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ResurrectedWarrior laughed, “Really?”
The yellow Zafara grinned, “Really! No one actually
wears what Hamperdank and Holmes wore when they met you. They just like to play
tricks on people, even if it’s a subtle trick on the mind.”
RW shook her head, “I’d rather they be honest
than give a false impression of themselves.”
The Zafara grinned, pouring a load of dirt into
their bucket with the assistance of a dustpan. She glanced from the loaded bucket
to RW, “You want to help me sift this?”
“Sure,” RW nodded and stood, following her digging
buddy to the sifter.
The pair had been digging together all morning
and afternoon on the west side of the site, excavating part of an old house.
They had carefully carved out the walls and now, at the very bottom of the unit,
they were coming upon a mosaic of some sort. The Zafara had been carefully dusting
back the grains of soil, taking care not to harm the floor in any way, just
before they began sifting loose dirt.
RW and the Zafara, whose name was Zaera, had
immediately found they shared a great deal in common. Both came from large families,
had been schooled at home, and loved archaeology with a passion. These similarities
had evoked interesting conversations throughout the day. Among other things,
they discussed the different perspectives of history and how those perspectives
relate to modern philosophy, how the average Neopian’s way of life had changed
so much in the past few years, as well as the best methods for cooking asparagus.
As the pair pushed the dirt through the sifter,
picking out several artifacts and a piece of the mosaic, Shelbie the faerie
Jubjub fluttered over, an emergency kit tucked under her stubby arm. “Miss Warrior!”
her voice sounded alarmed and worried, “Miss Warrior, Gelrelt hurt himself.
Please come quickly!”
RW nearly dropped the sifter, her concern for
the Moehog immediately overshadowing her previous anger with him, “Hurt himself?
How?”
“Just come!” Shelbie flew off before RW could
respond.
Setting the sifter down and casting an anxious
glance at Zaera, RW rushed off to Gelrelt’s unit. Zaera followed closely behind.
When they arrived at the unit they found Gelrelt
lying on the ground beside Hamperdank and Holmes. Shelbie had handed the emergency
kit to Holmes, who was know splinting Gelrelt’s front right leg.
RW dropped to her knees beside her Moehog. “Are
you okay?”
Gelrelt looked up at her, his red eyes both embarrassed
and frustrated, “No!”
Holmes looked up from his splinting, “We’re going
to have to take him to the Mystery Island Medical Clinic so he can get a cast
put on.”
Gelrelt groaned in response.
RW nodded, stroking Gelrelt’s blue mane, “Agreed
. . .”
Hamperdank looked up at Holmes again, “I can’t
believe this! It could tell us about who lived here – even what their species
was! This is certainly a fascinating find!”
Holmes noticed the confused look on RW’s face
and hastily explained the white marble artifact Hamperdank had found in the
hole Gelrelt tripped in. “And just think,” Holmes patted Gelrelt’s shoulder,
“if you hadn’t tripped, we never would have found it!”
Gelrelt sighed and rolled his eyes, “Oh, joy
. . .”
***
Gelrelt had never enjoyed using his leathery Darigan wings. Somehow they just
seemed . . . unnatural. Awkward. Of course, being run through the Lab
Ray everyday for several months wasn’t exactly ‘natural’ either.
However, the time had come that Gelrelt had
to use his wings – that or limp everywhere he went with his large, clunky cast
on. Gelrelt flapped his wings and hovered awkwardly as he and RW made their
way back to the dig camp with Zaera. The large cast certainly didn’t make anything
easy! He had already hit it on several things, and the weight was difficult
to compensate for. More than once he had to stop on the dirt path so he could
adjust his balance.
“Are you alright?” RW asked as Gelrelt dodged
a collision with a tree.
“Yeah . . .” Gelrelt lied. He bit his tongue,
trying to keep his balance in the air.
“Well, don’t worry, Gellie,” Zaera smiled. “We’ll
be back soon and then you can rest.”
Gelrelt snorted, but didn’t respond. He was concentrating
too much on staying in the air to be able to think of a witty reply.
Soon enough, the trio entered the dig camp. Excavation
was now over for the day, as the sun was well on its way into the western horizon.
The team members had started a modest fire on one side of the clearing and were
sitting around on logs and boxes chattering happily. Gelrelt noticed Doctor
Hamperdank speaking excitedly with Holmes and Shelbie. Angel sat apart from
the others on a crate, staring blankly at the dancing fire.
It was then that a thought entered Gelrelt’s
mind. Had Angel known the artifact was in that hole? Thinking back on the event
just before he had fallen, that certainly made sense. But . . . why? If Angel
knew, he could have prevented all the pain Gelrelt suffered that day. Gelrelt
clenched his tooth. He could feel heat rising up his neck. If Angel could have
prevented this, Gelrelt would see to it that he paid for it, whether that payment
be exacted through a mere apology or by means of harassment.
As soon as Doctor Hamperdank saw RW, Gelrelt
and Zaera enter the clearing, she rushed over to them. At first, Gelrelt thought
she appeared to be preparing to speak to him, but it was RW and Zaera that she
addressed. “RW, Zaera! Come with me and Holmes to the Dig House. This artifact
is simply amazing! It would be very interesting for your article, I think.”
