The Quest

     Rainclouds filled the sky at the Neopian marketplace. It hadn’t started raining yet, but there was no visible sunlight. Instead, there was a grey overcast making it a rather gloomy day outside. Most Neopians were quick to stay inside, waiting for nicer weather before venturing outside. But not Nami and Cat.

     Nami and her owner, Cat, were determined not to let the weather put a damper on their day. Nami was a mischievous blue Lutari who was created by Cat just a few months earlier. She loved shopping and often accompanied Cat to the marketplace. They had big plans to restock their shop which was in desperate need of more inventory. Their shop was starting to become full of rubbish from their dailies with the occasional oddity or toy that attracted new customers. The toys and oddities sold rather quickly while the rest of the items gathered dust on the shelves. Today was half price day, so there were amazing deals everywhere. This day only came about once a month and so it was vital that they purchase as many items as possible.

     Nami wandered aimlessly through the Plushie Palace store, looking over their selection. She remembered when a collection of this size had seemed so vast and she had begged her owner to buy her one! Cat was reluctant until they passed a Blue Lutari plushie, and she could no longer resist. Cat ended up buying Nami the plushie replica of herself. Nami smiled at these memories. It wasn’t long after this that Cat started her plushie gallery.

     Nami pulled herself from that memory and looked over towards the front of the store. Cat was still busy haggling with the store owner over some plushies. Most of these plushies were overpriced, but you could find the occasional deal, especially on days like today when all owners lowered their starting prices by 50%. Nami continued to browse the shelves.

     “Nami!” Cat motioned for them to leave. It appeared she was done haggling with the shop owner and had managed to buy out much of the store. Nami saw that she was overloaded with plushies. They were going to have to restock their shop immediately. There was no more room in their inventory for any more items.

     “Coming!” Nami walked over to meet up with Cat so they could leave.

     They left the store and began to head back to their shop when something mysterious happened. Grey clouds appeared out of nowhere blocking Nami and Cat’s path. Atop the clouds sat a rather sad looking creature dressed in grey rags. Her wings behind her looked as if they were broken. She was just sitting there looking disheartened as if all the happiness had been drained from her.

     “Would it be possible for you to find me a Cobrall?” She looked over at Nami and Cat and attempted to smile before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

     Nami looked over at Cat. “What was that about?”

     “I think we just picked up a Faerie Quest.” Cat looked just as confused as Nami.

     “Don’t faeries usually have wings?” Nami asked. When Nami visited Faerieland with Cat, she remembered seeing all sorts of faeries flying around. She had heard that sometimes they gave out quests, but she had never been on one herself. She had heard that the rewards for completing them were great though!

     “I believe that was Baelia, the Grey Faerie.” Cat looked a little sad as she spoke; “She lost her powers years ago when she was captured by a dark faerie who cruelly clipped her wings.”

     Nami could not believe what she was hearing. How could someone, even a dark faerie, be so cruel. “We have to help her Cat!” She had made up her mind.

     “I know Nami. We will find her a Cobrall, but first we need to at least drop off some of these plushies in our shop. We wouldn’t have room for a Cobrall in our inventory right now anyways.” Cat was inclined to help the faerie even before Nami had said anything. She wasn’t sure if they would be rewarded since Baelia had lost her powers, but it did not matter to her. Everyone deserved a helping hand when they needed it.

     The sky seemed to clear up a bit once the grey faerie vanished. Cat noticed the sun beginning to peek through the clouds. Nami and Cat walked back over to their store and dropped off several of the plushies. Cat kept a few for her gallery – she just couldn’t resist. While Cat priced the new inventory, Nami dusted the shelves. It only took them about 10 minutes to finish everything.

     The grey faerie was still on Nami’s mind. She just looked so sad. “Can we go find a Cobrall now Cat?”

     Cat finished setting down the last plushie. “Sure. Why don’t you start while I save these plushies in our Gallery? I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

     Nami rushed out of the shop towards the Shop Wizard. She figured it would be the quickest way to find the Cobrall. The Shop Wizard always knew where the best deals were. Plus, he was one of the kindest Neopians around. Nami was excited – this was going to be an easy quest. She might even be able to complete it before Cat finished setting up the gallery with their new plushies.

     The Shop Wizard was located inside a grand tent that resembled more of a wizard’s hat than anything else. The outside of the tent was a deep blue adorned with twinkling golden stars and moons all around. It towered over the other shops in the marketplace. Nami approached the massive tent in a flurry of excitement. When she tried to enter, however, she was immediately stopped.

     The Shop Wizard was blocking the entrance; “Oh dear. You’re working for a faerie. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you until you complete her quest. Ancient laws of magic and all that. Why don’t you journey to Mystery Island and ask the Trading Post? Someone might be offering the item there. If that’s too far, try the Auction House. It’s a bit of a circus, but they’ll sell just about anything interesting. You could also try walking around the marketplace. It’s not as fast as my magic, *sniff* but you could probably find it eventually.” He paused for a moment while he thought some more; “Oh! You should also visit the Boards and ask around. I’m told there’s an entire board dedicated to helping Neopians with quests.”

     Nami’s heart sank. This quest was going to be a lot more difficult than she had originally thought. She might as well browse the marketplace on her way back to Cat. They could decide their next course of action afterwards. There were a lot of shops in the marketplace, but because of the colder weather, not many were open. Nami refused to let this deter her though and immediately started walking back to Cat. She passed a few shops that carried a variety of petpets, but none of them carried a non-painted Cobrall. She found a Blue Cobrall in one shop, but this was the only one they had. How frustrating!

