Chapter Two: Island Magic

The two adventurers sailed for three days, until they finally reached the island paradise of Bonacarte. Dan was gleeful that his navigation skills were sharp, while Uchi just seemed relieved to get off the boat. When they dropped onto shore Dan took out the bottle and their boat turned to water again, and then small droplets of liquid lifted out of it and back into the bottle.
"So, what's that place called, again?" Uchi asked, tired.
"Managrem," said Dan. "It should be towards the south."

The two friends walked, each of them worn down by the trip, but alert nonetheless. Dan had a hand placed on his sword, ready to whip it out if trouble ever showed. Uchi had her hand placed on the handle of her lance, which was strapped across her back.

Uchi and Dan were childhood friends from the mountainous region of Islop. The people of Islop were kind, and always took to themselves, although they had a large army. Dan and Uchi often took part in army training sessions, with Uchi succeeding in almost everything she did, and Dan falling behind. Indeed, Uchi was perfectly toned for a girl of her age, while Dan, although still relatively strong, was not very built.

They walked for what seemed hours, and finally rooftops of small huts could be seen straight ahead. They quickened their pace, eager to drink something to relieve them of the island heat. Suddenly, the earth shook.

"Uh… security system?" asked Dan, shakily.
"No." Uchi said. "Something is very wrong here."

She drew out her lance and held it in both hands. Dan followed suit.

The ground shook for about five minutes, then the tremor abruptly stopped. Dan made a motion to keep walking, but Uchi held him back. Without warning, huge, lizard-like fiends appeared from under the sand.
"What are those things?" Dan shouted.
"Fiends, obviously," said Uchi calmly. "But look – they're different than the ones from back home."

"They sure as hell look a lot meaner." Dan said, scared, for now the fiends were circling them. Him and his companion were outmatched three-to-one.

Suddenly, the fiends stopped. They turned to face their prey, and as they crouched in for a jump, huge thunderbolts rained down upon them, killing all but one. The remaining fiend looked confused, and turned around to see who had done the deed.

"Hiyah!" screamed a voice. It was a girl's.
The girl's scepter hit the fiend in the head and it fell, just like its comrades. The girl stood up, and shook the sand out of her hair. She was tanned, and very pretty.
"That'll teach those damn…" she stopped short of her thought once she saw the startled Dan and Uchi. "Oh, hey," she said. "My name's Maria."