Gold Rush, Part 1

MONA THE VAMPIRE XXVI: GOLD RUSH
By Jake Collins

  “Fang,” Mona ventured tentatively, her eyes scouring the darkness for any signs of life from her small brown cat at the foot of her bed. “Fang, are you awake?”
Two brilliant green pinpoints of light suddenly appeared as Fang opened his eyes.
  “Something troubles you, Mona,” the cat said softly. “You’re worrying about Mum-Ra, aren’t you?”
  “Yes, I have been,” Mona admitted. “How did you know?”
  “I always know what you’re thinking, Mona, and I always have,” Fang replied enigmatically. “Yet why does the mummy still concern you? Don’t you trust him to keep his word about staying out of your affairs?”
  “Well, that’s the funny thing,” Mona said. “I do trust his word, but I can’t help feeling there’s more to the situation than even he realises. I mean, why was he so determined to get back at me for one little defeat? It wasn’t really a big deal.”
  “Mum-Ra obviously felt that he needed to prove something by defeating you, but you convinced him otherwise,” Fang soothed her. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore, Mona – he’s got bigger fish to fry.”
  “Has he, though?” Mona mused. “There must be more to this, Fang. Mum-Ra went to the trouble of setting me up to meet all my old enemies just so that he could help the Gruagach return to Knightmare, which then caused Mogdred to be released from within Merlin. That’s a pretty major thing to set into motion just for the sake of little old me, and when it failed Mum-Ra still persisted in trying to get to me!”
  “Then perhaps there is more to the situation than meets the eye,” Fang said levelly. “Do you wish to talk to Mum-Ra about it?”
  “No, I don’t want to go stirring up trouble,” Mona replied. “But I also don’t want to sit around doing nothing while… while… while I don’t know what evil things happen.”
  “You know, sometimes it pays to plan ahead and be prepared,” Fang advised. “This time, however, you can’t do that, so there’s no point in worrying about it. In this case, Mona, if there is anything to worry about, you’re just going to have to react to it when the time comes.”
  “You’re right, Fang,” Mona agreed. “It’s silly of me to worry. Man, I need to get some sleep now.”

Mona was not the only one who was feeling uneasy. In the Great Hall of the mystic fortress known as Knightmare Castle, Merlin was confessing some of his worries to Treguard.
  “I feel very uneasy, Treguard,” Merlin confessed. “I feel that… something is wrong.”
  “Is it to do with the babies?” asked Treguard. “I thought they were supposed to be safe until Easter Sunday.”
  “No, it’s nothing to do with that,” Merlin replied. “I feel that the whole balance of the universe has tilted, as if it may be thrown into disarray at any time.”
  “That doesn’t sound good,” Treguard remarked. “Do you have any idea as to the cause of this universal unbalance?”
  “Well, yes, but I’m concerned that, if I’m right, we’ll find it quite awkward to do anything about it. You see, Treguard, I feel that my strange uneasiness has something to do with… Arnold and Helga.”
  “But how can that be? They’re following their own path now, and we cannot see it. They fulfilled their destiny – they closed the Universal Eye. Arnold and Helga have had their supernatural adventures, and now they’re being kept safe from that world by forces more powerful than even we can imagine.”
  “That’s all true, Treguard, but just because they are untouchable in their current time and place, that’s not to say that they’re not vulnerable in others,” Merlin explained. “As we know, time is linear, but it is not rigid, like a ruler. It’s more like a piece of string, which can be laid out in a straight line easily enough, but can just as effortlessly be scrunched up into a tight ball so that different points along its length touch and mingle. All it would take for some evil force to get to Arnold and Helga would be one frayed point on that string, where the pair of them are not protected, and the whole universe could be thrown into complete chaos!”
  “Hmm, that does sound worrying, Merlin,” Treguard responded. “Are you sure that this frayed point in time exists, and that some evil force is trying to exploit it?”
  “No, I’m not sure,” Merlin replied. “But these premonitions of mine are seldom unfounded, so I must investigate the possibility further.”
  “How?” asked Treguard.
  “We must use your magic pool to scour the pivotal points of Arnold and Helga’s association,” Merlin stated. “One of these might provide a weak point in time that could be exploited, and we must identify exactly when it might be. It will be like searching for a fairly small needle in a reasonably large haystack, but it has to be done.”
  “It sounds to me more like on The Bill when they have to sift through loads of CCTV footage just to find one teen in a hooded sweatshirt,” Treguard remarked.
  “Whatever analogy you prefer, we’d better get on with it,” Merlin pointed out. “We must start at the very beginning, with Arnold and Helga’s first meeting, and work from there.”

