Perhaps you are familiar with Meridell, the colourful, medieval land of heroes and legends. Perhaps you know of a Mysterious Symol Hole located next to a gnarled old tree, not far away from the infamous Turmaculus.

Many Neopians recognize the Symol Hole to be somewhat of an enigma that occasionally bears rewards upon sending a Petpet into it, including a coveted avatar; but few are actually aware of its dark and horrifying past.

Every now and then, artifacts and other strange objects are recovered from the Mysterious Symol Hole, the dregs of times unknown to the majority of the Neopian population, but cannot be refuted. But it is only a matter of logical deduction and educated guesswork after assembling all the evidence for the truth to be revealed.

And only by knowing the truth, does one know the way.

The so-called “truth” and the “way” are convincing, but still require verification; so until then, they are merely hypothetical. Also, all the events happening when using the Mysterious Symol Hole are considered random.

THE STORY BEGINS…The story begins with a frightened Petpet.

It stares down the Mysterious Symol Hole and shudders with fear. It looks up at you, almost as though begging you not to send it down the hole.

But you do; and the Petpet has no choice but to climb down, step by step, inching towards what you perceive to be a hoard of treasure.

– – – – –
After descending to the very bottom of the hole, the petpet sees a tunnel. Its sides are paved with stone, unlike the chute from where it arrived. Every so often, an unidentified liquid seeps through the gaps between the stone bricks, and drips onto the muddy ground, where it is absorbed immediately with an unpleasant sucking sound.

Mustering up all the courage within its tiny body, the Petpet marches on. It is mildly aware of its squelching footsteps echoing throughout the tunnel.

At the end of the passageway, the Petpet is amazed to see four armed Dirt Symols guarding what appears to be a roughly circular slab of stone embedded into the wall. Swirly patterns have been carved into it, seemingly crude attempts to embellish the plain grey surface with an

The Symols raise their spears in perfect synchronization. Halt! Who goes there?

The Petpet is trembling, but manages to squeak: Where is the treasure?

The largest of the Symols laughs harshly. We’ve been guarding this vault forever. You think we’re just going to open it up and let you raid it?

Please, the Petpet pleads. Just a little souvenir, so I don’t go back empty-handed.

One Symol says kindly, Each Petpet who ever comes here says that. We’d be drained of our treasure if we gave every one of them something from our collection.

But, the first Symol says, I feel like giving you something, so you can have a… um… Chewed Stick.

The Symol nearest to the door entrance goes in, and returns quickly with a stick that looks as if it has been nibbled by a Grarrl.

Thank you, the Petpet murmurs, awestruck by the piece of treasure in its paws. It holds the stick aloft so it won’t be dirtied by the sticky mud, and makes its way back, slightly staggering under the weight of its trophy.

PRIZESHover for the name of the respective prize.

Items

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THE THEORYBy examining the items achievable from the Mysterious Symol Hole and utilizing current knowledge wisely, it is not hard to see how the following theory could stand instead of being merely hypothetical.

There are quite a number of artifacts with a Symol theme, such as the Shiny Symol Brooch, Symol Flail, Symol Lolly and Symol T-shirt. It could not have been that these were manufactured by an obsessed Neopet, because the hole is only small enough for a Petpet to pass through; and the Symol guards were protecting them with so much ferocity that would be unseen in the case of such a strange and disturbing obsession. It must have been, therefore, the work of narcissistic Symols themselves who loved their kind a bit too much.

The presence of Symol Dinner, Symol Petpet Beds, Fancy Petpet Food and Chewed Veespa Toys are proof that Symols once inhabited the hole. It was their home, and there were young or baby Symols as well.

They would have been wealthy, as they were able to possess Strange Gold Coins, Fake Golden Scratchy Posts, Golden Mirrors and Shiny Symol Brooches, which are made of precious, valuable metals. Having aspirations of developing a kingdom, as seen from their collection of Photos of a Castle, they would also have developed a vast, safe underground network of tunnels and caverns in imitation of a fortress or even a city.

However, their blissful lives were obviously abandoned. These Symols would not have left their safe haven willingly – thus there must have been a fight that forced them to flee, or perhaps die at the hands of their attackers.

