Part 2: A Story Come to Life
"Welcome, my children," said the Wise Old Eyrie. "Make yourselves comfortable and I shall begin."
"Anything to get out of that rain," said Loraul completely ignoring Erylian's mixed reactions of shock and joy. Outside the cave the rain continued to pound and the lightning flashed overhead. "It wasn't my idea to go to shopping in the Haunted Woods."
Erylian gave him an annoyed look and flicked her wet tail at his face.
"Are you ready?" The old Eyrie asked. The pair looked at each other. Erylian's head quickly nodded a few times. She really wanted to hear a tale. The three Eyries took their places around the fire.
The gray Eyrie began his story. Erylian smiled contently as she listened. It was one of her favorites, a legend well known throughout Neopia. It was the story about a white Lupe and his epic quest a thousand years ago to rid the land of a great evil. She was glad that he chose to tell this one. It was long enough to last to the next morning and still interesting enough to make the time pass quickly.
"The Archmagus of Roo slumped back against the wall of his tiny chamber. 'I never thought anyone could find all the keys... or get to this place,' he wheezed. 'You are truly powerful to have defeated me. Perhaps... perhaps you can bring peace to this place after all.' The Lupe could tell that he was dying. 'Seek Erick, in the tunnels above... he went mad when they sealed this place, but he may still have the power to break free... if... if...' The Archmagus' voice trailed off, his eyes glazed over, and he stopped moving altogether."
Loraul's face twitched suddenly.
"Are you alright?" whispered Erylian.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's just a bit cold in here. That's all."
"A-hem." The old Eyrie cleared his throat.
The two young Eyries went silent and listened once more to the story. Erylian was hanging on every word. But after hearing how the white Lupe defeated Rolly Scaleback, Loraul started to get bored. This story was only a verbal retelling of the popular game "Neoquest." He hadn't beaten it yet and he was getting very annoyed that the gray Eyrie was spoiling the story for him.
"'Who was Jahbal?' asked the White Lupe. The question was stuck in his mind from the moment he first heard the name."
Loraul wanted to groan. He knew perfectly well who Jahbal was. He was the wicked Red Eyrie mage the must be defeated at the end of the game. He had to hear the secret behind defeating Faleinn just for this?
"Faleinn's ghostly mouth frowned. 'It would be better to ask, `Who is Jahbal?' for he still lives after all this time. It is he who has unleashed the monstrous evil that now plagues the world, as revenge for what happened after he destroyed Kal Panning. You see, Jahbal was the leader of the Circle of Twelve; long before they came here, I and the other council members of this city realized that their power was growing too strong, and they were becoming too greedy and wrathful. We were determined to oppose them, and we did fight them for a month, but they proved too powerful and eventually cursed the city."
"Interesting," thought Loraul. Slowly his attention returned to the story as he listened to the history of this villain.
"Faleinn's ghost sighed and looks around at the ruins of her beloved city. 'After the battle, Jahbal and the rest of the Circle returned to the north, but the other Circle members had seen the error of their ways and decided to banish Jahbal, for he had grown mad with power. Jahbal, however, had made it a practice to spy on the other Circle members, and knew what they had planned. But though he was powerful, he was not powerful enough to oppose them all together, so he fled to his palace in the Two Rings Mountains. The Circle, following him, did not know what artifacts of power he might have stashed away there, so instead of attacking him, they instead cast a powerful spell, sealing the Two Rings from the outside world."
The old Eyrie stopped suddenly and turned his beak upward.
"What? What is it?" asked Erylian.
"I smell something."
"Loraul sniffed the air.
"Oh yuck!" he cried.
"It's getting stronger," said the storyteller. His ears perked up. "I hear footsteps."
Erylian looked puzzled. "Who would be crazy enough to wander around in that storm?"
A bolt of lightning cracked outside that lit the entire cave. A tall figure stood at the opening in the tree. Its shadow fell upon the three Eyries.
"Who are you? Speak!" commanded the Wise Old Eyrie.
But the figure slowly walked into the cave. His feet rattled against the rock. The smell was getting worse.
"Who are you?" the old Eyrie asked again.
The figure groaned, took a final step and allowed the fire's light to be cast upon it.
The storyteller gasped. Erylian screeched in horror. Loraul could only stare.
It was a rotting skeleton.
It was a monster Loraul had only seen in Neoquest. But that was only a game. He never thought they actually existed!
The old Eyrie leapt to his feet with surprising speed for his age and growled at the monster. But the skeleton held its ground.
It slowly raised its arm and pointed a long, bony finger at Loraul. Another groan emitted from its mouthless skull. With its other hand, it motioned for Loraul to follow it.
Loraul fur seemed to pale. "Me?"
"No!" hissed the gray Eyrie. "He won't go with you."
The skeleton moaned in protest and flung itself upon the storyteller. He was prepared for the attack and leapt out of the way. Loraul was so surprised at the youthful quickness that existed with the old Eyrie that he didn't realize that his Erylian had left his side. A flash of blue shot past the gray one and knocked the skeleton off away. Erylian let out a battle cry.
The Blue Eyrie and the rotting monster paced back and forth like Battledome challengers. Each was searching the other for a weakness.
The skeleton suddenly jumped into the air and prepared its attack.
"Stop! Don't hurt her!" Loraul shouted as he dived to Erylian's side.
He knew that it wouldn't do any good. But no sooner had the words escaped his beak when the skeleton violently twitched in midair in an attempt to stop the attack. It fell with a clatter against the cave floor.
The three Eyries watched in curious, but cautious, amazement as the skeleton picked itself up off the floor and stared at the Red Eyrie. Then, bowing its head, it moaned again. As its voice grew softer, two definite words formed.
"Yesss, Massster."
Another flash of lighting struck, blinding the Eyries. When they could see again, the creature was gone. Erylian ran to the entrance with a desire to give chase.
"You can't go out there!" shouted the old Eyrie. "The storm is still overhead!"
But Erylian stuck her head out of the tree and looked around. The skeleton was nowhere to be seen and the small was clearing up.
"It obeyed you," she whispered in the dark. "It called you 'master.'"
She retreated back into the cave. Loraul was shaking and paler then ever.
"What ha-happened?" he stuttered. It all happened so quickly.
"I think," said the Wise Old Eyrie. "We need to ask those older and wiser being for answers." His eyes clouded over in thought.
"Perhaps the Brain Tree."