Shadow Play, Chapter 11

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11

The return to Defenders HQ thankfully passed without incident. The gum-covered Zafara Rogue got plenty of odd looks from passersby, but considering their party also included a Werelupe and a glowy Halloween Kyrii battlemage, Terra was more than used to odd looks by now. The Nimmo receptionist in the Defenders’ lobby also did a double-take at their motley group, but Terra also figured double-takes were par for the course with her family.

The receptionist informed them that Judge Hog had already left to retrieve his artefact of choice, but Aisheena was currently holding down the fort in his place, so they went to talk to the white Aisha Defender.

Terra had never been in Aisheena’s office, and it looked markedly different from Judge Hog’s office, with plush faerie furniture and paintings on the walls of relaxing landscapes. It was funny, Terra thought, how one’s workspace said a lot about them.

The Aisha looked up from the book she was studying, and lifted an eyebrow at the Zafara Rogue’s strange condition. “Well, good morning,” Aisheena said. “You’re the Zafara Rogue, aren’t you.”

The Zafara nodded with a bit of a scowl. “They told me you could help me,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “I’m trying to—to make things better.”

 

Aisheena smiled. She got up from her desk and approached the Rogue, putting a paw on her shoulder. “Then you’ve come to the right place,” Aisheena said. “I’ll be happy to help you decide on a course of action—after we get that gum off of you.”

“Do you have some fancy superpower that’ll do that?” the Rogue asked.

“Nope,” Aisheena said with a chuckle, “but we do have a good supply of peanut butter.”

“Aisheena,” Terra said, drawing her sword. “I found this weapon in Vile’s stash after my own sword got destroyed in a fight. I really want to use this sword until we get this whole business with Vile resolved… is that okay?”

The Aisha put a paw to her chin as she examined the weapon. “That is quite a nice one,” she said. “Any idea who it might belong to?”

“If there’s a signature,” Hyren said, “I can figure out who forged it. But nothing else past that.”

Aisheena thought for a moment longer. “Tell you what,” she said, “if I hear anything about anybody missing a sword like that, I’ll let you know. But for now, I think you need a good weapon.”

Terra smiled. “Thanks,” she said, putting the blade back in her scabbard. “I won’t let its previous owner down.”

“Let’s head on down to the cafeteria,” Aisheena said. She put an arm around the Rogue’s shoulders and steered her into the hall.

“Hey,” the Rogue said to the others as they followed. “Thanks. This is going a lot better than I assumed it would. The Defenders are… nicer than I thought.”

Isengrim nodded. “They are firm when they have to be, which is when you’re on the wrong side of the law. But they are good Neopets and they want nothing more than to see everyone happy and safe. That includes you.”

“Speaking of the cafeteria,” Terra said, “it’s just about lunchtime. Think we could stop in for a bite to eat?”

“Of course,” Isengrim said. “I am quite hungry as well. We certainly had an adventure this morning.”

Terra put a hand on the hilt of her new weapon and smiled. “We sure did.”

After lunch, Terra and her family returned to their flat to rest and recuperate, and wait for the rest of the artefacts to be found. Zoltan excused himself from their company, as he wanted to spend some time alone with his magic, but overall he seemed much more amiable than at first. Terra was pleased with this development. Isengrim was right—Zoltan was a good guy, just very grouchy and distrustful. But Blynn had clearly won him over.

At the same time, Terra wondered if his opinion of her had changed any. He seemed to have been avoiding her lately, and she wasn’t sure if it was because he still disliked her, or because he did not want to trip up and get Isengrim upset with him again. Or maybe he was trying not to upset her. She would just have to keep having faith in Isengrim’s words. And in her own ability to help people just by being herself, which was more difficult to be confident in.

Her family was in the middle of reading the latest edition of the Neopian Times, taking a personality quiz to determine which famous faerie they were most like, when Lightning Lenny came to their door with two Neomails for Terra, both with very official-looking seals.

“Ooh, fance,” Blynn said. “Who’re they from?”

Terra opened the letters. “Jhudora and Fyora. Well, sort of.” She laughed. “It’s a form letter from Fyora’s secretary, thanking me for bringing the issue to the Queen’s attention, and assuring that it will be dealt with as soon as possible.”

“So in a few months,” Hyren said.

“Okay, I tried,” Terra said.

“What about Lady Jhudora?” Isengrim asked.

“She says she is interested in our plight,” Terra said as she scanned the letter, “but she keeps tabs on Neopia Central and has seen the arrival of a very powerful magic wielder. She says Mr. Arnyek will be able to handle things just fine.”

Isengrim’s brow furrowed. “How does she know about Zoltan?”

“I suspect Jhudora knows a lot more than she lets on,” Hyren said. “From what Pharazon’s told me about her, she seems to be more curious about happenings in Neopia than most of her sisters.”

“I wonder why that is,” Isengrim said.

Terra folded the letters and put them on the counter. “It’s not that faeries in general are apathetic,” she said. “But they’ve always been withdrawn from Neopet affairs—I think after the faerie wars, they started to worry that becoming too involved would cause more problems.”

