Free Akiko in the Sprubly Islands by Mark Crilley

the ancient door with a loud creaking noise. She pulled the doors open as far as possible. Even then the doorway was only about two feet wide, and I felt a little like I was being asked to get inside a doghouse or something.
    “Come on, now,” Queen Pwip said with a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to get your hands dirty.” I gave Poog a nervous look. He just smiled and nodded.

    So I got down on my hands and knees and carefully crawled through the narrow passageway into the dimly lit room within. The first thing I noticed was how cool it was. The temperature must have been at least ten degrees lower than it was outside. The circular room was about six feet from one side to the other, and the ceiling was no more than four feet above the floor. I crawled to one side, trying as hard as I could not to bump my head on the ceiling. There was just enough space for me to sit crouched against the wall with my legs pulled up underneath me.
    A pale purplish light filtered in through the stained glass dome above, revealing tiny specks of dust drifting through the air. There was no furniture or object of any kind, except for a pool of water held in a round stone basin in the middle of the floor. The smell of incense hung in the air. There was something very—I don’t know—
peaceful
about the place. It was as if any troubles you might have would just disappear as soon as you entered.
    I sat and watched as Poog slowly floated in after me. He glided right into the center of the room, pausing for a moment to observe his reflection in the pool of water, then chose a spot in the air next to me and hovered there without making a sound.
    Queen Pwip closed the doors behind her and walked to a spot opposite Poog and me, resting her hands on the rugged surface of the stone basin. She raised her eyes and gave me a very serious look for what seemed like a long time, then smiled and chuckled to herself. Then she stared into the water and said nothing at all for about five minutes. I probably should have just kept quiet, but my curiosity got the better of me.
    “What’s going on?” I asked. “What are you looking at?”
    “Hush, Akiko,” she answered gently. “There are no questions in the Seeing Room. Only answers.”
    She continued staring at the water, resting her hands on the edge of the basin without making the slightest movement. Then something very odd happened.
    PLIP!
    There was a little splash in the center of the pool, as if a single drop of water had fallen into it from above. I looked up into the stained-glass dome, thinking there must have been some kind of leak. I stared at the glass, trying hard to keep my eyes wide open.

    PLIP!
    This time I was sure I hadn’t blinked. Nothing at all had fallen into the pool of water, and yet it
looked
and
sounded
as if some thing had. I stared at the pool of water, watching the circular ripples spread outward to the edge of the basin, distorting the reflection of the stained glass above. I glanced quickly at Poog and saw that he was staring at the water just as intently as Queen Pwip.
    “Alia Rellapor,” Queen Pwip said suddenly in a hushed voice.
    It startled me to hear that name again. My stomach tightened and I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
    “You’re trying to find Alia Rellapor’s castle. You need to rescue someone.”
    “Th-that’s right,’’ I answered. My heart was beating very quickly now. It was a very weird feeling, like being excited and scared at the same time.
    “Don’t worry, Akiko,” she said, never once taking her eyes off the pool of water. “You’ll reach her castle eventually. But it won’t be easy.”
    PLIP!
    The surface of the water once again rippled gently outward from the center.
    “There’s a wall,” Queen Pwip announced in a slightly louder voice.
    “A wall?’’
    “You must climb the wall and cross the bridge,” she continued mysteriously. She seemed to be describing things she could see in the water, things that