Tetra stepped onto a colorful floor, which glowed and changed constantly. She felt a comforting magical aura as she walked across it. "Hey!" came a shout from ahead. Tetra, who had been looking at her feet, looked up, but her visibility was limited, and she couldn't see the source of the voice.
"Wait…did you hear something?" Ciela asked. Tetra nodded, glad that she wasn't imagining the voice. But unable to see further, she had to move closer to the source of the voice.
"Hey!" The shout was definitely from a woman. Tetra looked up, and Ciela flew forward. Her soft glow illuminated a dark skinned woman who was jumping and trying to get her attention. "You! Kid! Over here!"
"Yeah, yeah, I see ya," Tetra replied, stepping to the edge of the colorful floor. The woman was standing on another colored area, surrounded by walls and tall spikes. Between Tetra and the spikes, there was a hallway with a very plain floor, probably just dirt. Tetra realized that there was probably a very good reason for the colored floor, and went no further.
"Oh, you came at the right time!" the woman shouted, relieved. "You're lucky you found me!"
"Lucky, huh?" Tetra said skeptically.
"Yep. Lucky for me, but luckier for you," was the reply. Tetra sincerely doubted this, but decided to hear her out. If this was Joleen, it really was lucky, but surely she didn't know that Tetra was looking for her specifically. "Now help me!"
Tetra groaned. She was not used to taking orders, not at all. "Ah, that's Joleen!" Ciela said as she flew closer to Tetra.
"Hey, are you LISTENING? I said, HELP!" Joleen was definitely flustered, almost panicked.
"What is she screaming about?" Ciela asked, fluttering towards Joleen. "For someone pleading to be saved, she sure is rude!" Tetra definitely agreed, but felt it better not to voice the thought.
"What'd you say?" Joleen asked angrily. "Oh, you're that chatty fairy from the old man's place." The pair had a staring contest for a moment before Joleen looked away. "Yes, I got it!" she exclaimed, pretending to have an 'aha moment'. "Listen, can you help me out?"
"I guess so," Tetra said noncommittally.
"Just pay attention to what I have to say," Joleen told her. "I know you're a kid and all, but try to listen up! I'm trapped in here, and I don't know what to do," she admitted, flushing slightly. "Normally, I'd free myself without any problem, but I sprained my ankle when the spikes sprang up, and I can't move."
"Yeah, I bet she did, standing and jumping like that," Tetra grumbled under her breath.
Joleen didn't seem to notice. "Will you help?"
"As long as you'll help me in return," Tetra replied warily.
Joleen relaxed visibly. "Ah, I knew you'd come through for me, kid."
"Hey! Enough of this 'kid' stuff, my name is Tetra."
"Ok, Tetra. Well, then, obviously I need you to get rid of these spikes. There has to be a way to disarm the trap somewhere around here!"
"Okay, you wait there, Joleen," Ciela replied. "C'mon, Tetra."
"Like I have a choice?" Joleen retorted. "Oh! I forgot to mention! One thing you really need to know about this temple. It'll suck the life right out of you!"
Tetra smirked. "Yeah, I heard that from the corpses in the lobby." Because Joleen was where she was, Tetra knew that it wasn't instantly fatal, at least, though she didn't know the rate, either. "But what else do you know about it?"
"Well, it doesn't suck the life out of you ALL the time, at least. You've probably noticed that these glowing floors are safe from that effect, though I've no idea why." Tetra pulled out the map she'd retrieved in the other room. Sure enough, it now showed the room they were now standing in, and the weird mark was gone, too. "Oh, is that a map of this place? Show me!" Irritated, Tetra turned the map around for Joleen to see. "Yeah! It's got all of the safe zones marked, those purple spaces. I scouted a couple of them before getting stuck over here. And don't be shy about breaking pots to get some of those nice little magic hearts to heal you. Now get me out of here!"
Tetra stepped out and immediately felt the draining effects of the temple. It wasn't much, but she felt a sharp jolt of pain that probably indicated that she'd just lost a little of her energy. She ran to the first zone to her right. "Yeah, like that!" Ciela told her happily.
"Yeah, but why doesn't it affect you?"
Ciela fluttered for a second, thinking. "Huh, dunno. Probably because I'm a fairy."
Tetra shrugged. "Eh, makes sense." Feeling a little more back to normal, she ran to the next zone. She was encouraged by what she found. "Treasure!"
