Tales of the Plot Complete

     “Are ya done yet, Pepper?” A lone Werelupe called across the icy expanse of a cave.

     “I’m getting there!” A Jelly Shoyru called back as she pulled out a Virtublaster 3000 and fired it at an Ice Skeleton.

     The Werelupe leapt into the air and crashed down against an Ice Skeleton, shattering it to pieces. Though they didn’t side with the Thieves’ Guild, he appreciated the rewards they had for helping them.

     The Werelupe had a pair of dual Iron Lupe Swords he kept crisscrossed on his back like an X, except for when he drew them to fight with. He only had a pair of blue tattered jeans and a Lupe Moon Charm given to him by his mother. There was also a leather strap between the swords used for holding another weapon, which he hadn’t utilised.

     The Ice Skeleton shattered to pieces, which were sent skidding across the icy floor. The Jelly Shoyru was zapping Ice Skeletons with dead-eye precision, and they plinked against the ground as an echo throughout the cave. The Jelly Shoyru, Pepper, turned and smiled at Maximilien. This was her way of showing that she was done.

     “That ought to do it.” Pepper smiled at Maximilien. “Are you all done over there, Maxie?”

     “It’s Maximilien.” The Werelupe responded coolly, “And yes, I’m done for the day.”

     The Shoyru had been about four feet tall and was a purple Jelly Shoyru. Though she was still just like a regular Shoyru, just made of Jelly instead of flesh. She wore a Disco Shoyru necklace which had a distinct N on it, and a white Poet’s Jacket and a pair of blue jeans, though they hadn’t been tattered as Maximilien’s had.

     At her sides were a pair of holsters capable of fitting her Virtublaster 3000s. She also had a large gun at her back, a QX-92 Neutrino Blaster. She souped up the gun at her back to be much more durable and stronger than its normal version. Beneath the gun was a backpack which was capable of holding many objects as though it was much bigger than it had actually been.

     Despite her looks, Pepper had been an Engineer. She was capable of working on technology and devices of any capacity. Pepper was twenty years old. She thoroughly loved puzzles and riddles, which she was much better at than Maximilien, despite how smart he had been.

     Maximilien was very large, even for a Werelupe. He was six and a half feet tall and had a tremendous girth. He was broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hips, and outside of his necklace and pants, he had no other clothes on. His fur kept him warm in the ice cave. He also had the dual Iron Lupe Swords at his back, and a leather strap between them capable of holding a spear or another weapon.

     Despite his brutish appearance, Maximilien had been a gentleman of high intelligence and a good education. He was older than Pepper, who didn’t know he was forty-two years old. Despite the way he talked, as his father had been a Pirate Lupe, he had only the most astute things to say.

     He was tall enough that he nearly hit his head on the ceiling of the caves they’d been in. His reflection danced against the walls of the ice caves, which made him look taller and thinner or shorter and fatter, and the images moved as he did.

     “Let’s call it a day, eh?” Maximilien called to the Shoyru from across the cave.

     “That sounds like a plan!” Pepper called out to Maximilien and carefully moved across the ice caves to prevent herself from slipping.

     The Ice Caves themselves had been a swirl of refractive light, which was seen from the flares which were lit and held in Maximilien’s pocket and attached to Pepper’s shirt in a strap. The walls coalesced into a sheer sheet of ice, which cascaded its brilliance and sheen all across the surface of the ice walls strewn all across the caves.

     Thousands of reflections were seen darting across the surface of the icy patterns. The frozen liquid displayed many variations of what had been inside of it, and in this case, had been Pepper and Maximilien.

     A trail of snow fell inside as well as outside of the caves, as Terror Mountain had openings at the top of it which allowed for the snow from the outside blizzard to get into it. There was a hot spring, which Maximilien was tempted to drink out of. Though Pepper gave him a look, he knew that they should both return to the Thieves’ Guild before nightfall. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to claim their prize for helping them.

     “That was fun, eh, Pepper?” Maximilien barked.

     “Not too fun.” Pepper frowned. “It’s very cold and frigid. Let’s just get out of here.”

     “If we collect our reward points from the Thieves’ Guild, and they pay handsomely enough, we won’t have’ta worry about it ever again. We can retire at a tropical island.” Maximilien smiled proudly.

