Storytelling Competition - (click for the map) | (printer friendly version)
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 Week 270 |
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 Week 272 |
Every week we will be starting a new Story Telling competition - with great prizes! The current prize is 2000 NP, plus a rare item!!! This is how it works...
We start a story and you have to write the next few paragraphs. We will select the best submissions every day and put it on the site, and then you have to write the next one, all the way until the story finishes. Got it? Well, submit your paragraphs below!
Story Two Hundred Seventy One Ends April 21
"How dost thou like my newest spear?"
"It's... nice, Bordin," Garrett answered warily.
"Nice? NICE?!? It is imbued with the power to smite my foes! And thou shouldst remember to only call me by my knighted name, Sir Bordovere!" the offended Draik screeched, almost dancing with rage.
Garrett sighed. His friend Bordin was a decent soldier, but his mind was not always... altogether there. Personally, he blamed the long boring hours they stood on watch in front of the castle.
"Well?!?" Bordin demanded, making jabbing motions with his spear. "Darest thou impugn my honour? I shalt have you know that I shall not rest 'til we settle this like honourable knights!"
"It's a great spear," Garrett said, rolling his eyes as he shifted uncomfortably in his armour. The days were getting hotter as summer approached.
"Verily, thou dost speak truth, and my sword will bear witness to it! Sir Bordovere the Magnificent-”
"-and the Maniacally Brave-" muttered Garrett.
"-and the Courageous shall vouch for this day! Long live the-"
ZAP!
"-king!" Bordin finished as he lunged from the warm stones of the castle and landed on cool smooth steel.
Steel?
The Draik blinked and looked around. Gone were the rolling green fields and royal turrets of Meridell, replaced by cold, sleek metal as far as the eye could see. In front of him stood two strange Neopets with stalks on their heads, arguing with each other.
"I told you not to press the Transportation Ray before it was finished and checked, Zorax! Now look what you've done!..."
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Author: Sir Writes-a-lot
Date: Apr 14th
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..."Foul fiends!" Bordin cried as he jumped back, his spear now ready for battle. "How dare thee try to remove me from my rightful place protecting the king. Know you not that I shall fight even more fiercely in this strange land until I return to my kingdom. Be ready villains -- the time for words has passed."
He lunged at the two peculiar Neopets, his sharp spear glittering in the strange, artificial light, but they seemed far more surprised than afraid. They quickly jumped out of the way as the one apparently called Zorax pulled out a strange device. Before the Draik could attack again, a glowing beam shot from the device from Zorax's hand and stuck Bordin. The light was cool and painless, but Bordin found he was entirely helpless to move. He struggled valiantly, but he couldn't so much as twitch his toes.
"So you show your true colors," he announced in a booming tone. "You are wicked sorcerers who are trying to take over the land with you wands welded of shimmering metal. Do not think this spell will hold Sir Bordovere the Magnificent!"
The two strange Neopets shared a confused glance before turning back to their prisoner. "You don't understand," Zorax finally said. "It was an accident. We didn't mean to bring you here and we are not attacking anyone. We aren't even sorcerers -- this is just a ray gun we use purely for defense purposes."
"Ha, a likely story," Bordin sneered, "I see that thou art scared of my mighty power. If thou wouldst release me, perhaps I will find mercy for the likes of you two."
"I guess," Zorax began in a heavy tone, "that I'll just have to show you. Now, I'm going to let you go, but careful with the spear. You could hurt someone."
Bordin's pride was injured, and he started to shout something back in retaliation. However, before he could do so, Zorax again hit a button on the strange device. The Draik suddenly found himself able to move once again as Zorax slowly walked to a long, curving window.
"Come here," he said, in almost a gentle tone, "You deserve to know exactly what's going on here."
"What trickery does thou have up thy sleeve now?" Bordin asked, as he carefully made his way to the window.
However, as the view met the dazed Draik's eyes, he found himself momentarily speechless...
| Author: tj_wagner Date: Apr 17th |
...All he could see were stars. Endless stars. They reached as far as the eye could see (which, for Sir Bordovere the Magnificent, was really quite far). What really troubled Bordin was the fact that he was not looking straight upwards to see these stars. No, instead he was looking right outside the window.
"Wh-what is this... magic? Thine sorcery must be great to bring me to the heavens," Bordin breathed in amazement. The two creatures looked at each other.
