Terra and her family ate breakfast in their suite the next morning. They’d stocked the kitchen with groceries, for days when they didn’t feel like mingling in the cafeteria, and today was one of those days. Terra liked the extra bit of downtime to lounge in her pajamas, and after the emotional whirlwind of yesterday, she wanted to give herself some extra TLC.
She’d just taken a bite of her rainbow toast when someone knocked softly at the door. “I’ll get it,” Isengrim said as he moved to the door and opened it. “Ah—good morning, Zoltan.” Terra tensed a bit and concentrated hard on her toast, hoping Zoltan would not notice her, or at least would not have anything critical to say about her.
“Good morning,” the Kyrii replied, clearly more
out of politeness than because he truly found anything good about the morning.
The harsh edge seemed to have gone out of his tone—Terra wondered if he’d
overheard her conversation with Isengrim in the hall last night. She couldn’t
decide whether that would be beneficial or embarrassing. Probably both, but if
it was beneficial she was okay with it.
“What brings you to our door?” Isengrim asked. His mannerisms were cordial, but his ears were high and forward, giving off the signal that he was ready to defend his family at a moment’s notice.
Zoltan shifted his weight. “Zhe Defenders have summoned me to zheir morning meeting,” he said, sounding uncertain. “I am sure it has something to do vith zhe business of zhe other mages they hired, but it sounds as if zhey also vant me to present any findings in my research. I don’t think zhat’s any of their business—I just vant to be left alone vith my work. I vas hoping you could persuade them to stop pestering me.”
Isengrim paused. “I am sure you have been labouring tirelessly in your magicks,” he said. “However, I think perhaps it is their business. They have been trying to find Malkus Vile for years, after all, and they generously allowed you to stay here. The least you can do is give them an update.” When Zoltan did not answer, Isengrim added, “Would you like me to accompany you?”
The Kyrii let out a breath. “I… think it would go better if you were there.”
“Hey, I’d like to come too,” Hyren said, throwing his banana peel in the garbage. “I’m not just going to sit here and wait for this whole thing to blow over. I want to know what’s going on, and see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Me too!” Blynn said through a mouthful of RoboCrunch cereal. Terra was reluctant to say anything in front of Zoltan, but she wanted to come as well.
Before the Kyrii could reply, Isengrim said, “I think that’s a good idea. Zoltan, my family and I will come with you. When is the meeting?”
“In ten minutes,” Zoltan said, giving Terra and her family a dubious look. Blynn returned it with a grin, while Terra did her best to ignore him as she moved to her bedroom to get ready.
Isengrim nodded. “Shall we meet you there,” he asked, “or will you wait for us?”
“I’ll vait,” Zoltan said quietly.
“We’ll be out soon, then,” Isengrim said.
Once Terra was ready, they departed. Again they had to take separate lifts, and Isengrim insisted on bringing Terra with him. Zoltan readily agreed, and he rode with Blynn and Hyren. Terra and her Neopets knew from their explorations where the Defenders’ conference room was, and soon enough they were all collected in the same lobby.
They walked through the lobby doors, and into a large room filled with superheroes sitting around a long table. All of the Defenders Terra knew about were there, and she guessed they held meetings in the mornings in order to accommodate every Defender, including the nocturnal ones. Some of the superheroes waved to them, including Kourage Korbat and the Emerald Amazon, and Terra’s family waved back.
At one end of the table was an enormous Virtupets computer screen displaying what looked like various minutiae, and Lightning Lenny stood next to it, his wings hovering over its control console. Judge Hog sat nearby, pouring himself a glass of water.
“Don’t worry,” the Moehog said to Terra’s group, “we wouldn’t have started without you. Please, take a seat anywhere you like.” Some of the Defenders scooted over to leave enough chairs for Zoltan and Terra’s family to sit together. Zoltan sat down reluctantly, and Isengrim sat between him and the Werelupe’s owner and siblings.
Hyren looked over the computer and said, “I thought you guys didn’t use much Virtupets technology.”
“This is one of the exceptions,” Lightning Lenny said, patting the console affectionately. “I insisted on it. Makes mission planning a whole lot easier. And I’m the one who takes care of it, so we don’t have to worry about hiring a certified engineer.”
“What’s the power supply?” Hyren asked. “Antimatter generator like on the space station?”
“Afraid not,” Lightning Lenny said. “I don’t think Judge Hog would let me keep one of those at HQ even if I knew how to maintain it. Nah, this and the other Virtupets technology in the city have special power adapters that allow them to connect to the faerie-dust power grid.”
“Whoa, fancy,” Hyren said.
