Teddy, Grubby, and Gimmick crash in the middle of the Great
Desert. When Grubby asks what's so great about it, Gimmick explains
that it's called Great because of it's size. It stretches all
the way from Trembly Fault, to the Mushroom Forest. He purposes
they go out and search for firewood to fuel the Airship. They search in seperate directions
for a while, and when they meet up again, they come to the conclusion
which they were bound to realize from the start: There's no wood
in the Great Desert! After discovering this, Gimmick trips over
a rock and realizes it's not just a rock, it's coal. If they
could find more, they could use it to fuel the Airship. There's
an earthquake and Grubby almost falls through the cracks, but
he grabs onto a large rock growing out of the side of the wall
and holds on until Gimmick and Teddy lift him out. When Teddy
asks what just happened, Gimmick explains it was Trembly Fault.
Grubby is relieved to hear it wasn't his "fault" and
Gimmick tells them what an earthquake is.
Another earthquake causes the three friends to fall into the
cracks where they find tons of coal. They start to dig and "Sing a Song" and begin to hear something like
a growl or "blup". Suddenly, about five Mudblups appear out of the walls and capture
them. They are brought before the Mudblup King who accuses them
of stealing their coal. He then orders Grubby to be put to work
while Teddy and Gimmick are locked in a prison cell. Here they
meet Prince
Arin, the son of King
Nogburt. Gimmick asks how someone of royalty ended up in a Mudblup
dungeon.
Prince Arin explains that his sister, Princess Aruzia had been kidnapped. He was searching
for her when he met up with the Mudblups. He fought a brave battle
though outnumbered and they took him prisoner. Teddy, always
looking on the bright side of things, reminds them that with
the three of them putting their heads together, they'll come
up with an escape plan that much sooner. But Arin assures them
there is no way out of the tunnels and they will probably be
in the caves for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, Tweeg and L.B. are still on the go. They try to
climb a steep hill, but L.B. loses his grip and they fly back
to the bottom.
Back in the Mudblup dungeon, dinner is served. Everyone is waiting
for everyone else to take the first taste. Teddy agrees to it,
being the heroic Illiop that he is, and tries hard to swallow.
He describes it as discusting, but sort of familliar. Then, a
man in a trench coat holding a video camera walks into the dungeon.
He aims the camera at the Mudblup and the light from the camera
blinds him. When Teddy asks what's going on, Prince Arin explains
that the Mudblups lived in darkness all their lives, and detest
bright lights. The Mudblup goes bezerk and rips the cell door
from it's place in the wall, setting the three captives free.
They run through the caves being chased by the Mudblups. Finally
the ceiling caves in and they help each other to the surface.
Gimmick claims he's got a clever idea to free Grubby if they
can get back to the Airship.
Gimmick declares that he has no idea where the Airship is, but
after a short while, they notice it out in the middle of the
Desert just as they left it. When they reach it, Gimmick tells
his companions to eat of his applesauce. They follow the orders,
curious of what they need applesauce for. Gimmick takes out a
bunch of candles from a chest in the bottom of the Ship. Finally,
he puts the candles inside the empty applesauce jars to make
lanterns. When they get back to the caves, they use the lanterns
to scare off the Mudblups. They find Grubby in the kitchen and
he tells them he made them Root Stew for lunch and talked the
Mudblups into giving them extra portions. He said the Mudblups
love his Root Stew and begs to take a last batch of it along
for the trip. "You never know when you might want a snack."
They run back through the caves and climb the rock face again
to reach the Airship. When they lift off, they tell Prince Arin
they would much rather look for his sister than look for the
Treasure. Prince Arin thanks them gratefully and they set sail
for...well, his sister.
Later, Grubby offers them some of the Root Stew he had made earlier.
They try to decline, saying they were full and making excuses,
so as not to hurt Grubby's feelings. When he insists, they dump
the Stew over the edge of the Ship when he turns his back.
When Tweeg notices the Airship, he thinks Gimmick now has an
airforce to go along with his army and navy. Just as he vows
that if he never gets his hands on Gimmick, may something strike
him from above, the Root Stew from the Ship lands on him. The
four Princess Rescuers ride off into the distance as Tweeg mumbles
under his breath.
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