The Great Race: Part Three

“Hot!” Sirenia threw herself into the shade of a large rock. “I think I liked the snow better.”

      Kanuah pulled the hood of his cloak over his head to shade himself. “We've only been here an hour.”

      Sirenia took a sip of water from her canteen. “And it's only ten o'clock. I'd hate to be in the sun at noon.”

      Kanuah walked past his sister. “Then you might want to keep moving. It's another two hours walk to the town where our contact lives.” He was looking at his maps again. “He lives under the Plateau.” He turned to Sirenia to ask her for the canteen and he noticed that once again she was looking behind her. “You're going to make yourself even more tired by constantly looking back.”

      Sirenia looked forward again. “But what if they made it out before the blizzard?”

      “Then they made it out, the best we can do it keep moving forward.” He touched his three ear piercings, they were hot to the touch. “But not too fast. Any faster and we'll faint before we get there.”

      Sirenia shaded her eyes and squinted. “Speaking of fainting, can you see something ahead?”

      Kanuah narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, just a sec.” He pulled a telescope out of his sack. “Yeah! Someone's lying out in the sun!”

      Sirenia broke into a trot. “And I don't think they're sunbathing.”

      She skidded to a halt next to the still figure. It was a Tyrannian Flotsam. Sirenia and Kanuah together picked him up and dragged him into the shade.

      “He looks kinda familiar,” Sirenia mused as Kanuah splashed a little water on the fainted Flotsam.

      “He's coming around.” Kanuah dug a healing potion out of his sack and uncorked it.

      “Ugg.” The Flotsam blinked. “Where am I?”

      Kanuah offered him the healing drink. “The middle of nowhere. The question is why you were in the middle of nowhere.”

      “The town was so boring I thought I would go for a walk,” the Flotsam answered in a bored tone.

      “I got it.” Sirenia laughed. “You run the Wheel of Mediocrity!”

      “Oh, goody. I am recognized by the highest station I hold.” The Flotsam returned dryly. “I'm also lesser known as the Captain of the Sea Division for all of Tyrannia, Plesio.”

      Kanuah helped him up. “We can help you to the Jungle if you want.”

      “Oh, how exciting,” Plesio said in a voice that was not at all excited. “Thanks.”

      Sirenia and Kanuah both lent a shoulder to the Flotsam and began to walk towards the jungle, which was just barely visible on the horizon.

      “I suppose to pass the time, you should tell me why you were in the middle of nowhere. I don't suppose you were bored like me.”

      “Nope! We're in a race!” Sirenia answered.

    ***

       “You can leave me here.”

      An hour later, they had made it to the Tyrannian Jungle with their apathetic burden.

      “You sure you're going to be okay?” Sirenia asked.

      Plesio waddled his way towards his wheel. “I'll be bored, but that's life, because life is boring.”

      Kanuah tugged on his sister's shoulder. “Let's get to our check point. We could be on a boat to Neopia Central by nightfall.”

      Sirenia turned and began to jog towards the plateau. “He lives right under the plateau, right?”

      “Right.”

***

      “Finally!” Ankhele threw herself out the door of the Terror Mountain cabin. “Thanks!” She threw over her shoulder to her host. “We have to get going.”

      Luke leapt up and down through the shoulder deep snow as he made his way towards the path down the mountain. “Let's go, let's go! They have to be through Tyrannia by now!”

      Their host waved goodbye from the door. “Safe travels!”

    ***

      “Good luck! I'll send Dayna the neomail right away!” A shaggy haired boy waved goodbye from the door of his hut with his Tyrannian Grarrl as Kanuah and Sirenia left.

      “Now to the docks.” Kanuah looked at his sister. “Why the glare?”

      Sirenia pushed up the metal circlet that was slipping down her forehead from the sweat. “Did you have to say we had to leave now. We didn't get any lunch.”

      Kanuah made a face. “Did you see what he had set out for lunch?”

      “No.”

      “You're better for it.”

      They walked past a Tyrannian Kougra and Sirenia, being the friendly Peophin she was, greeted him. “Hi!”

      “Gal-aka-fyaaaar!”

      Sirenia blinked as the Kougra continued past her. “I can't tell if he just said 'hi' or 'get lost'.

