…uhhhhhh

(throws this at you and runs)

"Come on!" Annabelle patted the side of her boat, bending over backward to get the cricks out of her back. Her dog abandoned his heedless chase of a rabbit and barreled towards the boat, launching himself inside and nearly sending the vessel off to sea without her. "Hey!" Annabelle grabbed the side, laughing as her dog fell in an ungraceful heap in the bottom of the rowboat. "Skip!" Unperturbed, Skip scrambled back to his feet, panting merrily.

It had been far too long since Annabelle had gotten out of the house. When she'd found herself cussing at a fence post for being half a block taller than she'd expected, Annabelle had made the decision to go on a quick vacation. Luckily, the beach was only a short walk from her farm, and she intended to sail straight north to the continent across from hers. Annabelle studied the map a final time before stashing it in her backpack, getting behind the boat and putting all her weight into pushing it into the water.

Her dog, Skip, would be her only companion on this voyage. There were no other players that lived close enough for her to invite, not that she would want to if they did. She had always gotten along better with mobs anyway.

With a mighty shove, Annabelle pushed the boat off the sand, and scrambled to climb it before it could get too far.

"Okay, Skipper." She said as she situated herself, grasping the oars. "We're going about 2000 blocks to the north. That means we should get there by nightfall, maybe earlier depending on how tired my arms get." Skip barked, clearly excited, and he lay down on the seat behind her as she set her compass in a visible spot and began to row.

It was a gorgeous day to sail, and Annabelle really hoped it stayed that way - the weather could easily change in a moment's notice. Skip watched the water as they sailed, occasionally letting out a yip or a bark if he saw something that interested him, but primarily just enjoying the ride. The ocean was calm, and their only company were the tropical fish that swam about beneath them as they crossed over a coral reef.

As the sun peaked in the sky, land appeared on the horizon.

"Look!" Annabelle exclaimed, prompting Skip to start wagging his tail. "We must have made great time - I didn't think we'd be here for hours." She continued rowing with renewed fervor, only to frown as more of the landmass came into view. "Although… wait." Locking the oars, she fished the map out of her backpack, studying it. "We should be hitting a desert, not…" She looked back up at the tall, swaying trees and stalks of bamboo. "…jungle."

Skip barked as she looked back at the map, now very confused. "I don't understand how we could have gotten this lost." She muttered. "There shouldn't be jungle for… uh… thousands of blocks to the east." Annabelle flicked her compass, watching as it spun, then pointed north again. She glanced at the sun, then back down. "So yeah, what gives?"

Skip offered no great insight, attention on the distant jungle, so she picked up her oars and started rowing again. Poor thing probably wanted to stretch his legs. As she neared it, Annabelle became aware of how narrow the landmass was, and angled to pass it by.

"It's an island." She realized aloud as the end of it came into sight. Skip wriggled insistently, and she sighed, turning towards the shore. "Not on my map? That's not suspicious at all." But she couldn't deny that it was gorgeous, and looked like a great place to stop and have a bite to eat. So, she rowed up to a sandy beach and climbed out of the boat, dragging it up onto the shore and placing a fence post beside it.

Skip wasted no time in launching himself from the boat and sprinting merrily up and down the shoreline. He had the good grace to, at least, wait until Annabelle had tied up the boat and grabbed her backpack out of it before taking off into the trees. As she followed, Annabelle admitted to herself that she would be content even if they didn't make it to their initial destination. This place was gorgeous, she could definitely see herself spending a few days here. It wasn't like anyone was expecting her, after all.

Annabelle followed Skip up onto a small hilltop dotted with bamboo, in the center of which were a pair of black and white panda bears. Skip wasted no time in bounding towards them and trying to get them to play, but the gentle giants all but ignored him in favor of chewing on the bamboo stalks. Picking a patch of grass surrounded by jungle flowers, Annabelle sat down and unpacked some bread for her lunch. She leaned back against a sun-warmed boulder and shut her eyes, sighing. She really had been long overdue for a vacation.

