Kettch's Guide to
The Lost Desert

Greetings! I am LtKettch (just call me Kettch), and I am your humble guide on your quest of knowledge for the Lost Desert. Also, if you wish to know about me and my owner stal0s click here for me, and here for stal0s.

The History of the Lost Desert

06/12/03 (that's 2001 A.D., but Year 3 by Neopets reckoning) through 07/09/03

The finding of the Lost Desert is long and complicated; the full version of the story can be found here...just be warned it is a tad long. Anyhow, this is the abreviated version of the story.

The (in)famous Brucey B. had entered the 3rd Annual Cheat Championship. The stakes were high, and he was determined to win, even going as far as wearing a lucky coin. It payed off, with Brucey winning the trophy and 250,000 neopoints ((Note from Kettch: Boy, wouldn't that be nice to get for beating Cheat?))

Brucey B. was extremely happy. He had won fame and fortune. It was wonderful! He was all ready spending the money in his head wondering what to buy. As well, someone far, far away was watching him as well. And the watcher was intrigued about Brucey's lucky coin.

When Brucey got home that night, he found a letter waiting for him at his house, which was unusual. This is what it said:

Dear fellow Cheat! Player,

Congratulations on your performance in the recent Cheat! Championships, I am impressed. I am cordially inviting you to a private game, tomorrow on the 14th day of Relaxing. The minimum buy-in will be 100,000 Neopoints, and I am sure this will not pose a problem for you. Look forward to seeing you there!

Yours Sincerely,
R.S.

Brucey was delighted at the chance to win more money, and as he considered that, the telephone rang. It was his friend Capara the Kyrii. She congratulated him, and when told about the other game, urged him not to go and put the money in the back instead. The phone call ended, and Brucey grinned, he was going to be at the game.

When Brucey arrived at the mysterious house the next day, he was startled to find an evil mutant grundo serving as butler! He began to wonder what he was getting into as he was led below.

The game didn't go as planned, he started out feeling lucky, but after hours of playing Brucey was definately down. It was just him and the mysterious red Jetsam (who was hosting it), and the Jetsam made an odd bet, all of his winnings for Brucey's coin, final hand...Brucey took the bet.

One four" came the announcement. Brucey was sure he had won! He cried out cheat, and the Jetsam grinned. Turning the card over, he reveal a Four of Diamonds.

That's not possible! I layed down all four fours earlier!" Brucey explained, but it was too late. Brucey's winnings and lucky coin were gone.

Brucey was heartbroken at his losses. Two of his friends, Princess Fernypoo and Capara, came over to his house to try and console him. The acara princess suggested trying to get the coin back (which is what Brucey cared about most), which cheered Brucey up. His friends were willing to help him, and he had a plan. They set off to find the coin.

After hours of searching for the mysterious Jetsam they had nothing. No leads or anything. Brucey thought maybe Kauvara would know, since she was so wise; she only told them that the Brain Tree or Shop Wizard may know (and gave them free potions and sandwiches!)

While the tenacious trio continued to search for the Jetsam, their quarry was elsewhere, miles away. "Thank you, you have done well," hissed the one meeting with the Jetsam. It was none other than Dr. Sloth! And the Jetsam was working for him. "I trust the carriers are loaded... we may proceed as planned." the evil doctor continued. The carriers roared to life, and flew off into the darkness of night.

After hours of searching and hiking, the three heroes finally came into sight of the Haunted Woods. As they neared it, the Brain Tree called out to them. The strange tree explained the coin had been taken far away, and they would have to venture all the way through the Haunted Woods. As they hiked, things didn't look too good, Brucey was beginning to sink in quicksand, Fernypoo was in a tree, and Capara was somewhat cornered.

While the trio were in trouble, two dark shapes flew by over the forest, always heading south. Sloth's hand gripped the coin tighter, and he smiled. Tomorrow his journey would be over.

Capara was breaking down as the creatures surrounded her, doom iminent. Any moment now they would become just another few who ventured into the woods, never to be heard from again...

