The Gamer’s Curse

     Her sister, Florezca the Pink Draik, was already eating lunch. “Finally up, sleepyhead?” she remarked.

     “Shut it,” snapped Nadaba, grabbing the pizza out of the fridge.

     “Well, according to the Neopian Times, there’s a gaming event at the local library at 6 pm,” continued Florezca. “I don’t know much about it, but maybe you can check it out if you would like.”

     Nadaba put a slice of pizza in the microwave. “Maybe I could check it out. It isn’t far from here.”

     “Sure. Maybe you could get out of the house and meet some people other than those pathetic ‘friends’ of yours that you talk to online.”

     “You can’t say they’re pathetic! You’ve never even talked to them.”

     “They’re just like you. They sleep until 3 pm every day and play games all night. They never leave the house. They’re failing all their classes, and none of them have a job.”

     “Whatever, brainiac! You may like to study all day, but I would never! I’m going to that gaming event tonight while you stick your nose in some boring book.”

     “I just want you to get out of the house for a start. I’ll clean your messy room while you’re gone.”

     “Don’t touch ANYTHING!”

     “I’m throwing out all of the trash that you have let accumulate in your room. You are so busy playing games that you don’t even pick up your TRASH! Now, THAT is pathetic! What’s next, rodents?!”

     “Whatever, smartypants! I’m going to go play games on my computer upstairs until it’s time to leave for that event at the library.”

     Florezca rolled her eyes. “Get a job, you bum!”

     Nadaba ignored her sister and went upstairs to play Turmac Roll. When it was almost 6, she grabbed her bag and left for the library.

     ---

     Nadaba walked into the library and saw that there were a lot of Neopets playing board games. “I assumed that this would be for computer games,” she frowned.

     One of the Neopets playing, an Aisha in nerdy glasses, told her, “Board games are fun, too! Also, there is free pizza for anyone who stays and plays with us.”

     Free pizza was very enticing to Nadaba, so she grabbed a slice and sat down. “You’re playing Keyquest...” she commented. “I know how to play, but it’s been a while.”

     “Okay,” replied the Aisha. “You can go first!”

     As she picked up the die, a Gelert in a silky robe, who was walking by, realized that she was about to roll. “I wouldn’t roll that,” he warned. “That die is cursed. If you roll a 6, Fyora knows what will happen.” Then he walked away.

     “Nonsense!” sneered Nadaba. “A cursed die... Like I believe that!” She rolled the die, and it resulted in a 6.

     Just then, the die began to glow, and Nadaba vanished into thin air! The other players gasped, but they figured that there was nothing they could do. Nadaba traveled through an invisible portal, and landed on a large canopy bed in an unfamiliar environment.

     The room was very elegant, fit for a princess. However, Nadaba’s first instinct was to escape this mysterious world and return to the library somehow. There was only one way to figure out how to leave. She got out of the bed and left the bedroom, then started walking down a creaky spiral staircase.

     Judging by the interior, she concluded that she was in a castle of some sort. Figuring that an intruder wouldn’t be treated kindly, her first objective was to escape the castle. She was about halfway down the stairs when the old and worn staircase broke, and she fell down a hole into the bottom of the castle.

     She landed on a pile of Neopoints and treasure, much better than the junk that the Snowager was known for hoarding. While she would have loved to be rich, she was more concerned about trying to escape. Then she looked upwards and gasped in horror.

     Standing before her was an enormous Red Draik with four arms and two legs. She recognized this beast from playing the game Neoquest II. “King... Terask II?” she cried out in fear.

     “Close!” snarled the monster. “I’m his older brother. I guard the treasure in this castle... and no-good thieves like YOU are NOT allowed to intrude! Now LEAVE, or I will incinerate you!”

     “I’m not here to steal! I’m just lost! A weird curse---”

     “I don’t believe that at ALL!” Then Terask’s brother started breathing fire toward Nadaba in an attempt to take her out. However, being a Maraquan Neopet, she launched a blast full of water to put out the flames.

     Just then, a regally dressed Blue Skeith, who appeared to be a king, walked in, followed by several guards. “What are you up to NOW, you silly dragon?” he asked Terask’s brother.

     “This THIEF---” he began, only to be cut off by Nadaba.

     “...King Skarl?! I was sent here by some sort of weird curse! I’m not here to steal! I just want to go home!”

     “Yes, I am King Skarl I. You appear to be from the future, and may be familiar with a descendant of mine, also named Skarl.” He turned to Terask’s brother. “She was likely sent here by a curse which sent her back in time. Do not attack her anymore, please.”

     Then King Skarl turned to his guards. “Please escort her out of here.” Then he turned to Nadaba. “From there, I suggest you visit a green Kacheek named Magon to get some answers regarding how you can travel forward in time and get home.”

     “Magon?” repeated Nadaba. “I know him. His portal experiment didn’t go as planned...”

     “Again, you are probably referring to a descendant. The Magon I know is very skilled, and knows what he’s doing. Best of luck.”

     Thus, Nadaba was escorted out of the castle and into the lush green meadows of Meridell. The technology being used was very primitive, so she figured that she had been transported hundreds of years back in time. Her next task was to find the ancestor of the Magon she knew.

     She approached the nearest Neopet walking down the street, a Yellow Moehog. “Excuse me...” she began, “do you know where Magon lives?”

     “That green Kacheek wizard?” answered the Ixi. He pointed toward a nearby house and replied, “He lives in that house over there.”

