Magic, Mountains and Mystery: Part One

     The pet didn't slow until they reached a small, inconspicuous building. A small sign over the door read Security Elephante Services. This was the place that the pet had traveled for almost two weeks to find. They opened the door and stepped inside. The one room was sparsely furnished, filled with only a desk, a chair, a ledger and a pen.

     A pirate Elephante sat at the desk. He was trained, as all the Elephantes at SES were, to take in as many details in as little time as possible and to remember them. He need only ask pertinent questions to find out the things he needed to know that his eyes couldn't tell him. Before him stood a tall, slim pet, face bathed in shadow.

     "How may I help you?" the pirate Elephante asked, voice deep, gruff but polite.

     "I need to hire a security Elephante," an elderly voice replied.

     "For what purpose?"

     "I prefer to disclose that with the Elephante I hire."

     "Of course. Is this for personal protection? A building? A possession?"

     "A possession."

     "When will you be expecting the Elephante?"

     "As soon as possible."

     From there, the Elephante secretary explained the contract between a security Elephante and the employer, including wages. Then, he got another insight into the other pet.

     "Please give this to the Elephante that I've hired," the pet said, extending one extremely wrinkled hand, covered in thin, patchy pale blue fur and age spots.

     In the hand was a sheet of paper, folded into three and sealed. This pet had magical inclinations. The Elephante could feel it and recognized a magical item when he saw one. Was this just a cover? Why so secretive? It was not his plan to find out.

     The pirate Elephante gave a curt nod of agreement, taking the sealed paper. Business concluded, the pet left. The secretary turned to the ledger, looking for a suitable Elephante for the job. It didn't take him long. He grabbed a sheet of paper, a summons to the office so that the chosen Elephante could be given their orders.

     The pirate Elephante carefully wrote the Elephante's name and herd number as well as their Neopia Central address on the envelope. Then, he embossed it with the SES seal of a furled Elephante trunk. He handed the summons to his pirate Faellie, who flew speedily out of the office on his delivery. Work completed for the time being, the Elephante waited for a response from the newly employed Elephante or the next potential employer to walk through the office door, whichever came first.

     ~ ~ ~

     The blue Elephante walked along the busy Neopia Central street. She had received her summons and accepted it without hesitation. Now, she needed to go to the Security Elephante Services building to receive further instructions. She knew the route well and it didn't take long for her to step into the familiar office building. The secretary on duty, a pirate Elephante, watched her approach in silence.

     It was only when the blue Elephante stopped in front of the desk that the secretary said, "Greetings. Identification, please."

     "Snardell, Herd #55," the blue Elephante replied at once, showing the opened summons letter that the secretary had sent only an hour before.

     "Very good. You have been hired for the protection of a possession."

     The secretary proceeded to tell Snar about what he had learned of her employer in their brief encounter and gave her the sealed paper that he had been left with. With curt nods in place of spoke goodbyes, Snar promptly turned and on her heel and exited the building. The street was too busy to unseal the paper she had been given. She began walking, looking for a secluded area to read it. Snar had been asked to report as soon as possible and she didn't want to waste a moment.

     Thankfully, Snar soon found a quiet spot underneath the shade of a lone tree in a small grassy area. She was grateful for the shelter because it was raining steadily. At last, she opened the sheet of paper. To her utter amazement, it was a map! There was an X with the words You Are Here underneath in black ink.

     Then, there was a path that led from Neopia Central to another X with the words Alabaster Glen underneath it. Alabaster Glen? Snar had never heard of it. Her large ears flared as she studied the map. Alabaster Glen seemed to be a small village in the mountainous region between Altador and Shenkuu.

     "I wonder how long it will take to reach?"

     At Snar's question, words in black ink scrolled across the upper left corner of the map: Travel Time: Ten Days, Five Hours, Four Minutes. Well, it was definitely a magic map. The rain was beginning to drip down through the branches and landing on Snar's ears. She rolled up the map and put it inside her waterproof backpack beside Liam, her blue Poppit. He blinked his large blue eyes at her.

