MERIDELL - I am a proud apprentice of the Meridell Army who would like to dispute
cloudizme's article, "Ten
Reasons to Attack Meridell", in last week's edition of The Neopian Times.
Firstly, let's examine the many comments in his article targeted at Meridell
one at a time.
1. "Firstly in the ripoffs we have pick you own...". The fact
that he called this game a rip-off is insulting. Not only has the nice farmer
not forced anybody to play the game Pick Your Own, he has also provided a free
game called Potato Counter to those less well-off Neopians. A game which cloudizme
has conveniently neglected to mention in his article. I very much doubt the
farmer visits the Hidden Tower often at the rate he's giving that money out.
2. "...berries which when you leave you can sell for about 10 NP
maximum!". Sorry, but I believe cloudizme has misheard the shop wizard.
I checked on some common berries from "Pick Your Own" and most sell for a bit
more than 10 NP. For example, the Loveberry sells for around 30 NP and the Super
Juicy Berry sells for 25 NP.
3. "Isn't Illusen's Quests exactly the same as Jhudora's Quest?".
I'm not exactly sure what cloudizme means, but if he means if they both ask
you to help them get some items then yes, but so do the Flotsam in Kitchen Quests,
the Snow Faerie in the Snow Faerie quest...however, Illusen is nice enough not
to ask for items that break your bank account, unlike Jhudora who asked me for
some Danish Bacon for the first level, which for some reason cost about 3000
NP on that day. In addition Illusen gives better items such as honey potions.
4. "Double or Nothing, a rip-off game...If you lose you are 10
NP poorer...". What the author failed to mention was the fact that if you
win you are 10 NP richer. Considering that there is a 50-50 chance that the
coin lands heads up, it means you break even in the long-run, therefore I do
not consider it a rip-off.
5. "Haven't [Meridell] ever heard of a bathtub?" Of course they
haven't. Let us recall that Meridell is not a futuristic city with the latest
high-tech gadget. Instead, Meridell is just a medieval town. In those times,
it was considered a luxury to have two baths per year.
6. "...Why are people of Meridell selling Draik eggs for food!?".
Why do humans sell chicken eggs for food?
7. "... My pets and many other people's Neopets have complained
about the terrible taste of Meridell's food." First of all, my Neopets have
never complained about Meridell food, nor have I heard of any other Neopets
that have complained about Meridell food anymore than food from other worlds.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure more pets complain about gross food such
as lemon and lime fish pops than Meridell food.
8. "No one has told us what this Draik [in Escape from Meridell
Castle] has done to deserve being locked in the dungeon." Perhaps the author
should do some more research. In actual fact, we have already been told what
that Draik did - absolutely nothing. If you look carefully on the Escape from
Meridell Castle page it says "... imprisoned for a crime he did not commit."
Now, let's deal with the issue of the "stolen" orb.
9. "Meridell originally stole the orb...from Darigan." Firstly,
most civilised countries operate on the basis of habeas corpus. This means that
we are all innocent until proven guilty. The verdict should pronounce the defendant
(in this case King Skarl) innocent if there is reasonable doubt to their guilt.
A careful examination of the plot shows that at the moment it is one man's word
against that of another. So far, King Skarl has claimed that a great sire gave
him the orb, while Lord Darigan claims the orb was stolen from him. Neither
can be proved right or wrong, because even though most Darigan supporters believe
Lord Darigan, we do not know for sure who is lying? Even if King Skarl did steal
the orb, Lord Darigan has not proved that the orb is his? How do we know Lord
Darigan is the rightful owner of the orb? How do we know he isn't lying to try
and get the orb? I hope anybody who attacks Meridell on the basis King Skarl
is accused of stealing the golden orb from Darigan doesn't go to the Snowager.
10. Finally, we should recall it was Darigan who started the war against
Meridell. Shouldn't Lord Darigan have tried to reach a compromise with King
Skarl first. After all it is always nice to share with others. Instead, Lord
Darigan decided to attack Meridell without prior warning (and I don't consider
a couple of Neopets breaking into the King's castle as prior warning). Why did
Lord Darigan do this? Is it because he wanted the orb back? Or do I smell something
fishy round here? Even if King Skarl did steal the orb from Lord Darigan (which
I highly doubt), Lord Darigan should not have started a war against Meridell.
Has he tried getting Meridell to co-operate? No. If King Skarl did steal the
orb than of course that is wrong, but so is starting a war and killing innocent
lives. Two wrongs don't make a right.
With the information I have been given so far, which hasn't conclusively determined
whether King Skarl stole the orb from Darigan, I have no choice but to help
defend Meridell. I hope you see my point, and help me in my quest to help defend
the great land of Meridell from the uncivilised intruders.
Thanks to the entire fellow Neopians who Neomailed me after my last Neopian
Times article. To all those Neopians who wish to offer some comments or who
wish to disagree with any of my points, feel free to Neomail
me. | 
