In two weeks another scroll
Will appear for you
Showing you the way.
Likte mumbled in his sleep, turning over. A paw poked
at his belly, his wing sweeping it away. Another paw poked and the Pteri turned
over. "Go away…" he muttered sleepily, yawning and turning over again onto his
back.
"Silly little Pteri," a familiar voice answered
his statement. The Pteri opened his eyes, still half-asleep. The faces of Grath,
Evyynn, and Sendriye grinned back at him.
"Neoschools have been released and you're sending
me away to go?" he questioned, closing his eyes again and trying to fall back
asleep.
"Not exactly," Sen answered, waving a piece
of paper in his face. "What is it…?" he asked, sitting up and trying to rub
sleep from his eyes, but failed.
"We got the scrolly thingy in the carton of
orange juice," Grath grinned, waving an empty carton of orange juice at her
Pteri.
"Then… how is the paper still dry?" Likte the
Pteri yawned, staring at the piece of parchment in Sen's Lupe paw.
"We got frozen orange juice, apparently," Ev
the Gelert answered, licking a paw. "We spent a few hours defrosting it."
"Must've taken a while…" Likte blinked, looking
sleepily at his family. "What time is it?"
"An hour 'fore noon," Sen answered, grabbing
her younger brother in her paws and dashing downstairs. "We better start looking
for that Tai-Kai Codestone!"
"Wait!" Likte shouted, the young Pteri wiggling
his way out of his sister's paws. "What does the scroll say, first of all?"
"Well, nothing that makes a lot of sense…" Ev
grinned, opening the scroll and reciting the words written on it.
Sorry 'bout your orange juice
But this is more important
Here is the next clue
From an informant.
The Codestone of Tai-Kai
Will lead you to your foes
Beware your enemies
And beware the plant that makes you dose.
To the island of mystery
In the warmth of a mountain
The next Codestone
Falls within the Jetsam's fin.
"Makes no sense, does it?" Grath followed her
pets downstairs, laughing.
"It makes a bit of sense to me," Likte muttered,
landing on Grath's shoulder. "We're going to Mystery Island, somewhere in the
Techo Caves. And the "within the Jetsam's fin" probably means that there is
a Jetsam statue in there, holding the Tai-Kai Codestone."
"What about the plant that makes you dose?"
Ev asked, scratching her head with a paw. "Must mean that there is some strange
plant around that cave, that has some sort of ability to put you to sleep."
"Good thinking, Evy," Likte stifled a chuckle,
watching his sister scream.
"MY NAME IS NOT EVY!" Ev shouted, chasing her
brother.
~~~
"Thank you, sir," Likte called out, waving a wing to the Kougra in the boat,
watching Sen give him a small amount of Neopoints.
The Kougra paddled off, waiting to get another
group of Neopets somewhere else.
"Maybe we can go visit Ryshu and the Techo Master
before we head out?" Likte asked, rolling the scroll back up and stuffing it
into a pack. "I mean, we've got a few days here to relax and stuff, so why don't
we use this time to talk to them?"
"Good idea, Likte," Grath looked to the Training
School. She took the pack with the scroll in it, carrying Likte on her shoulder,
Ev and Sen following.
"Hello?" Sen shouted, glancing at the empty
rooms in the Training School. "Where is everyone?"
"Who knows?" Ev looked around, seeing the burnt
walls, broken floor panels, holes in the floor…
"It looks like a massacre in here," Sen muttered,
staring at the burns in the walls. "Looks like they put up a fight, this wall
here isn't burnt, but rather ripped."
"Maybe this explains it?" Grath picked up a
piece of half-scorched paper. The writing was barely visible underneath the
scorch marks.
"What does it say?" Likte asked, flying over
and landing on Grath's shoulder to get a better look.
"It looks like someone can't really spell… they
must not know any grammar, either," Ev muttered, shaking her head as she glanced
at the note.
"Your opinion, not ours," Sen hissed, looking
at the note as well. "Can't make heads or tails of this. What do you think of
it, Likte?"
"Let me say it outloud first," he replied. "Can't
think properly without saying it outloud…"
"Hah, you can't find us. We are in one of the
Techo Caves, but you can't find us. We have taken the Techo Master and Ryshu.
Beware the sleeping plants! You don't know who we are. Signed, Makk and Hakk."
Likte almost fell out of the air laughing. "Well, that makes a lot of sense
to me…"
"They can't spell at all… but they're great
artists," Sen fell over laughing, holding the note in her hand.
