Unseen though they were, he knew how he could entrap them, and hold them in his power. Determined to do this, he wound his form stealthily upward, and from his right hand he cast forth huge plumes and columns of smoke, which began to overspread the sky, and traveling swiftly, came on and on as his hand directed them, until they hung poised far above the heads of the unsuspecting Prince and his companion.
From his left hand long wreaths and streamers of smoke went out across the ground, creeping along fast and silently, veiling it so that none could see where his own feet trod.
Closer and closer from behind these, great smoke walls drew in, but the faces of the two were set steadily toward the Land of Shadows, and they knew naught of the danger which was so rapidly overtaking them.
Then, suddenly, by the enchanter’s power, a smoke wall, dense and impenetrable, fell from above directly before the travelers, setting a barrier between them and the land to which they were bound. All at once they found themselves in a vast chamber, hemmed in on every hand by the encompassing smoke.
The Shadow Witch was first to awaken to their peril. Casting her eyes downward by chance, she all at once became aware of a faint veil of smoke that was creeping round about her feet. Well did she know by that sign who was near. She cast her eyes hurriedly on all sides, and saw with alarm that the smoke was drawing in upon them from every quarter.
She caught Prince Ember’s arm, whispering anxiously, “Behold, my Prince, behold the smoke fog! This is the work of the powerful magician, Curling Smoke. We are entrapped.” At that same moment the smoke dropped down in front of them, making complete the walls of the vast chamber in which they stood imprisoned.
Prince Ember, beholding, was motionless with dismay. Flashing back to his mind came the warning of his good friend the Elf. “Beware of Curling Smoke,” he had said. “None more wicked and dreadful than he inhabits the lands through which you must pass.”
How or when the giant had discovered the presence of himself and the Shadow Witch, the Prince could not guess, unless it had been in that one unguarded moment before the Cave, but now he was upon them with his enchantments, and he might be able to overpower them both, armed though they were with the Cloak of Ash and the Sword of Fire. In spite of his great courage, Prince Ember’s heart sank low in his breast before this fresh danger to his beloved Shadow Witch. Thinking intently of how best to act against this new foe, he stood silent.