I sat against a tree stump in the Grarrl Jungle. Sighing, I felt the smooth fabric of my beautiful Magic Robe, made by Choras Tillie the master armour smith of Neopia City. It was a long and hard journey obtaining the items, but I had managed it in the end.

I also reached into my pack and took out a beautiful, silver wand that pulsed with magical Life energy. It was made and given to me by Eleus Batrin, Neopia City's master weapon smith, and this one required the most dangerous item that I had to get: the Ring of Xantan, which was owned by Xantan the Foul. The decaying creature had resided at the bottom of the Dank Caves (which were now caved in and lost forever) for decades, until he was disturbed from his great rest by- me. Eleus Batrin had sent me to retrieve his magical ring and bring it to him. I did not know why, but I had done it. I could still feel the sludge of the exploding enemy hit me when I defeated him; his slimy words seep into my ears like water. I shuddered about the very thought, and then recalled what had happened after I had escaped the Dank Caves. After visiting the Choras Tillie, the armour smith, and Eleus Batrin, the weapon smith, I had come down to the Jungle Ruins at Eleus's command. Apparently, many researchers and scholars had been disappearing down here, and he wanted me to investigate. Investigating jungle ruins; stealing rings from caves; getting attacked by monsters; these were the things you could expect if you were a White Lupe pushed back in time thousands of years...

I stood up, interrupting my own thoughts. The fur on the back of my neck had stood up; I could sense something moving nearby. Quickly, I whipped out my Silver Wand and prepared to attack. The bushes that lay behind me began to rustle, as if something in them was moving. I slowly crept towards the shrubbery and blasted it away with a spell from my Silver Wand. Behind them, creeping up slowly was a huge, charcoal-black jungle zafara. Saliva came from its jaws as it reared up to attack.

As quick as a flash, I sent a spell at it. The beast fell back a tiny bit, but was back on its feet in no time. Quickly, I knew I had to do something quick before this thing ripped me into pieces.

I looked behind me. To my luck, the trees were thin in this part of the Jungle, and I could easily run through them. Wheeling around, I began to run away from the Zafara.

A loud ROAR! from behind told me that the jungle zafara was chasing me. Jungle zafaras can run for days without really getting tired, and this hideous creation was no exception. I ran as fast as I can through the trees, leaving their leaves flying. The Jungle Zafara, however, simply burnt all the leaves out of the way with a small fire attack made from its breath. If it actually managed to touch my skin, I knew that I would probably get set on fire. The more dangerous part I overlooked was the fact that Jungle Zafara might actually manage to set the whole Jungle on fire!

I continued to run as fast as my legs would carry me, while the Jungle Zafara roared and howled behind me. As I progressed, I noticed that the sun was shining brightly between two trees in front of me. It must have been a clearing in the Jungle, because the trees usually stopped must sunlight from reaching the forest floor.

Puffing, I broke through the density of the growth into a grove bathed with sunlight. I couldn't see if the clearing was large or small, because a huge, ruined structure blocked most of it from view. This must have been the Jungle Ruins that Eleus had told me to go find! I knew that this must be it, so I blasted away the rotting doors and leaped inside.

It was dark and musty on the ground floor. Small rays of sunlight drafted in through the holes on the walls and the ceiling. Ivy and vines covered must of the statues that lined the path to a small staircase that went upwards.

I almost sat down and began to relax when I remembered that the Jungle Zafara was still after my blood. Quickly, I raced down the aisle and sprang up the staircase, as the beast, standing at the bottom step, was spluttering and spitting from its jaws in anger.

Panting, I ran along the first floor. It was very dusty and the smell of rot could be smelt around the rooms. I didn't encounter any monsters; whether it was some ancient magic or they couldn't climb the stairs, I didn't know, but I didn't care. Most of the floor was a big maze, and nothing interesting was in it.

I was just about to go downstairs again when I saw a portly Blue Bruce dressed like a wizard. He was reading into a huge, leather-bound tomb, which consisted of many different mythical characters and ruins. I stepped up towards him, but before I could reach him, he twirled around.

'Oh! Hello!' he said warmly. 'Didn't see you coming there!'

