Skylanders Universe: The Mask of Power Gill Grunt and the Curse of the Fish Master Read online

  The Mask of Power

  Gill Grunt

  and the Curse

  of the Fish Master

  The Mask of Power

  Gill Grunt

  and the Curse

  of the Fish Master

  by Onk Beakman

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

  (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre,

  Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

  Penguin Books, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue,

  Parktown North 2193, South Africa

  Penguin China, B7 Jiaming Center, 27 East Third Ring Road North,

  Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Written by Cavan Scott

  Illustrated by Tino Santanach

  © 2013 Activision Publishing, Inc. Skylanders Universe is a trademark and Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  ISBN: 978-0-698-15987-7

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Chapter One: Gut-Rot, the Pirate Chef

  Chapter Two: Opening the Book of Power

  Chapter Three: The Mask of Power

  Chapter Four: Last Chance Cove

  Chapter Five: Kraken Attack

  Chapter Six: Captain Grimslobber

  Chapter Seven: Pirate Fight

  Chapter Eight: The Kingdom of the Merpeople

  Chapter Nine: King Scalebeard

  Chapter Ten: The Guppy Gates

  Chapter Eleven: The Mine Under the Sea

  Chapter Twelve: Under the Spell

  Chapter Thirteen: Grimslobber Escapes

  Chapter Fourteen: Pirate Battle

  Chapter Fifteen: The Water Fragment

  Special Excerpt from The Mask of Power: Lightning Rod Faces the Cyclops Queen

  About the Author

  Onk Beakman knew he wanted to be a world-famous author from the moment he was hatched. In fact, the book-loving penguin wrote his first novel while still inside his egg (to this day, nobody is entirely sure where he got the tiny pencil and notebook from).

  Growing up on the icy wastes of Skylands’s Frozen Desert was difficult for a penguin who hated the cold. While his brothers plunged into the freezing waters, Onk could be found with his beak buried in a book and a pen clutched in his flippers.

  Yet his life changed forever when a giant floating head appeared in the skies above the tundra. It was Kaos, attempting to melt the ice caps so he could get his grubby little hands on an ancient weapon buried beneath the snow.

  Onk watched open-beaked as Spyro swept in and sent the evil Portal Master packing. From that day on, Onk knew that he must chronicle the Skylanders’ greatest adventures. He traveled the length and breadth of Skylands, collecting every tale he could find about Master Eon’s brave champions.

  Today, Onk writes from a shack on the beautiful sands of Blistering Beach, where he lives with his two pet sea cucumbers.

  Chapter One

  Gut-Rot, the Pirate Chef

  For as long as anyone can remember, and maybe even a bit longer than that, pirates have terrorized the magical realm of Skylands. They plunder and pilfer here, there, and everywhere, raiding villages, stealing treasure, and leaving chaos in their wake. They do what they please and don’t care what you think about it.

  However, contrary to popular opinion, a pirate’s life isn’t all fun, laughter, and yo-ho-ho-ing from dawn to dusk. Yes, most enjoy the plundering and pilfering, and the raiding and treasure bits aren’t bad either, but there is one drawback to being a pirate. The food is disgusting. Your average pirate meal consists of sheep-wool porridge, followed by sheep-wool biscuits, and rounded off by a generous helping of sheep-wool surprise dessert. The surprise is that the dessert isn’t made of sheep wool at all. It is made from raw onion and drenched in mud gravy.

  The problem is that most pirate chefs don’t actually like cooking. They’d rather be above deck plundering and pilfering than messing around in the kitchen. That is, except for Gut-Rot, chief chef of the Fearsome Fang.

  The Fearsome Fang was a ship to be, well, feared. If you spotted it approaching, your best course of action was to sail away. Very fast. No, faster than that. The pirates of the Fearsome Fang were the toughest bunch of buccaneers you’d ever have the misfortune to meet. Pirates everywhere dreamed of serving aboard the Fearsome Fang under her captain, the infamous Captain Grimslobber. Grimslobber was so good at pirating that he didn’t just have one wooden leg; he had two. He didn’t just have one gold tooth; he had a mouthful. He even didn’t just have one parrot; he had an entire flock.

  Gut-Rot knew it was an honor to serve such a legendary captain. Because of this, he wasn’t content to just serve up the usual sheep-wool muck. He wanted to be different. He wanted to produce the finest pirate cuisine possible.

  There were only two problems with all this. First up, Gut-Rot couldn’t cook. He thought he could, but his food was so appalling that the crew of the Fearsome Fang longed for sheep-wool porridge.

  Secondly, Gut-Rot had lost his taste buds in a game of Skystones years ago and so couldn’t even taste how bad his grub actually was. He just assumed it was delicious.

  One day Gut-Rot decided to make crab ice-cream sundaes with seafood wafers. Can you think of anything grosser than crab-flavored ice cream? Yet Gut-Rot toiled all morning and was just about to add the final ingredient—the crabs themselves.

