Treasures of the Desert

     "I beg your pardon?"

     "I said 'no'."

     Early summer in the Lost Desert enclave of Sakhmet could be a rather fraught affair for those unlucky enough not to be lounging by the poolside of the city's only five-star hotel, the Oasis Springs. Sheltered from both the prevailing wind, which had a habit of gusting in sand from the dunes that surrounded the city, as well as any direct sunlight, thanks to the clever architectural design of the compound and a plethora of parasols, guests could get a taste of Lost Desert life without the actual taste of the sands. The air remained cool and crisp, with tourists and staff alike congregating around the turquoise waters that twinkled ever so in the ambient light. Perfect for a certain Orange Grundo. Not so his Captain.

     Stretched out on a golden sun lounger that faced the gently lapping waters of the pool, Qlydae Wegg may have been dressed for swimming in a fetching pair of purple trunks, but he was going nowhere this afternoon. Out Of This World Tours, one of Team Kreludor's chief sponsors, funded an all-expenses-paid team bonding trip every year and in Y22 Jurin T. had picked his old stomping grounds of the Lost Desert. And as far as Wegg was concerned, this was his idea of team bonding. Derlyn Fonnet had a different take. "When Jay chose the Lost Desert, he chose the Lost Desert. Not this!" the Purple Gnorbu gestured, waving both her arms before placing them on her hips, "He has a trip outside the City Walls planned, and we are all going."

     Wegg wasn't. He was taking a stand. Or at least sitting up. "I am not leaving this lounger," he announced defiantly, before crossing his own arms. And it wasn't just because Derlyn had brought a full Jake the Explorer-style outfit whilst he had only packed his swimming gear. "The last time me and Kev came to the Lost Desert, we got so sunburnt that I ended up covered head to toe in purple freckles! It took WEEKS for them to finally shift!!" Reaching for a pair of sunglasses that lay below his perch's matching parasol, the left forward placed them on his face before lying back down, "I am staying right here where it is safe."

     Derlyn wrinkled her spotted nose.

     "What's wrong with having freckles?"

     The Orange Grundo froze. That had come out wrong.

     "Nothing... nothing at all!" he laughed, sheepishly, "... They just don't really, you know, suit my eyes."

     The Purple Gnorbu shook her head. Even though that was admittedly true.

     "Pay no heed to that scallywag, Capt'n!" bounded over Ealyn Hawkshanks, the Pirate Quiggle weaving his way through the sun loungers and tourists with an incongruously large shovel in one of his webbed hands. It still had some moon-soil on its tip from the last time he had been out treasure hunting on Kreludor's surface. Arriving clad in his own explorer-style outfit, the centre forward at least was excited about what lay ahead. "If he 'as lost 'is sense of adventure, then that be 'is problem, not ours," he remarked pointedly as Wegg rolled his eyes. Despite its riches, Ealyn had never been to the Lost Desert before - something the Grundo was fully aware of. "Where be 'is partner in crime? Maybe he still 'as some fight in 'im!"

     Wegg wrinkled his nose. He and Zenor Kevix weren't exactly joined at the hip after all. Although, more often than not, where one was, the other tended to follow. Reaching out with one of his arms, he pointed his forefinger behind both Derlyn and Ealyn. Turning around, the teammates couldn't see their missing comrade poolside. Shaking his head, the left forward corrected them, "Up there." Craning their necks upwards, they spotted the Blue Grundo. Atop the high dive. The Pirate Quiggle was quite impressed, not having thought his friend had it in him. His Captain was more wary. She knew what was coming next.

     "GORMBALL!" Kevix shouted at the top of his lungs.

     Before cannonballing straight into the pool from his great height.

     Predictably, a large wave engulfed any poor pet that happened to be standing too close to the edge of the water at that precise moment. Including Derlyn and Ealyn. Not that Kevix cared one iota. Swimming back up to the surface of the pool, the Blue Grundo bobbed along quite happily atop its waves laughing heartily to himself. He wouldn't be for much longer when the irate lifeguard caught up with him. Soaked completely through, the Purple Gnorbu peeled her deep orange mane from her freckled face before ringing it out as tightly as she could. The lifeguard was welcome to her teammate as far as she was concerned. Her pirate companion was more in his element, however, completely unfazed by the situation and frankly wanting a go himself.

     Walking in on the chaotic scene of equally furious guests and staff trying to fish his friend from the turquoise waters that lay now only mostly in the pool, Jurin T. wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Dressed in a billowing white robe far more apt for what he had planned than what his companions had chosen, the Red Ruki waded through the puddles to reach his comrades. Despite everything, a perfectly dry Wegg was staying put. For as long as there was a show to watch poolside, anyway. The goalkeeper turned to his drenched defender and noted, "Don't worry, you'll dry off quite quickly outside." After receiving one of Derlyn's classic withering looks, he quickly moved on, "I guess we should get going."