I was silent for a few seconds in amazement: this was the first living thing to actually talk to me and not rage war over me for a long time. I could only splutter out, stupidly, 'Who are you?'

'Oh, yes, allow me to introduce myself,' said the Bruce. 'I am Denethir the Scholar of the Jungle Ruins, at your service!'

'Um, okay,' I began, but I didn't know what to say. 'W-what do you do here?'

'Hmmmm,' thought the Bruce. 'I have been studying all of these books,' (he pointed at the bookshelves behind him) 'and I have concluded that these Jungle Ruins are rotten, decaying things and could fall apart at any second!'

'That's interesting,' I said again. 'Anything else that you've found?'

Denethir looked thoughtful. 'Well, there was something,' he said slowly. 'After reading many a book, I have discovered something called the Gaia Wands. Apparently, these wands are magical items that were made by the old natives of these ruins long ago, and none of them have been seen for quite a while. However, after careful research, I have finally found the closest way to recreate the Volcano, Glacier, Storm, Mountain, or Nature Wand, as long as you can bring me the correct items.'

'And what are those?' I asked, thoughtful.

'Hmm, well it really depends on what type of wand you want,' replied Denethir, consulting his books. 'Since you have a Silver Wand, I think that you must major in Life Magic, so the Nature Wand is for you. The items needed include the claw of a jungle beast, a glowing stone, the mane of a noil, a set of shoulder patrons, and the Staff of Ni-Tas. The monsters that held the exact items long since have died, but that's as close as I can get. All of these items can be found in the dungeons of these ruins, which are supposed to be completely INFESTED with wild and dangerous beasts. Personally, I'm afraid to go down there, but if you can manage to get all those items and survive, I'd be happy to make you a Nature Wand.'

My mind and face were blank after this offer. 'Sure!' I said. 'I'll- I'll be glad to,'

'Good!' Denethir clapped his wands together. 'Very good! Now, run along; I must study this new-found book some more. Oh, and one more thing: these Ruins do go up some more, but when I tried to ascend, I came to a locked door. I read somewhere that there are three keys to these doors, and they can all be found in the dungeons somewhere. If you can find them, then you can explore the upstairs some more. Ta-ta!'

Still a bit confused, I descended down the stairs. On the ground floor, I didn't really encounter any monsters, but just in case, I ran across it to a small hallway. Denethir had said that this hallway led downstairs, to the three dungeons that provided homes for dozens and dozens of monsters. As quietly as possible, as if not to disturb anything, I leaped down them as nimble as you may please.

I jumped the last two steps and landed on the floor on my two back feet. Dust rose from the ground up towards the ceiling when I hit my destination. Coughing, I stood up, and spied a staircase in the distance. I made a move to run towards it, but before I could reach it, a large earthquake began to occur. Dust shook off the ceilings; the walls began to shudder; crates from a room faraway began to fall over. I ran frantically around everywhere, but then I realized that it wasn't an earthquake at all. It was a giant stomping its large, fat feet. The PLOP! PLOP! STOMP! sound came from somewhere in the dungeons, and it was moving towards me! I continued to run frantically around in circles, and then made a dash for the stairs. However, before I could reach them, a short but powerful Meepit with fat hanging from its body came PLOP! PLOP! STOMP!ing down a nearby passage.

'Who goes there?' said a loud, gruff voice. '

'Um, no one,' I answered, but then I realized that it was a very dumb thing to do. In seconds, the figure had reached me, blocking the way down the stairs.

'You foolish 'heroes!'' it said, disgusted. 'When will you ever learn to leave me in peace?

If you're not going to, then I'll have to put you to peace! I, Kreai, chief of the pygmies, will teach you a lesson once and for all!'

The Meepit cupped its hands together and began forming a small ball of ice magic. I took out my silver wand and shot some spells at him, but it didn't affect him very much. I didn't know what else I could do, so I just kept shooting silver sparks of magic at the hideous creature. Its angry eyes got angrier with each shot, and I could almost feel the anger emit from his body. By the time it had finished working on its ice attack, its head had began to chance colour from pink to purple.

'You shall pay for all that nonsense!' It roared. With all its strength, Kreai sent the icy attack towards me. I dodged it, and the attack crashed into a statue, causing it to crumble into small pieces of broken ice.

