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"Loop," Boye began nervously, looking at her brother like
he had lost his mind.
"No!" Loop cried. "No! I was going to my room
to investigate my room again and then I heard two Chia policemen talking about
my book! And they said it themselves! They said the beast was to awaken, but
they were going to try to catch the villain first so they weren't going to tell
Neopia! Please Boye! Please tell me you believe me! You're the only one I can
tell this to because Caroline wouldn't understand and Kimmi is too young and…"
His voice trailed off as he looked at his sister with his big, brown eyes. "Please
Boye," he whispered. "Please say you believe me."
Boye hesitated. You could see she was squirmy
with the whole situation. "Okay," she said finally. "I believe you. But I only
do because I know you wouldn't tell me that old lady was right, even if it was
a joke, unless it was true."
"Thank you!" Loop said, throwing his arms limberly
around Boye's neck and hugging her closely. "Oh Boye, you have no idea what
this means to me! You believe me!" Boye laughed and hugged Loop back. But then
Loop frowned. "But what are we going to do? You know we can't tell anyone."
Boye's lips turned slightly downward in a frown.
"Yes…" she murmured, thinking of what they could do. "But we could always track
this culprit down and put the beast to rest by demolishing it from Neopia!"
Eyeing her surroundings, Boye went on. "Think about it. You're smart and I'm
strong. Together, we can do this! What do you think?"
"I'm in," Loop said without hesitation. Boye
looked at him, surprised. "But the thing is, I really want to do this. I don't
want everybody getting hurt. So I'm in."
He smiled warmly at his sister and Boye nodded
her head. "Okay," she whispered in a low tone. "I'm going to get our emergency
backpacks. You go get the map of Neopia and my Battledome weapons and a say…
thirty-five thousand Neopoints from Caroline's office. Got it?" Loop nodded
his head. Emergency backpacks were specially being able to be bought at the
food shop. If there was ever an emergency where people had to live on little
food and water, these backpacks were packed with all the supplies you needed.
Quickly, the two pets separated to do their tasks.
Ten minutes later, Boye and Loop met up behind
the big oak tree in the backyard. Boye peered into the house and saw no Chia
policemen in sight. "Okay," she instructed. "We have our backpacks, our map,
our Neopoints and our Battledome weapons. I'm keeping my slingshot at my belt
and you keep the lost desert dagger for now. Let's move." Loop nodded his head
and he began to move toward the fence. Boye hoisted him up and soon, they were
walking in the dark alley behind the houses.
"Wow, I never remember it being this dark…"
Loop murmured as a fence creaked from the wind.
"That's because the sun is setting," Boye said,
a little worried. "We should get going a little quicker. We have to find shelter
for the night and we have to make sure we get as far as possible from home.
There are too many Chia policemen that can easily get here quickly."
By the time they reached the market place, it
was completely deserted. All the doors had signs hanging on them which read
'Sorry, closed'. They lurked in the shadows, the moon being their light.
"Look here," Boye whispered, pointing to a shelter.
They were now in a clearing in the woods. It seemed like an abandoned campsite.
A rock fireplace sat in the center, the ashes covering the once hot coals. There
was a yellow spot in the grass, which made even more sense that a tent was pitched
up there. "Let's unroll our sleeping bags."
"Boye, will you stop giving orders?" Loop complained,
gingerly letting the backpack fall off his matted fur. "I'm tired and I've pretty
much had it with you bossing me around." Boye looked at him with raised eyebrows.
Just as she was about to reply, a sad howl filled the crisp night air. They
froze. Wild Lupes were nearby. "On second thought…" Loop muttered, fishing out
the small tent. He propped it up near the fire and unrolled the small sleeping
bags they brought along.
"You're right," Boye said, sighing and crawling
into the tent as Loop constructed a blazing fire. "We shouldn't boss each other
about. We're on a mission; to track this culprit down. So where do you want
to start?" She turned to Loop, who was munching on a piece of turkey.
"Well," Loop began slowly. "We don't want to
cast a lot of attention yet. So we'd better not go near the market place or
the square. I was thinking maybe Thieves Alley?"
Boye looked at him with wide eyes. Thieves Alley
was an alley that was located behind the market place. It was like a black market;
the things these thieves stole from people and places, they sold at Thieves
Alley. And this was all fine because nobody really went in there unless they
were planning to buy something. "I mean," Loop went on quickly, seeing the concern
in his sister's face. "If I were a thief, I would go there. Wouldn't you? And
besides, if we fake as thieves than we might be able to find some information
about some other thieving network or something, right?"
Boye looked at him and shrugged, accepting his
idea. "I suppose," she said quietly, taking a piece of turkey out for herself.
As they ate in silence, rueful cries of the wild Lupes filled the air. The fire
cackled happily as night overtook the forest. When they were done, Boye laid
down onto her sleeping bag. "Let's bunk down for the night," she said with a
yawn.
