The Marvelous Mulberry Portal
The Magnificent Mulberry Portal is the 9th Wonder of the World - a mysterious botanical anomaly discovered centuries ago that defies all scientific explanation. Despite countless expeditions by the world's greatest botanists, physicists, and adventurers, nobody has ever fully understood how it works.
Professor Penelope Pemberwick came closest to solving its secrets in 1923 when she discovered three ornate golden levers hidden within its branches. The levers stood out with distinctive designs - the first showcased a sunburst pattern in ruby (the Ruby Sun), the second featured a crescent moon symbol in emerald (the Emerald Moon), and the third displayed sapphire stars (the Sapphire Stars). Each lever operated in a simple UP (OFF) or DOWN (ON) position, creating a binary interface to something beyond understanding.
Her meticulously kept journals describe strange boxes that would materialize from the center of the portal when different lever combinations were tested. Sometimes these boxes contained curious monkeys, sometimes mischievous weasels, and sometimes nothing at all.
The villagers surrounding the Mulberry Portal offered Penelope contradictory information about its workings. Elderberry Eddie, whose age seemed almost geological, insisted his grandfather helped build the portal, despite historical records showing the portal predated human settlement.
"Pull all three levers down at once and you'll summon the smoking box," he warned her, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Happened only once before, in my grandfather's time. The portal went dormant for an entire century afterward."
Marigold Mary, with her perpetually soil-covered hands and thick spectacles, nodded vigorously at Eddie's tale. "The portal's energy isn't infinite," she explained, adjusting her spectacles. "Three monkeys in succession will bring good fortune. Three weasels might grant wishes. But three empty boxes will reset everything, and that smoking box... well, let's just say you'd be better off not seeing it."
Despite her meticulous experimentation, Professor Pemberwick was baffled by inconsistent results. Her journal pages show increasing frustration as she tried to map patterns. "The Ruby Sun lever produces a weasel today, yet yesterday the same action brought forth a monkey," she wrote. "I'm beginning to suspect the initial position of the levers, coupled with the sequence in which they are manipulated, has a profound impact on what emerges from the portal." This revelation added layers of complexity to her research, suggesting the portal operated on principles beyond simple binary states.
Unfortunately, Professor Pemberwick disappeared during her 57th experiment, leaving behind only her incomplete notes and a half-eaten sandwich (which, oddly, showed no signs of decay even decades later). Her final journal entry revealed growing excitement.
"My studies suggest a pattern emerging," she wrote. "The locals may be right about the power of threes. I believe summoning three identical creatures in succession could stabilize the connection to wherever these beings originate. Tomorrow I shall attempt this, methodically working through the combinations. Science waits for no one, especially when we stand at the threshold of discovery!"
Now, nearly a century later, you've stumbled upon this forgotten wonder while seeking a shortcut to the local ice cream parlor. The three golden levers gleam invitingly in the dappled light, their ON and OFF positions clearly marked by their vertical orientation. The villagers still tell their contradictory tales about the portal's workings, some truthful, others clearly fabricated.
Will you succeed where Professor Pemberwick failed and mysteriously disappeared? Can you decipher which locals know the truth and which are spinning tall tales? Most importantly, can you coax three of the same animal from the portal before producing a single smoking one?
The Marvelous Mulberry Portal awaits, its golden levers standing ready for your experiment. Just remember - the locals swear that if you summon the smoking box, the portal's energy will be depleted for the next hundred years. No pressure.
