Long ago in the depths of the Mirage Jungle, a colossal, magnificent city lay. It was called the Gilded Mire, an ancient city entirely made of gold. Here, there was the precious artefact, shimmering with gold, that sparked curiosity and wonder around the lush, emerald forest, touching the hearts of the souls who awakened and pursued it. How this began was no mystery, as a gleaming box of light emerged from the peace of the heavens and softly descended onto the smooth, blooming surface of the grass, like the flight of a bird. There were 4 powerful beings called the Mighty Jungle beings who had the mighty power of ball elements, which were water, earth, fire, and air, and each immortal was named after the element. They were people who came from their homeland and placed a magnificently powerful treasure, a gift, in Moriko. It was given to them because their land was going to be destroyed and demolished by evil soldiers, and their father, the Mighty Melek, told them to take the treasure, which was a smooth gold rock, down to Earth and protect it, and keep it safe from the dangers lurking within. They placed it in a spot on the ground in the wilds of the region, and the entire city was created into existence. But then, something happened that changed the lives of the future…
Centuries later, when the Gilded Mire had faded into myth, a group of daring explorers stepped into the heart of the Mirage Jungle. Among them was Mariam, a curious historian with her heart full of wonder, and Dave, desperate to have daring adventures during his journey. Mariam was determined to find out about the mysterious ‘Gilded Mire’ and what it contained, whereas Dave was more interested in danger and going through risky ventures. And together, they would uncover the secrets of the treasure inside, for what lay was unquestionable…
“This is very strange, said Mariam. “This is like the pieces of a puzzle,” said Dave. They wandered deep and deeper into the jungle, finally stopping at the first obstacle that came in their way. The first obstacle was a swamp, but if anything or anyone touched it, the murky water would turn into a vortex, and it would send you to the fire realm. But they didn’t know that, and were soon to find out. “This must be our first clue”, said Mariam, checking her notes carefully. “Okay, let’s go through it!” said Dave. Just as he was about to touch his toes into the swampy water, suddenly a creature of some sort dived into the water, with a gigantic splash, and that’s when it started. The vortex was creating itself, and became bigger and bigger until the creature got sucked and was never to be seen again. Both Mariam and Dave were shocked, processing what had just occurred before them. “It’s clear we need to find a way to reach the next obstacle, said Mariam. So each of them started looking for more clues, peeking through every nook and cranny, and in every corner, they could detect. Suddenly, Dave exclaimed, “Look, there’s a lever on the bark!’’ Mariam came over to look and agreed. They both decided to pull the lever, and pulled it downwards with all the strength they had. Instantly, an aureate-like bridge appeared, building itself constantly and rapidly, until it was formed. ‘’YES! WE NAILED IT!” they both cried and crossed it, with no hesitation.
Now, feeling confident, they advanced further into the darkness of the treacherous jungle. Here and there, there were sounds of uncertainty and eeriness, creeping up towards everything in its path. Then, suddenly, they uncovered a large, enormous pit smack right in the middle of the jungle. Then, when they came to the spacious area, they saw 20 hungry lions with black fur, horns, and mouths full of fangs, red glowing eyes, and were 2 times bigger than a regular lion. They were gnashing their jaws together, as if they were waiting for this for a long time. It was a horrible sight! They both gasped in unison. “I can’t believe WHAT I’m looking at right now!’’, said Mariam. But Dave saw a large stone tower next to the pit, and he said,” Hey! Maybe we could use our rope in our supplies, and we could use it to go across”. Mariam agreed because the pit wasn’t as large as they had expected, and there was a tree branch above them (according to Mariam’s calculations, 6 metres), and they could tie the rope to the branch, and they could swing over. So together, they tied the rope to the tree, and it swung nicely over. Mariam realised the rope wasn’t strong enough for two rounds, so she decided they had to go at the same time. But disaster struck! The rope snapped, and they ended up at the edge of the pit. As the lions swiped their claws, with huge force, running at top speed, their eyes glowing like fire, at the surviving explorers, Mariam and Dave, terrified of what their lives were about to become, climbed up quickly, like agile monkeys, and made it safely, but barely. When they made it up, they gasped for air, slowly processing what had just occurred, and what could have happened if they hadn’t made it on time. Slowly, after, they continued their journey.
After a 5-minute walk, up a steep hill full of glowing moss, there was a cliff, and on the other side, there was a second cliff. There was also an oak tree, standing lonely, but proudly on its own. “OK! Huff! This is the last obstacle, according to my research journal. Let’s do this!’’, said Mariam. Both Dave and Mariam tried to find a way to get across, but they were out of ideas. Most of their ideas were very advanced and didn’t match anything that this obstacle could be. But then Dave realised that the answer was under his nose the whole time. Dave responded, “I think I have a way that we can do!’’. Because Dave happened to have a bow and arrow (he was prepared for his adventures all the time), he tied his rope to the arrow and shot it at the tree. “Ta-da!’’, he exclaimed. Mariam realised what he had done. “Oh, it’s a zip-line! That’s a great idea! So he and Mariam used some strong, sturdy tree branches to hang onto the trunk of the tree, and glided across it swiftly. Eventually, they reached the other side, relieved and glad that nothing had badly happened to them (apart from the ferocious lions). But they were wrong. Very wrong…
Finally, they had arrived in the city. “Wow! It’s beautiful, like a shimmery gem!” said Mariam. “Agreed”, said Dave. After admiring the alluring city, Dave exclaimed, “Ok, all we need to do is get to the treasure and take a picture, and we can do the rest on the way home”. But something was dubious. “Something’s not right… It can’t be that easy.”, said Mariam. “LOOK!’’ they saw different footprints, and they were leading inside the city, and it wasn’t theirs… (Uh-oh) They decided to investigate and find out whose they were. They followed the track, and it led all the way to…the treasure! And they finally realised, they were not alone…