After the incident with Xandra and Faerieland’s fall, Fyora had revealed to the Neopian public that before her ascent to the throne, there had once been millennia of off-and-on wars between faerie factions that wreaked serious damage on ancient Neopia. To smooth relations between faeries and Neopets, the newly-crowned Fyora had obscured this part of the faeries’ history throughout her reign. Many people were understandably upset about having this information withheld for so long, but Fyora did not want a repeat of what happened with Xandra, who had grown embittered toward faeries when she wandered down forbidden paths of knowledge and discovered the truth. Now, Fyora wanted to be more open about such things.

“It makes sense,” Isengrim said. “Their magicks are not to be trifled with. I wonder why we have not yet heard from Pharazon.”

“Maraqua is farther away from here than Faerieland,” Hyren said. “I’d give his reply another day or so.”

“Now let’s go finish that quiz!” Blynn said, so they did.

Blynn’s faerie personality match was apparently Delina the Crafting Faerie, as Blynn was clever and inventive and enjoyed sharing her creativity. Hyren got Aethia, the Battle Faerie, which came as a surprise to no one with his warrior spirit and perseverance. Terra’s match was Mira the Space Faerie, as they were both idealists with a firm sense of duty and justice. And Isengrim, come to find out, most closely matched up with Fyora, as he was a strong leader who truly cared about others.

Then Blynn broke out the board game version of Fiendish Formations, and the family occupied themselves with it for several hours, often making each other laugh until their stomachs hurt with the way they tried to out-strategise each other. Finally, as the sun turned the skyscrapers of Neopia Central a brilliant orange, the time to start thinking about dinner rolled around.

“I kind of want takeout again,” Hyren said. “Is there a Shenkuuvian place around here we could try?”

Terra sorted through the takeout menus the Defenders had given them. “How about the Golden Quilin?” she asked.

“Sounds promising,” Hyren said.

Terra grabbed the notepad to write the Neomail with their order and said, “Should we invite Zoltan?”

Isengrim raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain?”

“He’s not acting the way he did yesterday,” Terra said. “I think he’s coming around. I’m not giving up on him.”

The Werelupe King rubbed his chin. “Admittedly,” he said, “I worry that if we do not treat him to dinner, he might not eat at all tonight. But I would hate for him to upset you again.”

“I’ll be okay,” Terra said. “I’ll just stay out of his way. I’m concerned about him too.”

“Then let me invite him,” Isengrim said, striding over to the door. A few minutes later, he came back with a certain Halloween Kyrii in tow.

Zoltan looked uncomfortable, but not angry as he sidled into the flat, his ears low as he fidgeted with the fur lining on his cloak. “I do not require much food,” he said quietly.

“Nonsense,” Isengrim said. “It’s on us. Order whatever you like.” He handed the battlemage the menu.

Zoltan’s ears swiveled as he examined the pamphlet. “None of zhis is familiar to me,” he admitted.

“You should try a noodle bowl,” Isengrim said. “I think you will like it.” Zoltan nodded, and Terra jotted down his order. Once everyone else had put their orders in, she dropped the Neomail in the mail chute.

“Ooh!” Blynn said, grabbing the Neopian Times. “Zoltan, you should take this personality quiz! I wanna know which faerie you’re most like!”

Zoltan’s muzzle wrinkled and he gave Isengrim an unsure look. The Werelupe smiled and patted the Kyrii’s shoulder. “There is no harm in it,” Isengrim said. “You should give it a try. I am apparently most like Fyora.”

This made Zoltan crack a grin in spite of himself. “Somehow,” he said, “I cannot imagine you vith purple hair and a flowy dress.”

Isengrim laughed. “Me either.”

“All right,” Zoltan said. “I suppose I have nothing else to do while we wait.”

As Blynn asked Zoltan each of the questions in the living room, Terra watched from the kitchen with Isengrim and Hyren. “I’m glad he’s doing better,” Terra said quietly.

“Me too,” Isengrim said. “When we first reunited… I was quite worried about him. But he has been opening up again. He has not been this friendly since my pack helped him recuperate.”

“You call this friendly?” Hyren asked.

“For him, yes,” Isengrim said.

“Okay,” Blynn said, “now we tally up your answers, and…” She looked further down the page. “Oh wow! You’re Taelia!”

“I… do not know who zhat is,” Zoltan said.

“The Snow Faerie,” Blynn said. “She lives on Terror Mountain. Says here that you’re introverted, but care about others and seek to protect them.”

Zoltan lowered his head bashfully. “Oh,” he said. “Zhat’s… quite nice.”

“Yeah!” Blynn said. “I can see it.”

“I vas… vorried I vould get an evil faerie,” Zoltan said, looking at his paws.

“Why?” Blynn asked.

“Because I use dark magic,” Zoltan said.

Blynn smiled. “That’s got nothing to do with it. Besides, this quiz is supposed to make you feel better about yourself. It’s not gonna tell you you’re an awful person.”

