Laurel:Part Four

     As Laurel entered the Lost Desert she was swarmed by bugs. Laurel wasn't watching where she was going as she was swatting a bug away and knocked Max the Desert Krawk to the ground. Max was tall, hairy and had pointed teeth. Max had a pet Gruslen named Dave. Dave spent most of his days chasing mean, thieving and crazy bugs. Some of the bugs are so small they are close to invisible while others are as big as a hand. Dave and Max can never seem to get rid of them all. The bugs steal what food they can find and bite whatever pets or Neopians they see. Max explained this problem to Laurel and asked if she could help. Laurel said of course and maybe he could help her figure out who she was. Laurel and Max set up a food trap, as a bug entered a giant swatter would come down. Smash! Splat! Crunch! Blat! Wait! Something is familiar, but just a nagging sensation. Max said his thanks, at least there would be a few less bugs to worry about.

      Max suggested he take Laurel to see the sights. The first stop was the very tall Coltzans Shrine. Nothing happened as she stared at the markings on the amazing shrine. Max showed Laurel Suteks Tomb and the three great pyramids. A game of tug-o-war was going on and Brucey B challenged Laurel to a game. Right before Laurel would have fell in the river Max helped her pull and Brucy B ended up wet instead. Max took Laurel to the catacombs underneath the city of Sakhmet. It was dark and spooky and they didn't stay too long. Max told Laurel he had to go and wished her luck on her journey and to enjoy the shopping in Sakhmet.

      As Laurel walked down the stairs the smell of fresh baking filled her nostrils. Laurel stopped at the food stall and bought a pyramibread. Laurel was surprised by the raspberry jam inside. There were so many booths to walk by or visit so Laurel set a limit of what she could spend in this fabulous place. Laurel played a game of solitaire and looked at some pottery. At the fruit machine, Laurel won 100 Neopoints and a bagguss. At the Suteks Scroll shop, Laurel bought A History of the Lost Desert to learn more about this interesting place. Nobody was at the Geos stall, must be break time. The next booth was emergency supplies. Laurel was in a bit of an emergency but none of the supplies there was going to help her any. After a game of Scarab 21 Laurel colored a picture of the beautiful Princess Amira.

      It was a long walk to the other side of the Lost Desert but Laurel wanted to see what Qasala was all about. Laurel asked the Techo running the Qasalan Delights food shop what was the specialty. The Techo told Laurel that she should try something with queela fruit as it is native to Qasala and has a super spicy taste. Laurel ordered a queela crisp thinking the sweetness of the crisp would offset the spicy taste of the fruit. It was wonderful! As Laurel was walking back through the Lost Desert she saw Max taking Dave for a walk. Laurel started to cry and said she didn't think she would ever find home. Max encouraged Laurel not to give up.

           Laurel stepped off the ship at Warf Wharf determined to find something, anything that seemed even remotely familiar. The streets were bustling with merchants and those looking to score a quick bargain. Distracted by her surroundings she never noticed the uneven boards on the dock as she tripped and fell so hard that it knocked the wind out of her. She sat there on the dock trying to catch her breath when out of nowhere a young Pirate Krawk offered his hand to help her up.

      He said with a grin welcome to Krawk Island, Roberto Swales at your service! Roberto, also known as "Back Alley Bob" to the locals, was not the best kind of friend to make but Laurel was completely unaware as she took his hand and stood back up. Roberto quickly bent down to pick up Laurels belongings but as he handed them back to her his eyes never left the three gold dubloons she had dropped. She told him her name was Laurel and asked if he would be willing to show her around. Of course, he was happy to oblige all the time thinking of those shiny dubloons she put back in her pocket.