"Wait, I want to take a look at my book for
a minute," Loop murmured, fingering through the items he brought along for the
long journey. He finally pulled out the slip of paper which he tore from the
blank book. He placed the paper underneath the light of the fire and examined
it closely. Suddenly, it all came clear to him. Under the light, he could make
out the whole letter.
It said… :
Dear Helen,
We cannot be together anymore. I've taken the
life of a thief; of a waker of the beast. This job doesn't pay money, but it
does pay respect and honor. This job is highly important; please accept this
for me. I love you dearly, yet somehow, this needs to fit into my life.
Every couple of years after the beast falls
back to sleep, I reawake it by sprinkling magic powder over the hole and flee
quickly, for the power of it is very strong. Please understand Helen. You will
never leave my heart. You are the only one to know about this and no one else.
Also, you are granted the power to keep this forever in your mind. Your mind
will never be erased when these horrors happen. You and I are only granted these
gifts.
-Spectral
Loop looked up from the letter, shocked. Now
he knew how to awaken the beast! But who was this Helen woman? He frowned, puzzled,
his mind racing. But then he remembered. Somebody drifted it back to sleep,
but once it slept again, the trouble and horror was erased from everybody's mind.
Everybody's mind but mine of course. He gasped at his sudden knowledge. Helen
was that old woman who owned the magic shop!
"Of course!" Loop exclaimed excitedly. Boye,
obviously not asleep, looked up at Loop, confused. "Boye, there's a sudden change
in plans! We're going to that old lady's magic shop!"
"The one we went to yesterday?" Boye asked.
Loop nodded breathlessly. "Tomorrow morning,
we leave on our mission."
*
"Out of business?" Loop asked with horror as he gazed up on Helen's shop door.
"What does this silly sign mean?! She just got a shipment yesterday and she
had real valuable things!" He stomped down the crumbling steps and marched into
the next shop. "Excuse me, but do you know why Helen's shop went out of business?"
he demanded.
The owner shook her head. "Nope. But I heard
that after some pet stole some book of hers from the backroom, she went berserk
and drove herself outta business. Gave all her rubbish to the giving tree and
fled like heck. Don't know where she went though."
Loop sighed nervously. So after she realized
he had stolen the book, she fled because she knew the beast was going to awaken
again. He mumbled thanks to the owner and walked out of the shop numbly.
"So?" Boye asked eagerly as Loop faced her.
"She fled Neopia after she found out I stole
her book," Loop said miserably. He kicked a stone angrily. "And it's all my
fault! If only I hadn't taken the stupid book, none of this would've ever happened
and we wouldn't be on this dumb mission!"
"It's not your fault," Boye said softly. "Curiosity
gets to everyone. Let's go to the Thieves Alley and see if they have any information.
Here." She handed him a black wool hat with holes poked out for his ears. "Put
that on before we enter the alley; it makes us look like thieves."
Loop nodded unsurely. Thieves Alley wasn't too
far from the market place. They looped around two corners and came to a cobblestone
archway and wall which matched the road. A sign scribbled in messy black writing
was stuck to the wall; as always, it read Do Not Enter.
Loop pulled on his hat hastily, Boye doing the
same. Then, taking a deep breath, he led them both into the dark alley.
Carts were stuck on both sides of the alley.
Scary and weird looking thieves advertised their goods and stolen artifacts
loudly, trying to catch attention to the buyers. Loop walked on until he came
to a normal looking thief. He cleared his throat and the ixi looked at him suspiciously.
"Yeah?" she asked him.
"I'm Bert and this is my friend, Kate. We're
thieves. We were wondering where the nearest thief town is. You see, we're new
to these parts of Neopia. Could you guide us there or tell us directions?"
She looked at Loop, surprised at his little
question. "Well go down to the end of market place until you come to Kiln Forest.
Go down a little ways until you come to a patch of clearing and a tree stump
is in the middle. Go to the stump and sprinkle some of this over the top. The
stump'll pop open and you slide down the hole. Just ask one of the thieves and
they'll tell ya how to get out after you're through. Tell them Silvia told you
where to go," she winked and began to rummage through the goods hidden from
view on her cart. "Here." She handed Loop a small sack of green crystals that
were crunched into a small powder. "That's the thing you'll need to sprinkle
over the stump. Got it?" she asked him, confirming their question.
"Yeah," Loop said, nodding. He took the sack
and slipped it into his backpack. "Thanks," he added hastily.
"No prob," Silvia answered with a smile. "Thieves
stick together and help each other out. Oh yeah, and if ya ever need stolen
jewels, I'm the ixi to get them from." She chuckled lightly and Loop laughed
along nervously. Boye nodded and they waved goodbye to Silvia and headed for
Kiln Forest.
To be continued...
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