Land Lo!

VRREEEEEW! Went the plane as it flew over the vast ocean. Lo cranked up the speed. They lowered, as they figured they were almost at the island and were prepared to land. They had been flying for hours. They were both getting very tired. But Lo wouldn't fall asleep. Not now!

Unless… maybe a wink wouldn't hurt? Lo closed his eyes. He slowly… drifted… off… and then, SMACK! He was woken up by Squiggle slapping him. He opened his eyes, to find he had almost nose-dived into the ocean! "Woops!" Lo exclaimed. He directed the plane upwards and got back to a safe altitude. The plane resumed flying high. "That was a close one. Thanks, Squiggle." Squiggle got back into his seat.

As the fog cleared, Lo could see a speck in the far distance. At first, his eyes registered it as an extra-small bug. But no… upon further inspection, it appeared to be the island of Reefance! "Hey look, we're almost there," Lo stated. "We're kicking it into overdrive! Treasure, here we come!" He flicked up a lever in the plane, and blasted forward.

A lightning storm had been taking place for a long time now. Almost as if some outside force was directly trying to stop them from reaching the island. But nonetheless, they had made it this far. It was best to land as soon as possible to avoid being struck out of the air by lightning.

"Hmm…" Lo sighed, examining the shimmering rock-gemstone beach ahead of them. This must have been The Nile. Lo practically should have flown to the other side of the island, but that's cheating. That's not the adventurer's way. Why even go on a quest if you're going to skip through it all? "Well, the landing's gonna be a bit bumpy. I can't find a place to land properly."

Lo slowly descended, and the plane jerked and bounced as it landed upon the rocks and geodes. "Ouch! Oof! Agh! Whoa!" Lo exclaimed, the plane slowly coming to a stop. He was afraid it would turn over. Squiggle just took off his helmet, and looked at Lo irritated. "Oh, sorry about that, Squiggle. Come on, let's go."

Lo hopped out of the plane, followed by Squiggle. They landed on the uneven ground, and tried not to fall over. They quickly caught their balance. However, right when they did, a lightning bolt struck right in front of them. It wasn't white like the others… no… it was more… purple?

"Ah!" Lo screamed. Squiggle jumped onto Lo's hat in fear. The lightning bolt faded away… to reveal… a witch! She was short, green and ugly. She had a large pointy nose, two yellowed eyes, a hat and cloak, and zits covering every inch of her face. "Oh no! It's a witch!" Lo exclaimed. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his homemade sword, which was a tree branch affixed to another one. Squiggle simply put up his arms for a fight.

"Grah… I don't get paid enough for this!" The witch hissed to herself. She took on a fighting stance. "Young men, you'd best leave this island right now. Or else!"

"What do you mean 'or else'?" Lo asked, pointing his sword at the ugly witch. "We found this island. The treasure is ours for the taking!"

"You may think that, but is it really?" The witch asked. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Winimum. Winimum Mage! I am… sigh… merely a lackey to the true owner of the treasure, Lord Ommin!" Winimum seemed to be daydreaming as she said this. She soon snapped out of it and shook her head rapidly.

"T-that is to say…!" Winimum exclaimed. "The island has already been secured by Lord Ommin and his legion, so we can't have you meddling in our search for the treasure! Do you understand?"

"I won't let you get the treasure!" Lo shouted. "What kind of adventurers take over someone else's quest?!"

"We Omminers aren't adventurers like you, silly boy," Winimum scoffed. "We are treasure hunters above all else. We take whatever we can as efficiently as possible. In fact, Lord Ommin has probably already arrived at the treasure at this point! So your quest up to this point has been for nothing. Now, go home and get some rest, meanderers! It's important for your growth!"

"I don't believe you," Lo replied. "That's SO a bluff."

"Oh-ho, I wouldn't be so sure!" Winimum exclaimed. "Well, it is in an meanderer's nature to embark on meaningless endeavors. So I guess… continue, for the sake of the journey, rather than the obviously superior destination! Pla-ha-ha-ha! I bid you adieu, meanderers. Have fun!"

Winimum hopped onto her broom, and flew away, cackling. It left behind a trail of dark pixie dust that made Lo sneeze. "Agh… we can't let Lord Ommin get the treasure before us! I think we just made some rivals, Squiggle." Squiggle nodded, quickly getting back to a relaxing position on Lo's hat. "Well, standing around won't do us much help. We need to get to the treasure as soon as possible!" Lo ran off further into The Nile.