But wait! The sun began to rise, sending the monsters shrieking back into the forest. The trees scooped Brucey out of the mire, and Fernypoo was released. But how could the sun rise? Night had just begun as they entered the forest barely an hour ago.

Peering ahead, they found they had reached the end of the forest! And what waited them? Sand dunes. They were the first to make it through the forest, and find what was on the other side.

Miles ahead of the adventurers, Sloth arrived at his destination, which appeared to be at the feet of an immense Sphinx-like structure. Pressing a button next to the door, Sloth grinned...only to find out it wouldn't open. Trying again, and again it wouldn't open. Even after a having his minions of evil Grundo Clones fire at it again and again, the surface remained untouched...

Brucey's troupe was beginning to feel down. They were all hor and thirsty. Fernypoo began complaining, and Capara started to suggest turning around, stopping in mid-sentence. Brucey and Fernypoo turned their direction to where Capara was looking. It was a giant city in the desert! None of them had even heard of it, not even rumors from books. Weary from travelling, they began to make their towards it.

Not only was their a city, but it was a thriving civilization, with neopets, and FOOD! They found some tents not far outside the city. Capara rushed to the food stall, asking Fernypoo for NP to buy food with, while Brucey talked with the yellow Grarrl who was the shop keeper. The shop keeper was just about to answer Brucey's question about the Red Jetsam, when Capara yelled about her mummified pepper being hot.

Hey! You need to pay for that!" cried the shopkeeper...Capara looked to Fernypoo. She shook her head, having empty pockets. The trio took off and ran away from the food stalls, empty headed and question unanswered.

Running into the next tent, they found what appeared to be a PetPet shop. Brucey asked his question, but the Peophin didn't know and suggested heading towards the city, which she called Sakhmet.

Along the way, they encountered an old looking Techo. When asked, he informed them there was some strangers at the Great Pyramid, and he could use the telescope to see if the Jetsam was there. After looking a few moments, Brucey located the Jetsam. But what does he do now?

At the pyramid, Sloth was beginning to get VERY angry. They had tried every weapon they could, and yet the door wasn't even scratched! Sloth began to threaten his minions, and yelled that he wanted the door open now! Turning around, he hurled the coin at the door. It flew into a slot that had gone unnoticed. The door opened.

At last!" Sloth cried "Ultimate power shall be mine!"

By the time Brucey, Capara, and Fernypoo finally got to the pyramid, Brucey had not yet come up with a plan. So they waited until dark, and made their way through enemy base camp, past the grundo gaurds, and into the pyramid ((Kettch note: Sounds a tad odd to me. I think I'd notice three pets tip-toeing around))

Making their way through the pyramid, Sloth's troupe came to another door, with a keyhole shaped and the image of the Brucey's coin in it. Sloth placed the coin (which he had gotten back) in the hole. The door opened.

Inside, they found a treasurey room with more gold beyond their wildest dreams! While the minions looted, Sloth continued to hunt for his own treasure, unconcerned with the gold. Finally, he found it. A powerful magic staff. Sloth laughed.

Not long after having entered the pyramid, the intrepid trio had chosen a room to rest in. They were awoken by sounds from another room, after following the corridor, they came to the treasury room. The greedy Jetsam came into sight, but they heard a familiar laugh... "RUN! IT'S SLOTH!" The trio fled. Sloth pursued.

While running, the trio seperated. Brucey made it out of the pyramid just fine, but Capara and Fernypoo were cornered by Sloth. He fired some magic power from his staff, and Capara suddenly became a tiny Wadjet, and Fernypoo a mutant. What was Brucey to do now?

Sloth's minions continued to load the treasure onto the ship for their master. Sloth gave the Jetsam a few gold coins and told to share it as he would. That was their share of the treasure. After that pronouncemnet, Sloth anounced that they were to destroy everything in sight. They began a long, destructive march to Sakhmet city.

Brucey snuck back into the pyramid, and found the transformed Fernypoo and Capara. He grabbed Capara, and coaxed Fernypoo to follow him. Following the path left by Sloth's army, they headed towards the city.

