Aurora and Dorothy met Pinocchio yesterday.
After the poor puppet drifted into Oz Country, he was unfamiliar with his surroundings and incredibly sad, bursting into tears.
He thought of his father, the carpenter Geppetto, and the magician Rhine who gave him life.
"Why am I so unlucky? Why was I inexplicably dragged here, to this mysterious country?"
After crying, an exhausted Pinocchio could only move around, trying to find his way home.
He conversed with the crows in the sky, the field mice on the ground, and other small, talking animals in this Green Field, hoping to find a temporary place to stay.
Under the guidance of the small animals, Pinocchio secretly snuck into a Munchkins' home.
It was raining outside and quite cold at the time, so Pinocchio put his feet on the heated kang to warm up, and then fell into a deep sleep.
Unexpectedly, upon waking, Pinocchio discovered that his wooden feet had been burned off.
He was both startled and scared, yet unable to stand, he could only lie on the ground and wail.
"Why am I so pathetic?"
"It must be because I am a puppet, a moving piece of wood carved by a carpenter, and not a real boy."
"If I were a real boy, my feet wouldn't have been so easily burned off without me even noticing."
"Nor would I have participated in a puppet show, only to be inexplicably dragged here."
The more Pinocchio thought, the more he cried.
Fortunately, soon after, Aurora and Dorothy happened to pass by and discovered Pinocchio with his feet burned off.
"I know that puppet, his name is Pinocchio. He was accidentally dragged here, just like me," Aurora exclaimed.
They commissioned a Munchkins' carpenter to make new feet for Pinocchio; the new feet were sturdier and more beautiful than before, making Pinocchio very happy.
And so, Pinocchio joined this group, heading together to Emerald City.
Along the way, Pinocchio felt that the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow were very much like him—they were all made of different materials. Of course, the Tin Woodman stated that he was once a flesh-and-blood human, unlike Pinocchio.
Pinocchio later learned that the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow each wished to obtain a heart and a clever brain from Oz.
This little puppet then decided on his own wish:
"Then, when I meet Oz, besides asking him to send me home, I also want to ask him to turn me into a real boy!"
This was what had happened before.
Dorothy listened to Aurora's words, looked at the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, wooden puppet, and Lion behind her, and thoughtfully said:
"I don't think any of our new team members are particularly special?"
"Hmm, it should be the Lion? Because only he is flesh and blood, and an animal? The other new members are either made of straw, or their bodies are steel, or their bodies are wood."
"But don't forget Toto is also a small animal."
Toto was the name of Dorothy's dog.
Aurora felt that what Dorothy said seemed to make a lot of sense.
Although she vaguely felt that Pinocchio didn't belong to this team, she couldn't find a reason—perhaps it was because Pinocchio, like her and Dorothy, came from outside Oz Country, who knew?
"As I said, you two should also implore Oz Country to turn you into real, flesh-and-blood humans," Pinocchio said to the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow. "Wouldn't such a wish just happen to give you both a brain and a heart? Uh, if Oz is only willing to grant one wish per person."
Just then, a cloaked figure blocked the path ahead of the group.
"It seems you wish to visit Oz in Emerald City? To ask him to grant your wishes?"
"Unfortunately, your wishes are destined to be impossible to fulfill. That charlatan will simply find an excuse to brush you off, or outright drive you away."
The cloaked figure said.
Upon seeing the brown skin and mustache beneath the newcomer's hood, Aurora's eyes instantly froze.
Maglido!
"How could it be you!" Aurora vigilantly placed her hand on the sword at her waist, while reminding her teammates:
"This fellow is an evil magician, from the world outside Oz Country and in league with the Eastern Witch!"
Previously, in White Kingdom, Rhine had secretly monitored the Eastern Witch with birds, discovered her cooperation with Maglido, and informed Aurora.
The subsequent appearance of the Ender Warships also confirmed this statement.
Pinocchio jumped in fright, the Tin Woodman pulled out his axe, the little dog Toto barked at Maglido, and the Lion wanted to hide—but his size made it impossible for him to hide behind anyone, so he could only bravely feign composure.
Maglido saw the wary group and laughed:
"It seems you are very wary of me. But that doesn't matter at all. My arrival this time is entirely out of good will."
"I came here to tell you that the monarch of this Green Field, that self-proclaimed Great Magician Oz, is entirely a magic-less charlatan."
"He absolutely cannot grant your wishes. Don't be fooled!"
Dorothy and her companions were stunned, unsure whether to believe the stranger before them.
How could the Great Magician, revered by everyone in this land, be a magic-less charlatan?
"Impossible. People say Oz is awe-inspiring and terrifying, and that the combined magic of several witches cannot compare to him!" Dorothy questioned, "If he has no magic at all, how can he make others believe he is a Great Magician?"
Maglido looked confident:
"I am from outside Oz Country, and now a magician of the Great Empire Ender Kingdom, which is not far from Oz Country's hometown."
"I've investigated; that charlatan named Oz was formerly just a circus magician and balloon pilot, entertaining audiences with performances."
"His so-called magic is nothing more than mere tricks. He uses those tricks to make others believe he is truly a Great Magician, but in the eyes of those who truly wield magic, those are laughable antics."
Upon hearing this explanation, Dorothy immediately found it somewhat credible. Because she had seen circuses and magic shows in her hometown—those performances looked like magic.
Maglido pressed his advantage:
"Conveniently, you are going to visit Oz in Emerald City to ask him to grant your wishes."
"But he certainly has no ability to do so; he will likely just find an excuse to fob you off."
"According to my understanding, Oz himself will hide behind a screen and deceive you with various magic tricks, pretending to be a very terrifying monster or something else. If you don't understand, you might truly be fooled."
"But now that I've warned you, you will certainly be able to expose his deception!"
"Why are you telling us all this?" Dorothy asked suspiciously. "Do you need something from us? I have nothing to give you."
She remembered Aurora saying that the other party was an evil magician, so she didn't believe this magician would purely do good deeds.
"I don't need anything," Maglido said. "However, if you ultimately expose Oz's deception, you must tell everyone in the city, tell everyone they have been deceived by Oz!"
"You just need to tell the whole truth of what you saw, exactly as it happened!"
The Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Pinocchio, Lion, and Dorothy exchanged glances, clearly somewhat believing Maglido's words.
—They all had wishes that needed Oz to fulfill! If Oz was truly a charlatan, then he wouldn't be able to help them.
"Are you done with your nonsense?" Aurora said coldly, glaring at Maglido and drawing the sword from her waist.