Chapter 3: The Marshlands
"Yay!" yelled Rayman. "Now, I can get to the marshes!" More hope was coming to Rayman. So far, he was acquiring a lot of Yellow Lums, and he figured that there'd probably be a few here too.
There was no time to lose--he had to get back more energy that was missing.
The Marshlands of Rayman's world were very humid, green, swampy areas with some lily pads floating on the top of the muddy waters. Rayman was standing on a creaking wooden bridge, overlooking the swamp. He could hear birds squawking, frogs croaking, and mosquitoes humming wildly. The air was humid. There was also another "Beware of Piranhas!" signpost! Yes, lots of piranhas kept leaping out of the waters here too! Their jaws snapped furiously and hungrily!
Rayman ran across the creaking bridge, and glided over to a lily pad and landed on it. There were some Yellow Lums lying around here, on top of the lily pads, which he didn't hesitate to pick up. He now had 60 Yellow Lums. From there, he glided over to a wooden pathway, around the base of an enormous oak tree! Rayman ran across the pathway to the big tree, wondering if there'd be anything of value there?
Suddenly, two black ghostly chickens rose from the ground. Rayman thought they looked freaky--but bravely, he shot energy at them (from his powerful fists), and the ghostly chickens deteriorated in a matter of seconds.
There was a hole inside the big tree--it turned out to be a hollow tree theat he could go into! Inside it, there was one Yellow Lum. It was the first one he had found in the marshes. Hanging in front of Rayman, on the walls inside the giant oak tree, was a wooden signpost, which read:
"Warning! This is unknown territory.
Tourism may be hazardous."
Rayman was now getting more frightened. He wasn't sure he wanted to continue any further. Still, he remembered Ly telling him that the fate of the world was in his hands! So, gathering his courage, he proceeded further into the eerie, hollow tree.
In a round, cave-like room inside the big tree (illuminated by green candlelight), there was a huge, round, green one-eyed monster, with skinny arms like dead tree branches. This monster was also wearing a tall, purple top hat and was holding a sceptre with a white skull on the end of it. He was sitting on a throne, and guarding the cave-like room.
The monster (who had a very huge, round mouth) spoke, in a weird, low voice: "No! You can't enter here! Only those who know the name of this cave can pass. So, shoo! Come back when you know the name!"
Rayman guessed: "Is it called "The Area of Very Ugly Stupid One-Eyed Monsters With Skinny Arms and Wearing Tall Purple Top Hats and Holding Sceptres with White Skulls on the ends?"
"No!" shouted the Cave Guardian. The cave guardian kicked Rayman out of the hollow tree.
Rayman had no choice but to turn back around and leave the giant tree until he knew the name of the cave that was inside the hollow tree.
Rayman ran back outside to the swampy area with all the lily pads floating on top of it. He could see that there was a rope fence at the end of the swamp! Rayman glided over to there, climbed up it, and jumped over to the other side of it! On the other side, there was another wooden bridge. From there, Rayman could see a very wide, open stretch of swamp. How the heck would Rayman cross this swamp, without sinking? (He couldn't glide that far with his helicopter, AND there were not any purple flying hooks to grab onto!) Rayman sat on the wooden bridge, while thinking about it. Suddenly, he heard a muffled voice yelling, "Help! Help!" Rayman then noticed a pirate cage--one that was much larger than usual--floating in the murky waters. The yelling seemed to be coming from some creature that was trapped inside it! "This looks like a job for...Rayman!" Rayman yelled. Then, he rapidly blasted open the giant cage with two shots of energy! BAM! BAM! The cage burst open!
Out came a skinny, pink snake. She had a red scarf wrapped around her neck. This was Sssuzy. She was the "sssister" of Sssam, who was one of Rayman's old friends.
"How can I ever thank you?" Sssuzy the snake said, after being freed.
"Oh, it was nothing," said Rayman, as if it was only a modest accomplishment. "Forget it, Sssuzy!"
