I'm a Faerie in a Bottle:Part Three

     Part 3:Our adventurers had just escaped from a herd of raging Tapiras on the back of newly visible Tuceets and landed on Mystery Island.

     “Who you, why here” the forest man grunted.

     “My sister and I were transported here by a potion.. I think I did something wrong.. But now we’re in the game Raiders of the Archaic Isles and we were told to come here!” Leroy stammered.

     “Who you, why here” the forest man repeated.

     “They are NPCs Leroy, you have to tell them what they want to hear… We are adventurers here to restore peace to the island” Simone cut in.

     “Good. You come” the leafy-clad female behind Simone said.

     They followed the jungle people past some traps and into a small village with a large temple on the northwest border. There was a series of huts with villagers bustling around gathering odd looking fruits and making food.

     “Oooh that looks good Simone.. Do you think we could eat that?”

     “Just focus on the task at hand Leroy… there is obviously someone here we have to talk to to start the next challenge. But who could it be...” Simone said smoothly.

     “You see Tura-Kepek” the jungle women grunted at the pair and pointly vaguely towards the huts on the southside of the village.

     The two approached the biggest of the cluster of tents and looked around for an important looking Neopian. There was a sketchy looking Techo in the corner, but the look sent chills down Simone’s spine. A scraggly, dirty looking Kyrii approached them slowly. Leroy began to back away but Simone strode forward.

     “Tura-Kepek?”

     “Welcome brave travellers to the village of Geraptiku. I am glad you made it here safely. I was hoping you could help me find a mysterious artifact. Based on my research, it seems like it would be deep within the large temple you saw but I was attacked by a two-headed Mimbi and can’t climb the steps.”

     “Ah.. What does this artifact look like?”

     “The Fire Rod is an ancient golden sceptre with a fire crystal at the top. It will likely be in the treasure room in the deep basement. Best of luck adventurers!” Tura Kepek announces as he hands a torch to Simone and a shield to Leroy.

     “Wha.. What are these for?” Leroy stuttered.

     “For protection against the spirits within the temple. Best of luck adventurers.”

     Simone and Leroy looked at each other and went to find lunch. As they wandered through the huts, they found some grilled Urples, questionable smoked meat, and a well to fill their canteens.. They handed over some Neopoints and sat in the nearby grass. The siblings inhaled their food and they felt their spirits rise. With full health the adventurers advanced towards the temple casting a shadow on the village.

     Simone took her glasses off and was angling the sunlight until…. the torch crackled to life.

     “Boy I’m glad you’re here with me Simone..”

     “Thanks bro.” Simone beamed as the darkness swallowed her up.

     The siblings crept into a dark expansive room where their steps echoed off the walls. The narrow field of the torch lit a narrow, winding path through the gloom that Simone tread carefully as the pit of blackness below didn’t look promising. They made it to the end of the first room and stood in the archway.

     “If all the rooms are like that it shouldn’t be bad” Leroy said happily.

     “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.. They could get more complicated as we go forward…” Simone chastised as she stepped forward.

     Something clicked and Leroy pulled her back as an arrow whizzed by her face.

     “Oh my Fyora.. How did you know?”

     “There’s holes in the walls… I mean I have seen adventure movies..” Leroy smarted.

     Leroy stepped carefully around the cracked tiles on the floor, stepped back when he heard a click and began again when the arrows clattered to the strong floor.. Simone followed closely in her brother’s footsteps and collapsed breathless in the next doorway. Leroy handed her a canteen and they both took a slow sip before they walked down a hallway into the third room. They slowly stepped forward into the vast, plain room but didn’t see anything ominous.

     “Maybe we should just walk towards the other side of the room?” Simone suggested

     “Let’s give it a try.” Leroy answered slowly.

     They felt a gust of wind as the door behind them slammed shut. Simone felt something hit her cheek as she looked up to see sand pouring from the ceiling. Suddenly the walls started moving towards them haltingly.

     “Run!”

      Simone and Leroy bolted to the other side of the chamber but the room seemed to go on forever. The sand was at their ankles and began to slow their progress. They kept going as fast as they could but the walls were making Leroy nervous.

     “What else do we have in the pack Simone?” Leroy asked between breaths.

     “Our canteens, some leftovers, some charcoal sticks, the map and uhhh.. the rope?” Simone answered robotically as she ran.

     The sand was now almost at their knees as they saw a glint on the wall on the other side of the chamber. A long metal rod was sticking out of the wall about seven feet off the ground.

     “Give me the rope Simone!” Leroy shouted as they slowed their approach.

     Simone whipped the backpack off and pulled the rope out. She tossed it to Leroy and he tied a knot, creating a loop at the end. He swung it around and threw it as hard as he could at the lever. The rope floated back down slow.y and landed on the sand by their waists. He took a deep breath and threw it again this time landing around the lever. He pulled with all his weight but it didn’t budge.

