Ancient Home - Part 4

     "Put Through The Test Of Time"

     " Queen Freilian looks gorgeous in the sun. I love her stripes!" The Weekly Warm-Hearted continued to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Queen of Dragons in person. "You're right! And she's so kind."

     Scavert eavesdropped on their conversation when he heard one of them refer to the Draik, who took his obelisk rune without asking, as "Queen". He looked over to Freilian as she waited for a response from Vanduck to her question.

     "My brother, Scavert, and I are here to learn more about the magic of the obelisk here in Tyrannia," Vanduck explained. "But, also, it seems that you may have taken something from Sca—"

     Butting in to stop Vanduck, Scavert coughed and greeted the Draik to keep his brother from saying something that might upset the Queen. "Hey, Your Highness—uh, Majesty. Uh, I'm Scavert. And this here's Vanduck. Sorry for being dripping wet, but we just, uh, wanted to check out what this crowd here was all about, so we swam right over from the boat. Looks like it was just a bunch of nice people gifting free stuff, so we'll just be on our way." The Gelert displayed every ounce of charm he possessed.

     "I know I took your obelisk rune, Scavert." She firmly looked at him in his eyes, then glanced over to Vanduck. "But, also, it seems that the rune of hope really belonged to me. At any rate, as you can see, I no longer have it."

     "Did it fall in the ocean on your way here?" Vanduck was confused.

     "No. As in, I cannot return what has been fused inside me. My bloodline is the rightful heir of the obelisk's magic. It simply was not yours to begin with. But I thank you for bringing it to me." She smiled at Vanduck. "The rune of hope will surely bring great things."

     Satisfied with her explanation, Scavert rushed to scram in fear of any further upsetting the Dragon Queen. "Great! So, enjoy your hope, and hope you have a great day! Thank you, Your Majes—uh, Highness! See ya!" He quickly waved to her and the Weekly Warm-Hearted as he nudged Vanduck to follow him out of there. "Thanks for the Turned Tooth!" He shouted to the crowd as he held it up under the bright sun. The sharp blade flashed in the light.

     "This cannot be." Shocked, Freilian recognised the symbol carved into Scavert's weapon. "The rune of hope . . . resides on that blade as well." She took a step forward, her eyes wide open.

     "Oh no . . . ." Scavert's heart dropped. He didn't want to have to give up yet another valuable possession to a queen he'd never heard of until today. He breathed heavily and wondered if he should just make a run for it. Maybe he'd be able to get away if he jumped off the cliff back into the ocean, he thought. His boat wasn't too far away. He's a fast-swimming Gelert after all, even for his old age. His back paws tensed, ready to choose which direction to go.

     "Well, wait. Before you take it, perhaps you'd let me use my psychic powers to learn a bit about the magic hidden inside it. If it's all right with you, Your, um . . . Ma . . . jes . . . ty . . . ?" Vanduck had never seen or met actual Neopian royalty before and was trying hard to understand why this Draik was so important to the crowd, and to Scavert whom he could tell was on edge because of her. "You said the rune fused with you, so before Scavert's Turned Tooth, which he got as a gift, gets fused inside you, too, I would like to see what makes this obelisk magic so special."

     Freilian could tell that the curious-looking Mutant Vandagyre was more than meets the eye. "Did you come to Tyrannia to use psychic abilities to learn the secrets of my bloodline's magic?" She asked, surprised that two vagabonds would find themselves in possession of a rare obelisk rune, which she had never found before. Perhaps, she thought, the two brothers could help her unearth the secrets of her divine past, with their supposed psychic skills. "I'd like to know what you see with your powers, go ahead."

     Scavert was still tense as Vanduck held out his paw for the Turned Tooth. He was disappointed that there wouldn't be an attempt to flee, but he knew he could trust Vanduck. He handed it over to him, then forced a smile as if to encourage his brother to do his absolute best with this next psychic vision.

     The mutant psychic understood. He took a deep breath to relax, then pecked at the hilt of the blade where the curly symbol for "hope" in the shape of a sun glowed brightly. Then, what Vanduck saw made him feel like he was back home on Mystery Island; it was calming for a split second, and then the vision began to quake all around! He could feel the trembling of the ground as a large temple slowly rose from underneath the jungle. The magic embedded in the Turned Tooth called out to Vanduck, pointing him to the side entrance of the hidden temple. A silhouette of a blade was etched into the wall . . . .