      He leads her down the cobblestone path between Krawk Fashions and Little Nippers to a dimly lit alley between the Food Club and the broken down Bilge Dice building. As she looked around she saw a rather large Yellow Chia running what looked like some sort of card game. He smiled at Roberto and Laurel as they passed by. Just a few yards away was a Pirate Kyrii taking bets on a marble game and a Pirate Grarrl taking bets on what the next roll of the dice would be. They both waved to Roberto as he walked by them. Suddenly Laurel was feeling quite uneasy with the entire situation and she knew there was nothing familiar about this place! She told Roberto she was going back to the dock but he tried to persuade her to "try her luck" at the games anyway. She politely declined and walked quickly back the way she had come. Roberto kicked the ground and grumbled as he continued down the back alley.

      Laurel arrived back at the dock and decided she would head over to Mystery Island since it was close by. However, the next boat wasn't leaving for another hour or so and she didn't want to sit around and meet any other unsavory characters like Roberto. She decided she would take some time and color a nice picture since this was an activity she thoroughly enjoyed! She chose to color a picture of Sproggie who was one of the official contestants in the Krawk Island Food Club. He was happily eating a nice steak which made Laurel very hungry! She finished up her coloring page quickly and grabbed a Cheesy Krawk Sandwich from a local vendor before heading back to wait for the next boat to Mystery Island.

           The bright colored sails flapped in the wind as Laurel sailed into the Harbour of Mystery Island. The first stop was Tiki Tours, which was a good thing because Laurel didn't want to miss anything that might help her remember something. Beautiful dancing girls welcomed Laurel to the beach. She tried surfing, which was harder than it looked, Laurel didn't think she had ever done that before. Probably another place she wasn't from, as any local would surely know how to surf. Laurel took a nap in a secluded cove.

      As Laurel walked through the deep jungle the fresh smell of vegetation aroused her senses. Laurel tried a game of Gadgadsgame, but the fruit started coming down so fast it knocked her on the head and made her dizzy. She looked at the pets at the Rock Pool but knew it would be unfair to the creature to take one.

      Jhuidah greeted Laurel at the cooking pot and told her the Great Pango Pango would either reward her with a rare item or do something vengeful depending on her donations. Laurel decided it wasn't worth the risk. Laurel entered the Lost City of Geraptiku and went into the center, Laurel chose the picture of the Lizark to remember this not so scary pet, that tried so hard to look mean. Laurel entered the Deserted Tomb and a Giant Monster chased her back out. Laurel went into the Mystery Island Mystic and he said, "You will lose a Blumaroo Plushie on Mystery Island." Laurel didn't know how this was possible since she didn't even have any plushies.

      As Laurel started walking further into the jungle she noticed it was getting hotter. Laurel started up Techo Mountain but only made it to the first turn as it was getting hard to breathe it was so hot. As Laurel passed the Island Arena she heard loud voices. Lanie and Lillie, the Awakened twins, were having an argument. Even though they looked alike with their long hair and pointy ears, Lanie was better than Lillie at most things. Lillie however had a special talent. Lillie was very strong even though she looked very weak. At first Lanie wasn't jealous, but then Lanie noticed Lillie getting compliments. Lanie had had it with everyone complimenting Lillie on her strength so Lanie challenged Lillie to a strongest Awakened competition. The first challenge was to knock down trees with one big blow. Lanie tried but didn't knock down one. Lillie knocked down 10! The second challenge was to juggle four fifty pound rocks. Lillie juggled all 4 with no problem. Lanie couldn't juggle even one. Lillie knew that Lanie was very smart and was secretly jealous of her for that. Lillie said the next two challenges would be puzzles. Lillie knew she would not win these and the competition would end in a tie. Now they would be not only twins but best friends each with their own special talents. Laurel had watched the challenge and was amazed at these two very different and yet very much the same Neopians as they came to terms with who each of them was.

      Laurels stomach gurgled in anticipation as she stopped at the Tropical Food shop. Laurel chose a couple items suggested by the Techo tribesman, a famous crab burger and stramberry coconut milk. Laurel won a bottle of white sand at Tombola and then joined a Mynci playing volleyball on the beach. Laurels last stop was the Haiku Generator but what Rorru said was just nonsense to Laurel. Another fun but a disappointing day for Laurel.

      To be continued...