'So, a naughty little Neopet you are, eh?' Kreai said, chuckling. 'I HATE NAUGHTY!'

It cupped its hands together once more, and sent out a shock of lightening towards me. I jumped to evade it, but I wasn't fast enough: it hit me with such a powerful force I was stunned. Though it didn't hurt me, I was paralyzed, and couldn't move.

'Aww; the litter trickster is too tired to move!' the pygmy chief said in a mock-sympathetic voice. 'Well, maybe I'll make that PERMANENT!'

He raised his hands to attack, but something strange happened: a statue that came from absolutely nowhere hit Kreai on the head. 'Hey, what the-' began the pygmy, but before he could say anything else, crates and statues that had appeared out of thing air began hitting him on the head repeatedly.

'Ow- ow- OW!- ow- YOUCH!- ow!' And there is no need to tell you anything more, only that the villain dropped dead on the ground with a loud THUMP! that sent a piece of ceiling on top of him, squashing the angry little Meepit flat. It was officially gone, and I felt free to see if he had dropped anything.

Scooping up some healing potions and a rotting piece of armour, I turned to leave, when I noticed a small, unusual object lying next to the piece of ceiling. Stepping closer towards it, I noticed that it was a Rotten Wooden Key.

'...these ruins do go up some more, but when I tried to ascend, I came to a locked door. I read somewhere that there are three keys to these doors, and they can all be found in the dungeons somewhere...'

The three keys! This gross and strange item must have been the first of the keys that Denethir had been talking about! Picking it up, I dumped it, along with the healing potions, into my pack and carried on towards the stairs. Slowly, I made the descent into the second dungeon: the dungeon of who-knows-where. Could there be another angry little monster waiting for me in this dungeon?

'Never mind about little, then' I said to myself as I looked past a whole city of chairs. It had been a long, grueling maze of teleporters and more, but I had finally made it to my destination: the end of a dungeon that led to who-knows-where. I was dreadfully tired after my descent down here: first, I had to weave around a maze of chairs, barrels, tables, and more; then I had to have my molecules transferred via teleporters, while fighting off dozens and dozens of monsters. I longed to see daylight, and the sight of a beautiful sunset without any monsters waiting to pounce behind my back.

The most interesting thing that had happened all this long time was the founding of the hidden classroom in the dungeon after the Teleporters.

I was dreadfully tired from everything I had done so far on this day. I didn't want to go on, but I had to. When I had finally made it out of the teleporter maze, I was so happy it's not possible to describe it in words. Though I was still getting bombarded with monsters of all shapes and sizes, one of the worst parts of these Ruins were over- or was it?

It was quiet in the second dungeon- too quiet. Well, quiet if you exclude all the monsters, but those don't really count. I had only caught a glimpse of a garden before I was pulled one side into a dark hallway. In the gloom, I made out a small Kacheek dressed in a Moon Superhero Costume.

'Shhh,' he coaxed. 'My name's Tylix, and you're not to be afraid of me. Come with me!'

It led me into a room opposite the wall we were hiding against now. The Kacheek opened the door, yanked me inside, and closed it. A Lenny dressed like a teacher quickly strode over towards them, took out a rusty key, and looked the door. It was almost completely dark, except for an oil lantern that sat on a table. I studied the room: it was filled with chairs on one end. At the other, it there was a desk with a chair behind it, and that chair was now occupied by the Lenny Teacher. There was no doubt that this room was a classroom.

'It's a good thing we rescued you!' said the Lenny. 'I'm Margoreth, the Teacher, and this is my student Tylix.'

'Pleased to meetcha!' said the Kacheek.

'Well, I-' I began, but I didn't know what to say. To make a quick recovery, I stammered,

'I need to go on down that hallway towards whatever creature lay at the end. I need to! It's my mission!'

Margoreth and Tylix looked at me as if I was crazy.

'Do you know what lies at the bottom of this 'ere dungeon?' Tylix asked me seriously.

'Um-'

'It's Gors the Mighty!' screamed Margoreth, all of a sudden.

'It very well is Gor-'

'No, Tylix, I mean that Gors the Mighty is RIGHT OUSIDE IN THE HALLWAY!'

