The Ill-Starred Blumaroo: Part Two

by scriptfox

I left the Haunted Woods in a thoughtful mood. There had been three reasons I'd gone there. Something about their reputation made the woods a magnet for any young NeoPet looking for adventure. The Brain Tree had been known (or suspected) in my experience of "eating" the unwary, and if not that it might have at least served as a good information source. All good reasons, none of which worked. Where to go next? Schnitzel hadn't had that much time to get away, and he hadn't had any money to speak of with him--not if what his owner had told me was right. So, where would a young Blumaroo without much money go?

It was then that I thought of the Blumaroo settlement on Terror Mountain. They were actively recruiting Blumaroos, in fact, and it wouldn't have taken much for Schnitzel to have someone show him his best future as a new member of the Mountain Blues. Another batch of Neopoints got me transported up to Terror Mountain... a trip that would've been free for young Schnitzel if he'd come across a recruiter.

I paused to take a deep breath of the cool, crisp air- cool even in this hot summer down in the lowlands. After coughing a bit when it hit my lungs, I headed for the Blues' village. Sure enough, there were Blumaroos everywhere, chittering, chattering, whistling, and bouncing around on those spring-like tails as they went about their business or play. My gold coat and wings made me a perfect target for some hooligan Roo kids, and a few snowballs just missed me. A frown and a wave of my horn in their direction sent them scampering, laughing themselves silly. Kids.

I went to the recruiting company headquarters, showed them the picture of Schnitzel, and got a blank no. No one had seen him. No one had seen anyone like him. They agreed to contact me if they came across him, although they got a bit defensive when I pressed it. It was almost as if they had a guilty conscience about whether or not the kids (and adults?) they brought in were truly all willing volunteers. Since that wasn't part of my case, I let it go.

Leaving the village, I headed over to the Ice Caves. I debated briefly on whether to try a scratchcard at the kiosk there, but decided that Dot wouldn't part with five hundred Neopoints for that unless I did a better job of covering it in the expense account. This wasn't really a lucrative case, but it would do to keep me in apples and chocolate for a while. Heading into the caves, I confidently climbed down into a crevasse which still showed recent signs of activity. There was a huge pile of brush around the far side which I pushed through, to find myself on the other side of the mountains. Not much rain here, what with the winds coming along Terror Mountain behind me--it dropped all its snow and ice there and left this place high and dry--literally.

I strolled on into Tyrannia, reliving past memories. I'd served in the Tyrannian army in the intelligence division. All NeoPets have a trace of magic, and I have more skill and knowledge than most. It had come in very handy in the way of covert operations. Details are still classified and, in fact, if you look up my service record you won't find anything much more than enlistment and discharge dates. It was not long after I left that I had been changed to gold... a nice way of avoiding possible repercussions from defeated enemies. Despite what most NeoPets like to believe, the Monoceraptor and his cohorts weren't all destroyed, just driven off. Their invasion may have failed, but their land still existed far beyond the known borders. Whether they came back or not was a matter of enough concern to keep the Tyrannian military in existence, and keep a few old friends of mine on active duty, even if active duty now consisted mostly of drilling or paperwork. It was to one such friend that I went now.

I found him sitting back in his chai, fortunately of stone, considering his bulk and active tendencies, his eyes staring towards the ceiling in that blank expression that I knew from experience meant he was juggling more variables in his head than most people could even write out, let alone remember or calculate. He still had the old two-tone olive coat that I had told him was passe, and his long curling tusks shone that stained yellowish ivory that made some ignorant people think he was just old, instead of being the result of long and expert use.

I cleared my throat lightly and he casually swung his gaze down to me. "Ahhh... young MonoKeras," Sabre-X said.

I grinned. "Who else? Solved the problem of getting the army out of debt yet?"

He barked in laughter. "I leave that sort of worrying to Kyruggi. Maybe you were volunteering to help her?"

"No way! I already made my contribution towards that project. If you're still storing your payroll codestones in something as insecure as hide bags, it's not my fault."

"Hah. Not likely! I must say, that was a bad fix we were in until you found them.... hmmm.... let me guess. You want our help on a case." One sharp cookie, Sabre-X. No wonder he was head of the strategic war division. (Although I suspected his peacetime duties of omelette supervision were just as demanding.)

I shrugged. "Actually, yes, although it's no big deal. Here.." I passed him another copy of Schnitzel's picture. I had given out almost half already today, and Dot had given me a large sheaf of them. "Short version: he's lost, and I'm hunting him."

A quick look satisfied Sabre-X, if not me, as he replied "Nope, haven't seen him."

I pulled my lips back in a rueful grimace. "You and everyone else in Neopia. Owners above..." I sighed and wiggled my hind hooves in relief at sitting down. "I've covered too many miles today already."

"Don't tell me the great scout is getting soft."