     “You always say that!” Pepper protested, “You always say how after our next big job, we’ll retire. It never happens.”

     “Well…” Maximilien trailed off, “This time will be different. We’ll at least get to be out of this cold and someplace warmer.”

     “I hope you’re right.” Pepper smiled. “I don’t like this cold at all.”

     They eventually made their way to the exit of the caves, and they found that the world outside was much different than they expected it to be. The blizzard was gone, and instead of cold and ice, everything was warm and dry. They saw that all the moisture and snow had disappeared, and when they turned around to see what happened to Terror Mountain and the Ice Caves, they saw that there was no sign of it. They looked around, and there was nothing but desert for miles and miles around them.

     “We’re lost!” Pepper cried out, “How did we end up in the desert?”

     “I don’t know.” Maximilien shrugged, “We’ll have’ta find some kind of civilisation.”

     The sky was illuminated red as the clouds swam through the distance beneath the atmosphere of Neopia, which had been the colour lavender. They turned to look one last time to see if they could see Terror Mountain, but all they could see was the Lost Desert.

     The sun began to set, and the moon began to rise, and they witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets they had ever seen. The hushed winds of the desert delicately blew past them while the red sky dissipated into night.

     There had been many Cacti, and they had been of various shapes and sizes. The moonlit sky shone down against the Cacti, and they were the only plants they had seen for miles around them.

     “It sure is lonely here.” Pepper frowned.

     “I’m sure we’ll find our way.” Maximilien smiled, trying to appear confident in front of his friend.

     Several Scamanders were seen scuttling across the ground and darting into holes in it, while a family of wild Kepru could be seen travelling through the distance of the sands and yipped and barked and squealed and disappeared into the night. One of them had paused and gazed over at Pepper and Maximilien and gazed at them curiously before running back with the rest of her family.

     The pair eventually came across an Oasis, which had Tawaret Petpets imitating the palm trees found there.

     “Maybe we should set up camp here.” Pepper instructed the Werelupe.

     “I think yer right.” Maximilien nodded.

     Though the pair had camping gear in Pepper’s backpack, Maximilien decided to sleep on a mound of grass which was just beside the water. They took some sips, and Maximilien lay on his back, and Pepper slept on his massive tummy.

     Maximilien took note of the twinkling stars in the sky above him, and he decided to stay awake so as to not disturb Pepper. He gazed at the night sky and saw many Djuti flying through the air above them. He clasped the Lupe Moon Charm, which hadn’t been slept on by Pepper, and he began thinking of his family. As he thought about his parents, he gently brought one of his massive paws around and placed it against Pepper’s back. It had been a long time since he had seen his mother or father, since they had mysteriously vanished.

     He remembered it like it had been yesterday. He graduated from the Krawk Island Academy, and he came home to his mother and father to tell them the good news. He would train for several years to be as strong as his father had been, and even though most people had to use a large amount of dubloons, he was so skilled he was given a scholarship.

     In his excitement, he entered his parents’ home, but found that no one was there. He waited several hours, but then he became worried. He saw a sign of a struggle, and he found a piece of cloth on the ground which simply read ‘Sloth.’

     The Werelupe’s eyes shot open and he realised the sun had already been shining down on them, and it was day.

     Pepper walked over and poked Maximilien’s nose.

     “Morning, sleepy head.” The Shoyru chuckled, “You’ve finally woken up!”

     “I didn’t realise I’d slept.” Maximilien blushed. “How long was I out for?”

     “A couple of hours, from what I can tell.” Pepper nodded. “It’s okay. I didn’t want to wake you.”

     “Aye, did’ja take a look around?” Maximilien asked curiously, “Anythin’ worth lookin’ at?”

     “No…” Pepper trailed off, “But I did find…this!”

     The Shoyru pulled out a scroll which had the image of blue reeds on it.

     “Keep it safe, aye?” Maximilien instructed Pepper, “We may need it.”

     Pepper nodded and placed it into her backpack, which accepted it without any difficulty. The backpack was designed so that objects much larger than it could be accepted within it. An Earth Faerie enchanted it so that it could hold up to fifty items of any size or shape within it.