Once he was finished harassing the pandas, Skip joined her at her picnic spot, and the two of them shared a pork chop for lunch. Annabelle was getting steadily more curious about the island as they ate, and as soon as they'd finished they were off to explore. It wasn't a huge island, she could see the shore from almost every point she stopped to look. But it was big enough to spend at least a couple of days exploring, she reckoned as she climbed a rough path up a cliffside. And plenty big enough for her to stay for a week.

"Wonder why this wasn't on my map." She remarked to Skip, trotting alongside her. "I suppose it's small enough that it may have just… been missed, all these years. Or maybe it is on more recent maps, and mine just happens to be severely outdated." She waved the chart, and Skip's ears pricked up. "Next time I do go to town, I'll see about getting new ones."

They crested the hill, and a building came into view.

Annabelle stuttered to a halt, lowering the rolled-up map in her hand. There were people here? Though… the structure looked ancient, cracks running through the pillars of aged stone. Perhaps a relic of ages past? The sight made her nervous, regardless. She wouldn't want to run into someone, especially not someone who may accuse her of trespassing. Her gaze dropped to Skip, who looked as cheerful as ever.

"Should we go check it out?" She voiced, uncertain. Skip's tail wagged enthusiastically. "Alright…" Annabelle tucked the map back into her bag, then slung the backpack over her shoulders and began to descend the hill.

The building, an old temple, lay in the little dip between two great hills. It was overgrown with moss and vines, and the closer she got the more assured she was that the place was long abandoned. It must have been built hundreds of years ago, and she was pretty sure that if the descendants of said builders still lived here then she would have run into them by now. Emboldened, she circled the temple until she found the doorway, then stepped inside.

Annabelle could smell mold and dust as she tiptoed into the first room, which contained nothing but a staircase in the center of it. Whatever lay at the bottom was completely shrouded by darkness, and Annabelle pulled off her backpack, rummaging around inside until she found her handheld lantern and lit it. Skip stayed close at her heels as she made her way down the staircase, one hand braced on the wall to keep from slipping on the moss. It was scarily silent in the basement, the thick, stone walls blocking out the ambient sounds of the jungle outside. Annabelle found herself holding her breath, as if the ceiling would crumble in on her if she made a single sound.

Skip, however, had no reservations, and barked, causing his poor mistress to nearly drop the lantern in fright.

"Skip!" She admonished him. "What?" The dog merely wagged his tail. "Jerk." A nervous giggle bubbled up in her throat. At least he'd broken the tension. Remembering her adventure, Annabelle turned to look both ways. One hallway led to a dead end, with three levers on one wall, while the other led to a corner. Annabelle chose the corner route first, though she slowed at the sight of three arrows stuck in the wall.

"Skip, sit." She commanded. Skip obeyed as she stepped forward cautiously, holding up the lantern to illuminate the hallway ahead. At the far end was a suspicious-looking hole in the wall, breaking through the ivy. Likely the source of the arrows.

She lowered the lantern, scanning the floor until she found what she was looking for - tripwires. Or, what was left of them, the wires had been cut and lay on the sides of the hallway. She still avoided the center as she hurried down the hall, calling for Skip to join her only once she had made it to the other side without incident.

Once he was nosing around her feet again, Annabelle turned the new corner and immediately came face to face with a treasure chest. She wasted no time in dropping to her knees and opening it, but unfortunately the only things inside were a piece of string and a mushroom. She was disappointed, but not too surprised - someone had cut the tripwires, after all. She hadn't been the first one here since whoever built this had left it.

"Okay," She whispered to Skip. "Now the other way." She stood, dusting off her knees, only to see her dog standing stock still beside the chest, gaze focused behind her. She frowned, turned around, and her lantern crashed to the floor as the man behind her seized her by both wrists.

"I was wondering when I'd catch up with you."

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