The Great Sael Adventure 1

At once your pain fades. All of the agonies leave your psyche. You feel lighter than the wings of a mariposa. You relish in this beautiful feeling, but only for a few ephemeral moments. You open your eyes and see nothing but fields of green vines, their leaves gently blowing in the breeze. You hear the gentle rustling of the vegetation illuminated in delicate, dappled sunlight. It is almost too real.

The beautiful, verdant vines seem to be growing. The leaves begin to transform, elegantly elongating themselves into oblong mysteries. The vines grow upward and outward, creating a jungle of greenery. From the vines grow large translucent orbs, reminiscent of chrysalises. The outer membrane expands, growing thinner and thinner until what you see horrifies you. Dangling from these vertical vines are members of your very own crew, suspended in chambers filled with cukegoo, the viscous fluid of a very particular cucumber. A shudder runs down your spine. For you know that the only cucumber that secretes cukegoo is the kind grown on the ghost plantations of Beans 'Я' We.

Your crew and the Commodore burst forth from their goo cocoons, falling several feet to the ground. "Ick," you mutter, glad that fortune at least spared you that fate (you have always been afraid of gooey heights).

A slim green striated specter wearing nothing but a frock made completely of cucumber vines float-skips over to greet the new arrivals. He welcomes you by saying, "Well golly gei, yoans must be newcumers roand thesi parts. I reckun y'all weri somi skeptocs abuut comong heri. But lifi doni got yoa by yoar tois, I reckun. I just wantid to be the first to welcume yoa to the cucamber plantetion at Beens 'Я' We! Accurding to yoar papirs, yoa ari schedaled to work for the next hundrid yeers. I louk forwerd to oar collaburation. I am Jeetlebuice, pleese let me know if yoa havi any quistions. Well, that's all for yoar traoning! Bettir get to it!"

You do have a question, so you say, "What about lodgings, Jeetlebuice?" and Jeetlebuice listlessly floats away, saying "Opi, I'll be takong my leeve then."

You hear the Commodore far away saying, "What in God's good green earth name is going on here?" He beckons you to help him get down from the vines, covered in cukegoo. You reach to help him down, and he whispers in your ear, goo crackling on his lips. "This ain't my first Beans 'Я' We rodeo! When I was a lad, I got caught up in the garbanzo department of the beanery business. From what I can see, the layout here in the ghost department is pretty much the same. I escaped once, and I can help us escape again." The commodore winks as best he can, what with cukegoo keeping his eyelid stuck to his cheek.