Kart Kingdom-The Beginning

February 22, 2015
My name is K. Reporter K. Today was one of my first days on the job. I will be reporting for a while at this gigantic mass of land. Not a lot of people know what it's for. It has a sign in front that says "Welcome to Kart Kingdom" and no buildings. Only a few Trucks and Trailers here and there. I guess that's how they decided to build this town-or whatever it's supposed to be. There are no signs of construction whatsoever. I decided to explore the area before setting up my tent.
Although there is virtually nothing here yet, the natural aspects of the area already amaze me. And the people here are nice too! I walk in and have no idea what's supposed to be here or anything, and I get a free car! And then I get another! There's a beautiful waterfall with a bird's nest on top of it, and a large space in the middle of the vehicles. I'll set up my tent here, I thought. I stepped into the spot where I planned my tent to be and looked off into the distance. It's a beautiful view. I also see many floating dots down there, and platforms and caves way in the distance that go up to a place that isn't visible. I decided that I would check it out later.
I parked my car at the space because it's so warm. I walked to a trailer that has a sign labeled "PARTS". There is a boy running it, it would seem. "Hello!" I began. "I'm a reporter. Can you please tell me what this trailer is for?"
"It's very nice to meet you! This trailer is where people can change which karts they are driving and many other things! In many ways, it's sort of like a mall. You can go inside if you want!"
I thanked him and walked inside. I stopped in shock and awe. The inside seems to be bigger than the trailer itself! In confusion, I wanted to make sure I was right. I popped my head outside the door and checked the size and went back inside again. I did this a series of times, each time frowning with confusion and puzzlement. But eventually the boy at the front of the trailer was starting to give ME a puzzled look, so I simply smiled and went back in. I decided that this was definitely a suitable place for my very first interview. There didn't seem to be anyone there, so I was about to walk out of the trailer discouraged. Then, a shimmer of hope twinkled inside me as a teenage boy with purple hair and a hat walked out with a wrench in his hand. I was so excited, when I tried to walk over to him, I practically skipped across the space between us.
He looked very busy though, and I wasn't sure how I should get his attention. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me," I said trying to stifle my enthusiasm. "I'm a reporter. Can you tell me some information about this place..uh..what was it called...'Kart Kingdom'?" He turned around to face me. "Well..." he sighed. "Kart Kingdom is a place we think will be safe for people of all ages. There's no money currency, so we pay in resources, which, we think, are a lot easier to get." I took out my notebook, struggling to scribble everything down. "Uh huh..." I continued as I started to finish up writing the first piece of information he gave me. "So, what's this trailer for and what do you do here?" "Well, this trailer will be for the people who will live here, so it will be like a bank. We kind of hold everyone's karts, hats, accessories, etc. and anytime they want to change their look, they just come here. Right now, I'm just building karts for future drivers. In the future, though, my services will probably not be needed as much, so I might become an engineer." he replied with a light smile, probably thinking about the possibilities of his future. I figured that he must like building things. I scribbled down all the information I got. "Oh and by the way," I said, trying to show that I was finishing up in case I got annoying. "Can I have your name?" "Oh, my name's Drew." He said simply. "Drew." I repeated slowly as I wrote down his name for quotation purposes. "Thank you so much." I added gratefully to end the conversation. "It was wonderful meeting you!" "Yeah." He agreed. My work there was done, so I started to walk out, but, at the last minute, I turned around and said to him, "Oh, and I hope that you get to fulfill your dream of becoming an engineer!" He didn't respond in words, but grinned and turned around to finish the latest kart he was working on. As I was leaving, for real this time, I realized that it was odd that the boy driving the trailer didn't tell me his name. I decided I would ask him later.
I walked out and continued exploring the Kingdom. Right next to the trailer was a small booth run by a little girl in a superhero costume. She had put a suitcase next to the booth and some lemonade next to her. As I 
walked up to the booth, I pulled out my notebook readily. Soon after, I realized that this scenario wasn't going to play out exactly like the one at the trailer. I put my notebook away. "Hi," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm a reporter and I want to know what this booth is for." I looked up at the sign suspended to the cardboard booth. Craft It, it read. I found it funny how the little girl put a trademark symbol next to the words on the sign. "My name is Dee, and this," she said, motioning to the booth she was sitting at. "is the Craft It Booth. This is where people go to craft stuff." I wrote down every word she said in my notebook, wondering what she meant. "Stuff? Crafting?" I mumbled. Then I asked, "Can you elabo- I mean, can you explain what people craft here? Or will craft here?" "I have four choices for you." Dee responded patiently. "You can craft Gadgets, Kart Parts, Power-ups, or you can activate Social Crafting." "And.....how can I use gadgets?" I asked curiously. I was starting to like my job more and more. "See that truck there?" Dee said, pointing to a truck all the way across this part of the Kingdom labeled QUESTS with text below it saying Hot 'n' Fresh and a sign pointing to the truck saying New. I nodded to her. With great difficulty, I thought. "There," she continued. "you can go on quests. It's the only way to get down there..." She pointed towards the area I'd been looking at before. This is already more interesting than I thought. "Wait," I stopped her. "Do you mean to say that I can actually go..."