As Mona chewed absently on a large pancake in the kitchen the following morning, she pondered further her thoughts of the night before. Fang was crouching on the floor, happily tucking into his breakfast.
  “Perhaps I should talk to Merlin,” Mona suddenly said.
  “About what?” Fang queried.
  “About Mum-Ra,” Mona elaborated.
  “You think he can help you?” asked Fang. “He doesn’t really know anything about Mum-Ra, does he?”
  “No, but he might be able to tell me if my fears are unfounded,” Mona shrugged. “I should check in with him anyway – it’s been a couple of months since we were last in contact.”
  “Well, why shouldn’t it be?” Fang reasoned. “There’s been no reason for you to get involved with Knightmare, so you haven’t. I’d be glad of the break if I were you.”
  “Still, I should check in,” Mona was adamant.
  “Well, you must do what you think is best, Mona,” Fang advised. “I’m sure you’ll find that you’ve nothing to worry about from Mum-Ra, though – that chapter in your life is finished.”
  “I’ve thought that about other chapters in my life, Fang, and I’ve often been mistaken,” Mona sighed. “I’m off to Knightmare now.”
A few minutes later, Mona walked up Mrs. Bryerson’s drive, disappeared through the garden gate, and emerged into the Dream Caverns. She had learned to rely heavily on these magic paths for her temporal and spacial traveling needs, and she was not expecting them to let her down all of a sudden. After all, they had nearly always taken her to her desired destination before. However, this time the Dream Caverns did not take Mona to Knightmare, but somewhere completely, startlingly different.

Mona felt the fine salt spray on her face and the exhilarating sea breeze streaming through her hair. This, in itself, was worrying enough. Shielding her eyes against the rush of briny air, Mona took in her surroundings. She was sitting in a large motorboat, along with Lily, Dottie, George and Lawrence. Like Mona herself, they were all wearing large yellow plastic mackintoshes. There were two unfamiliar people in the boat as well. One was a grey-haired man who was sitting at the tiller of the boat. The other was a blond-haired woman, but it was not possible to discern her features clearly thanks to the hooded mackintosh she wore.
  “What the hell is this?” Mona demanded incredulously. “Hey, you guys, what’s going on?”
But no one could hear Mona’s voice over the roar of the boat’s engine. However, it was clear from the puzzled looks on her friends’ faces that they were all just as much in the dark as Mona herself. Something odd was going on here, and the blond-haired woman was the one to ask about it, Mona decided. Of course, this was hardly the most surprising or dangerous situation in which she had ever found herself, but the fact remained that there were questions that needed to be answered.
  “Hey, you!” Mona yelled at the blond woman. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
  “Sorry, Mona, I can’t hear you,” the woman shouted back, through an annoyingly large smile. “You’ll have to wait ‘til we get there.”
The boat roared to a halt next to some stone steps, which led up into a large ovular fort that towered far above them. It seemed that the fort was built in the middle of the sea, although Mona fancied she could see a shoreline some way off in the direction from which they had just come. With the boat’s engine finally silenced, the unwilling sailors were finally able to talk to one another.
  “Mona, what’s going on?” asked Lily. “Did you bring us here?”
  “And where are we?” added Dottie.
  “I was trying to sort out my new Australian stamps!” Lawrence protested.
  “Don’t look at me, guys,” Mona shrugged. “I’m as much in the dark as you are.”
  “Well, that’s good to know,” George muttered reprovingly. “What are we supposed to do now?”