Coming back across the food tent, they found it destroyed. The Grarrl Shopkeeper was scared, as well. Sloth had the Great Staff which had been lost for thousands of years. They needed to help destroy it and stop Sloth.

At Sahkmet city, rumors of Sloth's approach had spread. Even after baricading the gates, Sloth blasted his way in through the walls. Once in, he began to round up the citizens and transform them as well. They were surrounded.

Details of what happened next, I do not have, but several Neopians around Neopia came out and joined in a great war against Sloth...they appeared to be winning...

One after one, Sloth's Grundos were overturned. Sloth was not happy, and summoned an evil rock beast with the help of his staff.

After banding together, the Neopians finally defeated the Rock Beast and Brucey went up to confront Sloth (with the intent to get his coin back...). In the ensuing struggle, the staff was broken, and the magic reversed. Sloth was horrified, and fled in a hidden space ship. The Lost Desert was saved!

As an epilogue, the trio went back to Brucey's home, where he showed he had found his Lucky Coin before leaving. Travel to the Lost Desert commenced, and Sloth...well, we've not seen the last of him.

Date: 07/09/03 through 07/16/03

You'll notice aSahkmet Palace shown on the map of the Lost Desert, venturing there you'll recieve a message that tells you: Usurper is now over, thanks for playing! You'll also notice that's not all there is on the page. Unfortunately, I (LtKettch) was not born until after any events of the Lost Desert. Although, they appear to be well documented; well enough that I can explain.

Anyhow, Usurper was a logic problem style game that the Neopets team released for us to solve. King Coltzan had been poisoned at a feast in which five guests attended. After the feast, he collasped and died. The team would release a new clue everyday until the problem could be solved.

Each guest ate a different meal, ate a different amount of courses (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, and no two guests ate the same amount), and displayed a different bad habit during the meal.

To solve it, you had to submit the following information:

• What each guest ate
  
• How many courses each guest ate
  
• What habit each guest displayed.
  
• Who the murderer was.

Now I had a plan of showing how all the clues could be read, and you could graph it to show the answer...but everytime I start to do it, I end up with different answers. So, I will just direct you to the News Page of when it came out...it'll show all the answers, just not how you journey to those correct answers. Sorry about that, someday, though, I may have it up here.

Usurper Answers. Just scroll down to July 16th, where they caught the murderer, that insipid Princess Sankara. If you wish for more information on the matter, I suggest you go to Sahkmet Palace and read everything there, and try to solve it on your own. Once more, sorry about that.

07/17/03 through 07/19/03

Shortly after the death of Coltzan, and while the case was still being solved, the construction of a shrine to honor Coltzan was started. One of its attractions was going to be Coltzan's crown. It was said to protect the whole Lost Desert from harm, that crown of his. Then, at the unveiling of the Shrine, it was found missing.

With the mystery of Usurper now over, and Sankara imprisoned, it was up to the detectives of Neopia to find the crown, and save the day again.

Unfortunately, with Neopia's remodeling of maps and whatnot, you cannot follow the exact path anymore, like you would be able to with the similar hunt game "Neopets V2". They did, however, put up a page with the full solution here: The Path to the Crown

And so you have the major events of the Lost Desert, and their dates. As mentioned earlier I (LtKettch) was not born until 07/25/03, so I have no first hand accounts to present. Just off by nearly a week. Heh.

The Sites of
The Lost Desert

Coltzan's Shrine

Link: Coltzan's Shrine

Coltzan's Shrine is, well, a shrine dedicated to the late King Coltzan III. After his death, a shrine was built in his honor, and as his last wish. His crown was placed in it, as it was said it would protect the whole Lost Desert from harm.

As well, the spirit of Coltzan himself seems to inhabit the shrine. If you visit, and pay respects to dear old Coltzan, he may grant you a wish. He's raised stats, healed pets, given out free food, np, dubloons, and two weapons (Coltzan's Gem, and Serf Lens). It is also rumored that if you're extremely lucky, he'll give you 1,000,000 NP. I have yet to see it happen though. :)

The only stipulation, though, is that you can only visit once every 24 hours (I have heard some people say it's 12 hours, but I'd stick with 24 to be safe). That is a different thing than once a day, though, because if you visit at 10:00 PM NST, and then go the next morning, it'll tell you to wait awhile. You'll have to wait until about 10:01 PM NST (once more, if it is every twelve, than 10:01 AM NST. But like I said, play it safe and go once every 24 hours).