     “Thank you!” Nadaba knocked on the door, but no one answered, so she tried the handle, and surprisingly, it was unlocked. She soon noticed Magon asleep on a wooden bed, snoring very loudly.

     “Wake up, sleepyhead!” she yelled. “Sorry to intrude, but I need your help!”

     Magon opened his eyes and sat up. “There goes my nap... Let me guess. You are yet another Neopet from the future who has been hit by that weird time-traveling curse, correct?”

     “Yes, How did you know?”

     “Well, for starters, the way you’re dressed... How scandalous! You’re lucky you weren’t grabbed and confined to the nearest pillory on your way here...”

     “Look, I don’t need your lip. I just want to get home.”

     “Well, I can make a potion that will send you back to the future if you drink it, but I need you to bring me three ingredients: the feather of a Crokabek, the toenail clippings of a Symol, and a bottle of slime from a Slorg.” He handed her a bottle. “Fill this up to the brim.”

     “Easier said than done...”

     “Do you want to get home or not?!”

     “Fine! I will collect the ingredients, but this had BETTER work!” Nadaba walked out of the old wizard’s house and slammed the door.

     She had no idea where to start in her search for the three Petpets until she saw a Crokabek flying through the air. Being a Maraquan Draik, she was unable to fly, so she had no idea how she would catch the Crokabek without someone else’s help. Luckily for her, however, the dumb bird collided with a store window and fell to the ground.

     A feather had fallen out as a result of the impact. She grabbed the feather off of the ground as the dazed bird recovered and flew away. With one down, she had two more to go. As she was wondering where she would find a Symol or Slorg, she noticed a shop where a Blue Ixi was selling Petpets. Figuring that this would be a good place to look, she entered the shop.

     “Nanci?” she began, hoping to recognize the shopkeeper.

     “Nanci? I don’t know her. I’m Elli!” replied the Blue Ixi who was watching over the Petpets.

     “Good to meet you, Elli. I have a weird request...” She explained why she needed a Symol’s toenail clippings.

     “That odd wizard thinks of something new every day,” replied Elli. “Well, luckily for you, I have a Symol with overgrown toenails.” She went into the back room, and returned with a very unruly Symol.

     “You are GOING to get your nails cut today, whether you like it or NOT!” grumbled Elli as the Symol scratched her. As the Petpet continued to fight, Elli turned to Nadaba. “This one is particularly smart, and can understand spoken language... Maybe you can tell him why you need his toenail clippings.”

     “A Petpet?” snickered Nadaba.

     “It’s worth a try! Do you want to get home or not?”

     “Okay, all right!” She explained her predicament to the Symol, who scowled as he reluctantly let Elli clip his toenails. She put the clippings in the bag and handed them to Nadaba. “Free of charge! I throw them away anyway.”

     “Well, I would hope so. Thanks for your help, Elli!” Then she remembered something. “Do you have any Slorgs in this shop? I need their slime for the potion, too.”

     “No, I don’t have any Slorgs, but you can find them munching on crops all day. They are a public nuisance, and are easy to find.”

     “Okay, thank you.” With that, Nadaba left the shop, and went to the fields to look for Slorgs. She found them immediately: Slorgs of all different colours shamelessly munching on the crops which someone had worked so hard to grow!

     Nevertheless, she was concerned about Slorg slime, not crops, She tried to grab one of the Slorgs, but the slippery creature wriggled out of her hands. Just then, she heard the footsteps of a furious orange Yurble, who was carrying a bucket full of water.

     “NOT AGAIN!” he yelled. “Time to drown the lot of you and pull out the plants, now that you’ve ruined them! I’ll have to plant anew...” Then he saw Nadaba. “Were you looking for some crops? If so, I have some bad news...”

     “Well,” began Nadaba, “I came looking for something else.” She explained why she needed the Slorg slime.

     “Take it ALL! Please HELP me clean up the mess that these horrible monsters made!”

     “Well, I don’t have much time, but I’d love to get a bottle of Slorg slime for that potion.”

     “Go ahead!” She filled the bottle with Slorg slime and walked back to Magon’s house.

     When she returned to the wizard’s house, he had fallen back asleep. “Wake up, sleepyhead!” she yelled. “I have the ingredients that you requested!”

     Magon opened his eyes and rolled out of bed. “Put them in that cauldron over there.” Nadaba added the ingredients, and then Magon added boiling water and started stirring. He said a few magical words, and a flash of light consumed the area. Sure enough, there was an emerald-hued potion in the bottom of the cauldron.

     “Drink up! You want to get back, don’t you?”

     Nadaba drank the potion and disappeared into thin air again. She traveled through another invisible portal, and ended back up in the library, in her seat next to the Neopets playing board games.

     “You’re back!” cheered the Aisha. “Tell us what you experienced while you were gone.”

     Nadaba told her story to a fascinated audience, who was skeptical, but found the story interesting nevertheless. “You are very lucky,” the Gelert told her. “I told you not to roll that die.”

     Just then, a bell rang at the librarian’s desk. “Closing time!” announced the librarian. “It’s getting late!”

     Nadaba looked out the window, and sure enough, it was pitch black outside. Everyone left the library, and she walked home. When she arrived, she found Florezca asleep on the couch.

     “Whatever...” snickered Nadaba... “It’s time to play COMPUTER games all night, whether she likes it or NOT!”

           The End.