Week 7 Story: Board Game Adventures

"Give it back!"

"It's my turn to play!"

The boys' mother walks in, and screams, "How many times do I have to tell you two not to fight over a stupid game?! You two never stop!" For the third time this week, the boys are fighting over their video games.

Ryan, the younger boy, tries to plead his case. "But he just stole it from me! I was in the middle of a game!"

"You said you'd give it to me before that game!" Jacob turns to his mother, "I can't believe you'd yell at me when he's the one who started it!"

"Enough! Until you boys learn to work together, no more video games!" The boys cry as their mother carries the Xbox out of the living room, leaving them with no games to play.

Jacob runs to his room, slamming the door and locking it. As Ryan heads to his room, he notices an old box sitting in the hallway full of board games. He grabs the top one, and heads to Jacob's room. "Jacob?"

"Go away!"

"I'm sorry! Can we at least play this old board game I found?"

"I can't tell, it's worn off the box. It's heavy though."

"Fine, we can try it." Jacob comes out of his room, and takes the board game, which is enclosed in a wooden case. He sets it on the coffee table, reads the rules to Ryan, and they begin playing.

"Okay, roll the dice, and.... 5. So move five spaces, pick up the card," Jacob picks up the card, which says, "'You meet a young boy who can help you obtain the lamp. Move to the cave.' Okay, move to the cave." As he does this, they feel the ground shake, and a cave entrance opens up in their front yard, scaring the boys.

"What just happened?!" screams Ryan.

"MOM!" Their mother doesn't respond to Jacob's cries. Jacob reads the rules again, and on the last line, says, "The only way to return is to finish the game..."

"My turn?"

"Yeah, I think it is." Both boys are still visibly shaken by the cave outside.

"Okay, and I got a... 7!" Ryan reads his card, "'You take the lamp from the cave, keeping it for yourself.' Ha, I got the lamp!" As he says this, a lamp appears on the table.

"Okay, I'll roll now. And... 6. 'You will be skipped for 5...' Hey, this isn't fair!" Jacob throws the card down, "I can't play for 5 turns!"

"And I have the lamp!" says Ryan, rubbing it. As he does so, a tiny trail of smoke begins to escape from the open spout, and a genie appears. "Who are you?"

"I am the genie of the lamp, and shall honor your every request."

"Cool!" Over the next few turns, Ryan uses the genie to his advantage. He is told to ask for riches, which the genie grants. He also receives a wife, and becomes the heir apparent to an entire kingdom, receiving a crown and many gems from the genie and the game. Jacob continues to steam, being unable to play. Finally, his turn arrives.

"Finally! 'Steal the genie's lamp. Replace with a new one.' Don't mind if I do!" Jacob takes the lamp, becoming the master of the genie. "I wish you to lose everything you have, and that it is transported far away." With these words, the house begins to shake, and Jacob, along with the game, are transported far away, leaving Ryan alone. Scared, Ryan begins rubbing the ring, revealing another genie.

Replacing the old lamp with a new one

Source: Wikipedia

"Genie! Take me to my brother!" With this command, Ryan is transported right outside their house, now resting in a different country than their own. Now back at the house, Ryan takes his turn. He whispers the card to himself when he realizes what it says. "'Other players drink a poisoned drink. Roll again.'"

"Oh cool, it even gives us drinks!" Jacob is excited, and immediately gulps the entire glass down as Ryan screams at him not to drink it. Within a few moments, Ryan is left as the only one still standing. He rolls the dice one more time, crying as he moves his pieces.

"'Move to the end of the board. You win!'" As his piece reaches the final space, the entire ground shakes, the house transports back to its original location, and when it lands, Jacob sits up, looking around confused. Ryan runs and hugs his brother as the board game closes itself up, and everything the game gave them disappeared.

"Throw that game away! I don't ever want to see it again!" screams Ryan. With those words, Ryan and Jacob dispose of the game, whose name they can now read: Aladdin.

Author's Note: 

The game is based off the story Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. In the story, a magician tries to get the young boy Aladdin to give him the lamp after leading him to the cave it is in. However, Aladdin refuses to, angering the magician so much that he abandons him, and keeps the lamp, using it to acquire riches, marry the woman of his dreams, and become the heir to the sultan. The magician, furious when he finds out what Aladdin has done, manages to steal the lamp and transport Aladdin's palace away, along with his wife. Aladdin was able to avoid execution by the sultan, travels to find his palace, and manages to kill the magician before returning the palace and his wife home. I wanted to create a story where this is included, but has a Jumanji feel, where the young boys found a board game that comes to life, literally, the older boy playing the magician, and his younger brother playing Aladdin.

