Suddenly the sun’s light dimmed and a dark shadowy shape formed over him.   Willey had no time to react as a brown feathered bird swooped down and tore the letter from his fingertips, leaving behind a torn strip of paper with the Teapot’s nickname on it.   It disappeared so quickly that Willey feared that the secrets of his adventure had been stolen before it had really had a chance to begin!

“Aahh! …HELP!”  Willey shouted, almost jumping out of his skin.   He had been given the fright of his life by a large grubby hand placed on his shoulder.

“Shush! Don’t be alarmed”, whispered the deep, recognisable voice of Phil Dug’It.  To Willey’s relief it was his best mate Eddy’s dad.   “Is there anything I can do to help?”  Mr Dug’It glanced around the edges of The Gambit in case anyone else was watching.   Willey hesitated.  The letter had warned him to be careful and he knew that if you ever told Mr. Dug’It anything it was not very long before he told it to someone else.

 

 

“Let’s get you home” said Mr Dug’It, leading Willey back to Keystone Cottage and in through the open front door.   “Only us!” he shouted; but there was no reply.  The house appeared empty.  “Park yourself here”, said Mr Dug’It, pointing to one of the chairs by the kitchen table.  He glanced into the living room, wandered back down the hallway and paused at the bottom of the winding wooden staircase.

PSSST! ..  came a noise from one of Mr. and Mrs. What’Notts annoying ‘memory loss’ air fresheners; it made them jump.

“Willey, listen up …..”

Willey did listen up because he was intrigued to know what Mr Dug’It might tell him.   Mr Dug’It was now sitting opposite him at the kitchen table and Willey had to lean forward to hear him.   “I think I have an idea of what you are up to, and if I can, I would like to help”.   Willey was taken aback, as he hadn’t been expecting an offer of help.   He thought very carefully before answering Mr Dug’It’s questions, as he did not want to give away all his secrets.

“Is there anything you are particularly looking for?”

“Have you lost anything?”

“Is there anything you would like me to dig up?”.

The last request was no surprise, as Mr Dug’It never missed the opportunity to do some digging!  He smiled hopefully across the table.  There was an awkward and rather lengthy silence as Willey considered his reply.

“Be careful who you trust”, the Orange Envelope had said, “as the forces working against you will be watching and could be hiding around any corner!”

‘Surely Mr Dug’It must have seen the bird fly away with part of my letter’, thought Willey, ‘and if he hadn’t, why did he ask so many searching questions?’  Phil Dug’It was a friend of the family and Willey’s best mate’s dad, so if he couldn’t trust him who could he trust?

All things carefully considered, Willey decided that he might need some help so he told Mr. Dug’It everything, except for his journey beneath the circus tent and the Talking Teapot’s nickname – just in case Mr. Dug’It was not as friendly as he appeared, or anyone else was listening!

 

After another lengthy pause the silence was broken when Mr Dug’It almost choked on the Knick-Knack Nut biscuit he had just helped himself to.   His coughing prompted clattering footsteps and in walked the ‘fading’ figures of Mr and Mrs What’Nott.  Neither of them explained where they had come from - in fact, they had been hiding at the top of the stairs in an attempt to find out what Willey and Phil Dug’It might be up to.

 

“There you are Willey! Thanks for bringing him back Phil”, they said politely, at the same time.   “No problem”, coughed and spluttered Phil, whilst Mrs What’Nott poured him a glass of water and Mr What’Nott tried to piece together the fragments of the conversation across the kitchen table.  Coughing and spluttering again, Mr Dug’It, unable to speak, left the cottage.   PSSST! went the ‘memory loss’ air freshener again, spraying him as he went.

Willey attempted to follow.  “Oh no you don’t Willey What’Nott!  It’s time for lunch and you are not going out till you have finished every bit of it” said his Mother sternly.

“What you need to remember about Phil Dug’It” concluded Mr What’Nott, “is that he can’t be trusted with anything ……”

 

 

Chapter 6                                                       

It’s the Talking Teapot!