"Down there? Yup." She finished my sentence with unsurprising success. "There are names for each area that you can access in quests, but I keep forgetting them...."
"It's okay." I reassured her. "I plan to find out later."
I was about to go straight to the truck with no hesitation, but Dee stopped me from leaving. I was about to tell her I'd come back later, but clearly this wasn't going to take much time. "I'm sorry," I said, readying myself to start at the Quest Truck. "I'll be back later..."
"WAIT!" Dee shouted at me. "Geez. Are grown-ups in that much of a hurry all the time?"
I stopped and stepped back into my original interviewing position as I remembered how relaxing it was to be a little kid like she was. But this was different from most cases, right? I was actually having fun! Maybe it wasn't that I was in a hurry, but just like a child who impatiently wants to go to the next ride at an amusement park. Except, that child wouldn't realize that she was at work as a reporter.
"You're going to the Quest Truck, right?" Dee's voice halted my train of thought. "Y-yeah..." I said, wondering if her next sentence would relate to my thoughts from a few seconds ago. "I figured that," she said, fixing her helmet and making sure that the part that covered her eyes was fixed onto the helmet. "My brother runs it. His name is Del. Also, you're going to need this." She rummaged through the suitcase in front and handed me a small book titled Field Guide. I looked through it. Two karts were there, the two that I got, and a few wheels. "In case you didn't notice," Dee added, looking up at me before she went back behind her booth. "The things you discover will automatically appear in your Field Guide."
"Woah..." I breathed in amazement. Did magic exist in this place? I guess I was yet to find out.
~~~~~~
I talked with Del for a little bit and found out a little bit about quests. "Quests are pretty simple. You have to find all of an item and then you get a prize!" He explained. "And you have to do it all driving in a kart." I wrote down everything and said "That sounds...really dangerous..."
"Don't worry about it." Del assured me. "Thanks to my new inventions... well, I like to call them 'gadgets'... the chance of being hurt is as low as ever. I just need to install something in your kart that allows you to do backflips during quests."
BACKFLIPS!? Did he REALLY just say BACKFLIPS!?
"Um...ok..." I agreed hesitantly. I reluctantly handed over my karts.
I didn't have to wait very long. He was finished installing the item in what seemed like no time. "Well," I said. "I guess it only seems right for me to try out a quest now!"
Del laughed. "Go ahead! All the quests are complete in production."
And with that, I had started my first quest. It was quite short, but I guess that's how it was designed for people who were just getting used to quests. In this quest, I had to find all of the raccoons. When I had finished, I drove back to the Quest Truck and got a prize.
It was fun, although it didn't really have a point to it and the adventure was short-lived. The prize I got was a raccoon mask! The sun was starting to set, so I decided to go back and set up my tent.
Going back to the middle of the area, I set up my tent and started unpacking everything I needed to report from here. After unpacking, I put on the finishing touch: a flag in front of the tent stating that it's mine. Finally, I went to bed.
February 23, 2015
Waking up early, I realized that breakfast and other important meals of the day were going to be a hassle. For now, I just have a toaster and some bread after all! That would have to do for now. After I ate toast, I realized wear I was. In the middle of practically nowhere. And how did I think I was going to wash up for the morning? Well, I wasn't quite sure, to be honest.
That's when I remembered that one of the free karts I received upon entering Kart Kingdom was a Red Bathtub Kart. Maybe that can help, I thought. I brushed my teeth at the public bathroom and headed to the Parts Trailer asking for the bathtub kart, and then I went back to the bathroom, realizing how awkward this was.
I put on my reporter clothes and headed outside. I drove around a little when I realized that there was a new tent, that was much bigger than mine. A guy with a cap and sunglasses was setting up signs in front of it, so I took out my notebook for an interview.
"Hello! My name is K," I began with the usual introduction. "There's a tent here, but everyone else is using vehicles, so....does that mean you are a reporter like me!?" I started to get excited and a little competitive over the fact that there might be another reporter here.