Jumanji Box

Source: DeviantArt

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)

Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part B

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921)

The Lord of the Heavens
The complaints about Sun reached the Lord of the Heavens. While they wish to punish him, they are persuaded to give him a chance to redeem himself, and invite him to Heaven. He is still very brazen and full of confidence, and does not respect the Lord as others do. The Lord brushes this off, and appoints him stablemaster, where he watches over the heavenly horses.

The Great Saint
At a dinner being held, Sun asks what power his title of stablemaster has, which the others in attendance laugh at, saying that it is a demeaning title. This infuriates Sun, who uses his gold rod to escape Heaven and head home, where he recounts his adventure. As his apes prepare a meal, two devil-kings present him a robe, and declare that he is the same as the Lord of the Heavens, and he takes to this idea, calling himself "The Great Saint who is Heaven's Equal" at their suggestion.

Notscha, Son of Li Dsing
In Heaven, the decision is made to take Sun prisoner. However, the first warrior sent to retrieve him is defeated soundly. Notscha is the next to fight him, and he matches Sun, but Sun is able to defeat him using his powers, creating a clone of himself to gain the advantage. Returning to Heaven, Notscha tells of his defeat, and that Sun is too strong for anyone to defeat. They decide to give Sun another empty title, which pleases him.

The Queen-Mother of the West
The Lord has a castle built for Sun, where he lives idly for many days. This worries some of the inhabitants, so they have Sun watch the Queen-Mother of the West's peach trees. He asks about the trees, and when he learned that the back row of peaches give eternal life, he eats all of the ripe ones, which take 9,000 years to ripen. Later, when the peach banquet comes, the caretakers find that only one half-ripe peach is left from this back row, while the other rows were full of peaches.

Laotzse
Sun, who had transformed into a peach worm, is angered that the peach he was in had been disturbed, and becomes angrier when he is told about the banquet and had not been invited. He heads to the Queen-Mother's palace, and no one else is there, so he drinks much of the wine, becoming exceedingly drunk, and decides to leave to head home. He ends up in Laotzse's home by accident, and finding gourds full of the pills of life, eats all of them. However, he now feels guilty, and decides to leave Heaven. Returning home, the other apes request these pills after he explains his adventure, so he returns to acquire pills for all of his apes.

Guan Yin
The Lord of the Heavens is told of Sun's transgressions, and is immediately infuriated. All of Heaven was brought together to capture Sun, but they were unsuccessful, as he turned one of his hairs into thousands of ape-kings again, defeating Li Dsing's army. Guan Yin tells the Lord that his grandson Yang Oerlang can defeat Sun, so they allow Yang to create his strategy, and he leaves to fight Sun. Sun infuriates Yang after learning his identity, and they begin a large battle.

Statue of Guan Yin

Source: Pixabay

Yang Oerlang
The fighting scared the many apes on the mountain, and Sun runs from Yang. Yang is able to follow closely, and Sun transforms into a bird. After a moment, Yang knows which one is Sun, and transforms himself to give chase. They transform into many different animals, Yang chasing Sun. Sun turns into a buzzard, and Yang shoots at him. Sun falls from the sky, and transforms into a palace, which Yang sees right through, and he threatens to destroy the palace, scaring Sun. Sun runs again, transforming into Yang and taking over his palace. Their fight would continue at Yang's palace.

Buddha
With help from Laotzse and Guan Yin, Yang is able to capture Sun and prevent him from transforming. They try to kill Sun, but are unable, so they place him in the oven to remove the elixir of life from him. However, he hides in an area away from the fire, and when the door is opened, escapes from the oven. Sun destroys everything with his rod, and after heading to the Lord's palace, Buddha is summoned to deal with Sun.

The Destiny of Sun Wu Kung
Sun asks why he is not Lord of the Heavens, and Buddha says the Lord has mastered the skills needed. Sun says he is more worthy, and attempts to pass the challenge Buddha gave him to obtain the title, but fails. When he attempts to escape, Buddha traps him, and forces him to live in solitude for hundreds of years until he has reformed himself. Once released, he wears a circlet from Guan Yin that punishes him for misbehaving, and is unable to remove it, as it is affixed to him. With this, he becomes well-mannered.

Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part A

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921)

The Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung

Source: Wikipedia

Handsome King of the Apes
Born out of a magical rock, the Monkey King is made of stone. He possesses many powers, and scared the heavens with piercing light coming from his eyes. As he grew up, he learned many things, becoming wise. While playing one summer, he jumped through a waterfall without injury, discovering a hidden cave with an iron bridge inside. When he returned, and subsequently brought the rest of the monkeys through, they appointed him as king for his actions.

The Great Sea
The King of the Apes has realized his own mortality, and is saddened by it. After an older ape tells him of ways to obtain immortality, he sets off to search for it. He traveled across the Great Sea to Asia, and found a fisherman, who he attacked and stole the man's clothes, traveling across Asia through many cities, learning to act as a human. However, he is disappointed, as no one cares for life, only wealth. After nine years in Asia, he leaves and travels across the Western Sea, and after traveling inland, hears a man singing in a forest, and investigates.

Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name
The King finds the singing man, and when he asks where he learned the music, is directed to a saint known as The Discerner. He travels to the saint, and finds the gate locked. Rather than knock, he sits in a tree until he is retrieved by a disciple of The Discerner, who had foreseen his arrival. The Discerner names the King Sun Wu Kung after he says he does not have a name. He learns many things from The Discerner's disciples over the following years. However, he becomes excited when The Discerner begins to speak about "the great truth", which angers his teacher, as he has not released his wild side.

The Master
Sun Wu Kung explains that he was excited to learn these things, and so the Master offers to teach him many things. However, each one he suggests is rejected by Sun Wu Kung, as they do not lead to eternal life. The Master feigned anger, and before retreating to his quarters, hit Sun Wu Kung over the head three times, which he interpreted as needing to come by that night. He does so, and finds the door open, and ventures inside, kneeling beside the Master as he slept, listening to him humming.

Learning the Art
The master awakens, angry that the Sun Wu Kung is there until he explains why he has come. He agrees to show Sun Wu Kung the way, and he learns it. The Master then explains the dangers, and Sun Wu Kung asks how to protect himself, and when he is told, masters them. He proves them by flying when the Master asks him to, walking across the clouds for some distance before returning to Earth.

Sun Wu Kung Departs
The Master teaches Sun Wu Kung how to float across the clouds through somersaults. One day, the disciples ask him to show them his transformation, and so he turns into a pine tree at their request. They laugh at him, and the Master comes over, telling Sun Wu Kung he must leave. He warns Sun Wu Kung that he will be attacked by evil, and that he must never tell who he learned from, which he agrees to before leaving.

The Devil-King
He returned home, and told the others what he had learned, which overjoyed them. But he angered when they told him the Devil came and stole many of his children. He finds the Devil-King in a cave, who laughs at his diminutive stature, but Sun Wu Kung used his cunning mind and his abilities, and would summon thousands of little apes, who attacked the Devil and allowed him to finish the Devil off. He then saves his children, and destroyed this evil cave before heading home.

The Dragon-King
Sun Wu Kung trains the other apes on fighting so that they may be protected, but realizes they are still vulnerable. He thinks of buying weapons, but instead proceeds to steal them using his magical abilities. He and his fellow apes rule the mountain they live on with their newfound weaponry. Sun Wu Kung, however, is disappointed with his knife from the Devil-King, and heads to the Dragon-King to find a new one. Despite the Dragon-King's efforts, even his heaviest weapon is too light for Sun Wu Kung.

The Dragon-Queen
Sun Wu Kung is angry that there is nothing heavier, so the Dragon-King goes to look. The Dragon-Queen tells him of a rod that should be removed, and despite his hesitations, he takes Sun Wu Kung to it. Sun Wu Kung finds it changes size at will, and decides that it is a perfect weapon for him. He then demands a suit of armor, which angers the Dragon-King. He and his brothers give him the armor begrudgingly, planning to report him to the heavens. He returns home, displaying his new weapon and its power, and organizes his empire.

The Nether World
Sun Wu Kung takes a nap, and finds two men coming to take him to the Nether World. He is infuriated, crushes these constables, asks for the Book of Life, removes the section about apes so that he may not die, then returns home, forging his own path. When he leaves the Nether, he wakes from his dream and tells his baboons that he has struck their names from the Book of Life, so that they may live eternally.