Re-Introducing Neovia

The town is run by Mayor Thumburt, a calm man who allowed me to speak with him on his plans for re-introducing Neovia to the masses:

April: "Thank you for allowing me to speak with you today, Mayor Thumburt." I said with a smile.

Thumburt: "You are very welcome, Miss April. We here in Neovia are thrilled to have you here and that the Neopian Times is interested in our little town." He gestured with his arms to show off all of Neovia from our park bench.

April: Getting out my pad of paper and pen, I asked him "So tell me, Mr. Mayor, what are your plans for Neovia? And how do you hope to accomplish them?"

Thumburt: "Well, we hope to get Neopets and their owners interested in our town again. We have a lot to offer them, beautiful scenery, fun stores, even a crypt that Neopets can send their petpets into to find treasure. I've even tossed around the idea of a Haunted Hayride, but many of the locals felt that we shouldn't change the way we live our lives for the amusement of others." He smiled.

April: "So... You are not making any changes to the town at all?" I questioned.

Thumburt: He became indignant and looked at me as if I had offended him, "No, our town is as old as the woods itself, and we believe that we've lasted this long as is and will continue to."

April: This didn't make any sort of sense to me, "If you don't plan on making any changes, what do you think will make Neopets want to visit? You'll just be the same old town as you were before."

Thumburt sat hard and stared at me, and his dark eyes narrowing. "I believe this interview is over." He abruptly stood and regarded me with a final, "You should watch your tone with when speaking, Miss."

I watched him trot away back to the Town Hall and slam the door shut. Determined to get my story, I visited Mrs. Hammerford at the Neovia Printing Press. She wasn't available for a full interview, as keeping up with the demands of a printing press are quite great, however she was able to give me a quote about some new things going on in the town:

Mrs. Hammerford: "All of the shop keepers including myself have been working on making sure we have wares to offer the visitors such as yourself. Take a look in my shop and you'll see that I've been printing more than just the Neopian Times around here, go ahead. Look!"

At that moment she got back to her work so I went to browse what was available and she was right. Books about Neovia were for sale, as well as travel guides and newspapers for Kiko Lake, Roo Island, Tyrannia, Maraqua, Mystery Island, and Jelly World (Jelly World does not exist and this author is not claiming it to be real).

Next I went the Crumpetmonger and spoke to the shopkeeper there, Missus Baker.

April: "Hello, Missus Baker, mind if I ask you a few questions? My name is April and I'm a writer for the Neopian-" Before I could finish my sentence she interrupted me.

Baker: "Fresh pastries! Get 'em while they're hot!" She shouted at me, before grabbing an apple tart off her tray and eating it.

April: "Missus... Missus could you please just-"

Baker: "What? You don't want any? More for me. Now what do you want to talk about?"

April: I'm a writer for the Neopian Times and am doing a piece on Neovia, I was wondering if you have a minute to talk about the town and your shop."

Baker: "Well of course I do little girl, anything for the Times! My name is Gertrude Baker- but that's Missus Baker to you!" she said with a huff. "I run the Crumpetmonger! My great-grandmother opened up the shop in year one and it has been passed down since." She gave a sigh, relieving the good old days before remembering I was here. "I make fresh pastries fit for a King all day long and sell them to whoever can pay my prices. I HATE haggling though, you'll never cheat me out of my hard earned points."

April: "What about the rest of the town? Are they trying as hard to keep Neovia relevant?"

Baker: "Heavens no! I am the hardest working Neopet in this town! I work from sunrise to sunset and if those two bit tailors from Prigpants and Swolthy said that they work harder than me then they are as wrong as a Korbat flying upside down!"

After her outburst she sat down at a table she has set up for her customers and took a few breathes, fanning herself with her paw. "Phew, sorry about that... What was your name again? April? I just get so worked up about my business. It's my livelihood."

April: "It's fine, no worries. I think I have everything I need. Thank you." I got out of that building as quickly as I could, was everyone in this town crazy?

Because she had brought it up, I decided to have a chat with the men at Prigpants and Swolthy.

April: "Hello? Mr. Prigpants and Swolthy? Mind if I have a word with you? I'm a writer for the Neopian TImes and-"

I was interrupted by Mr. Swolthy, who seemed to be the kinder of the two gentlemen.

Swolthy: "Why Abner take a look at this little thing, isn't she just adorable?"

Prigpants: "Yes, well, she does seem to have a horrible fashion sense. Do you see those rags she's wearing? Hideous."

Swolthy: "Well that wouldn't take much to change, we are tailors after all. Did you come here for a fitting?"

I was relieved they were finally talking to me, "No actually, I'm here writing an article about the town for the Neopian TImes and was wondering if either of you would be willing to give a quote."

Prigpants said "No," at the same time Swolthy said, "Yes."

Swolthy gave Prigpants a look and took over, "Yes, yes we would. Please put in that we here at Prigpants and Swolthy, Tailors, are looking forward to styling any and all new visitors to the city!"

I quickly thanked them and left before they got out their measuring tapes. Maybe the town wasn't so bad.

If you are interested in traveling somewhere, and don't mind that the locals may or may not be mad, then may I suggest Neovia, a town that has stood the test of time and has stayed true to themselves.

Neovia, a place to come home to.