     “Help me pull!” Leroy barked as the sand reached his chest.

     Simone waded forward and they pulled together. It slowly creaked down once and got stuck again. The walls were almost upon them now.

     “Again. This time jump together and pull.”

     The siblings jumped together and the lever creaked and gave in. A small door opened in the wall next to them and they were brought out by the wave of sand and it quickly closed behind them. Simone sat up and wiped her hands on her jeans before pushing her glasses back up her nose.

     “Well I hope that’s the worst of it!” Leroy laughed.

     “Stop jinxing it Leroy!” Simone shouted back.

     Simone looked around and realized they were in a sundial shaped room with 8 different pathways leading out of the center they were standing in. Before they could try to choose a path to go down, a cold gust of air came from the passage two to their left. A ghostly apparition faded into being and floating down the hallway towards them.

     “Well definitely not that way” she snarked as they turned and ran down one of the tunnels at random. After a few minutes they realized they weren’t being followed anymore. They slowed to a cautious walk and advanced down the winding tunnel. The air started to clear and the pair perked up.

     “We must be close!” Leroy exclaimed.

     As the siblings rounded the corner, their jaws hit the floor. The whole room was filled with golden and silver treasures. As far as they could see was goblets, talismans, swords, chests overflowing with coins, piles of rubies, emeralds, shiny gems and ivory statues on pedestals. Simone scanned the room looking for the ancient looking sceptre. They sorted through piles of weapons and armour before noticing a small alcove on the east end of the room.

     Leroy peeked around the corner and noticed an odd feeling in his spine. Simone went to walk past him but he stopped her.

     “In video games, there is always a pressure pad or similar trap in the treasure room so let’s scope it out first.”

     Brother and sister slowly walked around the perimeter of the room. As Simone reached the north side of the alcove, she noticed strange writing on the ceiling.

     “Namba kapudra ridom balikso yawek ….poquiak ey totam der arbuto zevey luhda ...xugidalio varmlak har luno juyteh ...rafiku fughis Moltenus.. Maybe I should write this down..” Simone stared in wonder as she copied the foreign words onto the back of the map.

     Meanwhile Leroy had gotten nearer to the end of the alcove where the groupings of tiles on the wall looked odd. He noticed they were group together in sets of 7, except for the rusty coloured ones of which there were only 6.

     “Simone come look at this!”

     She looked at the wall briefly and Simone pressed on the blank tile that should have been rusty coloured. A narrow passage opened in the wall in front of them. The siblings stepped through the passage and came into a small room with a large pedestal at the top of a small set of stairs. On top of the pedestal was a shiny rod topped by a orange crystal.

     “Finally!” Simone said triumphantly.

     The siblings approached the Fire Rod and Leroy’s words rang in Simone’s head. However, they had nothing to offset the weight of the rod so Simone ran back into the previous room to find something similar in shape and weight. She returned with a silver staff and they got ready to make the switch. Leroy grabbed the Rod as Simone simultaneously placed the staff in its place. They turned to go but saw a small rodent creature creeping towards from the treasure room. It ran at Leroy but he swung the shield at him and it backed away. Simone backed up into the pedestal and the silver staff rolled off the pedestal hitting the ground with a soft thud. A few tiles on the floor slid back and the brother and sister fell into a chute. Leroy looked up and saw the Lizark glaring at them from the floor above as he slid down the sludgy chute. After a short time in the smelly tunnel, the siblings were plunged into freezing cold water. They both began to swim down the channel and quickly came upon a light. They broke the surface with a gasp and swam towards the nearby beach.

     “It’s a good thing it’s low tide today…” Simone laughed awkwardly as they reached the shore.

     They gained their bearings and tramped back towards the village to find Tura-Kepek. The villagers gathered around them when they came into the small group of huts and stared at the Fire Rod. The jungle hunter who had prodded Leroy earlier escorted them to the big hut on the south side.

     “Adventurers, I am so happy to see you made it safely out of the temple! And with the magical artifact no less! Thank you so much for risking your lives to get it for me!” Tura-Kepek says as he reaches for the Fire Rod.

     “Ah. It was dangerous and we almost died… but you’re welcome!” Simone replied as she handed it over.

     A ping sound came from the sky and a Faded Bottled Dark Faerie appeared before them

     “Congratulations on finishing the second challenge. Here is your prize.”

     “Two down, only one left! But we have no clues this time.. So what do we do now?” Leroy said hesitantly.

     “Eat dinner” Simone answered with a gurgling chorus from her stomach.

     A short while later, the siblings were just laying down in one of the huts when they heard a loud, crackling sound and spun to see a bright, flickering light outside.

     To be continued..