Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
While the owner and the Neopet wasted their time screaming,
Hyren reached out and grabbed the Zafara. She’d had the good sense to at least
hold on to the lantern, and it lit their way through a cloud of dust and
fractured rock as they were propelled down a sinuous shaft that finally spit
them out into a larger space.
Hyren hit the floor with such an impact that it briefly
blacked out his vision and sent his two prisoners flying out of his grasp. Rock
rained down on him and something heavy slammed into his leg, forcing a cry of pain
from his throat. For a moment, all was dark and silent except for the last
remnants of the collapsed floor that trickled down and clattered against his
armour like hail.
“Terra, are you okay?” the Zafara asked from somewhere in
the murky gloom. “Oh, come on, little
fella…” There was the sound of tapping on glass, and then the fire mote’s
steady glow began to dispel the shadows again in a small space around her.
“Yeah—yeah, I’m fine,” the girl said. “Looks like my pack
made it, too. Oh, there’s my glasses... Are you
okay?” Their voices echoed emptily, which meant this room was much more
voluminous than the entrance.
“Yep,” the Zafara said. “Wait, lemme check—ow… well, a few
bumps and bruises, but other than that I’m good.”
The two picked themselves up from what looked to be an
elaborate tile floor with the same kinds of decorative motifs as the murals above.
Then, they turned to Hyren.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to pull himself out from under
the rocks. They wouldn’t budge, and he was trapped on his stomach so he had no
way of extracting himself or reaching his blaster. For the first time in a long
while, the icy hand of panic gripped him, and he swallowed hard. He was at
their mercy.
The girl took a few tentative steps toward him, and then
crouched down, putting her hands on her knees and tilting her head. “You’re a mutant
Grundo, aren’t you?” she asked.
Hyren narrowed his eyes. “Of course,” he said.
“And… you work for Doctor Sloth?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” Hyren said. The answer still came quickly, even
though Hyren had to remind himself that he had been missing from the overlord’s
army for—well, it had to have been months, now. Again he tried to get out, but
he was stuck fast. He frowned and added, “You’re not taking me down without a
fight.”
By now, the Zafara had joined her owner’s side, and the smaller
Neopet tilted her head. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
“We don’t want to fight you,” the human said.
The Grundo’s antennae twitched. “Even though I’m one of
Sloth’s top commanding officers?” he asked. “Even though I led the forces that conquered
ten thousand worlds and wreaked serious damage on Sakhmet?” He pounded a fist
on the floor. “Even though I tried to take you prisoner?!”
The two looked at each other for a moment, and then the girl
said, “We don’t want to hurt you. Come on, Blynn, help me move these rocks.”
The Zafara set the lantern down and went to help her owner shift the stone away
from Hyren.
“You’re morons,” Hyren muttered, letting them work to their
own detriment. When they lifted the rock from his leg, he twisted over,
intending to rise to his feet, but the pain lingered and did not allow him to stand.
Hissing, he drew in his legs, pulling off his shin plate and checking the
wound.
“It’s fine, go away,” he said as the owner moved toward him.
“I… um, I have first aid supplies in my pack,” she said,
swinging it off of her shoulder and unzipping a pocket. She held out a roll of
bandages and a small glass bottle full of pale purple liquid. “Do you need
help?” she asked.
“What’s that?” Hyren asked, looking at the bottle.
“A healing potion,” she said. “It’s one of the cheaper ones,
because Blynn’s not a battling pet, so she doesn’t need a stronger variety.
But… it might help a little.” She offered it to him.
Hyren glared at her and said, “You really are loony, aren’t
you.” Before she could respond, he took the bandages and the bottle. He
uncorked the crystalline container and sniffed the liquid inside—it smelled
like a combination of mint and fresh cut grass. “Okay. How do I use this?” he
asked.
“Either drink it or apply it to the wound,” she said. “I
think I have some gauze…” She rifled around in her pack.
The Grundo commander narrowed his eyes, swirling the potion
around slowly as he inspected it for anything amiss. “How do I know it’s not
poisoned?” he asked. Long years of being very disliked by the free galaxy had
made him rather suspicious.
“I’ll drink some!” the Zafara said. She held out one hand
and Hyren placed the potion in it. She raised it to her muzzle and downed a sip.
“Ah, refreshing,” she said, wiping her mouth with her arm.
Hyren sat back and stared, not used to dealing with her kind
of personality. “I guess I’ll try it,” he said, taking the gauze the owner
offered him and placing a few drops of the healing liquid on it before applying
it to his leg. He cringed, expecting it to sting, but the sensation that met
him was cool and refreshing, and somehow relaxing.
“This is good stuff,” he said. “Faerie magic, right?”
“Yep,” the girl said. “So… what’s your name?” she asked.
“I’m Terra, and this is my Zafara, Blynn.”
“Hyren. Commander
Hyren,” Hyren said, “of the Planetary Invasion Corps of the Grand Spacefleet of
Doctor Frank Sloth.”
“Ooh,” Terra said.
