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If I'm understanding right: Gathers, who does not live in the US, is not familiar with the song Free Bird, and thus assumed that if the bird needed to be freed, there would be a cage involved. Understandable. (Please do not blame her for that, Dave.)
But yes, I know the song, took the cue, and went out of my way to work in a reference to the lyrics.
In other news: Does everyone remember the name of the band who played the song that provided the theme for this level?
Dillon looked at the shimmering mirror. He saw that most of the suggestions were for Hendricks. Rather than trying to whisper to his now-diminutive friend, he showed Hendricks directly what he was supposed to do.
Hendricks walked back to Jeff. "What crew is waiting for you?"
"Oh yes. I should have explained. There's a construction crew. They're building a new city, and I'm supposed to bring them the supplies they need. The problem is those supplies are so heavy I can't take off. If I could just get into the air, I'm sure I'd be okay. It takes a lot to get off the ground, but once I'm up my wings can hold me."
"Hmm. There are these tea cakes here that make you larger. I could give you one of those if you want. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. I never trust the food you find in these places. But Dillon seems to be okay so far."
"I don't know. I don't usually eat animal food. Sugar isn't good for my digestion. And making me bigger would make me heavier, too. I think I'd still be just as stuck. But if you think it could work, I'd be willing to give it a try."
"We'll see what our goblin friends think."
"Goblins?"
"Yeah. ... Don't ask. But they've been helpful so far." Hendricks considered the other thing he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, he was still small and on top of the table, so he wasn't really in a good position to go throwing boulders around.
Dillon, meanwhile, tried to run away. He figured he could always come back and get Hendricks if it worked. He jogged over the nearest hill, then kept going towards the horizon. He went over another hill, then another. It seemed like he was getting away! He kept going... And found, over the next hill, the table with Hendricks and the bird.
Next, he took a closer look at the hole at the base of the tree. There wasn't much light, and he was too big to get in close, but it did appear to be a rabbit's den.
He got up and cautiously moved closer to the chess players. Fortunately, they seemed engrossed in the game. As he approached, he noticed that many of the players seemed... odd. One of them seemed to be a giant egg. Another was, for some reason, dressed as a walrus.
At the far end of the board, the Red Queen shouted "Off with her head!"
"I don't think that's your line, Dear," the Red King called back. "That's the
other Red Queen."
"Oh yes, thank you, Dear. I didn't mean to be so tart."
Dillon sifted through the chaos to find the White Knight. The knight had fallen off his horse and landed on his head. Dillon helped him back up, noting as he did so that the horse was equipped with many unusual things, including a mousetrap and an empty beehive. But he had to admit he'd seen stranger things in this place. Maybe they served a purpose here.
"Thank you, my gaily dressed friend. Well met."
Dillon gave a courtly bow. "Humbly glad to be of assistance, sir knight. But if I might ask a favor in return?"
"Certainly, certainly. What can I do for you?"
"Can you give me directions out of here?"
"Directions? Hmm. I'm sorry to say I don't think I could be of much help. I can only move a few squares at a time. I would suggest you go ask Alice, but she just left, and I'm not entirely sure how. I think you need to speak to the White Rabbit."
"Well, I'm just glad you're not talking backwards. Someone warned me you might."
"Yes, someone got very confused about that a while ago. It's our books that appear backwards, at least from your perspective."
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Going to have to leave off here. Sorry. Wrote up as much as I could, but brain is crashing and I'm getting dizzy and it's getting worse.