of urns, eye holes fixed on the female. Kitty scrambled backward, trying to put as much space between herself and the pumpkin-headed monstrosity as possible. The small room didn’t give her much maneuverability.

Dizzy charged and hacked at the creature’s legs. The scarecrow stumbled, then lunged at Dizzy with its claws. Dizzy was flung backward as the creature’s claws slashed across his face. YDB ran to his friend, then yelled at Kitty.

“Run!” he shouted. Kitty ran.

“Strong,” YDB said to Dizzy. Dizzy wiped the blood from his face and nodded.

“Let’s get him!” yelled Dizzy. Charging again, the goblin flailed at the creature’s legs while trying to stay away from its sharp talons. Dizzy’s blade struck the scarecrow in the back of its knee, bringing it crashing down. It was immobilized for a moment.

Kitty had fled out of the abomination's reach and pulled her bow from where it was slung over her chest and back. Setting the lantern down, she nocked an arrow and aimed at the monster’s head.

“Dizz! Get back!” she yelled. Dizzy didn’t retreat, but he ducked down as low as he could. With a zing, the arrow shot across the short gap and struck the scarecrow in its pumpkin head.

The creature pulled itself upright, a clawed hand gripping its knee to put it back in place. Its head swiveled to locate Dizzy and Kitty, apparently deciding which tormentor would die first. Raising its talons to strike at Dizzy, the scarecrow didn't see YDB coming around from the opposite side, one of his bombs in his hands. The little goblin ran up the scarecrow’s leg and shoved the bomb into the creature’s mouth.

Dizzy saw the fuse light from the scarecrow’s internal flames. It spat, and the bomb flew out, detonating loudly but harmlessly two furrows away. Grabbing the goblin hanging from his arm, the scarecrow threw him at Kitty. Both goblins went sprawling.

“No!” shouted Dizzy as he sprung up from his crouch, thrusting both swords into the scarecrow’s back. Straw flew from under the shirt the creature wore. Whirling around, the scarecrow swung his arm and struck Dizzy across the chest. Dizzy bounced away, knocking over two urns as he landed.

Seeing his crops of ashes being damaged by the goblin’s impact, the scarecrow stomped toward Dizzy intending to finish him. As the goblin scrambled backward, YDB untangled himself from Kitty. He pulled a second bomb from his pouch and grabbed the lantern from where it lay in the dirt. Kitty sat up and grabbed an arrow from where it had fallen from her quiver.

The scarecrow struck down at Dizzy, intending to impale the goblin on his wooden claws, but Dizzy rolled away with his swords pressed against his chest. The scarecrow’s claws struck only dirt. YDB hit the monster from behind, shoving the bamboo bomb into the scarecrow’s shirt where Dizzy had cut. Whirling, the scarecrow slammed YDB across the face, sending him flying. The lantern flew out of YDB’s hand and landed on top of a furrow.

Kitty fired as fast as she could, putting another arrow into the creature’s chest. Dizzy rolled to his feet and dropped one of his swords. He ran to grab the lantern. With an underhand move, he scooped it up and tossed it at the scarecrow. The creature grabbed the lantern before it could hit him.

“Now!” yelled Dizzy. Kitty fired another arrow, hitting the lantern and ripping open the cheap metal tank. Lamp oil splattered onto the scarecrow’s body, quickly setting the shirt and straw afire. The scarecrow dropped to the ground and rolled in an attempt to put out the fire. Dizzy heard a faint sizzling sound and threw himself to the ground.

“Down! Get down!” he yelled at his friends. The scarecrow batted at the flames for a moment, then exploded as the bamboo bomb finally went off.

Bits of flaming straw and farmer’s shirt flew in all directions. The scarecrow twitched several times, trying to get back to its feet. Dizzy panted as the creature’s movements slowed, then finally stopped. Rising to his feet and keeping an eye on the creature, Dizzy made his way over to where he had dropped one of his swords.

“Is anyone hurt?” asked Dizzy as he lifted his hand to his face. He looked at the blood on his fingers. “Besides me?”

Kitty used her bow to stand up and trotted quickly to where Dizzy stood. She pulled a clean cloth from her bag and pressed it against the bleeding wound on Dizzy’s cheek.

“I’m okay,” she replied. “Hold this against your face. Don’t move it around.” She turned to check on YDB. The other goblin shook his head and raised his hand. He formed a thumbs up with his fist. Kitty returned to ministering to Dizzy’s wounds.

“Again in the face. Maybe you should get a helmet like YDB’s,” she advised.

Dizzy grinned, even though it pained him. “Nah, I’m so handsome, it would be a crime to deny the world a chance to look at me,” he said. Kitty laughed, relieved that her friend still had his sense of humor. As she pressed the bandage to Dizzy’s cheek, she noticed that the light was beginning to dim.