"Wow, that's a huge chest," Ciela marveled. "Wonder what's inside?" Tetra lifted the lid, and leaned in to pull out…nothing. "Oh, no! It's empty…I wonder if someone got to it before us…"
Tetra pondered for a moment. "Well, either Joleen already has it, or some other adventurer got it a long time ago." It didn't bother her much; being on the first floor, it probably wasn't a great treasure anyways. That'd be hidden deeper.
She ran to the next area, waving at Joleen's back as she ran past. This zone had a door with an oversized keyhole, and what looked like a crystal ball. The ball was glowing purple. "Hmm, what happens when I do this?" she asked as she smacked it with her sword. Or tried to. The sword seemed to pass through it, and bounced off of the wall next to it. But the glow also changed from purple to green, and she heard something shift in the distance.
She heard Joleen shouting from the central room. She seemed not to realize how loud she was being. "Are you kidding me? That little runt did it! OK, I'm taking that as my cue to get out of here! Freeeeeedom!"
"Oooh, she better not have just ditched us!" Tetra fumed as she ran back to the entrance. She was relieved to see Joleen leaning on the wall in the first safe zone, panting.
She was also muttering to herself. "Phew…I think we can take a quick breather…"
"So much for that sprained ankle," Tetra mused, laughing.
Ciela, however, was less amused. "You said you needed our help because you couldn't walk! But you can run just fine!"
Joleen paused, and turned around. "Bah, it's not like you're the one who did the saving anyways." She glared at Ciela, and then turned her attention to Tetra. "Hey, Tetra, was it? You're pretty brave for someone so short." Tetra wanted to shout something about height jokes at her, but thought better of it. It wasn't like she didn't get that often enough back on the ship. "I mean, not as brave as me," Joleen continued, "but not too shabby."
"Oh, sure," Tetra replied sarcastically.
"Y'know, Tetra's kind of a weird name," Joleen continued. She then struck a pose. "I am Joleen, queen of the sea! Impressive, huh?"
Tetra yawned blatantly. She wasn't going to let Joleen's insults get to her. "Oh, yeah, real impressive."
Joleen pretended not to have heard. "It was smooth sailing in the beginning. But then I triggered that dang trap. I'm just glad it was a safe zone, or I'd be a goner. This place'll suck the life out of you, if you let it."
"Yes, you said that already."
"Blasted temple," Joleen said, shaking her fist at the air. She turned back to Tetra. "What are you doing in a place like this, anyway?"
"Looking for you, actually."
"Oh, and what do you want from me?"
"Well," Tetra paused. "I need to track down the Ghost Ship."
"WHAT?" Joleen shrieked. "You're looking for the Ghost Ship?" She paused, and Tetra wondered why. All of the talk about Joleen so far had been about how she was looking for the ship herself. She was taken by surprise when Joleen grabbed her by the collar and started shaking her. "So you're trying to get your mitts on the treasure! Ow!"
Tetra's kick caught Joleen in the shin, and she let go in surprise. The pair stared each other down for a moment, until Ciela broke in. "Treasure? What are you even talking about? She's trying to save her friend!"
"Oh?" Joleen asked, relaxing.
Tetra straightened herself out before replying. "Yeah. We were looking for the treasure before, but not anymore. We actually found the Ghost Ship already, but he got on ahead of me, and then I heard him yell while I was trying to get over the railing. Then I fell in the water and ended up here. I heard that you're looking for it too, so I chased you down."
"Oh, really?" Joleen said. "Well, boo hoo. How sweet. I think I'm gonna cry."
Tetra's anger flared. "Keep talking like that, and you will cry!"
"Hey, hey, put the sword away!" Joleen replied. "I was just teasing. If that's what this is about, I'm on board! That's actually why I'm up here in the first place, is to find more info on it. I was really close before I got stuck."
Tetra rolled her eyes. "I bet you were."
Joleen ignored her again. "Anyways, I'm still dazed from being in that darn trap so long, so you go on ahead and grab the clue. It's in there somewhere, and we need it to find the ship. Got that?"
"Scaredy cat!" Ciela shouted in her face.
"Am not! I just…just…" a moment later, Joleen was in a pile on the floor.
"She fainted…" Ciela observed. "Think she's faking?"