The blond woman had disembarked by this time and she was beginning to climb the stone steps. She turned back towards the five unwilling mariners in the boat, and fixed them with a wide smile.
  “Come on, guys, we’re here!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Follow me!”
As she spoke, the woman took off her coat and threw it back into the boat. As she did this, George and Lawrence both dropped their jaws involuntarily.
  “Jeez, would you look at those?” George whispered in awe.
  “They can’t be real!” Lawrence boggled.
  “What do we do, Mona?” asked Lily.
  “Go with her, I suppose,” Mona shrugged. “It’s all we can do for now, at least until we work out what’s going on here.”
Mona clambered out of the boat, so the others followed her example. They all took off their yellow coats and threw them into the boat. It was then that they noticed the close-fitting leotards which they all had on.
  “Jesus Christ!” Dottie exclaimed, involuntarily hugging her chest. “What are we wearing?”
  “Not much, by the look of things,” Mona remarked dryly. “Still, I’m sure everything will become clear before too long.”
When all the mackintoshes had been returned to the boat, the grey-haired man started up the engine and was speeding off towards the horizon before anyone had had time to blink.
  “Where’s he going?” Mona asked the buxom blonde.
  “Back where he came from,” she replied.
  “Does that mean we won’t be leaving this fort anytime soon?” Mona returned.
  “Well, why would you want to leave so soon? You haven’t even been inside, yet, and that’s where the gold is!”
  “Gold, huh? Just who the hell are you, anyway?”
  “I’m Melinda Messenger,” replied the woman in surprise. “I’m the host of Fort Boyard. Surely you must have been told that I’d be here to guide you through Boyard’s challenges?”
  “I’ve been told very little,” Mona assured her.
  “Look, we can’t stand here chatting all day,” Melinda said bracingly. “Let’s get inside and see if we can get our hands on some of that gold. Come on!”
Melinda began to jog briskly up the steps. Resignedly, Mona followed her.
  “Hey, Mona, what are you doing?” George hollered in alarm. “You’re not just going to go with her, are you? Surely anyone with bongos that big can’t be trusted!”
  “Well, what else are we supposed to do?” Mona demanded. “We’re stuck here for now, unless you fancy swimming towards that shoreline over there, wherever it might be.”
  “Mona’s right,” Lawrence opined. “This is kinda like that time when we had to do that tournament in Scotland. The best thing we can do is play along until we know what’s going on.”
Lily and Dottie were already following Mona up the steps, and Lawrence hurried to join them. George paused briefly to consider the sparkling blue sea and the distant shoreline, but he knew there really was no choice to make. Sighing resignedly, he followed the others up the steps and into the giant stone fort.

Melinda led the confused group into a small vestibule. Here there was an iron gate barring the way into the fort, which was protected by a large girder that was emblazoned with a golden lion’s head. There was a lanky man glaring through the bars at the assembled group. He wore a dark blue shirt, a black leather jacket, and black trousers. His hair was thin and greying, and his demeanour was far from welcoming.
  “Who’re this bunch of pint-sized no-hopers?” the man sneered nastily. “You don’t seriously think they’ll be making off with any of my gold, do you?”
  “Don’t take any notice of him, team,” Melinda advised. “This is Boyard, the evil Master of the Fort. He’ll try everything in his power to stop you getting your hands on his gold, but you’re not going to let him stop you, are you?”
No one actually cared remotely about Boyard’s gold, but Mona kept in mind her plan to play along with this strange game until more information about the situation could be discovered.
  “No, of course we’re not,” Mona obliged Melinda.
  “Well if you’re going to try and win some of my gold, you’d better get inside first, hadn’t you?” Boyard sneered. “Get on with it, then!”
  “Okay, guys, that means we have to raise the gate in order to gain entry,” Melinda explained, as Boyard stalked off into the main body of the fort. “Grab the ropes and get that bar up!”
There were three ropes attached to the girder with the lion’s head on it. Mona and her friends tentatively grabbed these, and then were forced to haul on them with all their might in order to lift the weighty metal barrier free of the gate.
  “Are you sure you can’t think of a better plan than this, Mona?” panted Dottie.
  “Just haul, will you?” snapped George. “If we’re gonna do this, let’s do it!”
Once the heavy beam was raised far enough, Melinda pulled the gate open and led the team into the fort itself. They were in an ovular courtyard that was open to the sky, which was surrounded by a balcony of wooden planks on all sides. The gallery spanned the fort’s upper level, meeting above the middle of the large courtyard, where there was a circular railing that bordered a large hole, which looked down into the courtyard below. Ahead of them, on the lower level, there was a raised platform and another lowered metal gate, but whatever was beyond that was not plainly visible.
  “I was told that you lot are a bunch of heroic monster hunters,” Boyard yelled down to the team, from his new position leaning against the railing of the upper terrace. “You look more a load of wet blankets to me. Let’s see, shall we? Get yourselves up here now! Monsieur Leboulle, the gong!”
Mona and her friends could not see the man to whom Boyard had spoken, but there was a resounding crash as the unseen striker hit a large metal gong with some force. Mona was still at a total loss to explain what was going on.
  “That means the time’s started, so let’s get up there!” Melinda encouraged the team urgently. “Come on, this way!”
Melinda sprinted off yet again, this time towards a spiral staircase that was located through a small door in the wall of the fort. Mona ran after her, followed by the other four members of the disorientated, puzzled team.