     "We're going on our next assignment, Liam," Snar said, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

     The blue Elephante loved her job. Despite the rain, she set off with a bounce in her step. After getting on a boat and being at sea for ten days, she was leaving Altador for Alabaster Glen. Arrival Time: Five Hours, Four Minutes. Thus far, Snar had hardly needed a map, she had been in familiar territory.

     Now though, with a five hour and four minute trek into unknown territory, Snar kept the map close. She traveled steadily. The rain had remained and it continued getting colder. It was late spring, it shouldn't have been so bleak weather wise.

     With three hours and four minutes to go, the rain finally came to a halt. The sky was still overcast but Snar recognized snow clouds when she saw them. An hour later, it began to snow. Continuing to consult the map, Snar watched the time shrink. She had just put the map away, moments left to go when she froze.

     The blue Elephante scanned the sky, slowly, methodically. There! A spiral of smoke, almost invisible against the falling snow, dark sky and the jagged outlines of the leafless trees, drifted upward. Snar sniffed the air as hard as she could but the wind blew strongly. She had been lucky to catch sight of the smoke.

     Snar took Liam out of her backpack, clutching him tightly in one large hand. She was ready for whatever came next. She soon came to a clearing and found Alabaster Glen, completely destroyed. The half dozen huts had been burned to the ground. The ash mixed with the fallen snow, creating a gray-black slush.

     Snar looked around the ruined village, scanning for the pets responsible for the destruction. The snow helped to hide her but it also hid others. This was too fresh and she believed that whoever had done it was still around, perhaps lying in wait. Slowly, she stepped out into the open. She began to think.

     Snar had been hired by someone from Alabaster Glen to protect a possession. They had wanted her as soon as possible, meaning that, whatever they wanted her to protect, was in immediate need of protection. Being a possession, it most likely needed to be protected from being stolen or destroyed. Snar suspected the possession was magical in nature, due to the map and what the secretary had told her of her employer. She had come too late!

     Or, perhaps not. The village had been burned to the ground. Either the bad guys had not found what they were looking for or they were especially vicious. Snar began to search as carefully as she had looked for the smoke in the sky. There wasn't much to find.

     Snar took out the map and saw that she still had seconds to go. Had she been mistaken? The map only led to Alabaster Glen because whatever she had been hired to protect was in, no, near the village. She stood at the outskirts of the clearing, scanning the snowy landscape. There were no odd shapes in the snow, nothing that stuck out in any way.

     The blue Elephante consulted the map. Then, something occurred to her. The map, she knew, was magical. She had asked a question and it had answered. The map led to the possession, whatever it was; Snar just needed more help.

     "Where is the possession that I was hired to protect?"

     At once, the word cold scrolled across below the arrival time. Snar frowned. That wasn't helpful. She already knew it was cold. She walked forward a few steps and looked back down at the map.

     Now it read colder. Snar's eyebrows rose. The map was helping her! She moved back to where she had started. She turned left and kept her eye on the map.

     Cold. Snar kept moving in the same direction. The arrival time was now going down. Warm. Warmer.

     Hot! Snar now stood in front of a tree that looked just like the others. She didn't see anything in the branches... She couldn't be here to protect the tree, could she? Snar reached out a hand to place on the icy bark.

     To the Elephante's utter amazement, her hand went through the trunk! It shimmered for a moment before disappearing completely. In its place was a jagged ancient hollow tree trunk. It stood taller than Snar. She took Liam out of her backpack and used her trunk to hold him over the hollow tree.

     "Is there anything in there, Liam?"

     "Brrflp!"

     "That's great! Are you capable of retrieving it?"

     Liam stuck his tongue out at Snar, a clear negative. Snar lowered Liam and rubbed her Poppit's head. Most didn't understand why she had a Poppit. They had no idea how invaluable Liam was to her.

     "Thank you, Liam."

