Skipper, Loyale, and the newest member Diane had been sailing for one week
now, and still saw no sign of the pirate ship. They were starting their normal
routines, with Diane cooking, Skipper captaining, and Loyale doing laundry.
Skip and Loyale had been annoyed the first few days by Diane's constant bossy
attitude and prissiness. However, Diane adopted a more helpful and independent
perspective after a week or so. But as they were sailing along, a huge cloud
overshadowed their ship.
It was the cloud of Faerieland! They were slightly off course, but at Faerieland
they could rest, restock, and get directions. Skipper dropped anchor and flew
to the cloud to see what kind of place it was. He met a small Light Faerie named
Lumme, who guided him through the beautiful cloud city. Diane and Loyale were
brought up and sent to the Healing Springs first, where they met Skip and rejuvenated
themselves. Then they ate at the Faerie Food Store, and visited the Faerie Queen
herself to find out about Reylok. She told them this story:
"Hmm…Reylok used to be a beautiful faerie Lupe, but he had a different name
of course. I believe it was Taculee. Anyway, he was a faerie Lupe under the
care of a faerie guardian, as he had no owner. But one day he was captured by
an evil Dark Faerie, and was turned evil. He lost his wings and turned completely
black, and was sent to destroy all good things. After a while he got to like
his work and did not need to be forced to be a pirate, and then he began his
own solo crew. He has been a pirate under the name of Reylok for almost 6 years
now. Since then he has established a nasty reputation, but rumour has it that
he has a secret place on Krawk Island where he stays when he's not pirating.
It is a sad story, but he is now an evil NeoPet and must be stopped. But even
I have trouble finding him at times."
"That is such a sad story," said Diane, "but is there anything you can do to
help us, Faerie Queen?"
"Why, yes, there is. I have something that will help you conquer that black-hearted
Lupe once and for all…Cledis!"
A faerie appeared, and the Queen whispered instructions to him and he zoomed
off. The faerie reappeared a moment later, hauling away at a Fire Sword, with
three other faeries behind it carrying items as well.
"These will help you on your quest. This Fire Sword is for you, Skipper. Use
it well."
"Oh, thank you very much, your Majesty!"
"And this Wand of the Light Faerie is yours, Diane. I will instruct you in
its use later."
"It's beautiful, your Grace! Thank you!"
"And these other two, the Ubikiberry Bag and the Infinite Negg Bag, I will
lend to you for your journey. They will never run out, but please return the
items after you have achieved your goal."
With that, the Faerie Queen sent the items down to the ship, and taught Diane
and Skipper how to use their new weapons. They said farewell to the kind Queen,
and reluctantly left the haven in the sky to continue their search for Reylok
and Skipper's brother.
Skipper, Loyale, and Diane had left Faerieland and were headed towards Krawk
Island when a huge storm came up. Skip battened down the hatches and sent everyone
else below deck to wait it out. The storm blew the Whitewake off course,
and when the clouds parted they had landed near the Lost Desert.
Great, thought Skipper when he realised where they had landed, all we need
is another detour. But soon Skip found out that it was fortunate that they stopped
there.
Everyone went into the desert city of Sakhmet to take a break from sailing.
Skipper was shopping at the Food Stall, Loyale was looking at the strange Desert
PetPets, and Diane was playing Fruit Machine and Solitaire. Then they met up
at Coltzan's Shrine to pray that Skipper's brother is all right. It seems that
Coltzan was listening since Loyale found a Dubloon in the sand. This gave Skip
an idea.
Skipper dressed himself up as a native and went around asking people if they
had lost a Dubloon in the sand. A shifty-looking, scruffy Kyrii claimed the
money. Skip immediately cast off his disguise and asked the pirate Kyrii if
he knew where Reylok was. This Kyrii was in fact a member of Reylok's crew,
and Reylok was in the great city of Sakhmet, but he kept his mouth shut. Skip
left the Kyrii, but Diane followed him secretly to his ship.
After a few hours Skipper and Loyale were worried. They hurried to the shoreline
and found Diane lying unconscious.
"Diane! Can you hear me? Wake up! What happened to you?"
"Unnh. I followed that Kyrii down here, and he was part of Reylok's crew. He
was here the whole time. The Kyrii was talking about it to his buddy, but they
found me. I fought them off and they left, but I didn't have the strength to
go back. I'm so sorry, Skip."
"It's okay. We're glad you're still with us. Here, drink some of these potions,
and you'll feel better in no time."
Skipper felt terrible about what happened to Diane. He shouldn't have let her
go alone. And he felt angry with himself that Reylok was around him the entire
day, and he didn't even notice. Well, he thought, tomorrow is a new day. I will
find him soon, I know it.
***
Diane had recovered from her encounter at the Lost Desert, and Skipper was
as determined as ever to find his brother. They were back on their way to Krawk
Island.
"Mweep!"
The land ho signal! They had finally arrived at Krawk Island, after all of
their adventures and hardships. But while they anchored into the harbour, Reylok
was in a tavern with some new guests…
To be continued... | 
