The Ninja Quest Read online

  You make up a silly song as you go.

  “The Sensei’s gonna build a Doooooojooo!”

  There’s no one around to hear you, so you sing as loud as you can. You raise your voice to the tall mountain peaks that surround you.

  “The Dojo, the Doooojooooo!”

  A sound like thunder rumbles in the valley, and you see a wall of snow rushing down the nearest mountainside. It’s an avalanche!

  You’ve got to get to safety, fast! Desperately, you look around for a place to avoid the frozen wave that’s headed your way. Then you spot a cave entrance up ahead, and you run as fast as your flippers can carry you.

  You reach the cave just as the wall of snow descends from the mountain and piles up on the ground right outside. The massive pile of snow blocks the entrance to the cave. You’re trapped!

  “Heeeeelp!” you cry.

  You try to dig your way out with your grappling hook but it’s a slow, hard task. Hours pass until, suddenly, part of the wall begins to melt in front of you. A glowing orange light shines through the snow. What’s going on?

  Sensei steps through a hole in the snow, carrying a flaming torch.

  “Sensei, I am so glad to see you!” you say gratefully. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

  “Thank the power of the elements,” he says, nodding at the torch.

  “I guess my quest is over,” you say.

  “Perhaps not,” Sensei says. “I should not have sent you out without teaching you how to master the elements. If you agree to be my student, I will teach you what I know. Then you may begin your search again.”

  “It would be an honor to be your student,” you say, bowing to Sensei.

  THE END

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 68.

  Sliding across the ice sounds like fun, but you’re not sure if it’s safe.

  “Let’s stay on land just to be sure,” you tell the black puffle, and it nods in agreement.

  As you walk on, you notice that the ice on the river is very thin and breaking in parts, so you know that you made the right decision. But you’re starting to wish that your search wasn’t taking you so long. You’ve come all this way, and the only sign of fire you’ve seen has been the black puffle.

  You keep going, and soon you come to another mountain. A waterfall flows straight down the side. The water is a beautiful shade of blue, and you’re struck by the sight. It’s snow and water in perfect harmony. But there’s still no sign of fire.

  Discouraged, you find a rock, sit down, and look at the map. Just past this mountain, the river runs to the sea.

  “What now?” you wonder out loud.

  Then you remember the book of haiku that Sensei gave you. He said that the verses could help you when you didn’t know what to do. You decide to give it a try.

  You take the book out of your pack and open it to a random page. The black puffle looks over your shoulder, curious.

  “Maybe I should let you pick the page for me,” you say.

  If you let the puffle open the book, go to page 43.

  If you open the book, go to page 63.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55.

  “Let’s just drop down to the ledge,” you suggest. “I’m anxious to keep going.”

  You attach your grappling hook firmly to the top of the ledge and dangle the rope down to the bottom.

  “Be careful,” Amy warns as you shimmy down. The drop to the ledge is longer than you thought. The rope doesn’t quite reach the bottom, so you have to jump to reach your shoe. When you hop off, you stumble and roll across the ledge, knocking off your boot. You try to stop yourself, but you nearly tumble off the ledge! You grip a nearby rock and try to pull yourself back up.

  To your relief you see Amy standing above you. She holds out her flipper.

  “I’ll pull you up!” she tells you.

  As Amy hoists you up, your backpack slides off your shoulders. Your instinct is to save it, but then you risk falling over the side again. Safely on your feet, you watch the pack crash onto the rocks below.

  Amy hugs you. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” you reply. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  Amy turns to show you her back—and her pack is gone, too. “I lost it when I slid down the rope to get you. I was in a hurry and wasn’t being careful.”

  You sigh. “We can’t go on without our equipment. We’ll have to go back to the Gift Shop and get more supplies.”

  Amy agrees that it’s the best thing to do. You go back to the Gift Shop and restock.

  You follow the path back to the wide mountain. But when you get to the top and look at the mountains in the distance, you don’t see the volcano.

  “That’s so weird,” Amy remarks. “All of the mountains are snowy. And there’s no smoke.”

  “Maybe we’re on top of the wrong wide mountain,” you say nervously. “I don’t know. We’ve done our best, but maybe the place Sensei is looking for just doesn’t exist.”

  THE END

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 48.

  You decide to throw some snowballs and see what happens. You whip two toward the direction of the noise you heard and wait.

  Everything’s quiet for a few seconds. Then . . . splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

  A whole bunch of snowballs comes flying through the tunnel at you. You duck and the snowballs harmlessly hit the walls. But now you’re more curious than ever.

  You run toward the snowballs and are startled to see a ghost standing in front of you! At least, you think it’s a ghost at first. But then you quickly realize it’s just a penguin wearing a sheet.

  “Nice costume,” you say. “What are you doing in here?”

  “This is noooooot a costuuuuuume,” the penguin replies in a spooky voice. “I’m a ghooooooooost!”

