The Hidden Tower Heist

     Fyora glanced over her shoulder at the Faerie who had just entered the Hidden Tower.

     “Good morning!” She called back cheerily, then turned back to the customer who was admiring the Sword of Skardsen in front of them.

     “This would be a wonderful addition to your Battledome set and at a fantastic price with your 10% discount. Just don’t let the others know or they might get jealous.” She said with a wink, causing the Aisha in front of her to nearly fall to the floor. He and the other customers in the shop were all staring at Fyora in admiration, clearly devoted to the Queen of Faerieland.

     The Hidden Tower was fairly busy today, which was surprising considering the secretive nature of the tower itself. Fyora made sure that her tower couldn’t be discovered on any map and was only shared by word of mouth to her most trusted subjects. Only the most devoted of the Neopets and Faeries in all of Neopia were allowed to shop at her tower.

     The morning went by in a blur as Fyora helped customer after customer. Finally, as the sun began to sink in the sky, the Battle Faerie walked in and began to approach Fyora as she started to lock up her unsold treasures.

     “Hello Aethia. What brings you into the shop today?” Fyora asked kindly as she placed a Darigan Paint Brush on its pedestal. Fyora had cushions and pedestals for all of her items, that she would organise at the end of the day and protect with one of her own secret enchantments. She mumbled a few words and a pink orb surrounded the Paint Brush, blocking it from any intruders trying to steal it. After several seconds, the orb faded away so that it was invisible to anyone who would try to take it.

     Aethia watched silently as Fyora moved from object to object.

     “Just wanted to pop in and say hello.” She said finally. “I did want to talk to you about something… strange I saw today.”

     “Strange?” Fyora echoed inquisitively, still distracted as she locked up her items.

     “Yeah… it was just… I don’t know.” Aethia said slowly. “I was walking past your tower earlier and saw some Faeries get stopped at the door by a figure hidden in the shadows.”

     “A figure?” Fyora’s head popped up and she turned to Aethia, giving her her full attention.

     “Yeah, I’m sorry I couldn’t see who it was.” Aethia said apologetically. “But the Faeries looked pretty uncomfortable. I tried to approach whoever it was but they disappeared down the alleyway.”

     “Oh… do we know what they wanted?”

     “I followed the Faeries into the tower and asked them. They couldn’t tell who it was either, but they were asking them all sorts of questions about the tower. What you sold here, what time you closed, if anyone would guard the tower at night…”

     “Wow. That is very concerning.” Fyora said, furrowing her brow in thought. “If they were asking these kinds of questions, then I probably wouldn’t allow them in my tower. Only those with good intentions are allowed to shop here, otherwise, my protection shield will keep them out.”

     “That’s what I thought as well.” Aethia sighed. “I just thought you should know.”

     Fyora smiled.

     “I appreciate you telling me. But my magic keeps this tower well-protected. I’m sure all of my treasures will be safe from any nosey Neopians.” She laughed.

     “Of course!” Aethia nodded. “I should get going, just… be careful Fyora.”

     Fyora saw Aethia to the door and waved her hand as the Battle Faerie stepped out onto the street. The orb surrounding the tower began to glow a light pinkish hue before disappearing once again. Fyora double-checked that everything was safely in its place before she left the shop and climbed the steps to her own sleep chambers. As she prepared for bed, Fyora glanced out the window and saw hundreds of stars spanning the clear night sky. She stepped out onto her balcony to admire the beauty of the night and the glowing full moon in the distance.

     Suddenly, Fyora heard pounding feet on the cobblestones below. She looked towards the streets and saw several hooded figures running away from the tower, quickly ducking into alleys and out of sight from Fyora’s balcony. Her heart was pounding. She quickly ran inside and down the steps, towards the Hidden Tower shop room. She threw open the door and surveyed the room in front of her.

     It was silent, not a single item out of place. She quickly checked each treasure, making sure their protective orbs were strong and functioning. Nothing was amiss.

     Fyora breathed a sigh of relief. She was overreacting. Aethia’s words had put her on edge, and seeing those suspicious figures below just made her panic. Who knows what they were actually doing? It could’ve been Faeries messing with her, or Neopets playing games on a summer night.

     Everything is fine, she assured herself. Now back to bed.

     She did one last sweep of the room before leaving the shop and heading back up the stairs. A good night’s sleep was all she needed. In no time at all, Fyora rested her head on her pillow and felt all of her stress melt away. She could feel herself dozing, dreaming, finally feeling relaxed…

     BOOM!

     A loud noise shook the tower and Fyora shot up in bed. How many hours had passed? Was she dreaming?

     Another deafening BOOM shook the room around her. What was going on…

     She gasped. The Hidden Tower!

     Fyora grabbed her sceptre before sprinting back down the stairs and towards the store, her panic growing as the smell of smoke grew stronger and stronger.

     She finally reached the bottom of the stairs and threw open the door to the shop. Immediately smoke burst out of the room, making it hard to breathe. Through watery eyes, she looked into the room and saw each orb glowing brilliantly around the Hidden Tower shop items. The pink hue of each orb stuck out in the space filled with dark grey plumes of smoke. She was relieved to see that her defensive magic had held up against the intruders.

     But how did anyone get in here? She thought.

     Fyora looked towards the stairs that led to the front of the shop from the street below and saw that the door was just… gone. The wall was crumbling around the edges where it had previously been.

     Some sort of explosive had been used to get into the tower. It had to be magic, she thought gravely. No normal weapon could’ve gotten past the tower’s entrance in the first place.

     Fyora paused. She heard voices in the street.

     The intruders were still here!

     She raced down the stairs, coughing and stumbling through the smoke that still permeated through the stairwell. When she reached the streets, she saw many hooded figures running in all different directions.

     “Clear out of here! Go, go, go!” A rough voice yelled at the retreating figures.

     Fyora stepped out onto the cobblestones and felt something crunch beneath her foot. She reached down and carefully picked up what looked like a pendant laying on the sidewalk. She brushed her fingers across the now-cracked surface. The pendant was dirty from the dust but had a greenish hue with what looked like a Cobrall encircling it. It took her a second to recognise it.

     “This is a pendant for the guild halls…” She whispered.

     Fyora looked up just in time to see the last retreating figure duck behind a nearby building. The figure had glanced back at her one last time before disappearing.

     Like the others, the figure wore a dark cloak, but she noticed two long blue ears sticking out of the top of its hood.

     “I know that figure…” Fyora mused, racking her brain for the memory. Then it came to her. She felt white-hot anger and squeezed the pendant in her fist, causing it to shatter and crumble to the ground.

     “Kanrik!” She roared, her words echoing all throughout Faerie City, causing the ground to rumble beneath her. “You and your Thieves will never breach my tower AGAIN!”

     She turned back to her smouldering tower. Her protections had held up against the Thieves stealing her items, but who knew when they would try to strike again? Fyora prepared herself for a long night of magic.

     She had work to do.

     The End.