When they reached the fort’s upper level, Mona noticed that there were several stout wooden doors spaced around the walls, presumably leading into the building itself. Boyard was waiting by one of these doors, and Melinda led the team towards him. Mona had time to glance briefly around her. She noticed a tall watchtower jutting up from the far end of the fort, as well as a large gong mounted on the wall nearby, beside which was standing a short, pot-bellied man in a stripy sailor’s vest. This, presumably, was the mysterious Leboulle to whom Boyard had spoken before. Melinda stopped running when she reached Boyard, and stood next to him, a smile plastered on her face. As Mona and her friends arrived at the meeting place, two dwarfs shambled up to them and began to shove them into a straight line.
  “So, here we all are, then,” Boyard smiled falsely at the team, then he turned to Melinda. “Is this really the best you could manage? This lot are barely out of nappies!”
  “They may be young, but they’re all accomplished monster hunters,” Melinda replied. “They’ll be able to handle your challenges easily, Boyard.”
  “Don’t make me laugh,” Boyard scoffed. “Right, which one of you pathetic, half-baked idiots is Dottie, then?”
Dottie stepped forward nervously. Boyard grinned at her disarmingly, as the two dwarfs prodded her towards him.
  “I don’t often take a shine to people who come invading my fort,” Boyard said to Dottie. “But I like you, Dottie. In fact, I like you so much that I’m going to give you a present.”
Boyard grabbed Dottie’s left hand and hoisted it above her head. There was a metal pole sticking out of the wooden door, to which a set of handcuffs was attached. Boyard placed Dottie’s wrist into the cuffs and snapped them shut.
  “Look, it’s a little bracelet,” Boyard chuckled nastily. “And, if you play your cards right, it’ll lead you to a key. Of course, if you’re stupid or slow enough to get trapped in there, my friend Monsieur Leboulle will take you away and bang you up until the end of the challenges. Right, are you ready?”
  “Er, I guess so,” Dottie replied uncertainly, completely at a loss to understand even remotely what was going on.
  “Good,” Boyard grinned smarmily. “Jacques, the door!”
One of the dwarfs stepped forward and got ready to fling open the wooden door. He was the taller of the two; he had short blond hair, and was wearing a blue jacket. Boyard took hold of a timing glass full of blue liquid, which was mounted on the wall.
  “Your time starts now!”
Boyard flipped over the glass and stalked off, just as Jacques flung open the door and shoved Dottie through it.

Melinda directed the team’s attention to a monitor screen mounted high up on the wall, where an image of Dottie was visible. The pole to which she was handcuffed twisted and turned in a winding route through the cell in which she found herself, and was littered with valves that needed to be unscrewed. The challenge required much ducking, twisting and crawling, and Dottie had no choice but to begin her difficult journey.
  “Now, once she gets to the end of the route, she’ll be able to get the handcuffs off the pole, grab the key and then escape,” Melinda explained.
  “Is getting the key the object of the game?” asked Mona.
  “Yes, that’s what you have to do in all of Boyard’s challenges,” Melinda explained. “Once you win four keys, you’ll be able to open the door to the treasure room.”
  “And that’s where the gold is, right?” Mona queried.
  “Of course.”
  “Do you think it’s important that we win this game, Mona?” asked Lily.
  “Well, whenever we’ve been in situations like this before, we’ve had to win the game in order to escape back to our own world,” Mona reasoned. “I think we should assume that that’s the case here.”
  “Well, I hope we win four keys quickly, then,” grumbled George.
  “Dottie’s nearly won our first one already!” exclaimed Lawrence excitedly. “Look!”
Everyone looked at the monitor screen, where they could see Dottie making excellent progress towards the key. She had unscrewed all the pesky valves with speed and skill, and now she was on the home strait. The pole, however, forced Dottie to crouch down on the floor suddenly, where it ran through a pool of brown, murky water.
  “Come on, Dottie, you can do it!” Lawrence yelled encouragingly.
  “I can’t put my hand in there!” Dottie winced. “The water looks like it’s full of crap.”
  “It’s not real crap!” Mona cried. “Come on, Dottie, you don’t want to get locked in, do you?”
Dottie braced herself, winced, and pulled her hand through the water. It was cold and grimy, but the sensation lasted for a mercifully short time. As soon as she was able, Dottie whipped the handcuffs off the pole, grabbed the key, which was hanging from a hook in the ceiling, and ran out of the cell.
  “Wow, that’s fantastic!” Melinda exclaimed, taking the key from Dottie. “That’s our first key, so now we only need three more!”
  “Yeah, we can count,” George remarked dryly.
Jacques suddenly popped up and unlocked the handcuffs from Dottie’s wrist. Melinda then passed him the key, and the two of them ran off along the wooden gallery.
  “Where are we going now?” asked Lawrence.
  “It must be time for the next challenge,” Mona deduced. “Come on, we’d better follow them if we ever want to get out of here.”