 

“To find the Talking Teapot you must consult the Trickletown Time Map, displayed in Blue Street Town Hall.”  That’s what the orange envelope had said.

“You must find the Talking Teapot and together visit the Knick-Knack Tree.  Here Knicky-Knacky will help you and explain what must be done”.

Guarded in the innermost chamber of Blue Street Town Hall was one of Trickletown’s greatest treasures: ‘The Trickletown Time Map’.   The Map was so much more than just a means of finding your way around Trickletown Valleys’ Crater.  It looked forwards and backwards through time - and if you got lost it could look for you.

When the Fuddles first arrived here, Trickletown Valleys’ Crater was a dangerous place.  The Mists of Time were battling to take control, and when the Fuddles entered the Mists they were often never seen again.   There was no map to help them, so after much deliberation the Trickletown Committee decided to do something about it.   They ordered a large piece of Replicating Parchment and set about making the Trickletown Time Map.

Work was soon under way, creating every house, tree, stream and landmark.   Finally, the Map was complete and became the living, beating heart of Trickletown.

 

By this time the innermost chamber of Blue Street Town Hall and the Trickletown Time Map had virtually been forgotten about  –  Mr.& Mrs. What’Nott’s loss of memory spray had done its work and there were no Fuddles to be seen.  Willey walked up and stood on a green, glowing platform and placed his fingers in the slot provided.  The map even had its own voice, soft and reassuring: “Welcome Willey, my records tell me that this is your first official visit to the Time Map; would you like any help?”  The control panel flashed to attract his attention.  “Umm, no thank you”, replied Willey after reading the instructions in front of him, which simply said “ENTER REQUEST”.   

 

 

Taking care to spell each word correctly, Willey did just that:

I wish to find the Talking Teapot, he typed.

Willey pressed the confirmation button and eagerly looked towards the map for a reply.  The map was alive.  Willey could see the shadowy figures of Fuddles moving in front of him.  Even a line of clouds drifted over the map’s position.

A green light blinked in the centre of the Time Map, inside the ring of oak trees at the centre of The Gambit.   Willey looked puzzled.  He repeated his request again, just in case he had made a mistake, but the green light blinked in exactly the same position.   Willey studied the information on the screen in front of him and then realised to his surprise that the location of the Talking Teapot had been requested earlier by none other than Mr. Phil Dug’It!

The soft, reassuring voice spoke again: “Your request has been successfully completed.  Do you have any questions?”

“No thanks”, said Willey, tapping the screen where it said TOUCH TO EXIT.   He was now in such a hurry to leave that he was half way down the corridor when he heard the voice again.  “Please follow the exit signs and close the door on your way out.  Thank you”.

 

Once outside Willey wasted no time in returning to The Gambit and arrived very quickly, thanks to the speed of his solar-powered street bike.

When Willey reached the spot of the Talking Teapot’s location, he found a large crowd gathering.  To his dismay Phil Dug’It had beaten him to it and there were already several deep holes around the area - Mr Phil Dug’It was the centre of attention and causing quite a commotion.

Ignoring everyone, Phil continued to dig, until finally…

 

CLUNK!

All the bickering stopped.   Something was definitely there and it was not very long before everyone realised who it was!  “It’s the Talking Teapot!” they all said together.  This was not a welcome discovery.   The appearance of the Talking Teapot jogged the Fuddles’ memories and they began to remember the story the ’nasty’ Mr What’Nott had told them - that the Talking Teapot was to blame for the disappearance of The Million Wiggle Fish Pond.

 

Mr What’Nott’s ‘made-up story’ went something like this …..

“It happened on a dark and stormy night when a mischievous comet called Climaticus was circling the Earth.   The Mysterious Mists of Time were swirling around and the Talking Teapot was helping me secure the Million Wiggle Fish Pond beneath The Gambit.   I was just about to secure the Key in place with the Emerald Ring when suddenly, and without warning, the Talking Teapot stole the Hour Glass Key from the Key Stone and ran away with it into the mist.”