     The Werelupe yawned widely and stretched, and his back cracked in several places when he did. His appearance would be menacing to anyone else except the Shoyru, who knew he had a good heart.

     Maximilien dove onto one of the palm trees, shimmied up its side and climbed to the top of it. He placed his hand over his eye with his free arm and spotted a city in the distance.

     “There!” Maximilien called out, “I see a city in the distance.”

     “Wonderful!” Pepper called out, “Now get back down here. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

     “Ha!” Maximilien dove off from the tree and did a front flip and landed on the tips of his toes and gave a bow on his knee. “They don’ call me Maxie the Nimble for nothin’.”

     “Yeah, yeah. Showoff.” Pepper chuckled, “Now let’s get to that city. You lead the way.”

     Maximilien nodded as he and Pepper travelled for several hours and eventually arrived at the City of Sakhmet. There was a lone obelisk near the city, as well as two pyramids standing out in the distance. Sakhmet had sand-colored walls which kept its inhabitants safe from danger.

     They found their way to the gate. They were allowed inside, and they saw the hustle and bustle of city life within its walls. There were many vibrantly colored tents, and before Maximilien could say anything, Pepper darted off to some of the tents to buy things.

     “Pepper!” Maximilien called out, but she couldn’t hear him over the crowd.

     Pepper had purchased several items with her spare Neopoints, including a Lost Desert Tail Ornament and a crook and flail.

     “Looks nice.” Maximilien cracked a smile. “Thanks!” The Shoyru smiled as she darted back to another stall after putting her crook and flail into her backpack.

     Pepper found her way to Sutek’s Scrolls, and there was a tan Nimmo standing at the counter. She looked over all of the scrolls and then pulled out the scroll she found. The Nimmo’s eyeshadow and Lost Desert accessories were a sight to behold for the Shoyru, who wasn’t used to seeing Desert Neopets.

     “Pardon me, sir!” Pepper approached the Nimmo, “Would you care to take a look at this? I found it in the desert.”

     “You came all the way from the desert?” The Nimmo exclaimed, “I’ll take a look at this while you take a rest in that chair over there.”

     “Thank you.” The Shoyru smiled and sat in the chair he gestured for her to sit in.

     The Nimmo took a close look at the scroll and then smiled broadly.

     “This is Djo!” The Nimmo exclaimed, “It’s very valuable.”

     The Nimmo walked over to Pepper and placed the scroll safely into her hand.

     “Keep this safe.” The Nimmo smiled knowingly. “You’ll need to take this scroll to the Kau Fortune Teller. No one quite knows where they came from. Though, the Fortune Teller should be able to tell you more about it. She only comes out at night, so you’ll need to find something to do until then. You’ll also only be able to find her outside of the city walls.”

     “Thank you for your help.” Pepper smiled, “I’ll tell Maximi- wait! I forgot Maximilien; he must still be looking for me! Thanks again!”

     The Shoyru ran out of the stall and ran to find Maximilien, where she found him waiting for her in the crowd.

     “Where didja get off to?” Maximilien asked Pepper curiously.

     “I went to Sutek’s Scrolls to get the scroll checked out. He said it was very valuable, and we should show it to a Kau Fortune Teller who only comes out at night, at the outskirts of the city.”

     “Wait, why? Couldn’t we just try to find our way back to Happy Valley?” Maximilien scoffed.

     “This scroll may be a clue as to why we’re even here.” Pepper nodded.

     “But…the reward!” Maximilien frowned. “We need to return to Happy Valley to get the reward so we can find my…”

     “We’ll find them.” Pepper nodded, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them. For now, we’ll just need to figure out what this scroll means. I have a feeling.”

     “Will do.” Maximilien nodded in return, “If you think it has importance, I’ll help ya.”

     They occupied themselves at the different stalls, and night eventually fell. They travelled out of the city and to the outskirts of the wall and looked for the Kau Fortune Teller. There were very few people around, and Maximilien could feel something in the air; something important was about to happen.

     They eventually came across the Kau Fortune Teller’s tent, between the dimly lit torches outside of the city walls. They entered the tent and met a sleek pink Kau with a veil over her face. The Kau Fortune Teller had a crystal ball in front of her with swirling mists within it, and she smiled knowingly at them.

