Avatar Goldmine

     Harry landed Rysony in the middle of the woods, just outside of Meridell. He gave Harry a pat on the back who flew back to reunite with his pals. Ry decided to set camp to get some rest, anticipating an exhausting day tomorrow. In his tent, he had a sleeping bag laid out next to a small table lamp. Within a few seconds of getting into his sleeping bag, Rysony was fast asleep.

     At 6 am the following morning Rysony groaned as he was awoken by 2 noisy Crokabeks chirping. As tired Rysony was, he didn’t have time to waste. He immediately packed up his sleeping bag and made sure he had all his weapons in order, just in case.

     Ry decided to explore around the area when he almost stepped on a large creature next to a sign called ‘Turmaculus’. Rysony shuddered as he remembered how his friends at School had gossiped that if they weren’t careful the Turmaculus could eat them up! He decided to take the risk, as this creature might know where to find avatars around Meridell.

     Rysony approached the sleeping giant and, after a moment of hesitation, kicked the Turmaculus in the tail. The Turmaculus moved slightly but went back to sleep. Rysony shrugged and continued on his way when he saw an impressive big historical looking castle.

     Rysony took a deep breath and walked up to the guard in front of the building with a name tag that read ‘Giedse’.

     Giedse grunted, ‘How may I help you.’

      ‘Oh. um... I’m just here to... um... speak to the Grumpy Old King about my quest’ he chuckled nervously.

     'Very well' Giedse smiled, ‘In you go. Just don’t expect anything from him!’

     Rysony nodded as he walked past the two guards. He looked up at castle's marble walls and saw blue Draiks flying about in the air, seemingly trying to escape. Rysony looked up curiously at several red and blue bunting with ‘Meridell’ spelled out. He knew this trigged something, an event that was happening shortly perhaps.

     As Rysony was observing the buntings, he suddenly felt something heavy fall on his shoulder. Rysony jumped and heard a deep and heavy voice ‘What brings you here today?’ Rysony gulped and slowly turned, to see a gigantic Skeith with eyes that looked like they could knock you out cold. Nevermind the eyes, it was his big, white and sharp teeth that frightened Ry. It must be Old Grumpy king.

     Rysony stuttered nervously, but eventually, he managed to explain that needed to find avatars in the area in order to find his sister. The Grumpy old King chuckled. ‘Very well. You’ve come to the right place. Meridell has plenty of avatars to offer, from Kiss the Mortogs to Illuslen Glade quests. Good luck my friend’ The King handed him a map, and circled all the areas where avatars could be obtained. Before Rysony could even ask what the event the buntings were for the Wise Old King shooed Ryshony out of his castle. The Wise Old King said it was so he could attend to his lunch but it was only 10 am!

     Holding the map tight, Rysony walked out of the castle with more hope than he had he entered with.

     In front of the castle, was the Turmaculus that Ry had seen sleeping earlier. Rysony kicked the Turmaculus once more and to Ry’s surprise this time it woke up. The creature smiled and stared directly at Ry, for a second. Ryson got ready to run. Suddenly a very loud ‘Hrrrk’ noise emitted from the Turmaculus... was it choking? Concerned, Ry approached the Turmaculus to see if he could help, but it spat out square icon with the Turmaculus on it. Rysony grabbed it (slobber and all), to put in in his pocket. The Turmaculus grunted ‘Congratulations! You’ve got an Avatar!!’ Rysony gleamed, knowing that it was now the 3rd avatar he’d obtained. Rysony decided to ask the Turmaculus if it knew where to go for more avatars, but held on tight to the avatar he had just gotten from the Turmaculus, just in case...

     The Turmaculus smiled and said ‘Avatars are not my expertise, but perhaps try the cheese roller. Mind you it is challenging, may take you few days to succeed!’

     Rysony thanked the Turmaculus started down the road the way the Turmaculus had pointed him.

     Rysony approached this suspicious looking blue Techo who asked for his name. Ry spoke confidently, ‘Rysony, Ma’am.’

      ‘Very well’ The Blue Techo said, ‘Which cheese do you wish to purchase?’ This dialogue was dominated, by the loud cheering in the background. Rysony decided to purchase his favourite, a ‘Spicy Juppie Cheese’. He gulped, as he remembered how Ellen always made the best Alphabet soup with grated Spicy Juppie cheese at their neo-home. The Techo then explained, to get the avatar, he was to roll the cheese in less than 60 seconds. Rysony nodded, understanding his task ahead.