"Awwh, I forget how good it feels to be free," said Sssuzy. "SSSENSSSATIONAL!!!!!"
"Tell me," interrupted Rayman, "do you know where to find the four masks of Polokus?"
"Sssorry, Rayman," hissed Sssuzy, "I don't know what you're talking about. But, if you're wondering anything about where Globox is, I saw him get captured by two fierce Robo-Pirates! They took him somewhere out beyond these marshes. If you'd like, I can help you get over to the other side."
"Gee, thanks!" agreed Rayman. "But how?"
"You can grab onto my red scarf," said Sssuzy, "and I'll use it to pull you across the swamp, just like waterskiing. Come on, let's go!"
"Hey, wait a minute," said Rayman. "Where is your brother Sssam? I heard that HE is usually the one who provides the waterskiing service here..."
"Yesss, usually he does," said Sssuzy, "but right now he is sssick with the chicken poxsss. Ssso I'm taking over for him."
So, Rayman grabbed on, and off they went, speeding through the murky waterrs, with Rayman being pulled along by Sssuzy, who was zooming along at top speed through the swamps. The background went by too quickly for Rayman to see it. And the ride was a very wet one, with Rayman's feet kicking up a lot of water. They passed through a long tunnel full of murk. There were some more ghostly chickens rising from the mud. "UGH!" said Rayman. Sssuzy steered him to the right, then to the left, to avoid these. They came out into an outdoor area. Rayman was losing his grip. He still tried to hold on tightly, as Sssuzy kept on going faster and faster and faster!
"Slow down, Sssuzy!" Rayman yelled out loud. However, Sssuzy couldn't hear him very well. There were now zooming into another tunnel, with a giant axe attached to a chain on the ceiling, swinging back and forth overheard. Sssuzy sped up, to get past it, before it swung into them!
"Phew!" gasped Rayman.
There were many Yellow Lums scattered throughout the marsh, too. While waterskiing with Sssuzy, Rayman picked up a lot of these as they passed by them. Then, they came to a huge, brown rock. Sssuzy circled around it three times, giving Rayman a chance to pick up thirteen Yellow Lums that were around it! Wasn't Rayman lucky?
Then, there was one more murky tunnel to speed through. They came outside to a swamp with many wooden posts sticking out of it! Sssuzy steered carefully around these posts, to avoid bumping into them. There were also some deadly, explosive bombs (with skull faces painted on them), floating in the swamp. They jumped over the rows of bombs. The two of them zoomed past some old shipwreck. There was a Robo-Pirate shooting at them, as they passed by. Luckily, Sssuzy steered away from this too. There were many more wooden posts and floating bombs up ahead, which Sssuzy had to keep steering around. It was pretty hard to avoid them! They now were probably zooming forward at 1,000 miles per hour!--so fast, that everything around Rayman was completely blurry! They still sped faster, faster, faster, FASTER!--it was impossible to slow down. Still, they kept on speeding faster--
Then, Sssuzy suddenly screeched to a halt, just as they reached dry land, again. Rayman was glad. That trip had made him extremely dizzy. So, everything was still spinning around him.
Rayman let go of Sssuzy's long scarf, and jumped off onto the dry land. As Rayman got off, Sssuzy hissed: "Rayman?"
Rayman turned around and looked back at Sssuzy. She was very "sssad" to be leaving Rayman, now. "Ssso long," spoke Sssuzy. "Come and sssee me again, if you can..."
"I promise I will," replied Rayman.
"I will miss you, my friend..." sighed Sssuzy, slowly slithering away...
"Me, too," said Rayman. "No time to lose." He had to get going! He proceeded further through the marshes. There was now solid ground up ahead...
"Beware," Ly spoke in Rayman's mind, as Rayman walked further, "Razorbeard may try to launch a surprise attack on you, if he finds out you've got this far..."
Rayman now had a total of 105 Yellow Lums. There was more hope now...