From that day onwards, the Million Wiggle Fish Pond, the Hour Glass Key, and the Talking Teapot were never seen or spoken about again.

 

 

Mr Dug’It, whether he intended to or not, disappeared head first into the hole, leaving a pair of wobbly legs for all to see….

 “HELP! Get me out of here – I’ve got it!” cried a muffled voice, deep in the bottom of the hole.

Taking control of the situation, the Mayor of Trickletown, Lord William Watch’Over, shooed everyone away from the hole.   Pointing to the Cubonyento Brothers, who were big and strong, he bellowed, “When I count down from THREE I want you to pull him up and out of there!” They did as they were asked and bent over to grab what they could of Mr. Dug’It.   “THREE!  TWO!  ONE!” shouted everyone.  “PULL!”  They knew the Cubonyento Brothers were strong, but not this strong! Mr Dug’It was catapulted into the air from the hole and flew right out of his trousers!  He was caught by the crowd - but the Talking Teapot soared high up to the edge of the atmosphere and then began to fall!  “Catch it!” everyone cried.   The Cubonyento Brothers held out Mr Dug’It’s trousers – on which it bounced - and when the Talking Teapot eventually landed it fell into Lord William Watch’Over’s arms!

The Mayor stood very still, not daring to move but nothing happened, so he lifted the Teapot’s lid and looked inside … then he peered down the Teapot’s spout for signs of a blockage … and then he waited for any sign of life.   There was still nothing happening, so he tapped the Teapot’s body.   “Perhaps he’s dead!” shouted someone from the crowd.   The Mayor was just about to tap the Teapot again when… SUDDENLY…

 

 

a pair of eyes opened on the Teapot’s body, making everyone jump.  The Teapot fell to the ground and bounced, but before it could bounce again, two teapot-sized arms and legs sprang out from the Teapot’s body and it started to run!

It dived between legs and it ran over shoulders.  It was chased into Key Stone Cottage and out the other side, over the large granite Key Stone and down a shallow stream.  By the time it had reached the edge of Inner Street there was nobody left standing to chase it.   The last of those brave enough to try was Phil Dug’It and he ended up sitting in the stream, wearing just a pair of spotty green underpants.

 

The Talking Teapot was gone and Willey needed to go after it.   He was getting back on his bike when his best mate Eddy Dug’It whizzed past him, riding his own metallic green street bike.   “We have to go after the Teapot, Willey!” shouted Eddy. “I knew my Dad was up to something - he never goes out in such a hurry unless he has something to dig up!”

 

 

The Talking Teapot’s trail led up the Emerald Pathway to the Emerald Forest; the forgotten home of the Knick-Knack Tree.   The Pathway was not easy to follow - it was littered with fallen trees and rocks in an attempt to stop anyone from following it - but this made the ride even more exciting as the boys continued their race to the edge of the Mist.   There was very little sign of the Teapot - only the occasional footprint to let them know they were on the right track.

 

The light was beginning to fade and although the boys were keen to find the Talking Teapot the Mysterious Mists of Time were closing in and tugging at the wheels of their street bikes.   Eddy skidded to a halt.   “It’s no good Willey, the Mists are getting too thick and I daren’t go on any further.   Dad was desperate to ask the Teapot lots of questions but it looks like they will all have to wait”.

Willey stopped too.   He had wondered why Eddy was so keen to chase after the Teapot and was now considering what questions Mr Dug’It was hoping to ask.   His thoughts were interrupted by Eddy shouting.  “Come on Willey, the Got-A-Lott Museum!  We have to get hold of a Time-Line!”

Eddy was right.  The only safe way to enter the Mysterious Mists of Time was to use a Time-Line and the only place where they knew they would find one was in the Halls of the Got-A-Lott Museum.