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The fire in the fireplace cackled merrily. A small green
Gelert sat curled in a girl's arms, who was sitting next to the fire in a large
armchair. A desert Lupe sat next to her, watching keenly. The Gelert opened her
eyes.
"I know that you're going to get a new pet,"
the Gelert muttered, looking up at the girl, who stroked the Gelert. The girl
nodded.
"Yeah," the girl muttered. "It might help us
in our search."
"What search?" the Lupe asked, being new to
the family.
"It's kind of a long story," the Gelert muttered,
closing her eyes again. "Err… we'll tell you once Grath gets that new pet,"
the Gelert continued, looking up at the girl.
~~~
The Lupe tapped an egg with her paw. "What exactly will you get?"
"I'm not sure," Grath answered, looking at a
section of eggs labeled 'Aishas', "but it'll have to be something unique --
even though every Neopet is."
"How about a Pteri?" the Lupe suggested, picking
up a small green egg. "There aren't enough Pterii in Neopia."
"Yeah, you're right, Sendriye." The Gelert looked
at the egg, taking it from the Lupe addressed as Sendriye. "There really aren't
enough… I checked the statistics this morning. The Pteri is number 29 on the
list."
"Why do you constantly check that list, Evyynn?"
Grath asked as the Gelert handed the egg to her.
"Because," Ev shrugged, "I knew eventually you'd
get another one. We need more than three searchers."
"I'm not even going to ask now," Sen rolled
her eyes. "Hey Rose…"
A pink Uni walked over to the trio. "Yes?" she
asked, peering at the egg in Grath's hands. "I'm guessing you chose a pet…?"
Rose smiled.
"Yeah… it's a Pteri," Grath answered, looking
around.
"Let me go get the papers…" Rose walked away,
looking under her desk for a certificate. "Now, what will you be naming it?"
Rose asked, clicking a pen when she returned.
"Umm… Likte," Grath looked down at the egg.
"And I'm pretty sure that he'll be green."
"Okay." Rose scribbled down a few things. "Your
name and/or username?"
"Grath Longfletch… or _grathlongfletch_."
"Okay." Rose handed the slip of paper to Grath.
"Just wait for about an hour or two, and--"
"Yes, yes, I know." Grath sighed, handing the
egg to Ev. She took off her coat, and wrapped the egg in it. Sendriye grabbed
the piece of paper, slipping it into a folder.
"Thanks," Sen smiled, walking out of the adoption
agency after Grath and Evyynn.
~~~
Grath placed the wrapped egg on the kitchen table. "Hmm," was the only thing
her mouth uttered.
Ev looked at the egg as it shuddered silently.
"It looks like it's about to hatch."
"Yeah," Sen prodded it gently with her paw.
It shuddered violently this time, and a large crack formed on the shell. "Hey!
It's hatching!"
A beak emerged from the crack. It chipped away
the shell it was encased in, and a small, green Pteri hopped out. It ruffled
its wings, shell flying everywhere in the kitchen.
"Oy! Grath!" Ev shouted, tapping her owner's
shoulder with a paw. "It has hatched," Ev continued, looking towards the Pteri.
"Hey there, little fella." Grath put a finger
in front of the small Pteri, smiling.
The Pteri blinked and grabbing Grath's hand
with his beak lightly. Grath continued smiling, as Likte looked around at his
surroundings. Sen walked over slowly, the Pteri grabbing her muzzle with his
wings when she tried to look at him closely. Sen grinned as well, and picked
up the Pteri gently to show her sister.
"Oy, Ev, meet your new brother?" Sen snickered,
trying to keep a straight face. Ev rolled her eyes, and placed a paw on Likte's
head. Likte ruffled his feathers, and curiously stared at the Gelert, who blinked
and stared as well.
"This is Evyynn, little bro," Sen grinned again.
"She's your oldest sibling. Can you say Evyynn?"
"Eh-eh-eh-vee," the Pteri sounded out, or at
least tried to. "Evy!" Likte smiled and ruffled his feathers again.
"Great, I've gone from 'Ev' to 'Evy'," Ev muttered,
rolling her eyes again.
