It all begins with four travelers in the forest staying the night in a nearby village. Throughout the night you could hear crickets chirping and wolf’s howling and the trees were tall with lichen and moss growing on the logs. Then a bird flew into their window with an urgent message. Meanwhile James was outside training against a training dummy and Alex was reading a book on his bed for the night. Jack was eating his dinner and Robert was cleaning his clothes. Robert noticed the bird and went towards it. On its leg was a tied piece of paper. Robert called James, Alex, and Jack for a meeting. He then untied it and read the message aloud.

    “To James, Alex, Robert, and Jack I know that you are all enjoying your break, but an artifact known as the Alkaline Bond was discovered by an explorer named Donald Whitlock. He was unable to obtain it and barely made it out alive because of the many obstacles that guarded it. You four will need to obtain the Alkaline Bond by going through the four levels. The first level you will need to solve a puzzle. The second you will have to swing across a narrow cliff using the rope I provided you. The third you will face a beast the size of a house. The fourth you will have to climb up a steep cliff and any wrong move could cause a landslide. I wish the best of luck to all four of you. King Herald.

     As Robert finished Jack questioned if they should do this mission.

“This mission is extremely dangerous, there’s a chance we might not make it out alive.”

“We have done dangerous missions before said James.”

“What makes this mission different?”

“What’s different is that we have less supplies than the last mission.”

“Jack, you don’t need to worry about the supplies said Robert.” Robert was the leader of the group he was usually the one to calm Jack down when he overthought about the mission. He can also sometimes be pushy.

       “I say we put it to a vote said Alex.” James, Robert, and Alex agreed to begin the new mission and with a lot of convincing Jack reluctantly agreed to go. Jack can sometimes be inexperienced in missions. All four of them packed food, water, bandages, bows, arrows, swords, and extra clothes. As they left the cabin, they could hear their own footsteps as they walked to the path. All four of them knew that this journey wasn’t going to be easy.

        Three hours after leaving the cabin the four travelers were ready to stop and rest. They used the tall trees as shelter and set up camp for the remainder of the night. As they slept, Robert woke up and hears rustling in the bushes. A wolf emerged and jumped him. As he struggles Robert alerts the others that they were under attack. Robert can be very confident in troubling situations. James, Alex, and Jack swiftly got their weapons and went to assist Robert. While assisting Robert four more wolfs came out to help the wolf that was outmatched. As they fought, they each got injured in some way and one of the wolf’s slipped by and was stealing food from their packs. Robert noticed and kicked off the wolf that was on top of him and rushed toward the wolf stealing the food. With one swift blow to the side the wolf fell to the ground. The other four wolfs saw it and ran away.

“For a second I thought we were going to die said James.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have started this mission muttered Jack.” “We nearly lost out supplies if I was leader, we wouldn’t be taking these huge risks.”

“What was that Jack? Said James.”

“Uh nothing just seeing how nice the view is said Jack.” The group fixed and repacked their stuff then continued the remainder of the night.

        The next morning the wind was blowing very hard in everyone’s faces.

“Are we going the right way? Asked Alex.”

“It should be said Robert.” The group was provided a map by King Herald to guide their way to the artifact, but he did not warn them of the extreme winds along the way. They eventually reached the entrance to the Alkaline Bond. The entrance led to a tunnel that went deep underground.

“I don’t think we should continue said Jack.”

“Jack we already agreed to do this mission and we can’t turn back now we have come so far said Robert.”

“Once we enter through there, we have to go through all those levels, and we might not make it out alive said Jack.”

“We’ve been through worse said James.”

“You guys are crazy said Jack.”

“I won’t continue through this journey just to get killed by a trap.” As Jack said those words, he turned back the way they came.

“Jack wait! Called Robert.” Despite hearing him Jack continued without looking back.

“Let him go Robert he has made his decision said Alex.”

“We must continue the mission with or without Jack said James.”

“You’re right let’s finish the mission said Robert.” James, Alex, and Robert entered through the entrance and went underground.

       The puzzle from the first level was solved quickly because Alex read a book about the puzzle. The narrow cliff from the second level was challenging as Robert almost fell, but James and Alex caught him before he did fall. They were able to make the rope secure and one by one they swung across. The beast the size of a house from the third level was a giant serpent that nearly ate James as he lured it away from the others and caused a cave-in which trapped the serpent. The steep cliff from the fourth level was tricky as James, Alex, and Robert watched every step they took. With some rope remaining they were able tie it on their clothes so if they slipped, they wouldn’t fall off. Once they reached the chamber of the Alkaline Bond Alex noticed the pedestal was rigged to blow if the artifact was removed. Robert grabbed a rock and went towards the pedestal. He swiftly grabs the Alkaline Bond and replaces it with the rock. Robert uses the artifact to move the walls to make an escape route. All three of them ran as fast as they could because the entire chamber was collapsing. They barely made it out, but they obtained the Alkaline Bond and returned to the kingdom.

         As James, Alex, and Robert arrived they saw Jack in the throne area and next to him was the king and a sword at his throat.
“Jack, stop what you are doing and put the sword down so we can be reasonable about this said Robert.”

“You should’ve listened to me Robert I knew this mission was too dangerous, but you were too stubborn to admit it said Jack.”

“But we completed the mission and obtained the artifact said James.”

“It was challenging but it was possible said Alex.”

“Since you have the Alkaline Bond I will spare the king if you give it to me and if you don’t, I will kill him said Jack.” Robert didn’t want the king to die, but he didn’t want to give up the Alkaline Bond to Jack because he would use it for evil. But from the sincere looks of James and Alex he knew what to do. Robert raised the Alkaline Bond above his head and called the wind to push Jack away from the king. King Herald generously thanked them for saving his life. As Jack was put in a dungeon, Robert gave King Herald the Alkaline Bond to help produce food and water easier.