Hannah and the Temple of Midas

Beyond the towering Gebmids that stood to the northwest of the kingdom of Sakhmet, the golden sands of the Lost Desert stretched as far as the ice-topped mountain range that guarded the way to the lands of Altador and Shenkuu. Though the Desert was often visited by many an intrepid explorer, most did not venture further than the delta of the River Seeral and the comforts of either of its city-states. As a result, these northwestern lands lay largely unmapped, except by enterprising local traders who were looking to do business with the other side of Neopia's main continent. It was that or a very long boat crossing to the other side of the planet.

Sheltering from the midday sun in the shadow of the largest of the sandstone structures, an individual donning a white hooded robe with blue and yellow detailing pulled out a letter from the green backpack that sat next to them on the dunes. From one of their oldest friends, it contained a map and thorough instructions on how to reach a small oasis that lay halfway between the Gebmids and the first mountain of the imposing range. Reading the piece of paper for the umpteenth time, the Usul sighed heavily. Armin had sent it to her ten days ago. Meaning his next letter was precisely three days overdue. Shaking her head, Hannah tried not to worry. She just wanted to make sure he was okay.

As dusk fell, the brunette grabbed her backpack and set off. With the cool night air and bright full moon allowing her to make steady progress across the tops of the snaking dunes, Hannah surprised herself by reaching the oasis that Armin had so carefully described just as the first rays of the morning sun began to dance across the horizon. Populated by large palm trees and lush vegetation, the boundary of the rest stop looked to the untrained eye very welcoming. But the Usul was on edge. There was no telling what she was walking into. Once again reaching for her backpack, this time the Adventurer pulled out her trusty cutlass.

Carefully pushing her way through the many plants using the blade of her sword, it didn't take the brunette too long to find the camp set up by her old friend. By the pebbled shore of the small spring sat a large red tent of the style sold in Sakhmet Market. Near its entrance were diligently organised supplies of food and water as well as a stack of books and papers. Completing the scene was a small firepit that looked as though it hadn't been used in some time. It was this that concerned Hannah. Bending over to confirm the final ember had long since cooled down, the Usul heard a rustling in the trees behind her.

Instinctively and in one movement, she threw her cutlass at the intruder.

Embedding it in the ground in front of him.

"Was that strictly necessary?" growled Kanrik, unimpressed.

The dark Blue Gelert snorted before throwing the sword back to its owner.

"You of all pets should know the dangers of sneaking up on folk," Hannah retorted before going over to inspect the pile of manuscripts by Armin's sleeping quarters. She had had a feeling that she was being followed since leaving the city walls of Sakhmet but had assumed it was by the Desert Scarabs or one of the other groups operating in the Desert. Though she was right it was a Thief, she certainly hadn't expected it to be by her other oldest friend. Flicking through the pages of the top book, she mused, "I'm surprised you were able to pry yourself away from the Battleground. Since it's of such importance to your Guild, and all..."

Kanrik wrinkled his nose. The leader of the Thieves Guild did not appreciate the direction the conversation was heading in. Mainly because he had lost this argument on more than one occasion. Inspecting the ground around the campsite for pawprints or other trails left by some pet other than the trio, the dark Blue Gelert decided to strike a more conciliatory tone. Or at least as conciliatory as he could be. "Well," he spoke carefully, "when you said in your last letter you were going to check up on the kid, I thought..."

"Oh!"

"...What?"

"I assumed you'd stopped reading my letters."

Hannah slammed the first book closed before moving on to the next one.

"I suppose I deserved that," the Thief conceded before rising back to his feet. It had been a while since he had sent a reply. If he wasn't battling for the Obelisk then he was dealing with Guild infighting. It didn't leave much time for anything else. But this was important to him. His friends were important to him. "There isn't anything here, Hannah." The Usul sighed. She knew he was right. "I know you're worried about the kid," Kanrik attempted to reassure her, "but he's probably fine. He's always wanting to impress you and he's probably just gotten a bit carried away at that Temple of his that you mentioned." Picking up a piece of wood by the fire, he concluded, "We should just wait for him to get back here."