"It's not magic," one of them said. "You're in--"
"It's a very complicated form of magic," Zorax interrupted. "We would teach it to... 'thee'... but we have but no time. Rest up. We will explain this magic to you in the morning." Bordin's eyes enlarged to the size of dinner plates. He nodded, as though he understood. The other creature gave Zorax a questioning look.
"Listen. I've changed my mind. We're just confusing him by trying to explain. He's from ancient Meridell, I think. Until we know how to get him back to his home, we've got to act like whatever he thinks we are. Okay?" Zorax explained, just loud enough so that the Draik could not overhear.
"But how do we do that?" his companion asked.
"Easy"...
| Author: westernmedowlark Date: Apr 18th |
..."all we have to do is pay a visit to the Virtual Library in Wing 78F, where we'll be able to catch up on our history of ancient Meridell. After doing our homework, we'll be able to entertain this guy's reality long enough to figure out how to send him back. Sounds like a perfect plan, eh?"
The other Grundo contemplated this idea. After all, one of Zorax's infamous "plans" was the reason Bordin was here in the first place, he reminded himself. I guess this is the only option, he thought.
"Okay," he whispered, "but we'd better think of a way to distract this guy while we're at the library."
Zorax rolled his eyes. "No problem! I'll just use my new freezing weapon and put him on ice until we get back."
"I don't think that's such a good id--"
Cutting him off, Zorax hastily pressed the button on his Ice-O-Matic GX4000. I'm such a good problem solver, he thought as Bordin was hit with a bright blue ray.
A strange misty cloud surrounded Bordin, and then when it cleared...
| Author: blysdb Date: Apr 18th |
...the Draik was covered in a thick layer of ice. "How cool was that?" Zorax asked.
"So cool that I forgot to cheer -- now let's get to the Library!" said his companion. They rushed down the hall and into an elevator. When they got to Wing 78F the two rushed out.
Upon their arrival at the library, Zorax and his pal started searching for the M isle. When they found it, the duo began looking for information about ancient Meridell. They eventually found a book entitled Ancient Meridellian History. Zorax flipped through its pages. "Oh no..." he gasped.
"What is it?" his companion asked.
"I can't BELIEVE it! Listen to this!"
"Sir Bordovere, a Draik guard, vanished while he was on duty. Sir Bordovere's fellow guard, Sir Garrett, was defeated soon after Sir Bordovere's vanishing act by a mysterious cloaked figure. Without the protection of the guards, the villain was able to enter the halls of the King and dispose of him! Immediately after the King's demise, his cruel brother, Lord Rastumar, announced that the throne rightfully belonged to him. Upon his ascension to the throne, Rastumar began a frightfully tyrannical reign that would later come to be known as the Meridellian Dark Ages..."
| Author: kaleigh12344 Date: Apr 19th |
..."It's all your fault, you know." declared his friend. "You were the one who decided to 'try out' to Transportation Ray! And now you have to fix this 'Dark Ages' problem!"
He had such an indignant look on his face that Zorax didn't dare disagree. "But.. how?" was all he could manage to say.
"I don't know! Come up with another stupid scheme... maybe they'll reverse each other."
"I've got just the idea!" he exclaimed, a broad grin taking over his face. In a moment, Zorax raced toward the frozen Draik.
"I was being sarcastic," the other Grundo muttered. He followed, though, nonetheless.
"Where did he go?" Zorax asked as he looked around without seeing any sign of Bordin. Stepping forward, the Grundo slipped in a puddle of water. "Oh no..." he gasped.
"You lost a frozen Draik?!" his companion shouted.
"Not lost... just misplaced," Zorax mumbled.
"Security to Grundos Cafe!" a voice screeched over the intercom. "A Draik wielding medieval weaponry is attacking a roast gargapple!"
"He probably thinks it's a magical floating artifact," Zorax said before racing off toward the Cafe.
"Here we go again..." groaned the other Grundo, sprinting after Zorax.
The scene at Grundos Cafe was hectic, and to be sure, Sir Bordovere was right in the middle of it...
| Author: sapphire_anna Date: Apr 19th |
Bordin had indeed been attacking a roast gargapple, several to be exact, and all of them were skewered on his spear like a shish kabob. He had jumped on top of the counter and, amid the screams of dismayed customers, was attempting to skewer a grobleen salad.