      Sirenia looked around her as they walked past the shops in the jungle. “Oh, there's the weapon shop!”

      Kanuah dove for Sirenia as she turned to walk towards the shop. “No you don't.” He caught her tail and dragged her down the path away from the shop. “We have three hours before the dock closes.”

      “If you have all of three hours, you must be bored.”

      Kanuah dropped his sister's tail and turned to see Plesio, leaning on his wheel, watching them.

      “If you have a minute of your time, perhaps you would like to waste it on this wheel.”

      Sirenia jumped up and handed him fifty neopoints. “Sure!” She gave the wheel a heave that sent it spinning around.

      “Oh, the excitement,” drawled Plesio.

      The Wheel stopped suddenly on the one thousand slice.

      “You won one thousand neopoints and two items.” Plesio dug around in his money chest.

      “Two items?” Kanuah looked at the board. “But it doesn't...” He blinked. He could have sworn that Plesio winked at him. Then again, maybe the heat was getting to him.

      “Here you go, the neopoints and two necklaces. Have a boring day.”

      Sirenia was ecstatic to have extra money. She clinked the newly won coins together as she talked. “We can buy food before we ship out. And maybe go back to that weapons shop. And I could have sworn I saw him stop the wheel with his tail.”

      Kanuah was busy reading the note that Plesio had put in his hand. “Those necklaces are made from old Tyrannian Flotsam teeth. It's a known mark of the sea division. Sailors all around Neopia know it and will help you.”

      Sirenia put hers around her neck. “Helping the old grump paid off.”

      Kanuah pulled out his map. “The docks are about half an hour down the road. We could be there by dusk and Neopia Central by tomorrow.”

      “You could be in Neopia Central in half an hour.”

      Sirenia turned around to see a Shadow Kyrii leaning against a rock. “Really?”

      The Kyrii smiled. “I know a special passageway, a portal.”

      Sirenia was interested. “I've heard of those, they're rare.”

      Kanuah didn't like the smell of the Kyrii, or his smile. “Sirenia, we're already ahead; we don't need to take a shortcut.”

      “Every bit helps.”

      “I don't like the looks of him.”

      “Because he's shadow colored? So are you.”

      The Kyrii turned his full attention to Sirenia, the one that seemed most favorable towards him. “I can show you the portal for half price; you can pay the other half to go through.”

      “How much?”

      “Four thousand. Portals are rare, and can cut a whole day of traveling out.”

      Kanuah tried to warn his sister in a low voice. “No, we need to get to the dock before it closes. The price is half of our money.”

      Sirenia had visions of winning dancing in her head, and wasn't going to listen. “Sold!” She passed over the money before Kanuah could stop her.

      The Kyrii shoved the rock he had been leaning on, revealing a color-swirled portal. “Nice doing business with you.”

      Sirenia told hold of Kanuah's arm and yanked him into the portal with her before he could get a footing to resist. They disappeared into the portal.

      The Kyrii shoved the rock back and counted his neopoints. “Suckers.”

      “Get off!” Kanuah shoved Sirenia, who had landed on top of him off of himself. He looked at the air where the portal had been, it had gone as soon as they can come through.

      Sirenia scrambled up. “Are we in Neopia Central?” She looked eagerly around.

      Kanuah looked from a pair of staggering Pirate Eyries to a raucous pub, to a beat up pirate ship. “My guess is no.”

      “Where are we then?”

      “Krawk Island.”

      “But....”

      “Sirenia, you're in the way.”

      “What?”

      “Move two steps to the left.”

      In a state of confusion, Sirenia did as she was told.

     Kanuah pulled out his katana and attacked the palm tree Sirenia had been standing in front of. “Of all the stupid, dumb, idiotic, brainless, moronic...” Kanuah vented his feelings, tearing the tree apart. He stopped when it was in splinters. He turned to his open-mouthed sister and sheathed his katana. “Now.”

      Sirenia hung her head. “I'm sorry.”

      “Sorry isn't going to fix anything.” Kanuah began to walk away. “You can be the one to explain why we're knocking on his door instead of our checkpoint in Neopia Central.”

      Sirenia ran to catch up with him dodging peg-legged pirates. “Who?”

      “The only honest person on this island that can get us off this island.”

To be continued...