“Wow,” Blynn said. “Fancy.”
“Can—could you help us get out?” Terra asked. “I bet if we
work together, we—“
“Well,” Hyren said, “you’ve just effectively sealed your
fates by freeing me. Dr. Sloth is expecting more test subjects from Neopia. And
you’re going to help me find the nearest spaceport. Understood?”
The girl and the Zafara looked at each other again, and
Terra swallowed hard while Blynn narrowed her eyes.
Hyren pushed himself to his feet, tired of waiting for an
answer. As soon as he put weight on his wounded leg, it let out a fresh burst
of pain in protest and he grunted, kneeling back down.
“I don’t think you’re in any condition to go anywhere,”
Terra said. “Let’s just rest here a while, until the potion starts to take
effect.”
“Fine,” Hyren said, knowing she was unfortunately right.
“But you’ll be kicking yourselves later for not escaping when you had the
chance.”
Terra gave him an odd look—was it pity? “We can’t leave you
here,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. You’re hurt. We’ll look after
you.”
Again Hyren felt a strange knot of emotion in his gut.
Someone cared about him, even if she was a moron for doing so. It caught him
off guard and just made him confused all over again, so he just frowned and
muttered, “You’ll regret that.”
“Hey!” Blynn said. “That’s no way to treat somebody who
saved your life!”
Hyren was still trying to think of a snarky reply, when
Terra said, “How do you think we get out of here? And where are we?” She looked
up and around.
Hyren knew she had a point—he shouldn’t waste his time or
energy arguing when there was an important task at hand. The room was so large
that the fire mote’s glow didn’t reach the ceiling or walls, leaving the three
of them in a tiny island of light amidst darkness so oppressive Hyren could
almost taste it. Involuntarily, a shudder ran up his spine. He didn’t like feeling
so small, so insignificant—so powerless. “What did you say this place was?” he
asked. “It feels like some kind of tomb.”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Terra said. She unrolled the map.
“I got this old map from the marketplace in Sakhmet. The lady who sold it to me
told me that it would lead me to the ‘last bastion of the Alxuin Dynasty’.
Which is… here, I guess.”
“’Last bastion’, huh?” Hyren asked. “Sounds like things
didn’t really work out for the Alxuin.” A chill ran up his spine. He’d heard
there were plenty of ghosts roaming Neopia, and he didn’t care to find out if
that was true.
“Hey, you guys!” Blynn shouted, making Hyren nearly jump out
of his skin. “It looks like there’s some kind of lever on the wall!” She stood
next to a large metal handle. “I wonder what it does…” She rubbed her chin and
then reached for it.
Hyren knew that it was never a good idea to push levers if
you didn’t know what they did. “Whatever you do,” he said, “don’t—!“
She pushed it down. “Don’t what?” she asked.
Hyren buried his face in his hand and said, “Never mind.”
Shoulders hunched, he waited to see what kind of trap she had sprung, as he
heard grinding gears and faintly felt the tingle of magic in the air.
The ceiling rumbled and a bright yellow light spilled into
the room from above. Hyren looked up to see stone slabs pull away, revealing
round bays set into the ceiling that held countless tiny orbs of slowly dancing
illumination. The light was so strong that it easily drowned out the lantern,
looking like some titanic force had punched holes in the bedrock to let in
shafts of daylight. Terra gasped, and then gasped again as her sight fell to
take in the room around them.
Hyren followed suit, and his jaw dropped. They had landed in
the midst of an enormous hall with a soaring ceiling held up by thick pillars, and
a floor covered in huge piles of gold, gems, silks, and jars stuffed with
scrolls. Paintings in the same style as the entrance cavern spanned both walls,
displaying a vast panorama of ages long past, and beneath the murals stood
colossal statues of various species of Neopets, grim armoured guardians of wealth.
At the end of the hall nearest to the three were an immense set of tall stone
doors – shut tight – and at the far end, a raised dais held a single, empty
throne of black marble. On the wall above it was an emblem of a stylised sun
cradled in two crossed swords.
“Holy Kau,” Blynn said, turning around slowly to take it all
in.
“A throne room,” Terra said. “But… why is there treasure
here?”
“These scrolls are boring,” Blynn said, having pulled one
out from its jar and starting to unroll it. “There’s no pictures.”
“Here, let me see,” Terra said. The Zafara handed her owner
the scroll and she scrutinised it.
Hyren leaned over to catch a look. It was covered in strange
characters, an utterly unfamiliar writing system from what he’d seen of this
planet’s culture.
“This doesn’t look like modern Neopian at all,” Terra said. “It
doesn’t even look like the traditional Sakhmetian characters on Coltzan’s Shrine. Amazing…” She scanned the scroll for a while longer, and then gingerly
rolled it back up and set it aside. “I wonder what happened here.”
“There was a war,” Hyren said.
“What?” Terra asked. “How do you know that?”
