The Discovery of Altador

     I did as I was told, and sat down. The room was a mess. Piles of notes, books, and instruments of all types were scattered on the floor, shelves, and tables. Finneus looked around, as if something were bothering him. He finally decided to sit down, but did not dare look at me.

     "Is there something wrong?" I asked politely.

     He jumped at the sound of my voice, as if he did not know I was there. Looking slightly reassured, he calmed down, but still looked concerned.

     "Oh, do not worry about that. It does not concern you, and there is nothing you can do about it," he answered.

     Finneus had awakened my curiosity, and I definitely wanted to know more. What could be bothering an archivist like him? It had to be serious. As I was dreaming of all the possibilities, he pushed over a map of Altador on my side of the table. He muttered something about finding a distance, but he seemed so concerned that he could not concentrate.

     "Master Finneus, what is wrong? What has upset you so much that you can not concentrate on Altador's geography?" I asked.

     This time, he looked straight at me as I asked the question. The archivist took a deep breath before answering my question.

     "Dear child, you ask such a simple question for such a complicated answer. But I will tell it to you. As I was studying last night, something caught my attention. It was a sign, dear child, a sign. And do you know what it meant?" he said.

     "No, I cannot say I do," I answered.

     "Our land will be discovered soon. I do not know by whom or exactly when. We will be hidden no longer," he declared.

     I was in shock. I did not know what to say. As a reply, I simply told Finneus that he was not in a good state for teaching, and that I was leaving. He walked me to the door, and I descended the marble steps a lot more quickly then I had ascended them a few minutes earlier.

     As I was walking the distance between the Altadorian Archives and my home, I caught a light at the top of a cliff. More alert than ever, I dropped my belongings on the ground and ran towards the cliff. The wind blew against my face as I ran as fast as I could out of the city and through the green fields of Altador. I was almost out of breath when I reached the cliff. Trying to ignore my fear of heights, I stuck my paws in the dirt walls. It sure was high. I started to feel slightly dizzy, but I went on. I tried to think of other things as I climbed, but what was really on my mind was what Finneus had said.

     I finally reached the top of the cliff, and beautiful scenery was unveiled before me. The last light the sun cast was shining upon the sea as it slowly disappeared. Stars were visible in the dark blue sky, and the moon was pale in the distance. It slowly grew darker as time went by and I could not help but feel that I had to stop and watch. The lights in the city flickered on and off in different buildings. It was a spectacular sight.

          I would have stayed there forever if something had not reminded me why I had come. I heard a sound coming from behind. I turned around to see two dark figures not too far away from me. Paralyzed by fear, but motivated by curiosity, I took a few steps towards them.

     "Who are you?" the voices cried in perfect harmony.

     The two dark figures had just lit a lantern, and their faces were now visible. They were two young neopets, but they seemed different than the ones here. They did not look wise and in fact, they looked quite foolish. They had strange clothes that no one here would ever wear, or even think of wearing.

     "It is not important who I am. But I am wondering, who are you? And how did you get here? You do not look like you come from this region; do you come from beyond the sea?" I answered.

     A look of hesitation came upon their faces. As young neopets, they had probably been told many times not to talk to strangers.

     "Well, I am not sure exactly where we are. I have never heard of a world like this one. But I can tell you that we come from Faerieland. We had managed to get in Queen Fyora's castle and we came upon a portal. Back then, we did not know that it was a portal, but it is obvious now that we are here," answered the one on my right.

     This must have been the discovery that Finneus was talking about. Two neopets, coming from an other world and landing in ours. Those were the two neopets that had discovered Altador. Though I told myself that they were quite harmless, I could not bring myself to believe it. I should always be on my guard, but being friendly could not hurt.

     "If you want, I will give you food and shelter for the night. But first, we must make sure that there is a portal on this side so that you can both go back home." I said.

     I followed the two neopets until we reached a very illuminated spot. They told me that this was where they had landed, and we concluded that the portal must work on both sides.

     I told them to follow me to my home. We climbed down the cliff with difficulty, but with each step, I felt slightly better. We walked through the green fields without being bothered. When we arrived at the city gates, a crowd of Neopians came over to see us. They all asked me who those neopets were. They figured that they were not from here, so the two neopets and I ran all the way to my home and barricaded ourselves in there.

     I invited them to sit down at the dinner table while I prepared some Altadorian olive salad and Altadorian bread and served some nectar of the heroes. The two of them enjoyed the food. Between each bite, they asked me a question about Altador and our traditions. By the end of the meal, they knew almost everything there was to know about Altador.

     I gave them both a room to sleep in, and we all went to bed late, after a long evening discussion.

     The next morning, I woke up to some laughing a giggling. The two neopets were already up and awake. They did not hesitate on the noise.

     "Good morning," they said to me as I arrived in the dining room.

     "Good morning," I replied, half asleep.

     I took out some ionic bread and Altadorian sun cheese for breakfast. They were delighted with the food, and even asked for second helpings. Pleased that they liked our food, I could not help wondering what it was like in their world. I was about to ask them to tell me about it when I heard a knock on the door.

     I opened the door and found an excited Finneus staring back at me.

     "Is it true? Is it true that you have two neopets from another world in your home?" he asked eagerly.

     "Yes, it is," I replied.

     Finneus ran in to my home and found himself staring at the two neopets, like they were some kind of newly discovered specimen.

     "We need to get them back, now! Show me the portal!" he said as he grabbed the two neopets and pulled them away from their plates of bread and cheese.

     Suddenly feeling that I had made a serious mistake by letting them stay in Altador and telling them all about this ancient world, I started running towards the cliff.

     I had to climb it once more, but this time, I felt more secure. We walked all the way to the light, which did not seem as strong during the day.

     "Thank you for everything. We will never forget you," the two neopets said as they waved goodbye and stepped in to the portal.

     I felt tears running down my cheeks. Finneus put his wing on my shoulder.

     "There, there. It is better off this way," he said as we walked back towards the cliff.

The End