How Bones Got His Wings Back

     He returned to Meridell Castle Town – he had decided to temporarily protect Meridell since Hunter and the others were all scattered round Neopia on different quests. He leaned against a wall, and idly gazed around the square, watching the various Neopians walking by and checking to see if any pickpockets or ruffians were causing any trouble. He then heard a loud voice.

     "Roll up! Roll up! Come and see the fantastic steam machine!" A Fire Gelert was standing in front of a strange contraption. "This machine has a thousand and one abilities – it can brew coffee, be used as an icebox, be used as a music box, and it can even build more machines! Now here's the crazy part – it's not even Moltaran! Anyone want to help me test this glorious machine?"

     "Ooh, ooh! Pick me!" A Brown Moehog rushed out of the crowd with a big smile on his face. "I have two slices of bread, can it work as a toaster?"

     The Gelert laughed. "Of course it can! If you'll politely hand over the bread..." The Gelert took the bread and the machine unfolded into a toaster. "Watch and be amazed!"

     Bones rolled his eyes. If it wasn't made in Moltara, there's no way this would work. He crossed his arms and yawned. To his surprise, though, the machine somehow toasted the bread perfectly! "What in the name of the Dread Pirate Sherman...?"

     "You, sir!" The Gelert pointed at Bones. "Are you doubting the mysterious power of my machine? Come up here and see what this amazing device can really do!"

     "Yeah, sure. How about making a pair of wings?" Bones smirked, knowing that it'd be impossible to do so.

     "Erm... I... Uh..." The Gelert was obviously a little shaken. "I.. I think it can, but it can't right now. And, uh, you'll need some raw materials, namely copper and iron from the Cogham Mines." The Gelert turned back to the crowd. "Anyway, this is the most fantastic machine ever crafted in Meridell!" Bones sneaked out to leave the city and made his way towards Cogham.

      After fighting numerous Drackonacks on Drackon Ridge, Bones felt extremely tired when he arrived in Cogham village. "Oi, I really wish I could just FLY here. At least now I can find somewhere to sleep."

     A Blue Kacheek walked over to Bones and reached out to Bones to shake his hand. "Well met, sir! I'm Mayor Jurgin!" The small Kacheek stood on the tips of his toes trying to reach the much taller Eyrie's hands.

     Bones shook Jurgin's hand. "My name's Davey Bones, but you can just call me Bones. Do you have anywhere I can catch some rest?"

     Jurgin tapped one of his feet, lost in thought. "I don't know, but we can always set up a bivouac for you." Jurgin pointed to the fruit store. "I think that would be a good place to put it up, wouldn't it?"

     "I guess." Bones shrugged and went to the fruit store, where he had a chokato for a light snack.

     After a few hours, the bivouac was finished. "We actually managed to put in an actual mattress. We spare no expense for famous heroes like you." Jurgin grinned. "I've heard of the adventures you and your friends have gotten into. I'm still amazed that you helped defeat Scarblade!"

     "...Please don't mention that name." Bones didn't like hearing the wicked pirate's name - nobody on Krawk Island liked to mention him. "I'm just glad to have somewhere to sleep."

     Jurgin frowned. "I'm sorry that I offended you when I mentioned Scar... Erm, you know who. I hope you can continue your quest tomorrow. Just watch out for Ixi raiders, all right?"

     "All right, I guess." Bones put on his gear and picked up Stormfang, making his way out of the small town. "Thanks!"

      Bones continued down the mountain path. Even though he wasn't able to fly, he was still a good jumper and a decent climber. After a nasty incident where a mountain Crokabek almost drove him off a cliff side, he was doing rather well. Of course, this ended when an arrow zoomed past his head. "What in the- Ixi raiders!" Bones grabbed his spear and narrowed his eyes. "You all think you're so tough? Come up close and fight me!"

     The Ixi archers continued to shoot arrow after arrow, each barely missing Bones. Some Ixi raider warriors charged down a bridge with their spears ready while the archers covered them. "Nice spear! The boss will give us lots of gold if we give it to him!"

