Artefact Hunters: Draikfang

     It was a peaceful day in Brightvale, in stark contrast to the fear and uncertainty that had plagued the kingdom mere weeks before. The shadowy, soul-sucking wraiths that had appeared seemingly from nowhere to terrorise the land and steal away its inhabitants were gone. The world’s faeries, locked for months under a petrification curse, were finally back. It was like a great pall had been lifted with the return of their magic, as the life and colour that had been quietly fading from Neopia returned all at once and with new vitality. And those whom the wraiths had captured were by now safely returned to their homes, all of them recovered from the monsters’ life-draining or else nearly there.

     Brightvaleans held their heads high, proud in the knowledge that two of their own had been the ones to restore order and peace to the world. And even though those two had accepted an offer to move to Faerieland in its new location and work for Queen Fyora herself, for now they still walked the cobbled streets that had shaped them. Their discussion as they did so was of great historic significance, for soon they would depart on the first of many vital missions for the Faerie Queen.

     “You know, Hanso, one of these days I’m going to have to arrest you for corrupting Neopia’s youth,” Brynn said with an exasperated sigh. “You shouldn’t encourage children to become thieves!”

     Hanso’s roguish smirk, if possible, only grew more flippant at that. “But it’s worked out so well for me!” he countered. “And you know, if I’d never started picking pockets, I wouldn’t have met you.”

     …Okay, so the conversation of great historic significance might have gotten a little derailed.

     Brynn didn’t take the bait. “Uh-huh. Tell me, just how many other thieves do you know who ended up as well off as you did?”

     Hanso only thought about it for a second. “There’s Kanrik.”

     Brynn groaned and kneaded her forehead. She had to admit, she’d walked into that one. “Okay, so one. Do you really think –”

     “And Queen Nabile was a thief before she became, you know, a queen.”

     Brynn’s tail twitched in annoyance. “Queen Nabile was the subject of a prophecy. Besides, you’ve never met her.”

     Hanso ignored the interruption and put a hand to his chin. “Also, if you want to count them, there were those pirates who saved Maraqua and kicked Scarblade’s –”

     “Just don’t lead children into a life of crime, okay?” Brynn didn’t know what was worse, the fact that her partner’s smirk had only gotten smarmier over the last minute or the fact that he actually had a somewhat concerning point. She really should have known better than to let him down this conversational path.

     Of course, she’d had a lot of “should haves” regarding him over the years, and somehow it had all led to where they were now. She still hadn’t figured out how exactly she felt about that.

     Hanso raised his hands in an exaggerated show of surrender. “Okay, okay. If you insist, Captain.”

     With that, he clapped his hands together. “So! Big fancy artefact in the Lost Desert? Do tell.”

     Brynn sighed and shrugged – at least they were back on track. “I don’t know a lot of details yet,” she confessed. “It’s some kind of powerful magic sword called ‘Draikfang.’ Queen Fyora said its location was discovered a little while ago, but the explorer who found out about it didn’t want to risk going after it and drawing any attention to himself because it’s close to some kind of enemy territory.”

     Hanso’s ears pricked with interest. “Enemy territory? Sounds like an exciting time. So I guess this explorer guy finally called Fyora because she has us on the case now, right?”

     Brynn nodded. “I think he’s been corresponding with King Jazan and Queen Nabile, and they must have recommended us when we decided to take these missions. We’re supposed to meet them at the Qasalan palace.”

     Hanso let out a gasp at that. Swinging around, he stepped in front of her and halted both of them with his hands on her shoulders.

     “Wait wait wait,” he said, “you’re telling me we’ve been doing this artefact thing for five minutes and we're already going to be royal guests?!”

     Brynn raised an eyebrow. “Hanso, we were working with royalty for months. Queen Fyora herself saved you from petrification and is now our boss.”

     Hanso waved the comment off. “Yeah, yeah, but that’s not the same as being guests at a fancy palace. Especially one that isn’t in the middle of being rebuilt after it just crashed into the ground.” He smirked. “Also, what was that thing you said about me never meeting Nabile?”

     Brynn folded her arms. “How’s about, ‘Now that you’re going to, while on official business no less, you’re going to behave yourself and not steal anything,’ sound?”

          Hanso scoffed. “Please give me some credit, sweetheart. I am completely legal now!”

     He blinked, as if surprised by his own words. “Wait, what?”