     "I'm more concerned they won't let us back in."

     -----

     To the south of the imposing sandstone City Walls of Sakhmet, the ever-shifting golden dunes of the Lost Desert lay in wait for any intrepid voyager who dared to leave the shadow of the settlement. High above in the cloudless sky, the sun had been shining unimpeded throughout the day and had sent temperatures above the sands soaring to those usually seen later in the season. It was now though on a downward trajectory, so both the air and grains under paw were slightly more manageable. With a gentle wind blowing from the river delta, the atmosphere was less hazy and perfect for any seasoned explorer to grapple with. Locals would usually wait a little later in the day to start their travels, but others were slightly more eager.

     Clambering up the side of a particularly steep sand dune with a large wooden staff in one of his hands, it was now Jurin's turn to be in his element. As he had throughout his youth, the Red Ruki managed the feat with remarkable ease before pausing to take in the view. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, it had been a long time since he had been surrounded by the vastness of the desert, and he planned on relishing every moment of it. At the bottom of the sand dune, though, his teammates were not enjoying themselves to the same degree. Ealyn had had enough. Weighed down by a mighty rucksack, the Pirate Quiggle fell to his knees before complaining loudly to his Captain, "This is worse than the time you took us hikin' in Shenkuu!"

     Fanning herself with her fedora, Derlyn was slightly hurt but tried not to show it. She had thought everypet had enjoyed their last team bonding jaunt. Placing her hat back on her head, the Purple Gnorbu took off her own rucksack before delving inside. Passing a bottle of water to her parched comrade as she slung her bag back over her shoulder, she couldn't help but mutter, "For Mira's sake, I told you to bring plenty of water." Glugging it down before wiping his brow with his black bandana, her friend quickly felt better. His Captain wasn't finished, though. "Last time I checked, you were more excited to come here than Jay was."

     "Aye, that be true," the centre forward conceded before getting back onto his feet, "but that be the Ruki's fault!" Derlyn raised an eyebrow before sliding the empty bottle back into her rucksack. "He kept telling me these tales of the Desert, the treasures that you could find just lying about... just below the sands! And not your mere gold either, no, you get plenty of that on Krawk Island. Jewels that actually fell from the sky! He had me 'ooked... 'ooked, line and sinker." The Pirate Quiggle shook his head in disgust. The Purple Gnorbu, meanwhile, had a bad feeling she knew where this was going.

     Regardless, this was Jurin's day, and she was just going to go along with it. Having gained a second wind, the defender ran up the sand dune with all of her might... and made it about two-thirds. Just before Derlyn fell backwards to the desert floor, her goalkeeper grabbed her by the paw and pulled her atop the golden hill. Before she could thank him for the save, the Purple Gnorbu caught the view. With the haze dissipating, the horizon stretched forth in every direction. The Gebmids, Sakhmet, Qasala, it was a breathtaking sight. As much as he loved Kreludor, she could see why Jurin missed the Lost Desert at times. The tranquillity was short-lived. "Please don't tell me we did all this for a view!" grumbled Ealyn, crawling his way to his friends' sides.

     "No, no," the Red Ruki laughed, "did you bring the gizmo like I asked?" Having just regained his breath, Ealyn stood up and dumped his rucksack onto the sands. Reaching inside, he pulled out a Metal Detector he had blagged from Kevix before they had left Kreludor for Neopia. Jurin's eyes lit up. "We're going to use it to go Meteorite Hunting!" His Captain just looked perplexed. "Me and my friends used to go meteorite hunting in the desert all the time when we were on our parents' caravans," he explained, "You don't get many rocks in the dunes, so they're easy to spot when they're on the surface. The rarer ones are made of metal and tend to sink as they're heavier, so I figured this would be a fun little game we could play. You know, for team bonding."

     Derlyn was impressed.

     Elsewhere, Ealyn had already run off with the Metal Detector.

     Skipping across the tops of the sand dunes, the Pirate Quiggle had certainly found his own second wind. Listening to the bleeps of the detector, it wasn't long before he stumbled upon a particularly loud noise. Stopping instantly in his tracks, the treasure hunter enthusiastically called out for his teammates to come over. They eventually caught up. Before the Purple Gnorbu could chastise him for running off in the middle of nowhere, her friend was busy pulling the very large shovel from earlier on from his rucksack. Which explained why he hadn't brought any water. Plunging it into the desert sands, it took but two scoops to reveal what Ealyn had been so eagerly searching for.

     He paused.

     Revealed from beneath the golden grains was a grey-hued meteorite about the size of the centre forward's hand. Vaguely reminiscent of a potato, in both overall shape and scattered dimples. Jurin was thrilled - it was the biggest space rock he had ever seen anypet discover in the desert! His teammate wasn't so impressed. Slumping back to his knees, Ealyn couldn't believe he had been taken in like that. "Are you kiddin' me?!" he exclaimed in fury, taking the goalkeeper by surprise. "It's... it's..."

