"Ah, finally!" said Jake, looking around.
"Yes," said Brian, "We're finally so lost we'll probably never get back to the boats."
"No, I meant we're finally out of the forest," said Jake. After an hour or so of hacking through bushes and vines, they had finally reached what appeared to be a clearing. Before them, enormous structures loomed ominously - dark shadows painted on the eternal night sky.
"Whoa," said brave Serestus, "What is going on?"
"It seems to be some sort of city," said Jake, squinting.
"Or rather, what used to be some sort of city," replied Brian. The rustle of the wind in the leaves suddenly sounded much creepier as they looked at the abandoned ruins.
"Yeah, let's turn back then," said Jake, "I doubt there's anyone here who can help us. We need to find where we got separated and retrace our steps."
"Are you kidding me?" asked brave Serestus, "This is awesome! Let's go explore."
"Whoa whoa whoa," said Jake, "Seriously! we need to get back to the boats if we don't want to be left behind. For all we know, maybe they decided they weren't going to find any game here and are rowing to the ship this very moment?"
"In all honesty," replied brave Serestus, "They probably won't have any easier of a time getting back than we will. Come on!"
And so, the trio spent the next few hours wandering around the ancient city. The buildings were all of stone, and many were shaped like pyramids. Often, parts contained strange inscriptions or engravings. The longer they remained, the more uneasy they felt. Finally, even brave Serestus felt like leaving.
"Ok, let's get out of here," he said to Jake, "It all appears to be the same. More and more stone buildings. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. Let's go. Say, where's Brian?"
"What the…" stammered Jake, watching as Brian, having run down the street without the other two noticing, disappeared into one of the giant stone pyramids.
"Ok, he's gone mad," brave Serestus, running after him. "BRIAN! BRIAN!" he shouted.
Jake followed close behind. Both hesitated momentarily on the threshold before entering cautiously.
"I can't see," whispered brave Serestus.
"Hold on a sec, my iPhone has a flashlight app," said Jake. A moment later, he had activated it and directed the light in front of them. The were standing at the end of a narrow corridor. Listening closely, they could hear the faint sound of Brian's footsteps echoing in the distance.
"Ugh, ok, come on," said brave Serestus. Both began jogging down the corridor. For five minutes or so, they chased Brian, before finally finding him stopped in the center of a large hall, upon which was a table that seemed to be made of gold. Unbeknownest to the trio, it was in fact orichalcum - a metal known for it's resistance to magical manipulation. Engraved on the metal were countless occult designs. Just looking at it sent shivers down Jake's spine. Upon three of the corners was embedded a different jewel - a diamond, a sapphire, and a ruby. The fourth corner contained an indentation, where a jewel had clearly once been. On the center of the table was a note, written on what was clearly a very old piece of papyrus.
"Ok, Brian, what the heck is wrong with you?" asked Jake.
"I don't know," said Brian, "I thought I smelled chocolate and just followed my nose. Somehow, I ended up here, but I don't smell it anymore."
"What?" asked Jake, "I can't tell if you're being serious or not. We're in a creepy abandoned city, you randomly think you smell chocolate, and the first thing you do is run after it? Are you ok?"
"I might be," said Brian, "But is Brian?" Upon saying this, "Brian" gave a sinister grin and vanished, leaving the two of them blinking their eyes. Jake was terrified. Brave Serestus was feeling slightly less brave than usual. Suddenly, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps and instinctively drew their swords and turned to face the door, holding their breath as they waited.
A figure entered, panting. Upon focusing the flashlight app on it, they realized it was Brian.
"Guys, what they heck?" said Brian, "Guys? Guys? What's wrong." He noticed the baffled expression on the faces of his two friends.
"Ummm, where were you?" asked Jake.
"Well," began Brian, "I stopped briefly to examine a neat looking design etched on the wall of one of the buildings while you two wandered up ahead. Then, the next thing I knew, you two were shouting my name and sprinting toward this building. I was so confused, but followed you, and now, here I am…"
Jake and brave Serestus glanced at each other, unsure how to react. They had no doubt that Brian told the truth.
"But… but who was that?" asked Jake. Brave Serestus just shrugged his shoulders.
"Who was what?" asked Brian, walking towards them, and examining the table. "Whoa, what's this?"
"I don't know," said Jake, "What does it say?" He was referring to the note placed neatly at the center of the table.
"Do you think I can read that?" asked Brian.
"Wait a moment, I have the google translate app," said Jake, "Let me scan it."
The room grew darker as Jake switched from the flashlight app to the google translate app and scanned the piece of papyrus. The app identified the writing as Linear B, and translated it as follows,
"The account given by Sister Orchid was not entirely correct. This city is no longer the guardian of Heartache, having failed to save itself from that which they sought to protect. A more powerful kingdom now holds it, although I have not identified which one. It should not take long. Search for and recover Acid. I will await you before the gates of Uranus.
-Brother Lemonade"