Oliver and Emma shook their heads. Legend of Magic? Even the name was cringe worthy. Santiago began with the dumbest story start.
"It started out with a man named Osmar," he said. "Osmar had a friend named Edson. They both had magical abilities that were never seen before. Osmar used his power for good, but Edson used his power for evil. They grew further apart by every day. Edson became known as The Stalker. They had an epic battle, of which ended in a tie. Edson's power was stronger, but Osmar had more control over his. When they battled for the second time, Osmar had to overuse his power to delay the rise of The Stalker. Osmar died that day, but his wife was alive, and they had a child who had a child, and so on. The Stalker was contained, but not for long.
"One day, The Stalker managed to save enough power to break free, and now he is loose. People have claimed to see a figure in a dark cloak. The only thing that can defeat him is a certain weapon in the Heart of the Jungle." Why did they have to come up with the most dramatic names ever?
"And then?" Emma asked. "What happens next?"
"Nothing," Santiago replies. "That's it. If the weapon is not found, the earth will be destroyed." In Oliver's opinion, that was a rather dumb legend. Why did this relate to them? Oh wait.
"You want us to find this 'weapon', don't you?" Oliver asked. Santiago nodded. Oliver and Emma sighed. "How do we find the Heart of the Jungle?" Santiago took out a map from his pocket. He laid it on a flat rock.
"The Heart of the Jungle is here," he said. "You will have to fight some hidden dangers, and fend off The Stalker's minions." Santiago rolled up the map and handed it to Oliver. Emma looked at him. They both looked at Santiago, but he had disappeared.
"Are we going to be in danger every minute in the Amazon?" Oliver asked. "Is this going to be a regular thing?"
"I hope not," Emma said. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Show me that map." Oliver spread the map out. It showed a section of the Amazon, and the Heart of the Jungle was very far from the village. A note Oliver didn't notice before was written on the back of the map.
"It's. . .a survival guide," Oliver said. "Edible food, drinks, shelter building, and. . .magical creatures?"
"Does it say any of the magical creature's names?" Emma asked. She looked at the magical creatures section. "Oh. It's just about survival from the magical creatures." Oliver flipped it over, back to the map. They looked at the trail on the map. Through this and that, blah, blah, blah.
"That's easy enough," Oliver said. "Follow the trail and it will lead us to the weapon!" Emma rolled her eyes and sighed.
"What about the 'hidden dangers' Santiago was talking about?" she asked. "And The Stalker's minions?"
"Oh yeah," said Oliver. "I forgot about that. What do The Stalker's minions look like anyway? And what type of hidden dangers?" Something dark moved in the trees in the corner of his eye. He turned around and scanned the forest around them.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked, concerned. She looked at where Oliver was staring intently. "Did you see something?" Oliver slowly nodded.
"I thought I saw something move back there, but I'm not sure," Oliver said. "My mind must be playing tricks on me." They turned back to the map. But then Oliver saw the dark figure again.
"Oliver?" said Emma. She looked genuinely confused.
"I swear I saw something," Oliver said. "It was right there." He pointed to the spot where the dark shape was moments before. All of a sudden, something slammed into the ground in front of them. It was the figure Oliver saw before. It was humanoid, but its body seemed to be made of pure darkness.
"Is that what you saw?" Emma whispered. Oliver nodded. "It looks like—" The darkness creature lunged towards them its fingers equipped with razor sharp claws. Oliver shot a blast of ice at it. It reared and roared in pain. Emma made a ring of fire around them, so the beast could not get any closer. Then she started hurling fireballs at it. It dodged them, but one hit it square in the chest, and it fell in surprise. The beast sprouted wings from its back and flew away into the darkness. They both breathed heavily. Their powers drained their energy.
"Where are we going to sleep for the night?" Oliver asked. They chose a small clearing and made makeshift tents. Emma was about to surround the whole camp in a ring of fire, when Oliver grabbed her hand. "The brightness will alert everything in the jungle of our location. They decided to make a ice wall around it instead. It had to be thick, so it did not melt right away.
"What do you think about our task to the Heart of the Jungle?" Emma asked.
"I really honestly don't want to," Oliver replied. "I just want to go home with my family, and not get killed in the Amazon by a demon. It's funny to think that we got here in an airplane crash, found out we have powers, then go on a suicide mission by an old man, who we don't even know is telling the truth. What if this is all a lie, and we get lost without finding our parents ever again?"
"I don't think this is a lie," Emma said. "We just saw things that prove magic exists. We'll get through this, and find our families again." They sat in silence for a few moments.
"Doesn't thus seem scary to you?" Oliver asked. "I just don't want my parents to die, and I don't want you to die either." In the chirping and fluttering of the Amazon, it was hardly possible to hear Emma's reply.
"Me too."