Lumani: The Jungle Game

Sebastião, T.; Silva, R. et al.

BLUE HORIZON BOOKS

Adventure, Fantasy & Mistery

LUMANI: THE JUNGLE GAME

By António Figueiredo

Evaldo Merik

Martim Ribeiro

Rodrigo Silva

Tiago Sebastião

Illustrations: António Figueiredo & Rodrigo Silva

Correction: Martim Ribeiro

Editon and review: Tiago Sebastião & Rodrigo Silva

Synopsis: Evaldo Merik

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ISBN 978-1-782-80808-4

Printed in Portugal

Word count (main text): 1278 words

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The MYSTeRIOUS WATCh

Peacefully blending among the lines of Birmingham's modern storefronts, was a shabby antique store with an old weatherbeaten sign that said, “Timeless Treasures.” The establishment perfectly encapsulated the amalgamation of the years gone past and those to come. It gave the discarded landscape relics to call home and their haunting, unsung signs carried through the open window.

One cold afternoon, the establishment would cast its spell on three youthful souls named Lily, Max, and Alex. The mysterious lights in the store windows would light up the spark of their curiosity and drive them to march into a house full of lost dreams and forgotten triumphs.

The dry, dusty fragrance of old paper and polished wood made the air perfumed as mysterious labeled shelves full of curious things invited them nearer. During this menagerie, Lily, Max, and Alex get their attention drawn to a shiny pocket watch with its golden face glittering in the lamplight.

Approaching the counter, they meet the shopkeeper, a wizened man with twinkling eyes and a knowing smile. His name was Mr. Hawthorne, and he knew far too much about every item in the store. Upon asking about the pocket watch, his eyes light up with excitement. Next came the stories about its rumored origins, a relic from a long-lost magical board game called “Lumani” that sent its players on a dangerous jungle adventure.

“This watch, they say, is the key to enter Lumani,” Mr. Hawthorne explained, his voice shrouded in a burning mystery. “Is this persistent rumor believable or nonsense? That, I am afraid, you can only determineyourselves.” The friends exchanged dubious looks, unable to decide whether anything Mr. Hawthorne told them was real. However, the desire to solve the mystery of the pocket watch and the capacity to unlock the mysterious game had already started to smolder inside them.

At first, they were a bit scared, but at the same time with a certain excitement, they put their money together and bought the small watch that fit easily into their little hands. They had no idea what was about to happen – this was the beginning of their adventure that none of them had ever seen before.

InTO The gAMe

The morning after the visit, Lily, Max, and Alex once again gathered around the cursed pocket watch. Max soon discovered a barely perceptible button, concealed beneath the watch’s ornate engravings. With a click of the button, they turned the ornate pocket watch on and a portal showed up, making them pass out with such a brilliant light. When their eyes opened, a ginormous jungle was in front of them. They were filled with shock and disbelief.

All of a sudden, a mysterious man appears and approaches them with an exuberant “Welcome to Lumaniiiii!!!” . Then, he enthusiastically started to talk about the game. First, he revealed what was the watch’s function, which was to inform them of the time they had left to leave Lumani and, if they didn’t, they would be trapped there forever. After that, the man explains that each of them received a

special role within the game: Lily’s power is to heal, using the medical kit she received, Max is a warrior and received a sword, and to finalize Alex is an explorer equipped with the game map and a key. On the map, there was a place marked with a cross. The strange man said it was a temple that kept a great reward they needed to unlock with the key and that will be the end of the game.

The friends couldn't believe what was happening, but they knew that time was running out, and if they didn't complete their mission in time they would be trapped in Lumani forever. This way, with lots of bravery, they started walking through the dense jungle with Max leading the way and opening the path using his sword.

SURvIvIng The jUngle

After a while, following the route presented on the map, they manage to arrive at a river full of crocodiles. The group thought about looking for another path, but the clock was ticking, and they had to rush, so they decided to cross the river. While they were thinking about how they would do it, the mysterious man appeared again, saying that the warrior, Max, received three superpowers to help them with their adventure, which was super strength, high speed, and mega jump. So, Max grabbed his friends and jumped over the river with the hungry crocodiles

almost biting them. Lily and Alex were surprised and jealous of Max’s extra superpowers.

As they continued on their way, they come across many banana peels on the ground. Suddenly, they started hearing monkeys all around them and, when they looked up, they found dozens of creepy enraged monkeys sitting on the top of the trees staring down at them. Frightened, the friends ran through the jungle and the monkeys started to chase them.

Unfortunately, Lily and Alex slipped on the peels and fell to the ground which caused some monkeys to approach and harm them. But Max turned back! He grabbed his friends and, using his high-speed ability, he kept running away from the monkeys while carrying them with his super strength.

After running non-stop for a while, they finally reached it! Before them was the temple indicated on the map. The monkeys started running away because they knew what was inside, but the friends didn’t! They were surprised by the view in front of them and relieved because the monkeys stopped chasing them. Lily, as the healer, cures everyone’s wounds using her special medical kit.

FACIng The TeMple’S gUARdIAn

After climbing the temple stairs, when they finally reached the entrance, they immediately saw a handwritten note: “To reach the treasure, face the guardian serpent.” As soon as they walked in, deeper into the temple, they saw a gigantic serpent sleeping and the treasure behind it.

Looking around they agreed that the best option would be to pass by her side without making any noise and so they did. When they reached the treasure, they saw that it was an old chest with a keyhole in the front, perfectly sized for the key Alex had. But, something unpredictable happened… He accidentally dropped the key on the ground, making a small clunk!

The giant beast woke up to the sound, noticing thegroup’spresence,andimmediatelyattacked them. Max grabbed his sword and bravely jumped in front of the serpent, facing her. Using his mega jump power, he stabs the serpent right over her head pushing her with his super strength into the ground. The temple’s guardian was defeated! Lily and Alex were pleased and relieved by Max's managing to kill that monster so fast and thanked him for saving their lives while Max was very proud of his accomplishment.

Afterwards, Alex used the key to open the mysterious chest. They were incredulous and excited about what they were seeing! It was full of gold coins!

. Moments later, the pocket watch started vibrating and glowing, opening the portal back home. The group walks through the portal, taking the chest with them.

ReTURn TO ReAlITY

Back to reality, the friends divided the gold among themselves and finally went back to their homes. All of them told their parents about their adventure: how they were taken to a secret game through a magic watch, faced dangerous challagens in the jungle and, finally, killed a giant serpent to win a treasure chest filled with gold.

In the next couple of days, they were wondering about what happened to the strange pocket watch as none of them had it or could find it, even in the store. Who knows, perhaps it’s out there waiting for new players to join Lumani…

THE END

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