Agent of the Sway: Recovery - Part Five

     "You are lucky Master Alshemar was out," she said. "If he had caught you, fireballs would be the least of your troubles."

     "Tell me more about your relationship with Quizara," Clayton said, probing for answers.

     "She's a powerful witch," Rasala said. "But the Order is trapped a few centuries in the past. She has been kept out of the higher levels of the organisation because the higher ups don't view anyone under a hundred as having the gumption for it. She's gradually building up her powerbase in the hopes it will pay off. As part of that, she'll need Alshemar, one of the more powerful wizards, on her side. And to do that, she'll need him to have an apprentice who can bend his ear. I'm happy to help her out if that means I get trained by one of the most powerful wizards on the planet."

     Clayton recognised a lie when he heard one. Something about the story didn't ring true, Quizara was up to far more.

     A Crokabek arrived as they walked, a message from Krawley - Gilly had recovered the flower from the old asylum, and had reunited with Sophie. The pair were returning to Neovia to pour the completed potion in the well.

     "How long will the process of fighting back the Shadows take?" Clayton asked.

     "Not long at all," Rasala said. "The problems come when they have footholds in this dimension. When they are still in their non-corporeal forms, even someone like Oldnose could do it provided they knew the right spells."

     "I'm right here, you know," Oldnose pointed out.

     ***

     Lady Falmouth and Xandra had just arrived in Neovia. They stood at the town boundary, carefully observing the mutated Neopets.

     "A potion, I think, will have caused it," Xandra said. "Doesn't look like raw magic to me. I can formulate a cure, I'm sure. But it will take time, and I will need somewhere to work."

     "I'm sure Ilere will allow you to use her lair if we explain we are on the Queen's Business," Falmouth said. "Hello... What's this?"

     The shadow of the nearest building appeared to be moving, growing and reaching out towards them. As two red eyes opened in the darkness, Falmouth drew her sword.

     "Friend or foe?" she demanded.

     Neither, a voice inside Falmouth's head replied. The Flesh will stay out of our way. Neovia is ours!

     "Did you hear that?" Falmouth asked.

     Xandra nodded.

     "Shadows," she answered. "I've read about them, they live in the void between worlds, not to be tangled with lightly, and tend to work through others."

     "Then it seems as if we have found our culprits," Falmouth said, eyeing the moving shadow. "Can you deal with them?"

     "This one?" Xandra smirked.

     One blast of green energy later, the shadow had dispersed.

     "But there will be more," Xandra added. "There's never just one - in order to stop them, we need to stop their plans. The first step will be curing the townsfolk."

     Two figures were approaching the town from a different road.

     "That's Sophie, the Swamp Witch," Xandra said.

     "Then I have a feeling the cure is already on its way," Falmouth said. "Who is that with her?"

     "No idea."

     ***

     On the other side of the town, Clayton, Oldnose, and Rasala had arrived.

     "We'll need a central location for the magic," Rasala said.

     "The town hall," Oldnose suggested.

     It was a large building right in the heart of Neovia, with a clock tower on top.

     "Perfect," Rasala agreed.

     They let themselves in with a generous helping of a fireball from Rasala, and climbed up to the higher levels where the witch began her work.

     There was a window out to the town below, and Clayton could catch up with what was happening. Sophie was busy blasting a path through the monsters to the town well, Gilly following in her wake. A movement of purple in the distance gave away Krawley's position in an alleyway - but there, on the outskirts, was a familiar face. The Faerieland Knight who had arrested Hopesmeade - Lady Falmouth. There was another Xweetok with her, one Clayton didn't recognise.

     So Fyora wasn't entirely satisfied that the Sway were gone. That made things more difficult. Especially because if things went to plan, the town would suddenly be crawling with Sway agents once more.

     Sophie's progress, meanwhile, had been blocked by the Mayor, a dishevelled looking Bruce named Thumburt. At that moment, Bruno returned from hiding, and between Sophie and Bruno, they fought back the Mayor, who was rapidly mutating into a larger and more terrifying form.

     At last, Sophie lost her temper, focusing a large blast of magic on the beast. At once he began to shrink in size, until there was only a tiny little Petpetpet in a top hat remaining.

     With no other challengers, Sophie upended the bottle into the well, and the three of them left town, planning on returning in the morning once the townsfolk had time to drink.

     "Ready," Rasala said at last.

     She muttered some strange words under her breath and there was a wash of magic. Out in the streets, the shadows seemed to be retreating back to their normal lengths.

     "Good," Oldnose said. "Now, let's get out of here."

     Clayton held him back. Falmouth would be heading into town. They couldn't meet.

     "Can you teleport us out of here?" he asked Rasala.

     "Of course," she snorted.

