The Stone Hourglass

by Shepherd Virgo

This story is replacing 'Rod of the Heart Nova.' It will involve the same characters, and the same things will have happened in the first two books.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets.

A/N: This was something that actually happened to me on Neopets.

Chapter 3: Quinto's Dinosaur

While Azul, Jade, and 'Rato and their friends were in the Lost Desert in Coltzan's time, Quinto was just leaving Kauvara's Magic Shop after finding that she wasn't there.

"Closed, my butt," Quinto muttered angrily. "More like that Kauvara woman is making out with someone in the storage room." He stomped around.

"Don't have a kau!" a passing Techo yelled to him. Quinto sighed, and walked to the bank.

"I'd like everything," he said. "I'm going to the Trading Post." The Skeith nodded and got every single Neopoint out of his account, which was 120,000 Neopoints. He frowned at how little he had and took a boat ride to the Sakhmet Mansion.

He did check the Trading Post after withdrawing everything. He looked at the newest 20 and at the bottom saw a sign that said the following:

slash3rx85: Green Tonu Morphing Potion.

slash3rx85's Wishlist: 160k NP.

Quinto was angry that he had spent that 40,000 on map pieces the other day. He offered his 120,000 and a Faerie Portrait and left.

Soon afterward he was paged and told that the lot had closed. He went back to see what was wrong.

Apparently no one had done well enough, so slash3rx85 had changed the wishlist. The new sign read:

slash3rx85: Green Tonu Morphing Potion.

slash3rx85's Wishlist: 150k NP. shepherdvirgo please re-offer, you're just a little under.

Quinto went very red. He then went to his Safety Deposit Box and took some items out, namely a few PetPets, a Gnomeshroom and a SweetTARTS Chest and offered again.

An hour later Quinto got another page and was informed that slash3rx85 had once again closed the lot. He shrieked in rage and went to his shop, which was the remains of an ancient Mote Temple, and grabbed the rarest item there, a Snowager Crystal, and went back to the Trading Post.

Once again there was a new sign for slash3rx85. His new sign said:

slash3rx85: Green Tonu Morphing Potion.

slash3rx85's Wishlist: 150k NP. shepherdvirgo please re-offer!

Quinto tried one more time. These were his rarest possesions now, because what wasn't in the NeoHome or sentimental had been sold due to a stock company he had invested in going bankrupt. He decided to offer them, after a long time of pondering. But he had nothing else left. Nothing. This was it.

He waited until he saw someone else enter the trading post, which was about 3 minutes. It was a teenager of about 15 with short hair and three Tonus following him. Quinto looked at him curiously. Three Tonus? Maybe it was slash3rx85. He ran over and asked the teen's name.

"Kelvin," the teen said.

"Quinto," Quinto replied. "Well met."

"I'm currently trading a Tonu potion. Some guy named shepherdvirgo has been really close to the NP and items I want. Poor guy. I'm less than a week through Neopets and I'm already taking someone's prized possesions." Quinto gawked at him.

"I'm shepherdvirgo," he choked out.

"Really?" Kelvin, who Quinto knew now was slash3rx85, asked. "Well, did you bid better this time?" Quinto nodded. "Good. I think you might be lucky this time." Kelvin walked towards the counter, leaving Quinto in suspense.

After about a minute Kelvin nodded and asked for Quinto to come over. "Your offer has been accepted," Kelvin said very formally, and then put a very bored look on. Quinto couldn't help but laugh. He grabbed his new Green Tonu Morphing Potion and went to the 'Create a Pet' center. He quickly found a blue Kiko and named it Mudeforma, because he was becoming a Tonu. The second Mudeforma had left the center, the potion had been used.

Quinto saw another owner the same day getting a new green Ixi, which had just become non-limited edition. "Hello," the owner said. Her Ixi nodded in agreement. "Are you new too?"

"No way. I've been here for nearly 2 years," Quinto replied. "This is my Tonu, Mudeforma."

"Mud!" a tiny voice interrupted. I stared at Mudeforma. "I said, call me 'Mud'." I smiled and nodded.

"Well this is Cervinus. Say hi, Cervinus."

"Hello," Cervinus greeted cheerfully.

"By the way," said the owner. "I'm Nina. My username is 'Ixi_King'."

"Quinto. My username is 'shepherdvirgo'. Nice to meet you," I replied.

'Cervinus and Mudeforma became great friends. Mud, however, was never told that he had other siblings. Unfortunately, this greatly disadvantaged him, and Cervinus, in the fight against Sloth.

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