Altador Cup

Meridell

The Quest for Team Colours

It takes a lot of yarn to adorn a town, especially a grey one, and a lot of dye, too. Ethel’s usual dyes relied heavily on Meri Acres berries, but with the state of Neopia, Pick Your Own fruits had been restricted for culinary use only. Understandable. And with Ethel’s endless drive to replenish her own yarn, a minor hurdle.
     But it was nearly Illusen Day, she had banners and gifts to knit, and she was all out of colours.
     “Red on top, blue in the middle,” the old Ixi repeated for the two teammates that had tagged along for her latest adventure.
     She’d received a tip from one of Illusen’s couriers: a patch of elusive Meriberries had been spotted on the edge of Shadowglen Woods. Despite the inherent danger of the area, foraging on the fringes was the best she could do under the circumstances. Venturing as far from the grey as possible, searching for oft-forgotten fruits that no one would find appetizing… (A pity, really, because Ethel firmly believed that with enough sugar, anything was palatable!)
     “This is really far from town,” Ilsa said. Her fellow Ixi, a gorgeous shade of red, ducked beneath a branch that Ethel had easily walked under.
     Ethel had noticed that this was the first time in a long while that her teammate had opted to wear a long, maidenly dress, with the skirt hitched up for travel. She’d felt it accentuated Ilsa’s tall frame quite well; and she’d taken note on how she might adjust her current knitting project.
     “The harder the find, the sweeter the reward!” Ethel hummed, peering through a thorny bush to get a better look at the plants behind.
     “And why are we looking for a red and blue berry? Isn’t Illusen Day… earthy?”
     “I’ve got my reasons.” Ethel smiled; a bit of mystery never hurt anyone.
     “You’ve already done so much for Meridell Town,” Ilsa continued. “I think everyone would understand if you needed to slow down, take a month off.”
     “Trust me, dearie, I’ll slow down when I need to. Though if you two need to rest, please do! I brought invigorating tea just for the occasion.”
     “I’ve still got energy!!” Yoris bounced out of the treeline and nearly tripped over his own JubJub feet.
     Ilsa sighed. “Just make sure you’ve got enough to make it back without a cart ride. We might not be as lucky on our return trip as we were getting out here.”
     “An astute observation, my dear,” Ethel said. “And duly noted.”
     Ethel understood Ilsa’s concern; she’d been in a knitting frenzy since the last tourney. The old Ixi taught the team her craft so they could all produce plenty of warm jumpers, caps, and scarves for all of the grey lands by winter. She’d additionally made plushies for the little ones and knitted plants to brighten Illusen’s Glade. And now, while their captain was busy planning Illusen Day festivities, Ethel had promised knitted garlands for every building—and perhaps a green blanket for Turmaculus—to help revive the Meridell spirit.
     She was very keen on the idea; her neighbours could use a festival to boost their morale. At least tensions were low enough for it—thanks, in large part, to the continued aid from Darigan Citadel. Fiorina had even volunteered to fly goods back and forth. It was a curious time; Ethel wondered if there’d be increased trade between the lands, if all this grey ever subsided. Imagine the deep purple hues you’d get from Spiked Dariberries…
     “Aha!” Yoris exclaimed, jumping this way and that. “Red on top, blue in the middle!”
     “Wonderful!” Ethel hurried over to him.
     But before she could confirm the berry, twisting vines curled around the JubJub’s foot and yanked him into the Shadowglen Woods.
     “Yoris!” Ethel and Ilsa shouted in unison, leaping into the treeline after their teammate. In the shadowy brush, a half-dozen monstrous flowers and pet-eating plants had him surrounded.
     “Stay back, Ethel!” Ilsa called. She tackled the nearest flower, flattening it to the ground.
     But the old Ixi sprung into action: she popped open a flask of Kayla’s sleeping draught—she’d never go foraging without it—and flung the substance across the roots of the living vines. They drooped and loosened their grip, plopping Yoris into a bush.
     “Get out of here!” As Ilsa rammed a second plant into a tree, an enormous, stinky flower loomed over her, oozing a dark and mysterious nectar. Ethel pulled out her foraging knife.
     “Sorry, flower,” she said to the creature. “I’m more knightly than I look.”
     While the flower bore down on Ilsa, Ethel swiped at the stem. It twisted, whirling its jagged leaves, but Ethel was too low to the ground for it to reach. With a few more cuts, she sliced the stem in two. The monster withered and collapsed. Its stench turned abhorrent.
     Chartreuse nectar pooled on the ground, and Ethel wondered if it might make for a unique dye colour of its own. Oh yes, she thought. A perfect green for the big blanket!
     With the flowers defeated, the three Meridellian players crawled out from the treeline, back into clear, odourless air and the warm protection of daylight.
     “How did you—?” Ilsa started, holding a cut on her arm.
     “Oh, they are fearsome creatures, to be sure,” Ethel said, uncorking a salve for her, “but nothing I haven’t seen before. It’s just been a decade or two since my last encounter!”
     Once everyone had been patched up, the old Ixi gleefully examined the bush that was indeed packed with Meriberries. She picked as many as could fit in her baskets.
     “I… feel like I owe you an apology,” Ilsa said as they walked back to the road to Meridell. “You clearly had a handle on things back there.”
     “Oh nonsense,” Ethel said, watching Yoris bounce ahead. “You couldn’t have known. It was very brave of you, to jump into unknown danger for Yoris—and little old me.”
     Ilsa laughed, shaking her head. “I should’ve known, tough as you are on the pitch.”
     “Just think if we played with balls of yarn, rather than Yooyus!”
     “That would definitely be unfair. You’d be unstoppable.”
                                ~~~
     The night before Illusen Day, with colourful knitted garlands lending warmth to the grey old town, Ethel gifted all of her teammates new jumpers: bright red and blue for Team Meridell.
     She sat by Ilsa and watched her unfold two different sweaters, both perfectly sized to her tall stature. One flowed like her skirt, while the other resembled the boxier garments that Ilsa had worn before.
     “I wanted to make sure you were comfortable no matter which felt… right for you, the day of the festival. Though either would go fine with skirts or trousers!”
     A smile spread across the red Ixi’s face. “You are not to be underestimated,” she said, and wrapped her arms around Ethel in a big hug. “Thank you, Ethel.”
     Ethel gave her an extra-tight squeeze, a familiar warmth spreading from her chest. This right here was what drove her to work as hard as she had: this special moment of seeing to someone’s need, without them ever having asked.
     “It was my pleasure, dear Ilsa,” she said. “And it always will be.”