So Rigel and the rest of his party left the School of Mages. They began walking along the main pathway for a while. "Hey, Lenna, could I see our map real quick?" Rigel asked.
"Sure, what do you need it for?" Lenna responded with another question.
"Juts want to see what's close to us." Rigel replied as he grabbed the map from her hands.
Rigel started looking at the map, as Gina came up to see it to.
"Hey I want to see too," Gina said as she was hopping up and down.
"You're taller than me so I can't see it."
Gina, despite being the same age as Rigel, was significantly smaller than Rigel, at least a foot and a half smaller.
"Ok, ok, I'll let you see." Rigel said as he crouched down so Gina could look too. Lenna also crouched down, so they all were looking at the map together. 
"Hmmmmmmm, looks to me like the closest significantl place of interest, is the Mandallan swamps." Lenna stated.
"Seems that way." Rigel said in response.
"Well than what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on already!" Gina shouted as she began pushing Lenna and Rigel from behind. They were about to begin heading towards the direction of the swamp, until they heard a man yelling, "Wait! Hold on! I have something for you!" It was the courier, running along the path.
He eventually caught up to Rigel and his party. "I have a letter for you Rigel, it's from the King." The courier said as he handed Rigel the letter and immediately ran off. "Thank you!". Rigel yelled to the courier, unsure if he actually heard his thanks.
"Ooohhh, what's it say?" Gina curiously asked.
"Well, let's find out." Rigel answered as he opened it up. It was a scroll, which read, 'I want to make things more fun for you. So I've decided to give an incentive to help you be more quicker and efficient. If you don't get back here with the Amulet, before the end of this year, both your's and Lenna's parents will be killed! Ha ha ha! Fun isn't it? Have a nice Quest!'
After reading that, Rigel became mad.
"Oh that sneaky son of a cockatrice! How dare he do this!" Rigel yelled in his frustration.
"Rigel, what will we do? There's no way we can find the Amulet, and return to the castle, all before the year's end." Lenna asked, very sorrowfully.
"Well, we'll just have to do what seems impossible. Trust me Lenna, there's no way I'm gonna let our parents die." Rigel said, assuring her.
"Thanks Rigel, I sure hope so." Lenna replied.
"Man, it sounds like you both have alot at risk with this quest, I'll be sure to do my best to help you guys all the way through!" Gina told them.
"Thank you Gina, now let's get to that swamp." Lenna answered.
So the party headed towards the Swamp of Mandalla, it took quite a while to get there, but thankfully, they didn't encounter any monsters along the way. "Boy, this area outside the swamp, must have a low encounter rate for monsters." Rigel guessed.
They entered into the swamp.
It was dark, murky, and worst of all, smelly. There were many bogs of swamp water throughout, and there were clearly visible, skeletal remains of large monsters. "This place gives me the creeps." Gina said quietly. They continued going through the bogs of the swamp, until they heard faint noises, such as the sound of something running through the swamp water. Rigel signaled to the others to remain still and quiet. Then, a larger group of troglodytes swarmed the party. Rigel unsheathed his sword, and stood ready to fight.