“And that’s not all!” Lightning Lenny said. “The graphics card alone on this baby is enough to make me weak at the knees, never mind the processing power! And the bandwidth to handle all the video feeds—“
Judge Hog cleared his throat, and the other superhero ceased his geeking out. “Anyway,” the Moehog said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Is this about the other mages you hired?” Isengrim asked.
Judge Hog nodded. “They’ve been let go as of this morning. We informed them that their services were no longer needed, as the Defenders decided to instead handle this issue in-house.” He grinned. “Which is technically true, since Mr. Arnyek is staying here.”
“Well played,” Blynn said.
“Hopefully,” Judge Hog said, “that’ll throw off the scent for any of them who were working for Vile. I didn’t want to give them the suspicion that we had another mage on the case.”
“I explained to him what you told me last night,” Blackwing said to Zoltan. “I don’t want anybody interfering with your magical procedures.”
“Thank you,” Zoltan muttered, looking out of his element. Terra felt bad for him. He probably hated working with a team.
Judge Hog steepled his fingers. “Mr. Arnyek, have you been able to make any headway on this spell?”
Zoltan sat up straighter, his ears turning back a bit as everyone looked at him. Nervously, he stroked his beard. “Actually—as a matter of fact, I have,” he said. “I performed a rather intensive scrying last night and got some good results.” Everyone’s silence, and an encouraging smile from Isengrim, prompted the Kyrii to continue. “Malkus Vile’s spell appears to be sustained by several magical artefacts placed around Neopia Central. If I can collect zhese artefacts and neutralise zhem, zhe spell over zhe city vill break, and I vill be able to locate Vile directly.”
Murmurs broke out around the table, and Judge Hog said, “Let us help you with that. It’ll go quicker with more than one person searching. Do you know where the artefacts are?”
“I do,” Zoltan said, “but—I would hate to get you involved in zhis. I… usually work alone.”
Judge Hog smiled. “We already are involved. And don’t worry, we can take care of ourselves—we’re superheroes.”
Isengrim caught Zoltan’s eye and held the mage’s gaze for a moment, and Terra knew they were having one of those silent conversations that can only be carried out by two people who trust each other. Isengrim must have been pleading with Zoltan to accept this help.
Finally the Kyrii swallowed hard and turned back to Judge Hog. “All right,” Zoltan said. “Can you get me a map?”
“Coming right up,” Lightning Lenny said, and he moved his wings over the console. The screen changed to an enormous map of the city.
Zoltan studied the map for a moment. “It’s hard to describe in vords,” he said. “Especially because I do not know zhis city all zhat well.”
“Not a problem,” Lightning Lenny said. “Come on over here and you can take the map for a spin.”
With another smile from Isengrim, Zoltan stood up and made his way over to the console. Lightning Lenny pointed him to a smaller touchscreen that showed the same display as the large screen, and Zoltan took a moment to learn to navigate it with his large paws. Then, frowning in concentration, his magic-streaks glowing, he slowly and deliberately touched a pawpad to five locations on the map, creating markers there.
“That’s the Rainbow Pool,” Kourage Korbat said as points on the map lit up, “the Presidential Palace, the Pound, the WishingWell, and…”
“The old Catacombs,” Blackwing finished.
“That’s great that we know where the artefacts are,” the Masked Intruder said, “but how will we find them when we get there?”
Zoltan reached into one of the pouches on his harness and pulled out a handful of necklaces. Suspended on gold chains were what looked like white marbles—with irises and pupils that glanced around at the other occupants of the room.
“Well, that’s… unsettling,” said Aisheena, voicing what they were all thinking.
“Thank you,” Zoltan said. “Zhese are Amulets of zhe Unblinking Eye. I can enchant zhem to direct us to the artefacts, even if you have no sense for magic.” He placed them on the table next to Judge Hog, who stiffened and leaned away slightly from the amulets. “Take good care of zhem,” the mage said. “Zhey vere not easy to obtain.”
“We—we will, thank you,” Judge Hog said. “What do we do with the artefacts once we find them?”
“Bring zhem back here,” Zoltan said, “and I vill disconnect zhem from each other and zhe spell. Based on vhat I could learn from my scrying, zhe nature of the spell is such zhat moving the artefacts around zhe city vill not destabilise the magic, but destroying any of zhem vill have ill effects, as vill attempting to neutralise zhem if any are left out of zhe process.” He folded his paws behind his back. “Hopefully securing zhem vill not give us too much trouble.”
“What do you mean, ‘us’?” Blackwing asked. “Are you coming, too?”