     Bones jumped into the air and stabbed his spear into the ground, generating a chain lightning effect that zapped many of the warriors. "Sorry, all he'll be getting is a real shock!" Bones then raised Stormfang to the sky, summoning a thunder cloud. The lightning from the cloud reached down to the Ixi archers and zapped them, knocking them out. Bones strapped his spear on his back again, and the storm cloud disappeared as quickly as it was summoned. Bones continued on his way to the mines – he knew that he'd likely run into the Ixi chieftain, but he knew he could take him on.

     Bones leaped from rock to rock, and soon found himself near the mine entrance. He saw a few Ixi raiders, but it seemed that they'd heard of the battle between Bones and other raiders and backed off.

     "Cowards!" The chieftain jumped out in front of Bones. "You're all useless! Let me show you how to take out this puny little pirate!" The chieftain smirked and spun his spear around in the air before dashing towards Bones with it.

     "Sorry, I don't think that'll work!" Bones jumped high and then dropped down on the chieftain's head with a powerful kick, dazing the Ixi for a moment.

     The Chieftain growled. "Why don't you stand still?!" He repeatedly attempted to attack the Eyrie, but Bones was too agile. After taking enough bolts of lightning to the face, the chieftain shouted to some archers. "He's been weakened! Get him!"

     Bones shook his head and dodged the arrows. "If anyone's been weakened, it's you! Since, you know, you're too cowardly to fight one on one." He then raised Stormfang into the air, once more summoning a storm cloud that zapped the archers AND the chieftain with powerful bolts of lightning, knocking them all out.

     The Chieftain growled as he fell to the ground. "Next time... It won't be so easy." He fell unconscious, and Bones made his way into the cave. He used Stormfang as a pick to pry some copper and iron out of the mine walls, and left the mine to go back to Meridell city.

      Bones arrived to see the Gelert sleeping next to his machine. "Excuse me? Hello?" Bones waved his hand in front of the Gelert's face, but the mysterious vendor was still asleep. "HEY!" Bones shouted, which finally woke him up.

     "Oi! Stop yelli- Oh, it's you!" The Gelert stood up and nodded. "Have you brought back the materials?"

     "Yeah, of course I did." Bones handed the iron and copper over.

     "Er, I'm sorry to tell you this, but... The machine can't really make you some new wings." The Gelert frowned.

     "WHAT?!" Bones stomped his foot on the ground angrily! "You LIED to me?!"

     "Well, erm... You could always give the materials to the local smith. After all, he's the one who built this machi-" Before the Gelert could say anything else, Bones dashed off to the castle blacksmith.

     Bones knocked on the door to the smith's quarters. "Can you build these into wings?" He presented the yellow Draik with the copper and iron materials.

     "Of course I can! I'm the finest blacksmith in Neopia! I even trained over in Moltara!" The Draik crossed his arms. "I'd ask for gold, but since you're a friend of Sir Hunter, I'll do it for free. It'll take a night, so you should probably go to sleep somewhere."

     "Thanks!" Bones was delighted that he might be able to fly again. In fact, he couldn't fall asleep while in his quarters. He was as excited as a cub on the Eve of Giving!

     In the morning, the blacksmith knocked on Bones' quarters. "A pair of steam-powered wings, ready for flight!"

     Bones took the wings and looked at them. At first, he was skeptical – after all, the cloth in between the wings was a bit charred and tattered. He shrugged, and then strapped the vest the wings were attached to on his torso. "I'm not sure if this will work..."

     "Just go into the courtyard and give it a try already!" The Draik, proud of his work, was getting impatient.

     "Alright, alright!" Bones sighed. When he walked into the courtyard, he took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing... At first, all he heard was the hiss of steam and the cranking of gears. Then he heard the wings creaking – they were flapping, and they became faster and faster until he lifted into the air! "I can't believe it! I can fly again! I CAN FINALLY FLY AGAIN!" Bones flew around the courtyard and above the castle, flying over Meridell Castle Town. Back in the courtyard, the Draik smiled – he KNEW it would work.

The End