Stan's Magical Journey

The rain pounded down on the hood of my coat. I was soaked through, but I had to keep moving or I would get hypothermia. The map in my hands was starting to smudge from all the wet. The chainmail vest that I had tried to cover up with my coat kept my chest warm, but now it had started to rust and was becoming uncomfortable. My shoes were too big for me and my feet hurt like hell. It was a miracle that I was even able to walk anymore, after slogging through the mud and moats these past few days while searching for the castle where they made music.

I had been walking for hours already, but finally I could see the outline of something large in the distance. It looked like a grand castle, on a hill overlooking a lake. As I got closer, I realized it wasn't just any lake, but one of those massive lakes that you can go boating on - Wait... What?

I looked over at the boat docked by the shoreline and saw that there were three people getting ready to cross the lake, including two men and one woman. They were all dressed in weird costumes with funny hats and looking very excited about their journey ahead. One of them, who had long hair tied back in a ponytail, wore a bright red shirt and yellow pants, looked up at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. He pointed at himself questioningly, making exaggerated facial expressions that made him look like a monkey before mouthing words silently as his eyebrows jumped up and down. He then pointed at his friends excitedly before mimicking rowing with his arms. His eyes widened in amazement as he suddenly remembered something important - "Oh! By the way..." Then he unbuttoned his belt and pulled out what looked like a half-eaten apple wrapped in paper before offering it to me. "You want some?"

I hesitated at first because I thought it might be poisoned or something, but then figured that if he wanted me dead then he would've done so by now. So I took the apple from him and unwrapped it carefully before taking a bite. It tasted fresh and sweet, but also bitter and sour at the same time... Almost like an orange mixed with grapefruit juice? Either way it was delicious - Not bad for a guy who didn't know how to eat anything outside of this time period yet!

"Well?" He asked expectantly, clearly wanting me to give him my opinion before offering me another apple from his satchel full of them. "What do ya think? Should we open up shop down here?" Then he seemed to remember something again, slowing down his speech this time so I could understand. "I mean... You're not from around here are you? Are you lost or something?"

"Not exactly." I replied as politely as possible while wiping sweat off my forehead with my sleeve before shaking some water off my hat. "I'm looking for somewhere called 'The Castle'. Do you know where it is?"

"The Castle?" He asked incredulously with wide eyes as if someone just told him there was an elephant in front of him eating peanuts from its trunk with no hands or legs involved whatsoever - Which would technically be pretty cool honestly! "You mean... This castle right here in front us?" He said pointing at the building behind us both with one hand while holding out another apple towards me with the other. "This is The Castle... Right here!"

"Right here?!" I asked staring at him dumbfoundedly while realizing that this meant I finally found my destination after days of searching! "Are you sure?"

"Yup!" He answered confidently before raising his hand in greeting towards one of his friends sitting inside one of their boats nearby. They waved back enthusiastically before sending waves over to us which nearly toppled them over as they laughed hysterically together - Apparently they were enjoying themselves quite a bit!