Jhudora, open-mouthed, stared for a couple of seconds at the purple Kyrii holding the brand new Wand of the Dark Faerie she'd just solemnly handed him.

"Too... easy?" her words came out almost trembling, while some static electricity started sparkling around as her shock quickly gave way to her anger. "You just said that my last quest, the one for which you achieved my most coveted reward, was TOO EASY?!?" Her voice reached a screeching peak that made all the Barbats flee in terror.

"Yeah, just like the previous forty-nine quests that preceded it." The Kyrii did not show any sign of fear, even in front of the hot-tempered dark faerie. "I thought your quests could be a real challenge, but once again they were no match for my searching skills. No fun at all."

Jhudora started raising her wand to teach the rascal a lesson he could not forget, but then suddenly changed her mind. An ambiguous grin appeared on her face.

"You know, maybe you're just the kind of scoundrel I've been looking for? You said your name is Roald, didn't you? Well, Roald, if you crave difficult quests, then I have one for you. If you succeed, I'll reward you with something I've never given anyone else... but rest assured that, in case of failure, nobody else will hear of you ever again. Does that seem interesting to you?"

The offer definitely caught the Kyrii's attention. "You bet, ma'am."

"We have a deal, then!" The dark faerie's grin widened. "Alright, little braggart, go out and find me..."

Jhudora was satisfied to see the Kyrii looking slightly stumped. He recovered all too quickly, though.

"Easy as pie!" he said, flashing her a cheeky grin. "What will I get in return?"

A deep growl echoed at the base of Jhudora's throat. "You do know that I can blast you into a pile of ashes in a second, right, vermin?" she demanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Roald answered solemnly.

Jhudora was disconcerted; even his respect seemed to be edged with mockery. No matter. She would get what she wanted, and he would get what he deserved.

She settled into her throne more comfortably, allowing the silence to grow. Slowly, a venomous smile snaked across the dark faerie's face. "In return for Fyora's Staff... I will give you my ring."

Roald's eyes widened with wonder. "Sweet!" he cried.

"Get me the item before you celebrate," Jhudora snapped. "Go and get me what I asked for, and we'll see how easy you find things this time. You have 24 hours. Until then, out of my sight!"

Judhora watched as he scampered out of her castle. She sighed. As much as she would like to get her hands on Fyora's Staff, she knew the task was close to impossible. A faerie's wand was one thing, but the Queen's most prized possession? He would have to be a mastermind to pull this off.

Not that she would give him the chance. Usually she didn't care enough to interfere with any quests, but this was an usual case and Jhudora had a plan of her own...

Roald picked his way through a particularly flowery pathway, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Faerieland wasn't TOO terrible as far as Neopian lands go, but it was just a little too pretty for his liking. As he neared Faerie City he realized that he didn't know what he intended to do when he arrived there, so he decided to find a nice, quiet spot to sit and figure out his next step.

Just then he stumbled across a quaint stone bench placed near a picturesque pond that occupied a small clearing. He sat and stared into the sparkling blue water, coming up with, and subsequently discarding, several unoriginal ideas. "Ugh, this might be harder than I thought," he grumbled to himself. "How am I going to get that staff?"

Roald jumped as he heard a sudden rustling in the leafy green bushes somewhere behind him. He turned and peered into the foliage, trying to see what had produced the rustling, when a frazzled-looking Yurble stumbled into the clearing.

"You there!" the Yurble said, looking at Roald with suspicion. "Did I hear you say something about Fyora's Staff?"

Roald nervously rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to figure out how to reply, when suddenly...

"Hey, hey!" The Kyrii pushed the Yurble away and frowned. "Stay out of this, it's none of your business."

"You may think it's not," the Yurble began, "but you don't even know. Let me guess: Jhudora sent you to get the staff? You're thinking it's going to be easy as cake?"

Roald narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, eyeing the odd Yurble up and down. He was short, squat, and holding a tattered shoulder bag. "How do you know all that? You'd better tell me who you are and what's going on or I'm gonna walk away."

The Yurble sighed before beginning again. "My name is Leo. I was just like you once. I had finished her final quest and thought it was too easy for me, so she sent me to get Fyora's Staff."

The Kyrii was starting to feel a little nervous. "You, too? Huh, that's odd. What happened to you?"

"I managed to get into the castle without anyone noticing. I slipped past guards and watched them to learn the secrets to getting past each room, but then, I got cocky," Leo explained. "I thought no one could get me... until I was caught by Fyora herself. Her guards chased me out of the castle and have been hunting for me for days." The Yurble looked around. "I've been living off of berries here for a while. If I try to return back to Jhudora, then who knows what'll happen to me!"

"Why have they been chasing you for so long?" Roald asked. "You didn't get the staff, so what do they want?"

"I stole something else. Something they need." Leo held up his bag and opened it for Roald to see what was inside...

