The Draik in Black: Pictures of Darkness - Part Three

      "We will take control..." Troy muttered to himself, reading the message they sent to him. That picture was definitely a warning to him. They had managed to remain hidden within Jack's house, spying on his movements as he searched for clues. They choose that moment to show themselves, and sent him that message by pushing him out the window. Not to mention, they were telling him that there was more than one of them out there, but the only one he knew of was the grey cloaked figure in the blue mask.

      The Lupe then turned to the picture that they had taken of him looking at the pictures in the dining room. That one didn't seem like a warning. That picture was more like they were scared.

      "Pictures..." he muttered to himself. All the pictures that he had seen, except for the ones in the dining room, were marked in some way. The one he had with him was blacked out completely. But weren't they just photographs of Jack, Marco, and Ashton? Why mark them out? Why not mark out the ones from their vacation?

      The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this marked-out picture was important. It was important enough that, whoever vandalized the photographs in Jack's house, decided that this one needed to be completely hidden.

      It didn't seem like there was any sort of spell or enchantment that was used to black-out the picture. From just looking at it, it seemed like it was just a black marker. But, Troy didn't know for sure. He was going to need to find something to get the markings off of the picture.

      With that in mind, Troy got up from his chair and headed outside. He made sure to lock the door behind him. Just because that masked figure knew where he lived didn't mean he had a key to get inside.

      The sun was shining today. The Lupe was glad to be out in the daylight after that ill-advised exploration of Jack's house in the night. He was going to see Kauvara. On the chance that whatever had marked out the picture was magic or enchanted, he was at least positive that the Magic Shop owner could remove it. If she couldn't, then at the very least, hopefully she could point him in the direction of someone who could.

      There were several other Neopians out and about in the afternoon. Seeing others out was helping Troy relax. If there were others out and around, then if whoever was watching him last night was following him, they would be less likely to make a move while others could see them. A pair of Neopians were just leaving the Magic Shop as the Lupe walked in.

      There were several potions on display on the shelves, as well as a few wands. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary in the Magic Shop, although the Jar of Eyeballs was creeping him out. However, there seemed to be no sign of Kauvara.

      "Hello?" Troy called. "Anyone here?"

      "Just a minute!" came the reply from somewhere in the back of the shop.

      That gave Troy some time to think about what he was going to say. He was going to ask if the picture had some sort of magic on it that was covering it. If there was, he was going to see if she could remove it. If she asked what was on it, what would he say? Should he tell the truth? Would she believe the truth?

      The Lupe didn't have as much time as he thought to think about how he was going to approach this problem, as Kauvara came out from the back of her shop and stood behind the counter.

      "Can I help you?" she asked, looking right at Troy.

      "Well, here goes nothing," Troy thought as he walked up to the counter.

      "Hi," he said, pulling the picture out of his pocket. "I found this in the closet the other day. It's a photograph of something, but something covered it with black marking. I was wondering if it was some kind of magic ink or something, and if it was, if you could remove it."

      Not really a lie, but not really the full truth. For coming up with something on the spot, Troy had to admit that was pretty good. The Lupe handed Kauvara the picture, who then held up the picture to the light.

      "Looks mundane to me," she said after a moment. "I can run a quick test though, if you'd like."

      Troy nodded. "I would like to see what this is a picture of, thank you."

      Kauvara didn't say a word and returned to the back of the store. After a few minutes, he started tapping his paw lightly on the counter, waiting for her to return. As time quickly passed Troy started to worry.

      "Is everything okay?" he shouted to the back.

      "Yeah!" Kauvara shouted back. "Just need to mix a few things together! Should just be a second!"

      Troy nodded again. That made sense. If it was magic, then she would need to take the time to mix up something to check. He was just being paranoid. The Lupe shook his head as he tried to laugh that thought off. Suddenly, a flash of something caught his eye.

      He turned around quickly and saw a figure in a yellow cloak and a red mask looking into the Magic Shop. He was holding a camera.

      Troy went wide-eyed. At that moment, a large red Grarrl walked past the open door. The figure was no longer there once the Grarrl had passed.

      "Where did he..." Troy said to himself, just before Kauvara returned from the back of her shop.

      "Alright," the Kau said, holding a small brush and a potion of clear fluid. "If this is any sort of magic ink, this should clean it right off."

      "And if it's not magic ink?" Troy asked. His nerves were on edge, but he was trying his best to keep up his calm façade.

