Crinkle: I know you are called Wibble, but who are you exactly?
Wibble: I am everything, and I am nothing. I was born in the superstitious minds of the forest dwellers many thousands of years ago and I live on in their imaginations.
Crinkle: Does that mean that you aren’t real?
Wibble: What is ‘real’? Is a rainbow real? Is a shadow real? I am like happiness and sadness, love and hate. I am a spirit. I exist in the mind. I am here as long as you believe in me.
Crinkle: Why are you known as Wibble?
Wibble: I have had many names. Some know me as the Green Man or the Jack-in-the-Green, a being which is half tree and half human. In many old churches you will find my image carved in wood or stone.
Crinkle: Why do you have three eyes?
Wibble: I could tell you that my third eye provides me with psychic vision or...
I could say that keeping my third eye open while I’m snoozing is very useful when talking to boring people but...
To be perfectly honest with you, the third eye has no purpose beyond impressing visitors to my booth.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t impressed anyone yet as the inhabitants of Forest View won’t come near me. They probably think that I’m a charlatan.
Crinkle: Why is your tent near Forest View?
Wibble: I set up this booth in an attempt to bring some magic back into the lives of the townsfolk. All they are interested in is money and possessions. They are blind to the natural beauty around them.
When you arrived here you saw a wondrous spectacle in the sky as the day began to draw to a close. For them, the setting sun is nothing more than a signal to light their lamps.
I had hoped that they would come to see me out of curiosity and I could open their eyes to the wonders of nature. I think, however, that my time is wasted.
One should always obey the laws of the land, even if those laws may seem to be completely wrong.
I want you to approach the Forest View Town Council and explain to them why you are concerned about what is happening to the Greenwood.
The Town Chambers are open this evening so that members of the public can talk to the councillors about any issues which concern them.
As the members of the council have no time for me, my attendance would do more harm than good.
Come back here afterwards and we can decide what to do next.
Crinkle: Wibble! That was a complete waste of time! Those people are so stupid!
Wibble: Now let me guess why you are so annoyed, Crinkle.
Firstly, the councillors patronized you because you are a child and, secondly, they were not interested in saving the Greenwood.
Crinkle: I don’t wish to be rude but, if you knew what would happen, why did you send me?
Wibble: I told you that the law has to be obeyed. I wanted you to try the official approach first. I also wanted you to discover for yourself the attitude of those who hold power.
Crinkle: Does that mean that we have to become terrorists now and make bombs and attack Hawk’s factories at night?
Wibble: Crinkle! I hope you don’t find that idea attractive! No, there are other ways we can go about things.
Crinkle: What do you have in mind?
Wibble: I want you to go back to the Town Chambers.
Crinkle: What! I don’t want to talk to those silly people again! Besides, they will have gone home by now.
Wibble: Remember that I have some powers which are denied to mortals. I am going to perform two little tricks.
First of all, I will drag Time backwards a little to the point where the councillors have yet to see you.
Crinkle: But how will that help? They will still treat me as a little girl.
Wibble: And, secondly, being a master of metamorphosis, I am going to change your appearance.
Crinkle: Really? Well, I’d quite like a different nose, smaller teeth, and if you could make me a bit taller...
Wibble: There! I’m afraid I don’t have a mirror, but I can promise you that you look just a little different.
Off you go. Let’s see how the council treat you this time!
Wibble: Good evening, your ladyship. I trust that Lady Hobbs-Grantley is not too offended by the humble nature of my modest surroundings.
Crinkle: Lady Hobbs-Grantley would be most grateful if your Wibbleness could restore her to her former self!
Wibble: Well, well! I thought you would enjoy being a lady!
Crinkle: One day perhaps but, at the moment, I still enjoy climbing trees, splashing in streams and getting muddy.
Wibble: As your ladyship commands...
Welcome back, Crinkle. How was it?
Crinkle: How was it being a lady? Or how was it meeting the council again? The answer to both is “YUK”.
Can we start making bombs now?
Wibble: No! We have no need to resort to illegal methods to achieve our ends. There are ancient powers that we can make use of.
All we need to do is reverse the influence of the Mindstone by replacing the bad thoughts with good thoughts. A well-behaved team of Clunkers will be useless to Hawk.
Crinkle: How can we do that?
Wibble: The Mindstone is located in the northern part of the Greenwood beneath Gloomy Pond. Its thought-absorbing qualities were well known to the ancestors of the forest folk.
Instead of being imprisoned or punished in other ways, wicked people were tied to a post on the edge of Gloomy Pond until their wickedness had been devoured by the Mindstone.
A magical triangle was created to confine the influence of the Mindstone so that it could not leak out and infect other minds. At each vertex of the triangle is a power point.
The apex is the Wishing Ring, an ancient stone circle. The other two vertices are energy-laden monoliths, the Hellsbrew Stone and the Wolfbreath Stone.
By removing the Mindstone, Hawk are able to circumvent the power of the magical triangle.
Crinkle: All that makes sense to me, but how can we fill the Mindstone with good thoughts?
Wibble: Simple. We will get lots of the inhabitants of the forest to assemble at the three power points and think their very best thoughts.
I will talk to some of the characters that you have already met and you can look for those who live near the triangle. This map will help you.
I will make sure that all the paths are well sign-posted.
I will also give you a magic pendant. The closer you are to the Mindstone, the brighter its stone will glow.
Crinkle: Is there no limit to your magical powers?
Wibble: You’ll have to ask yourself that question. Remember that my very existence, my nature, and my powers are completely dependent upon the imaginations of mortals such as yourself.
Crinkle: There’s just one problem. It’s getting dark now and my grandfather will be worrying about me.
Wibble: Have you forgotten that I can drag Time backwards? It’s now the beginning of the day and you left your grandfather only a few moments ago.
Crinkle: That explains why I feel as if I’ve just eaten a huge breakfast.
