On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

The boys creep through the abandoned, crumbling manor. Janner sees horned hounds, known to be dangerous creatures, in the yard outside. He and his brother try to stay still and quiet so that the hounds do not notice them, but Tink’s stomach grumbles because he is always hungry. The hounds chase the boys deeper into Anklejelly Manor. The brothers reach a dead end: A door opens onto a sheer drop into darkness. With nowhere else to go, Janner pushes his brother into the hole and jumps down after him.

The jump is not too far down. The boys explore the cellar they have found themselves in, and Tink finds a stairway leading to an underground tunnel. Carrying a lantern, the boys make their way down the tunnel to a locked door. The door has a panel with a grid of buttons on it. Janner realizes that if he shines the lantern through the holes in the map, they illuminate the correct pattern of buttons to push. The boys open the door.

Inside the room at the end of the tunnel, Janner and Tink find a large stockpile of weapons. When the Fangs took over, they confiscated everyone’s weapons. As they explore, the boys hear a frightening wail that they take to be the ghost that the map warned them about. They hurry back to the cellar as the wails get louder.

When the boys return to the cellar, they clamber back up to the doorway with the help of a rope. The hounds have gone, and the brothers leave Anklejelly Manor. They run into Podo as they approach home. Unbeknownst to them all, Slarb is watching them.

Commander Gnorm visits his superior officer, General Khrak, in the city of Torrboro. He tells Khrak that all is well in Glipwood. Khrak has news of his own: Gnag the Nameless is amassing a large army to scour Skree for the Jewels of Anniera, which are fabled to have the power to “destroy the Nameless One and restore Anniera to its glory” (155). Khrak also wants Gnorm to start sending more prisoners to Dang. When Gnorm bows, a gold necklace that Nia gave him slips from under his armor. Khrak spots it and demands that he hand it over.

The next day, the three siblings return to Oskar’s bookshop so that Leeli can borrow books and so that Tink can surreptitiously restore the map to its hiding place. He manages to sneak it back under the floorboard, but he thinks that Zouzab may have seen him. The three children get separated in the labyrinthine bookshop, and when Janner and Tink find each other again, they realize that Leeli is missing. Zouzab spots a Fang carrying her away. The boys rush to get Podo, who leaps into action to rescue Leeli. He insists that Janner and Tink stay home.

Slarb carries Leeli away from Glipwood and toward the dangers of the forest. Leeli hopes that her family will save her; she cannot escape on her own. Slarb hopes so, too: He wants to set a trap and kill the entire Igiby family at once. When Leeli hears something that sounds like her brothers, she tries to warn them away so that Slarb cannot hurt them. She tries to run, but she does not have her crutch, and Slarb is much faster than her.

Janner and Tink run home and tell Nia what has happened. She is disappointed in Janner for not protecting his sister. Meanwhile, Peet the Sock Man unexpectedly comes to Leeli’s rescue. He is remarkably strong, and he manages to knock Slarb out. He is also shy and unwilling to answer Leeli’s questions. Peet brings Leeli into the forest. At home, Janner asks Nia if they will stop talking about Leeli if she dies, the way they never talk about Esben. Nia says that there are things Janner does not yet understand about Esben. Podo returns, having rescued Leeli.

Leeli and Podo explain what happened. Peet took Leeli into the forest to a large treehouse where he lives. Podo followed Slarb and then followed Peet’s tracks into the forest. He saw Peet throw a stone at one of the many frightening animals in the woods. The children suspect that Peet was the one who threw the stones at the Fangs in the alleyway. Podo found Leeli and brought her home. That night, Nia and Podo talk about Peet, whom they both dislike and distrust. They do not want him to talk to the children.

Slarb, already unpopular among the other Fangs, returns to the jail after his ordeal with Peet. They laugh at his injuries. Angry and humiliated, Slarb attacks Vop, a fellow Fang. After they wrestle, he throws a dagger at Vop’s back, killing him. The other Fangs consider this to be bad form and try to kill Slarb. He escapes, now thinking of nothing except vengeance against the Igibys.