The oil lantern went out. A great stomping began from the outside, in the hallway. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The chairs on the floor all fell, tipping over like rows of dominoes.

'No! My chairs!' the teacher cried. She desperately tried a vain attempt to save some of them, but nothing happened. Sighing, Margoreth plopped down on her desk and tried to re-light the oil lantern.

'Quick! Come with me!' Tylix said urgently. He grabbed two chairs and then headed for the door.

'HEE HAI HO HUM!' said a loud, booming voice behind the door. 'THERE ARE THREE AND NOT ONE!'

'What's that supposed to mean?' I asked him without thinking.

'Ah, bleh at this stupid speech,' said the voice again. 'Now I shall break down the door and attack you.'

And he very well did. A loud BAM! BAM! BAM! followed by a CRACK! and the door was gone. The dim light from the doorway was blocked by a large, mutated figure. It had a huge body and a rather small head, which was set to an expression of anger and fury. In its hand was a thick, wooden staff the size of a log.

'Come out! Now!' it boomed. The creature was too large to fit inside the room, so I assumed that we were all safe, and of course I was right. 'Only one of you. NOW!'

We looked frantically around. There wasn't anything that we could possibly do; the lantern was out and there wasn't another exit from the room.

'Aha!' shouted Margoreth from her desk. 'I've got the lantern working again!'

'Good!' Tylix ran up to his teacher's desk, grabbed the oil lantern, and chucked it at the doorway.

'YOUCH!' the thing said as the oil lantern hit its skin. His blubber was too strong for a simple oil lantern to actually harm him, but it did leave a burning scar. 'How dare you burn Gors the Mighty!'

Gors raised his large staff and began beating it at the classroom. BAM! BAM! BAM! Bricks from the ceiling fell off; more chairs were broken. Margoreth screamed so loudly that the chalkboard suddenly snapped in half and fell off the wall.

'Run for your lives!' Tylix commanded, ushering us all out the door. 'Run!'

There wasn't anything else to be done. Swiftly, we raced to the exit, and burst out just as the entire room behind us fell.

'My classroom!' sobbed Margoreth, sitting down against a wall. 'My books! My chairs!'

But Gors the Mighty couldn't care less about a stupid little teacher who worries about wooden chairs. He raised his staff to attack, but-

'Don't you dare!' said a blur that came from no where. Before I knew it, Tylix was spinning all around Gors the Mighty, as fast as lightening bolt. 'Don't you dare touch her!'

'Oh, so the little student's going to try and protect his teacher!' Gors said in a mocking tone. 'YOU SHALL DIE!'

The mutated pygmy began to raise his arm to strike the Kacheek with a spell, but Tylix leaped off Gors's body just in time. He ended up whacking a small pigment of wooden chair, which drove deep into his skin.

'OWWW!' Gors screamed in agony. He began to swing his large staff everywhere, and everywhere he swung it Tylix was sure to be, planting another broken wooden shard into the beast's body.

Some time later, shards of wood had been poked into the mutant's body at almost every place on his body. The pain was just too much for him; he dropped his Staff (which I caught) and began walking dazedly towards the remains of the classroom.

'Quickly!' Tylix shouted at me, kicking, with all his strength, Gors the Mighty into the classroom. 'Do something!'

I raised Gors's own staff at pointed it at the ceiling above the classroom. Concentrating all my thoughts on a single spell completely bent on destruction, I sent a small, red orb of energy at that area.

It hit the ceiling right on target. The classroom began to shudder, and then cave in. A horrible shrieking came from within the ruins.

'Noooo!' A loud shouting came from within. 'NOOOO! I WAS MEANT TO BE THE RULER OF THIS PLACE! NOT ROLLAY! NOT ROLLAY!'

Bricks and rubble fell into the already-ruined room where Gors the Mighty was slowly perishing. Noticing a small, silver horned key lying next to the rubble, I quickly bent and snatched it from the ground.

Just as we stopped to catch our breath, something bad had to happen, of course. It began with an earthquake that rocked the dungeon, and large chunks of rock began falling from basically everyplace imaginable.

'This is just not good!' I shouted. Margoreth stood up, and Tylix was rushing towards her.

