Finding the Ultimate Treasure

      The brown Gelert, named Chavien, wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead as he reached the tomb, leaning against the cool stone for support. As he peered into the ominous entrance, he shivered as a gust of wind caught him in the face. However, he set his jaw grimly and entered the cold Deserted Tomb. He hadn't traveled miles upon miles just to walk away from his destination.

      "Why's it so cold in here?" he muttered to himself, rubbing his paws together for warmth. He certainly hadn't been expecting the tomb to be so chilly, considering that it was located in the tropical temperature zones of Mystery Island. He hugged his cloak to his body as he heard an odd moaning further down into the winding passage. Swallowing difficulty and summing up all his bravery, he continued.

      The moaning increased in intensity as Chavien progressed through the passageway, and Chavien became more and more wary. His eyes flickered to every movement, and his paw tightened around his traveling staff. The moaning seemed to echo off every crevice of the tomb, and finally Chavien could stand it no longer. Although he knew it was foolish, he cried, "Who is it? What do you want? Why are you screaming like that?"

      The moaning stopped, and Chavien froze with fear. Whatever it was, it had heard him, and his paws began to tremble involuntarily. He wanted to leave the Deserted Tomb by now, but by this point; he had already progressed too deeply into the tomb. He was lost.

      "I'm stupid," he moaned, choosing a random passage and racing down it furiously. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…. Argh!" he screamed.

      A ghost was advancing upon him; its eyes glowing fiercely. Chavien stepped backward and covered his head with his paws pitifully. "Get away, fiend! I'm armed!" he shouted, but his voice quavered violently.

      The ghost looked at him and blinked. Then, it began laughing. "I'm not a ghost, you nitwit! Not a real one, anyways. I'm a Wocky painted Ghost. No need to scream like that," he said scathingly.

      Chavien frowned as his fear ebbed away. "No need to act all haughty like that," he replied flatly. "Besides, weren't you the one moaning and groaning all around here? You didn't hear me squealing that loudly!" he replied hotly.

      The Wocky hissed furiously. "Of course I've been moaning! I've been lost in this tomb for two and a half days! I'm weak, scared, and tired! And it doesn't help that I haven't found my treasure at all either!" he snapped.

      "What's your name?" asked Chavien, snorting. "Because you certainly think a lot of yourself. The treasure belongs to whoever finds it first, and I think it'll be me!"

      "My name is Dru, and I'd like to say 'good luck' to finding that treasure by yourself. You'll get more confused than a snowbunny in summer. Gelerts were never as smart as Wockies," breathed the Ghost Wocky slyly.

      Chavien barked with rage. "I won't have a Wocky making fun of me like this!" he snapped. "I will find that treasure, you just watch!"

      Dru was about to reply scathingly, but he stopped himself just in time. "I have an idea…" he said slowly. "Why don't we try and find it together?"

      Chavien smiled dryly. "So that you can take all the treasure for yourself, you silly little Wocky? I know what you're up to!"

      "We'll share it, half and half!" said Dru, raising his voice. "I know my way around here better than you do, and I think you could benefit from my directions! And," he added reluctantly, "I might be less jittery with a traveling companion at my side."

      Chavien thought this through for a few seconds, then nodded. "Fine," he agreed slowly, "but if you even try to take my part of the treasure, I'll knock you in the head with my traveling staff. Agreed?"

      Dru smirked. "What a threat. Agreed, specimen of a lower species."

      Chavien scowled by said nothing, trotting further into the serpentine tomb. Dru followed at his heels, snickering.

      Chavien began to weary after nearly four hours of solid walking. He didn't want the Wocky to think he was weak, so he continued valiantly until Dru yawned and sat down.

      "Hold up there, my fine Gelert fellow. I'm going to take a little nap…rest up my paws, you know. I'd advise you to do likewise, before you faint of exhaustion," he said pointedly.

      Chavien sighed happily, but he pretended to act tough. "I'm not tired, but if you insist," he said crisply, sitting down with relief.

      Dru shook his head and curled up, falling asleep almost instantly. Chavien was a bit jumpy, as the tomb always seemed to echo with ominous squeals and squeaks, but he too drifted off.

      By the time the two woke up, it was even darker that before. The temperature also seemed to have dropped, and both Neopets shivered. "Let's get going," said Chavien reluctantly, and Dru hopped up also, now walking with Chavien side by side.

      "What kind of treasure do you think we'll find?" chatted the Wocky. "I've heard that it's piles of Neopoints and fine weapons and magic items, but that's just rumor…"

      Chavien shrugged blandly. He didn't want to admit that he enjoyed the Wocky's company. After all, Gelerts and Wockies stereotypically didn't get along. Chavien was not one for stereotypes, but he couldn't help but think of how much he would be made fun of by his Gelert and Lupe friends if he befriended a Wocky. "I dunno," he said finally. "We'll find out, won't we?"

      This cold statement shut Dru up, and the Wocky let Chavien bypass him, trailing behind the Gelert instead. "You don't have to be rude," murmured Dru in disappointment. "But if you want, I'll be quiet."