  “Well, you look like a penguin in a sheet,” you say.

  The penguin sighs and pulls off the white sheet she’s wearing. You were right! Underneath she’s just a regular purple penguin.

  “Guess you caught me,” she says. “But please don’t tell anyone, okay?”

  You’re confused. “I don’t get it. Why are you pretending to be a ghost?”

  “My name’s Pia. My friends are always pranking me,” she explains. “I’ve been looking for a way to get them back. Then I heard the rumors about the ghost and I thought I would have a little fun.”

  “Everyone out there is pretty scared,” you say. “Maybe you should come out with me and tell them the truth.”

  “But I’m just getting started!” Pia protests. She looks thoughtful for a moment. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. With your help, I can play the greatest ghostly prank ever. We’ll be famous!”

  Pia’s offer is tempting. You love a good prank.

  If you convince Pia to go with you, go to page 12.

  If you agree to help her with her prank, go to page 73.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55.

  “Let’s take the path,” you say. “It’s steep, but it’s probably safer than dropping down to the ledge with a rope.”

  The two of you make your way down the steep trail. It’s not easy because you’ve only got one boot and with every step you risk losing control and sliding down the path. But you make it safely to the ledge.

  You put on the boot, and then you and Amy carefully make your way up the side of the volcano. You reach the volcano’s peak without any more trouble.

  “So the volcano represents fire, and there’s snow all around,” you say. “Now we just need to find some water.”

  “You mean like that waterfall over there?” Amy asks, pointing.

  You turn and see a blue waterfall flowing down the mountain right next to the volcano.

  “This is it!” you cry. “The waterfall is water. It’s the perfect spot for Sensei’s Dojo!”

  You and Amy high-five. Then you take out the map and mark everything you see so that Sensei will be able to find it. Even better, from your spot on the volcano you can
see a shortcut back to the main area of Club Penguin. You mark that path on the map, too.

  Happy and excited, you and Amy hurry back to tell Sensei the good news. He’s just as happy to see you.

  “This is wonderful,” Sensei says as he studies the map. “You have found the perfect location. Good work, young penguins. You have the heart and spirit of the ninja.”

  Sensei waddles over to a wooden chest and comes back with two white robes and white belts.

  “This robe is called a gi, and it is worn by ninjas-in-training,” he says. “I have one for each of you. The white belt shows that you have begun your first level.”

  “So when can we start training to be real ninjas?” you ask.

  “First, I must build the Dojo,” Sensei replies.

  “But that could take a really long time,” Amy points out.

  “Yes, can’t you please teach us now?” you ask. “We could help you build the Dojo while we’re training.”

  Sensei smiles. “Your eagerness is pleasing. But you must have patience. I have been alone for a very long time, and I must have time to think when I build my Dojo.”

  You and Amy both look sad, and Sensei notices.

  “However, you both show great promise,” he says. “Let us do this. If you can answer my riddle, I will take you on as my pupils right away. If not, you must wait until the Dojo is built.”

  “We’ll do it!” you and Amy say together.

  “Here is the riddle,” Sensei says. “You are the brother of the penguin standing next to you. But the penguin standing next to you is not your brother. How is that possible?”

  If you answer, “Because the penguin is my sister,” go to page 35.

  If you answer, “Because the penguin is my cousin,” go to page 60.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 72.

  You take the path to the left and see another dead end up ahead. You’re about to turn back when something glints off your flashlight beam.

  Curious, you move toward it. It’s an old wooden chest that’s filled with glittering jewels and coins! You can’t believe your luck. You’re rich!

  You start to think of all the items you can buy, and then you think of something else—how cool would it be to share this with other penguins? You can bring the chest into Town and let everyone take something.

  Then you remember—you’re on a quest for Sensei. You can’t stop now, can you?

  If you take the treasure, go to page 17.

  If you go back and take the path on the right, go to page 61.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10, 41.

  “Sensei, I’ve made my decision,” you announce.

  The ninja master walks toward you.

  “Where will you travel, young penguin?” he asks you.

  You point to the map. “I’m going to head to the river,” you tell him. “Water and snow meet on the riverbank. I’ll travel along it until I find the third element, fire.”

  Sensei nods. “The choice is yours. I hope you find what you seek.”

  You hoist the pack onto your back once more. “I will do my best, Sensei,” you promise. Then you head off in the direction of the river.

  There’s excitement in every step as you make your way across the snow-covered paths. You don’t want to let Sensei down.

  It takes more than an hour to reach the river on the map. Water rushes past you, and it’s so clear and clean that you can see the rocks on the river floor underneath. You check the map and see that the current—the direction the water is flowing—leads right out to the sea, and you’re not far from shore. That’s probably not the best way to go. You’re more interested in the path of the river that winds through the mountains. You think you’ll have a better chance of finding some undiscovered fire element there.

