The Quest to Rescue Baelia: Part Four

The next morning the group gathered outside of the Lunar temple and said their goodbyes to the old Gnorbu.

     "Goodbye for now, my friend. With any luck at all, we should return before the next full moon." Myshoiya hugged the Gnorbu and joined the rest of the group to prepare to leave.

     Quitaso reminded Alecienic and Grace that they must hold on tightly to his hands when they were flying, as if they fell there would be no saving them. Myshoiya took to the sky first so she could lead the way to Faerieland, and Quitaso took off quickly behind her so as not to lose her lead.

     The flight to Faerieland was longer than the journey to Shenkuu, and after what seemed like an eternity the clouds around the group seemed to get denser. Then, through the white puffy clouds, arose the wondrous majesty of Faerieland. Myshoiya motioned to Quitaso to land near the rocky outcrop just outside of the Wheel of Excitement.

     Once everyone was back safely on the ground and had gotten their land-legs back, Myshoiya spoke.

     "Now we must walk to Faerie City. Fyora agreed to meet us at the bookshop to explain how we are to proceed from here."

     The travellers walked together and enjoyed the absolute beauty of Faerieland as they went. Everything around them shimmered and sparkled in the crisp morning sunlight, and faint giggles of playful faeries could be heard floating by on the gentle breeze. Faerieland was a place of infinite beauty and a place where nothing ever aged. The faeries that lived here all held some type of special power, whether it be the Water faerie who had the enormous power of healing, or the Rainbow faerie who had the power to paint pets whatever color they wished; the magic in Faerieland was stronger than any other land in all of Neopia.

     It was nearing noon when they had finally reached the gates of Faerie City. The buildings shone brightly in the light, and the Faerie Queen's castle towered majestically above them.

     They walked through the city, down the purple cobblestone road to the Faerieland Bookshop. A small bell twinkled when they pushed open the door, and beautiful faerie looked up from the ancient book she was reading.

     "Good morning, Myshoiya, what a pleasure to see you in Faerieland again!"

     Myshoiya hugged the faerie and walked to the side of the shop with her, speaking quietly.

     Alecienic looked around the shop in amazement. She had never seen so many books, nor had she ever seen books of such great age. Some of the books had binding that was well worn from being read many times over by the hundreds of faeries that passed through this shop.

     Myshoiya called the group over to where she was standing near the back of the store.

     "Follow me, please. Fyora is waiting for us."

     The travellers walked through a curtained doorway into a smaller room which was lit by the golden sun that cascaded through the cathedral window at the back. In the center of the room sat a large throne, and upon it sat Queen Fyora in all her majestic glory. Grace gasped out loud when she saw the Queen, for she had never before been in the presence of such a mighty power.

     "What a noble group of travellers that stands before me. Welcome to Faerieland, my friends!" said Fyora. Her voice sounded like the song of a sparrow, soft and sweet, but with a tone of confidence and power that was incredibly evident.

     "You have travelled far to see me, and I will share with you all of my knowledge about how to help dear Baelia. It pains my heart to see her banished from her home, she should be here with the rest of her sisters, and hopefully you all will be able to make that happen. Since there is not much time to be spared, I will explain to you what I know, and I will do all that I can to help and guide you on your way."

     Fyora then took up her staff, which was propped up at her side, and waved it in the air. A swirl of fog danced around her and an image appeared within the fog. It was a picture of a mountainous land, where a tall structure rose out of the ground and glinted in the light.

     "This is the Obelisk. Neopia does not yet know of it, but they will, and when word of it spreads across the land many factions will arise to fight for the power that it holds. A great war will be had, one the likes of which Neopia has never seen. The Obelisk has been hidden for centuries from the greed of many, safely tucked beneath the earth in the plains of Tyrannia. It was foretold to me that the day would come when the Obelisk would rise from the earth to release its power to those who were deemed worthy. The day of its rising is very near, and thus you must make your way there with much haste so as to beat those who will seek to control its power. Within the Obelisk you will find what you need to help Baelia.