Sen elbowed her sister. "Stop rolling your eyes,
Ev," Sen patted Likte's head. "I wonder if the Techo Master lets younger pets
train… Maybe I can pull a few strings so that this little guy can defend himself."
"Good idea," Grath smiled. "It'll come in handy
if he's quick when we're searching."
"Stop saying all this stuff about searching!"
Sen shouted, walking out the front door. "Tell us when we get back!" Sen called
out, still holding Likte in her arms to go to Mystery Island.
~~~
"Sendriye," a red Nimmo walked through the doorway of the Training School.
He bowed, and motioned for the Desert Lupe to come in. "The Techo Master has
been expecting you and your young companion."
"My 'young companion' is actually my little
brother, Ryshu," Sen explained to the Nimmo. "His name is Likte."
"Well, young Likte," Ryshu crouched down to
Likte's eye level. "May your training with the Techo Master go well." With that,
Ryshu bowed again, and walked off to train on the beach.
"Sendriye and young Likte," a sharp voice came
from within the room. Sen placed the Pteri on the floor and bowed as an aged
but wise looking Green Techo walked through the doorway. The Techo returned
the bow, and Sen stood up.
"Good afternoon, Sensei. I came here because-"
Sen spoke quickly, but the Techo Master held up a paw in silence.
"Yes, yes, I know, Sendriye," the Techo Master
nodded slowly. "You have brought young Likte here to go under my training. I
am sure you have brought a Codestone for him and yourself?"
Sen pulled out a small rock, with a strange
symbol on its surface. The Techo Master examined it, nodded, and watched Sen
pull out another one, with a different symbol on it.
"An Eo for you and a Lu for the young one,"
the Techo Master nodded again. "Shall you accompany us?" Sen nodded quickly,
as Likte tried to reach for the Lu Codestone in the Techo Master's grasp. "No,
young one," the Techo Master shook a finger at the Pteri.
"Oh yes," the Techo Master added, handing a
scroll to Sen. "After you and your brother finish training, please give this
to young Evyynn and your owner, Grath Longfletch. I am sure they will find it
useful in their quest."
"Excuse me, Sensei? Please don't mention their
'quest' or 'search' around me…" Sen muttered quietly.
"I will be sure to remember. I am sure that
they will tell you once you give them the letter."
"You said it was a scroll."
"It is basically a letter on a scroll."
"Oh."
"Now, please be off to your training, Sendriye.
I have a few important things to train your brother in."
~~~
"He told me to give this to you," Sen handed the scroll to Grath, who unrolled
it. "What is it, anyway?"
"A letter…" Ev looked away. "Concerning… you
know what."
"I guess it's time to tell them," Grath looked
at Sen and Likte, who was looking curiously at a pile of codestones.
"Do you want to tell it?" Grath looked at Evyynn.
Evyynn shrugged, sighing.
"I guess I have to." Ev cleared her throat,
and began. "Oh yes, and it's kind of short…" Ev added, blushing. "It's more
of like a summary of what happened."
"Stop saying stuff and began!" Sen glared at
Ev, and Ev rolled her eyes.
~~~
Grath and I were walking to the Training School for the 5th time that week.
She wanted me to battle, but secretly she wanted to train me so that I wouldn't
get into fights. If I did, I could actually defend myself.
When we got to the Training School, Ryshu
was standing next to the Techo Master in front of the building. Ryshu was staring
at the ground, while the Techo Master was patting him on the back and talking
quietly with him.
We wandered over, wanting to see what had
happened. Since Ryshu was a bit ashamed of himself, the Techo Master told us
this.
"Ah, Evyynn, Grath," the Techo Master had
said. "Just who we were looking for."
"You were looking for us?" Grath blinked,
pointing at herself and than to me. The Techo Master added, continuing.
"A gang of thieves has taken the sacred Codestones
of the temple."
"Isn't this a school?" I asked, blinking.
"There's a temple out back," Ryshu said quickly,
but fell silent as the Techo Master continued.
"Yes, there is, and inside are the sacred
Codestones. Well, inside there were the sacred Codestones."
"What are these sacred Codestones?" I asked.
"They're Codestones," Grath snickered, trying
to hide back her laughter. I glared at her.
