Happy Valentines Day everyone. This chapter would've been posted earlier, but there was a big power outage in the area due to a storm. Oh well. The Ninja drew something for Valentine's Day she tries to submit into the Art Gallery Spotlight, but it didn't get in. You can get to it here:

d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / d e v i a t i o n / 2 8 9 6 1 4 8 2 /

This chapter was halfway finished when The Ninja submitted the last. After going over it the first time The Ninja decided to extend the part with Armin in it. Originally, we were finally going to get into just what happened to Kanrik at the beginning of the story but ya'll are going to have to wait a little longer.

Confused? Things are going to start falling together very soon.

Session 08: History of Ta-Kutep
Almost there ...

Hannah stopped briefly to lean against a wall, shifting the living weight she carried from one shoulder to the other. Things would go a lot smoother if Garin just woke up and carried his own weight, but that'd be asking too much. Today was just going smashing as it was, anyway. A small part of her worried that Garin might have been seriously injured in the fall. After all, she didn't know what a concussion was until a Snowbeast introduced himself to her with his fist.

Smuggler's Cove was, technically, the entire system of caves in the pirate territory. No one pet knew every tunnel in the cove, but Hannah's family had the most general knowledge of everything that went on below. Hannah only shared that knowledge with a select few; Armin, Garin, Angela, Jacques, but even then she was selected. She taught each of them a separate sector of the caves and just enough to get back and forth between islands.

Just up ahead was the door she searched for; a rope suspended from the ceiling that lead into The Golden Dubloon. Placing Garin on a rock above water level, she jumped for the rope to pull the panel down.

" Arrgh ... " No, that wasn't a joke. The pirate was experiencing quire the rush of pain as he came back into consciousness. Spotting Hannah out the corner of his eye, he asked the obvious question. " Where are we? "

Ignoring him long enough to pull the panel down, the wood slid forward to form makeshift stairs that they could climb up. " This is your fault. " She started, pulling herself up onto the first step. " You shouldn't have tried to fight him. "

Garin took on the defensive. " What was I supposed to do? Let him catch me and you? "

" You shouldn't be worried over me. " Hannah glared down at him, trying to stand on the shaking stairs. " You didn't give a damn about me when you left me! "

" I planned on coming back! " But by time I did ... Sliding off the rock, he started for the stairs behind her. " Life out there is tough, and I didn't want you to suffer. If I left early and made a little money, then I could support you -- "

Hannah looked away. " Liar ... "

But he didn't stop. " I wanted to propose! " She reached up to knock on the door above the stairs. " I loved you then, and I still love you! That's why I had to come back! "

Did that get through to her? For a moment she stopped moving forward and hung though, her hand trembling. Then, without addressing him, she reached forward to knock on the panel. Her knocking seemed to be some kind of code ...

Above them, Angela walked pass the room leading 'downstairs' with an arm full of dirty clothes. " Huh? " The aisha looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was coming, then placed her hand on the wall. She pushed a wooden panel into the wall that acted as a handle to open up that section of the wall, leading into the hidden room. Closing the door behind her, she'd walk overtop of the wooden panel at the center of the room and tap back with her foot.

Tap. Tap. Tap ... Tap?

A pause.

Bang! Bang. Bang. Bang ... Bang. Bang. BANG!

Tap? Tap. Ta-

" ANGELA! "

The purple haired aisha jumped. " Hannah! " Scrapping the sides of the panel, she lifted it so the exhausted usul could climb onto dry land. " I'm so sorry. My encoding is bad ... "

" Really ... " Hannah said sarcastically, panting. " Good thing I wasn't in a hurry, or I might've died. " She looked to her friend and noticed that she looked very concerned, and her dress was covered in blood. " You okay, Angie? "

Angela reached for her throat, feeling a lump gather in it even before she spoke. " It's okay. " Looking down at her bloodied dress, she'd add. " It's not my blood. I found a guy in the water by Smuggler's Cove. He's ... he's hurt pretty bad. "

" Did you bring him here? " Hannah seemed to disapprove of the thought. " You shouldn't have touched him. You don't want to get mixed up in any of that pirate business. " For a moment she forgot that a pirate was within listening range.

" But ... He's no pirate. " Kneeling beside her friend, she'd look at her with a grim look. " I ... I think you should see. I wanted to make sure you saw. "

Garin climbed out of the hole just as the two women were about the leave. " Hey! " He cried, and the two looked back.

" Who's that? " Angela asked.

Hannah didn't look at Garin, not after what he said back in the tunnel. " His name's Garin. He's a pirate from Scurvy's territory. " That was a flat out lie, but Garin didn't hold it against her. He could explain himself later. " Those guys from Meridell might come looking for him, so I think he should just stay in here. "

" I'm not going to hide from them! " Garin protested, rising to his feet. " Pirates don't hide like scolded gelert at the first sign of trouble. " He declared as he searched for his dagger.