"Yay!" yelled Rayman. "Now, I can get to the marshes!" More hope was coming to Rayman. So far, he was acquiring a lot of Yellow Lums, and he figured that there'd probably be a few here too.
There was no time to lose--he had to get back more energy that was missing.
The Marshlands of Rayman's world were very humid, green, swampy areas with some lily pads floating on the top of the muddy waters. Rayman was standing on a creaking wooden bridge, overlooking the swamp. He could hear birds squawking, frogs croaking, and mosquitoes humming wildly. The air was humid. There was also another "Beware of Piranhas!" signpost! Yes, lots of piranhas kept leaping out of the waters here too! Their jaws snapped furiously and hungrily!
Rayman ran across the creaking bridge, and glided over to a lily pad and landed on it. There were some Yellow Lums lying around here, on top of the lily pads, which he didn't hesitate to pick up. He now had 60 Yellow Lums. From there, he glided over to a wooden pathway, around the base of an enormous oak tree! Rayman ran across the pathway to the big tree, wondering if there'd be anything of value there?
Suddenly, two black ghostly chickens rose from the ground. Rayman thought they looked freaky--but bravely, he shot energy at them (from his powerful fists), and the ghostly chickens deteriorated in a matter of seconds.
There was a hole inside the big tree--it turned out to be a hollow tree theat he could go into! Inside it, there was one Yellow Lum. It was the first one he had found in the marshes. Hanging in front of Rayman, on the walls inside the giant oak tree, was a wooden signpost, which read:
"Warning! This is unknown territory.
Tourism may be hazardous."
Rayman was now getting more frightened. He wasn't sure he wanted to continue any further. Still, he remembered Ly telling him that the fate of the world was in his hands! So, gathering his courage, he proceeded further into the eerie, hollow tree.
In a round, cave-like room inside the big tree (illuminated by green candlelight), there was a huge, round, green one-eyed monster, with skinny arms like dead tree branches. This monster was also wearing a tall, purple top hat and was holding a sceptre with a white skull on the end of it. He was sitting on a throne, and guarding the cave-like room.
The monster (who had a very huge, round mouth) spoke, in a weird, low voice: "No! You can't enter here! Only those who know the name of this cave can pass. So, shoo! Come back when you know the name!"
Rayman guessed: "Is it called "The Area of Very Ugly Stupid One-Eyed Monsters With Skinny Arms and Wearing Tall Purple Top Hats and Holding Sceptres with White Skulls on the ends?"
"No!" shouted the Cave Guardian. The cave guardian kicked Rayman out of the hollow tree.
Rayman had no choice but to turn back around and leave the giant tree until he knew the name of the cave that was inside the hollow tree.
Rayman ran back outside to the swampy area with all the lily pads floating on top of it. He could see that there was a rope fence at the end of the swamp! Rayman glided over to there, climbed up it, and jumped over to the other side of it! On the other side, there was another wooden bridge. From there, Rayman could see a very wide, open stretch of swamp. How the heck would Rayman cross this swamp, without sinking? (He couldn't glide that far with his helicopter, AND there were not any purple flying hooks to grab onto!) Rayman sat on the wooden bridge, while thinking about it. Suddenly, he heard a muffled voice yelling, "Help! Help!" Rayman then noticed a pirate cage--one that was much larger than usual--floating in the murky waters. The yelling seemed to be coming from some creature that was trapped inside it! "This looks like a job for...Rayman!" Rayman yelled. Then, he rapidly blasted open the giant cage with two shots of energy! BAM! BAM! The cage burst open!
Out came a skinny, pink snake. She had a red scarf wrapped around her neck. This was Sssuzy. She was the "sssister" of Sssam, who was one of Rayman's old friends.
"How can I ever thank you?" Sssuzy the snake said, after being freed.
"Oh, it was nothing," said Rayman, as if it was only a modest accomplishment. "Forget it, Sssuzy!"