     Now it was Brynn’s turn to smirk. “I’ll hold you to that. Anyway, we’re almost to the carriage house. Come on, our Unis should be here soon.”

     As she stepped around him and continued down the road, she couldn’t help but reflect on just how strange this all was. She’d more or less gotten used to working with Hanso over the two months that they were dealing with the faerie crisis. But that had been a desperate, slapdash alliance, with him resisting his better nature for most of it and her too stubborn to recognise when he was genuinely trying to help. Back then – sweet Fyora, had “back then” really only been a few weeks ago? – she had just been a rather dedicated guard captain and he had just been a rather skilled thief. Back then, neither of them had really been sure what to do with one another.

     Now, as he trailed her down the last block to the carriage house where they’d be meeting their Uni steeds, random citizens periodically stopped what they were doing to gawk and point and chatter excitedly about Neopia’s newest heroes. Now, they were coworkers – partners, even – and for all of Hanso’s bluster about being a “Master Thief,” he was putting in the effort to make his newfound status and job alike count. And now, there was a genuine chance that… whatever exactly their relationship was would finally move forward.

     They made it to the wide green where riding Unis and the drivers of petpet steeds stopped to care for themselves and their charges when entering Brightvale City. As they sat on a bench to wait, a nearby gaggle of kids burst into excited whispering. Brynn tried to ignore it, to tell herself that they could have been gossiping about anything. But then she heard her own name whispered in the same reverential tones that she’d once used when talking with the other young guards about Sir Jeran of Meridell, and she suddenly became very self-conscious.

     She could only hope that she’d actually get used to all these “nows.” Preferably sooner rather than later.

     Fortunately, the two of them didn’t have to wait for very long. When Brynn saw the pair of Unis soaring in from the northeast toward the broad path of packed earth on the green that served as a landing strip, she instantly knew they were the ones Fyora had sent. This was partly because both wore Faerieland barding and one was even Faerie-coloured, and partly because she’d met the other once already.

     “Lieutenant Rallon!” she called out, standing up as the two Unis hit the earth with a clatter of hooves and a rustle of wings. “I didn’t know you were going to be part of this mission.”

     Rallon shook his pale yellow mane back into place as he settled his wings and trotted over to her and Hanso. The Starry Uni was the leader of the intelligent steeds in the Faerieland guard, and he would likely be acting as Brynn’s own steed on occasions where she had need of one. These special missions were different, though – she and Hanso were the only official members of the team, with other assistance to be hired as needed.

     “The Queen has been very busy with the restoration efforts, as I’m sure you’re aware,” he said. “She didn’t give us any more details than necessary, either. Laelia and I happened to be finishing some diplomatic work in Meridell, so we were requested to join you out of practicality as much as anything else.”

     The Faerie Uni, Laelia, grinned. “Well, more like he was doing diplomatic work. I’m just a royal courier, but mail runs to places like the Haunted Woods take skill enough for a proper adventure. This should be interesting!”

     Brynn nodded and folded her arms thoughtfully. “That’s definitely one way to put it. I just hope it’s not too interesting. Anyway, pleased to meet you Laelia, and to see you again, Lieutenant. I’m… sure you already know who we are.”

     “Neopia’s latest and greatest hero, at your service,” Hanso added with a flourishing bow.

     Laelia snickered good-naturedly at that, while Rallon just snorted. Brynn resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said, “Right. I guess this means we’re ready to head out, then?”

     Laelia’s wings fluttered in surprise. “What, now?”

     Brynn raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Queen Fyora said it was urgent, right?”

     The two Unis shared a glance. “I… think you two might have been in crisis mode for a little too long,” Laelia said delicately.

     “It’s important that this artefact be recovered quickly, but if it’s stayed hidden since before the Fall, it will be okay for one more day,” Rallon added. “If we leave now, we’ll have to stop overnight twice on the way to Qasala, possibly in the Haunted Woods both times. It would be better to go in the morning, when we’re all well rested.”

     Now it was Brynn’s and Hanso’s turn to share a glance. She shrugged; he smirked.

     “Does this mean I get to go back to corrupting Neopia’s youth for a few more hours?” he asked.

     A flat look was all he got in response. To his credit, he didn’t try to press the issue further.

     One of the nice things about getting this mission while they were still settling things in Brightvale was that Hanso and Brynn knew of a few places to stay the night that were way better than some plain carriage house. Granted, most of Hanso’s old haunts wouldn’t quite do for his present company. His partner, on the other hand, apparently had some family in town who ran an inn.

