New Adventure

Calm waves wiped the side of a proud ship, temporarily covering the words "New Adventure" - the ship's name. A strong breeze blew from the south, making the ship bounce lightly across the wide ocean. A warm smile greeted the wind, across a face of joy and youth. The dark brown Techo gazed out to sea, over the distance he had already travelled. He had come a lot further than any had expected. For you see, this was no ordinary voyage. This was a voyage to find the mythical land of Jelly World.

     The Techo sighed. How far away they were from their loved ones. Would they ever see them again? How much longer would their luck last, and the fine weather stays? Would they ever make it? No, he mustn't think those gloomy thoughts. He didn't become captain of this ship for nothing, and his men had joined him with open hearts. They would find there way, he was sure of it. And they would bring back proof of this wondrous land. But if they didn't, oh what a laughing stock they would be. The Captain let his thoughts drift back to the disastrous day they had set sail:

     It was a fine day, and all seemed well. The crew were in high spirits, and they had provisions to last them 3 weeks at sea. The only damper that they had was the public's response to their mission.

     When the word spread that there was ship sailing in the hope of finding Jelly World, a large group assembled to see them off. But they were not a welcome sight to the crew, as the crowd had become a mob, and they had many rotten vegetables to throw at them. They jeered and roared and said that they were all fools to embark on such a silly voyage. Granted, there were a select few that farewelled them cheerfully, with hurrahs and good lucks. But over all, the mood was dark, and the crew set sail with heavy hearts.

     A cold drip on the Captain's face sent him back to reality. Above him raging black clouds swirled, and the wind smelt of rain and storm. The Captain frowned: their luck had run out.

     "Storm! Storm! All hands on deck! Man the pumps!" cried the Captain as the first strike of lightning fell. The raging sea flashed an eerie white, stunning the Captain, as he had never before seen a more fierce looking sea. The wind howled a piercing tune, lashing at the ship's sails and threatening to rip them. Wave after merciless wave pounded the deck. At times it looked like there was just a mast poking out of the sea.

     The storm raged on for another night and a day, then at last the sun showed its face, and the storm was expelled. But it had not left without leaving the crew with a few very unpleasant reminders: there was water in the lower levels of the ship that would need to be pumped out quickly. In the midst of the night the storm was so brutal that the crew had feared that the ship would sink, so they threw many things overboard in an attempt to lighten the ship's load. But by far the worst feat the storm had accomplished was to turn the ship's sails to shreds, so that the once proud ship was left looking like a ghost ship. They would have replaced them with spares, but they were one of the things that had been thrown over board. Without their sails they were left with very little hope. All thoughts of finding Jelly World had been abandoned, and they were left at the mercy of the sea to bring them to land.

    The Captain was left to his private quarters to mull over the events of the last few days. His youthful appearance was blurred by worry lines and wrinkles. His heart was heavy with grief: he blamed himself for sending his crew on this wild goose chase, and sending them to their doom. He cursed his foolishness: why hadn't he listened to the voice of reason? There were many who had tried to convince him to stay.

     He paced the room in anguish. Why set out on a journey so foolish and so silly that it was bound to fail? The answer was simple: because of a childhood dream. He had been enchanted by the possibility of a land made of jelly. He was so hooked on the idea that he struggled his way through the ranks and became a captain. After a few years of searching he found a crew ready to go with him on this journey.

     And what had it all come to? This: floating on the sea with very little hope of even finding land. The Captain stopped his pacing and stared out a window. The view that met his eyes was so calm and tranquil that his distressed feelings left him. The waves were like silky hills, the sky a shade of heavenly blue. The sight brought with it the urge to feel the wind on his face, and smell the sea air once again. And with this notion in his mind he left the confines of his room.

     As he stepped out onto the deck he heard a cry from the crows nest: "Land ahoy!" This exclamation was enough to send everyone's face towards the nearing land. The Captain ran to the front of the ship, and what he saw out to sea took his breath away. On the horizon, a great mass of land loomed, with one great towering mountain that had many curved sides. But this was not what had taken the Captain's breath away. Oh, no. For you see, this mountain was yellow, and on top of that it was also slightly transparent. A breeze picked up and everyone gasped at the sight: the mountain swayed with the wind.

     After seeing this sight nobody could deny that Jelly World was real. A few of the crew members fainted, but nobody seemed to be able to take their eyes of the jiggling mountain. As soon as they were close enough the Captain ordered a row boat to be sent ashore.

     The Captain sat in the front of the row boat and was first to climb ashore. His eyes were sparkling and he looked like a child that had been presented with a life time supply of candy. "It's real!" he exclaimed while scooping up a pile of jelly in his hands. A hysterical look came to his face. "It's all rea..."

     "Lily, what are you doing!" yelled a very firm, motherly looking green Zafara.

     A small blue Zafara looked up sadly at its mother's face. "Nothin'," she answered angelically.

     "That doesn't look like 'nothin'' to me!" Mother pointed her finger at the large mess in the kitchen. There were Neopet shaped chocolates and cookies littering the table and floor. Lily sat leaning over a bowl full of lemon jelly with a moat of milk around it. A decrepit looking empty bottle of Kau Kau Farm Milk, with a number of Neopet shaped chocolates and cookies placed on it, was floating in the milk moat. A single Dark Chocolate Techo was protruding from the top of the jelly pile.

     Lilly didn't answer and Mother took the silence as a guilty plea. "Bed. Now," she said sharply, with a stern don't-you-dare-argue-with-me look on her face.

     "Yes, Mother," replied Lily sulkily, and with a sad look and downcast face, headed for her room.

The End