     It wasn’t long before Nami was back at the shop. Cat was waiting for her out front; “Hi Nami! Any luck?”

     Nami looked at Cat with annoyance; “Why do I get the feeling you already know the answer?”

     Cat just giggled; “Sorry, Nami. I figured you would have wanted to try asking the Shop Wizard first and I didn’t feel like walking back over there when I already know he can’t help.”

     “Why didn’t you just tell me?” Nami tried to hide the frustration in her voice.

     “Would you have believed me if I told you?” Cat was always quick with a response.

     Nami did not respond. She knew that Cat was right. She would have wanted to see for herself. Still, a heads up would have been nice. Nami conceded defeat with a sigh; “So how are we going to find a Cobrall?”

     “Let’s go to Quirky Aesthetic and see if anyone there can help us.” Cat always used any excuse to stop by the guild and chat.

     Nami and Cat were members of an ever-growing event guild called Quirky Aesthetic. Every month they visited new realms where they had to complete new challenges. Nami’s favourite realm to visit was Maraqua. Just the food from Kelp was enough to keep her coming back. She always finished her plate, so they never took home leftovers. For some reason, this always seemed to annoy Cat, but Nami didn’t care. The members were super friendly and helpful so Cat was sure they would give her a helping hand.

     Nami and Cat went over to the guild headquarters. From there it was simple to teleport into Quirky Aesthetic. Their leader, Kate, always had amazing layouts to match their monthly region. This month’s was no exception. Nami admired the layout while Cat walked over to the boards to see if anyone was around. It did not look promising yet. Usually, she passed members all over. Maybe the gloomy weather was keeping everyone away.

     Cat shouted into the boards; “Hey guys! The grey faerie has given me a quest to find a Cobrall. Can someone please help me?”

     And then she waited. Eventually, Nami joined her when she was done admiring the layout. Not even 5 minutes passed by before Cat noticed someone.

     “Sure! Here you go” Roz handed Cat a Cobrall.

     “Thanks so much!” Cat and Nami extended their gratitude before leaving to go fulfil Baelia’s quest.

     Nami was jumping up and down with excitement. “How do we find her Cat?”

     Cat stopped to think for a minute. Normally they would just head to Faerie city where they could go to the quest building. However, Baelia was never mentioned as one of the faeries that can grant quests there. This presented a bit of a problem. There was only one person Cat could think of who could help “Let’s go talk to the Shop Wizard.”

     By the time Cat and Nami got back to the shop wizard tent, rain was pouring down nearly flooding the marketplace which was nearly abandoned while rain hammered down, showering over all the shops. The shop wizard’s tent was flapping in the wind threatening to blow away any minute. They hurried inside the tent; grateful for any shelter from the storm raging outside.

     The Shop Wizard stopped them before they could get too far. “Oh, dear. You’re working for a faerie. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you until you complete her quest. Ancient laws of magic and all that..”

     Nami couldn’t stop herself from shivering as she interrupted him; “We have the item the faerie wanted, but we don’t know how to find her again. Can you help us with that please?”

     The Shop Wizard smiled; “Now that is a request I can help with.” He ushered them inside the tent towards a glowing portal; “Just step through here and you’ll be taken directly to the faerie whose quest you are on.”

     Nami and Cat thanked the Shop Wizard as they stepped through the portal. The shop wizard’s tent was morphed into a beautiful patio surrounded by whimsical pink and purple buildings. The clouds here were grey, but at least the rain wasn’t hammering down. Standing there to greet them was Baelia; “Goodness. You…actually found a Cobrall for me? But I’m a grey faerie…no one even notices that I exist most of the time.”

     Nami felt a twinge of sorrow at hearing this. She quickly handed the Cobrall to Baelia. “We aren’t like most Neopians.”

     Baelia smiled as she took the Cobrall; “Thank you for showing me kindness, fair Neopian. I’ll not forget your deed.” The smile faded as she continued; “I have no magic of my own to reward you with, so I’m asking for help from another faerie. Rainbow Fountain Faerie, come and bestow your blessing upon this Neopian! I cannot abide a debt that is not paid.”

     A new portal appeared next to Baelia. This one was infinitely more colourful than the one they had come through from the shop wizard’s tent. Baelia caught them staring at it and motioned for them to go through; “She will allow you to take a dip in the Rainbow Fountain.”

     Nami jumped up and down in glee. She had always wondered what it would be like to take a dip in the Rainbow Fountain! She ran up to Baelia, hugging and thanking her before stepping through the portal with Cat. Just like last time, the room began to morph. The patio began morphing into a beautiful pool of water. A rainbow of colours danced within – mesmerizing Cat and Nami.

     “Thank you for helping the Grey Faerie.” A beautiful mermaid-like faerie emerged from the pool; “As a reward, you can go into the fountain and select a great new colour! Any colour you want.”

     Nami was elated! There were so many wonderful colours to choose from. She looked up at Cat; “I think I know what colour I want to be.” Without hesitation, Nami dove into the Rainbow Fountain. The pool exploded into a melody of colours – surrounding Nami and transforming her. Her blue fur began to transition into beautiful pink and tan scales. She was transformed into a Maraquan Lutari! And this is how Nami was changed from boring Blue Lutari to magnificent Maraquan Lutari.