     The Leaping Whinny was everything Hanso expected and nothing he was used to: bright, well-kept, and with what seemed to be a decent selection of fresh food for weary travellers and folks who just wanted a good meal after a long day. He’d never been inside before now, but that was less a case of never finding himself in a decent inn and more that this one was something of a guard hangout. He wondered, briefly, whether that kind of exposure had contributed to Brynn’s decision to become a guard herself.

     A White Kougra, maybe a couple of years older than him, was working the bar. The Kougra perked up the moment he saw their odd little crew coming in. “Hey, if it isn’t the family hero!” he called out playfully. “Glad to see you’re still taking time to remember us simple folk.”

     Brynn groaned as she approached him. “Please don’t start, Rhys. All this attention is weird enough without you guys getting in on it.”

     Hanso slipped onto a barstool with a grin. “Feel free to start with me; the attention’s fun.”

     The Kougra, Rhys apparently, looked him over with a curious eye. “And you must be the troublemaker Brynn always complained to us about.”

     The grin slipped from Hanso’s face. He… really should have expected that, come to think of it.

     “Anyway,” the Kougra went on, “I’m Rhys, if you didn’t catch that earlier. We’re cousins,” he said with a nod of the head toward Brynn. Then he took in the full group with a thoughtful frown: his cousin and the Unis in their official uniforms, Hanso in… well, what he always wore, but it was good for adventuring anyway.

     “I’m guessing you’re not all here just for introductions, though,” he said.

     Brynn sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. We’ve just gotten our first artefact assignment. I told you about those, right?”

     At his nod, she added, “So my colleagues need a place to stay overnight so we can head out tomorrow morning. I might stay here too to make it easier, if you have room for it.”

     While the others started discussing arrangements, Hanso promptly got bored and let his gaze wander around the inn’s dining space. It wasn’t packed or anything, and he and his group were the only ones by the bar, but more people were starting to filter in for dinner.

     Another Kougra, an older Green one who was probably Rhys’ mother or something, paused for just a moment while running food to the tables to call out to the group with a short but enthusiastic wave. He frowned thoughtfully. Was Brynn’s family all the same species? He’d run into her out of uniform a few times in the years before the Fall, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen her parents. Were they both Kougras, too?

     “So,” Rhys said, his tone going low in a conspiratorial way that made Hanso swivel an ear back in his direction. “How much have you told your folks about, you know, you and him?”

     Hanso blinked and turned back to properly face the others. “Hang on, what?”

     Brynn’s ears lowered somewhat in consternation, and though it wasn’t visible, he had a feeling she was blushing a little under her fur. “Only as much as they need to know right now,” she hissed with a brief glance his way. “They know how much we worked together during the Faerieland crisis, and that we’re partners on Queen Fyora’s missions because of everything he did for the faeries and how much she trusts him. I’ll give them the details on… everything else… once I understand it all myself.”

     Rhys shrugged. “If you’re sure. You won’t be able to put it off too long though, with all the rumours.”

     That really got Hanso’s attention. “Excuse me, what kinds of rumours are we talking about here?” he asked, leaning over the counter.

     Rhys grinned the grin of someone who was having way too much fun at the expense of his poor family member. “I think you know exactly which ones I’m talking about. In fact, they’ve already got plushies out.”

     Brynn’s ears were by now practically flat against her skull. Hanso honestly hadn’t even known they could do that. “What.”

     Still grinning, Rhys reached under the bar counter and pulled out what appeared to be a pair of plushies joined side-by-side at the hip. As he set them on the countertop, Hanso realised that they were indeed facsimiles of himself and Brynn. One of the Unis snickered.

     “They call it, ‘Brynnso,’” Rhys said gleefully. “Aren’t you two cute in plush form?”

     Brynn just stared at the item for a moment before burying her face in her hands. “Oh Fyora, just kill me now.”

     Hanso picked up the plushies for closer inspection. “I don’t think she’ll want to do that when she just hired you.” They looked well-made, and when he tried to pull them apart, he found that there were a set of magnets or something sewn into the individual pieces that drew them back together. Rhys was right, they were cute. “Also, I want twelve of these.”

     Brynn let out a defeated sigh. “Let’s just get a table and order some food before it gets busy.”