Here, a digression must be made for a clearer explanation of the following deductions. In Greek mythology, Medusa was a monster who had the ability to turn onlookers to stone with a direct gaze.

On the other hand, in Neopia, it is established that Meepits are highly suspicious of being evil, manipulative Petpets with an eerie, hypnotic stare.

Putting these two pieces of information together, along with the fact that there were several items found with uncannily strong resemblance to the Petpets they were modeled after, it can be safely said that the Symols had their underground home invaded by Meepits. All those Symols that were in their way were mercilessly turned into inanimate objects, ending up as Squeezy Symol Toys. Other Petpets, urged to clamber into the Hole by hopeful Neopians, met with the same fate as Stone Anubises, Animated Meowclops Statues, Dragoyle Petpet Bowls, Selket Plushies, Turtum Wind Up Toys and Whinny Stained Glass Windows.

Fortunately, among those Symols living there existed a group of Dirt Symols. They crafted Dirt Shields and Dirt Swords; and blended so well with the environment that the Meepits failed to notice them until it was too late. Therefore, the Symols were able to able to make their comeback; but the only ones that survived were the Dirt Symols. They were also unable to recover their poor Symol companions and the other unfortunate Petpets.

On the subject of the reason for the Meepits’ invasion, one can speculate that those were rigourously-trained Meepit agents on a certain operation. Passing through Meridell, they found themselves lost and were thoroughly blinded by the brightness and cheerful atmosphere of the place; while the Symol Hole provided the dark, cozy shelter that they relished.

And that is why today the Dirt Symols guard their items so well – it is out of responsibility and in honour of their fellow Symols’ and other Petpets’ plight.

THE WAYNeopet owners all hope that this will be the one time that their Petpet jumps out of the Mysterious Symol Hole with a reward. Following up on the aforementioned theory, there might just be a particular way somehow that will assure that their Petpet will have at least a higher chance of returning victorious.

Entering the Hole

Petpets are allowed different ways of entering the Mysterious Symol Hole.

Climb down slowly
Slowly, steadily and carefully – it doesn’t hurt to be on the safe side.
Chance: On the high end

Dive in with eyes open
Speed and timing is always important in some way.
Chance: Quite good

Dive in with eyes closed
Sometimes it is better to take risks, including the risk that the Petpet might accidentally dive headfirst into something hard, like a misplaced stone.
Chance: Acceptable

CANONBALL!
It probably isn’t a very good idea to impersonate violence in front of the guards, but if they are impressed by the performance, they might gift generously.
Chance: Mild

BELLYFLOP!
Seeing as the ground that the Petpet will meet with after plummeting into the Hole is solid, it is foreseeable that it will be shaken up quite badly and might forget its purpose of entering the Hole at all.
Chance: On the low end

Types of Petpets

Middle-sized Petpets are ideal for entering the Hole and are most likely to return with a reward. Big Petpets might get stuck in some of the narrower parts of the passageways, while very small Petpets might not be able to impress or intimidate the Symols who can be quite callous when it comes to the state of their treasure.

Fearsome-looking Petpets may also have an advantage as Symols are mild creatures at heart. This includes Petpets that have been painted Mutant, Halloween, Darigan etc., or those that naturally look rather frightening. It is not advisable to send your Royal, Pushie or Faerie Petpets, because they really cannot stand the dirt and mud that is down the Symol Hole.

The Captive Shadow Wraith, Mutant Puppyblew, Darigan Minitheus and Zombie Nedler are good choices of Petpets to enter the Mysterious Symol Hole, and with a just bit of luck, they may emerge from the Hole to hand over gifts galore.

Aftermath

It is vital for Petpets to rest and refresh before attempting the Mysterious Symol Hole once more. Upon their return, regardless of whether they have brought back rewards or not, these Petpets deserve to unwind for a while after such an experience. Neopians are encouraged to be lavish with the pampering of their Petpets. The following combinations will guarantee the full recovery of Petpets so that they will be able to explore the Symol Hole again with renewed vigour:

A delicious meal of Fancy Petpet Food, or Chokato Petpet Food;

A relaxing soak in a Coconut Petpet Bath Tub; and

A good night’s sleep in a Deluxe Canopy Petpet Bed, or a Luxury Castle Petpet Bed