     ***

     Rasala went back to her tower and Alshemar, and Oldnose back to his house in the woods. Clayton waited until morning before returning to Neovia. Sure enough, the townsfolk had returned to normal, and Sophie, Bruno, and Gilly were having an emotional reunion. The potion appeared to have no effect on Bruno, having been under its influence too long, but he was an acceptable casualty. Sophie, it seemed, was declining the offer to return to town, preferring her isolation in the swamp.

     Krawley was still watching from the shadows. Clayton supplied a meaningful nod to him.

     Job done.

     The Krawk promptly disappeared into the shadows.

     Falmouth, too, was still there, prowling up and down the streets interviewing people for their accounts. Clayton hoped that the Duchess's orders had arrived to Sway agents during the night - if Falmouth found one wearing the signet ring, it would be over.

     "I have been waiting for you," a voice said from a nearby tree.

     It was Quizara, sly smirk still on her face.

     "Me?"

     "I've done a little more research since we last met," Quizara said. "About your organisation. Maybe we're not enemies after all. This is for your leader."

     She handed over a sealed letter.

     "If she needs me, she can find me at the Faerieland Academy," she said, walking off into the woods.

     "The Academy?" Clayton questioned.

     "I've been appointed as a new instructor for the coming term," she said. "It should prove to be... illuminating."

     ***

     Falmouth bowed low in front of Queen Fyora.

     "As per Ilere's original report, everything does seem to be in order, your majesty," she said. "Sophie the Swamp Witch and her brother Bruno were the main vectors for the return of Neovia, along with a girl who I have learned is called Gilly."

     "It would not be beyond the scope of Hopesmeade's organisation to use child agents," Fyora considered.

     "I thought as much, majesty," Falmouth confirmed. "But I have cross referenced this Gilly since returning to Faerieland. My files have record of her exploring Eliv Thade's castle a few months earlier. I do not believe she has nefarious intent."

     "And the cause of the disturbance?" Fyora asked.

     "Locals suggest that a Krawk named Mr. Krawley, possibly with an alias of Dr. Alexander, was behind the original curse," Falmouth said. "We have been unable to trace him - he may be a shapeshifter. However, Xandra believes that he may have been a mere pawn for larger forces."

     "Such as?" Fyora asked, her attention turning to the other Xweetok.

     "There were shadows in Neovia that moved, majesty," Xandra said. "Creeping Shadows, as my text books called them. They were attempting to use Neovia, with it's strong magic potential, as a foothold for entering our universe. I believe they were using this Mr. Krawley as an agent to weaken the barriers between worlds. When the Swamp Witch administered the cure and Krawley's curse failed, the Shadows were forced back into the Void. Both myself and Lady Falmouth felt the magic as they were drawn away."

     Fyora nodded.

     "I suppose there are other insidious forces in this world," she considered. "It doesn't all have to relate back to Duke Hopesmeade and his kind. Thank you for your work, both of you. Xandra, you may return to your studies at the Academy. Lady Falmouth, continue to monitor Neovia, when I have need of you again, I will call you."

     ***

     The Duchess read the letter in silence, a sly smile spreading across her face.

     "Well well," she said at last. "It appears Quizara may be of considerable use to us."

     "Pardon?" Clayton asked.

     "You were right to doubt Rasala's words," the Duchess said. "She was lying, covering for her benefactor. Quizara is not petitioning for more power within the Order. She has detailed her plans to me, and has proposed an alliance after learning of the explosion in the Faerieland dungeons."

     "And what are her plans?"

     "She has grown disillusioned with the Order. No matter how powerful she may become, Fyora and her court will always have the final say - the Order always bows to the Faerie Queen's will. Quizara does not approve of this status quo. She intends to overthrow Fyora."

     "We can't allow that!" Clayton gasped. "Fyora may not be our ally, but she is needed to maintain stability in Neopia."

     "Of course, we will not allow Quizara to go through with her plans," the Duchess scoffed. "But she will be a useful tool while she believes we are helping her. She has accepted a teaching position at the Faerieland Academy - ethics, of all things. Her goal is to breach the Hidden Tower, something we also require in order to remodel Krawk Island."

     "Why Rasala, though?"

     "Quizara will steal the Sceptre of Questions from the Hidden Tower, a powerful magical instrument, so she claims, but one that can only be used in conjunction with a spell known as the Question Curse. The spell was hidden in Alshemar's private books, away from the Order's normal libraries. Quizara was using Rasala to gain access to the curse."

     "Then Faerieland is to be my next destination?" Clayton asked.

     "No," the Duchess said. "Not yet. Quizara will need time before she can make her move. In the meantime, we must begin the work of spreading our new Neovian agents across the globe. There is also... Another matter I wish you to attend to. But that, I feel, is a matter for another time. You are dismissed, Agent Rook."

     Clayton nodded and left her to her work.

     The Duchess's desk was quickly filling with messages from her new agents checking in. She smiled - soon, things would be back on track.

The End