Samrin's Inspiration

     Samrin enjoyed the crisp winter air blowing gently across his face as he skated on the freshly shovelled ice. The frigid air was perfect for skating, making the ice surface hard and strong. He had spent the past half hour skating out some of his energy, freeing his mind. The fresh air and snow-covered landscape always put him in a great mood, and if he did not already have plans in place, he could probably spend the entire day outside.

     He sat down on an old bench he found at Meridell's Rubbage Dump. His friend Charlie, who managed the dump, informed him about the bench when he heard Samrin was looking for one to set up by his pond. Such was life on the farm. People help each other out whenever someone was in need of help. He was very fortunate to have good friends.

     A sound emerged from the nearby woods resembling a soft coo. Samrim scanned around him and saw nothing. The soft snow blanketed everything, covering even the sporadic tracks of wild Petpets, such as the Snowbunnies and Whinnies that frequented his farm.

     "The wind is making a funny noise today," he said to himself. Subtle white clouds of warm breath escaped his mouth as he loosened his skates. Oddly enough, it reminded him of the steam that would come off a hot cup of strongberry tea, which he was now craving. It would be a perfect way to continue the day; sipping on tea in his favourite armchair by the warm fireplace as he crafted in his mind the perfect story to submit to the Neopian Times.

     Writing stories was a favourite pastime of Samrin during the cold winter months. Oftentimes he had more ideas than he could jot down, and it was no different today. The problem he faced was choosing which idea to go with. The Neopian Times' 1000th issue was quickly approaching, and he desperately wanted to contribute. And writing a good story was not enough for Samrin. It had to be perfect.

     Unlike the rest of the year, winter was a time to relax. As soon as the snow melted away and Samrin let his Petpets roam free in the fields, keeping track of them was a full-time job. Especially on days when Balthazar made an appearance. Herding the Petpets back to the pen had its challenges, and more so when there was a predator around. But thankfully his Petpets were all locked away in the barn for the winter and Balthazar usually spent the winter months restocking and organizing his bottled faerie collection.

     Samrin eventually made his way inside his humble home, skates hung by the front door and his tea fresh and ready for sipping. He stoked the fire a bit before sitting in his cosy armchair. He did not take much more than a sip from his tea when he heard a tapping at his front window, followed by a soft coo.

     "It's that noise again," Samrin mused. He looked towards the front window and saw a White Weewoo cocking its head. It pecked at the window again. Samrin got out of his chair and opened the front door. He had never seen a Weewoo in Meridell before.

     "What are you doing out there, little one?" Samrin said, calling the bird over. The Weewoo cooed in response and hopped into the house.

     "You must be cold," Samrin said. He grabbed a small towel and held it over the fire to warm up, then placed it on one of the arms of the armchair.

     "You can rest here. It's nice and warm," Samrin said, picking up the Weewoo and placing it on the blanket. It made some happy clucking noises in return. Samrin sat down in the chair and chatted to it for a while until he realized the day was going by and he still did not know what he was going to write.

     "I don't mean to be rude, but I need to get back to my story," Samrin said. "Feel free to sit there. I don't mind the company." The Weewoo cooed some more, got up and hopped onto a leather-bound book on a small, wooden table next to the chair.

     "Yes, those are my ideas. The trouble is, I don't know which story to go with," Samrin said, then thought for a moment. "Maybe you can help me." Samrin brought the Weewoo back to its towel, picked up the book and started reading out loud a few of his ideas. The Weewoo clucked happily after each story as if applauding.

     "I'm glad you love my ideas, but I don't think you are helping me all that much," the Blue Kacheek said. "You seem to like all of my ideas and I only have time to write one story." Samrin scratched the back of the Weewoo's head to show his appreciation, but was interrupted by a scratch at the front door. He walked up to the door and opened it up a crack. A Babaa looked up at him, trembling. It beat and looked back in the direction of the barn.

     "How did you get out?" Samrin asked the Babaa. He was quite positive that he locked the barn door this morning after feeding all the Petpets. "Come with me, Belina." He grabbed his jacket and ran out to the barn. The Babaa followed, as did the Weewoo.

     Samrin did not have to get too close to notice that the large doors to the barn were wide open, though he could not see any other Petpets wandering around. From the doorway, a long trail meandered away from the barn in the direction of Meri Acres Farm. The trail consisted of a set of wide, deep footprints leading to and away from the barn, and something large and heavy being dragged away from the building.

     Samrin went pale upon the realization that the footprints were undoubtedly made by Balthazar, and the absence of his Petpets meant that Balthazar somehow managed to steal them.

     Large snowflakes began falling from the darkened sky. A storm was approaching. Samrin put Belina back in the barn with some fresh hay and looked down at the Weewoo.

     "It would probably be safer if you stay in here until I get back," Samrin said. The Weewoo hopped just out of Samrin's reach. Samrin pursed his lip a bit. He did not have time to convince the bird to stay, so he locked the door to the barn and followed the trail in the freshly packed-down snow. Although he asked to Weewoo not to follow, it chose not to listen.

     The wind picked up, causing the thickening snow to significantly reduce Samrin's ability to see the trail. The heavy snow slowly filled in the ground's imperfections and before long the path had completely disappeared. Uncertain about what to do or where to go, he decided to visit his friend, Charlie, at the Rubbish Dump. Charlie spent most of his time outside and there was a good chance he may have seen something.

     Charlie was sheltering from the storm in his workshop behind his house. The Rubbish Dump was still open, but it was never busy when the weather was bad. Samrin gave a light rap on the door as he entered, the Weewoo following quickly behind. The workshop was littered with junk and obscure contraptions Charlie had worked on from items and parts he salvaged from the dump. The dump was never very busy during the winter months, allowing him more time to tinker around with his inventions, which was a clear hobby of his.