     Liam blinked warmly at Snar. She tucked him back into the warmth of her backpack, rolling up the map and also putting it away. She raised her Alabriss Staff, putting it into the top of the hollow tree. Slowly, she lowered it in and soon felt it hit something. She probed the object and felt a curved, hard surface.

     Snar set her staff aside, rummaging in one of the many pockets in her pack and got out a suction cup and some rope. She attached the suction cup to the lower end of her staff with the rope, then raised her staff to put the suction cupped end into the hollow tree. She felt the suction cup touch the item and take hold. She slowly hauled out the item. She put away the rope and the suction cup before studying the item she had been hired to protect.

     Some may have mistaken it for a rather large rock. Snar understood it to be an egg. It was large enough to touch Snar's chin if she held it horizontally. The egg was forest green in color, with swirls of pale pink and lavender throughout. Definitely a magical egg, Snar had no doubt.

     Snar had no more time to ponder, for her large ears had picked up the sounds of footsteps. When she had seen the village, she had wondered if she still had a job. Having found the egg, that was no longer a question.

     Snar set down the egg in the snow, hoping it wouldn't be harmed by the intense cold. There was only one pet out there. She hoped to be quick. She took Liam out and set him on top of the egg.

     "Protect the egg, Liam."

     The blue Poppit hissed, his large blue eyes narrowed menacingly. The egg was almost twice hi size but he would defend it to the end. Snar knew how capable her Petpet was. With the egg safe for the moment, she turned her attention to the threat. She slipped through the trees, coming to the clearing, spotting a Darigan Acara.

     Snar noted that the Acara looked miserable. Clearly, he wasn't used to the severe cold or the snow. The snow had grown heavier as had the wind. The weather was terrible and the Acara was not having an easy time of it. Snar stepped out into the open and immediately, the Acara froze where he stood, glowering darkly at her.

     "I'm here to make you a deal. I give you my lovely warm cloak and you answer my questions," Snar said.

     The Acara narrowed his eyes but Snar wasn't surprised when he nodded, "Deal."

     "Who are you working for?"

     "I don't know his name. I always just call him Boss."

     "Then what organization do you belong to?"

     "We're called the Mysterious Forces."

     Snar frowned, processing the information. It was clear to her that this Acara was just a heavy. He had limited useful information. However, he had given her something. Having found the egg, she doubted the Mysterious Forces, whoever they were, would give up.

     Snar gave the Acara the cloak and turned away, back to the egg. The Acara was out of the picture but she had not seen the last of this treacherous group after the egg. They were the threat she had to protect against. She got out her spare cloak and put it on. Long ago, her pack had been blessed by a faerie she had helped.

     It was very useful. The pack could fit as much as Snar needed it to. Liam hissed menacingly as Snar came into sight. He only relaxed when he recognized her as she stepped closer.

     "Well done, Liam. Let's try and find some shelter, shall we?"

     Liam chirped twice in positive agreement. Snar put him and the egg into her pack. She was relieved that the egg felt cold but not too much. Now that it was once more shielded from the weather, she felt better. Having retrieved the egg, she had done all she could in Alabaster Glen.

     Over the next hour, as Snar looked for the best place to spend the night, she thought over her next move. She had to protect the egg, it was what she had been hired to do. Yet, what had happened to her employer? She couldn't keep the egg indefinitely. She had no idea how to care for an egg.

     When would it hatch? Snar couldn't raise a hatchling! Without steady payment, she wouldn't be able to support herself. Snar knew she wouldn't abandon the egg. It was magical and it couldn't just be left unattended.

     Snar would not take the egg home. She kept her personal and professional lives completely separate. Not to mention, she would never put her adopted family into such danger from the Mysterious Forces, for they would surely follow her wherever she went as long as she had the egg. Home was out of the question.

     So then, where could she go? Faerieland. That was where she would go. Faerie Queen Fyora had been the faerie she had helped years ago. For Snar's assistance, Queen Fyora had said that, in future, if ever she needed assistance, Fyora would be glad to give her aid.