Tetra glanced at her face, and was sure she saw a smile. "Well, faking or not, we need that clue. Which means we need this." She leaned down and snatched the key that she saw tucked into Joleen's belt. "Magic key, I bet. Probably what was in that big chest. It should get us through that door by the crystal ball."
"That tiny key in that huge chest?" Ciela squealed. "Lame!"
Tetra just laughed as she pulled out the map. There were a few places in the back half of the room that were likely to have the clue. She was about to run back to the door when she heard Joleen whisper, "Good luck in there." She smiled as she ran. Joleen really wasn't so bad.
Like she expected, the key opened the door. She put the key into the huge lock, and it suddenly jumped out of her hand. The door opened on its own, to her relief. It would've been tough to move on her own.
She ran through to the next safe area and pulled out the map again. It had changed in the last couple of minutes. Now new sets of spikes blocked two of the paths, though it looked like they were extending and retracting instead of staying up. There was also a new door blocking the central chamber of the back area. "Something tells me that you'll help me with that door," she said as she looked over her shoulder at another crystal ball.
She struck it with her sword, and it changed color, like the other one had. The nearby spikes also stopped moving. And she heard the sound of a clock ticking somewhere. "Crap! You're timed!" She ran along the path that she had memorized until she came to the last fork. She could hear this set of spikes still moving to her left. But she mistrusted the clear path to her right. Ignoring the ticking clock, she proceeded slowly. Her patience was rewarded when the floor suddenly dropped out from in front of her, instead of under her like it would have had she been running.
She turned and ran the other way as the ticking sped up, which she assumed to mean that time was almost up. She barely waited for the spikes to descend before dashing across. She practically threw her sword at the ball to try and beat the clock. And judging by the heavy grinding noise she heard in the distance, it seemed that she had.
Suddenly, her pouch began making noise. Confused, she pulled out her map, and saw three icons appear; an exclamation mark over where each set of spikes had been, indicating that they were shut off, and one showing the door to the middle room opening for her.
Tetra stayed in the safe zone for a moment after putting the map away, trying to catch her breath, but unable to. She then realized that it wasn't her breath that she needed to worry about, it was her strength. Smashing a pot in the corner, she grabbed the tiny heart that flew out. It filled her with energy that left her ready to go again.
With the spikes disabled, the trip into the now-open center chamber was very easy. Another large, ornate treasure chest stood before her. She eagerly lifted the lid, and pulled out the scroll she found inside. "You found a sea chart!" Ciela exclaimed as Tetra unrolled it. "This must be the clue about the Ghost Ship! Let's go show it to Joleen."
Tetra stared at the map for a long time. "It doesn't make sense…" she said, scratching her head. "I've been all over the Great Sea, but I've never seen an area like this. Just where did the Ghost Ship take me?" This plagued her thoughts as she jogged back to the entrance.
When they got back to where they'd left Joleen, however, she was no longer there. "Hey! Where's Joleen? Can you believe the nerve? Making us go in on our own, and now this! Now that we've got the sea chart, I've got some words for her!" Tetra couldn't help but laugh at the angry little fairy as she walked into the large entrance hall, and then out of the temple.
She was not surprised to see Joleen standing a few yards away from the entrance. "Oh-ho! If isn't the little monkey and her twinkly pal!" Tetra's good mood vanished at being called a monkey. "Slow getting the goods, eh?"
"Oh, yeah, you'd have been SO much faster than us." Sarcasm dripped from Tetra's voice as she glared at the captain.
"You were quick enough to run off, considering that you'd just fainted!" Ciela chimed in.
Joleen looked aghast. "What an insult! I was merely hurrying back to my ship! Any captain worth her salt puts her ship before her own safety, I tell you!"
"And she puts her crew's safety above that!" Tetra shouted in her face.
"Ugh! Whatever!" Joleen stormed. "What did you find in the treasure chest?"
"Not like I've any reason to tell you," Tetra said coolly, "but we found this." Tetra handed Joleen the chart from the chest.
"Ah, a map! Let me at it!" Joleen shouted, snatching it from Tetra's hand. She studied it a minute before growling in disgust. "Bah, what is this? It's just some boring old sea map! Wait! I know! It must be a treasure map! We just need to figure out how to get it to reveal that treasure." A nasty glint appeared in Joleen's eye. "And by we, I mean me!" She turned to run back down to town. "Farewell, little monkey! I'm off to find adventure!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Tetra shouted. "That's MY map!" Tetra sprinted after her, with Ciela trailing close behind.