The Janitor's Discovery

     "First I try to help Meridell with their slorg problem," he said, petting his Slorgerizer. "Then I try to help out in the plot business, but what does it get me? Arrgh!"

     He leaned back on one of the pillars, sighing. A low creak could be heard. Light filled the room, and he spotted a staircase at the edge of the Hall of Heroes. He walked over to it and peered up at the stairs, his eyes wide. He walked over to the Archives, dutifully abandoning his post, and went to the Astronomy Club. He saw a map of Altador on a large stand in the middle of the room. It had a cross-section of the Hall of Heroes on the side, so the janitor quickly rushed over to examine it. It showed a small stairwell, circled, with the words 'Obs-Rsrvd Mon.' above it. He gave it a quizzical look.

     "Okay, this is the ASTRONOMY club. What does Obs mean in astronomy..."

     He blinked furiously, scratching his head thoughtfully.

     "I've got it! Obs means observatory!"

     He ran over to a large telescope on a pedestal.

     "I'm sure they won't mind me borrowing this," he said, lifting it up and carrying it out of the room. "After all, all is in the name of science!"

     He practically skipped back to the Hall of Heroes, anticipation taking over his state-of-mind.

     He ran up the stairs to the observatory, his oddly-shaped Yurble ears bouncing with excitement.

     He carefully set the telescope in the, as he would call it, Thingermigigger, and looked up at the stars. He saw something that utterly shocked him as he looked up. A pair of eyes that seemed to be staring at him from the sky! He looked at the star map beside him. The same pattern of eyes he found was looking up at him from it. He looked at the text below it. It read: The Betrayer; 1.

     He scratched his head in amazement. He saw another one in the telescope. He, once again, looked down at his star map for results. It was labeled : The Dreamer; 2.

     He started to recite something under his breath.

     "In her magical prison, which has no key

     She stands as a statue under the sea.

     Queen of Nightmares- Altador's bane..." He stopped, now knowing where the constellations originated. No, it was like the Lost Desert.

     "I won't do it again. No, I will not."

     He sighed. Just as before, he had begun to figure it out. The clue keeper. Again.

     "I'm always at the wrong place at the wrong time. Here we go again," he said with a sigh.

     "Right you are, my friend. You were once a Protector, too, or have you forgotten, like everyone else?"

      The voice rang through the observatory. It was King Altador, with Jerdana close behind.

     "You may redeem yourself by this, Jurlar. Your brother will forgive. The Statue must be destroyed, but none of us can do it. You must get someone who is not a protector to destroy it. I have enlisted the help of Finneus to work with you."

     "I will do whatever it takes," he said, tears spilling from his usually cold eyes at the chance of being forgiven.

     "By accepting this, you must take an oath- You must never tell the secret of the Darkest Faerie. You must let them figure it out for themselves."

     "I do swear, King Altador and Lady Jerdana. On my honor, I will help restore Altador to its former glory."

     King Altador spoke this time. "Then rise as the vassal of the Guardians of Altador, and you will be redeemed."

     The janitor bowed, and ran down the stairs. Little did he know, someone was watching him from the shadows.

     He turned off the lights, smashed the switch, hid the oil, made the club leaders crabby (which isn't that hard, really), shut up the observatory, hid the talisman, and assigned his grandfather, the infamous Yurble ghost, as its guardian. Then he traveled to the borders of the great city; it was almost done. He opened his satchel and brought out a bottle of faerie dust. He spread it in a circle and chanted in the old faerie tongue. Now was the hardest part- placing the portal. "Faerieland," he decided, would be the best place to put it. He keeled over laughing when it appeared in the Faerie Queen's chamber.

     "Sorry, Queenie," he said, chuckling under his breath. "You know very well that when a portal has been placed, it can't be moved."

     He walked back to the Hall and back to his little corner. All he had to do was wait.

      ***** **** ***** **** **** ***

     "Okay, where do you want to go today?" I asked my pets. It was the weekend, and I always took them out exploring.

     "Let's go out in the back yard! I mean, we do live in a jungle, ya know." Panthera, the red kougress said, the silver mark on her brow gleaming with intensity after every word she spoke.

     "No, Terror Mountain! Terror Mountain! Come on, please?" My Lupe, Mark whined, his bushy, green tail swishing with excitement.

     I stared at the tail for a moment, then stopped before I got dizzy. I could tell this would be a full fledged argument after a couple of minutes if I didn't intervene. I remembered that day in Altador when I spied on the janitor. He needed help, and not from any ordinary people, either. We would help. We were definitely not ordinary.

     "Faerieland."

     My pets whooped and yelled, sending the petpet familiars scattered around the house. I put my hands on my hips.

     "You are the worst bunch of mediocre, immature mages I have EVER seen! But, what the heck. Off to Faerieland we go!"

     I flew them up to the pink, fluffy cloud and into the Hidden Tower.

     "But mum, what are we doing-"

     "Shush! Go over there. I'll tell you when the coast is clear."

     I spread out my wings so I would look like a normal faerie and looked through the hall. Thankfully, it was clear. I signaled to my pets who ran into the hall and straight over me. (Which was VERY painful, by the way.) We went through and snuck into the Queen's Room. I saw the portal in all its pink and fluffy prettiness.

     'Wow, I guess being in the Faerie tower had its effect on the poor portal,' I thought to myself. I pinched my nose and dived in. My pets followed me, giving the portal queer glances before they jumped into its swirling depths. We landed on a patch of grass, wincing and rubbing our behinds. My pets gaped in awe of the fair city. I could tell they wanted to explore its every nook and cranny.

     "If only you could have seen it before," I said under my breath, sighing. "Come, on. I know where we're going."

     I led them to that all-familiar place, the Hall of Heroes. I opened the large, brass doors and pushed them inside. I walked over to the janitor.

     "Hello, F--" I cut him off with a glance at my pets. "I mean... Hello, miss. What brings you to the Hall? And whatever you do, don't press the button."

     I took his hint and pressed the button.

     "Arrgh! I told you not to press the button! it doesn't do anything!" His voice took a softer tone. "Maybe if you can find some oil..."

     I set off to the statues in search of the oil, determined to set the poor Yurble free.

     "Finally, you came. Now I can be free. You know what to do," the janitor said under his breath. "Do it, so I will be free!"

     I came back with the oil in hand. I placed it on the button and pressed it again. Suddenly, the lights came back on in the hall, and you could see the statues clearly.

     "Wow, look at the gems above those statues! I don't know what they're for, though."

Epilogue

     The janitor, now known as Jular the Redeemed. Not many knew him in the old days, and even fewer do now. He had gone through the trials of forgiveness, and has been accepted by his brother, Gordos. As for how he was banished, well, that's another story.

The End