A Walk Through the Town of Neovia

Nevertheless, come with me to the brilliant town of Neovia. Once you get used to the slight bit of fog that graces the cobblestone streets, it’s a most wonderful place to explore, and for my neopets and me, to live. There’s an enchanting sort of feeling in the air, much unlike the horrid fear you would get before the curse was lifted.

Now, before you can even get to Neovia, you have to walk through the gypsy camp. The heat of the fire crackles along merrily to the clinking of the tambourine the Wocky gypsy clutches in her paw. She sings along with the Aisha gypsy to an old Haunted Woods tale. The sounds of the fairgrounds has ceased to be heard, and from now on, will never be heard until you exit the gypsy camp back into the Haunted Woods. Waving to the Wocky before I leave, I walk past the camp's edge and get to the graveyard just before the gates of Neovia. As I walk through the swinging gate, a chorus of chatter is heard through the streets and the mayor, a Bruce named Mayor Thumburt, scuttles through the crowds to the clock tower. You didn’t think this was an abandoned town, did you? Quite the contrary, love, Neovia has a fair amount of inhabitants. A young Gelert stops to pet a passing group of meepits, all rushing along to the sanitorium in the distance. Meepits are actually quite wonderful, really; just give them some juice as you pass and they're almost angels.

The first stop to make is the old abandoned attic, an unmarked building close to the gate. The door is locked for the younger Neopians, and for the youngins that want to bother the poor shopkeeper. The first and third steps are a bit creaky, but that just helps the ghost Aisha know there’s a visitor, as there’s hardly ever any. No one really knows the name of the ghost Aisha,, actually, but with her deep-red eyes, not many people really have the courage to ask. The shop is a bit dusty, but there’s a delightful chandelier that gives a bluish glow to the attic. There’s only a small assortment of items, none of which I really need, so I thank the Aisha and walk back down the stairs.

The second shop is across the street from the clock tower, and the sign that swings on the iron post notes it as none other than Prigpants and Swolthy tailors. The scarlet door clunks shut as I walk up, and an Ogrin mother shuffles her son out of the way of the door. Swolthy, a rather large purple Meerca, is sizing a customer when I walk through, and Prigpants, the rather dapper looking Lenny, walks over and shows me a wonderfully made blue dress, and mentions the fancy pink gown on the mannequin. I point to the orange dress that is sitting on the counter, and tell him I asked it be put on hold yesterday. He nods, and directs me to the register, where he hands me the dress after wrapping it. I walk out of the store on my way to the printing press.

The slight smell of ink snakes its way through the slightly ajar door, and I walk in to see the brunette Pteri sliding down a bookshelf on her moving ladder, with a red book in her wing. She takes notice of me, and as I walk up to her, she whispers of a rather scandalous rumor of Mayor Thumburt. I engage in a bit of gossip with her that shan’t be resaid, and ask her where the latest papers are. She spins around, and with a swish of her blue dress, she points to a stack of newspapers, noting they just came hot off the press this morning. She knows how much my Korbat Koya loves the local paper, so she left a copy on the table to pick up. I pay for the paper, and nod in my approval of the first title, just before I walk down the stairs back to the stone streets.

I cross the bridge and turn right towards Chesterdrawers’ Antiques. A pair of frames sit in stands next to a chair before I walk underneath the blue awning into the glowing room. He’s currently working on haggling over a bookcase, of which he is getting the upper hand in this sale. The buyer lifts up the bookcase with a grunt and shuffles past me, murmuring to his Chia to help him carry it. Alabaster glides over to me and questions the state of my couch he sold to me a week earlier, and I participate in a bit of talk over the Framed Alice Photo behind his counter. Calliope pulls on my sleeve and points to the bakery, and I bid my adieu to Alabaster and follow her to the Crumpetmonger bakery.

Before I even walk to the door, the wonderful aroma of sweets and bread wafts through the windows, and the window of the oven shows that the baker is still hard at work with her morning orders. The plump yellow Meerca toddles over to us with a large amount of dough in her hands and a roller curled in her tail.

“One moment!” she chimes as she slaps the dough onto the counter and throws a pawful of flour onto the dough, before walking back over to me. Calliope asks if there are any fresh Linzer Tortes, and the Meerca points over to a stand with the delicious blue tortes sitting in the middle. Calliope runs over to the stand as I walk over to the stack of spiced muffins, stopping to put a couple in a paper bag along with a pumpkin roll. The Meerca cuts a slice of the torte from the stand, puts it in a container, and rings up my sweet purchase. Before we even walk out, Calliope is forking little pieces of the Torte into her mouth, and I’m happily nibbling on a spiced muffin.

As you can tell, Neovia is an absolutely marvelous town, especially to those who call it home. I urge you to come visit this lovely city, especially with a bit of neopoints clinking away in your pockets. You never know when you might need something tailored, or your pet might want to find out what’s happening in Neopia, of which the printing press keeps stock of pieces from each land of Neopia, even Virtupets Space Station! I’m positive you’ll want to purchase at least a handful of sweets from the Crumpetmonger as well when you visit. Until then, I give my goodbyes to you, and I await your visit to this lovely town.