Dear Mma Fairyfriend:
I am sorry I cannot join you to help Rra Professor, but I was called away on pressing business. Please forgive my secretary and go ahead.
Private Detective Grace Rainsmith
I shook my head and sighed as I hopped down the streets of Regent's Square. Whatever business she had been called away on must have been vital.
I spotted The Professor near Scotland Yard. I recalled him hanging around there so I knew where he was. He joked about the whole box being small as a ruse and I was amused by his humor.
"Yes, we have been through this before," I began. "I'm sorry my friends aren't..."
"What's that?" asked the Professor. "Sorry, I'm concerned about this situation. There is a sinister force called the Maestro..."
"Who is trying to change history so he can destroy the future," I sighed. "I know, we helped you fix the situation with Professor Falmea so she would become the Fire professor. Forget that?"
"Sorry, you must have been dealing with my future self," laughed The Professor. "It's hard to keep up with myself in this line of work, saving the Spiral from the Maestro. I have pinpointed one of the crisis points in Marleybone."
I shook my head. "Who is he messing with this time?"
"Halston Balestrom," said The Professor. "Who has been arrested for grand larceny!"
My heart skipped a beat in shock. "No way, that's my friend Grace's teacher, the Storm professor! His future is now behind bars?!" If Halston was arrested, he'd likely end up in Newgate Prison... and I knew for a fact that the only frog who had escaped from that place was one of the crew of Clever Agnes Thatcher, the pirate Grace had helped out a while back, a frog thief called Fan Flanders! "Then... he'll never become the Storm professor and Grace..."
This just got PERSONAL.
I have configured a portal to take to the Royal Museum in old Marleybone," said the Professor. "You must investigate this mystery and clear Halston's name!"
"I'll do my best," I said. I wish Grace had been with me, she would have done brilliant here.
"I heard you had been robbed," I said. "I'm here to help."
"We just had a terrible crime," said Clancy, who sounded a lot younger. I guess this was a few years ago. "The fabled Opal of Ojai was stolen by cat burglars who somehow got past our Mythic wards. However our inspectors did manage to capture one of the ruffians, a scalawag called Hasson somebody! He's been thrown into Newgate Prison. It won't be long before he croaks!"
I winced at the whole thing - whether it was the gloomy fate that Halston faced or the pun.
"Can you send me to Newgate?" I asked. "I know the place like the back of my hand, I can break him out if I try." I never thought about breaking a criminal out of jail, but this frog was innocent.
"Once you find him, you'll have to sneak out the back," said The Professor. "If you go out the front, you'll be fighting the entire constabulary!"
"No thanks," I laughed. "I'm not that dumb."
I easily fooled the police officer who was in the front entrance...
But not the warden. Oops!
I felt bad for attacking the police but I had a reason to - an innocent man was in prison!
A familiar voice rang out as I plucked the keys from the unconscious sergeant. "I'm coming!" I shouted, racing up the stairs to the cell block.
"Oh sparks and coils!" cried Halston. "I thought I would be locked in there forever!"
I unlocked the cell block. "You're fine, Halston."
"How did you know my name?" he asked.
I bit my tongue. "A friend of mine is a fellow Storm user, she told me all about you and your eccentric ways. She said you had been locked up for grand lacer... lacqu... oh, stealing an opal!"
"I'm a fool!" he cried. "A naive blind fool! I had just gotten off the balloon-car to Digmoore when a silver-tongued cat offered me a job on the spot. He knew I had a way with Storm spells and spun a tale about how someone had swindled a family heirloom from him. I didn't realize he wanted me to break into the Museum and fled with the Opal in his hand, leaving me with the police!"
"Don't worry, I'll clear your name," I said. I smiled. "One day, my friend will be saying how you helped her out in so many ways and that can't happen if you're in jail for life!"
"You're such a kind soul!" said Halston, wiping his tears with a kerchief. "May I ask your name?"
"Sie---" I bit my tongue. "Cieeela. Ciela Faewild. Let's get out of here."
"Lead the way, Ciela!" said Halston.
I didn't run into any more cops, but I DID run into these jerks who gave a familiar name.
"Oh, by all that's green," said Halston. "That doesn't sound good for my health at all."
"It's not," I sneered. This must be at a time when Meowiarty was still rising in power.
"Wot? A Wizard trying to escape with our tadpole?" said the dog. "We'll give Mr. Meowiarty a two-fer, call it a day."
"Bad move," I snarled as my own Frog appeared. (Having Halston as our buffer grants us a 20% boost to the chance to getting a Power Pip each round, which was really awesome for Grace and Christina as it made Tempest and Judgement get stronger.)
"We've been done in!" said the dog. "Hurry, let's get out of here before the constabulary nabs us!" The crooks fled through a hole in the wall and me and Halston followed...
"Hal?" I waved my hand through him and gasped - he was ethereal and didn't sense me.
"Oh, it's all right, bird," said The Professor. "It's the B.O.X's defense mechanism to prevent anyone from the past from entering the future and such what. He'll reform with no memory of this when you enter the portal next."
"I knew Meowiarty was behind this," I snarled. I explained how that Malistaire had broken him out of Newgate by summoning undead.