'Come on!' he yelled. 'This way! To Gors's Garden!'

Following the Kacheek, I ran out of the Hallway and turned into a beautiful garden. At the very end, the city of chairs had disappeared after Gors had fallen in the rubbish. They were replaced by a small, green Kiko who looked very old. She looked slightly deranged.

'Eeek! Rollay is coming! ROLLAY SCALEBACK IS COMING! Somebody help me!'

'We're coming!' Tylix shouted, but before he could do anything, all of the bodies of water in the garden began to glow green. It would have been beautiful if what happened afterwards hadn't happened: lizards, gross, slimy lizards of all shapes and elements, began climbing out of the water. They peered around menacingly, and I could make out three types of them: fire, ice, and shock.

'Look out!' A fire lizard had just sent a flamethrower towards Margoreth. She jumped to avoid it, but her dress got caught on fire.

'Look what you've done! Pioggia!'

A small rain cloud hovered over her dress and the fire went out. A shock lizard took an opportunity and shot a spell of lightening at the Lenny.

'Ack! No! NO!' the enraged teacher yelled out a spell in a tongue that is unspeakable to any nowadays, and an icy lizard came flying in front of her. The shock lizard zapped the icy lizard silly, and they both looked at each angrily. Then, they leapt at each other and managed to delve themselves into a horrible catfight. The rest of their species came to watch, except for the fire lizards. They didn't want to feel left out, so they joined in, flaming everything that they could reach. Margoreth took this opportunity and screamed, 'Raggruppare a parte!'

A shiny dome surrounded the huge battle. It slowly began to shake, rain, and spit out flames all at the same time. Before I knew it, all of the lizards were gone, with only items lying on the floor. I ran up to pick them and pack them away; I hadn't forgotten that Gaia Wand Quest.

'We've defeated your lizards, Rollay!' Margoreth shouted in a strange voice. 'Reveal yourself now!'

As if in reply, the lakes began to emit sickening, green light again. However, this time, it spread across the grasses, and they all fell away. The small ponds also disappeared, and soon the entire of Gors's magical garden was almost completely gone except for the platform in the middle and the piece of land they were all standing on, which was connected to the hallway of the main dungeon. Looking down, all anyone could see was absolutely darkness.

'Who dares interrupt me from my deep ssssleep?' a voice hissed from the darkness. 'Who daress? Who daress?'

A rushing sound began to spread throughout the dungeon, but nothing could be seen. The kiko was crouching on the platform that had once held all the chairs. A small blue disc was next to her, slightly levitating.

'Oi! Kiko!' I shouted at her. 'What's your name?'

'I'm Pommana, what's it to you?' she snapped back harshly. 'Now get me off this thing!'

'I'm afraid that's not possible,' Margoreth said gravely. 'Rollay is coming. You can't get off- yet.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Pommana screeched back. She sighed, sitting down next to the teleporter. 'This is why I never went to school.'

There wasn't anything we could really do about her, so she was just left aside. The rushing sound began to get louder now, and all of a sudden, a large geyser had erupted from far, far down the dungeon, and it was strong enough to reach all the way up to the main floor of Dungeon 2. But once you've seen what's ON that geyser, then you probably won't be busy pondering how it got all the way up here.

A figure that looked like a giant, white lizard wearing a rotting shirt and a medallion

around its neck was looking at us with the expression of great rage and fury.

'Who daresss to awake Rollay Sssscaleback from his deep ssssleep?' it hissed.

Everybody looked around at one another. There wasn't really a direct answer to that. I knew that we had to do something, even if it did have consequences.

'I do!' I stepped up. looking the freaky creature in the eye. 'And I'm ready to fight!'

'Very well then,' it hissed. Rollay waved its hands around in a swift motion, and soon, many, many geysers had sprung up from somewhere in a deeper dungeon. They seemed to form a small, watery battlefield in mid-air.

'Step forward, small challenger, and encounter the wrath of Rollay Scaleback!'

I grabbed my Silver Wand and held it in ready, while Rollay prepared for battle. Tylix and Margoreth looked slightly worried, but somehow they knew I could do it. I shot a spell at the hideous antagonist, and it seemed to affect him a lot. However, the sly creature merely smiled and raised his arms in the air. Small, white crystals began forming in his hands, and he released them. They sparkled over his body, and suddenly he looked a lot healthier.