     Rysony queued behind a Maraquan Grarrl named Omareh was bragging to a pretty Royalgirl Korbat that he’d just gotten an avatar from the Kiss Mortog game as he succeeded in kissing 4 Mortogs in a row.

     Ry scoffed upon hearing this.

     Suddenly he heard a loud announcement ‘Presenting you Omareh, with a Rotten Cheese!’ (which was the most expensive cheese you could buy). As Omareh confidently strutted to the start line, he started doing impressive somersaults and flexing his muscles for the Neopets in the stands. When suddenly SLAM he hit a big rock that was jutting out of the ground. The crowd groaned, to shake their heads. After what felt like a lifetime, Omareh had finally gotten his cheese past the finish line. The announcer announced ‘You Finished in 99 seconds!!! Your Score: 0, winning that many Neopoints! And, for your rating… ‘Beyond Redemption!’

     Omareh shrugged and walked off in embarrassment as the crowd booed at him.

     Rysony gulped, knowing it was his turn in any second. He held the cheese in his hand, thinking of his sister as he whispered to herself ‘I’ve got this. I’m going do this for you Meg!’

     Rysony was so focused that he didn't notice how faint the cheers were. The cheers were dominated by the crowd muttering and groaning to themselves, as they had been unimpressed with today’s performances so far.

     Rysony heard the whistle blow, meaning it was time for him to roll the cheese. He decided to roll left every time, as he was left-handed. He rolled impressively, causing the crowd to start cheering which eventually got louder and louder as he approached the finish line. As Ry finished, he felt a sense of excitement as he heard the announcement say, ‘You Finished in 61 seconds!!!’ But unfortunately, the avatar was completely random, so he hadn’t gained the avatar this time. However, he had gained 810 Neopoints. Rysony scurried to the ticket booth to request a ‘Tyrannian Dung Cheese’ using the Neopoints he had won. It was Meg’s favourite cheese.

     Rysony held the cheese in his arms tightly, getting in line again for his second go. As Rysony’s turn came, he breathed a deep breath, hoping it would be his lucky turn. He decided to stick with his technique. Rysony had marvellously managed to avoid the first 3 potholes. Rysony could already tell he was in for another decent time as the crowd started to cheer loudly again. After 59.7 seconds, he crossed the finish line, avoiding the tree branch. Rysony nervously waited for the announcer and, after what felt like hours, the announcer declared that although Rysony had completed the obstacle in less than 60 seconds, Rysony hadn’t earned the avatar. In frustration, Rysony stomped back up the hill to try one more time. He decided to use the Tyrannian Dung Cheese for his 3rd and final attempt of the day (since all Neopets were only allowed 3 attempts a day). As he steadied his aim, Rysony tripped on a tree twig that laid between where Rysony had been standing and the starting line. In frustration, Rysony flung the cheese, which proceeded to bounce off a rock and directly over the finish line! Rysony started walking away, scoffing ‘Silly game, I’m never playing again.’ Suddenly he heard a LOUD announcement, which caused Rysony to tilt his head to the side holding a finger in his right ear. ‘RYSONY, 59.7 SECONDS.’ WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE DECIDED TO GRANT RYSONY, THE Usuki Usul’ THE CHEESEROLLER AVATAR! CONGRATULATIONS!!’ Rysony leaped in celebration! A robot Vandagyre walked down from the small steep hill holding out a tray with the avatar on it. Ry grabbed the avatar off of the tray and bowed to the Robot Vandagyre in thanks. The Robot Vandagyre handed Rysony his Tyrannian Dung Cheese, the cheese he had used to roll. ‘It’s yours to keep, congratulations!’ ‘Cheesed it!’ He chuckled to himself.

     After the contest, Rysony squeezed his way through the buzzing crowds who had witnessed Rysony’s performance. They all wanted to meet Rysony! As flattered as Rysony was, he still had an adventure to continue.

     Rysony finally managed to escape from the cluttering of the crowds and decided to explore the Meridell Rubbish dump. Maybe he would be lucky enough to find a rare item, making him one of the few people to have the ‘That’s not rubbish Avatar! On the way, he started to notice an increase in people wearing red and blue Meridell themed jerseys, waving Meridell flags. He remembered the Meridell buntings up at the Grumpy Old King’s castle. Rysony was confused, as he still couldn’t quite grasp what the occasion was... ‘Perhaps the Turmaculus will know!’ He thought to himself optimistically.

To be continued…