     "Heya, Samrin! What'cha doing here? I figured with this weather you'd be snug at home by your fireplace," Charlie said with a smile. "And I see you brought a friend."

     "Yeah, a friendly little one. It has been following me around all day," Samrin said before speaking seriously. "I'm in a bit of a situation, Charlie. I think Balthazar has stolen my Petpets. I followed his trail, but lost sight of it in this storm. Have you seen anything unusual?"

     "No, not here. I came in here as soon as the snow started," Charlie said disconcertingly and went quiet as he tried to recollect his thoughts. "Mind you, I did see someone in the distance before the snow fell, pulling a sled with something on it. Thought they'd head over here, but they headed towards Gilbert's farm. Wasn't him though. Gilbert, I mean."

     "That must have been Balthazar!" Samrin shouted reactively. His heart started to race as he turned around to run back into the storm.

     "Wait a moment!" Charlie said. "You won't have much luck finding anything out there in this weather. I have something that could help."

     "I didn't mean to be dismissive, but this is a bit of an emergency," Samrin said, trying hard not to pace. Charlie ignored the statement and started rummaging through some boxes.

     "Ah, here we go," Charlie said, holding up a wire-meshed basket. "This will help us in this weather. I removed the handle from a strainer and added a band to it to use as a mask. That way, I can see in a storm like this without getting snow in my eyes."

     "Won't the snow stick to the mesh?" Samrin asked.

     "Nope," Charlie said, pointing out the different features he added to the mask, including a battery-operated heater and switch. "It's just enough to melt the snow and the padding here's for comfort and keeps it from touching my skin. I mean, it drips a bit, but I just have to wear a large rain jacket over my winter jacket and it'll be fine. You can see the bottom of the mask is fanned out so the water doesn't run under my jacket. Just gotta break off the odd icicle." He laughed and began to suit up.

     "That's a very impressive mask, but you don't have to come," Samrin said.

     "Of course I do. You are going to need some help," the Blue Kacheek said, patting Samrin on the back. Once he was suited up, they headed out into the storm.

     Charlie led the way to Gilbert's house at a steady pace. Samrin did not even need to ask him to speed up. It was as though getting those Petpets back was just as important to him. Samrin held onto the Weewoo and focussed on keeping pace with Charlie. Charlie's bright yellow rain jacket stood out well in the storm.

     They walked through a field of berry bushes, wrapped up from the wind and dormant for the winter. Samrin had spent many evenings during the growing season looking for rare berries. Gilbert, who ran the farm, had a real knack for finding rare berries. He would hover around a couple of bushes and pull out an aquaberry before you could say 'jammy courgettes'. Aquaberries are known to damage crops by stealing the moisture out of the ground, so he was always on the hunt for them. Growing up at the Pick Your Own farm definitely made him more observant than the average Neopian.

     Before long they were at Gilbert's front door; the accumulated snow was already at knee depth. The door opened soon after Charlie gave it a heavy, but not aggressive, knock. Gilbert greeted them with a smile, inviting them in from the weather.

     "Mighty brave of you to venture in this storm. Alton here was visiting before the storm started. We were discussing seeds and checking on our growth studies in the greenhouses out back," Gilbert said. Alton stood next to the Yellow Gelert and greeted them.

     "Hi guys," the Yellow Kacheek said, holding a cup of hot cider. "I thought I'd wait out the storm. Not much going on at home anyway."

     "Balthazar stole my Petpets. We were hoping you could help," Samrin said, getting straight to the point. Too much time had already passed.

     "I think I saw him walking through your field," Charlie added, looking at Gilbert. "Did you guys see anyone come through?"

     "No," Alton said.

     "I didn't see anything," Gilbert said. "But if you think it was Balthazar, I might know where he went. There's a cave to the west of here that is often frequented by Neopians coming to and from the Haunted Woods. I heard a rumour that he has a hideout set up there in the network of tunnels. Very few Neopians explore those tunnels in fear of getting lost. I would guess that would be a likely spot for him to take them."

     "Are you sure?" Samrin asked.

     "I believe so. I mean it is a rumour, but it would explain why he can be a nuisance for you in the summer," Gilbert said.

     "Can you take us to the cave?" Samrin asked. Alton was already putting on his jacket. He had many fond memories of visiting Samrin's farm, feeding and spending time with his Petpets.

     "It's worth a try, but we better hurry. We won't have much time to find his hideout." Gilbert put on his winter attire and together they headed west towards Meridell's mountains. Because Charlie was already suited up for the weather, he led the group with direction from Gilbert. The expedition dredged through the thick snow, wind blowing steadily in their faces.

     The entrance to the cave appeared as a black, gaping hole in the mountainside. They all raced in to get out of the weather. The Weewoo, who was still being carried by Samrin, chose to hop down from his arms now that it was easier to walk.

     They could see a short trail of snow lead into the cave caused by the sled dragging it in, but it quickly disappeared. Very few channels branched off the main path, yet no one suggested leaving the main artery of the tunnel for fear of getting lost. Torches lit up the wall for better visibility, but the dark rock that made up the walls gave the tunnel an eerie vibe. No one spoke either, which only added to that vibe. Finally, Gilbert stopped and interrupted the silence.

     "Wait!" Said Gilbert suddenly, stopping dead in his tracks. "We're going the wrong way." Samrin stopped and looked back at him. He hoped that he heard that wrong. They were already running out of time and they could not afford any mistakes.

To be continued…