Story Time

Lara Jones had been interested in jungle exploration from a very young age. Probably started with Dora the Explorer. Rather than play outside with the other kids, she would spend hours upon hours sitting in her room, reading stories about brave adventurers exploring the hidden places of the world and uncovering mythical artifacts. Of course the mythical artifacts part was fake, but uncovering dinosaur bones, or artifacts from ancient civilizations was possible. Most of her teen years she sat binge-watching documentaries of archaeologists uncovering something amazing. She was so excited to get outside and explore, she asked her dad to take her camping. Unfortunately her heavy weight made the hike impossible, so they settled for a lesser spot at the base of the mountain. The rest of the trip didn't get any better; she didn't have enough strength to carry her own pack, they had to keep taking breaks for her to catch her breath, she wasn't flexible or strong enough to climb over the fallen trees on the path, and at one point she felt like she was suffering from heat exhaustion. At that point her father insisted the trip was over.

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She was so disappointed. She had always been overweight, but it had never affected her home life, so she didn't realize how much strength and effort nature required. She decided she would never be able to handle the outdoor lifestyle that exploring/archaeology required, so there was no reason to attend college for that major. Her father, bless his heart, tried to make her feel better by encouraging her to pursue something she already knew and enjoyed...like food. Why not right? Lara learned all sorts of recipes and even got a job as a chef! It was here that she got to meet some famous chefs, one of whom mentioned adding bugs to meals and using cooking to create lotions and salves. Intrigued, she asked for the chef to mentor her in the art of Herbalism. Together they traveled to secluded places and collected rare plants. The more she delved into herbalism, the more she learned about its uses for...you guessed it Explorers!

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It was a reminder of a dead dream and her mentor couldn't help but notice her sadness. After hearing her plight, her mentor introduced her to a real archeologist Dr. Brennan, who was also overweight. The Dr. explained that leaping over spike traps, and running from undead skeletons would certainly require a more fit physique, but if you can sit on the ground and move a shovel or brush, then exacvating ancient sites is something she could certainly do right now! Not to mention Lara had already been doing some level of hiking and excavating for herbalism. Lara didn't have a universtiy degree, but she was well known for her herbalism skills, so the Dr. was able to bring her along on her expeditions as part of her team. Lara was able to learn and practice real life archaeology with a real life expert in the subject!

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Lara was so happy that her dream had come true but there was something missing. Somehow she felt restless. With each artifact she uncovered she felt more and more that perhaps she had only fulfilled half of her dream. She just couldn't shake the rediculous dream of exploring the deep jungle and leaping over traps. There was, after all, a part of the jungle that the archaeology team were afraid of, that the locals whispered about, that had never been explored. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to explore it! But if she were going to do it, she would need to learn more about the area, and the local culture, but most importantly, she would need to get into jungle explorer shape!

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She moved to a warmer climate (to help her body adapt to such weather) and she joined the local gym. Not really sure where to start, she found herself a trainer telling him that she was just looking to lose weight and be fit enough to hike Mt. Komorebi. I mean, she couldn't very well tell him she was planning to explore a hidden temple! She also thought about going to university to get that archaeology degree, but unfortunately the university in her new town didn't have archeology as a major. She needed something though to make money that would also give her reason to go on expeditions. Journalism! She could be a journalist writing about a lesser known people, the Selvadoradians. Turns out the rest of the world was very interested in Selvadorada and her people. Lara made great money from her stories, good friends amongst the Selvadorada people, and finally entered into the forbidden jungle.

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Her first few trips to the jungle proved deadly. Even though she was now fit enough to handle the trecherous terrain and climate, she was not prepared for the new wildlife! She was attacked, injured and at least once she nearly died! Each time she entered the jungle she took with her new equipment she was sure would protect her, and each time, she didn't have enough. Though difficult, there were good things too; she found new artifacts, new fish species, and some new plant that seemed to affect emotions. With each trip she discovered a new place, new ruins, new beautiful views. She was in love with the jungle and so happy for every moment in it, including the bad ones. But she still hadn't found the temple! What if it didn't actually exist? It was only whispers that mentioned it after all. NO! it had to exist! She had worked too hard, too long, and suffered too much for it not to exist. It did, and she would be the one to find it. 

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And find it she did. It was beautiful and to her surprise still mostly intact. If the temple was real, then the legends about traps and tests within must also be real. She started by excavating the area, looking for clues that may tell her how to survive the inside. She was so focused on this task that she didn't notice the blue living skeleton that was watching her intently. Lara descended to the bottom levels of the temple and was able to make it past the first trap unharmed. But she found the answer to the second trap was much harder to decipher. She approached the mechanism and was about to pull a switch when she heard a voice from behind her say, "That switch will kill you." She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. She whirled around to see a skeleton walking towards her! She screamed, turned to run, and ran right into the trap! Instantly she was infected with a deadly poison. To her surprise the skeleton was not evil, and actually told her how to find an antidote to the poison. He told her that he had been watching her and decided she was worthy of the temples' secrets. And thus began a great friendship.

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Many times Lara returned to the jungle finding new paths, new ruins, and a new temple with hidden treasure each time. Eventually she had found all of the Relics her skeleton friend had told her about. She knew that some were dangerous, and may even kill her with a curse, but her natural curiosity got the best of her and she decided to use each relic. But...maybe she'd test a few of the more dangerous ones on her enemies first. As it turned out, her articles about Selvadorada peaked the interest of some very bad characters who sought to harm the people and the jungle. So why not use the jungle relic on them? Eventually though, she just had to try them out on herself as well. In doing so she made yet another skeleton friend. But she also suffered through some serious curses as well. 

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Lara continued to explore the world until her body would no longer allow it. In her older years she wrote books about her adventures, labeled as fiction of course, and became a best-selling author. When she felt the hand of death upon her, she destroyed the relics so that no other could use them for harm or power. And with that, she finally rested.