      "If it's not magic ink, then the picture will just get a little wet," Kauvara said. "It shouldn't damage it though, but it won't take it off."

      "Okay," Troy said, looking down at the picture on the counter. If all went well, he would get some answers from this photograph.

      Kauvara dipped the brush into the clear liquid and then dabbed it a bit on one of the corners of the photograph. A few wet spots bubbled on the picture, but the black ink was still there. It wasn't coming off.

      "Nope," Kauvara said. "It's just some mundane, everyday black ink."

      She handed the picture back to Troy, who sighed. He was so close.

      "Well, thank you," he said, taking back the picture. "Do you know anyone who might be able to help me? I would like to see what is on his photograph."

      Kauvara closed her eyes for a moment. After a moment, she opened them again. "You could try Delina." she said.

      Troy gave Kauvara a surprised look.

      "The Crafting Faerie?" he said.

      Kauvara nodded. "She makes stuff all the time. And since she doesn't use magic in her crafting, any messes or spills she makes wouldn't be magical in nature, and therefore wouldn't need a magical ink removal."

      "I guess that makes sense..." Troy said as his voice drifted off a bit. He looked out of the Magic Shop again. There were no masked figures watching him, at least that he could see. But, he did take notice of the time.

      "I was kind of hoping to get it done today," Troy finally said. "I'd rather not have to travel all the way to Faerieland for this."

      "Well, you're in luck then." Kauvara said. "Delina was giving a free class on the finer points of craft making by the Wishing Well today. She should be just about done about now. If you run, you might be able to catch her before she leaves."

      Troy was a bit surprised at that, but he wasn't going to question even a tiny bit of fortune.

      "Thank you for all your help," he said, claiming the blackened and slightly wet picture from the counter and heading out of the Magic Shop.

      The Lupe's pace was brisk as he headed through the shopping distract to the Neopian Plaza. He wanted to hurry, but at the same time, he was keeping an eye out for the masked figure he saw earlier.

      "They must still be keeping an eye on me," he thought as he moved through the small crowds of Neopians going to and from various shops. "I'm guessing they're trying to see if I'm heeding their threats and warnings..."

      If they were out there, they were very good at keeping themselves hidden. Troy didn't see either the blue-masked one or the red-masked one as he headed into the Neopian Plaza. What he did see was a crowd of about thirty children and their parents leaving the area, each carrying with them what looked like handmade dolls and toys.

      Like Kauvara had said, the class was just ending. Delina the Crafting Faerie was speaking with a few of the other children. Troy didn't want to interrupt that. He stood near the back of the area that Delina had set up for her class and waited for her to finish up.

      After a few minutes, the last of the children left, and Delina started picking up a few of the supplies that she had brought with her. As she was packing up, Troy walked up to her.

      "Excuse me, Delina," he said, approaching the faerie as she turned to see him. "Could you possibly help me, please?"

      "Sure!" Delina said quite energetically. "What do you need help with?"

      Troy pulled out the picture and handed it to the Crafting Faerie. Delina took the photograph and adjusted her goggles as she looked over it.

      "I found it in the closet," Troy said, retelling the story he told Kauvara. "I'm not sure what the photograph is of, but it's covered in black ink. I took it to Kauvara, but it's not a magical ink. She suggested I come see you to see if you could get it removed."

      The Crafting Faerie's eyes lit up a bit. "Sure, no problem!" she said. "I just need to get some solvent. I've got a special kind I use back in my workshop. If you don't mind waiting, I'll go get some and be back in a flash."

      Troy's eyes lit up. "Oh thank you! Please, take your time though. I'm just glad to be able to see what this is a picture of."

      "Great!" Delina said. "I'll just be a minute. Don't go anywhere!"

      With that said, the Crafting Faerie poofed in a cloud of purple smoke. Troy did flinch a bit at her choice of words, but she had no way of knowing what exactly he was going through. He didn't want to think about what Jack was going through right now. He just wanted to know where his friend was and if he was okay.

      He didn't have to wait long. Before the smoke from Delina's previous poof had a moment to clear, she materialized again in front of him, carrying a white bottle and a cloth rag.

      "This should do the trick," she said, opening the white bottle. "This is the same kind of solvent they use to clean up ink spills at The Neopian Times. If this doesn't get that black ink off the picture, then it's not ink at all and just a photograph of something black!"

