Inclined to Incline

The Nile was a dark and dreary place, but it was very beautiful at the same time. One may find discomfort in the cloudy, rainy sky... the thin strips of land miles over a cascading waterfall that descended into an unknown abyss, or the terrifyingly tall and steep mountains. But not Lo and Squiggle. They had been through worse, and they have made it out of worse. After all, this was just the beginning of this adventure. They couldn't chicken out now!

Lo brushed past some tall sea grass. There was a certain excitement that came with not knowing what was below the grass. It could be anything. Maybe a monster waiting to grab his ankle and drag him into the abyss. Something about Lo is that he doesn't fear the unknown. He is intrigued by it.

They found themselves at a solid wall. So Lo began to climb, letting Squiggle go into his backpack so that he wouldn't fall. Climbing isn't really Lo's strong suit. It was probably the part of adventuring he was least skilled at. But still, he did fine.

As he reached from rock to rock, he tried to not look down. His fingers ached, with the scrapes from the blackberry bush from back home coming back to haunt him. It hurt, but that was okay. Pain is part of any adventure.

Lo was really pushing himself. He knew if he were to fall, he and his friend would become partner pancakes. The tips of his fingers were sore, and his legs and arms were beginning to get tired. But he knew he'd make it.

Then, monsters attacked.

Huge one-eyed bird monsters shot into the wall, and stabbed their beaks into the rock. Lo looked all around him as they circled him, with another one flying in, aiming for him! Lo jumped off the wall, and landed on the bird monster. It too, stabbed through the wall. Lo was then able to jump up from bird monster to bird monster. This was technically easier than climbing, but a lot more terrifying and precarious.

Nonetheless, Lo jumped up onto the ledge, and stood with his fists on his waist, proudly. He smiled. But then, a large shadow rose over him. It was humongous. He slowly turned around, the smile long since fallen from his face. Above him, was a GIANT bird monster not unlike the other ones.

The bird monster let out a deafening screech, so loud it blew Lo back a little bit. It was then that Squiggle decided to pop out of the backpack, looking around curiously. He hopped up onto Lo's head. "Do you have any ideas, Squiggle?" Squiggle thought on it. Then, he seemed to have an idea. Squiggle hopped down into the backpack, rummaged through it a little, and then pulled out an egg.

The bird looked shocked at the egg. Squiggle wound up a throw, and then... threw the egg at the bird. The eggshell broke upon impact, and the yolk inside ran down the bird's beak. The bird's eye twitched, then, it broke out into a fury. Looks like they had offended it.

The bird tried to dive into Lo and Squiggle, smashing its beak into the ground. When it pulled its beak out, it screeched again and tried to scratch at Lo with its talons. Lo dodged every scratch, and then pulled out his sword. He fended off the bird monster with it, as Squiggle threw more eggs in a rapid fire. With every egg that Squiggle threw, the bird got more angry.

The bird swooped in towards them. The eggs were no longer doing much. Lo tried to run, as Squiggle thought of what to do next. Squiggle then realized. The eye! The eye must be the weak spot! So, Squiggle waited until the bird was right up close, and threw the last egg. It hit the bird right in its eye, and the bird screeched one last time. It fell to the ground, unconscious.

Lo and Squiggle looked at each other, and then celebrated. They danced around each other, jumped up into the air, and high-fived. They had defeated the bird monsters! "Boy, I sure am tired after that fight," Lo stated. "Let's find somewhere to set up camp for the night." And so, they continued onward.