“Uh, oh,” she said. The light from the burning scarecrow was beginning to fade as the straw was consumed. She saw the lantern burning as well, the oil and heat having shattered the lens.

“Better cast that spell of yours before it’s too late,” said Dizzy. Kitty looked worried at the suggestion.

“Magic is dangerous. I don’t know where the power comes from. If I make a mistake again...” She was thinking of the stone she accidentally caused to explode.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” said Dizzy. He glanced at the tunnel he had spotted before the scarecrow had attacked. “Something dug that, and I don’t want to face it in the pitch dark.”

Kitty looked at the tunnel as well, knowing the gem Stormhoof had sent them down to retrieve was somewhere. Hopefully nearby, but she had no idea where.

“Alright. I’ll try to not mess it up,” she said. Looking around for a stone or something to use as an anchor for the magic, she dug the firefly from her belt pouch. Not seeing any, she looked at her bow. At the top, she had attached a feather for good luck. She held the feather in one hand and the firefly in the other and said “Fospho!” in a firm, confident voice. It radiated a green glow, matching the color of the bird it had originally come from.

YDB clapped and danced as the room lit up like a day under the trees. Bright enough to see, yet not too bright for the goblin’s sensitive eyes. Dizzy grinned and clapped Kitty on the shoulder. “Good job!” he said. Kitty beamed in pride.

“I guess I just needed to be more sure of myself,” she said. She tilted the bow forward, the feather lighting the way. The opening stood mute across the room. YDB kicked at the scarecrow’s remains, scattering the ashes far and wide throughout the room. Once the scarecrow was spread out into a thin layer of ashes, YDB kicked the pumpkin head across the room and watched the rind splatter. Stomping the remains, YDB reached down to pick up a small stone jar that had been hidden inside. He raised his arm to smash the jar before Kitty stopped him.

“Magic is dangerous! Let me have that!” she scolded. Taking the container, she tucked it into her pouch next to her last firefly. She gestured towards Dizzy with her bow.

Dizzy peered down the tunnel, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. Nothing but dust.

“Seems safe enough,” he said. With the light from the bow feather providing some visibility, Dizzy entered the roughly hewn tunnel. He knelt and touched the floor, then the walls. The stone seemed melted rather than chiseled. Dizzy warned Kitty and YDB of what he had found. The three continued down the short tunnel for twenty or thirty feet before reaching the third room.

This room was unlike the previous two. Instead of skulls and bones embedded in the walls, or a farm field, the new room had a raised section in the corner, with an altar sitting in the center of the raised floor with steps leading up. The altar itself had two candlestick holders, one at each end. In the center was a small chest. The lid was closed.

“It must be in there,” said Dizzy. Kitty nodded in agreement.

“Trapped,” said YDB.

“How can you tell from here?” asked Kitty.

“He can’t, but it probably is,” answered Dizzy. He had become cautious during their explorations. The chest was too obviously bait, waiting to suck in the foolish.

“How do we open it then?”

“Very carefully.”

Dizzy squatted down on his haunches, hand on his chin. His eyes scanned the room, searching for any way to open the lid without getting too close. There was nothing that looked like a weapon. The walls were smooth, with no holes for a spear to shoot through. Behind the altar was an image of something Dizzy couldn’t identify. Like the door to the scarecrow room, the image was obscured by the dust of the ages.

“Let’s see if we can clean off that picture,” said Dizzy. He started up the steps, but stopped when he heard a 'click.' “Uh, oh.”

“Don’t move!” yelped Kitty. Dizzy had frozen when he heard the noise.

“I’m not. Do something!” Dizzy looked to the left and right. A pebble dropped down from the ceiling.

“Jump!” shouted YDB. Dizzy jumped backward, leaping off of the steps. An instant later, a brick from the ceiling dropped and landed where Dizzy had been a moment earlier.

“Look up!” said Kitty. The bricks began to fall from overhead. Dizzy, Kitty, and YDB scattered as the blocks fell randomly.

“Up the stairs!” yelled Dizzy. The bricks were falling onto the lower steps, but not on the higher risers or the level with the altar. The three goblins ran for the steps, narrowly avoiding getting brained.

Panting, they watched as the bricks continued to rain down all around them. The floor was covered within minutes. Finally, all the stones that were going to fall had dropped, and the noise ceased.

“That was close!” said Kitty. She watched as one final slab fell from the ceiling. “What made you think of running up the steps?”

“I figured whoever made this place wouldn’t want to destroy their treasure.”

“Treasure!” said YDB. The goblin stepped over to the altar and sniffed at the little chest. He waited for his friends to examine the chest before touching it.