'You do not know the beginning of my powers!'

Rollay Scaleback sent a lightening bolt at my body. It hit me, and stunned me. This was worse than Kreai's, for it was much more powerful. I was worried, but I knew I couldn't give up- yet. Rollay then sent another attack at me. The geysers, I hoped, must be strong enough to hold me and not let me fall. Hopefully, anyhow.

'Take that, you filthy little creature!' The enemy shot many more attacks at me. I winced in pain, as bruises and cuts began forming on my body. I didn't know how much longer I could last, as Margoreth and Tylix began running back to the mainland. I didn't know why, but with the last of my strength, I saw a Bruce dressed like a wizard run up to the last remaining area of Gors's garden. He looked worried, but he was smiling.

'Lupe!' Denethir shouted. 'Toss me the items! The items!'

I sprang up with renewed confidence and hope. The Gaia Wands! They must be much stronger than my Silver Wand. Looking into my pack, I drew out a Jungle Beast Claw, a Noil Tooth, a set of Jungle Pauldrons, a small, Glowing Stone, and finally, the most crucial item- the ancient Staff of Ni-Tas, which used to belong to Gors the Mighty.

I tossed them over to Denethir, which was basically a big challenge for me. He caught all the items with a spell, and then began to work on my new Gaia wand. He raised the Staff of Ni-Tas into the air and spread all of the other items over it in a swift hand motion and spell, so they floated in mid-air. Then, he yelled, 'Combinare la sua magia!' The items began glowing, and the Staff of Ni-tas, from the jewel at the end, released another wand; a smaller wand. The collected items broke up into small particles and went inside the newly formed staff, and a large flash of white light blinded everybody for a few seconds. And then, the spell was complete. The weapon was complete. My hope was once again complete.

'The Nature Wand!' Denethir said proudly. 'Here! Catch!'

He tossed it in the air towards me. I caught it with my paw, and admired its beauty, from the small, green leaf at the end and the white light that it seemed to produce on its own.

'Enough of this magical nonsense!' Rollay yelled. 'Get on with the battle!'

I sent multiple attacks at him with the new Gaia wand. They hit him one by one, but before he had time to heal, I healed first. It was the special ability of the Gaia Wand, as all of them had some special technique. My cuts and bruises instantly healed, and I felt myself grow much stronger.

'You are a mutated freak of nature, and I hope that I never have to see you again!' I yelled at Rollay. With that, I sent a HUGE flash of white lightening at the creature, and it hit him with the force of the forgotten magic of a Gaia Wand.

The fight was over. Rollay Scaleback fell back, coughing; barely breathing. The geysers were starting to die out, as Rollay slowly died. I jumped back on to land, as he lay down in pain. With the last of his strength, he pulled the Medallion and a small, shiny key from his neck.

'Have- have these,' he said. The dying creature threw the items at me, which I quickly caught before they fell. 'F-find Korabric. T-tell him I'm ssssorry...'

With that, his final geyser fell, and Rollay Scaleback fell into the darkness of the chasm, to be gone forever. I watched as his body slowly fell down into the darkness; deeper, deeper, deeper, until he was visible no more. Rollay Scaleback was gone. Forever.

'Oh, so now you suppose I should thank you for getting rid of that freak?' said an angry voice behind me. I was brought back to Earth by Pommana's argument with Margoreth. 'If it wasn't because of you, he would never have destroyed this stupid place anyhow!'

'Oh, don't back-talk me!' the teacher yelled. 'You're in detention!'

'I'm 56-years old! I do not go to detention! This is why I never went to school!'

'You're EXPELLED!'

'You're not a principal!

'Who says?'

'I said!'

'Ladies, ladies, quiet down!' Denethir looked slightly worried at the sight of both of them.

'Let's just take this teleporter and leave. Lupe, are you coming?'

'Oh, uh, yes,' I ran up to the levitating blue disc Pommana had brought along when she floated across the chasm. 'Yes, I am.'

'Alright, on the count of three... one, two, three, GO!'

And with that, everybody jumped into the mysterious object and teleported out of the Dungeon of the Jungle Ruins.