     There was no safer place for a magical egg than in the Faerie City, under the charge of Queen Fyora. As she came to the decision, she found a suitable place to camp and began to set up just as it was getting dark. Settling into her sleep roll, against her better judgment-clearly reflecting the unusual circumstances-she allowed her mind to drift to thoughts of home and one yellow Lupe in particular. Recently, in the last four years, Inc had begun a program for wild Lupe pups, exposing them to the wider Neopian world, more than they would ever experience in their own packs. Thus far, the program was success.

     Already the young Lupes were calling themselves the Collared Greens, a play on words. The hated vegetable had been turned into something positive. When Snar wasn't working, she helped Inc with the CGs when she could. These thoughts of home brought a smile to her face as she drifted off to sleep. The next day, things went smoothly, that was, until Snar reached Altador.

     As Snar entered the walls of the ancient city, she was hit with a wave of unease. Someone was watching her. Altador was a popular tourist site and there were crowds of pets. No one stood out to Snar. She flared out her large ears.

     It was blazing hot out in the city, a stark contrast to the near blizzard-like conditions of the mountains. Though Snar wished to reach Faerieland as soon as possible, she wanted to find her shadow and get them off her tail. Her task would be much easier if the Mysterious Forces didn't know her every movement. Snar began evasive maneuvers, moving quickly and purposely through the crowds. Every now and then, Snar would duck into a shop, hoping to draw in her pursuer.

     It didn't work. Snar slowed, feigning window shopping. Now she hoped that her as yet unknown pursuer would be lulled into showing themselves. She paused in front of a modest-sized window. Across the window in fancy red script were the words Bush to Bottle.

     Fancy perfume bottles were in abundance in elegant displays. The shop was bustling with customers. Each time someone entered or exited the shop, Snar got a whiff of a fruity fragrance. The shopkeeper was a skunk Xweetok and while she saw to customers, her black Blugar crouched on the counter, intent on the conversations. Then, the Blugar's ear twitched and he straightened, long dappled tail curling over his paws.

     The black Blugar swiveled his head to look out the window. He blinked warm amber eyes at Snar before turning his attention back to his owner and the customer once more. Snar smiled at the bustling scene though her current task was never far from her mind. The shop window was kept well cleaned and Snar could see her own reflection, as well as the reflections of the pets passing behind her. She may not have seen the motionless blue Buzz against the blue sky except for the lone white cloud that passed behind them at that exact moment.

     That's when Snar saw the Buzz. She narrowed her eyes in thought at her dilemma. How could she get rid of a flying tail? She had already learned that they could not be drawn in. Perhaps...

     Snar had an idea forming in her mind. Now, she moved purposely through Altador once more. She needed to find a messenger but not just any messenger, a particular rainbow Lenny was who she sought. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to find a messenger station. However, she would now have to wait until the Lenny actually showed up.

     Forty-five minutes passed before the Lenny suddenly appeared. It took no time at all for the Lenny messenger to fix his bright green gaze on Snar, perpetual grin on his face.

     "Snar, you look as beautiful as ever," Tenos squawked loudly as he moved towards the Elephante.

     "I see that travel hasn't dulled your feathers," Snar said with a broad smile as they shared a warm hug.

     They both spoke louder than necessary and made a scene, though everyone in the messenger station knew the rainbow Lenny well enough not to be surprised. Somerled, Tenos' Piraket also added loud punctuating squawks after Tenos finished each sentence, increasing the noise level.

     "So, I know full well, Snar, that this isn't a friendly visit. What can I do for you," Tenos asked.

     "I need a message delivered," Snar said.

     During her wait, Snar had written out a request. She handed the note to Tenos.

     "I'll wait for a response and a delivery," Snar said with a nod.

     Tenos saluted Snar. "Yes, ma'am!"

     Then, the rainbow Lenny and his Piraket disappeared without a trace. Snar was still amazed that Tenos could teleport instantly from one place to another, just like that. Though, she had to admit, it had to make his job a lot easier. She hoped that the message she had just sent would do the same for her job. Just then, Tenos reappeared.

To be continued...