"Come on, guys, it's not that funny… Well, maybe
it is, but… Hahah…! Just look at Ryshu!" Grath fell over as well, in a fit of
hysterical laughter.
"Am I the only serious one in this family?"
Ev glared at her siblings and owner.
~~~
"Why does there have to be a lot of Techo Caves?" Likte moaned, looking at
the different Techo Caves in front of them.
"Well, it might be easy to find out," Sen glanced
at the parchment with the directions on it. "We have to find the cave with the
plants that put us to sleep. Anyone want to test?"
"What are you looking at me for?" Grath shouted,
waving her arms. "I'm not going to be the one who tests which cave!"
"But it's more important that we can get in
the cave," Ev nodded her head at her statement. "Besides, you woke up early
this morning. You deserve some rest."
"Oh well… I guess so…" Grath muttered, standing
in front of each cave and sniffing the plants that surrounded them. At the very
last cave, Grath yawned, rubbed her eyes, and lay down in the grass, snoring
peacefully.
"Hope she wakes up after a while," Sen muttered,
holding a paw over her nose. "Cover your beak with your wings, Likte, and walk
on the ground." Likte and Ev followed Sen into the cave.
"Well, this place screams 'hideout', doesn't
it?" Likte grinned, looking at the torches on the wall. "Those torches couldn't
just suddenly form on the walls!"
"Does anyone else notice that it's getting warmer
in here every step we take?" Ev wiped sweat off her brow with the back of her
paw.
"Yeah…" Sen muttered. "This must be the part
about the mountain of warmth, I guess."
"Mountain of warmth?" Likte's eyes widened.
"A mountain of warmth is a volcano."
"A VOLCANO?" Ev shouted. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL
US THAT BEFORE?"
"Shh!" Sen hissed. "D'you hear that?" She raised
a paw, her ears up and alert.
"ARROW AHEAD!" Likte screeched, flying up into
the air and grabbing Ev in his footpaws. "Think you can handle the worst, Sen?"
he called out, looking down at his sister, who took a Lost Desert Dagger from
her pack.
"Think I can? It's more like can I not!" Sen
grinned, watching a Shadow Aisha pounce. "Take this, you fiend!" she lashed
out with the dagger, knocking the Aisha unconscious. "You take Ev and continue
on!" Sen battled bravely, becoming a mere dot in Ev's vision as Likte flew onward.
"Do you think she can make it out?" Likte whispered
to Ev, who nodded.
"Sen's been in tougher challenges then that.
I'm sure she'll make it out without a scratch on her. Now, what's that?" Ev
pointed to a shining object in the semi-lit cave.
"Don't know," Likte muttered. "Maybe it's that
Jetsam statue thing?"
"Doubt it," Ev replied, straining her eyes to
get a better look at the object. "It looks like a bottle. Fly down a bit, and
I'll get it."
The Pteri flew down, watching his Gelert sister
grab the bottle in her paw. "What is it?"
"It looks like a potion… Maybe someone dropped
it?" Ev looked at the liquid inside. "The potion is green… Must be one of these
Morphing Potions that turn you into a different Neopet and a different color…"
Ev looked at the outside of the bottle as well, turning it over in her paws.
"It looks like a Green Krawk Morphing Potion to me."
"Put it in my pack, will you?" Likte asked,
soaring through the cave.
An arrow whistled through the warm air of the
cave. Likte flew downward, dodging it in time. Ev stared, grabbing a shield
from the pack. "Wonder who's deep within this cave? Doesn't seem like they like
visitors…"
Another arrow whistled past. "Nope, I don't
think they do," Likte muttered, listening to the clank of the arrow hitting
the shield and falling down to the cave floor. "That was close, wasn't it?"
"I guess you could say that," Ev muttered, rolling
her eyes, deflecting another arrow with the shield.
A large opening in the cave was where Likte
flew down to the floor to rest. Ev looked around as Likte panted, wiping sweat
off his brow and taking a sip of water. "What are you looking at, Ev?" he asked,
looking at the Green Gelert in front of him.
Ev gawked at a statue in the center of the opening.
Likte hopped over, staring at the Jetsam statue. It had a strange glint to it,
even though there was very little light in the cave.
"Well, all of the poem we completed, except
one thing…" Likte muttered, taking the Tai-Kai Codestone that sat in the Jetsam's
fins. "Meeting our-"
"Foes?" two voice said. Likte and Ev whirled
around, to see two Aishas, both identical to each other, except one was purple
and the other orange.
"Well this is interesting," Likte muttered.
"You two are painted almost split… Well, sort of."