Boyard was waiting outside another of the fort’s wooden doors. Melinda took up her place beside him, while the others were prodded into place by the two dwarfs.
  “Hey, cut that out, will you?” George snapped, attempting to wave away the smaller dwarf, who had black hair and a white shirt. “Go and prod someone else!”
  “Well, it looks like you were wrong about the team’s abilities, Boyard,” Melinda remarked teasingly. “We’ve got our first key already!”
  “Beginner’s luck,” Boyard snarled unpleasantly. “You won’t be so lucky this time, though. George!”
  “Yeah, what?” George asked irritably.
  “You’re about to go and meet one of my friends,” Boyard said in his sneering tones. “He’s been looking forward to meeting you, so don’t be surprised if he takes your hand in a good, firm grip. Jacques, the door!”
Jacques herded George into position and prepared to open the door, as Boyard prepared to turn over the timer.
  “Your time starts now!” Boyard declared, as he flipped over the glass and stalked off once again.

George found himself in a small cell, where a large, muscular man was sitting behind a table. He was holding a lever in an arm-wrestling grip, and this was connected to a device inside a small cage which allowed a key to be raised and lowered. George could not see the beefy man’s face, for it was covered with a black mask, but his intentions were made clear as he gestured for George to sit opposite him at the table. Gingerly, George sat down and grabbed the lever. He then felt a searing pain in his arm as his brawny opponent began to push the lever.
  “George, stick your other hand into that small cage!” Melinda instructed. “If you push the lever over far enough, the key will be lowered so that you can reach it.”
Fighting desperately against the strongman, George stuck his fingers into the cage and began to grope for the key. Unfortunately, it was well out of his reach, and there was little he could do to change the situation.
  “This is hardly fair,” Mona remarked. “That man is enormous, and obviously incredibly strong. How is George supposed to beat him?”
  “That’s the way Boyard works,” said Melinda. “If you’re expecting him to make things easy for you, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
  “But that’s no way to run a contest like this,” Lily opined. “Hasn’t Boyard got any concept of fair play?”
  “Well, not really,” Melinda smiled apologetically.
  “The time’s running out,” reported Lawrence casually.
  “He’ll never do it!” Dottie exclaimed. “If only Boyard had sent you in, Mona, you could have transformed and then beaten that guy.”
  “That’s why I’m not in there, I expect,” said Mona. “I’m sure Boyard’s well aware of my abilities, and he’s not going to give me any opportunities to exploit them if he can possibly help it, is he?”
  “He’s not going to do it!” Melinda exclaimed. “Come out, come out!”
George did not need to be told twice. He abandoned his struggle and tore from the room, rubbing his aching right arm.
  “Forget that, man,” George scowled bitterly. “There was no way I could’ve beaten that guy.”
  “Don’t feel bad about it, George,” Melinda sympathised. “He is the strongest man in France, after all.”
  “What?” George expostulated. “Then how the hell was I supposed to…”
  “Come on, we have to move on now!” Melinda exclaimed, sprinting on her merry way once again, her chest bouncing vigorously up and down as she did so. “Time’s ticking by, and we’ve still got three keys to win!”