     “So…you’ve finally arrived.” The Fortune Teller smiled. “I have been expecting you.”

     “Who are you?” The Werelupe tilted his head curiously and gazed at the fortune teller.

     “Who I am is unimportant.” The Fortune Teller kept smiling, “It’s you, however, I feel are important.”

     “Me?” Maximilien’s ears flattened as he gazed bashfully at the Fortune Teller.

     “Both of you.” The Fortune Teller nodded. “There’s more to you than meets the eye. You’re not from around here, are you?”

     “No.” Pepper shook her head. “We came from Terror Mountain. Did you guess that because you’re a psychic?”

     “No, I just noticed your clothing.” The Fortune Teller chuckled.

     “What does this mean?” Pepper took the scroll and placed it onto the table.

     “Ahhhh!” The Fortune Teller exclaimed, “This is Djo! It is one of twelve, and very important. Come, take a look”

     The fortune teller reached under the table and pulled out a large stone tablet with missing pieces, but also with symbols on it. It also had Djo, the symbol of the scroll, on it.

     “But what does it mean?” Pepper tilted her head curiously. “Why did we find this scroll in the oasis, and what does the symbol mean? Why is it on the tablet?”

     “I cannot tell you everything.” The Fortune Teller gave a serious expression. “I can only tell you that you must find the Temple of One Thousand Tombs. It is very dangerous and is found deep within the desert.”

     The Kau Fortune Teller reached under the table and pulled out a parchment of a map. She took the scroll the pair had found and placed the map into Maximilien’s hand.

     “Is this a map to the tomb?” Maximilien tilted his head curiously.

     “Yes.” The Fortune Teller nodded. “Be sure to take a canteen of water, one for each of you. Only drink about every hour or so and only travel at night! Otherwise, the sun will sap your strength!”

     “We’ll be sure to do that.” Maximilien nodded. “We’ll leave tonight. Thank you for your help.”

     Maximilien and Pepper sat up from their chairs and went to exit the tent, but before they left, the Fortune Teller stopped Maximilien.

     “Wait!” The Fortune Teller exclaimed, “You will find them again.”

     “Find who?” The Werelupe turned to look at the Fortune Teller but found both the Fortune Teller and her tent were gone.

     “I suppose this means we’ll need some canteens.” Maximilien turned to Pepper and suggested, “Let’s go get some before the shops close.”

     “Will do.” Pepper nodded, “I’m excited to see the Temple of One Thousand Tombs.”

     The pair went into the city and purchased a couple of canteens as well as water to go with it, which was filled in a jug beside the vendor’s table. They then purchased some camping equipment, a tent, two sleeping bags, some food rations, some logs for fire, and camping supplies. When they were finished, they exited the city’s gates and looked for the Fortune Teller again, but to no avail.

     “According to this map…” Maximilien trailed off, “It should take approximately three days’ time to reach the tomb.”

     “We should get a move on, then.” Pepper nodded. “The longer we wait, the longer it will take to find it.”

     They began travelling through the shifting sands of the constantly moving desert. The wind was blowing, which was whipping a bit of sand in their direction. They covered their faces with their arms and travelled through the desert in the night. They also had special scarves which blocked the sand from getting into their faces.

     Every hour they drank from their canteens as the Kau Fortune Teller suggested. Their canteens were very large and would last for days. The glorious display of the iridescence of the rising sun cast a red light across the sky, which was different from the incandescent sheen of the moon above. It was daytime, and it was time to rest.

     They fried themselves some Lemon Swirly Neggs. They pitched their tents after cooking themselves some food from a bonfire and climbed into their sleeping bags and fell fast asleep. It was harder for Pepper to fall asleep than Maximilien, because he had been nocturnal and she had been diurnal. Though she finally closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

     Pepper found herself stirred to alertness as she suddenly woke up. Maximilien had been up for several hours before she had, and the light of the sun was shrinking, and the light of the moon was rising. Pepper tore open a wrapper and had some jerky for breakfast, as well as some of the food rations they had for themselves.

     “We need to start getting out soon.” Maximilien nodded, “Are ye prepared, Pepper?”

     “Of course!” Pepper beamed, “This is all so exciting.”