She grinned at RW,
Gelrelt threw RW a look, trying to let her know
he would like to be included in whatever was going on. But as usual, she didn’t
notice. Gelrelt decided he would just have to wait ‘til later before he learned
about the artifact that had caused him so much pain. RW led Gelrelt into the
clearing full of excavators and left him with Shelbie before wandering off with
Holmes and Hamperdank.
Conversation with Shelbie was the most uninteresting
thing Gelrelt had ever engaged in. All the little Jubjub seemed content to do
was chatter about her favorite cooking pot recipes and how frustrating the Kitchen
Quests had become. After about a half-hour of mindless chatter, Gelrelt interrupted
the poor creature in mid-sentence and awkwardly hovered off, leaving a rather
confused and offended Jubjub behind. “He’s just as rude as Angel!” Shelbie grumbled.
Hardly noticing Shelbie’s newest rant, Gelrelt
landed – or rather, fell – beside Angel as he was sitting on his crate. The
green Nimmo shifted uncomfortably and kept his eyes on the fire, barely acknowledging
Gelrelt’s presence. Gelrelt responded to this by simply staring at Angel intently,
waiting for the Nimmo to respond.
The more Gelrelt stared, the more uncomfortable
Angel became. He shifted again, biting his lip. He had hoped his inhospitality
would have driven the annoying Moehog away, but apparently the Neopet wasn’t
getting the hint. Finally, in a fit of exasperation, the Nimmo turned sharply
to Gelrelt, “What? Why do you keep staring at me?”
Gelrelt resisted the urge to grin. His plan had
worked! “You knew,” he said quietly.
A film of perspiration was beginning to form
over Angel’s brow. Gelrelt wasn’t sure whether it was from nervousness or from
the heat of the fire. “Knew what?” Angel questioned.
“You knew it was there.” Gelrelt kept his eyes
steady, staring straight into Angel’s blue eyes.
Angel gave an uneasy chuckle. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Oh really?” Gelrelt arched an eyebrow. “Then
why did you seem so reluctant to let me go exploring?”
“I didn’t want you to get lost.”
“Shelbie didn’t seem to care.”
Angel searched for something to say, “You’re
just being silly! Shelbie would have spoken up if she had had the opportunity.”
Gelrelt shook his head, “You knew that artifact
was there. You knew and you didn’t want me to find it!” He leaned closer to
Angel’s face, “But you know what? I’m going to find out why you kept it a secret,
and when I do . . .” he chuckled, letting Angel finish the sentence in his own
mind.
Secretly, Gelrelt had no intention whatsoever
of wasting his time trying to figure out why Angel had kept the artifact hidden.
He figured the obnoxious guy just wanted credit for discovering it and was waiting
for a dramatic moment to reveal it. Gelrelt’s true purpose in harassing Angel
was purely for entertainment purposes. Perhaps by torturing one of the dirt
Myncis he could have a bit of the fun he would now be missing.
After a few moments of tense silence, Angel finally
responded. But it wasn’t the annoyed response Gelrelt was expecting. Rather,
Angel’s entire demeanor changed from that of a nervous Nimmo to conniving. “If
you start poking around in the wrong things, you’ll be sorry.” He leaned over
to Gelrelt, placing his face squarely before his, “Stay out of this. It doesn’t
concern you.”
***
When RW finally entered her box tent that night, she found Gelrelt fast asleep
on his cot. Pulling back her covers, the girl smiled to herself as she thought
about her conversation with Hamperdank and Holmes in the Dig House.
“‘In commemoration of the war of deliverance
from the slaves of evil,’” Hamperdank had quoted. “Then it breaks off, but there’s
more. We have a fragment of the next word.”
“This helps to confirm what we already believed
for a long time about Mystery Island; there was a war here early on in their
history!” Homes added.
“So . . . do you have any idea what the rest
of the text would say? Are there any other artifacts like this one?” RW questioned.
Hamperdank merely shrugged, “I dunno. If we don’t
find the other pieces of the statue, we may never know.”
“We’re going to open a unit where this was found
tomorrow,” Holmes said. “Though it’s unlikely we’ll find any more pieces-”
“We figured it would be worth a try,” Hamperdank
interrupted.
After this, the conversation had turned to Gelrelt’s
leg and how long he would have to wear the cast. The archaeologists expressed
concern and pity for the Moehog, but they were unable to hide their excitement
the events leading to his injury had also led to the discovery of the fragment.
Shortly thereafter, RW had excused herself and
was now standing in her tent. The sun had long ago disappeared in a brilliant
show of orange and red beyond the horizon. She had stayed up interviewing the
excavation team concerning their thoughts of the excavation of recent discovery
of the mysterious artifact.
RW plopped down on her cot, sighing loudly. She
folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling, reflecting on
the day’s events. In all respects, today should have been a wonderful day. She
had been able to participate in a significant dig, met and made a great friends
with Zaera, and had been able to watch archaeologists as they analyzed what
could become a very important artifact in the context of the dig.