"You can wait here if you like," the Adventurer frowned, "but I'm heading to the Temple of Midas."

Placing the books back together in a neat pile, Hannah cast her eyes over the supplies of food and water by their side. Her train of thought, though, was quickly derailed. "That's a bad idea," her old friend spoke bluntly, before tossing the wood into the ash and tightly crossing his arms underneath his cloak.

"Is it, now?" the brunette muttered, taking it as a challenge.

"Yes, it is," he insisted, "and you know that." The Usul shook her head before loading her backpack with a couple of Armin's well-organised water canisters, much to Kanrik's annoyance. "We travelled through the night to reach this place and now you want to head off alone into the vast expanse of the desert during the heat of the day without a moment's break?" the dark Blue Gelert growled, "It's madness!" Realising his companion had long since stopped listening to him, he barked, "The only reason you got this far this easily was because I was accompanying you." Hannah stood up, her backpack laden with supplies. "No bandit in the Desert would dare approach us!"

She scowled. "You may feel comfortable abandoning pets in need," the Adventurer spoke calmly, "but I know what it feels like." The Thief winced. That wasn't what she was referring to, though. "I know what it's like to be trapped somewhere and knowing that no-one's coming to rescue you. How alone you feel." Kanrik's expression softened. "Armin is my family," Hannah continued, turning to face her next direction of travel, "I'm never going to stop worrying about him and I'm certainly not going to stand idly by while he could be down some pit or stuck behind some door or something. So, like I said, you can stay here if you want. I'm not."

"Hrm." He paused. "Lead the way."

"Good," she said with a small smile.

"But I'm telling you, he's probably fine..."

-----

Picking their way through the dense vegetation, the duo reached the northwestern edge of the oasis' flora just as the snow-capped mountain range that separated the Lost Desert from the city of Altador and beyond began to glisten in the day's first light. The chill of the night air was gently fading away, soon to be replaced by the oppressive heat that the leader of the Thieves Guild had tried to warn his travelling companion about. Hannah was undeterred, however. Yet again pulling out the last letter that Armin had sent her, the Usul scoured its map to plan their next route. Just as she finished, Kanrik begrudgingly enquired, "What direction are we heading in, then?"

Raising her paw in the direction of the mountain closest to them, "Straight ahead," she stated quite simply, "towards the Mountain of Gold."

The dark Blue Gelert blinked twice. "Mountain... of Gold?"

"It's not an actual 'Mountain of Gold'!" the Adventurer laughed as she tucked the piece of paper back into her backpack once more, "That's just the name given to it by the local traders whose caravan routes lead all the way over the hilltops to Altador." She couldn't help but elaborate further. "Armin said in one of his letters that they call it that these days because the ice on the mountain reflects the sunlight, giving off a golden sheen," Hannah continued with just a hint of glee, "but that one elderly trader told him that the name dates back far beyond the reign of Coltzan III to the days of Sutek. Since the routes are modern, he wanted to investigate what pets could've been doing there in Sutek's time. Which is how he found the Temple."

"Pity," Kanrik muttered, still fixated on the mention of gold.

His companion laughed again before focusing on the task at hand. "You weren't wrong," the brunette admitted, turning to her old friend, "about travelling through the desert during the heat of the day." She paused. As long as they paced themselves and took regular breaks, when rationed they had enough supplies to make it to the Temple and back. That wasn't Hannah's main concern though. Gesturing to the Thief's outfit, she remarked, "You might not be dressed appropriately for the hike. Maybe... ditch the black cloak?"

There was an awkward silence.

"Well... if you insist," Hannah sighed.