  On the map, the river looks very long. You can walk alongside on foot, but using a motorboat will be a lot faster. You know you can get a boat down at the Dock, but that will take you way out of your way. Is it worth it?

  If you walk along the river, go to page 15.

  If you go to the Dock and get a boat, go to page 50.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 62.

  You decide that blasting a hole through the ceiling will be the easiest thing to do. You head back the way you came and find the room with the cream soda barrels. First, you roll one barrel through the tunnels until you get to the hot spring.

  It’s hard work, and you’re puffing and panting by the time you reach the spring. But you need one more barrel for your plan to work. You go get one more barrel and stop about ten feet away from the hot spring. Then you push as hard as you can, rolling the barrel faster and faster . . . and then you let go.

  Smack! The second barrel crashes into the first barrel, which slams into the hard rock wall.

  Boom! Both barrels explode, sending cream soda splashing everywhere.

  You look up and see a small hole in the ceiling. Not bad! Maybe you can make the hole bigger with one more blast.

  As you move to get two more barrels, the tunnel starts to shake and rumble around you. You fall to the ground and tumble across the floor, nearly sliding into the hot spring.

  That was a close one! You slowly get up and see that the tunnel has collapsed around you. The entrance is blocked by crumbled stone. Your only hope is the small hole you’ve managed to blast in the ceiling. You climb up a pile of rubble and start chipping away.

  “Help!” you cry, hoping someone will hear you. If they don’t, you might be stuck here for a long time.

  THE END

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29.

  “That’s easy,” you reply. “If I am the brother of the penguin next to me, and that penguin is not my brother, then the penguin must be my sister.”

  Sensei nods, smiling. “Well done,” he says. “You are clever as well as brave. You both will make wonderful ninjas. We can begin your training immediately.”

  You and Amy high-five again. “All right!”

  “There is one thing I must ask,” Sensei says. “You must keep this training a secret from other penguins. I cannot train others until the Dojo is ready.”

  You and Amy nod solemnly. “We promise, Sensei,” you say together.

  Then you smile at each other. Your adventure in the mountains is over. But a new one is about to begin!

  THE END

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16.

  You walk slowly toward the black puffle.

  “Hey there,” you say. “How are you?”

  The black puffle stops in its tracks. It turns and stares at you. You hold out your backpack filled with O-berries. “How about a snack?”

  Curious, the black puffle slowly hops toward you and sniffs the backpack. Then its eyes light up and it starts munching on the O-berries.

  “Cool!” you say. “So, I’m going on an important quest. Want to come with me?”

  The black puffle looks at you, intrigued.

  “I’ll pack lots of O-berries for our trip,” you promise.

  That seems to do the trick. The black puffle hops after you. You fill your backpack with more O-berries and continue your journey.

  Before long, you come to a mountain and see that the river flows underneath it. You walk into the mountain cave and are soon plunged into total darkness.

  “Grub!” you cry. “I forgot to bring my flashlight.”

  Suddenly, a warm glow fills the passageway, and you see that the black puffle is letting off a fiery flame.

  “Thanks!” you say gratefully. With the black puffle lighting the way, you move on. As you get farther into the mountain, you hear the sound of rushing water ahead of you.

  When you get closer, you realize that the river has widened into a huge whirlpool. There’s no space to walk around it on your side of the river. You’ve got to get across. But how?

  You look around the cave. Long stalactites are hanging down from the ceiling. You might be able to grab onto them and swing across.

  There’s also a jagged stalagmite on the other side of the whirlpool. You have a ro
pe in your backpack—if you lasso the rock on the other side, you could climb across using the rope.

  If you swing on the stalactites, go to page 56.

  If you use your rope, go to page 67.

  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11, 79.

  You and Amy change into your climbing boots and begin your trek over the mountain. The path up the mountain is covered with snow, but it’s not too steep and you’re able to safely hike to the top.

  “Whoa, look at that view,” Amy says, gazing out across the snow-covered valley.

  “It’s beautiful,” you agree. Then you nod toward a nearby boulder. “We should rest before we keep going.”

  “I’m pretty thirsty,” Amy says, nodding.

  You open your backpack to get your water canteen and the haiku book that Sensei gave you spills out. It lands on the ground, open to a page. You read the haiku out loud.

  “The view from above

  Can reveal many new things.

  What is it you see?”

  “Whoa, that’s cool!” Amy says. “It’s like a special message just for us!”

  You gaze out into the distance. “The haiku seems to be saying that we’ll see something important from up here,” you add. “But what? I just see a lot of snow and more mountains.”

  There are three mountains across the frozen field, and they’re all about the same height.

  “Let’s keep looking,” Amy suggests. “Maybe we’re missing something.”

  You look again. There’s the hazy, orange sky. There are the three mountains. But wait a minute . . . two of the peaks are topped with snow, but the one in the middle isn’t.