A Desert Wonder

      In a dimly lit cabin below the deck, there was a Tyrannian Kougra sitting on the floor in the corner. She was wearing a marvelous black dress, and a fanciful black hat. She was staring at the messy, cluttered with items room, and thinking, with a very pleasant feeling inside, about all the wonders of Lost Desert – which was the ship's destination. Ancient pottery, and mystical scrolls, gems of extraordinary beauty, and enormous amounts of hidden gold. That was the irresistible charm of the Desert. She obviously wanted to become the owner of as many such wonders as possible.

      -Toulouse – she suddenly heard a voice calling her. –The captain is calling all the officers to his cabin.

      The Kougra knew that they had to determine all the details of the raid, so she got up, and went out.

      After about two weeks, the ship was close to her destination. And the destination was an ancient city on the coast of Lost Desert. Sure. It wasn't as big (and probably not as rich) as Sakhmet or Qasala, but there was one predominant advantage about it – it was close to the shore, and that was giving a chance of a fast and effective escape.

      They anchored around midnight. Thankfully they couldn't be seen from the city, but they also couldn't be sure that nobody undesirable was near by accident... or on purpose.

      They started preparing. They were supposed to reach the city before dawn.

      They were going trough the dunes, passing some single palms. There were myriads of stars in the sky, sometimes shooting stars could be noticed as well. You can't know how beautiful is a desert night if you have never seen it. It's so... unbelievable, so charming...

      When they reached the city walls, there was already a thin, light line above the horizon, and that meant, that there were only a few minutes until the sun would rise. They sneaked in, split up into small groups, and tried to look as native as possible.

      The city was waking. First vendors started to arrange their stalls. Soon the narrow streets were full of pets, petpets and all kinds of goods, and as noisy as usually.

      The pirates were walking around, doing some small shopping, but also observing carefully every detail of the neighborhood, and trying to spot certain goods worth putting hand on them. In the evening, each group found a room to rent to have a well deserved rest. But some of them got up in the middle of the night and headed to the city gates. They returned quickly carrying suspiciously looking bundles. Bundles containing all kinds of weapons.

      The following day didn't differ much. But the night... The night wasn't so peaceful. The pirates met at the appointed place at midnight and started the attack. The ones that stayed on the ship during those two days struck from the city gates. They were heading to all the buildings in which they spotted the finest goods. The citizens were running away, trying to take with them as many items as possible. But they were helpless and their efforts to save their belongings gave no results. Soon the guardians arrived, but their forces were way weaker than the attackers' and they couldn't defeat the city from being completely robbed. After about two hours of battling and stealing everything precious in their way, the pirates started to retreat. They knew that more guardians from the palace would appear any minute, they have seen a messenger running trough the building's entrance. He couldn't had been stopped. But they have gained much anyway, so they could afford a retreat now.

      They were running trough the desert, the Unis carrying the treasure. When they finally saw the sea and their ship, they also spotted a chase behind them. Being in danger of getting caught released unbelievable amounts of energy in them, so when the army arrived to the shore, the thieves from faraway lands were already sailing trough the dark waves, laughing loudly and celebrating their victory. As soon as the sun appeared above the horizon, the captain started dividing the loot. At first every officer could take one item of their choice (except jewelry) for their pleasure. Toulouse found a very pretty lamp under a pile of dusty carpets, and decided she had to have it. When others also made up their minds, the rest of the wonderful treasure was divided, so everybody received a deserved part.

      Later that day Toulouse was sitting in her dark cabin and truly enjoying the view in front of her. How amazing, how splendid... How much would the Brightvale scholars pay for those rare ancient scrolls... Delightful, delightful thoughts. And that carpets! Their subtle patterns were so beautiful... No, she couldn't sell them all, she had to choose some for herself. She got up to light the candles and lamps. She wondered how lovely would the stained-glass parts of her new lamp glow. But to her fright and amazement, the lamp shrieked when she tried to light it, and screamed that it was inhabited.

      - By who? – asked the Kougra with curiosity sounding in her voice.

      In response the mysterious creature claimed to be a genie.

      Toulouse had heard lots of stories about genies. She knew they were rare beings making three wishes come true. But she never thought of a possibility of finding one. While now... She felt a bit dizzy, and had to sit down for a moment. She sat on the carpets. And however it could seem impossible, the top carpet raised her in the air. She screamed and fell down. Startled, but pleased as well, Toulouse started to realize how extraordinary were the results of the last raid. And how big was her luck. Finally she got up, opened a wooden case, took out a small, brown-glass bottle and hung it on a ribbon. Then she kindly asked the genie if living in the same place for years wasn't boring, and if it would like a new home.

      Until night came the Kougra was able to control the flying carpet. She was feeling so powerful having such a magical... means of transport and a genie on her neck.

      Time passed. Toulouse appeared in every battle on her carpet, attacking from the air. It looked really impressive when she was flying between the masts on the fluttering rug. She always had her genie with her, just in case. But nothing ever went wrong. Maybe it was because of her confidence. It was she who became the commander of the next captured ship, and it was she who was the most successful officer of the growing fleet. Soon she was famous not only in her homeland Tyrannia, but also throughout all Neopian lands. Famous for her brave deeds and being the most fearful lady of the seas.

The End