Who Let the Slorgs Out? by froopse
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Slorgs, mischievous and rather slimy petpets, small and – wait, did you hear that?! – cuddly. Yes, cuddly. Ancient Geraptiku natives considered the large yellow blobs on a Slorg’s green pelt (or should I say, skin?) to be 100% caressable. In this case, not many Neopians caress their Slorgs like they should, right? Wrong -- No, I mean... Now that we know that they are safe to caress like -- No, you are wrong. Even though there are many kind, even generous Slorgs (like Mr Slopenlogger from the Shop of Offers), Slorgs have evil backgrounds that TNT strives to hide from us all.Fortunately – or maybe, unfortunately – they seem to have felt over-excited on this year’s Slorg Day. Slorg Day is held every year, on the 3rd Day of Storing. Why is there a Slorg Day and not a Miamouse Day, you ask? Well, for most obvious reasons, this special day was created in order to calm down aggressive Slorgs and stop them from spreading rumors about their evilness. How could you possibly not have figured that out? Anyway, back to business: Slorgs successfully managed to free themselves from their pets this year, and joined in to raid Quinton the Quiggle’s vegetable patch. Who IS Quinton the Quiggle, anyway? Quinton is the Health Food Shop’s shopkeeper. According to the Neopedia: “Quinton grew most of his shop's items (such as carrots, pears, and broccoli) in his own garden. Once a week a traveling salesman named Dervinn would stop by and offer Quinton a bargain on rarer items like medicinal plants and asparagus. After much thought, Quinton decided that instead of relying on Dervinn for his rare items, from now he'd pack a lunch and go off in search of his own exotic foods. After a few weeks, he felt confident enough to go looking for that rarest of health foods, the golden carrot.” The golden carrot? And what should that be? That, my friend, is what I’ve been devoting my leisure time to find out. The rest of Quinton’s tale in the Neopia mentions that his trip in search of the golden carrot took him to Kiko Lake. Dervinn had been to Kiko Lake in one of his many expeditions, and had seen one or two awkward-looking carrots in small caves by the lake. Quinton lost no time pondering or making plans. However, as soon as he arrived, he realized that he had forgotten to bring a bottle of water. His next adventures were only minor details, in which he was almost eaten by a Jetsam by the lake (attempting to gulp down some water, obviously), and later on had to escape rumbling rocks that detached themselves from the hilltop and were threatening to squash him. Anyway, it was nothing for us to worry about. Just a few obstacles... Nothing extraordinary.The fact is that he, indeed, managed to reach the caves where the golden carrot was hidden. We know nothing of what happened later on to Quinton or to the golden carrot, as a matter of fact. Did he keep it to himself? Did he eat it? Did he sell it? As Quinton refused to answer these questions after the unfortunate raid, I was forced to deduce this with my little knowledge of Quinton (purchased, mostly, on this Neopedia tale), and since no more had been heard of the carrot since, I suppose that Quinton kept it to himself in secret. This brings us back to our initial question. That is, why have the Slorgs raided Quinton’s vegetable patch? Maybe they were only hungry, but due to the number of Slorgs who participated, the whole act had probably been planned out carefully. You see, here is what exactly happened on this year’s Slorg Day: 8:00:00 AM – Many Slorgs were found out to be missing. 9:00:00 AM – Quinton the Quiggle woke up and made himself some breakfast. 10:00:00 AM – Half and hour before shops were opened, Quinton went outside to collect some fresh vegetables and saw that a few were missing. 10:45:00 AM – Quinton went out looking for the missing vegetables and forgot to open his shop. 11:30:00 AM – Quinton gave up on his search, but found a mysterious trail of slime that took him to the forest behind his shop. 12:00:00 PM – Following the trail closely, he reached a clearing where hundred of Slorgs were celebrating. 12:30:00 PM – Running back home, Quinton asked for help. Unfortunately, when Quinton came back to the clearing with help, the Slorgs were gone and the trails of slime each took him to a different direction. There were, though, bits of food left behind – the Slorgs had nibbled on some fruits, after all. Quinton’s tale didn’t convince me, though. I knew that something else happened between 10:00:00 AM and 10:45:00 AM, but he wasn’t willing to tell me. I suppose that he went into his store, and opened his locked cupboard – which customers say he never opened. Evidence is that Quinton left the key inside the keyhole after he checked the cupboard. It was, however, empty. Quinton sounded a lot more alarmed after 10:45:00 AM, when he supposedly checked the cupboard. What was in it? The golden carrot, most probably. Did the Slorgs steal it? How? All of these questions have no answer, but the series of event show us evidence of the Slorgs’ evil background. It was Slorg Day, after all, and they were caught celebrating.
Nevertheless, there is no actual proof that the Slorgs were after the golden carrot (a rare and powerful artifact!), but it is highly recommended that, if you (like myself, for instance!) are the owner of a Slorg, you keep a close watch on it for the next couple of days. Be sure to report instantly if you observe any unusual behavior.
Also, for next year’s Slorg Day, be prepared with a new Slorg Leash! They are still not available, since TNT is having a hard time releasing them (are Slorgs pressuring them too hard?). Anyway, keep your eyes open. Constant vigilance!
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