"Oh, you're a reporter? That's cool! This is going to be the Games Tent. It's basically an arcade." He responded. "And I will be running it!"
"An arcade?" I said. "Here? Well, what games will there be?"
"I'm not sure yet." The boy said a little discouraged. Then he looked hopeful. "But I play lots of video games, so I'm sure I can reprogram them to be arcade games here!"
I wrote down everything he said. "Well, I don't want to bother you anymore, so that's it for today." I said. "I still need your name for quoting purposes though."
"My name's Harley." He said as I wrote it down. "Come by sometime! I only have one game right now...um, it's a Plum's Landing game, so..."
"It's fine," I cut in. "I'll make sure to stop by." I said with a half-smile as I walked towards the quest truck.
Later...
"What do you mean 'construction of the new areas'?" I was interviewing Del again.
"Well, we realized that Grand Glade--"
"Grand Glade?"
"Um...yes, this area-- would be too small for visitors. They would drive for a few miles and then get tired of being here. That's why we're adding new areas so people who come here can explore further! We're not sure if there will be new areas in the future, but for now, it's just the three more areas being built."
"Now, don't think that I haven't noticed..."
"Noticed what?"
"That the caves in Grand Glade are magical. When someone goes through them, they end up at the beginning of the area again. So, just how are people going to get to these other areas?" I asked as I wrote all the information down.
"Well," Del shifted nervously in his truck. "We're planning on giving everyone a magical map that allows them to transport themselves to any area they want! Then, people will have the ability to breathe underwater, change size, and, well, the planned area, Mount Snow, is mainly just for show. It's quite beautiful."
I felt like doing a facepalm at Del right then and there. This place must suffer from overdose of magic.
"There should be another way for people to get to the other areas." I suggested.
"Do you have any ideas?" He pointed out.
I hesitated. "Well, um, no...but I'm sure I can think of something faster than you can!!!"
To my surprise, nothing much happened for the rest of the day.
February 24, 2015
AGH! (This is the only highlight of my day right here!) I woke up this morning and followed the routine I had made up yesterday morning, and WHAT DO I FIND!?
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS DOING SOMETHING BY MY TENT!!!!! Here's what happened....
After eating and washing up, I started to walk back to my tent, but I saw a crowd of construction workers working on something by my tent. Or....maybe they were working ON my tent! I rushed over to see what was going on. Sure enough, they were messing with my tent. MY tent! The tent with the flag with MY NAME on it!
"Whoa whoa whoa," I said, trying to get some attention. "What's going on here? Why are there a bunch of construction workers by my tent!?"
Then, one of the "construction workers" turned around and stopped working to talk to me.
"For your information," he said as if I'd offended him greatly. "we aren't construction workers, we're portal management workers."
Of course. OF COURSE. "What-what!?" I stuttered in confusion. "It doesn't matter!! Why are you working on my tent!? Don't you know that this is private property!?"
"Well, technically not, since it's a tent on quite public proper-"
"OK!!!! That's NOT THE POINT!!!" I yelled. "WHAT'S GOING ON!?"
"Didn't you know?" One of the female workers said. "We're turning your tent into a portal!"
"A PORTAL." I said in disbelief, with an exasperated look on my face. "A PORTAL!? WHY DO WE NEED A PORTAL HERE!?"
"Oh, don't worry," one of the workers said. "We put your stuff over there!" He pointed to my stuff lying on the ground.
"I DON'T CARE!!!" I screamed. Then, I thought about it. "Ok, maybe I do care a little...thanks for taking the time to move my stuff out..."
The worker looked proud.
"BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT!!!!" I went back to the conversation. "WHY do we need to have a PORTAL here!?"
Then, I saw Del walking over to me ever so casually. That's when it hit me.
"How's it going?" he said nonchalantly. I gave him an annoyed look. He looked puzzled. "Something wrong?" he asked, cluelessly.
"Why?" I asked him. "Why is this happening?"
Del looked over at the portal management crew. His face lightened up a bit. "Oh, that?" he said casually, as if there wasn't the slightest problem with this. "Thanks, by the way. YOU are the one who told me that people should have another way to go to the new areas!"
Oh no. Ohhhhhhhhhh no. This time, there was no stopping me. Ultimate facepalm.
"OH, I SEE NOW!" Del's eyes widened with realization. "You didn't WANT to have your tent turned into a portal!!!"
I lifted my head up and looked at him with the same annoyed look. "Ya think?" I told him, trying to get the message across that it was pretty obvious.