"Each one was the first Codestone of that
type to be found. It is said that the Ancient Guardian of Mystery Island blessed
these Codestones. They were scattered across Neopia when the Ancient Guardian
had passed on, and a few years back Ryshu and I have found them and returned
them to the temple. But without them, Mystery Island will be unbalanced; or
possibly Neopia entirely."
"But why do you need us?" Grath blinked,
staring at the Techo Master.
"Before we tell you that, we need to show
you the temple…" Ryshu beckoned to the small temple that was behind the Training
School.
"The temple has actually been there since
the Ancient Guardian was around. See those markings?" Ryshu pointed to a stone
that was stuck in the ground. It had a lot of markings on it, markings similar
to the markings on the Codestones.
"After the part about the Ancient Guardian
and the early history of Mystery Island, there is something about a sage Green
Gelert and a girl with the last name of Longfletch. It then says that they would
protect the Codestones from people who wanted to take the Codestones." The Techo
Master looked to Ryshu.
"Then it tells of a Desert Lupe with a green
ankh and a Green Krawk smaller than the rest. The Krawk used to be a green Pteri,"
Ryshu added.
"That half fits us…" Grath interrupted. "Evyynn
is sage green. My last name is Longfletch. But I don't have a Desert Lupe or
a Krawk…"
"You eventually will," Ryshu muttered, looking
at the holes in the shelves were the Codestones used to be. "The last bit is
about the Krawk being the best out of the 4 searchers."
"You must go now," the Techo Master whispered,
pointing to the ocean. "You will return in a month and a half with all the searchers.
Good luck on your quest."
And with that the Techo Master and Ryshu
waved goodbye, then disappeared into the Training School.
~~~
Silence followed Evyynn's story. Sen blinked, then pried Likte off the Codestone
pile.
"Well, this'll be interesting," Sen muttered.
"How do we know if the Codestone is sacred or something?"
"It says so in this letter," Grath pointed at
the scroll Likte was now holding.
Sen tugged the scroll from Likte's grasp, and
read out loud:
To Evyynn, Sendriye, Likte, and Grath, the Codestone Hunters:
Thank you for accepting the responsibility
of finding the Sacred Codestones. A sign will appear once you find the sacred
Codestone of a certain type. I am sorry that such a heavy responsibility will
be with you, but the balance of Mystery Island is at stake. The Sacred Codestones
have been scattered across Neopia, and you four need to find them. Good luck
on your quest.
"The signature is blurred out," Sen pointed
to the bottom of the scroll.
"Wait, there's something underneath the blur."
Ev pointed beneath the signature.
"P.S. the first one, a Lu, is closer than
you think.
Hmm. Wonder where that one could be?" Grath read.
Sen pried a Lu Codestone from the grasp of Likte's
paws. "Closer than we think?" Sen muttered, staring at the Codestone.
"The first one was easy,
The others won't be,
Find the next one,
The Codestone of Zei."
Grath, Ev, and Sen looked down at Likte, who
tried to grab the Lu Codestone from Sen. Likte looked up, smiled, and ruffled
his feathers. The Lu Codestone radiated a bright green colour.
"Was it… you?" Ev asked Likte, who looked up
again and ruffled his feathers. "I think that's a yes."
"Maybe…" Sen thought aloud, but paused and stared
at the others.
"Maybe what?" Grath asked, looking at Sen curiously.
"Nothing, nothing…" Sen muttered. "We should
take this back to the Training School tomorrow."
"I don't think it would safe there," Ev piped
in. "If it was stolen there, it wouldn't be safe, would it?" Sen and Grath shook
their heads. Likte ruffled his feathers again.
~~~
"Maybe Likte is the Ancient Guardian…" Sen whispered to herself after Grath
and Ev had left. Likte looked up at her, ruffling his feathers like he always
did, and fell asleep on the couch. "Can't be," Sen muttered shortly. She smiled
at Likte, and ran off to grab a bite to eat.
Likte woke up suddenly, ruffled his feathers,
and muttered, "You are right, Sen, but you will find that out later…" Likte
ruffled his feathers for the last time, then fell asleep.
The End
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