'Well, that was certainly a ride,' Denethir said, all pouring them tea and giving Margoreth a scroll to read. 'I don't think anyone of us (except for Lupe) might have another adventure like that!'

The teleporter had teleported them to Denethir's room in the tower. We were all sitting down and relaxing, but first, I wanted some questions answered.

'Well, fire away,' said Margoreth, when I told her about my request.

'What just happened down there in the dungeons?' I pounced, with my question.

'Well, after you defeated Kreai with my help-'

'Your help?' I interrupted.

'Hey, do you think that barrels and statues float by themselves?' she asked. 'Now no more interruptions, or else you're suspended. Anyways, after you defeated Kreai, you took the Rotting Wooden Key and then proceeded downstairs. After a loud of hoolah and hoobah, you finally managed to get yourself down to Gors's the Garden, where you were drafted in by Tylix by my command. We were just about to settle down when, if you remember, Gors the Mighty suddenly appeared, carrying the Staff of Ni-Tas and swinging it around like a madman. You defeated him too, mainly with Tylix's help, and took the Silver Horned Key from him. We ran to the Garden after my classroom was destroyed,' -she wiped her eyes for a moment there at the very thought- 'and we found a bunch of Rollay's lizards coming to attack us. I managed to defeat all of them, and then the Garden disappeared after I commanded Rollay to show himself. He certainly did, and Pommana did also. You battled with him, and Denethir appeared, saying that he had managed to cast some hocus-pocus that he just found to get himself down here that fast. Just when we were all sure you were a goner, he yelled for the components to make that stick that goes BANG! and you tossed the ingredients to him. He makes a new wand, and you finally manage to defeat that- thing. He dies, you get the Rusty Medallion and the Jeweled Crystal Key, we take a teleporter, and now we're here. Does that answer your question?'

I was stunned. After hearing everything that was to be heard, I felt like a great weight had been lifted. 'I- I guess so,' I responded quietly.

'Wonderful!' Denethir clapped his hands together. 'Now, bring out those three keys!'

I reached deep down into my pack and drew out the Rotting Wooden Key, the Silver Horned Key, and the Jeweled Crystal Key.

'These three keys will allow you to unlock the locks and finally get up this wretched tower to who-knows-where to get even more answers solved!' Denethir said happily. 'Come along now; we don't have all day!'

We all finished our tea, stood up, and began to move towards the door. Denethir led the way, followed by me, with Pommana floating besides us telling us death tales that make no sense ('If you don't know what ain't up there then you don't need to know!') and screeching about how she hadn't got a moment's peace for years. ('How else do you explain all of this ugly grey hair?') Tailing behind her were Margoreth and Tylix, two exhausted Neopets who still had questions to be answered that must have been at the top of the tower.

We came to a set of stairs. Dashing up them and dashing through the floor, I saw the door that Denethir had said needed a key. I stuck the Rotting Wooden Key inside and it turned all by itself. The block swung open, revealing a small room with a set of stairs. We raced up these, in to a maze of creates and barrels ('Not again!' I groaned). Finally, we made it to a door, which opened with the Silver Horned Key. Climbing up another set of stairs, we emerged on a garden high up in the tower. Most of us were exhausted by now, but we skipped through this floor, not noticing any of the beauties in it. The final locked door, which opened with the Jeweled Crystal Key, revealed just a flight of stairs that went directly up.

Denethir warned us from the front of the group. 'Since we're out of keys, up this staircase must be the last level. Be ready for anything!'

Slowly, we climbed up into the top of the tower of the Jungle Ruins. All there was a long hall that led to a very, very old Red Korbat clutching a cane. Slowly and cautiously, we approached him. He squinted at us, and then at Pommana, and then shouted, 'You!'

Pommana was just as surprised. 'You!'

As if they had known each other from before, they quickly rushed up towards each other. 'I never thought I'd ever see you again!'

'Nor you, you crazy chef,'

'Oh, ha-ha, very funny, a real knee-slapper,'

'Let's cut this meeting short, or you're all washing the chalkboard.' Margoreth the Teacher stepped up. 'I want some answers, and I want 'em now!'