So, what was the matter? Why did she feel so
. . . not-so-great? Searching her mind, she quickly found the answer. Gelrelt.
She really should find a way to make things right with him, even if that
did mean apologizing for being . . . absent minded.
Without warning, Gelrelt rolled over, “Hey.”
RW jumped, suddenly being jerked back to reality.
“Hi . . . I thought you were asleep.”
Gelrelt shook his head. “Couldn’t.”
“Is the pain in your leg getting to you?”
“Nope.”
“Still mad about being here?”
Gelrelt shrugged.
“Still mad at me for bringing you here?”
Gelrelt snorted.
RW sighed, preparing herself to apologize. “Talk
to me, Gelrelt.”
“It’s . . .” Gelrelt began.
“It’s what?”
“It’s Angel,” Gelrelt said, “He . . . um . .
. he said something to me.”
RW cocked her head. “You can’t sleep because
somebody is actually talking to you?” her voice was anything but sympathetic.
“No!” Gelrelt snapped. “I mean, yes . . . but
it’s not that we talked, it’s what he said.”
Sensing apprehension in his voice, RW was suddenly
sorry for the way she had first responded to Gelrelt’s predicament. “Gelrelt,
what’s going on?.”
With that, Gelrelt finally unloaded the story
of how Angel had tried to stop him from walking into the woods, of how he suspected
Angel knew the artifact was there, and of his vehement reaction when Gelrelt
had questioned him about it.
When he was done, RW mused, “That does
sound strange . . .”
“He wouldn’t stop watching me all evening,” Gelrelt
said. “I couldn’t stand him staring at me so I came in here early.”
RW nodded.
Gelrelt looked at her, lowering his voice to
a whisper, “Would you please just check around our tent to see if he’s there?”
RW shook her head. “He’s not the boogie Nimmo,
Gelrelt.”
Gelrelt shushed her harshly, “Quiet!”
RW rolled her eyes.
Suddenly Gelrelt flinched. He glanced around
the tent with a sudden look of worry on his face. “Where’s Scout?”
RW’s face paled at the thought of the Sauropod
petpet. “I . . . I haven’t seen her since breakfast.”
Gelrelt groaned, “Oh no! He’s going to get her,
too!”
“No, he’s not,” RW said, rising from her cot.
“I’ll go look for her – you stop being so paranoid!” She walked over to the
tent flap and pushed through.
Since the sun had set so long ago, the only light
RW had to work with was the stars and the moon. She resisted the urge to call
out for Scout as she circled their tent; she didn’t want to wake sleeping Neopets.
Rounding the corner of the tent, RW finally started
searching the other parts of the camp. She almost gave up after she tripped
over tent stakes several times, but persisted in her search for the petpet.
Finally, after checking around nearly every tent,
RW headed for the trees around the Dig House. Perhaps Scout had taken refuge
amongst their leafy boughs.
As RW peered up into one of the trees, she realized
this was a completely futile mission. Even if Scout was in one of the trees,
she would be asleep at this time and RW wouldn’t be able to see her since the
leaves blocked out all the moonlight. Sighing, RW began to head back to their
tent. She would just have to try again tomorrow.
Just as she turned to walk back to the tent,
she heard a soft sound come from inside the Dig House. The sound was very subtle,
like something scraping across the dirt floor.
Thinking of Gelrelt’s concerns about Angel, RW
cautiously approached the Dig House and entered stealthily. Being careful to
roll her feet slowly on the ground, RW was reminded why she had never liked
playing hide-and-seek in the dark; that twisting feeling in her stomach. Going
around with the expectancy of someone about to jump out and scare the daylights
out of her had never much appealed to her.
Nevertheless, RW pushed forward into the tent,
much like she had when playing hide-and-seek. There was another aspect of the
game that she actually did like – using darkness as camouflage. She felt like
she could slink around anywhere and not be seen.
Apparently, the intruder thought so too, as it
still moved about the Dig House freely without checking itself. RW kept creeping
towards the creature, carefully weaving her way around tables, planning to grab
him from behind.
Just as she rounded a table, RW’s knee hit it,
causing all the contents on the table to rattle loudly. It was like a thunderbolt
cracking on a still day. The creature, which was obviously a Neopet, spun around.
Upon spotting her, he promptly ducked down in an attempt to hide.
RW sighed and shook her head. This was absurd!
Unless, of course, what Gelrelt had said was true. She stepped forward in the
same fashion as before, only this time she paid mind to the tables and made
sure to keep her knees clear of them.
Coming to the spot where the Neopet had ducked
down, RW glanced down at the table, suddenly realizing it was the same one that
held the statue fragment. Her eyes immediately shot to the place where the artifact
had been laid and found it was still where Holmes had set it down earlier.
Before RW could even breath a sigh of relief,
she saw a shadow growing at the side of the table in a fashion not unlike a
Reptillor. Its long shadow grew until finally RW saw a hand emerge. The shadow
and hand slunk across the table until they finally reached their destination;
the statue fragment.
To be continued...
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