Mandarin and the Case of: Mustard Green

The Call to the Adventure

Mandarin, a girl with a little heart and big dreams, often liked to lay in the soft grass and gaze at the white clouds. She admired their forms and shifting shapes, the bright blue of the sky. She gazed away and looked at the mountains that grew higher than the one she had grown up on.

Mandarin and her sister lived comfortably on the slope of a mountain, in a little pink house, high above the shore line. The view was extraordinary and amazing, and Mandarin often liked to see it, and watch those below her thrive and live their own lives. She felt safe here, happy to be witness to the sun rising and falling each morning and evening. She stood up, and led herself to the edge of the plateau, admiring the view of the little houses so far away.

To her horror, she found that the dirt seemed darker than usual, as if it was wet. But it hadn't rained in days. The green grass was now yellow and flat. The paths were empty, only tents stood with stands that were used to sell produce in, also absent in what seemed to now be a ghost town. Mandarin couldn't decipher why suddenly the lower island seemed so dead. It had never seemed this way before. 

She continued to gaze, thinking and thinking of how, turning her head around and glancing at some bushes- three of them, bundled together- flourished with red and yellow berries. Then the leaves shook, to her surprise.

And there it was.

A snake.

The snake slithered toward her, slowly, at first. He had a long, sharp snout, and large black eyes. And he was very green, as bright green as the leaves of a palm tree, with soft yellow lines throughout his long and slender body. He looked a bit menacing, admittedly, so Mandarin took a step back in caution.

"There's no need to back away, wee one, I am but merely a spectacular snake with no name, but a word."

"From who...?" Mandarin responded curiously, still unsure whether the snake was friend or foe, despite what he had said. Strangely, the fact the snake spoke to her had not fazed her.

"From those below, those that are hidden from the sun, of course," The snake assured, tilting his head, "It is a word from them I must tell you, one of great adventure and dares."

She stood silent, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"Do you see those below you?" he said, " They are in danger, the homo sapiens, like you, along with the wildlife of the land, the amphibians of the marshes, and fish of the sea. All nature. Somewhere, in a cave so hidden from the naked eye, its bad ambience has spread. Someone is doing wrong there, and fate has chosen you to be the one, because of your love for the stars, the grass, and the sea."

"The one?"

"Yes. To get there, you must go through two trials that will test your strength, charisma, and determination, and one final battle to save the island [of Tiki] from deterioration."