     The pair packed up their tent and sleeping bags and placed them into Pepper’s backpack. Maximilien didn’t have a pack, as he needed room to draw his swords if need be. The pair had travelled through the desert for three days and three nights exactly, and they eventually came across a massive structure in the middle of the desert.

     The pair both entered the structure and found that it had been dilapidated and completely destitute. It was half buried in the sand, and the spires of columns which lined the outside of it had been jagged and broken.

      They looked around as they entered the outer ruin and found that the temple had been completely deserted. Maximilien took some inhales from his nostrils and took in the scents of the temple, and he took the lead to make sure Pepper hadn’t been in any danger. He had keen night vision, which let him see in the dark, and Pepper drew a torch. They read an engraving on the wall beside them. It read:

     “The waking dawn on the dunes, mouth of the river.”

     “That’s strange.” Maximilien nodded, “I guess we should inspect the rest of the temple.”

     They found many doorways with many symbols above them, and they had been of various colours as well. Pepper pulled out a cartography device, which she used to record the doors they had been through and where they might lead.

     “We shouldn’t split up.” Maximilien nodded, “and we should only enter doorways we can both fit through.”

     “I agree.” Pepper nodded, “I wouldn’t want to get lost, anyway.”

     The Werelupe found a large pentagonal doorway which had an orange colour to it, and there was a tunnel behind the door. It was dubious as to where it led, and Maximilien pushed open a door, and they both entered through it.

     “Let’s hurry on.” Maximilien nodded as the pair made their way through the hallway.

     They eventually came to what appeared to be an Eyrie skeleton on the ground. They didn’t know if it meant there was danger ahead, or if the Eyrie had just gotten lost.

     They pressed on and found a room full of hieroglyphs all against the walls, some of which appeared to be Neopians standing while others were simple runic symbols. Maximilien placed his paw against the hieroglyphs on the wall, and one of them pressed inwards, and a hissing sound came from all around them.

     “Run!!!” Maximilien cried out.

     What did you do!?” Pepper exclaimed as they both made their way to the exit.

     Water rose to their knees and started to pour in from the walls as the door started to shut. Maximilien dove to the door and drew one of his Iron Lupe Swords lightning fast, and he wedged it between the door and the ground. Pepper tumbled beneath the door, and Maximilien dove for the exit and did a roll, grabbed his sword, and pulled it free just as he and Pepper were outside of the door.

     The water rose to the ceiling, and they had barely escaped with their lives.

     “Are you alright?” The Werelupe asked Pepper curiously, who smiled.

     “Yes, I am.” The Shoyru smiled, “Thank you. You did wonderfully, Maxie.”

     Pepper had dropped her torch in the excitement, but her backpack, which was enchanted to never get wet, had a spare, which she pulled free and she lit with flint and tinder. They approached a new door with a blue symbol and a diamond shape above it.

     “We’ll try this one.” Maximilien nodded.

     “Can’t we just go back to Sakhmet?” Pepper complained, “I’m not enjoying myself anymore.”

     “I need to know.” Maximilien turned to Pepper and gave a determined look. “I need to know what the Fortune Teller was talking about.”

     “Okay.” The Shoyru smiled a little. “I’ll try.”

     They both walked into the new room and found that the walls had been completely smooth. They tried not to trigger any traps, but Pepper accidentally stepped on a floor tile, which caused the walls to move inwards and the floor to give way. There were spikes on the bottom of it, and there were skulls stuck on some of the spikes.

     Pepper was able to fly, but Maximilien fell to the spikes below. She darted towards him, grabbed his hand and flew back up to the top of the spikes with her and pulled him to the exit of the room where the floor was still standing.

     “Thank you.” Maximilien smiled and wagged his tail a little. “That was close.”

     “Don’t mention it.” The Shoyru smiled, “I’m just repaying you for saving me earlier.”

     “We’ll try one more room.” Maximilien gave a stern expression. “I don’t want to put you in any danger.”

     “We’ll keep going if we have to.” The Shoyru smiled, “I know this is important to you. We can’t just give up now!”

     Maximilien nodded and smiled and carried the torch through the various hallways. There were doors with many symbols and shapes and colours, and Pepper recorded all of them. Sometimes they reached a dead end and had to go back, but at least they knew not to go that way again.

