The Oz Series
Chapter 66
Part of the Ozma of Oz: The Land of Ev and the Nome King arc.
What happens
Dorothy obeys Billina, runs behind the blinded Nome King, unbuckles his jeweled belt, and carries it to her place beside the Tiger and Lion, fastening it around her own waist. The Chief Steward rushes in with a sponge and bowl of water to mop the broken eggs from his master's face, and once the King regains his sight he threatens to make the Scarecrow suffer and to transform everyone into scorpions. When his magic words produce no effect, the Chief Steward notices the King is not wearing his magic belt; the King discovers it is gone and cries that he is ruined. Dorothy steps forward wearing the belt, welcomes Ozma and the Queen of Ev back to the land of the living, credits Billina with saving them, and announces they will leave and return to Ev, while her friends cheer and the defeated King creeps back onto his throne.
Ozma refuses to leave without the still-missing Tin Woodman, and Dorothy proposes the magic belt will help find him. She re-enters the palace with everyone except the Nome King, the Queen of Ev, and Prince Evring, and in each room waves her hand commanding the Tin Woodman to resume his proper shape, but no result follows through all the rooms. Returning to the throne room in failure, they are jeered by the King, who claims Dorothy cannot use the belt and offers to free everyone except the enslaved royal family of Ev in exchange for its return. Dorothy refuses to give it up. When the King asks how she can escape without his consent, since the entrance passage has been closed, Dorothy waves her hand at the solid wall and commands the passage to open, which it instantly does, amazing the King and proving the belt obeys her.
Ozma wonders why, if the belt obeys Dorothy, they could not find the Tin Woodman. The King eagerly offers to reveal the shape into which he transformed the Tin Woodman in exchange for the belt, but Billina warns Dorothy that surrendering the belt would put them all back in the King's power, and only by keeping it can they leave safely. The Scarecrow proposes an alternative from his excellent brains: Dorothy should threaten to transform the King into a goose-egg unless he personally goes into the palace and brings out the ornament that is their friend Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman. The horrified King consents rather than become a goose-egg, but returns empty-handed, reporting that the Tin Woodman is nowhere in the palace, even though he knows exactly what he transformed him into and where he stood. The group falls silent and sadly concludes they must leave without their friend, and one general laments the Tin Woodman owed him six weeks back pay.
Ozma orders the march through the passage: the army first, then the royal family of Ev, then Dorothy, Ozma, Billina, the Scarecrow and Tiktok. The Nome King makes a last attempt to prevent their escape by sending warriors in full chase with raised weapons, but when Dorothy sees the danger she waves her hand and commands the magic belt, instantly turning the foremost warriors into eggs that roll across the cavern floor; terrified, the remaining warriors flee and refuse to advance. The friends reach the outer air on the gloomy path between the two high mountains. The cavalcade forms with Ozma mounted on the Cowardly Lion, the Queen of Ev on the Tiger, the royal children walking behind, Dorothy on the Sawhorse, and the Scarecrow commanding the army in the Tin Woodman's absence. When they hear the thump of the giant's iron hammer blocking the road, Dorothy uses the magic belt to halt the giant with his hammer motionless in the air, allowing the entire party to pass safely between his cast-iron legs.
Who is in play
- Dorothy
- Cowardly Lion
- Ozma
- Tin Woodman
- Billina
- Saw-Horse
- Scarecrow
- Tiktok
- Billina's eggs
- Evring
- ozma_rescue_expedition
- Queen of Ev
- iron giant
- Nome King's Palace
- nome_army
- royal_family_of_ev