Melinda took the team to the circular railing in the middle of the fort. Mona peered down into the second courtyard below, where she saw three large tigers prowling around the stone floor, which was decorated with a large panel of letters. There was also a contraption that looked like a birdcage in the courtyard, and a black woman with a whip, who seemed to be keeping an eye on the tigers. Mona’s mind digested all of this with interest.
  “Well, Boyard, we’re not doing too badly so far,” Melinda grinned annoyingly at the surly master of the fort, who had been awaiting their arrival. “One challenge won, one lost.”
  “Yeah, well it’ll soon be one challenge won and all the rest miserably failed!” Boyard sneered. “Now, where’s Mona?”
  “Here I am,” Mona volunteered.
  “I hear you’re quite a clever dick, Mona. Well read up on everything supernatural, aren’t you?”
  “Yes.”
  “Well, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test,” Boyard smiled disarmingly. “I’m sending you up to the watchtower to see that crazy old coot, the Professor. He’ll ask you a riddle. If you get it right, you win a key. If you get it wrong, the key goes into the sea and then George will have to swim for it!”
  “What?” George exclaimed. “Why me? I’ve only just done something!”
George’s remarks were pointedly ignored, as Jacques dragged him off to get changed into a wetsuit. The second dwarf ambled up to Mona and held a hand out to her.
  “Denny!” Boyard commanded. “Take her to the watchtower!”
Mona took the dwarf’s hand and allowed him to lead her up to the high circular tower, which had large windows all around the wall of its watch-room. Mona was interested at the prospect of meeting this Professor character – perhaps she would be able to get some information out of him.

Back at the circular railing, Boyard laughed as Mona and George were both led off, before stalking off himself once more, leaving Melinda, Lawrence, Lily and Dottie standing around the railing.
  “Now, team, how do you all know each other?” Melinda asked suddenly. “You all go to the same gym, don’t you?”
  “Er, no, we fight ghosts and monsters together,” Lily replied.
  “I see,” said Melinda. “And is there a natural leader amongst you; someone who tends to direct the rest of you when you’re fighting evil?”
  “Definitely Mona,” said Dottie.
  “Are there any challenges you’re hoping to avoid today?” Melinda asked.
  “All of them,” said Lawrence.
  “Do any of you have any fears or phobias you don’t want to come across during today’s exploits?” Melinda persisted.
  “Well, you can count me out of anything with bugs!” said Lily with feeling.
  “Ooh dear, you might not enjoy the ordeals later on if Boyard finds out about that,” Melinda chuckled irritatingly.
  “What?” Lily demanded, a slight edge of panic in her voice. “What do you mean by that?”
  “I’m sure we’ll find out before too long,” Dottie portended.
  “Now, hopefully Mona will be up there getting our second key by now, but if she doesn’t get it then it’ll go into the sea, and George is going to have to swim for it,” Melinda explained. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed for them.”