"Ah! Foul creature, thou shalt be smitten by the awesome might of Sir Bordovere the Magnificent!" his spear poked into the pink flesh of the dish and the tentacles moved slightly. Bordin jumped back. "So, thou wouldst constrict me in thine clutches, beast?" he exclaimed.
"Sir Bordovere!" Zorax called out. Bordin whipped around halfway. He would not turn his back on his former attacker or those evil sorcerers. He kept his spear, still holding the skewered roast gargapples, halfway between the salad and the Grundos. When he turned, however, his grip loosened slightly and the combined levitation of all the gargapples yanked the spear from his grasp and sent it floating up to the ceiling. Bordin was trapped now, and he knew it. The sorcerers would be able to cast a spell on him before he retrieved his spear.
"Well done," he said, congratulating the two Grundos who were giving each other sideways glances throughout the entire spectacle, "thine magic hast overcome the power of even the mighty Sir Bordovere. Captors, what whilst thou do? Shackle me in chains? Subject me to thine torturers? Make me thine servant?"
"Actually..." the other Grundo began but was cut off by Zorax.
"Yes, we will take 'thee' to our um... dungeons."
"Zorax," the second Grundo breathed through gritted teeth, "what are you doing?!"
He turned to his companion and said, "Trust me, this'll work..."
| Author: scubadive5 Date: Apr 20th |
..."There's an empty storage closet in Wing 63B. It only opens from the outside. We'll put him in there until we've fixed the ray."
The other Grundo looked at him in dismay. "Isn't it bad enough that we beamed him hundreds of years into the future and then froze him in place -- now you want to lock him in a storage closet?!?"
Zorax gave him a withering glare. "Have you got a better idea, Xellox?"
The other Grundo sighed. "Fine. But we have to make sure and double-check the ventilation system, plus verify that there's air flowing to the closet. Also, we'll need to leave the light on inside."
"Duh, of course," Zorax muttered, embarrassed at not having thought of that. Stepping forward, he addressed Bordin with all the sternness he could muster. "Sir Bordovere, thou hast offended the mighty magicians greatly," he began, silently congratulating himself on his use of medieval grammar. "Therefore, thou shalt remain in our dungeon until we find a fitting punishment for thee."
Bordin held his head high. "No punishment thou might inflict upon me shall break the spirit of Sir Bordovere!"
Zorax shuffled his feet, uneasily aware of the stares he was getting from the other diners. Forcing himself to remain in character, he said, "That may change unless thee get thyself down off that table and come without protest!"
Bordin bared his fangs but complied, either accepting his fate or biding his time. Either way, Zorax kept his Ice-O-Matic GX4000 trained on the Draik until the door of the storage closet closed behind Bordin, who was none too happy about having been relieved of his spear.
"Whew," Xellox muttered, gripping the confiscated weapon tightly, "Finally... come on now, let's get that Transportation Ray finished before he figures out that he can fit inside the ventilation shaft!"
It was more than an hour before the Grundos were satisfied that they had the correct coordinates, but it seemed to take a great deal longer. Finally, though, Xellox turned toward Zorax and said, "All right, let's go get Sir Bordovere."
When the door opened, Bordin practically flew out of the storage closet, claws and fangs at the ready. The Grundos braced themselves, but the Draik did not attack, although he looked like he wanted to badly. Narrowing his eyes, he growled, "So! Hast thou come to fight me like honourable knights, or wouldst thou drag me off to thine torture chambers like the cowards thou hast proven thyselves to be?"
Zorax shook his head. "No, we've come to return thee to thy homeland. Come with us."
Bordin glared suspiciously, but with Zorax brandishing his freezing weapon the Draik allowed himself to be escorted back to the lab, where he was given back his spear and instructed to stand perfectly sill.
"All right," Xellox muttered, "here we go..."
| Author: sarahleeadvent Date: Apr 20th |
Zorax looked out the window and came to a sudden halt, pointing out at space. Noticing that his companion had stopped, Xellox searched for what it was that Zorax was pointing at. Suddenly, everything was quiet as the rest of the Space Station's occupants stared out the window. Finally, someone shrieked:
"It's Lord Rastumar! He's come to take the Space Station!"
Xellox's eyes widened as the gray specks outside the window came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, the two were pushed to the side by a burly-looking Grundo officer.