-----

Through the morning the two travellers slowly weaved their way across the tops of the meandering sand dunes, keeping the fabled mountain in their field of vision at all times. As the blazing sun reached ever higher, they retreated towards the desert floor and waited until the force of its heat had lessened to a more bearable level. Only after taking this break did they set off once again towards the Mountain of Gold, reaching the scattered snows and rocky slopes of its foot just as the sun was beginning to dip below the range beyond. Breathing in the cool mountain air, Hannah was reminded of her adventures on Terror Mountain. No wonder Armin had decided to explore such a place.

Kanrik was less than pleased. Sitting down on a large boulder, the dark Blue Gelert removed one of his shoes and tipped the sand out of it. He was reminded of his last visit to the Lost Desert and it was not something he chose to dwell on, even if its consequences had been mostly favourable. He looked over to the Usul. And snapped her out of her reverie. "So," he huffed, still trying to catch his breath from the extended hike, "where's this Temple at?"

She wasn't sure.

Scanning her surroundings, Hannah couldn't spot anything that looked pet-made. Determined as ever, she remarked, "I'll scout ahead and give you a shout if I find anything." Somewhat wearily, she left her old friend by the small boulder field and ambled across the gentle lower slopes of the mountain in the fading sunlight. Its gradient quickly steepened so any structure would have to be around the base. It was just a matter of finding it. Not too far from where the duo had arrived, the Adventurer spotted a round shape jutting out of the hillside. Having carefully approached the one-storey hemisphere, she ran her paw across its dull, metalloid surface. Until she found something etched into it.

"I've found something!" the Usul yelled, causing the dark Blue Gelert to jump from his seat. Following the sound of his old friend's voice, Kanrik was taken aback by the sight that greeted him. The buildings he had seen over the years in both Sakhmet and Qasala all had straight walls, with only their roofs curved. He hadn't seen anything quite like this structure before. Hannah had. Pointing out the engraved words, she stated, "This right here is Ancient Kreludan."

"Wait... as in Grundo-speak?"

"Precisely!" she exclaimed with a grin. The Thief was confused. What was Ancient Kreludan doing in the middle of the Desert? The Adventurer knew. "As we all know, hundreds of years ago ancient Grundos came from Kreludor and helped Sutek build the Great Gebmids along the River Seeral..."

"That is absurd," Kanrik interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ancient Grundos did not help the Gebs build anything," he insisted, "That is ridiculous."

"Then how do you explain this Ancient Kreludan inscription?"

"How do you even know that is Ancient Kreludan?!"

"It IS Ancient Kreludan," Hannah retorted, "because I speak Ancient Kreludan!" Her old friend looked bemused. Apparently, it was longer than Kanrik realised since they had had a proper catch-up. The Usul rolled her eyes before continuing, "Well, I can read it anyway. I learned it when I was exploring the Caves of Kreludor. It was the language spoken by all the different tribes of Grundos that lived on the moon before that Dr Sloth showed up and made a mess of everything. Deep below the surface, you can still find sites that belonged to those different cultures and I pretty much taught myself it." She rubbed some dirt from the carving. "And when I came back to Neopia, I taught Armin it. It's probably what got him so interested in the myth of Midas."

"Midas?"

"Yeah." She paused. The Adventurer knew the myth of ancient Grundos in the Lost Desert wasn't widely believed but she had thought Kanrik of all pets would've at least given the story a chance. After the whole Bringer-thing with the Bori. "He was said to be the leader of the ancient Grundos who helped Sutek and his race of giant Gebs build the Gebmids." He still didn't look convinced. "It's also where the name 'Mountain of Gold' might come from. There were tales of how he was able to turn things into gold." The dark Blue Gelert raised an eyebrow. "I know that sounds crazy but you haven't been to Kreludor. I have seen ray guns that can do far stranger things there than turn things into gold."

"I suppose," he conceded. Space was crazy. "If this IS the kid's Temple, how do we get in?"

"The inscription says to 'knock first'."

Kanrik wrinkled his nose. "This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?"

"Isn't it already?" smiled Hannah.

To be continued…