“Of course,” Zoltan said. “I vould not sit back and make you do all my vork for me.” He turned back to the map. “Vhat did you say zhis location was?” he asked, pointing to one of the markers near the centre of the city.
“The Catacombs,” Blackwing said. “It used to be the happening spot for artists and writers, but a while back the creative contests got moved to Roo Island. Since then, the Catacombs have become much more dangerous as unsavoury types decided to move in. It’s something we’ve tried to keep in check, but considering it’s an enormous cavern system that runs under the city, we can’t keep tabs on it as much as we’d like to. No one’s ever fully explored it, in fact.”
“Zhe artefact zhere is giving off zhe strongest magical signature,” Zoltan said. “I’ll take care of zhat one. I suspect it may be the most difficult to obtain.”
Isengrim stood up. “I’m coming with you,” he said. “If you are agreeing to assistance on this mission, then let me assist you in this way. You might need backup. You might need an extra blade.”
Zoltan stared at him for a moment, then the faintest hint of a smirk crossed the Kyrii’s muzzle. “I hope you know vhat you are getting yourself into, Lord Isengrim,” he said.
The Werelupe King grinned toothily in return. “Does it matter?”
“We’re coming, too!” Blynn said, and Hyren and Terra nodded.
Zoltan frowned. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but then his ears lowered and he looked to Isengrim. “Tell zhem they can’t come,” the mage said.
“We can help!” Blynn said, slamming her paws on the table. “We know how to take care of ourselves! Tell him, Isengrim! Tell him about the Battle of Sweetwater Fields!”
Isengrim looked down at her, then back at his old ally. “Let’s discuss this in private,” he said. “But I am assuming the Defenders are going to locate the other four artefacts.”
“Yes, we are,” Judge Hog said, giving the Amulets of the Unblinking Eyes another uneasy glance. “All right, Defenders, let’s figure out our teams.”
As they began their discussion, Isengrim led his family back to the lobby, and motioned for Zoltan to join them. Isengrim shut the doors to the conference room to mute the Defenders’ conversation. “I will be perfectly honest,” he said to his family, “I would be worried about you if you came with Zoltan and me.” He paused, then added, “Well, not you, Hyren. Zoltan, my brother may not look it, but he has fought across a thousand worlds in the galaxy. He is not to be underestimated in battle.”
“I’m much older than I look,” Hyren said.
“And what am I,” Blynn said, “Mouldy Left-Overs?! And Terra knows how to protect herself, too! Plus she’s got all of us looking out for her!”
“Isengrim’s just being chivalrous,” Terra said to her Zafara. “And I appreciate that about him.” She rubbed her arm. “But, um… I don’t feel right being left behind, Isengrim. It’s great that you want to protect me, but… Blynn’s right, we’ve always been together on adventures. And… I hope this isn’t bragging, but… it seems things always go better when all of us are involved. Like at Lynwood.”
Isengrim gave her a long look. “I think you’re right,” he finally said. “I hate to admit it—as much as I’d like to hide you away somewhere safe, you have a way of influencing the outcome of my escapades for good. The Lynwood curse never would have been broken if not for you.”
“Thanks,” Terra said with a humble smile. “Also… I used to go to the Catacombs a lot back when it still hosted the art and writing contests. I don’t think you guys have ever been there. Hyren never even used to go there.”
“Not my thing,” Hyren said with a shrug. “While Terra and Blynn were looking at the Art Gallery or browsing the Neopian Times, I was usually over at Battle Magic.”
“Even though it’s abandoned now,” Terra said, “I don’t imagine too much has changed about the layout of the place. I can help you guys find your way around.”
Isengrim put a paw to his mouth and thought. He looked over at Zoltan, who glanced at Terra and then turned away with a guilty grimace. “You know,” the Werelupe said quietly, “I don’t feel quite right about leaving any of you behind, either.”
“Woot!” Blynn said, jumping up and punching the air.
Terra smiled. “Thanks. I won’t let you down. And I promise I won’t be a bother.”
“And I will look out for you,” Isengrim said. “You have my word.”
“I know you will,” Terra said.
Zoltan looked at her for a moment, and then his gaze moved up to Isengrim. “Are you sure about zhis?” the Kyrii asked with a rather pained expression.
“My family possesses rather unique talents,” Isengrim said. “Who can say but what they might be exactly what we need on this mission?”
“Oh, this’ll be fun!” Blynn said. “I hope I have enough gumballs! Do you think there are any gumball machines between here and the Catacombs?”
Zoltan gave her a reluctant look and sighed. “I
hope you are right,” he said.
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8
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