"Awwh, I forget how good it feels to be free," said Sssuzy. "SSSENSSSATIONAL!!!!!"
"Tell me," interrupted Rayman, "do you know where to find the four masks of Polokus?"
"Sssorry, Rayman," hissed Sssuzy, "I don't know what you're talking about. But, if you're wondering anything about where Globox is, I saw him get captured by two fierce Robo-Pirates! They took him somewhere out beyond these marshes. If you'd like, I can help you get over to the other side."
"Gee, thanks!" agreed Rayman. "But how?"
"You can grab onto my red scarf," said Sssuzy, "and I'll use it to pull you across the swamp, just like waterskiing. Come on, let's go!"
"Hey, wait a minute," said Rayman. "Where is your brother Sssam? I heard that HE is usually the one who provides the waterskiing service here..."
"Yesss, usually he does," said Sssuzy, "but right now he is sssick with the chicken poxsss. Ssso I'm taking over for him."
So, Rayman grabbed on, and off they went, speeding through the murky waterrs, with Rayman being pulled along by Sssuzy, who was zooming along at top speed through the swamps. The background went by too quickly for Rayman to see it. And the ride was a very wet one, with Rayman's feet kicking up a lot of water. They passed through a long tunnel full of murk. There were some more ghostly chickens rising from the mud. "UGH!" said Rayman. Sssuzy steered him to the right, then to the left, to avoid these. They came out into an outdoor area. Rayman was losing his grip. He still tried to hold on tightly, as Sssuzy kept on going faster and faster and faster!
"Slow down, Sssuzy!" Rayman yelled out loud. However, Sssuzy couldn't hear him very well. There were now zooming into another tunnel, with a giant axe attached to a chain on the ceiling, swinging back and forth overheard. Sssuzy sped up, to get past it, before it swung into them!
"Phew!" gasped Rayman.
There were many Yellow Lums scattered throughout the marsh, too. While waterskiing with Sssuzy, Rayman picked up a lot of these as they passed by them. Then, they came to a huge, brown rock. Sssuzy circled around it three times, giving Rayman a chance to pick up thirteen Yellow Lums that were around it! Wasn't Rayman lucky?
Then, there was one more murky tunnel to speed through. They came outside to a swamp with many wooden posts sticking out of it! Sssuzy steered carefully around these posts, to avoid bumping into them. There were also some deadly, explosive bombs (with skull faces painted on them), floating in the swamp. They jumped over the rows of bombs. The two of them zoomed past some old shipwreck. There was a Robo-Pirate shooting at them, as they passed by. Luckily, Sssuzy steered away from this too. There were many more wooden posts and floating bombs up ahead, which Sssuzy had to keep steering around. It was pretty hard to avoid them! They now were probably zooming forward at 1,000 miles per hour!--so fast, that everything around Rayman was completely blurry! They still sped faster, faster, faster, FASTER!--it was impossible to slow down. Still, they kept on speeding faster--
Then, Sssuzy suddenly screeched to a halt, just as they reached dry land, again. Rayman was glad. That trip had made him extremely dizzy. So, everything was still spinning around him.
Rayman let go of Sssuzy's long scarf, and jumped off onto the dry land. As Rayman got off, Sssuzy hissed: "Rayman?"
Rayman turned around and looked back at Sssuzy. She was very "sssad" to be leaving Rayman, now. "Ssso long," spoke Sssuzy. "Come and sssee me again, if you can..."
"I promise I will," replied Rayman.
"I will miss you, my friend..." sighed Sssuzy, slowly slithering away...
"Me, too," said Rayman. "No time to lose." He had to get going! He proceeded further through the marshes. There was now solid ground up ahead...
"Beware," Ly spoke in Rayman's mind, as Rayman walked further, "Razorbeard may try to launch a surprise attack on you, if he finds out you've got this far..."
Rayman now had a total of 105 Yellow Lums. There was more hope now...
