The Tale of Woe
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The Tale of Woe is a new plot based in the Haunted Woods and entails the release of Neovia. It began on October 2, 2006, and appears to be designed to coincide with Halloween.
The plot follows the travels of Gilly, an Usul who first appeared as the star of The Castle of Eliv Thade.
Plot Summary
The Gypsy Camp
Deep within the Haunted Woods, users happen upon a Gypsy Camp. A Pink Elephante greets them, and warns of the dangers of the woods - "[...] Trees and creatures roam the night, and they can swallow the unwary. It's no accident that so many legends and myths surround this place [...]" - and reads the user a story of Gilly, when she visited the Camp and heard the story of Neovia...
The Legend of Neovia
The Elephante began his tale of a family of Edmund and Alice, and their 3 children: two sons Bruno, Reginald, and a daughter, a green Ixi who the Elephante avoids mentioning but is believed to be Sophie. They lived in Neovia, and had many troubles. Bruno sought the affection of Lily, but lacked the charm and strength to court her, and was not helped in his attempts by Oscar, Lily's current protective companion.
After Oscar hit Bruno for talking to Lilly, Bruno, resigned to his fate, stumbled upon Mr. Krawley. The stranger offered him a potion that would make all his troubles go away for only a few Neopoints. After drinking the potion, the very next day he was handsome and much more presentable to Lily.
Edmund claimed Bruno was foolish to take such an action, complaining that one must work for success. However, when he was offered the potion by Mr Krawley, he reluctantly took it to resolve the family's financial hardship. Like Bruno, the elixir worked and he became rich within the next few days. Soon after Reginald took a potion as well, becoming extremely intelligent, and word of the powerful potions began to spread. Soon everyone was taking the potions to help, seeking to have their wishes - such things as height, vanity, and youth - granted with a simple potion, and only the innocent, such as the family's daughter, went without need of them.
And the potion seemed to give everyone in the little town happiness, but as the days passed the effects of the potion continued. The realisations of Neovia's resident's dreams became twisted and foul: the Neopets were changing. Edmund became suspicous of everyone, carefully guarding over his fortune. Bruno became a muscular, deformed monster. Reginald became lonely, seeking refuge in his books as people couldn't stand to talk to him and his great interlect. The potion had cursed its drinkers. The town searched for the strange man that gave them the potions, but they couldn't find him anywhere, so they decided to put the blame on the family that advertised the elixir. Edmund, his wife and their children were under siege in their own home.
Bruno ran outside to distract the family, while Reginald and his younger sister, who was unaffected by the elixir, sneaked out the back and ran for the woods. In the forest, they encounter the mysterious Earth Faerie Ilere, a figure and villain of many legends and ghost stories. Reginald left his sister in the care of Ilere and ran back to his mansion, only to see Bruno being chased by the town's residents. He went into the house and escorted his parents to another abandoned mansion on the other side of town.
Bruno lost those chasing him in the forest, and when they returned, the town people set upon themselves, determined for retribution. Suddenly, the Mayor of the town stopped them, realising that they must be cured before they can hold those responsible to account. The Neovians summon The Spirit of Slumber, who cures them with magic, but extracts a terrible price...
The Ruins of Neovia
The story ends and Gilly goes to sleep, after a night's rest she sets out into the woods only to stumble upon Neovia itself.
The small town is ruins, but on looking through a burnt wreck of a house she finds a strange silver locket hidden away. The picture has decayed beyond recognition.
Gilly heads to the Deserted Fairground and takes the locket to Lyanka, of the Cork Gun Gallery; Leeroy, of the Coconut Shy; Harker, of the Bagatelle stall; and Ssidney, of Ssidney's Scratch Cards. None of them knew who the owner was, although some seemed impressed with the metalwork and one mentioned that they were quite popular a long time ago. She headed back to Neovia only to discover a path leading to a hut in the swampy part of the woods.
Plot Solution
Finding the Locket
...to be added...
At the Fairground
...to be added...
Quest Inventory
This plot brought in a feature called the Quest Inventory, where items discovered in the plot are stored. Items in this inventory cannot be used, traded, or stolen in the way items in the conventional Inventory can.
Trivia
- An Aisha resembling Megan can be seen in images of the Gypsy camp.
- This plot seems to be based off the movie/book Something Wicked This Way Comes.