"C'mon people, move! You know the drill... quick, before Lord Rastumar's forces get here!"
"L-Lord Rastumar?" Zorax stammered. "Shouldn't he be dead by now?"
The Grundo officer glared down at Zorax.
"What are you, a simpleton?" the Grundo officer asked increduously. "Lord Rastumar the twenty-third -- current ruler of nearly half of Neopia?
Zorax and Xellox exchanged a bewildered glance. Evidently Sir Bordovere was needed back in Meridell, and soon!
Zorax reminded Bordovere to stay still once more and dashed over to the controls of the Transportation Ray. Explosions shook the hull of the Space Station as Zorax hit the ray's start button.
* * * * *
With a sudden whoosh of air, Sir Bordovere found himself back in the Meridell that he knew so well. The fields were green once more, and there was not a trace of the steel he'd seen earlier. Bordovere looked toward where he assumed the castle would be, and was happy to find Garrett still there, even if his fellow guard was gaping at him in awe.
"Garrett! Oh, where hast thou been? The adventures I have had within the cruel dungeon of foul sorcerers! And oh, what a daring escape I have made!" he shouted.
As Bordin continued to tell Garrett of his adventures, a mysterious cloaked figure sneaked past the two guards...
| Author: cloudrunner808 Date: Apr 21st |
...Garrett had stopped trying to extract any coherent information from his fellow guard and had resigned himself to staring in utter befuddlement at the Draik. "So let me get this straight," he interrupted, waving a paw in the air impatiently. "They locked you in a dungeon for an hour, and when they took your out, they just... sent you back home? That was the best punishment they could think of?"
"Well, of course," Sir Bordovere snorted, his arms crossed over his armoured chest. "They evidently felt threatened by the strength of my skills in battle, deprived of my spear or no, and so they returned me hither, that I might threaten their wicked empire no-– ho, you there! Why dost thou skulk in the shadows so?!? Reveal thyself at once!"
Looking over his shoulder, Garrett nearly jumped at the sight of a cloaked intruder attempting to overtake the pair from behind. Instead of obeying the Draik's orders, however, the figure brandished a vicious-looking blade. "Good sirs, I only wish to reclaim what is rightfully mine -- that is, the throne of the king," he sneered. "I would advise you not to stand in my way, or things might get rather sticky for the both of you..."
Both guards could now make out the shapes of figures lurking in the woods that bordered the castle, each of them armed and grinning with malevolence. Garrett could see they were hopelessly outnumbered, but Bordin (never one to back down from a challenge) would have none of it. "Fools! You dare to challenge Sir Bordovere, bane of evil?!? Very well! Taste my wrath!"
He swung his spear upward -- or at least what he thought was his spear...
******
“Oh, my... look what our friend left behind.”
Xellox stared. His friend was hefting Bordin's spear in one hand, looking at it with a combination of annoyance and amusement. "He must have put it down by accident or something... but what did he take with him?"
"Who cares? It can’t have been anything too important." Setting the spear down on a tabletop, Zorax offered a slightly ironic grin. "Something for us to remember him by, eh?"
"Er... yeah."
******
Shocked, Garret stared at the strange object clutched in the Draik’s claws. "What... what is it?"
Sir Bordovere was equally shocked. The smooth metal object was roughly as long as his wing, and shone beautifully in the sun; additionally, it was about the same weight as his spear had been. "Some strange magical artifact," he breathed in awe; then, he turned to the cloaked figure and brandished the "artifact" with doubled enthusiasm.
"Witness the spoils of my exploits! Art thou still mettlesome, foul knave? Dost thou not see the unfathomable power that you face? Hear ye, all wicked fiends!" he shouted to the startled-looking group amongst the trees. "Know that this castle is kept by Sir Bordovere, master of combat and sorcery alike!"
Frightened into retreat by his bluff, the would-be usurper and his henchmen made a swift exit into the woods while Garrett looked on in amazement. "That was... something else," he finally said, turning to the Draik. "But what is that thing, anyway?"
Bordin looked long and hard at the object, then finally smiled. "Something to remember them by, I suppose."
The knight never did figure out that his "artifact" was, in fact, a complicated form of space-ratchet, but perhaps some things are better left unexplained.
The End
| Author: _vespa Date: Apr 21st |
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