Puntuli's Chronicles: Part One

by Asrman1

Mystery Island Blues, Spooky Forest Boos

The Shoyru mother, silver in flesh, beat her wings as fast as she could. She had something in her hands – a small, green Shoyru. The golden father hovered behind, attacking the tailing foes. Soon enough, the father fell from the sky down to the great sea of Neopia, never to be seen again…

“Young Puntuli…” the mother managed. "…Please forgive us…” With that, she flew down to the nearest patch of land and dropped the crying Puntuli in a bush. She instantly took to the air, also never to be seen again.

***

I ran as fast as I could, still carrying the items I had stolen from the Tropical Food Shop…I looked to the back of me, but the Techo Master was still chasing me, along with the Shopkeeper. I finally jumped up, tried my best at flying, and hovered for about five minutes, but that was enough to get away. The thorny bush whom I called home was where I now sat, with the bundle of food. This was my motto, although it was probably not the one you would want for yourself: When you live on Mystery Island, and the Techo Master is against you, you are in trouble. Yet, that was my life…a lonely, small, green Shoyru called Puntuli. I had no idea how I knew my name, but it had just come to me when I found myself enough knowledge to know about a name. My only friend had been Hounder, a wild Lupe, and he was adopted by a tourist only a week or so ago. Now I had no one to give a care about me, for I was just a common thief. I had tried out many humans, jumping in front of them to surprise them or acting out being lonely, which was actually quite true.

It was the day marking two weeks after Hounder had left that I heard the Tuskaninny Captain of the newly docked boat at the harbour talking from right outside my bush.

“We will need some of your best fighters…namely Kougras…to help us out,” he said to one of the High Ranked Coconuts. “We have already gathered all of the Legend races of Neopets except for the Legend Kougras and Legend Sho-“ My mind went blank. All these Legend Neopets…and battle…

“You will be happy,” said the Coconut, “to know that most of the Legend Kougras live here on Mystery Island, and are great followers of the Faeries and Lord Pango Pango. As for Shoyrus, the only one here is known as a common thief…”

“All right,” the Tuskaninny said. “We will depart at dusk.” I figured any place was better than Mystery Island, so I snuck aboard and fell asleep.

I was awakened by the departure, and looked through the window of the cargo room I was in to see that tons of Kougras had boarded. I would have to keep quiet. Eventually, the rocking of the boat lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped, until I fell asleep…

***

Creak…crook…nibble…rock…ker-eaack… It was the sound of the boat being docked. Excited, I jumped through the window unseen and ran as soon as I set foot. I was successful! But my happy thoughts did not last long for I soon realized that I must have arrived at the Spooky Forest…but maybe it was better than Mystery Island.

I proved myself wrong. It was horrid: the witch in the tower was always asking for magical items for her spells; the Esophagor was popping up at least once very hour of the day threatening to eat me, and all of the rest of the scary creatures were doing the same. It was that which gave me the intention to escape by the forest route. I followed the path, passing the Spyder who had been following me. The tree’s glares began to block any sign of light, absorbing all of it into their selves. Things got so strange and scary that even the Spyder turned and started crawling back. I began to feel very lonely…lonely…lonely…lonely…lonely…lonely.

“Halt,” was all I could make out. Different things were being muttered, but “Halt,” was all I could make out. I was drown in thought; I needed a friend. “Your loneliness has led you to summon me.” I finally began hearing clearly again.

“Who are you?” I asked, half-crying. “Where are you?!”

“Why, I am right beside you,” it answered. “And your loneliness shall pay off. Ha!” As soon as he finished that last syllable, a dagger swooshed down right in front of me. I screamed. I turned my head to my left and gaped in horror. It was just like it was in the book: The Swamp Ghoul. Summoned by loneliness, the Swamp Ghoul would destroy you completely to “rid” you of your suffering. I ran. But I needn’t have.

“Stop,” said a new voice. “Please.” I looked at the human standing now beside me with ragged clothes on and I brave look on his face.

“Why should I listen to you, puny human?” the Ghoul asked.

“Because he isn’t lonely anymore.” And I wasn’t. At the look of the small, young boy standing there, I new I had found a friend. Suddenly, the Swamp Ghoul disappeared. “What’s your name, lil’ fella’?” the boy asked.

“P-puntuli…I’m Puntuli the Green Shoyru,” I answered. “Wh-who are you?”

“Asrman1,” he told me. “But that won’t do any good. It won’t let us go.”

“What won’t let us go?” I asked.

“The Forest Field, or that’s what I call it…” he replied. “Some evil thing is doing it, and trapping whatever enters the forest. Try walking back. Halfway through, you’ll come to a blank nothingness. You have to live off those wretched apples.”

“How long have you been here for?”

“Only about a week…the Swamp Ghoul keeps coming, so I keep running. That’s when I discovered the Forest Field.”

“So you mean…we’re trapped?”

“Yup…I was walking back to Neopia Central taking the same route I had taken to get to the Woods…and this is what happened.”

“Where’s your NeoPet?”

“I don’t have one yet…” he said. “Hey, Puntuli, was it? I’ve got an idea! Care to be my pet?” he proposed.

I smiled. “S..sure… I’ve tried for so long and I just found…found someone…”

“I know what you mean…”

Suddenly, the world around us lit up. Dozens of small lights rose from the ground, as leaves fall from the trees at the start of Autumn, except that they were going up and were not dull as Autumn leaves are, but bright and full of holiness…

Soon, a deep voice boomed across the land, but it seemed as if it was speaking to us. “Escape…escape while you still can. The attacker is being held off…run…the attacker is on it’s way…you have broken her spell of the forest…she will destroy you if you are found…”

Without taking a care of wondering, we ran as fast as we could and ended up in a giant field. In the middle a jet was being loaded with Lupes. When we got closer, we saw that it was the LWA, Lupe War Association, heading for Faerieland, to the Faerie Queen, to her assistance…we knew something they didn’t: it was holiness, newfound friendship…anything good, that was the key to the enemy’s defeat. We suddenly knew all of this…then we noticed a small yellow figure standing on a nearby rock.

Next: A cheeky little Faerie!