     "There will be many other treasures there that will tempt you; do not be fooled. The item you seek is a flask, bound in a leather case and etched with the crest of Faerieland. In this flask is a potion that has the power to restore a Faerie's stolen powers. The potion is only useable once and cannot be recreated as the recipe to produce it is in the hands of the Darkest Faerie herself. Once you find the flask, return to me with haste and I will protect you from the Darkest Faerie. She set a spell upon the flask so that she would be able to know if it was ever removed from the Obelisk, and once she is aware that it's been taken, she will send her minions to hunt it down. I hope that you understand the importance of speed here, it was destined for you to do this Alecienic, it has been known by me for centuries. You will find the flask, and help Baelia and she will return to us in Faerieland.

     "To help you on your way, I will lend you my staff. With it, you will be able to see if any of the Darkest Faerie's minions are on your trail, and you will be able to see the path to the Obelisk. My staff is also a key. Once the obelisk rises from the earth, you will need my staff to gain access to it. Hold the Orb of the staff up to the hieroglyphics on the door of the Obelisk and the door will open for you. Go now, for the time is coming for the Obelisk to rise, and believe me when I say you do not want to be around when the battle for it begins."

     Myshoiya stepped away from the group and went to speak with Fyora. She wanted to thank her old friend for helping Alecienic, although she knew that Fyora knew that this day would come for a very long time.

     Alecienic was pleased that the end of their journey seemed so close, and soon she would be able to help Baelia. She knew that this last leg of the trip was going to be the most difficult and would be fraught with many challenges, but with the grace of the Faerie Queen surely they would succeed.

     Once all of the talk had come to an end, a crisp breeze blew in through the window, chilling Alecienic to the bone.

     "You must go. You have only but a day before the rise of the Obelisk. The chill of change is in the air," said Fyora to everyone.

     With that, the group thanked Fyora for her help as she handed her staff to Alecienic.

     "I will entrust this into your hands, and I know you will return it to me in due time. May the blessings of the Faeries travel with you."

     Alecienic took the staff into her paws as a ripple of energy zipped through her body and the staff shone brightly and tilted to the north-west. That was the direction in which they needed to head.

     "Alecienic and I will lead the way; Grace and Quitaso stay close behind us," said Myshoiya as she took Alecienic's paw in her hand.

     With a quick wave goodbye, and a longing glance at the earth below, the troop took to the sky and headed in the direction of Tyrannia. The journey to Tyrannia took the team to the northern parts of Neopia, where the air became dry and crisp as they got closer to their destination. Far below them, Alecienic could see in the distance where the Neopian Sea met with desert sand, and she knew that they were almost there.

     Moments later, Myshoiya began the decent to the Tyrannian Plateau. When they touched down onto the sand, Alecienic noticed that the air was cool, despite the fact that the sun shone brightly above them.

     "We must follow the staff, we have to make our way to the outskirts before dusk," said Myshoiya.

     With Alecienic in the lead, the purple glow of the staff marked the path before them. They walked for what seemed like days, past the Giant Omelette and the Concert Hall to a flat plain where they could see what appeared to be a large crater in the ground not much further before them.

     They continued on, and Alecienic could feel the pull of the staff getting stronger as they approached edge of the crater. Just as they reached the edge, the ground beneath them began to rumble. A monumental shaking of the earth caused the group to fall to their knees. Through the terrible earthquake, Alecienic looked towards the crater and a great dark pillar rising up from the center. The Obelisk rose through the earth, casting stones and sand aside as it towered up into the sky. The black obsidian stone that the Obelisk was made from reflected the fading sunlight to reveal its perfect majesty. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the earth stood still.

     Before them, the Obelisk stood as though it had been there all along. Shining in the sunset, standing like a dominant pillar on the smooth desert landscape of Tyrannia the power emanating from the Obelisk was immense and could be felt by the entire group. With its rising, the team knew the war was coming, so they made their way quickly to descend into the crater.

To be continued...