Sakhmet Palace

Link: Sakhmet Palace

Sakhmet Palace is where the royal family (such as Princess Vyssa) lives, as well as where old King Coltzan used to live. The lobby, the only area you can visit, is an exhibit to the King's demise and the puzzle surrounding it. You can find more information out at the palace and above

Fruit Machine

Link: Fruit Machine

The Fruit Machine is yet another one of the "daily freebies" (as it is so commonly called by many Neopians). Basically meaning, you get one free try a day. The device itself is a mystery, but I believe it's along the lines of a Slot Machine.

Anyhow, when you spin it, it comes up with different combinations of pictures of Lost Desert fruits. If you hit a winning combination you can win anything from 50 NP and a Tchea Fruit to 15,000 NP, a paint brush, and a battle muffin. Unfortunately, I tend to always get the 50 np. I've never gotten higher than 1000 NP, I believe. Ah well.

The best part about this is, it's free! You risk nothing by spinning, and have a possibility of winning big. Don't be afraid to play.

Calculator

Link: Calculator

This is just a neat little thing Neopets put out. It's a calculator you can use for various stuff (just don't expect any help with negative number, because it doesn't do that. *shakes head*). It even has a random number/dice generator.

As well, you can download a version for your PC or Mac, too. so you don't have to use it only while you're on Neopets. Heh.

Brucey's War Tent

Link: Brucey's War Tent

This tent was made for keeping people updated on how the Lost Desert War was going. Not much here now.

Paintbrush Stall

Link: Paintbrush Stall

The paintbrush stall is a somewhat pointless place, if you ask me. But it's useful in seeing what your pet would look like painted with the Lost Desert Paint Brush. Unlike the name leads you to believe, it only shows the pictures, and doesn't give them away.

Food Stall

Link: Food Stall

The food stall is the one shop you can go (sans the Shop Wizard ones...) that sells Lost Desert food. Go here if you wish to find food of the Lost Desert, and you may be lucky and it'll be stocked. *laughs* Don't count too much on that, though.

PetPet Stall

Link: PetPet Stall

This is the main shop for gaining Petpets of the Lost Desert. Some of them are really cool looking, and rare as well. Others (like the Anubis) are adorable. Browse around and see if there's any you like, but be careful. One time I had an Apis that tried to put a curse on me!

Osiri's Pottery

Link: Osiri's Pottery

Lady Osiri, the Aisha you see as the shop keeper, set up a pottery stall. It's become quite popular, too. Even I collect Lady Osiri's items to add to my neohome. It is a very interesting shop, if you're into decor for your neohome.

Battle Supplies

Link: Battle Supplies

The battle supplies shop is for those pets who want equipment for the battledome. Some of the weapons to be found therein, are powerful (and expensive!). If you ever look into any Lost Desert weaponry, I'd suggest the Lost Desert Dagger, and the Hand-Painted Scarab.

Sutek's Scrolls

Link: Sutek's Scrolls

Sutek's Scrolls is the main book shop for the Lost Desert. If you wish to read up about any of the more in-depth Lost Desert subjects, see if he has any in stock. Most of his books are really good. Sakhmet Tales is a good book to check out. :)

Geos

Link: Geos

Geos is one of the Multiplayer games on Neopets, like Kacheekers. It is somewhat fun, if you get someone that will play all the way through the game, and not quit when it is obvious they will lose.

The game is fairly simple. Your opponent, and yourself, race to build a circle, triangle, rectangle, and square. You use the same grid, but you can't see your opponent's pieces (and vice versa). If you click one a space that housed one of their pieces, it'll destroy their piece; you then have the option of making another move.