      Delina chuckled a bit at her joke, although Troy didn't seem to share the humor. The main reason for that was because he hadn't even considered that it was a photograph of something entirely black. He had assumed that because all of the other pictures in the house were marked, then this one was as well.

      "But then, why take that picture?" he thought to himself. The thought suddenly hit him.

      The words in Jack's room at the large Draik picture with the crossed out eyes.

      All in black.

      "What if this is actually a picture of that Draik?" Troy thought. He hadn't even thought about that Draik until just now. What if this was actually a picture of him, just too close to make out anything?

      He was suddenly very worried about that picture, but Delina suddenly spoke up.

      "There we go," the Crafting Faerie said. "It's coming right off."

      Troy sighed in relief as he saw the black ink start to wash off of the picture as she rubbed the solvent-covered rag gently over the photograph. It took a bit of elbow grease, but the Delina was able to clean off the black ink from the photograph. There was so much ink on the photograph, it started to look like a black puddle was covering the image. But, once she had it all cleaned up, she wiped a dry part of the cloth rag over the liquefied ink and handed Troy back the picture.

      "Here you go!" she said cheerfully.

      Troy took the picture back from her. He looked at it in silence for several minutes.

      It was a photograph of Jack.

      The Zafara didn't look like he was in any sort of danger in the picture. In fact, he was sitting down and reading The Neopian Times. Whoever took the picture was standing behind him as he was reading. Jack's head was partially blocking the headline of the story he was reading. All Troy could make out was the first two words.

      "STILL NO..." something. The rest was blocked.

      "Doesn't seem like a very interesting picture," Delina said, making Troy jump a bit. He had been so focused on the photograph that he didn't notice that she was looking over it as well.

      "No, it's..." Troy started before he realized that his voice was cracking. He coughed and cleared his throat for a moment before continuing. "No, I suppose it's not. Thank you for all your help, though. I guess it was nothing important. Heh, I guess I thought it might lead to some great adventure or perhaps it might have been a long-lost map to treasure or something."

      Troy tried to laugh it off, but he wasn't sure he was convincing the Crafting Faerie. He noticed that she was giving him a strange look. The Lupe's laughter slowly came to a stop as he stood in Delina's presence for a few awkward seconds before he bowed a bit.

      "Thank you again for the help," he said. "I'll be getting out of your hair now."

      He backed away slowly for a moment before turning around and heading back to his home. Once Troy had gone a few blocks, he looked at the picture again. Were those masked figures following Jack as well? When was this picture taken? Where was Jack? He couldn't see any other landmarks or buildings in the picture. It was just Jack reading The Neopian Times. What exactly was the point of this picture?

      "No..." Troy said to himself. "You're going about this all wrong. The question isn't what. The question is why. Why would they black out this picture?"

      He stopped as he looked over the picture again. Whoever those masked figures were, or if not them, whoever blacked out this picture entirely, did it for a reason.

      As much as Troy tried to wrap his head around it, he couldn't figure out why the picture would be blacked out. He thought about it the entire time he was walking home.

      "There's got to be something I'm missing," Troy thought as he walked into his home. "Some clue in this picture I'm just not seeing. Maybe it'll come to me after I get some sleep..."

      *****

      After I woke up, I discovered that the masked figures had somehow gotten into my house. While I was sleeping, they had come inside and left more pictures on my bed. They had been following me yesterday as well.

      I expected one of the pictures. I had seen the figure in the red mask and yellow cloak watching me from outside the Magic Shop. Sure enough, one of the pictures was of me inside there. Like before, they had sent me a message on that picture, scribbled on the back.

      "WON'T HELP!"

      They had another picture of me with Delina. Well, more specifically, after she had left to get the solvent.

      "CAN'T HELP!"

      I'm starting to wonder about these messages, and these masked figures. Both of them were about how neither of them could help. Are they telling me that I have to do this alone? Or are they telling me that no one can help me now?

      The last thing they did when they entered my home was write three numbers on the wall across from my bed. It was the first thing that I saw when I woke up.

      568.

      At first, I didn't know what it meant. But then it hit me. 568.

      That must have been the issue number of The Neopian Times that Jack had been reading in the picture.

      There must be something in that issue that is a clue. What's more, that issue came out less than a year ago.

      That picture of Jack is from after he vanished.

      At least I know that he's okay, from that point in time.

      Now I just need to find him.

To be continued...