"It would be better if we were painted Faerie,
but Makk here wanted to paint us purple and orange!" the purple one said, scowling
at the orange one.
"ME? I wanted to be painted Pirate, but no…
YOU wanted us to be purple and orange!" the orange one shouted, glaring at the
other.
"Well, after you two are done fighting, mind
telling us who you are?" Ev asked, raising an eyebrow at the pair of Aisha.
"I'm Makk, and this one over here is Hakk,"
the orange Aisha explained.
"No, my name is Hakklen," the purple one retorted.
"He doesn't like his full name, which is Makklen."
"I told you not to call me that!" the orange
one scowled, smacking the purple one with a paw. "My name is MAKK, not Makklen!
I hate that stupid name!"
"Er, uhh… Makk and Hakklen?" Likte smiled, shaking
the two Aishas paws in a greeting sort of way.
"Yes?" they both answered in unison.
"Was nice meeting you, and now we have to go…
so… bye!" Likte answered hurriedly, grabbing Ev with his feet and flying off
with the Tai-Kai Codestone.
"Oh no you don't!" Makk ran after the two. "You
can't steal our Tai-Kai Codestone! I stole it in the first place!"
"EXCUSE ME? I was the one who thought of stealing
the sacred Codestones!" Hakklen shouted angrily. "And anyway, if you don't give
our Codestone back, then you won't get your sister back!" The purple Aisha waved
a paw, part of the rock in the wall turning around, revealing Sen trapped in
a rope net hanging from the wall.
"I'll handle them, Likte. You take care of Sen,"
Ev muttered through the corner of her mouth, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"What'll you do?" Likte asked, edging slowly
towards Sen.
"Watch and see," Ev grinned, whipping out two
Lost Desert Daggers.
"We rather not resort to violence," Hakklen
blushed, grinning. "I'm not a fighting type of… Aisha."
"Well, I am!" Makk shouted, pulling out a Demonic
Bow and launching an arrow at Ev.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Hakklen shouted
at Likte, who fled behind a rock. "You can't get her out of there!"
"You know what? This is kind of pathetic," Ev
grinned, twirling a Lost Desert Dagger in one paw. "You two aren't really thieves,
are you?"
"Well, no… but we steal stuff!" Hakklen cackled,
watching her brother launch arrows at the Gelert. "And Makk is an excellent
archer, so, we could be considered thieves…"
"Will you just shut up for once?" Makk called
out, launching a few more arrows.
"Ev! Throw me one of your daggers!" Likte shouted,
catching a dagger with his foot. He sliced at the rope, watching Sen get to
her feet and getting the dagger from her brother.
"Mind if I join in, Ev?" Sen grinned, twirling
her own dagger.
"Don't mind if you do!" Ev grinned as well,
running along with the Lupe to attack the two Aishas.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE, MAKK!" Hakklen screamed,
fleeing from the scene. Makk shot off another bow, missing entirely. He squeaked
in fright, running off after his sister.
"WE WILL MEET AGAIN, CODESTONE HUNTERS!" Makk
shouted, his voice echoing in the cave.
"What do you make of them?" Sen asked, while
they walked out of the cave together.
"Family issues, maybe?" Ev grinned, stifling
a laugh.
~~~
"I wonder if anyone is back at the Training School?" Likte looked at the building,
the flag reading "Neo-Fu" flapping in the wind.
Grath yawned, strolling into the Training School.
A few of the students there were working on cleaning the place up, ridding the
floor of ashes and fixing the walls. Ryshu and the Techo Master stood watching.
"Where did you guys go?" Sen asked, watching
the students clean up.
"One of the students was making lunch for us,"
the Techo Master answered. "Apparently he wasn't a very good cook…"
"And then why were the walls broken?" Ev asked,
blinking.
"They were fleeing the burning building," Ryshu
broke into a small smile.
"Strange…" Grath grinned.
"Being a Krawk is strange," Likte muttered,
turning around to inspect his new body.
"What?" everyone shouted, staring at the Krawk
standing next to them.
"I drank the potion…" Likte smiled, flexing
his paws. "I've never realized how useful having paws other than your footpaws."
"Oh yes, we found this in the school when the
fire was put out," Ryshu pulled out a scroll from his robe.
"What does it say?" Ev asked, peering over Likte's
shoulder.
"Not very much," Likte muttered. "It just says,
'Wait a week.' I don't think that this person has enough time to write these
cheesy rhymes…"
"Well, you just rhymed yourself," Sen chuckled.
The End
| 