"Don't worry, then!" Del said apologetically. "To make up for completely destroying your tent, we will build you a nice, cozy, house!"
That lifted my spirits immediately. "Are you sure?" I asked, thinking about the cost.
"Yeah! Don't worry about it!" Del said without a care in the world. "I'll just call up the construction workers..."
Wait. "You have construction workers?"
"What made you think that we didn't?"
"OH MY GOSH I FORGIVE YOU I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MY HOUSE."
Later that day...
My house was finally finished. It was constructed right behind the tent. I guess the tent would be there forever now. This place, Kart Kingdom, was remarkable. But, with that being said, it did have it's ups and downs as well. That situation this morning was enough to drive me insane.
I gathered my stuff off of the ground, thanked Del and the construction team, and put everything inside. Everyone was nice enough to put some furniture in the house, such as sofas, a bed, a kitchen, silverware and pots and pans for the kitchen, and a table and chairs. After getting everything set up at my desk, I went outside and hugged Del for being so nice to me.
As much as I love the house, I know that I most likely will not be able to stay in Kart Kingdom, being as it is only a reporting project for me. When the time comes, I will see what happens.
My thoughts were interrupted by the unfortunate sound of portal-management-not-being-finished-yet. Sigh. I'll get to sleep somehow. 
February 25, 2015
Today was pretty uneventful. Went to play some games at the Games Tent, and then played some quests and got cool prizes. I can now teleport to other areas by going through my tent, like Mount Snow, Bug Garden, and the Deep. I've also heard some rumors from Del that there's also a desert and secret cave just waiting to be discovered!
Because of the uneventfulness, I had plenty of time to just relax in my new house, playing some games on my laptop.
February 26, 2015
The good thing about Kart Kingdom is that it never snows in Grand Glade. Even now, in February, it's beautiful, sunny, and not-at-all-chilly. It's also very quiet, so I decided to take a drive around.
Of course, using Kart Kingdom logic, it could work the other way too. I guess with Mount Snow finally out, you can experience winter in summer, just by teleporting, instead of having to travel halfway around the world.
The birds' tweets, the sound of water rushing down the waterfall, and trees rustling in the breeze harmonized in an interesting, but soothing way as I drove past them.
Then all of that was ruined. But not in the way that you might think.
I was nearing one of the caves when a truck suddenly drove in at full speed! I swerved out of the way just in time and got out of my Kart to see who it was. That's what I have to resort to because Kart Kingdom doesn't have license plates. Whoever was driving the truck slammed on the brakes immediately and opened the window. He had orange skin, black hair stylized in an afro, and a hat matching his outfit.
"Did this place finally invest in some police officers?" He said. What? Well... I guess he thought I was a police officer. It's clear that Kart Kingdom hasn't seen many of those.
Before I could answer, he said, "Sorry for speeding, officer. Here..." he reluctantly reached into his truck and then revealed a stash of bits. "Take all my bits. That should be enough to pay the fine."
I grinned and decided to play along for a minute. It's not everyday you get to do this.
"That won't be necessary, sir," I said after clearing my throat. "may I have your name?"
The man sighed. "Gus." He said.
i pretended to write it down in my notepad. Then he glanced over at my kart and realized that I was not a police officer. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Very funny," he said with a mixture of embarrassment and humor.
My face broke into a smile and I snickered. "Yeah, I'm a reporter." I grinned.
"Yeah?" Gus said, re-organizing his bits inside his truck. "Well, maybe you should start doing your job correctly instead of trying to scam people out of their bits."
I giggled. That was a bit reckless for me to do, so I'm glad he took it the right way. I erased the zig zag lines and squiggles I drew I never my notebook and decided to ask some real questions. The usual, of course. Apparently, Gus plans to give out limited edition karts to people in exchange for bits every couple months. He explained about how his truck works, which is extraordinary. People put the requested bits in, which presses a button at the end of the tube it goes through, which puts helium air into the balloon tied to the cage keeping the kart prisoner. When enough people deposit their bits, the cage lifts up and (this is the magic part) everyone gets that kart.
I asked him how long it took to make it and he said that he didn't make it. Drew built it for him. Figures. He lives in one of the quest areas, in a large house by a well. It's quiet there. Usually. We exchanged emails and he checked to see the progress of Kart Kingdom with Del as I walked to my Kart and drove away.
You know...Gus is kind of cool.
~~
That night, I sat on my bed emailing everything I knew to my boss. I had almost forgotten!! I hope I don't get fired. I really want to know more about this place.-to be continued for now-Category:Stories