Kitty and Dizzy walked cautiously around the shrine, keeping their hands to themselves. Cobwebs covered the chest and candlesticks, but Dizzy couldn’t see anything that indicated a trap. He gently pushed the chest with one of his swords and the whole thing slid back, leaving faint marks in the dust.

Dizzy carefully examined the chest. It was about a foot wide, and eight inches deep and tall. The keyhole was shaped like a skull, with the nose serving as the keyhole.

“Let’s try to open it,” said Dizzy. Sheathing his sword, he tried to lift the lid. It was locked.

“Let’s just take it. Stormhoof will have to figure out how to open it,” suggested Kitty.

“I wanna try one more thing,” said Dizzy. He lifted the chest completely off the altar. A thin wire was attached to the bottom. Dizzy heard a hissing and noticed the same odor as one of YDB’s bombs.

“Run!” Dizzy, Kitty, and YDB ran as fast as they could off of the altar. The three goblins bounded over the scattered bricks and dove into the tunnel. Dizzy shoved the chest in front of him as he crawled as fast as he could. The trio fell into the scarecrow room. Nothing happened.

“Dud?” asked YDB.

Kitty paused, sniffing the air and listening. She detected the rotten egg smell of the sulfur, but the hissing sound had ended.

“Yeah, must have been. Let’s just get out of here.”

Dizzy lead the way back. He was briefly curious about the other doors, but having found the chest and hopefully the gem, he was eager to breathe the outside air. The steps to the surface beckoned.

Climbing up the stairs, Dizzy called out, “We’re back! We’re coming up with the treasure!” He hoped that the minotaur and orc wouldn’t just stab at anything coming from under the temple.

Popping his head out of the opening, Dizzy saw Stormhoof, Isaar, Granny Rags, and the Chief waiting for them. Holding the chest aloft, Dizzy came out of the tomb.

“Put it right there,” said Isaar. Dizzy sat the chest down where the orc had indicated.

“Any trouble?” asked the Chief, but he didn’t wait for the answer. The Chief was just as curious about the treasure as everyone else.

Stormhoof reached for the lid, then paused. He turned to Isaar. “You may have the honor,” said the minotaur. Isaar grinned and reached for the lid.

“Locked.” The orc looked at Dizzy. “Did you find a key?”

Dizzy shook his head. Isaar frowned but said nothing more. He set the chest down on the temple floor and stroked his chin. Reaching into a belt pouch, he extracted a small case. Opening it revealed several small tools. Selecting two, the orc began to fiddle with the lock.

“This shouldn't take too long, Captain,” said Isaar. Everyone watched as the orc manipulated the lock. Long minutes passed, but the chest refused to reveal its contents. Finally, Stormhoof had had enough. “Move back,” he growled to Isaar. The orc quickly did so, knowing what his captain had in mind.

The minotaur drew his sword and hacked at the surface. The brute’s weapon and muscles didn’t even mar the wooden surface of the chest. Stormhoof roared in frustration.

“Freedom to any who can open this chest,” roared the minotaur. He glared around at his orcs, then down at Granny Rags. “You! What do you know about this chest?”

“Uh, n-n-nothing, Lord,” stammered Granny. “I never made it to the chest itself, but maybe…” She patted herself, then plucked a pouch from her belt. Opening it, she revealed a small, simple key. “I found this one day when I was cleaning the temple.” She held it up for Stormhoof to examine.

“Try it on the lock, old woman,” growled the minotaur.

“But if it’s wrong…” began Granny.

“If it’s wrong, it's wrong. Maybe your luck is better than Isaar’s.”

With a shaky hand, Granny extended the key to the keyhole. It fits into the opening. She turned the key, and the latch clicked. The lid sprang open, revealing a grinning skull with a gem in the right eye socket. It glowed a fiery red in the dimness of the temple. As Dizzy and the rest looked on, a slitted eye formed on the surface of the gem. Dizzy could see flames dancing in the eye’s pupil. Isaar reached into the chest and lifted out the skull to remove the gem. As he brought the skull up to eye level, the gem flashed. Isaar screamed and seemed to dissolve before everyone’s eyes. The skull floated in the air as Isaar's essence was drawn into the gem. A moment later, the skull floated down and dropped into the chest. The lid slammed shut, and a 'click' could be heard as the chest locked itself.

“What did you do to the Eye of Marax?” shouted Stormhoof. He turned to face Dizzy and his friends. “Where is my lieutenant?” He raised his sword to attack.

As the minotaur swung the blade down at Dizzy’s unprotected head, the floor suddenly fell away. Dizzy heard Kitty and YDB’s screams mixed with his own. A few seconds later he hit something hard and heard nothing more.