
Maraquan Madness: Part Three
by sirussblack
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Druinnan
Druinnan stole into the hut from the back of the window.
Sneaking had always been a talent of his. The Maraquan Kougra guard at the door
didn't notice as Druinnan sidled up to the neat little pile of food. Now, how
was he going to take it all out? The Krawk picked up a crudely-wrapped parcel
in his claws. He would have to the boxes out one by one, and store them by the
rock cave in his favourite spot. Hoping against hope that he wouldn't be discovered,
the Krawk floated back out the window, the package tucked under his arm, as
he began the slow process.
***
Half an hour later, Druinnan was finished. It had taken a while, because the
guards kept turning and suspecting something was wrong, so that Druinnan would
have to escape and go back a few minutes later. But at last, he was finished,
and all the packages of food lay hidden under a thin layer of sand behind the
rock, surrounded by straggly tresses of seaweed. The Krawk decided to return
to the village for a while, so that he could plan his escape more efficiently
by making use of the maps and charts in the main office.
He wafted into the village, concealing a smirk
as he watched villagers run around, shouting to each other about the food. Word
was spreading fast, and already Asiris had sunk into a serious conversation
with the guards and a few other higher ranked members of the village. Druinnan
almost enjoyed watching them panic, as if it were an amusing show put on for
his entertainment.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the
guards point at him. Asiris shook his head and said something, but the guard
kept pointing, and from what Druinnan could hear, he seemed to be persisting
that the Krawk was the one who had stolen the food. Asiris, looking doubtful,
gave in and floated over with the guard that had been keeping watch most of
the time. Druinnan tried to look casual, which was really not too difficult
for him.
"Hello, Druinnan," Asiris greeted him.
"You sound troubled, sir," said Druinnan. "I
go to collect my thoughts outside the village, and when I come back the place
is in panic. I don't understand; what happened?"
"Yes, I am most troubled," sighed Asiris, waving
his tail gently in the water so that it gleamed in patches of light. "The food
has been stolen, and we don't know who did it. I have not seen you for a while,
Druinnan, since you left my office, in fact. Where have you been?" The Draik
looked at him sadly. "I trust you, and I don't suspect for a second that you
had anything to do with this."
Druinnan pretended to look shocked. "The village's
food supply has been stolen? What will we eat now? I assure you I would never
steal anything from the village."
He lies!" cried the guard, a Maraquan Mynci with
a large wooden spear. "I saw him creeping away, with the food in his filthy
paws!"
"That's enough, Gashin!" said Asiris sharply.
He turned to Druinnan and said, "I'm sorry to have ever believed for an instant
that it might have been you."
Druinnan shrugged, but Asiris continued, "however,
to set the village's mind at ease, do you think we could check around your usual
resting spot? I don't expect to find anything there, of course, but it would
prevent my guards from attacking you in your sleep." He glared at Gashin.
Again, Druinnan shrugged, although he was getting
apprehensive. "Search the place. I will even lead you there." He swam off, with
Asiris and nearly the rest of the curious village in tow.
Sea Slug
His body rippled left to right, left to right as he swam, only following the
faint glimpses of the strange object before him. At times he would lose sight
of it, only to discover it once more. The minutes slowly ticked by, and the
Sea Slug continued to follow his prey, his stubborness set firm on attaining
the object before him. Deeper and deeper he swam into the depths of the ocean,
and his red eyes started to lose sight of all surroundings except the pitch
black of the liquid. Since he was not able to depend on one sense, he decided
to do the next best thing; the Sea Slug started to follow the echoes and sounds
that he heard underwater. Following his ears instead of his eyes soon led him
off to the dark depths of the left, and he followed the soft splish, splash
sounds of feet pushing hastily against the water.
As the Sea Slug followed the sound, he started
to hear other sounds as well. Shouts echoed into his mind, and rock crumbling
onto the sea's bottom; he heard the slide of sand as Neopians stepped upon it's
surface, and he heard the quiet whispers uttered between two characters. The
noises bored into the Sea Slug's mind, and it nearly drove him insane. With
a cry, he flung open his eyes and hastily pushed all sounds away from his throbbing
ears and pained head. Light seeped into his mind the moment his red eyes fell
upon the massive, glowing blue structure before him.
He remembered it's destruction...he remembered
it's demise...and he could also recall the great joy which swelled within him
when the grand Maraqua fell. He despised the dwellers of Maraqua, and he hated
their joy and their ability to converse and think. He hated the noise which
they created, and he cursed at them whenever their merrymaking would disturb
his slumber. The time between Maraqua's fall and it's reinhabitation were peaceful...and
how, the Neopians still dwelled there. Even after it's demise and world-shaking
wrecking, the Maraquans still stayed and disturbed his peace. With a loud bellow,
he flung himself forward, his eyes glazed over with hate and havoc; he could
not stand their intrusion any more.
The Sea Slug propelled himself forward, using
his strong flippers and the currents of the ocean to push him closer towards
the left-overs of Maraqua. With his keen ears, he was able to hear the sounds
of voices as they conversed within the underwater village. With his keen eyes,
we saw many buildings constructed of rough, strong coral that rested beneath
the eaves of the fallen city. He glimpsed occasional specks of blue, white,
and greenish colored Neopians as they swam to and fro, carefree and completely
unaware of the coming of their destruction.
Asiris
"One of your own will betray you," it said again…and again…and again…
Asiris jumped up in bed. He rolled off the side
and fell, clunking his head on his nightstand. He dizzily stood up and stumbled
around his large room for a while. He thought about his nightmare he had…what
was it about? Who was to betray him? After walking around the room for what
seemed like hours, he sighed and returned to his bed, hoping the nightmares
would stop. They didn't.
For the past few days, Asiris had been having
strange visions of the dream he had been having earlier. He continued to shrug
the warnings off and went about his business for a few days. That is, until
his guards told him something so shocking that he couldn't help but gasping.
"It is suspected that Drunnian has stolen food
from the keep, sir." A guard named Gashin whispered in my ear. He glanced over
at Drunnian, who was floating just a few feet away with him, looking a bit surprised
at what had been going on. There was mass chaos. The townspeople were running
around, screaming and panicking.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Almost definite," the Maraquan Mynci replied.
Asiris shook his head. "Let us go check this
out." The two both went over to Drunnian.
"Hello, Druinnan," Asiris greeted him.
"You sound troubled, sir," the Krawk said. "I
go to collect my thoughts outside the village, and when I come back the place
is in panic. I don't understand; what happened?"
Asiris sighed. "Yes, I am most troubled," he
said, waving his tail around in the water. "The food has been stolen, and we
don't know who did it. I have not seen you for a while, Druinnan, since you
left my office, in fact. Where have you been?" Asiris frowned. "I trust you,
and I don't suspect for a second that you had anything to do with this."
Druinnan looked shocked. "The village's food
supply has been stolen? What will we eat now? I assure you I would never steal
anything from the village."
"He lies!" Gashin cried, grabbing his wooden
spear. "I saw him creeping away, with the food in his filthy paws!"
"That's enough, Gashin!" Asiris said, agitated.
He turned to Druinnan and said, "I'm sorry to have ever believed for an instant
that it might have been you." Druinnan sighed but Asiris continued speaking.
"However, to set the village's mind at ease, do you think we could check around
your usual resting spot? I don't expect to find anything there, of course, but
it would prevent my guards from attacking you in your sleep." Asiris looked
at Gashin angrily.
"Search the place. I will even lead you there."
He started to swim off. Asiris, Gashin, and a lot of other townspeople followed
behind him.
To be continued…