"A key to what?" Roald asked while looking up at Leo, who was giving the clearing a precautionary glance.

"Not just a key," the paranoid Yurble began, "The key. It's the castle's skeleton key, and it will grant access to any part of the castle to whomever holds it."

Roald's eyes widened as he took another look at the key. It was made of fine luminescent crystal and bore the crest of Faerieland. "How did you get this?" the Kyrii asked, unsure whether he was more impressed or uncertain.

Leo laughed as he replied, "You and I, we each have our own way of obtaining rare items with ease, eh?"

Roald smiled and then nodded his head, but he couldn't help but feel more than a bit suspicious. "So, if you have the skeleton key and a map of the castle, then why don't you just finish the job?" he prodded.

"Weren't you listening?" Leo answered with a question of his own. "I was chased out of the castle by Fyora herself, along with the castle guards. Security is tight and my face is likely plastered all over the walls in that fortress. I wouldn't make it two steps past the front door before someone recognized me and had me imprisoned, or worse -- turned to stone!" The Yurble scratched his chin until the words on his mind came out, "But you... you might actually stand a chance."

In his head, Roald was reviewing his options. There weren't many. He hadn't come up with any viable plan to steal the staff yet, and Jhudora always kept an eye on the time when she sent her subjects on a quest. Even if he had his suspicions about Leo, this would probably be the biggest lead he would get no matter how long he waited. The Kyrii held out his hand and said, "A chance is all I need. I'll do it."

Hesitantly, Leo handed his satchel over to Roald. "Good. You'll be needing this, then."

At that moment, there was a strange flapping noise coming from overhead. Leo began to panic and, grabbing Roald by the mane, retreated back into the foliage. The two of them hid there as the flapping grew louder and louder until they saw...

"So, what is this information you're planning on telling me?" he asked.

"I overheard a plan from my bluff," Jhudora answered. "If I recall correctly, someone is planning to steal Fyora's Staff."

"Fyora's Staff?" The guard was truly shocked. "Who would dare try to take that?"

"I don't know. I didn't see who said it." From where Roald was, he could see an evil grin form on the dark faerie's face. "I would hope that you and the other guards are protecting it with your lives."

The guard nodded. "Of course! Thank you for letting us know."

"Don't get used to it," she replied curtly.

The guard ran off. After waiting for a little bit, Jhudora looked around to make sure nobody else was around before leaving...

Leo just stared in the direction that Jhudora had flown off. "I-I can't believe it. Did she do this when she gave me the quest too?"

"Of course she did," the Kyrii said, shaking his head. "We should have expected it, though. It is Jhudora. Since when can she be trusted?"

"Yeah, but I don't see why she would interfere with a quest. She doesn't usually, does she?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter," Roald said as he paced back and forth. "Either way, we can't just take it. We have to do something."

"What exactly do you expect us to do about it? We..."

"...can come up with a plan for how to get back at Jhudora," Roald interrupted...

Roald looked around as he beckoned Leo closer. He was going to have to trust him. "Here's what we need to do..." Roald whispered as he furtively glanced around, paranoid that they weren't alone.

Leo nodded along, but when he heard what Roald wanted him to do, he sputtered, "Why give ME the most dangerous part? Don't you know what will happen to me if she catches me around her bluff?!?"

Roald smirked. "Yes, but you also can't steal the staff, now can you? At least, this way, you have a chance of succeeding. Take your pick."

Leo glowered at the ground. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll do it -- just to get back at that rotten old witch for what she did. But," he added, "I want some of your reward. I'm not going back to Jhudora's Bluff for nothing."

Roald grinned. "I think that'll easily be arranged once I have Fyora's Staff in my hands. She can't possibly say no to a few Neopoints along with her ring, especially since she'll probably have the whole faerie guard knocking on her door after she has it." The Kyrii slipped the satchel over his shoulder and headed in the direction of Faerie City to start putting his plan into action. The Yurble hesitantly set off in the opposite direction, knowing that, if he failed, being turned to stone would seem like a picnic compared to what Jhudora would do to him.

Moments later, Leo had arrived at Jhudora's Bluff. He stealthily snuck to the back where Jhudora threw her rubbish. The Yurble surveyed the mess around him and had to swallow to keep from gagging. This was gross. Remnants of failed spells and potions littered the ground around him. A noxious green slime seemed to cover everything and gave off a sulfuric smell that hung heavy in the air.

A screech from the bluff sent Leo diving behind the nearest pile of trash. Jhudora stormed out, clenching one of her hands. She started to mutter and cleared a path through the rubbish with a wave of her clenched hand, and Leo saw why Jhudora had screeched. One of her venom green painted nails had broken off past the quick and was in stark contrast to the rest of her long, curled, talon-like nails. Jhudora dumped a pile of more noxious smelling trash in the clear path and stalked back inside, the door slamming with a bang that made Leo jump. Once he was certain she wasn't coming back outside, he scrambled over to the freshly-dumped rubbish. He warily started digging through until he found what he wanted: Jhudora's bright green nail. Leo hastily tucked it into his pocket and rushed back to Faerie City to meet with Roald.

