Chopping blades, scorpion nests, giant spider webs?no one makes traps better than Wily Snare. He has never seen the sun or a blue sky or even his parents. Wily Snare lives underground, creating traps to keep treasure-seekers away from the gold in an ancient wizard's dungeon. He spends his days mopping up giant-slug slime, avoiding poison darts, and herding undead skeletons. It's all he knows. But then an unusual band of adventurers?an acrobatic elf, a warrior with a magic arm, and a giant made of moss?successfully defeat Wily's traps. And they want the ultimate treasure: Wily himself. His skills can help them invade every other dungeon in the kingdom. He might even aid their fight against the Infernal King, whose gearfolk and prisonauts terrorize the land. But for a boy who has never been outside, dungeons aren't nearly as scary as the world above-or an evil king who builds the trickiest traps of all...
Thanks to a crew of misfit treasure-seekers, Wily Snare has assumed his rightful place as King of Panthasos. He knows how to be a great trapsmith?devising and building various contraptions to keep plunderers at bay?but he has no idea how to be a good king. And he hasn't escaped his past. Stalag, the mage who once kept him locked away, is amassing an army of stone soldiers to seize the kingdom. His only hope is to tame a lair beast-a giant creature that's their only chance against the evil wizard's army. But first, Wily and his friends will need to survive the journey to the strange and deadly Below, where the lair beast dwells.
Wily has never seen the sun or a blue sky or even his parents. He lives underground, creating traps to keep treasure-seekers away from the gold in an ancient wizard's dungeon. He spends his days mopping up giant slug slime, avoiding poison darts, and herding undead skeletons. It's all he knows. But then an unusual band of adventurers-an acrobatic elf, a warrior with a magic arm, and a giant made of moss-successfully defeat Wily's traps. And they want the ultimate treasure: Wily himself. His skills can help them invade every other dungeon in the kingdom. He might even aid their fight against the Infernal King, whose gearfolk and prisonauts terrorize the land. But for a boy who has never been outside, dungeons aren't nearly as scary as the world above-or an evil king who builds the trickiest traps of all...
Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?
Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so'and Aldwyn is happy to play along.
He just has to convince the other familiars'the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert'that he's the powerful cat he claims to be.
Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia.
On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure'an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor'is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.