  Wiping his hands on his stained apron, Gut-Rot approached the larder where the barrels of crabs were kept. This was going to be his greatest triumph yet, a meal that would be talked about for years to come. However, as he drew nearer to the barrels he paused. He could hear knocking. Was it someone at the galley door? No, it was coming from the barrels. Inside the barrels. It sounded as if the crabs were trying to get out.

  But that was ridiculous.

  Wasn’t it?

  The barrel at the top of the pile shuddered. The knocking got louder and louder, the sound of hundreds of tiny claws scraping against the wooden lid becoming unbearable.

  Suddenly, the barrel lurched forward and smashed into the floor, seawater and snapping crabs splashing everywhere.

  “Bilious barnacles
!” shrieked Gut-Rot. “Supper will be ruined—ruined, I tells ye!”

  Gut-Rot reached for a broom, but froze when he felt hundreds of beady little eyes on his back. He turned slowly, gasping as he realized that every single crab in the galley was looking straight at him.

  Instinctively, he took a step back. The crabs took a step forward. He gulped and took another step back. The crabs followed. He raised the broom as a warning. The crabs raised their claws. This time, Gut-Rot did more than gulp. As the crabs began surging toward him, he screamed and ran.

  The crew of The Fearsome Fang looked up from their chores as the door to the galley flew open and Gut-Rot charged out onto the deck. He was screaming and shouting, and was covered in snapping white crabs from head to foot.

  “Aaaaaaargh!” he yelled, trying to pluck a crab from his eyebrow. “They be after me! ‘Undreds of ‘em!”

  Sure enough, hundreds of crabs flowed out of the galley, chasing after Gut-Rot, following his every step. Worryingly, some even carried all manner of kitchen knives in their claws. Bread knives, carving knives, and vicious-looking cleavers all waved in Gut-Rot’s general direction.

  Beside himself with fear, Gut-Rot made for the ship’s plank. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he raced along its length and, in a final bid to escape the rampaging crustaceans, threw himself overboard, plunging into the clouds below.

  As one, the mob of angry crabs streamed after him, kitchen utensils glinting in the sunshine. Without stopping, every last one of them raced off the plank and plummeted after their quarry. Soon, there wasn’t a single crab left on the Fearsome Fang.

  The crew looked at each other in bewilderment. What had they just witnessed? Had Gut-Rot really been chased off the ship by their supper?

  Behind them a door opened and Captain Grimslobber stepped onto the deck, at least four parrots on each shoulder. He strode over to the side of the ship and peered overboard, watching his chef tumble away followed by the mass of snapping crabs.

  “That be a shame,” he said, turning back to his crew. “A real pity, truth be told.” Grimslobber’s face broke into a nasty, golden smile. “Ah well, mateys. Anyone for takeout?”

  Chapter Two

  Opening the Book of Power

  Gill Grunt loved being a Skylander. Why wouldn’t he? He was the only Gillman who had ever been invited to join the courageous band of heroes who had pledged to protect Skylands from danger. Also, it meant that Gill had traveled to hundreds, no thousands, of the floating islands that made up this magical realm. From the moment he was born, Gill had loved to explore. The great thing about Skylands was that you never ran out of new places to go. No one knew how many islands there were in Skylands. In fact, Spyro, Gill’s best friend, had told him that there was an infinite number of islands floating in Skylands’ endless blue sky. Some were peaceful and calm, others were wild and perilous, but all brought adventure.

  But even that wasn’t the best thing about being a Skylander. The best thing was his friends. Gill was always happiest when he was jumping into action with his fellow Skylanders, sharing adventures and working together.

  Take today, for example. Today, the Skylanders had been working hard to rebuild the Eternal Archive after it had been attacked by Kaos, the evil (and distinctly smelly) Portal Master who was always trying to take over Skylands. The guy never stopped. He never even took a day’s vacation. No matter how many times the Skylanders defeated him, the bald twerp came back with yet another diabolical scheme.

  Gill looked up at the towering, newly repaired walls of the Eternal Archive. The Archive housed every book that had ever been written. Kaos had wanted to get his stubby little hands on a very special volume, but Spyro had seen him off, helped by Stealth Elf, Trigger Happy, and Drill Sergeant. Unfortunately, the Archive itself had taken quite a battering, but the Skylanders had rallied together to patch it up. Gill had to admit that they’d done a pretty good job. He might even compose a song about it. All Gillmen loved to sing. Unfortunately, they were completely unaware that their singing voices sounded like toads gargling slimy seaweed. Toads with bad colds, at that. The problem was that none of Gill’s friends had the heart to tell him how dreadful he sounded. They just made their excuses and left as soon as possible.

  Standing in the shadow of the Archive, Gill took a deep breath, ready to burst into song. Bizarrely, his friends began to scatter. Fright Rider, for example, jumped onto the back of his skeleton steed and raced off into the distance. Terrafin gulped and burrowed beneath the ground, while Slam Bam encased himself in ice to muffle the noise. Even Eruptor, who had been happily relaxing in the sun after a hard day’s work, suddenly remembered that he had to go and wash his hair. This was particularly odd as Eruptor didn’t have any hair.