'Er, okay...' the Red Korbat said, slowly.

'Who are you?'

'I- I- I am Korabric! Wow, haven't said that name for a wh-'

Margoreth didn't wait. 'What are you doing here?'

Korabric answered, 'I was the master of this place, but ages ago. This used to be a place of learning biology and foreign plants, and the ancient world... but it was all a mistake! A big mistake!'

'What happened? Tell me now!'

The Korbat began to answer more smoothly now. 'Well, it all started when some of the

Pygmies that we had brought it began behaving a bit- unusual than their normal, peaceful selves. They began to grow vicious in their jungle tribes, and believed that they were better than us researchers! We, of course, had enough power and strength to fend them off, but then, something horrible happened: a researcher began helping them!'

'How?' asked Margoreth, beginning to look a lot calmer.

'Well, this- this traitor; he began to make vile, vicious creatures and let them loose in the caverns below. We hadn't quite finished the entire construction of that area yet, after we found a gigantic lake at the bottom. He began to interest himself in lizards and that kind of creepy thing. We used small pools of water to create new beings, but he- he used the ENTIRE lake! Can you believe him?'

'No, can you? Now, tell me who exactly this Rollay Scaleback is. He must have been the researcher, he must have been yes!'

Korabric looked stunned. 'Well, you've just answered your own question. Rollay Scaleback wanted to become a lizard himself, and over time, he probably has made the, uh, transformation. However, when he was just a normal person like, err, you and I, he was bent on destroying us all. By the time he had started his domination of this place, I couldn't fight him anymore, so I ran up to this tower and magically locked three doors behind me so that no one could be able to get to the top and find me.'

'There was this Pygmy Monster named Kreai. He had the first key!'

'Oh, Kreai... the chief of the Pygmies? He worked alongside with Rollay, but he must have left his services, thinking that he could make it on his own.'

'There was this stupid Pygmy Monster named Gors the Mighty who held the most gigantic club I've ever seen in my life. He had the second key!'

'Gors the Mighty... wow, he really is stupid, isn't he? Did he still have the Staff of Ni-Tas with him?'

'He sure did!' Denethir butted in, flashing the Staff that he still had at Korabric. 'What is this thing?'

'The Staff of Ni-Tas is a very powerful artifact brought here and given to Rollay by the Circle of Twelve. I don't know why, but I think that they are all fools- all dead, stupid fools. Anything else you need to know?'

A light bulb suddenly sprang up in my thoughts. 'Oh! Yes! Could you tell me what this medallion that Rollay had is?'

I drew out the rusty medallion Rollay had thrown at me. Korabric examined it carefully, though his eyesight was probably terrible. 'I have no clue what the markings on this thing say,' he said after a very long time. 'But you said Rollay had it? I don't know how he could have gotten it, but it pulses with ancient energy... if you go back to Neopia City you should have Eleus Batrin, the weapon-smith, check it out.'

'Well, that solves all our problems... you are free to leave,' said Margoreth. 'What are you going to do now?'

'Are you leaving?' Korabric said, standing up. 'I'll come with you! You know how dull it

is, just standing here and remembering my own name, year after year after year, with no visitors? I'll finally be freed of this place!'

'Hmmm, I guess you can-' began Margoreth, but Korabric had turned around and began pulling something. With one good tug he managed to get it out, and we all saw that it was a blue teleportation device.

'Jump in! This will get us all the way back to Neopia City! I've been dying to use it, but I need more than one person...'

'This has been a great adventure, and none of us will ever forget it!' Denethir said

grandly. 'Now, when we get back to Neopia City, each and every one of us should get rest, so-'

'Yeah yeah yeah, just shut it,' said Tylix, exhausted. He pushed the Bruce into the Teleporter, and he disappeared.

'Tylix! You're in detention for pushing a poor, helpless little Neopet!' said Margoreth, pushing a poor helpless little Neopia (Tylix) into the blue disc.

'That is no way to treat your children!' said Pommana, pushing Margoreth in.

'That IS no way to treat your children!' said Korabric, grabbing Pommana's paw and jumping with her into the teleporter.

I took one good look at the dusty, musty room around me. Sighing, I said, 'Good-bye Jungle Ruins... forever.'