Denny the dwarf led Mona up a winding spiral staircase to a small circular tower room, where the Professor was waiting for her. He was a very old, bespectacled man, who wore a red and black jacket and matching hat. He was standing behind a wide lectern, which seemed to contain a book of some kind.
  “Ah, bonjour Mademoiselle,” the Professor greeted Mona in wizened tones. “Bienvenue. Je suis the Professor.”
  “Er, bonjour,” Mona ventured. “You do speak English, don’t you?”
  “Oh, oui, oui,” replied the Professor. “But I’ve been here for so long that I sometimes forget what language I should be speaking.”
  “Ah, then this is France, is it?” Mona deduced.
  “My dear child, this fort is in the Bay of Biscay, just off the west coast of France,” the Professor replied. “Didn’t you know that?”
  “No, I don’t really know very much about what’s going on here,” Mona confessed. “My friends and I were brought here by some powerful magic, but we really have no idea why or how.”
  “Ah, that sounds fairly typical of the Master,” the Professor sympathised. “He’s kept me locked up here for so long, I can’t even remember when my incarceration began.”
  “Why don’t you try and escape, then?” Mona asked.
  “Boyard always leaves one of his dwarfs to guard me,” the Professor sighed. “Speaking of which, I think Denny is getting restive. I’d better ask you my riddle. Now, you know what happens, don’t you? If you get the answer right, you get a key, but if you get it wrong then the key goes out of the window. Right, listen carefully.”
Denny had mounted a small platform beside Mona, and was now holding a timing device full of sand. Mona thought she might be able to get some more information out of the Professor in a few moments, but first she knew that it would be beneficial to answer his riddle correctly if she could, so she concentrated hard and listened carefully.
  “Beware the evil bite of the creature of the night,” the Professor read from his book. “On you his thirst he’ll slake, and your soul he’ll gladly take.”
  “A vampire,” Mona answered at once, without even pausing for thought.
  “Ah, trés bon,” the Professor beamed, handing Mona a key with a large float attached to it. “Take that down to your friends, and good luck.”
Denny began to lead the way back down the spiral staircase. Mona turned to follow him, and was shocked to see another figure behind her. There was a second old man in the tower, this one dressed in the uniform of a sea captain. He was fast asleep in a rocking chair. Mona had not noticed the sleeping man before, for he seemed to be surprisingly well hidden within the far reaches of the small, round room.
  “Jesus Christ, who’s that?” Mona exclaimed with a start.
  “Oh, that’s just Captain Baker,” the Professor replied airily. “He’s been in this tower even longer than I have – he’s been asleep for about thirty-five years, I think. Not many people notice him, though. Even I tend to forget he’s there for several months at a time.”
  “Oh, right,” Mona said blankly. She was now very aware that Denny had left her and the Professor alone, so she decided to speak with him further. “Listen, Professor, I bet you could escape from here if you really wanted to. Why don’t you overpower Denny when he next comes up, take his key, steal a motorboat, and power your way to freedom?”
  “But I’m just a feeble old man,” the Professor lamented. “I can’t overpower my guard.”
  “He’s only little,” Mona pointed out.
At this point, Denny came back up the stairs to see what was keeping Mona. She allowed him to take her hand and lead her back downstairs, leaving the Professor with plenty of food for thought.

As soon as Mona emerged from the watchtower, Melinda called across to her from the circular railing.
  “Did you get it?” she yelled.
  “Yeah, here it is,” Mona shouted back, holding her prize aloft.
  “Wow, that’s fantastic!” Melinda enthused. “Now we only need two more keys, so let’s get to the next challenge and win one!”
Melinda led Lily, Dottie, and Lawrence towards the next challenge, while Mona continued to follow Denny. Jacques reappeared with George, and they all met up with Boyard outside the next cell.
  “Well, Mona guessed your riddle, Boyard,” Melinda grinned.
  “And I got into that wetsuit for nothing,” George griped quietly.
  “Yeah, I thought she might get that one,” Boyard chuckled, fixing Mona with a sinister smile. “But I’m not beaten yet. Where’s Lily?”
Lily stepped forward nervously, hoping fervently that her challenge would not involve any invertebrate life.
  “You’re looking very hot,” Boyard said to Lily. “So I’m sending you somewhere where there’s plenty of cold, refreshing water to cool you down. You’ll find it in buckets above your head, and I’m sure you’ll be treating yourself to a nice, refreshing shower before too long. Jacques, the door! Your time starts now!”

Despite the fact that they had now got well and truly absorbed into the game, Mona and her friends were still worried about just how and why they had been transported to Fort Boyard. The one who held the answers to both of these questions, in fact, was Mum-Ra. He had a mission to fulfill, and he wanted Mona out of the way so that he could carry it out unhindered. In the solitary seclusion of his desolate pyramid tomb, Mum-Ra awoke. He shuffled from his coffin and approached his enormous simmering cauldron.
  “Show me!” Mum-Ra commanded the magic waters. “Are Mona and her allies being kept busy?”
Mum-Ra saw the image of Lily entering one of Boyard’s cells. He took in the features of Mona and her other allies as well, and also the two keys that Jacques was holding. The evil mummy frowned slightly.
  “I’ve overslept,” he muttered self-reproachfully. “They have progressed further with the challenges than I would have liked. Still, no matter. There is yet plenty more to keep them busy before the Gold Rush begins, and the challenge ends. There is certainly enough time for me to search Mona’s insignificant little town thoroughly enough to discover where these oh-so-important teenage consorts, Arnold and Helga, are to be found. And then, of course, it will be my duty and my pleasure to destroy them both! Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mum-Ra, the Ever Living!”