     Freed from the vision, Vanduck turned back to the Queen and explained the wonder he just saw. He described the silhouette on the wall and how it glowed as he heard a voice asking him to return the key to its rightful place. He couldn't tell where exactly on Mystery Island the hidden temple was located, but he was entirely positive that it was somewhere there. The lush greenery, the large Techo Mountain in the background, the tiki torches. It was all there. As he spoke, the Turned Tooth was shaking in Vanduck's paws.

     Without warning, it jumped out and seamlessly returned back to Scavert's grip. "What the . . . ?" Scavert looked from the Turned Tooth to Vanduck in question. "Did you do that?"

     Vanduck shook his head no. "I don't know what happened, but it wasn't me! I guess, maybe it just likes you better." Some of the Weekly Warm-Hearted gasped as they closely watched.

     "Well, I guess there's no question, the Turned Tooth belongs to you." Freilian carefully studied each brother in turn as she spoke. "But, I guess that means that if we're going to find this temple, it's going to require all three of us. And you know how to get there, right?"

     "No, Majesty. All I know is that it's somewhere on Mystery Island." Even Vanduck wondered how they'd ever find it without any guidance . . . .

     Freilian nodded. "Well then, Vanduck, Scavert, I think the three of us need to go to Mystery Island. Right now. It's not like you're going to run away from a queen, is it?" She joked with them, eyeing Scavert's constant tension. She giggled, and Vanduck chuckled as Scavert straightened his posture. In actuality, the psychic was naively unafraid of the Queen of Dragons, unaware of her tremendous power. The king coconut, whose evil life Vanduck had ended back in Pango Pango's lair, desensitised him into thinking of royalty as no more than a negotiable asset.

     The friendly crowd watching wished them good luck on their journey.

     "Thank you, everyone, it was nice meeting you all. But, we must go now." Freilian smiled and waved goodbye to the Weekly Warm-Hearted.

     Since Scavert's boat had broken down earlier, he warned Freilian that it might not start. But, when they got to the boat, he was surprised to find it working! "Guess we're not out of luck after all," he said.

     "Let's call it . . . hope." The Queen smiled as she looked out across the vast ocean before her. The three excitedly set off to Mystery Island, the boat rumbling the whole way there.

     The Gelert seafarer was an excellent navigator, so it didn't take long for them to arrive, even after deviating around storms on the route. He knew how to travel the seas with speed. After all, he was a Gelert—fast and sharp.

     The boat stopped, and he coughed, then hummed a long "uuuumm" before asking, "So, Vanduck, any ideas where to begin?"

     Just as Vanduck sighed, totally unsure which way to enter the jungle, Freilian asked, "Couldn't the Turned Tooth guide us? It seemed to have a mind of its own when it returned to you, Scavert."

     "Uh, I mean, it's possible," he replied, not knowing if holding it out would do anything. He hadn't felt it move on its own since it had jumped back into his paw. "All right, whatever. Let's do this." He reached out his arm with the Turned Tooth in his paw, hoping to not look like a fool with a motionless key to the temple.

     Though the key did move, unfortunately, it wasn't the way any of them expected. With one deft swipe to Scavert's arm, the blade reacted as if it were possessed. The blood that dripped to the floor, however, carried the magic of the Turned Tooth, and called out to Vanduck in whispers.

     Vanduck stared deeply at the blood as it formed into the shape of an arrow. The whispers grew louder, desperately telling him to follow. "I think I know where to go. Look." He pointed to the sharp arrow, now obvious to even Freilian and Scavert. Only then did the Turned Tooth calm down and become immobilised once more.

     As they left the boat and entered the jungle, Freilian noticed that Scavert just carelessly let his wound remain unattended. She offered to cauterise it with her fire breath, but he refused, saying he'd been through worse. She accepted his decision, for he seemed to be doing just fine as he moved through the thick undergrowth by using the Turned Tooth to chop.

     But Vanduck worried. He'd spent a lot of time with Scavert over the year, and he could tell something was wrong as he saw his brother's face grow pale the deeper they travelled into the jungle. "Hmm. OK, I didn't want to suggest this—sorry, Scavert—but what if we try fusing the Turned Tooth with Freilian to see if it can guide u—"

     "Awooo!" The sudden howl coming from around the trio sounded like a haunted voice. "Beware!" Red eyes beamed from the foggy apparition that jumped down from out of nowhere. The howling stranger looked rather similar to Scavert, but none could tell who or what the hazy figure was.