Zoltan thought about this for a moment, then looked over his shoulder at Isengrim. “Not to be a bother,” he said, “but vill the food arrive soon? I should not spend too much time relaxing, not when foul magic is afoot.”

Isengrim shook his head. “You have done your part today, Zoltan,” he said. “And if you do not rest now, you may not have the energy when it must be called upon. Please, make yourself comfortable here and set your worries aside for a bit.”

“Tall order,” Zoltan muttered as he stared out the window at the darkening city where faerie-dust lights had begun to turn on.

“Here,” Blynn said, handing him the Neopian Times. “There’s some fun stuff in it this week. Like an article about Neogarden design!”

“Oh—thank you,” Zoltan said. “Although I do not have a Neogarden, so zhat information is lost on me.” Regardless, he took the paper and began to read.

It was not much longer before Lightning Lenny informed them that their food had arrived. “By the way,” the superhero said, “three more artefacts have been recovered. Want me to bring them to you, Mr. Arnyek?”

“Yes, please,” Zoltan said. “Vhat of zhe last one?”

“The Masked Intruder is going to search the Presidential Palace tonight,” Lightning Lenny said. “He used to rob that place a lot, so he volunteered to look for the artefact there.”

Isengrim gave Lightning Lenny the Neopoints, and the superhero whizzed away. It took him a bit longer to return than usual, and when he came back he was carrying not only paper bags full of things that smelled delicious, but a case that he presented to Zoltan.

As Terra’s family unpacked the food, Zoltan put the case on the counter and opened it. “Good, zhey brought back all my amulets,” he muttered to himself. “And zhese must be zhe other artefacts. An Eye of Storms… a Night Stone… oh, a Rainbow Scorchstone… no vonder zhis spell is so powerful…”

“Just one more to go!” Blynn said. “And then you can break the spell and the Defenders can find Vile and everything will be okay!”

Zoltan stared at the artefacts, his magic-streaks shimmering. “I hope so,” he said.

“Now,” Isengrim said, “come and join us for dinner! Put your mind at ease for a bit. Trust me, it’s good for you!”

The look on Zoltan’s face said he did not quite believe it, but he joined the others at the table anyway. Blynn tried to help him learn how to use chopsticks, but ultimately he was more comfortable with a fork as he dug into his noodle bowl. “Ah, zhis is quite good,” he said, eating ravenously as though he had not had food in days. “Thank you.”

“Try some dumplings!” Blynn said, putting a couple on a plate for him. “There’s plenty to go around!”

“Always order enough for leftovers, that’s what I say,” Terra said.

Dinner was long and enjoyable, and once everyone felt happily full and had broken into their fortune cookies, Terra said to Hyren, “I was wondering… do you think you could take a look at that sword and see if you can figure out anything else about it?”

Hyren smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask,” he said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Zoltan observed them, and looked as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get himself to. Isengrim said, “Would you like to watch, Zoltan? Hyren knows his swords, and I suspect Terra’s blade has an interesting history behind it.”

The Kyrii’s ears twitched. “If it is not too much trouble,” he asked. “I may be able to assist. Zhat weapon has powerful magic on it. If I did a closer examination, I could tell you exactly vhat spells have been placed on it.”

“That’d be awesome,” Hyren said, popping the last of his fortune cookie in his mouth.

Blynn read her fortune and laughed. “’Avoid wearing green today’. Too late!” She held up one of her floppy ears, which had a lime green starburst on it from her disco patterning.

“I have to admit,” Terra said, playing with her fortune as she folded the paper in several ways, “that after what happened in Shenkuu, I’ve never quite been able to look at fortune cookies the same way.”

“At least these are obviously mass-printed and benign,” Hyren said. “If we come across another fortune written with an unsteady hand on old-looking paper, then we’ll know we’re in trouble again.”

Zoltan looked over at Isengrim. “Vhat are zhey talking about?” the battlemage asked.

Isengrim gave him a toothy grin and said, “Now that, my friend, is a very long story. I shall have to tell it to you later. Suffice to say for now that events in Shenkuu led to me reuniting with my family, and they helped me save my pack, the Meridell region, and perhaps the entire world.”

Terra nodded. “It was definitely no accident that we were brought back together,” she said. “And look at how much good has come out of it.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Isengrim said.

Blynn crunched on her fortune cookie and said, “We never did figure out who wrote Pharazon’s fortune.”

“I guess some random diviner had a vision,” Terra said with a shrug. Her eyes widened. “Wait—maybe Kaia wrote the fortune!”

“That would make sense,” Hyren said, rubbing his chin. “I wonder if she’d be in the Imperial City for the Lunar Festival.”

“We’ll have to ask her if we ever meet her!” Blynn said.

Terra smiled as she recalled that dinner in Shenkuu that seemed like it had taken place ages ago, although it had really only been a few years. So much had changed since then, but now she couldn’t even imagine Isengrim and his pack not being a part of her life. She wondered if she would ever feel that way about Zoltan. It pained her to see him try to do everything by himself when he was surrounded by people who wanted to help him.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11