"Well, you're quite the Wizard," said The Professor. "I could never do that, though I did tangle with a Vampire Queen in Darkmoor... oh never mind! Luckily, my archives have a clue to the location of Meowiarty's current lair. Take Halston there to recover the Opal of Ojai!"
"I hope I can kick his tail in," I laughed. "Before I kicked his tail in before!"
"Okay," I said.
We found a secret basement...
And some guards.
Guards I quickly took out. (The Sinister Paws are Death and have 780 HP, not too tough, but they DO spam Weakness.)
"Okay, okay, we surrender!" they cried.
"You'd better tell us where Meowiarty is taking the Opal of Ojai!" shouted Halston. "Or we'll really give you something to mewl about!" I was impressed at his bravery.
"Okay, okay," said the crooks as we tied them up. "He's gone to the Clandestine Tower to make a deal with some businessman, that's all we know!"
The Professor opened a portal to...
The Museum?
Halston cowered. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. A total misunderstanding. Let's me get the Opal back for you. Clear it all up. Never happen again!"
"He was tricked into helping the burglars, sir," I said. "Meowiarty lied to him."
"Oh my, that's not good," said Clancy. "The nemesis of Sherlock Bones! I'll open the gates."
Well well WELL. Deja vu indeed.
"Well, I'm going to have to get past you," I snorted.
"You little girl and a frog?" chuckled the guards.
"Correction," I said. "One Trascendant Frugal Conjurer and a Storm master."
"Oh, sorry mate," said the guards. "Go right ahead!"
We climbed the stairs and reached the top floor, and I heard voices.
"Excellent," said a very sinister voice. "With the Opal of Ojai's power, I can destroy all who protect the Spiral, ha ha ha!"
The Maestro.
"What was that?" said Halston. I covered his mouth but nudged a gear which clattered loudly.
Welp, R.I.P. Element of Surprise.
"What was that noise?" said the Maestro. "I thought we were safe! I can't allow the Professor's lackeys to see me now! I must away!"
I climbed in and found myself in the same place I confronted Malistaire and Meowiarty. A cat in a top hat sneered. "Nice going, Wizard. You cost us a big score. You and your frog are going to be made into frog's legs!"
"Well..." I said.
"You're going to need a bigger frog." Ten seconds later he and his bodyguard were covered in puke. (Emil Softpaw is Balance and has 2200 HP. Two blades and a Colossal Frog munches him.)
"Ah! You are too strong for me, Wizard!" cried Emil, throwing a glittering puke-covered opal at my feet. "Take the Opal of Ojai and send me to Newgate to keep me from the wrath of Meowiarty!"
"He's joining you," I growled, picking up the gem with two fingers. "Ew... I would have used Earthquake but I didn't want to damage the gem." I held my nose as I cleaned off the gem.
I sighed. I was tempted to tell him to be careful of thieves but I knew not to mess with what would happen. "Thanks, me and Halston solved the case."
"That frog helped you?" asked Clancy. "You were amazing! Sherlock Bones couldn't have solved that case faster! I'm dropping the charges on the frog and reporting this to Scotland Yard so they can focus no that nefarious Meowiarty instead!"
As we left, Halston parted ways. "You know, Ciela. I am very impressed with your spell-work. I have made a decision. I will go to Wizard City and ask Merle Ambrose to enroll me in Ravenwood."
"Yeah, I have heard Storm is popular," I said with a smirk. "You know..."
"One day, you might become the Storm professor in Ravenwood and make a little girl from Zafaria VERY very happy." I grinned widely as I had a big tale to tell Grace.
"You flatter me, Ciela," said Halston, tipping his hat. "But I could never be that great. Still, thanks." He hopped off into Regent's Square and I entered the portal.
"I didn't see him, but I heard his voice," I said. "Very sinister."
"Well, keep on your toes, young lass," said The Professor, tipping his hat. "Chances are that the Maestro won't be resting on his laurels!"
I hopped a happy hop on my pogo stick. I couldn't wait to tell Grace! (You get the badge Surge Protector for completing this dungeon the first time.)
"Amazing," said Grace. "Rra Balestrom was nearly locked up for life because of this Maestro?"
"Not really directly," I said.
"That was an interesting investigation, Mma," said Grace.
"What business were you on?" I asked.
Grace sighed and shook her head. "I was asked by Mma Crisp to explore a place called the Tower of the Helephant to stop a warlock called Lyon Lorestriker."
"It was terrifying - I had to crawl in through the roof and was ambushed by bandits who nearly killed me with Leviathan, then I found the Helephant who was bound to the gem and Lyon, a Draconian. He used the Heart to try to kill me. If it wasn't for some friendly Necromancers, I would have died. I smashed that evil gem to free the Helephant." (I had to flee twice and waste 175 crowns on henchmen. I am not going to deal with telling you about the gimmick bosses as they evil. I just HAD to have one of the girls finish that devil dungeon.)
"Well, that was news," I said. "Man, Wysteria sucks. We'd better catch us with Christina and help."
"Yes, we need to hurry before the Umbra Queen's plan succeeds," said Grace.
We reach Baobab and found Inyanga there. "Your friend was in tears, she gave me this."
I took the gem. "It's a memory crystal, like those in Dragonspyre."
It activated and I saw an image... it was Christina!
[To be continued...]
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