The master spy or Puss in the boot adventures

The way of the ninja 29, Part 120

As Mer-mer and Shadow-cat approached the palace under the cover of darkness, the glowing fireflies illuminated the path before them. The grand structure loomed ahead, its spires stretching into the inky sky like skeletal fingers.

They crept stealthily towards the outer walls, keeping to the shadows cast by gnarled trees that lined the perimeter. Suddenly, Shadow-cat froze, her whiskers twitching.

"Wait," she hissed. "Do you smell that sickly sweet scent?"

Mer-mer paused and sniffed the air. A cloying fragrance wafted on the breeze, growing stronger as they drew nearer to the palace gardens. Peering through the iron bars of the gate, they spotted the source - a dense tangle of rose bushes with petals the color of blood.

"Those must be the poisoned thorns Kira warned us about," Mer-mer murmured. "One scratch and it's lights out."

Scanning the garden, they spotted a narrow gap in the deadly foliage. With careful steps and held breath, the feline ninjas wove their way through, narrowly avoiding the lethal barbs that seemed to reach out to snag their fur.

At last they reached the palace walls. Two burly guards stood watch by the heavy wooden doors, their armor glinting in the moonlight. Mer-mer noted the wickedly sharp halberds they gripped.

"We'll have to find another way in," Shadow-cat whispered, eyeing the thick ivy vines that snaked up the stone walls.

Mer-mer frowned. "Didn't Kira say the ivy was poisonous too?"

"Yes, but look." Shadow-cat pointed with a claw. "See that window ledge? If we can get a running start and leap to it, we can avoid touching the vines altogether."

Mer-mer took a deep breath and nodded. Backing up several paces, the cats sprinted forward in unison, powerful haunches launching them into the air at the last second. For a heart-stopping moment, they sailed over the deadly ivy, paws outstretched. Then they landed with barely a sound on the narrow ledge.

"Nice moves," Mer-mer purred approvingly as they slipped through the open window.

But their relief was short-lived. No sooner had they crept into the dim corridor than they found themselves facing a new dilemma. The floor was paved with tiles of different shapes and colors, arranged in an intricate pattern.

He remembered Kira's warning about traps and held out a paw to stop Shadow-cat from proceeding. Fishing a small pouch from his satchel, he sprinkled some dust on the tiles ahead. It settled into the cracks, revealing a pattern.

"There," he whispered. "The square red tiles are safe. Avoid the round blue ones or the floor will give way."

They began a careful dance, hopping from one red square to another. Shadow-cat's tail suddenly brushed against a blue tile and they froze as the sound of grinding gears filled the air. The floor beneath the tile collapsed, revealing a pit filled with razor-sharp spikes!

Hearts pounding, they leaped over the gaping hole and raced down the corridor. The walls were lined with elaborate paintings of nobility, their eyes seeming to follow the intruders. Just as they passed a particularly large portrait of a frowning duke, a whoosh sounded and an arrow embedded itself in the wall inches from Mer-mer's ear!

"The paintings are booby-trapped!" Shadow-cat gasped as they zigzagged to avoid the onslaught of arrows shooting from the eyes of the figures.

At last, they reached the end of the hall. The door to the King's chamber loomed before them, guarded by two sentries who seemed to be dozing at their posts. The cats slunk forward, ready to slip past them, when a blood-curdling screech pierced the air!

A skeletal bird swooped down upon them, its bony wings rattling as a ghostly blue light emanated from its eye sockets. Mer-mer swung his satchel at the undead creature, knocking it aside.

Mer-mer quickly rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a pouch of shimmering purple dust. With a deft flick of his paw, he sent the dust flying towards the dozing guards. It settled over them like a magical veil, and their snores deepened as they slipped into an even deeper slumber.

"Nice work," Shadow-cat whispered approvingly. They silently pushed open the heavy wooden door, its ancient hinges creaking softly as they stepped into the King's opulent bedchamber.

Moonlight spilled through the stained glass windows, casting an eerie kaleidoscope of colors across the plush carpets and gilded furniture. There, in the center of the room on an ornate pedestal, sat an elegant golden cage. Within it perched the most beautiful bird they had ever seen - a majestic creature with feathers that shimmered like precious gems. Its intelligent eyes studied them curiously.

"Ooh, visitors!" it trilled in a melodious voice. "How lovely!"

"Shhh!" Mer-mer warned as they crept closer, reaching for the latch on the cage door. 

"Password?" it squawked imperiously.

Mer-mer and Shadow-cat exchanged panicked glances. They hadn't anticipated the bird would demand a secret code. Shadow-cat cleared her throat.

"Um...open sesame?" she tried hopefully.

"Incorrect! Intruders! Guards!" the bird screeched at an ear-splitting volume. 

Just as Mer-mer reached for the cage's latch, a chilling rattle filled the air. The skeletal bird from the hallway soared into the room, flapping its bony wings frantically and letting out a piercing shriek of alarm!

"Intruders! Thieves in the King's chamber!" it screeched.

The feline ninjas watched in horror as the skeleton bird's cry was answered by an ominous rumbling that seemed to emanate from the very walls. Suddenly, the stones of the floor rippled and shifted, rising up to form a humanoid shape. Scraps of decaying robes clung to bleached bones as the figure took form - a gruesome necromancer with eyes that burned an unearthly green.

"You dare to defile my King's sanctum?" the necromancer hissed, raising a fleshless hand crackling with dark magic. "You will pay for your insolence!"

Before Mer-mer and Shadow-cat could react, the necromancer slammed his palm against the floor. A shockwave of eldritch energy pulsed outward, and the cats found themselves paralyzed - their paws stuck fast to the now-glowing stones beneath them.

Mer-mer strained against the magical bonds, but it was no use. They were trapped! 

"Well, well," the necromancer rasped, his voice as dry as old parchment. "It seems I've caught a pair of little mice in my trap."

The chamber door burst open and a squad of palace guards rushed in, their swords drawn and faces twisted with anger.

"Seize them!" the captain of the guard commanded.

Rough hands grabbed the immobilized felines, hauling them up and binding their paws tightly behind their backs with coarse rope. The guards dragged them out of the room and down a torch-lit stairway, deeper and deeper into the bowels of the palace.

At last they reached a dank, musty dungeon. The heavy iron door creaked open and the ninjas were tossed unceremoniously into a dank, mouldering cell deep beneath the palace. The heavy iron door clanged shut with a resounding finality, leaving them in oppressive darkness broken only by the flickering light of a single sputtering torch.

"This is all my fault," Mer-mer groaned, his head hanging low. "I should have been more careful. Now we'll never complete our mission."

Shadow-cat pressed reassuringly against his side. "Don't lose hope. Kira has trained us well. We'll find a way out of this."

They spent the long, sleepless night huddledtogether for warmth on the damp stone floor, racking their brains for an escapeplan...