     They eventually arrived at a hallway with a purple circle above it, and they entered inside. They finally arrived at what appeared to be a large tomb. There was a sarcophagus with King Coltzan’s appearance engraved into it, and they decided to try to open it.

     “This may be what we’re lookin’ for.” Maximilien nodded, “Let’s open it.”

     Pepper simply nodded in return, and they both pried the sarcophagus open. Inside was a hideous Mummy of an Eyrie, which they realised was the skeleton they found on the ground earlier. It wound up into the sarcophagus and reached its hand out towards the pair and grabbed Maximilien’s shoulder.

     “You never should have come here, and now you’re going to pay!” The Mummy, Eyrieki, shrieked.

     Maximilien reached for his Iron Lupe Sword with his free hand and sliced the Mummy with it, cutting his arm completely off. Eyrieki screeched in pain and then regrew the missing limb. They realised they’d have to try harder to take the Mummy down, and they’d have to find a clever way to defeat him. Eyrieki climbed out of the sarcophagus and hissed.

     “You cannot defeat me, for I am already dead!” The Mummy bellowed.

     “We’ll see about that!” Pepper drew both of her Virtublaster 3000s and fired them at the Mummy, who immediately regenerated when she was hit.

     The only sign that Eyrieki had even been hit was holes in the bandages which were once whole. Maximilien doubled back and did a backflip, landing perched against the wall with his feet and diving off of it, lunging headfirst at Eyrieki. He stabbed both swords into the Mummy and cleaved him completely in two.

     The Mummy turned to gaze at himself, with both halves independent of one another. They used their free arm to grab the other side and pulled himself back together and regenerated.

     Eyrieki pulled out a golden scimitar which had a purple amethyst handle, and he struck at the pair with it.

     “He’s tough!” Pepper gazed worriedly at Maximilien, who nodded to her.

     “We’re tougher.” Maximilien grinned.

     Pepper continued to fire her Virtublaster 3000s at the Mummy, and Maximilien parried the Mummy’s blows and struck him and tore some of his bandages, but the Eyrie regenerated every strike. Pepper pulled out her QX-92 Neutrino blaster and charged it.

     “Keep him busy!” Pepper exclaimed, “I think I have a plan!”

     “Understood.” Maximilien, who had dropped his torch and fought with both arms and both swords, struck with one blade and guarded with the other.

     Pepper eventually fired a large blast of plasma which looked like a ball of lightning, which charged through the hallway like a miniature sun. Maximilien grabbed Eyrieki and threw him into the direction of the blast, causing him to disintegrate into thousands of pieces of char.

     “D’ya think that finished ‘im?” Maximilien asked Pepper curiously.

     “Let’s not stick around to find out!” Pepper nodded.

     Pepper had been tempted to take the golden scimitar, but she knew better than to do so. She didn’t want the mummy chasing her through the tomb as though it had been a scarab.

     They ran through the halls after Pepper picked up the still-lit torch, and they found themselves staring down a Gelatinous Non-Cube. The skeletons inside of it showed that it had devoured other adventurers, and they knew they’d have to find a way to get away from it.

     “Run past it!” Maximilien instructed, “Jump on the wall and leap past it!”

     “Got it!” Pepper nodded as she leapt from one wall and Maximilien leapt from the other.

     The Gelatinous Non-Cube was confused as to which Neopian to try to devour, and in its stupor, let them both escape past it.

     The pair ran through the hallways as the Gelatinous Non-Cube gave chase. They eventually ran into a room where gases escaped from it, which was designed to make them fall asleep.

     “Hold your breath!” Maximilien instructed. “Don’t breathe it in!”

     The pair looked for an exit and stepped everywhere and pushed on the walls as Pepper covered her mouth with one of her free hands. Pepper eventually pulled out her QX-92 Neutrino Blaster and fired it against the wall, blowing it away and revealing a slide made of sand.

     They dove onto the slide and moved through many different slants until eventually they arrived at a pile of sand at the bottom. Pepper dove off the slide and landed gracefully beside the pile, but Maximilien landed in it and was covered with more and more sand until he was eventually completely covered in it. Only his eye could be seen, and Pepper had a good laugh at the goofy way that Maximilien had looked.