     "A meteorite," finished Derlyn before her comrade could say something he might later regret. She could tell that he had already managed to hurt the Ruki's feelings, the delight from his face having been quickly replaced by a gentle melancholia. She wasn't going to let his exhaustion make things worse. Picking the space rock up with both of her paws and putting it into her own rucksack, the Gnorbu was surprised by the weight of it. It really was quite something, and she was sure Ealyn would think so when he wasn't so dehydrated. Never take Quiggles to the desert. Disheartened, Jurin started to retrace his steps. "I'm not sure what you were expecting, mate," she advised her pirate before helping him back onto his feet, "We have plenty of meteorites back on Kreludor."

     "I dunno," Ealyn sighed, "... maybe something a bit more... shiny."

     -----

     Nightfall on the wrong side of the outer perimeter of the city of Sakhmet was a world away from the luxuries of the Oasis Springs or any of the other establishments that existed to cater to the whims of visitors to the Lost Desert. The warmth that radiated from the desert sands quickly faded as the sun dipped below the horizon, the evening air possessing an icy grip that could catch the unprepared off guard. Bandits were known to roam these parts, more than happy to take advantage of any ill-fated guest who had been kicked out of their five-star accommodation for being too rambunctious poolside. Thankfully though, the Cybunny who ran the Emergency Supplies stall in the Marketplace was known to take pity on such strangers.

     A moderately-sized marquee-style tent that lay just to the side of the sandstone City Walls was the new base for Team Kreludor's team bonding trip. As Derlyn had feared, their bags had been packed for them by the time the trio had arrived back at the hotel, and now the Yooyuball Players were just waiting for their Spaceship to pick them up the following morning. That was sure to be a sight for any of the local nomads. With any luck, no one from Team Lost Desert had heard about their misadventure, or they would never live it down. Under the starlight, the team found themselves sat around a small campfire that Kevix had managed to get going using a Laser Gun that he probably shouldn't have brought but ho hum. The team bar Jurin, who was putting the finishing touches to their sleeping quarters.

     By the time the Red Ruki came over, only Derlyn hadn't snoozed off by the light of the flames. Sitting on the small upturned palm trunk next to his Captain, the goalkeeper's mood hadn't particularly improved since their great desert race. It wasn't what Ealyn had said to him that had hurt, it was more the idea that he had wasted everypets' time with this jaunt. "I know it's dumb..." Jurin mumbled halfly to himself, "...but when I was a kid, these meteorites meant a lot to me. Here I was, a nomad in the middle of the desert, and I was finding stuff that came from space. Space! I didn't know pets could go to space, and I certainly never thought I would. It was amazing watching them streak across the sky and then finding them. It just... used to blow my mind."

     Derlyn smiled before softly punching the top of her friend's arm. "It's not dumb."

     Jurin smiled back. "Yeah, it is," he laughed self-deprecatingly, "But it's fine." He shook his head before watching the flames dance on the crackling wood. "Honestly, everything that has happened since blows my mind more. I mean... if I hadn't been scouted just playing with my mates in the Marketplace, I wouldn't have ended up playing in the Leagues in Neopia Central. And if I hadn't ended up in Neopia Central, I wouldn't have met you. And if I hadn't of met you, you wouldn't have blagged me a place on Team Kreludor! And then I wouldn't have ended up in space, so yeah. It doesn't matter how many times I think about it, I just can't get my head around how everything ended up turning out. All I know is I owe you for at least some of it. So, I'm sorry about-"

     "Oh please," his Captain interrupted, wrinkling her freckled nose at all of this... sentiment. "You don't owe me anything, Jurin. Certainly not an apology." Shaking her head in feigned disgust, she continued, "If you owe anypet anything, it's the Resistance for recruiting Xila Kitae. I didn't blag you anything - you're the best goalkeeper Team Kreludor could recruit. Whether our scouts had only ever heard of you because I put your name forward and I knew you were space-mad is, frankly, irrelevant." The goalkeeper could only laugh at both her retort and its accompanying over-the-top shrug.

     Surprised by the laugh, Ealyn sat up in a daze before rubbing the sand out of his eyes. One of the problems with falling asleep in the desert. Half-expecting the sun to be in the sky, the Pirate Quiggle looked upwards but was in line for another sight. With a gasp, he announced, "Shootin' Stars dead ahead, Capt'n!" The twin Grundo terrors awoke with the announcement, looking to the sky with the rest of the team. The centre forward was not wrong. Streaking across the vast expanse above, a meteor shower was in full flow. Trail after trail, across the starry sky. Finally, something shiny for Ealyn.

     "Amazin'... that 'ere be the real treasure of the desert."