  Yup, Gill loved his friends, but he couldn’t help but find them a little strange at times!

  Gill grinned as he saw Spyro bound out of the Eternal Archive. Spyro would listen to his song. Spyro always loved Gill’s singing, even if he did have an odd habit of listening with his claws in his ears.

  “Hey, Spyro,” Gill said, clearing his throat. “Listen to this . . .”

  “No, Gills,” Spyro cut in, his eyes wide with excitement. “You have to come listen to this. Master Eon is about to open The Book of Power!”

  “What’s the Book of Power?” Gill asked as he followed his friend down to the secret vault that was housed deep below the Eternal Archives.

  Spyro explained as they scampered toward the vault door: “It’s what Kaos was trying to steal. Master Eon says the Book of Power is one of the most important books in Skylands history.”

  “But what makes it so special?”

  “You’ll see,” said Spyro, darting through the door.

  Gill couldn’t help but be impressed. The vault was huge. Brushed metal walls stretched high above them, three brilliant beams of light shining down from the domed ceiling. Master Eon was standing in the middle of the spotlight talking to Wiggleworth, the chief curator of the Eternal Archive. Wiggleworth was almost as majestic as the vault itself, standing in a gleaming robotic suit of armor. Of course, Gill knew that the real Wiggleworth was actually a tiny bookworm sitting in the heart of the armor.

  As the pair approached, Eon turned and smiled. In contrast, Eon’s assistant, the loyal but eternally terrified Hugo, wrung his hands in barely disguised panic.

  “What’s wrong with Hugo this time?” Gill whispered to Spyro, not expecting Eon to overhear. He should have known better. While the Portal Master was unbelievably old, there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

  “Hugo is worried, Gill,” Eon intoned, stepping aside to reveal a leather-bound book on a lectern. “And for good reason.”

  Gill gasped. “Is that the Book of Power?” he asked in complete awe.

  “Y-yes,” stammered Hugo, visibly shaking at Eon’s feet, “although its full title is The Book of Power and Other Utterly Terrifying Stuff.”

  “Yes, thank you, Hugo,” Eon said.

  “Volume Three,” Hugo added.

  Beside Eon, Wiggleworth tilted his robotic head. “Are you sure about this, Eon?”

  The Portal Master nodded gravely.

  “I’m afraid so, old friend. If Kaos was after the book, the Skylanders need to know everything.”

  Gill and Spyro exchanged a worried glance. This sounded serious.

  Eon turned to face the book and raised a gnarled hand. As if by magic (which of course it was), the heavy leather cover started to creak open by itself. A gust of stale wind rushed out from the yellowing pages, smothering the room in musty-smelling dust. Gill coughed, trying to clear his throat, his eyes watering. Beside him, Spyro gasped. Wiping his eyes, Gill looked up. At first the brittle pages had been blank, but now a picture was forming, drawn by unseen hands. Instantly, Gill recognized what it was—the Core of Light, the ancient monument that kept the Darkness at bay across Skylands. But as they watched, the image shifted to something unimaginable, something unthinkable. The sketch now showed the Cor
e utterly destroyed, evil-looking clouds swarming over the sky.

  “No!” whispered Spyro, not wanting to believe such a dreadful event could ever happen. But the image was already changing. Gill felt his scales crawl. The book was now showing a picture of the most hideous mask he had ever seen.

  Chapter Three

  The Mask of Power

  “Oh, no.” Hugo gulped, hiding behind Eon’s robe. “The Mask of Power. I can’t bear it.”

  “What is it?” Gill asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the terrifying picture. The Mask looked like the face of a monster from your worst nightmares. Actually, it looked like the thing that gave the monster from your worst nightmares nightmares. It glared back at them, sharp fangs crammed into its snarling mouth, jagged horns erupting from its forehead.

  “The Mask of Power is completely and utterly evil,” Eon said. “It was created millennia ago by a guild of spell punks.” The image on the page changed once more, now showing sketches of eight mischievous spell punks huddled around a cauldron.

  “But spell punks don’t usually work together,” pointed out Spyro.

  “Which is why the Mask is so dangerous. The spell punks created it for their king, a follower of the Darkness who wanted to destroy the Core of Light. Combining their powers, they conjured up the Mask, which is said to be able to tap into all known Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Life, Undead, Magic, and Tech.” As Eon recited the Elements, the eight gems set into the ghastly Mask seemed to glow in turn.

  “What does it do?” Gill asked, feeling his stomach tighten as the Water gem flared.

  “No one knows for sure,” Eon replied. “But we know what happened when the king tried on the Mask of Power.” In response to his words, the pictures on the page began to shift, displaying scenes Gill had hoped he would never see. The Forest of Life on fire. The oceans boiling away to nothing. Trolls rampaging through every town and village in Skylands. Zombie sheep on a woolly rampage.