     Maximilien shook his fur and got all of the sand off of him, and he walked over to Pepper.

     “Where to now?” The Werelupe tilted his head curiously.

     “Let’s try to move ahead.” Pepper said confidently, “I think we’ve finally beaten this.”

     They walked out of the room with the sand, and they eventually arrived at four different hallways. Three of the rooms had depictions of snakes on them: A constellation, a blue snake, and a maze. The fourth door had a red triangular crystal above it which had a brilliant sheen as though it had been carved from the dawn itself.

      Maximilien remembered the riddle from outside of the temple and realised this must be the room they had to enter. They entered the room and found a statue of Nuria, the Fire Faerie. Beneath the statue was another riddle which read: “Whoever shall speak the prophecy here will be rewarded with treasure beyond compare.”

     “This room seems to be important.” Pepper instructed, “I have a set of fresh teleporters with me in my backpack. They’re still prototypes but should work fine. I’ll leave one of the teleporter prongs here so we can arrive at this temple and in this room without all of the travelling.”

     “That sounds like a plan.” Maximilien nodded, “Let’s head back to the Kau Fortune Teller. While I was falling, I managed to grab…this.”

     The Werelupe reached into his pocket and pulled out a dirty piece of tablet. It looked like a part of the same tablet which the Fortune Teller had inside of her tent.

     “I’ll use my cartography device to see where we can get out of this temple.” Pepper instructed, “I’ve mapped the entire tomb we’ve been to, so we should be able to find our way around if we need to come back here.”

     Pepper pulled out the device and analysed the room and grinned.

     “It would seem the way out is just beyond this room.” The Shoyru nodded. “Right in front of us.”

     “Let’s go.” Maximilien walked to the door just at the back of the room and led the Shoyru outside.

     Maximilien took the torch, which had still been lit despite everything that happened miraculously, and doused it with his canteen. He left it in front of the statue in case they had to go there again, and he found his way back outside from the sun shining outside of the exit.

     They found their way to the front of the temple and picked up any belongings they left behind as to not burden them while they were in the temple, and the temple seemed different. The sand was a vibrant gold colour, and the sky looked alight with orange and red colours. It looked like the sun was setting, even though it was still high in the sky.

     Pepper pulled out a device and detected an oasis nearby, and Maximilien followed her lead. They’d still be able to find their way back to Sakhmet, but they filled their canteens and had a large amount of water to drink, as they had been parched. Maximilien was starving, and Pepper pulled out some food rations from her backpack.

     She hadn’t been as hungry, and that was a perk of being a Jelly Neopet. She had a different metabolism and didn’t need to eat as often as Maximilien had.

     They spent several days camping in the daylight and travelling at the moonlight, until they eventually reached Sakhmet. It was day, but they didn’t bother to make camp as they had been close to it.

     They purchased more food, and then waited for the Kau Fortune Teller to appear as night fell. They eventually saw the tent, as though it appeared out of nowhere. It was found in the caliginous dusk of shade between two torches which had been lit on the outside of the city.

     Maximilien quickly entered the tent and gave the Fortune Teller a stern look. He nearly snarled at her as he demanded information.

     “I need’ta know…” Maximilien trailed off, “I need’ta know what’cha know about my parents.”

     “I cannot tell you.” The Kau Fortune Teller shook her head. “If I were to tell you that, your entire destiny would change. As would the destiny of Neopia.”

     “Well…” Maximilien nodded, “That sounds reasonable.”

     The Werelupe reached into his pocket and pulled out a dirty piece of tablet.

     “We found this in the temple when we explored it.” The Werelupe explained, “Is this what you were looking for?”

     “Yes!” The Kau Fortune Teller exclaimed, “This is exactly what I was looking for. Please, let me see it for a moment.”

     The Fortune Teller took the tablet piece and placed it on the table, as she pulled out the larger tablet from beneath the table. She took Maximilien’s canteen and washed it off and then placed it into a similar hole in the tablet. She then placed the tablet back beneath the table and addressed the pair.

     “This is the symbol of Fer.” The Fortune Teller explained, “It was used many generations ago by a long-lost race of people who no longer dwell here.”

     “…But what does it mean!?” Pepper exclaimed wide-eyed.