     Freilian and Vanduck stood still as they gazed intently at the ghost. Seeing this, Scavert sighed in relief that he wasn't going crazy. He was feeling weak and light-headed after the exertion of moving through a jungle, with a sizably open wound.

     The Ghost Lupe stared at them, then growled and stomped his ghostly foot at the Gelert. Before the spirit jumped back into the jungle, Vanduck could hear the whisper of the Ghost Lupe telling him to follow this way. Vanduck was about to tell the others when Freilian called attention to Scavert's wound healing on its own. Scavert would have told them himself, but he found himself in a state of bliss from which he did not wish to leave. He closed his eyes to enjoy the healing sensation from the Ghost Lupe's blessing. Unknown to them, the ghost also dispelled the curse cast on them by Pango Pango back in Tyrannia. They hadn't known Pango Pango had actually hexed them, but they could tell something good had happened when they saw a dark smoke released from the Turned Tooth.

     They trudged through more tall grass, which Freilian burned with her breath to help clear the way, and found themselves standing in front of a wide, grey wall hidden behind some bushes. Scavert was relieved that he hadn't tried chopping there, or else the Turned Tooth might have been broken from hitting the unexpected wall. Ever since they were broken free from the hex, the blade had been happily jumping around in his paw.

     Freilian placed her paw on the relic wall and felt its aura resonate with her. She sensed she was getting closer to discovering the secret of the obelisk magic on the island.

     Vanduck looked around him as he felt a psychic frequency call nearby. He crouched down to pull out a peculiar wooden instrument halfway buried beneath the soil near the wall. He brushed the dirt off to reveal a lyre. He and Scavert had often seen visitors to the beach play music on a guitar, but had never seen this stringed instrument.

     "There's something about this thing that I think is connected to the temple," Vanduck said slowly, contemplating the lyre. "Perhaps if I just strum a few strings, it can be our next guide." He held it up to his body like a musician would hold a guitar.

     As soon as his talons touched the first couple of strings, they glowed white on and off along with his beak. His grasp on the lyre switched naturally to the proper technique so that his two paws played together from both sides of the instrument. As he droned and strummed it, his three eyes were open wide, seeing visions of sheet music imbued with the lyre. He never knew how truly beautiful the spirit of music really was, the enchanting harmonies and melodies more valuable than anything he's ever experienced. Now playing like a virtuoso, the psychic Vandagyre basked in his psychometric connection to the lyre, thanking all the Neo-gods for this wonderful opportunity.

     Vanduck finished playing the ancient song of the obelisk. On the last note, the carved temple symbol on the lyre glowed behind the strings. The ground shook as the wall before them opened up, and the hidden temple rose into full view. The three explorers walked through the open entrance and found themselves in the courtyard of the hidden island home of the divine obelisk.

     "Home . . . ." Freilian whispered, excitement in her eyes. She resisted the urge to roar with pride and pleasure.

     "Hey, Van, that was amazing back there, you playing that guitar thing." Scavert nudged his brother, impressed by his new musical talent. Neither of them knew how to play any instrument, so he was sure that Vanduck must have picked up the skill to play by using his psychometry.

     "It's actually called a 'lyre,' something I didn't know before. But now, it's like I know all its history, and wow! So many talented players have owned this lyre—it's been passed down over generations. It's over 300 years old!" While Vanduck rambled, Freilian walked around, investigating. "The one who crafted this lyre, his name was Stradiv—"

     "You two! I found the door with a carved blade on it. Scavert, mind coming over here to get that key back in its place?" Freilian shouted from across the courtyard, her head peeking out from behind a small wall.

     As the two brothers headed toward her, they heard Freilian gasp. A bright light emanated from her and along the length of the wall. As they neared, they saw that the fire was coming from her breath as she tried to eliminate the enemy before her. It was an evil coconut completely unharmed by the heat, the fire in its eyes burning stronger the more Freilian breathed on it. As Vanduck and Scavert reached her, she growled, then lunged at the abomination and chomped it into pieces with her fangs. It was instantly devoured, ending its evil, shrill wailing.

     "I thought we'd had enough of those annoying coconuts! Where do they keep coming from?!" Scavert exclaimed in frustration.

     "Did you just eat that evil coconut, Your Highness Majesty?" Vanduck asked in shock. He finally understood what made this royal Draik so special, and her blue fire impressed him greatly. As he remembered her mentioning her magical bloodline, his respect grew. This was what royalty meant—Freilian was born to do this. Vanduck, though a natural psychic with astounding skills himself, felt he was ordinary for the first time in his life. The lyre in his paw shook slightly, but he paid his attention to the Queen.

