Neiko's Five Land Adventure (Neiko Adventure Saga Book #1)

Chapter 4

Francesco was suddenly awakened by a knock at his door. "Who could that be?" he grumbled to himself. He stomped down the stairs and opened the door.

Wolfgang, a Scraah messenger, stood there smiling. Wolfgang was a young, cheerful twenty-year-old who was always sent to deliver important messages for Sigma to other chieftains. "Good morning, sir. I came at Sigma's command to inform you of the meeting scheduled for the twenty-fifth. He said you must attend," Wolfgang said in his casual, polite manner.

"What's so good about this morning? And look what time it is! You interrupted my beauty sleep. I'm so tired of these stupid meetings," Francesco snapped angrily.

"Well, I apologize, sir, but Sigma wanted me to inform you at once. And, it's eight o'clock—it's kinda late. Well then, I must be on my way. Good day, sir."

As Wolfgang walked away, Francesco spat in his path. He slammed the door as he walked inside. In his tired, angry frenzy, he remembered his instructions from the Crackedskull chieftains. "Oh, what am I gonna use to nail that annoying Desert Storm Falcon? I can't think of anything. Rocks? No that's stupid... Sticks? No, no, no. Argh! I can't think of anything to make her look insane, but at first talking rocks sounded good, but that's too dumb. I need something more practical, close to home, and something Neiko sees on a regular basis, but it still sounds like rocks. Weapons chasing her? No! I give up," he said as he kicked a small toy across the floor that belonged to Monganata's small grandson.

"Owww! Stupid toys! I have them all in my house thanks to Monganata and his little, bratty grandson—" An idea came into his mind and interrupted his tirade. "Toys! That's it! No one would ever believe in a toy coming to life, and no one would expect it! Francesco, you're a genius! Which one, though? She has so many—dinosaurs, men, mutants, strange, changing creatures. Dinosaurs and creatures chasing her?! No, men sound much more reliable. Most of those men look so strange. Should I use one or many? One should be enough. Who should I use—Rahzar? No. Coldstone, Mace, Axe, Tusk—no. What I need is a leader—a Pharaoh. There are five of them: Osiris, Re, Tut, Menes, but what is the other one's name? I know it starts with R. He is extremely special; I'll use him, I suppose. What is his name? Oh well, I suppose it'll come to me; meanwhile, I'll need to go to Neiko's and find that little man, so Raven can plan what to do next. I hope he has magic to bring toys to life."

Francesco walked casually from his home to Neiko's neighborhood. He cautiously looked around for any signs of anyone. There were no warriors around. Neiko and her mom walked to their car and left. As they were leaving, he ducked behind a tree and waited till they were far down the road. He left his hiding place and cautiously approached the house. He listened. No one was home. He searched for the spare key and found it on top of the porch light. He unlocked the door and quickly sneaked into Neiko's room and went straight to the closet. As soon as he found the box that contained her toys, he dug wildly for the one he wanted but found nothing. "I found everybody but that one I want. Where does she keep him? I'd better hurry before she gets back! I hope they went to the grocery store," he said to himself. He began to put the others back. He accidentally bumped the fortress, and it fell onto the floor spilling all of its treasure and the toy he was searching for. "There you are," he said gratefully. "But now I have to clean up the rest of this mess, whoever you are." He picked up the rest of the mess and set it just as it was. He took a minute to look at the pictures in the room. On the bulletin board there was a picture of his booty, and at the bottom it said: Ramses the Dark Pharaoh. He looked at the toy doubtfully and thought a minute. "So your name is Ramses, huh? Well, that sounds about right. You are my ticket to getting rid of Captain Neiko Kidd for good. Just looking at you is enough to make anyone go mad. We are going to see Raven who may be able to bring you to life. Alright, let's go."