"No, just civilised. Besides, my scouting involved more mental work than physical, if you'll recall."

A shudder rippled under Sabre's powerful shoulders. "I don't want to. I left you to do all that mumbo-jumbo. Frankly, it gives me the creeps. Give me an honest knife any day to that consorting with Faeries and other creatures that go bump in the night."

Naturally enough, that led us into reminiscing about the good old days, although they were only a few months past. So much had happened since then that it seemed like a couple of years. It was an hour or so later that I regretfully said good-bye and headed back towards central Neopia. On my way back, I decided to drop by Faerieland. That was another storied place that was a highlight of any young NeoPet's dreams and fancies. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try yet another place looking for that master of concealment Schnitzel.

As I waited to catch the magic lift up to the Faerie cloud, I made another mental note to tell my owner again that we needed to get a couple more air Faeries for blessings... a Uni without the ability to fly is silly. It wasn't like he didn't have the points, either, but persuading him to part with them was something else again. Probably why he had them in the first place, I mused, as I got on the lift and watched the ground drop away.

I stepped out onto the magical cloud and felt my hair and wing feathers lift and twist in the magical charge floating through the air. It was a good thing I hadn't brought Sun Pegasus. That PetPet would have been snarling and spitting just because of the magic, let alone what anyone else would have done to him. I looked around, wondering what would attract the attention of a young Blumaroo off to see the world for the first time.

The whirling colours of the Wheel of Excitement seemed a good place to start, but the Air Faerie there was quite insistent she hadn't seen him. I promised myself a diet and plunked down the Neopoints for a spin on the wheel. The mental promise was forgotten when I managed to handily double my stake before leaving. The Faerie colouring game was next, but with no better results- and no quick Neopoints to be made, either. Same story no matter where I checked. Even the librarian Faerie couldn't help me- although she did add that she'd never seen any starry Blumaroos come into the bookshop, and in fact not that many Blumaroos at all came in the first place. I supposed that was helpful, though I couldn't see how. This blank look routine was starting to get on my nerves.

I stepped out of the bookshop and realised that there weren't many other NeoPets left roaming around- the place was turning into a dizzying light show as the various Faeries' magics began to glow in the fading light. No one got to stay in Faerieland overnight- not if they wanted to get back safe again. Granted, I knew better than most what happened after dark and how to handle it, but I wasn't in the mood to push my luck today. You just didn't do that unless you really needed to. I headed back to my office.

Plunking down with a sigh in my old chair, I spent some time tallying up all of my travel expenses and time on the case, then put it back in a folder and looked through my mail. I was just getting involved in a request from a Nimmo who lived near the Water Battledome when the door opened and Dot came in.

"Good evening, Miss Argent."

"Oh, Mr. Monokeras! Please tell me you have good news about my poor darling Schnitzel?"

"Only if you believe the old saying that no news is good news. I've hunted half of Neopia today with no word at all."

"Oh dear." Her light blue eyes jeweled with tears. "Did you at least give out those pictures I gave you? Maybe someone will see him!"

"Yes, of course. Pretty much standard procedure in a case like this. It wouldn't be the first time that a crucial lead came in as the result of a picture or mass contact that I would barely even remember making."

Dot nodded as if she understood every word, but I wasn't sure she was even paying full attention. She started looking through her purse before sighing. "Oh, no. I left my shopping list at home. Could I use your terminal for a second? Maybe I can contact Korrell and see if he can't tell me what we needed."

"Of course, help yourself." I pushed the keyboard over to her and went back to my mail. The Nimmo lived on some land that the Water Battledome was looking to annex. Not content with their underwater arena in Maraqua, they were looking to expand above the water level, into the swamps. The Nimmo didn't want to be evicted (no surprise there) and had refused all offers of payment. The legal action they were threatening to bring had made him, if anything, even more determined not to give up the place where he'd lived all of his adult life. Now he was asking me for help. I was musing over what sort of help that might be when I heard a gasp. I looked up to see Dot, her eyes wide in shock, and one hand holding splayed fingers over her open mouth as it shook slightly. (Her hand, not her mouth- although her lips were looking none too steady either.)

"No!" she said in a half-gasp, half-moan. "Mr. Monokeras, look what some horrible person Neomailed me!"

I grabbed the screen and twisted it back around so I could see it. I read the short message and a cold knot formed in my stomach. So far, this case had been a fairly routine matter, exceptional only in how much shoe iron I wore off. Now it had turned nasty. For there, written in all caps, was the message:

IF YOU VALUE YOUR STARRY BLUMAROO LEAVE WON HUNDRED THOUSAND NP BEHIND THE MAGIC SHOP BY TOMORROW MIDNITE IF YOU DONT WE WILL PEEL OFF YURE PRECIOUS SHNITZELS STARS AND SEND THEM TO YOU ONE BY ONE

To be continued...