     “It means that there is a much greater prophecy at hand than I can even see with my crystal ball!” The Fortune Teller laughed, “Though I can give you a hint for your next task: An ancient Pharaoh lays at rest.”

     “I think I know what that means.” The Werelupe said excitedly, “We were just at a tomb within the temple. There was a sarcophagus shaped like King Coltzan.”

     “Then you must go there.” The Fortune Teller explained, “Be on your way, and good luck!”

     Pepper and Maximilien got up from their seats and walked outside of the tent. In the same way it had vanished last time, it was gone again.

     “Would you like to use the teleporter I designed?” Pepper smiled proudly, “It should get us to the temple lickity split.”

     “If ye say it’ll work, Pepper, I’ll trust ya.” Maximilien smiled in return.

     Pepper pulled out a device and pressed the button, and they were both instantly whisked to the Temple of One Thousand Tombs. There was a bright pillar of light which shone high into the sky with a loud crackling sound, and they turned into orbs of glorious bright light and appeared in the temple in front of the statue of Nuria, the Fire Faerie.

     Maximilien grabbed at his body to make sure he was still intact, as the experience was shocking for him. She had tested it on herself to make sure that it worked before using it on a friend, but she realised her different cellular structure may have worked differently than his had. Though she could tell that everything was alright with him by giving him a glance over.

     “Everything still there?” Pepper chuckled.

     “Yes, I think so.” Maximilien smiled and brushed the back of his head with his hand.

     “If we’re going to make our way back to where we came, we’re going to have to fight that…that thing!” Pepper explained.

     “Ya mean that thing which looks like you?” Maximilien tried to hold back laughter as Pepper grew red in the face.

     “That creature looks nothing like me!” Pepper demanded, “I come from a long line of prestigious Neopians. That’s a….a THING!”

     “Well, we still need to get rid of it.” Maximilien nodded thoughtfully.

     “I think I have a plan.” Pepper turned and led Maximilien down the hall. “Follow me!”

     Pepper pulled out a grappling hook connected to some rope and threw it to the top of the slide, connecting to the room they blew a hole in the wall of. Maximilien’s thick paw pads were like rappelling gloves, and he was able to climb to the top of the room within minutes. Pepper merely had to fly there.

     There was no longer any gas in the room, and Maximilien noticed a piece of tablet on the floor which he picked up and put into his pocket. They heard a groaning noise as they entered the next hallway, and they realised that it was the Gelatinous Non-Cube.

     “So…what was that plan o’ yer’s?” Maximilien asked the Jelly Shoyru curiously.

     “If we can lure the creature to the sand slide, we may be able to cause it to dissipate in the sand.” Pepper nodded proudly.

     “THAT’S yer plan?” Maximilien gazed, stunned. “Who’s the bait?”

     “You are!” Pepper chuckled. “You’ll need to dive down the slide when the Gelatinous Non-Cube approaches. I’ll fly into the air and lead it onto the slide.”

     “Well, if ya say so.” Maximilien frowned, “Just don’t get yerself hurt, alright?”

     Maximilien lifted the torch, which he picked up from the Fire Faerie statue and re-lit it, and he could see the creature coming from the hall into the room. Maximilien waited just long enough for the creature to approach him, and then he dove onto the sand slide.

     This time, he performed a front flip and landed just on his feet rather than getting covered in sand. He looked up at the top of the room as Pepper was flying above the sand slide and was waiting for the creature to follow her.

     “Groaaaaaan!” The creature bellowed.

     “Come on…” Pepper whispered to herself, “Just a bit more…”

     Finally, the creature came close enough to her that it tried to engulf her, and she did a backflip in the air. The creature followed her until it landed on the slide, and pieces of the creature broke off as it fully diffused into the sand. There was nothing left except a trail of jelly, and the gelatin all landed in the pile of sand.

     “We did it!” Pepper beamed and landed just beside Maximilien.

     “What’s this?” Maximilien reached over and picked up a flat crystal object from the pile of gelatin and sand.

     “I don’t know…” Pepper trailed off, “It looks kind of useless.”

     “I’ll take it anyway.” Maximilien wiped off the crystal and placed it into one of his pockets.

     “Yeah, yeah.” Pepper chuckled, “Let’s go explore the rest of the temple.

To be continued…