The Faerie's Harp: Part One by tikisplat |  |
In the Jungle of Mystery Isle, the sun peered over the horizon.
It cast it's red-orange glow into the mysterious green depths below. Within the
jungle, one could hear the movements of waking creatures and their echoing calls.
Something stirred that isn't usually found in this jungle. Sthenos the Island
Ixi, an adventurer and explorer propped up against the base of one of many varieties
of jungle trees, groggily awoke. Waking up early was essential in a jungle like
this; nocturnal predators are deadly, but the creatures that the day brings can
be even worse.
The adventurer felt the morning sunshine hit
his face, and didn't feel like waking up. He felt something cold pressing slightly
against his face, and tried to roll out of the sun's ray. Talus knew he had
work to do. Slowly, he opened one eye. Staring back at him was a furry creature,
about three feet long and resembling a large ferret, sniffing at him eagerly.
Talus was awake and almost instantly and shot up, throwing the curious critter
off of him. It hit the ground a few feet away and scampered off into the bushes,
tail between its legs. What a great start to another day of exploring, he thought
to himself.
He stretched his muscles and yawned, then shook
his messy fur out of his face. Sthenos was full of vitality; he was a relatively
large Ixi, sturdily built and often carried an abundance of energy. Anyone who
knew him would say he was a born adventurer; he looked for excitement and new
discoveries in almost everything he did. Looking around, he tried to remember
exactly where he was. His pack was right next to his sleeping spot, including
a map, a compass, and a diminished supply of food and water.
There was a reason for him exploring the mysterious
jungle. In legend, there was once a magical Harp. This Harp was thought to have
had wonderful properties, created by the Faeries aeons ago. If one could play
the right notes, they would have the power to heal and destroy. People have
sought this Faerie's Harp since long ago, but nobody has succeeded in finding
it. Nobody even knows where this legend came from, which accounts for some of
the lack of motivation. Sthenos attempted to find this Harp, to use it's special
powers to change the world (in a positive way, of course).
His travels had led him deep inside this humid
environment, which was said to be the general location of the great instrument.
If he could find the legendary Harp, or even some other ancient artifact, he
would be known world-wide and undoubtedly make a hefty profit, millions of Neopoints.
However, this explorer was not interested in the fame or the fortune -- he was
more motivated by the thoughts and visions of how he could make Neopia a happier
place.
Now, he picked up his bag and slung it over
his shoulder. There might be a lot of traveling to do. The pack felt lighter
than usual. Suspicious, he took a look inside. Sure enough, animals had gotten
into the goods and helped themselves. "Ugh... stupid animals," he muttered to
himself. The animals in these parts were always a pain. He was left with less
than half of the food he originally had, and some of it was damaged or half-eaten.
In his adventuring he had learned to hunt, so with luck, he wouldn't go hungry.
Sthenos advanced towards the dense jungle plants,
heading out of the clearing he had been resting in. He pushed aside the ferns
and vines, peering deeper into the jungle. The native creatures apparently thought
it would be entertaining to play with his weapons (used for getting through
thick plants), since they were missing, too. For now, the young Ixi continued
through the foliage as best as he could.
"Ack!" Sthenos yelped aloud as he tripped and
hit the jungle's soft ground headfirst. He removed his head from the soil and
spat some dirt out of his mouth, directly onto the large footprint in front
of him. The footprint was a little bigger than Sthenos's face, and had four
deep indents where the digits of a paw would be -- this creature apparently
had long, wicked claws. Being an adventurer, Sthenos knew about almost all the
species present in a tropical jungle, though he never read about a creature
like this, and wouldn't want to meet it either.
Sthenos stood up slowly, aching from the fall.
He brushed himself off. His fur was caked with dirt, but he could wash later.
A sudden rustling came from the bushes behind him. It wasn't a swift sound but
a lethargic, fumbling noise; this ruled out the possibility of it being a harmless
native petpet or something of the like. Something large was nearby. He looked
quickly to the left when something moved on his left side. He had better get
moving.
He continued through the jungle, following the
odd footsteps while pushing vines out of his face. The marks in the ground veered
sharply left into the jungle flora, meaning something was in there. He hated
to think that the rustles in the undergrowth were caused by the clawed creature
that left the huge footsteps. Sthenos began to pick up the pace when the foliage
rustled again, this time seemingly from all around. There were either a lot
of animals, or the creature was stalking him and moved relatively fast. Instead
of worrying, he quickened his stride -- to panic in a situation like this would
be a sign of weakness.
After a minute of advancing, another rustle
came from behind him. Sthenos spun around just in time to see a glimpse of a
furry tail snaking into the foliage. The movements in the plants proceeded in
trying to circle him. He panicked. A loud growl came from the other side of
him. Maybe there was more than one? He broke into a run, snapping twigs and
plants everywhere. A swift look behind revealed no pursuers. When he looked
ahead again, all he could see was a blend of flying green.
He broke into a clearing. The sun shined in
his face, and in front of him were ruins; genuine stone ruins. Vines hung from
pillars and walls, the floor was ancient brick. Had he found the site of The
Harp's founders? A little to the left were some houses, which seemed to be in
relatively good condition. Some had smoke billowing from holes in their roofs.
Smoke? Definitely not housing for Faeries, but he had obviously stumbled upon
some unrecorded city. This place was relatively well managed, meaning someone
had been here... or a group of people.
Sthenos felt a sharp pain stab into his thigh.
He looked down to see some scarlet feathers sticking out of the back of his
leg. He pulled at it, and it didn't budge; he had been nailed with some sort
of dart.
Spinning around to find his aggressor, Sthenos
had no luck finding anyone. Vision was fading. Things were going black. As he
fell, he glimpsed a blur of fur before slamming hard against the cold floor
of the ruins.
~~~~~~~~~~
Everything was black. Sthenos was in the middle of the "room", all alone.
What happened? Where was he? Was he dead? He looked around, but could see nothing
but darkness. He couldn't move. Jungle creatures appeared and circled him. They
all stared at him hungrily. Each creature had razor-sharp fangs, eager to take
a bite out of his flesh. Some creatures he had seen before, others he wasn't
familiar with. They circled again, staring at him. Then they jumped in for the
kill.
Sthenos woke abruptly, sitting up in bed, panting
in panic. Everything was alright, it was just a dream. After thinking for a
moment, the same questions flooded into his head; where was he now? He surveyed
his surroundings. It was a small room, maybe a little larger than a tent, with
no torches or lights. Morning sunshine filtered in through a makeshift window.
He was in a bed made of straw or something of that nature. He was breathing
hard, but eventually calmed down. Then he remembered what had happened, remembered
the dart. Either he was dead, taken captive, or adopted. He hoped that the latter
held true. The last things he wanted were to be held captive by a demented culture
or sacrificed to some sort of god.
The light shining through the hole in the building
illuminated his surroundings. He heard hushed whispers coming from outside.
"So what are we going to do with him?" asked
a gruff voice. Sthenos, in his current position, would have described the voice
as violent.
"We'll see when he wakes up. Don't be so hasty,"
a lighter, but also serious voice asked.
"I want to get right down to it!" the first
voice nearly shouted.
"Alright, just remain calm. We'll want to make
a good first impression. Perhaps we should check on him."
To be continued...
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