Roald grinned to himself as he thought over the plan that he had formed while surveying the guards that patrolled around Fyora's castle. He would sneak in, use the key and a spell he picked up for finding lost items, and once he had the staff, plant whatever Leo brought back and race away to claim his reward and watch as Jhudora was likewise rewarded for her lies...

Cousin Stan has nothing on me, Roald thought to himself before slowly closing the window behind him. His eye caught a glimpse of a wanted poster with Leo's face on it nearby. The Yurble wasn't kidding, they really did have them all over.

Of course, getting in was the easy part... now he needed to use the spell.

"Alright, time to..."

The Kyrii was suddenly cut off when a surprising sight passed before him. It was Fyora herself! Roald really wished that he could melt into the walls right now. Avoiding a guard is one thing, but Fyora?

Wait a minute... he thought to himself. What if I'm going about this the wrong way?

The challenge of getting Fyora's staff might have been what he wanted at the start of this, but now that he knew about Jhudora's treachery, getting back at the dark faerie took the highest priority.

The Kyrii's mind began to race, formulating a brand new plan right on the spot. He began to grin as it all fit together perfectly, and the best part of it was that he'd still get everything he wanted in the end.

With a confident step, Roald rushed toward Fyora. "My queen!" he shouted. "I need your assistance!"...

This day couldn't get any better, she thought to herself. She started to count down the hours until Roald would fail his quest. What with being Fyora's prisoner, there wasn't much else he could do but fail. With one hour remaining, she began to plan exactly what she would do to the Kyrii if he dared to return to her bluff -- that is, assuming he was released from Fyora's prison.

Ten minutes until the Kyrii failed. She could barely contain her glee at making a fool of him. Then she heard a knock on the entrance to her bluff. She glared at the door. Could it be? No. It wasn't possible. She muttered, "Enter!" as menacingly as she could. The dark faerie wasn't in the mood to hand out any other quests, not when she was so close to triumphing.

She stood aghast as Roald made his entrance... carrying Fyora's Staff! "How did you... you were captured by the guard! I saw it happen!" she hissed.

"No thanks to you," the Kyrii said. "I overheard you giving one of Queen Fyora's guard a little 'tip' that someone was looking to steal the queens staff."

Concealing her fury, Jhudora held out her hand, planning to turn the Kyrii into a plushie that she would take extreme pleasure in throwing into her back yard.

"Not so fast." The Kyrii shook his head. "I want the ring first, as well as... shall we say, 30,000 Neopoints for the extra trouble you caused me?"

"Just what makes you think I would do that?" she asked with a smirk. "I have more power in my fingernail than you have with all of the gifts I've given you combined."

"I have Fyora's staff. You can't beat that," Roald said.

"Along with my support," said another voice, soft but full of authority. Jhudora felt the color leave her face as Fyora herself walked into her bluff.

Roald tried to keep the grin from his face as the queen walked in. When he had approached her in her very own castle, she'd been startled to say the least. They'd struck a deal: Roald would return the maps and the skeleton key if Fyora would make sure that Jhudora kept her word when Roald brought the staff to her. Fyora pointed out that she had never said anything about giving her the staff. Roald agreed and they set to planning on how to fool Jhudora. Thus, what Jhudora had seen in her crystal ball. Roald watched as Jhudora summoned a bag bulging with Neopoints and handed it to him. He then watched as Jhudora slid her ring off of her middle finger and placed it with barely-concealed fury into the Kyrii's hand.

"The staff," she growled while holding out her hand. Roald stepped toward her and handed her the Poisonous Lollypop he had received the first time he'd completed a quest.

"But you see," the Kyrii started, "you never said I had to give the staff to you. You just said 'item.' I gave the item to you and brought the staff to you, and have therefore completed the quest you gave me."

Whatever control Jhudora had left deserted her. "Why, you little--"

The queen cut her off. "It is, indeed, true. You cannot deny it. You will let him on his way."

"Never show your face around here again, Kyrii, or you will not show your face anywhere again," Jhudora said menacingly. "Go."

Roald wasted no time after he thanked the queen for her help. He then met Leo a little ways down the road and handed him 20,000 Neopoints. "There you go!"

Leo held out his paw and they shook. "Thank you," he said. "Without meeting you, I would never have been able to show my face around Faerieland again. Plus, I got back at that awful dark faerie. Thanks."

Roald and Leo parted ways. Roald set off toward the Haunted Woods. He'd heard that there were some pretty tough quests out there. He slid the ring into his bag, along with the remaining 10,000 NP and set off, whistling as he went.

The End