He pointed at the murals above them. The first set depicted
lavish scenes of banquets and festivals. “These Neopets left their entire
history in visual form,” Hyren said. “It’s pretty easy to figure out what
happened. See, they must have once been a mighty empire that held sway over a
large region, amassing wealth rapidly. And I’m willing to bet they weren’t very
nice about it.”
The commander’s finger moved to the next set, which showed
scenes of battle and destruction, and of finely dressed pets fleeing into the
sands. “So one or more of their vassal states rose up against them,” he said, “and
started to gain the upper hand.” He glanced down at Terra to see if she was
following. She looked up at the murals, utterly engrossed like he was telling
her a bedtime story, and when he paused she turned to him with eyes full of
wonder.
No one had ever looked at Hyren like that before, so
trusting like a child to a parent, and it made him stop in his thoughts for a
moment. Why didn’t she hate him? Why did she care about him even though they
had only met and he was clearly antagonistic toward her and her Neopet? It made
Hyren feel bad for wanting to turn them in to Sloth, but he tried to shove away
that emotion. He had to do his job, no matter what. Even though he found that
didn’t sit in his gut as well as it used to.
Hyren moved on, clearing his throat to try to regain his
composure. “They took everything of value and escaped out to these caves,
probably an old fortress of theirs.” He pointed to the last painting, which
showed the room they were now in. A powerful-looking Kacheek sat upon the
throne, surrounded by a merry court dancing and playing music. Hyren was sure
the real scene was not nearly so carefree, but they were likely trying to cheer
themselves up in the face of imminent defeat.
“They lost, didn’t they,” Terra said.
Hyren nodded and said, “I mean, they’re clearly not here
anymore. I’ve seen similar things happen on other planets. The Alxuin probably
sealed off these caves when they were besieged to at least protect their
treasure.”
“You must see a lot in your job,” the girl said, scanning
the murals again.
“More than you can dream of,” Hyren said, and in spite of
himself he grinned. For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he wanted to tell
her all of his stories. That starry look in her eyes made him happy, somehow.
He didn’t know what was happening to him.
“Hey guys!” Blynn said. “Check me out!” She sat sideways on
the throne, a large, gold-petaled crown perched lopsided on her head as she
shook her fist. “Bow before me, peons! I am Empress Blynn the 679th, eminent
sovereign of all the land!”
Terra laughed and bowed low. “All hail Her Gloriousness!” the
human said.
Hyren rolled his eyes, and couldn’t help but chuckle a
little. He found himself feeling bad for thinking Blynn was annoying earlier.
Her humour was a nice change of pace from Virtupets officers’ stern demeanours—or
their brand of humour that usually involved snide remarks behind each others’
backs.
The Zafara picked up an amethyst-encrusted staff from beside
the throne and twirled it around before pointing it at Terra. “As my first
decree of the day,” Blynn said, “I hereby bestow upon you the title of Imperial
Dinner-Haver!”
Terra caught her breath and then laughed again. “’Dinner-Haver’,
huh?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m starved!” Blynn said. She threw away the sceptre
and headdress and bounded down from the throne, running back to them. “Between
walking all day and running into one of Sloth’s commanders and finding the
ruins of a lost civilization…” She shoved her head and arms into her pack, her
tail waving behind her as she rustled around. “Makes a Zafara pretty hungry,
y’know?”
Hyren sighed at being reminded of who he was. “You’re not
taking this seriously at all, are you,” he said.
Blynn emerged holding two paper packages tied with string,
setting them on the floor and then leaning on her pack while she chewed a bite
of sandwich. “Okay, you want blueberry jam or asparagus and leek?” she asked
him.
“What?” Hyren asked. He couldn’t believe they would offer
him food.
“For your dinner,” Blynn said. “I’d offer you cheese and pickle
but I already ate all of those.”
“And good riddance,” Terra said, making a face.
Hyren frowned. He had to keep his head in the game and not
let himself get distracted, no matter how endearing they were. “Let me make
myself clear,” he said. “You’re my prisoners. I’m going to take you back to Dr.
Sloth as test subjects. I don’t want to be friends with you.”
“I don’t know if you noticed,” Blynn said, “but we were kind
of winning that fight earlier.”
“Wha—you were not!” Hyren said, even though if he was honest
with himself, she was right. He just hated being weak, and hated the idea of
being bested by two children.
“We know you don’t like us,” Terra said. “But we also know
we might need your help to get out of here. I’ll worry about what’s going to
happen to us when the time comes, but for now… the three of us have to work
together.”
The Grundo narrowed his eyes and let out a hoarse chuckle. “So
it’s not just that you couldn’t stand to leave me here out of the goodness of
your little hearts,” he said.
Terra looked aside, fidgeting with one of the straps on her
pack. “Well… th-that’s still part of it,” she said.
Hyren forced himself not to feel bad for upsetting her. He
wasn’t surprised at her ulterior motive. Everyone he’d ever met had worked for
their own best interests. He would not delude himself into thinking that these
two were any different. “I’ll have the asparagus and leek,” he said, extending
his hand and trying to ignore the cold feeling in his gut.
No comments:
Post a Comment