All-in-all, it is somewhat fun, but tiresome. I'd suggest you play another good multiplayer game like Armada instead. =B

Fun Factor: 2.5/5

Swarm

Link: Swarm

The game of swarm. Ah, so much fun. It's like that ancient game where you are protecting the world from invading aliens. Only now, you're protecting the Lost Desert (and probably Neopia) from them. So go hop into your Wocky Tank and defend! Fun fun fun. :D

Fun Factor: 4.5/5

Scarab 21

Link: Scarab 21

Here's a fun, if nto complicated card game. Getting over the scary sight of a Desert Chia attempting to dance (check the banner), and the 50 NP surcharge, you'll find it a fun game.

Your goal is to earn point by going through a card deck, and putting the cards into 5 different columns, aiming for a total of 21. There are many bonuses you can get, as well as secret bonuses not listed on the page. I won't give any away, so hunt for them a little, and have fun.

Fun Factor: 3.5/5

Sakhmet Solitaire

Link: Sakhmet Solitaire

Yet another card game for you to play. This is Neopet's version of the old classic card game Klondike (often called Solitaire, though that's just a classification, in truth.).

Again, you're charged 50 NP to play. Whether you gain any more, is a lot on luck. You have a choice between 1 or 3 cards per draw. If you go with 1, you get 1 trip through your deck as well. Go with 3, you get 3 rounds going through. The rest of the information you'll need (though it's doubtful...after all, everyone has played this game before, right? :) ) will be on that page. There's a "Rules" popup they have a link to.

Fun Factor: 3/5

Pyramids

Link: Pyramids

Once more, a card game. This one is quite fun.

Here, you're given a pyramid of cards, and you're to remove the cards one-by-one. The rest of the card deck will be your guide.

Starting off, you're given one card from the deck, and an open row of cards on the pyramid. You have to find a card that is one higher, or one lower than the card from the deck. Sometimes you have two choices and never know which is right. :)

Clearing it is rare, but nonetheless, the game is fun.

Fun Factor: 4/5

Mummy Maze

Link: Mummy Maze

Mummy Maze, ah yes. In this game, you are basically a tomb-raiding Kyrii, named Kiaran. The goal is to collect as much gold as possible, moving from stage to stage. You also have to watch out for mummies of scorchios, fire, blades, and other hazards. Luckly you have a weapon to take care of the mummies, but the rest you have to navigate on your own.

Standing in the tradition of the rest of this page, I won't give any tips or strategies on how to win, because I feel that you must learn on your own, otherwise it's not as fun. :) I'm sure, though, if you really want to look for one, you could find one on other Neopet's Fan-sites.

Overall, though, this game lags a little bit, and the controls aren't very fast responding. You may not wish to play this if you're as impatient as I can be with them.

Fun Factor: 2/5

Tug-O-War

Link: Tug-O-War

Here's a semi-fun game, if you're in the mood for rapid-button pressing. You play Brucey B. as you try to beat different tug-o-war opponents, pulling them into the river. Eventually, you'll earn a secret code, that opens up a better character.

Like I said before, it's only fun if you're in the mood for it, and rapid-button pressing. Although some may disagree with me, but you all know I, LtKettch, am correct. ;)

Fun Factor: 1.5/5

Miscellaneous

Neopedia Articles

Also, if you know of any articles I missed, neomailing my owner, stal0s, and myself so we can correct the mistake. :)

Lost Desert Cards

There you have them. All the Lost Desert related trading cards. As with the Neopedia Articles, if I missed any please neomail stal0s with the missing card. :)

Lost Desert Stamps

About Kettch

About Luke

stal0s

Luke, better known as stal0s, is a teenager in the land of the United States of America. He swims on a United States Swimming sanctioned swim team. He is homeschooled, and holds down a part-time job at the same time.

On Neopets, his accomplishments include Neopian Times publishing(x4 as of this writing, hoping to make it larger). Has been a runner-up in Better Than You three times now. Was once the overall Assistant of a 1000† members guild (Pink Poogle Toy Guild).

1/28/03-- SITE SPOTLIGHT! :D Thanks so much, everyone!

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