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Chapter 3: To Sapphire Lake!

As they were halfway down the path, Echo looked inside her quiver, and discovered that she was out of arrows! Not wanting to aggravate any of her friends, she crossed her fingers that they would run into a merchant.

She was delighted to see a wooden stall not that far from them! "Look, a shop! Let's go there!" she said to the party. They all walked over, with their hands full of Quills. But their excitement quickly changed to disappointment when they saw the owner. It was the very same man who ran the "Sword Shop" they went to earlier. His sign now read "ARROW SHOP" in sloppy blue lettering. Both Rs and the P were backwards. His penmanship had not improved one bit. And nothing for sale was an actual arrow! Instead, there were several different kinds of swords, with little placecards in front of them proclaiming them "METAL ARROWS". There were also a few random objects strewn around the table. "WAHOO! IT'S YOU AGAIN!" the shopkeeper said excitedly. The party couldn't bear to just not buy anything, so they each bought one of the random objects.

Destry bought a chunk of cheese, Evren bought a flower when no one was looking, Echo bought a pair of hairpins, and Lilia bought a quill pen. The shopkeeper enthusiastically waved goodbye as they left. They walked down the path until they reached the lovely Woodpine Town. Unlike Stathmore Village, Woodpine Town was full of life! There were people walking all around, even though the sun was beginning to set, and laughter rang throughout the air.

The party was starting to feel tired. Luckily, there was an inn not that far from where they were standing. They pooled their Quills together and checked in. They fell asleep just as their heads hit the pillows. Meanwhile, back in Destry's house, his mom went downstairs to check on the four friends. Instead of her son and his friends, she saw four controllers strewn across the floor, and a spilled bowl of popcorn. The TV was still on, and showed four characters sleeping in beds. They looked exactly like Destry, Echo, Lilia, and Evren.

Back in Dosnatia, the sun rose after a long night. Evren and Lilia were the first ones awake. Shyly, Evren asked Lilia if she wanted to sit outside with him. She agreed, and they headed out to the balcony. On the way, Evren pulled the flower he bought out of his bag. "I just love morning! Everything just feels so fresh and new!" Lilia said excitedly. Evren nodded in agreement. He looked over to her and held out the flower. "For... you..." he said shyly. Blushing, Lilia accepted the flower. "Thank you..." she said.

Evren suddenly leaned in and kissed Lilia. They both blushed bright red. Suddenly, Destry and Echo walked onto the balcony. "Are we going to try and find the dungeon or are we just going to sit here?" Echo said. Blushing even more, Lilia and Evren went along with them.

As they began to get close to the woods near the back of the town, a man came running up to them! "I smelled your cheese from all the way over here! How'd you get your hands on fresh Dosnatian cheddar?" he said to Destry, excitedly. Destry looked confused for a second, but then remembered the cheese at the bottom of his bag. He pulled it out. "Yes! Yes! That's the one!" the man said excitedly.

The man began to look at Destry with a pleading look on his face. It was very clear that he was trying to restrain himself from imploring for the cheese. With a sigh, Destry handed the man the cheese just to get rid of him. The man ran off gleefully. As they went back to the forest, they saw a lone child crying. Echo walked up to her and asked what was wrong. "M-my mother went fishing at the lake and she didn't come back!" the young girl said through tears. "My friends and I will find her! Don't worry." Echo said reassuringly. "R-really? Thank you!" the girl said. As they went on their way, they overheard several conversations.

The words "missing", "lake", "monster", and "Demon King" were in almost all of them. All was not well in Woodpine Town. At the edge of town, there was a sign pointing somewhere. The party walked up to it, and discovered that it read "THIS WAY TO SAPPHIRE LAKE". Under that statement, in tiny script, read "PLEASE DON'T CUT DOWN- WE ARE ON OUR TWENTIETH SIGN ALREADY". A mischievous look crossed Echo's face, but a glare from Destry kept her from acting out her desires.

They began to head on their way to Sapphire Lake. Evren crossed his fingers that they wouldn't run into any monsters on the way. The path had many footprints imprinted on it. Suddenly, an image flashed through each member of the party's head. It was of a monster. A horrible little creature that appeared to be an amphibious being with spikes all over its body, which was coated with algae. Swamp-dweller. Those words echoed through their heads. Could it have been the Foresight that woman was talking about? After the image began to fade, several monsters jumped out at them! They were Swamp-dwellers. The party drew their weapons, and prepared to fight!

The Swamp-dwellers began to tear the algae from their bodies and throw it at the party. Destry grabbed his shield and blocked the algae. The others got pelted with it. As Echo tried to get it off, she discovered that it was stuck to her! She grabbed her dagger and slashed at the monsters. Lilia had recently learned a new magic attack, and was excited to show it off. "SUNFIRE BURST!" she shouted, holding her wand up high. A burst of flames radiated from her wand, burning the nearby monsters until they disappeared with a poof. This time they dropped more Quills and a strange blue potion. Lilia had exhausted her magic power with that Sunfire Burst. She felt like she couldn't cast a spell if she tried!

She felt somewhat inclined to drink that potion. As it hit her taste buds, the flavor flooded her mouth. It was absolutely disgusting! It tasted like mashed potatoes mixed with blue energy drink powder. When she had finally choked it down, she felt like she had regained a little bit of magic power. She rejoined the party, and they continued on their way to Sapphire Lake.

As they headed down the path, a horrible smell began to fill the air. It only got stronger as they went on. When they reached Sapphire Lake, the smell was at its strongest! Sapphire Lake had seen better days. It was murky and full of algae. The once clear water was now a putrid green color. The water began to ripple. Something was under there! A large, slimy tentacle arose from the water and wrapped itself around the party! They screamed in fear. The party was dragged underwater, and they were dropped in a strange place. They couldn't breathe!