     While they were making their way to an unoccupied table, Hanso cleared his throat and leaned in toward her. “So, what’s this issue with your parents?” he asked in a voice too low for anyone to hear. Glancing back at her cousin, he added, “Is it… Is it because I’m not a Kougra?” With mixed families as common as they were these days, judging a relationship based on whether the species matched was considered pretty outdated. Still, it wasn’t an unheard of attitude.

     Brynn blinked up at him. “What? Why would you think –” She followed his gaze. “Oh. Yeah, no, most of my family is single-species but only because they’re kind of used to it. They don’t care whether or not I follow that tradition.”

     Hanso frowned thoughtfully and nodded, struck with an odd sense of relief. Since when did he care what other people thought of him?

     “Mostly, my parents are worried about your criminal record,” she went on.

     Hanso grimaced as the four of them sat down. “Oh. Right.”

     Rallon spoke up then, with a question about packing food for the journey to Qasala. Hanso tried to pay attention as his companions slipped into the discussion of travel planning, honestly he did. But something about that last comment of Brynn’s was just sticking to him, even as obvious as it should have been. It wasn’t entirely that he was afraid of rejection. He was used to that by now, and his dashing heroics had won over plenty of naysayers already. But the more he settled into his new life, the more he was coming to grips with what that new life actually was.

     Like the fact that the title of “Master Thief” was no more than, well, a title. Sure, he would no doubt be using his unique skill set for the whole artefact retrieval thing, but it would all be… on the level. On Fyora’s orders, and thus perfectly legal because they were faerie artefacts and she was the faerie queen.

     When he’d been a little younger, Hanso had promised himself that he did what he wanted and he wasn’t gonna change for anybody, no matter how much they tried to convince him that stealing was wrong or how much nicer they were than the other guards or how brave and clever and cute she – actually, come to think of it, he really should have seen the flaw in that argument. Still, he had somehow managed to surprise even himself with how easily he’d made that claim about being “completely legal” earlier. He didn’t really see how he could keep the cool new job or the actual functioning relationship with Brynn if he went right back to getting himself arrested or on the run from being arrested all the time, but… Was it a change he really, truly wanted to make?

     Or, maybe more accurately, was it one he could make?

     It was a question that had been plaguing him for a while now and would probably plague him for a while more, so he did what he always did in these situations and shoved it into some dusty corner in the back of his mind. There were a few Brightvale guards coming in now, still in uniform so they must have only just come off duty. He entertained himself by giving them all the cheekiest grin he could muster, complete with a little wave. Some of the guards looked startled or even amused by the attention from the thief-turned-hero. But others responded by rolling their eyes or shooting him dirty looks. Rude.

     “Oh, hey,” he thought out loud when a Royal Eyrie followed the others through the doorway. “I know that guard. That’s Dame Ofelia, right?”

     Brynn followed his gaze, but for some reason, the sight of the other guards made her wilt a little. “It’s Captain Ofelia, now,” she said. She’d set her helmet down on the table when they’d all taken their seats, but now she half-consciously pulled it closer to herself as she added, “She’s, um, my replacement in the Brightvale city guard.”

     “Huh.” Hanso briefly locked eyes with the Eyrie. She narrowed her eyes just a fraction before shrugging it off with a respectful nod back to him and then sat down with the others.

     “Well, at least she isn’t as tightly wound as some of her buddies. Honestly, you’d think I hadn’t saved anything with the looks they’re giving me!”

     Brynn only wilted further with that comment. She pulled her helmet into her lap and adjusted her Faerieland cape as if she was trying to hide it from view.

     “Hanso?” she said quietly. “You’re not the only one they’re looking at.”

     Hanso’s brows furrowed, and he stole one last glance at the table with the guards. One of them, a Scorchio he didn’t recognise, was still looking his way… Except, now that he was paying closer attention, the Scorchio was actually looking at Brynn. He snorted and muttered something, and though Hanso was too far away to hear it, he thought he read the word “traitor” on the guard’s lips.

     Hanso’s eyes narrowed. “Well, then they’re clearly just complete idiots.”

     Still, it was enough to kind of kill the mood. He was only too happy when, after a few tense moments, Laelia piped in with questions about everything he and Brynn had done during the Fall of Faerieland. He answered them with great enthusiasm, slipping easily into the groove of storytelling. After another minute or two, Brynn seemed to shake herself out of her self-conscious funk and joined in.

     Maybe all of this would start to make sense once they headed out to properly start this first mission. After all, the last time he’d ended up on a big fancy quest, things had turned out pretty well for him in the end.

     Right?

To be continued…