     "I've eaten far scarier things than a so-called 'evil' coconut that can't even fight. It tasted better than most of the scary things I've had the pleasure of eating though," she replied, licking her lips. "Maybe we'll find more if they're around. First, let's put the key back." She showed Scavert where the silhouette was etched in the wall.

     "I can't believe we're actually doing this. Also, still kind of soaking in you eating that weird coconut. That was . . . ." Scavert stopped himself to avoid saying something disrespectful. "Your Majesty, that was incredible. Let's hope this key shows us something good on the other side. We came all this way by royal orders for something, right?" He joked with her to ease the tension, and they both laughed. Vanduck joined in, as they felt the relief of their journey nearing an end.

     The Turned Tooth clicked into place perfectly and shone brightly under the island sun. The walls of the temple were illuminated throughout all its etched lines, and the locked door opened.

     Freilian allowed the two brothers to go in first. What they saw as they walked inside in awe amazed them all. Freilian had been studying the history and language of the obelisk since she knew the true origin of her magical bloodline was tied to that of the obelisk. The walls, the furnishings, the many treasures lying around the temple, all were covered in brightly glowing runes! It was like finding a room full of gold, it was so bright, Scavert thought. Vanduck held his lyre a little more tightly as he looked around him, excited for the chance to play it once more. He couldn't tell which was better, finding the temple or the lyre, but he appreciated both.

     "This temple calls to my blood. It has to be mine." Freilian said firmly, her feminine voice now coming off more tyrannical. "I've been searching for a home. Now I've found it."

     Scavert's jaw dropped as he wrinkled his nose. He already lost his rune to the Queen, now his Turned Tooth to the temple. He felt like he gained nothing from this long trip to Tyrannia and back home to Mystery Island.

     Meanwhile, the other musical instruments lying around began calling out to Vanduck.

     Freilian giggled as she watched the old Gelert look at her in uncertainty. "And you two are surely welcomed to live here, too." She laughed as Scavert laughed with a sigh of surprise.

     "We get to . . . ." Scavert looked around the regal room, his heart pounding with joy. "Live here?" The happy thought of no longer living at the guild cabin crossed his mind. The guild leader let him stay there whenever he needed a place to sleep other than his boat. His mind then raced to being able to repair the boat by paying for parts with some of the obelisk's treasures. But, he remembered the Queen's terrifying fire breath and quickly shut that idea down in fear of his own life.

     "Did you want to live here, Vanduck?" Freilian asked him as he walked toward one of the instruments. "Are you seeing something?" She could tell he was distracted for a reason and assumed there really was another mystery to be solved.

     "Yes, Your Majesty, I think that would be wonderful. It's just that this trumpet here is crying out. It's crying out to you." Vanduck picked up the trumpet with a runic symbol in the shape of what appeared to be a crown on it. "I can hear it say, 'The roar from the Commander guides us in the fanfare.' I don't know what that means."

     Freilian knew exactly what that meant, grasping the idea that her roar may be the final piece to the puzzle. She readied herself for her most glorious bellow ever, and without any warning to the two brothers, she let out the most intricate roar she'd ever done. Singing through the bellow, Freilian belted out a harmonic scale pleasing to the ears. The long roar was now a full-on song, similar to the one Vanduck played on the lyre.

     The psychic virtuoso heard the musical instrument in his paw. His lyre, the lyre that was given to him by the obelisk, told him to play. It was his time now to own this lyre and gift the world the beauty of its sound. So, he played.

     As Vanduck played and Freilian sang, Scavert smiled widely, surprised by the duo's perfect musicality. He sat on his hindquarters to enjoy the show. "Where's Dragarotti when you need him? This is like one of them operas or something." He joked to himself, knowing neither of them could hear him over the sound of their music.

     When they finished the song, a secret compartment in one of the walls popped open. Inside, they found a pile of old scrolls, each with a different image of an instrument. The scrolls were sheets of music for each one lying around in the temple. It seemed like though they found a place to call their new home, the Queen and the two brothers still had more to discover there.

     The room echoed with three thumping beats.

     Vanduck carefully read the sheet music, and with the knowledge he gained from the lyre, he said he believed the thumping sounds to be the time signature for the scroll in his paw.

     Freilian looked around the room, thrilled to see it come alive. She nodded toward Vanduck, then roared the song that came naturally to her. The energy of the temple fused fully with Freilian by now, for the Commander had come home.

     The End.