Angela looked between them confused, but didn't say anything. " Do what you want. " Hannah turned towards the door. " You do that no matter what I say, anyway. " Hannah didn't need Angela's help in locating the injured pet. Any pet could pick up and track the scent of fresh blood.

Garin stared after her, but the other barmaid got in his way. " Hold on, there. " She gave him a stern look. " You should let her be alone for a while. I'd imagine she won't want to talk for a while anyway. " Once the usul related, she continued. " I've never seen Hannah so upset. What happened? "

Taking a step back Garin shoved his hands into his pockets. " I proposed ... " He muttered, his ear twitching in agitation.

Armin couldn't enjoy his dinner. He ate slowly not because he hoped to make another escape attempt, but because he worried over how Hannah and Garin were doing down below. Long ago he committed his life to making sure that she remain safe, and only half of the reason was because he'd taken a liking to her personality. The other half ... was nearly too painful to try and remember. His duty and position in his tribe made him responsible for whatever happened to Hannah from here, and to the rest of Neopia.

" Mr. Armin? " A timid voice called from the door. Looking up, Armin saw the yellow aisha with the strange clothing from before. " May I have a word with you, Mr. Armin? "

Did Skarl send her here to get information out of him? Either way he had no control over her coming or going in his current position; sitting on a bench in a cell below the deck of Meridell's Flagship. " I can't make you leave. " He didn't look at her, though. " What do you want? "

Taking her cue, the aisha walked to his cell with a book in her paws. " You are not a Bori born in this time, correct? "

The sound of the aisha turning the thin pages tickled his ears. " That book ... " He couldn't explain it, but it became like a sixth sense.

" This one? " The aisha walked around so he could see the cover. " It is Her Revelations. Did you see this book before- "

" Every Bori knows of Revelations! " Armin interrupted, turning to face her. " Where on Neopia did you even get that? The only copy I've ever seen was the one in the Ice Caves, and even that one's not complete like this ... "

Nodding, the aisha thought it safe to let him see the faded yellow pages. " King Hagan had a copy of this book in his libraries. He told me that his niece brought it back with her after a journey. " She explained quickly, but felt the need to drop the subject for the King's sake. " If you weren't born in this time, then you lived near the time that this book was written. I wondered what it was like back then, and if the events in this book are true ... "

" I can assure you that it is. " Reaching for the book, Armin took it into his paws and started flipping through the pages. " Life during The Downfall was terrible. I am so glad that times like those are over, for the moment. "

Lisha's eyes lit up. " For the moment? "

" Aye. " He said pitifully as he found the page he searched for. " You know what they say; Neopians are bound to repeat sins of the past. No one wants to let the old legends just die, for their own sake. " Turning the book slowly so it faced the girl, he'd finish. " It seems like the rulers of this world will always be struggling for absolute power. "

Adjusting her glasses, Lisha looked down at the book with great interest. " That is the symbol burned on the girl's arm, yes? " Did she need any confirmation? The symbol of the sun with the watchful eye in the center was unmistakable even without reading the surrounding text.

" The mark of Ta-Kutep, simply put, means 'The Seal' in the language of old Neopia. Ta-Kutep was widely feared because it is reserved for the most terrifying of crimes and creatures in the old world. Ta-Kutep not only suppressed the powers of those condemned by it, but completely removed it from their being. It can only be called upon and used by the most powerful of Faeries, but even then they are reluctant to use it because the power sealed by Ta-Kutep is never fully destroyed. If a living pet or faerie were to wander too close to the resting place of the seal, then the power would seep into their bodies. "

Lisha flipped the page. " It is true that those who are 'marked' by Ta-Kutep earn the powers of the condemned, but the change in their bodies could be so drastic that the cursed would die in a manner of days. Ta-Kutep has had only about a dozen documented uses, but there's only been one documented case where those who were 'marked' survived. " Reaching the end, she'd look up at Armin. " Why are you telling me this? "

" Because I think you're the only one in your party with a good head on their shoulders! " Armin cried, snapping the book shut. " Maybe you can convince your King that it's best not to explore the extent of Hannah's powers. "

" I understand, but ... " Lisha reached for the book. " Do you at least know what manner of beast might have been sealed in that mark? King Skarl would at least want to know that much. "

" Maybe ... " Armin stood quiet for a moment. " But I'd need to see her try to use her powers again. I didn't want to stress it because she's still pretty weak, but now we won't have much of a choice, huh? "

Stepping back, the aisha brought the large book close to her chest. " I ... will try to talk to them, Mr. Armin. " Soon he was alone in the brig.

Turning to leave, Armin felt as though he accomplished at least a little on his end. Lisha offered some interesting questions that got him thinking as well. For the moment all he could do was make his own notes and hope he could find the answers first. They took his slingshot and daggers, but left him with his notepad and a pencil since it was pretty harmless. He sat down in his cell and wrote the possibilities: locations of the final resting places of each Ta-Kutep mark, and if it had already been disturbed or not.

Halfway through his list, he stopped. " The Lost Desert ... " Biting his lip, he'd try to remember just why a mark was there ...

When there wasn't one before ...