"Trolls!" Perda hissed in Zann's ear.
The four friends hid behind a hedge.
"I haven't seen a troll in First City since Morb was defeated!" Zann whispered.
Darb peeked through the hedge. "Laddno just came outside."
Zann watched in shock as Laddno talked to the trolls.
Zann was too far to hear what the man was saying.
But he could hear the trolls' loud grunts in response.
"Forget about trying to see your families," Perda murmured. "It's not safe here."
They returned to Teplo's house. Zing was flapping around, shooting flames everywhere.
"Why is he so excited?" Perda asked.
"He's probably just happy to see us," Zann said.
"I hope Fala didn't get captured," Darb said.
"What if Zing was trapped here while we were gone?"
Teplo's pet sniffer goose waddled into sight, honking with displeasure.
"Zing's food looks fresh," Perda said. "That must mean Fala has been here recently."
"Good." Zann summoned a message moth. "I'll let her know we're back."
Moments later Fala zapped into view.
"You've returned!" she cried. "I was starting to worry about you."
"How's my uncle?" Gliss asked. "And Zann's family?"
"They're fine." Fala handed Gliss the Remote Eye so Gliss could see for herself.
"Now tell me about your trip. Did you find Morb?"
Gliss peered through the Eye and then handed it to Zann.
He looked through it and saw his parents, Boz, and the others sitting in their cells.
They looked okay.
"We found Morb," Perda said. "We have a lot to tell you."
The kids described their trip to the Far Frontier.
The more they talked, the more worried Fala looked.
"Oh, dear," she said. "So it's true—Morb really is up to no good."
"As usual," Perda said grimly.
"But that's not all. We were just at the palace, and we saw a bunch of trolls in the square!"
"Yes." Fala nodded. "Laddno brought them to the palace a couple of days ago.
He's using them as bodyguards."
"Why?" Gliss asked.
Fala shrugged. "He claims he needs them because his life has been threatened."
"Who threatened him?" Zann asked.
"He won't give any details," Fala said.
"He also won't explain how he's controlling the trolls."
Zann traded a look with his friends.
"What if Morb is the one who's threatening Laddno?" Perda said.
Zann had been thinking the same thing.
"Laddno might remember that Morb used trolls once," he said.
"Maybe Laddno thinks he can use them to stop Morb."
A message moth fluttered into the room. It was from Mari.
"She wants to know why we disappeared so suddenly earlier," Zann told his friends.
He started to write a response, but Fala stopped him.
"It's better to keep your movements quiet," Fala said.
"At least until after the election."
"Okay." Zann stared at the moth.
Thinking about Mari gave him an idea.
"Let's go to my parents' lab.
Maybe we can get some ideas there about ways to stop Morb."
"Good idea," Perda agreed.
"Don't tell Mari we're going, though.
As Fala said, we should keep our movements quiet."
"We have to tell Mari," Zann insisted.
"She told us there's a spell on the lab. We won't be able to get past it without her."
"What spell?" Fala sounded surprised.
They told her what Mari had revealed about the Security spell.
"She said Venna helped her with it," Gliss said.
"Venna didn't mention anything about that to me," Fala said.
She looked at Zann. "But go ahead and contact her."
Zann quickly inscribed the moth. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."
"Are you coming, Fala?" Perda asked.
"I'll meet up with you later," she replied.
"I want to check on Venna again.
She's received some threats too. But she refuses to go into hiding."
Zann whistled for Zing. Then he and his friends zapped to the street outside the lab.
To his surprise, Mari was already waiting for them.
"You got here fast," Zann said.
Mari smiled. "I was on my way here to check on the relics when I got your moth."
"What kind of Security spell did you put on this place?" Perda asked.
"A special kind of Shield spell." Mari rubbed her hands together.
"It's pretty cool."
She explained how the spell worked, though Zann didn't pay much attention.
He just wanted to get inside the lab and figure out how to stop Morb.
But once inside, Zann wasn't sure where to start.
Mari wandered into the back to check on the relics.
Zann looked at his friends.
"Let's just look around for anything that might be useful," he whispered.
He wanted to trust Mari, but he remembered Fala's warning.
Perda was already opening record books.
"This one's about the Mask of Zanta," she said.
"The relic is gone, but your parents wrote a lot about it." She scanned the page.
"Mostly about its immense power and its connection to the very early days of Magica history."
Zann bent closer to see. Something in his pocket poked him.
He reached in and pulled out the twigs he'd collected on Atmo.
Mari came back into the room. "What are those?"
"I found them in another world," Zann said.
"They're supposed to contain lots of magic energy."
"From another world?" Mari stepped closer.
"Cool. I bet my uncle would love to see those!"
"Why would your uncle want to see them?" Gliss asked.
Suddenly Mari looked uncomfortable. "He's a, um, researcher."
Zann was confused.
If Mari's uncle was a researcher, why had she been so eager to work for his parents?
He opened his mouth to ask.
But at that moment, the entrance to the lab flew open and several trolls burst in!