      Chavien's ears drooped slightly as he hung his head, but he said nothing to reassure Dru. "Yes, some quiet would be nice," he said instead, and instantly decided that he shouldn't have said it. Feeling stupid and mean, he hurried on through the Deserted Tomb.

      The two Neopets ambled on for several more hours, both feeling disappointed and desperate. Finally, spotting a large door, the Wocky pointed to it and offered, "Why don't we go in there for a rest? We can lock the door behind us so that no one can break through and try to eat us. We'll be much safer in there!"

      Chavien nodded gratefully and with their combined efforts, they managed to open the door. The room was vast and even colder than the rest of the tomb, but it appeared quite devoid of monsters, which Dru and Chavien were both grateful for. Chavien unpacked his traveling pack and took out some slightly stale buttered scones and two bottles of water. "Do you want something to eat, Dru?" he asked tentatively.

      Dru ignored him, traveling to a corner of the dark room, fascinated. "Do you want anything to eat?" replied Chavien, a little louder this time. Again, Dru ignored him, putting his paws on a dusty metal box instead.

      Chavien, quite irritated to have his friendliness ignored, turned around to face Dru, but when he finally did so, his jaw dropped.

      Dru's paws were laden with Neopoints, and around his neck hung handsome necklaces and fancy sharp blades. "It's the treasure!" squealed Dru shrilly. "We did it, Chavien!"

      Chavien gave a loud, triumphant laugh and ran to the heavy box, dipping his paws into it to find heavy gold coins and large jewels. "We're rich!" he declared, beaming broadly. "Rich!"

      Both Neopets dug through the treasure, finding the best weapons and filling their bags with Neopoints. When they were finally satisfied, they returned to where Chavien had set out his scones and water. They were gone.

      Chavien scratched his head, confused. "I'm sure I left them out here," he said. "Where could they be?"

      They peered around the room, and then Dru screamed. There in one corner was a huge monstrous ghost Hissi, with glowing red eyes and a fierce expression. It wore a funny headdress, but that was the only thing faintly amusing about it. Its fangs shone as it chewed on Chavien's scones with a look of distaste on its face. Then, hearing Dru's scream, it swiveled its head to look at them, grinning broadly. "Dinner is ssserved!" it hissed.

      Chavien and Dru uttered shrill screams before tearing out of the room, their moneybags clanging at their sides heavily. The monster slithered after them at an alarming rate, chanting an odd, creepy poem in the process. Dru and Chavien ignored the chant; they were much more worried about staying alive. They raced down every available passage, trying to put as much space between them and the fearsome Hissi as possible. The Hissi was relentless, and with the heavy bags of Neopoints slowing them down, the monster began closing the gap between them.

      Dru was lagging especially, being smaller than the Gelert: the huge moneybags weighed him down spectacularly. He began panting in desperation, and finally Chavien knocked the bag of Neopoints from Dru's paws, shaking his head. "I'll give you half of mine!" promised the Gelert. "Those Neopoints are just slowing you down! Dead Neopets won't be able to spend Neopoints, at any rate!" he roared.

      Dru gave the Gelert a grateful grin and began running more quickly, eventually surpassing the Gelert in speed. Soon, it became the Gelert that was lagging, and the Hissi was nearly upon Chavien, its jaws outstretched. Dru gave a fearsome cry and dove in front of his friend, and used his Light Faerie ability, Flash. A huge bolt of light erupted in front of the Hissi, blinding it. It reared in pain, trying to clear its eyes, but Dru and Chavien were already bolting off at top speed. The Hissi snarled angrily as the lights stopped flashing in its eyes, and it began its pursuit once more.

      Chavien chanced a look behind him, and in doing so, tripped over a crack in the floor. Gasping, he fell over and all the precious Neopoints came tumbling from the large bag he had slung over his shoulder. He gave a moan of despair and began retrieving them hastily, but Dru dragged him back up.

      "We don't have time for that!" he hissed, looking behind where the Hissi was almost upon them once more. "We'll just have to do with whatever Neopoints you still have in the bag! Forget the ones that fell!"

      Chavien looked at all the Neopoints that had scattered all over the stone floor and frowned sadly, but he knew there was truth in what Dru was saying. They sprinted off again, even faster than before.

      It seemed like ages and ages, but finally, the entrance of the Deserted Tomb came into view. Both Chavien and Dru whooped with joy as they raced from the cold tomb into the hot, sticky air of Geraptiku. The Hissi, they noticed, had stopped chasing them a few meters from the entrance, and they could just make out its leering form, daring them to reenter the tomb.

      Chavien and Dru grinned at each other and then Chavien reached for the treasure bag. Upending it, they found that only fourteen Neopoints rolled from it, but instead of despairing, Dru laughed.

      "We could have died, but now we're alive. I was bored before I entered the tomb, and now I've just had a great adventure. And before now, I was very poor, but now I have the best treasure of all-friendship!" he declared happily.

      Chavien looked at the nearly empty bag, almost expecting a wave of regret, but he was surprised to hear himself laugh. "You're right," he said, throwing the bag aside. "I too used to be poor, but now I'm very rich. Perhaps not with real riches and gold, but with good friends, nothing else matters."

The End