"W…Where are we?" stuttered the girl with hair the color of night.
"We are in ‘Nanopia’ which means World of Peace in my language," explained the boy.
"Wow, it sure is beautiful. Where do we find the berries?" asked the blond girl.
"Well, I guess I should explain," stated the boy, "We will travel for the rest of the day and most of the night to the ‘Sacred Temple,’ where you will fight the guardian for the right to the berries. I tell you now, only one person has ever beaten the guardian."
"You?" asked both girls at the same time.
"No…I…have been only a…viewer of it," he hesitated as he said that.
They traveled far across a plain that
was covered with bright flowers. The girls wanted to stop and pick
some but the thought of their friend and the fight they were to face kept
them going. Pixies and butterflies flitted around them.
They got to the base of the temple, which
looked to be made of marble. And the temple had stairs that went
up the side leading to its flattened platform on top. Half way up
the stairs was a small platform for a door that had mysterious symbols
on it.
Upon arriving, the boy led them to a small shed beside the base, where they had to change into ceremonial robes. Concealed in the robes, the girls wore their prized possessions, for something told them they would need them.
The blond girl wore her fire crystal ring and a throwing dagger. Her friend wore an ice ring, and some poison darts were hidden in the folds of the robe. The girls never went anywhere without them.
The boy, who had been waiting outside, led them to the top of the temple. By the time they reached it, it was midnight. They ate a meal of bread and water, then went to sleep.
Upon awakening, the fire user found the boy gone and the time to be about noon. She woke her partner and they found a note from the boy telling them to rest themselves and to prepare for battle. So they did just that.
At nightfall, the boy returned, he wore a robe of green, an amulet with a strange design and a red bandana. He helped them move their items onto the platform by the stairs.
And as the moon began to rise they gathered in the middle of the top platform. The higher the moon rose the brighter the amulet around the boy’s neck glowed.
"You must defeat me in combat, to get those moonberries," said the boy quietly, "For I am the guardian of this temple."
"Oh…that shouldn’t be too hard," said the girl with the blond hair.
"I wouldn’t be too quick to judge," murmured her partner, "I sense a strange power from him…"
The moon came into full view now and the boy was encased in the light from the amulet for a brief second. When it faded a half-man, half-lion stood in his place. It’s strength unimaginable. Surely one blow from it could send the girls falling off the temple.
"Keep your distance from it! Don’t let it near you!" ordered the black headed girl.
The beast charged at them but the girls split up to different sides of the platform.
"If that’s how you want it, we’ll make this a quick battle! FIRE FALCON!" Shouted the blond headed girl.
Her ring flashed bright and a huge bird appeared out of the sky. It dove straight at the former boy, who ran to avoid its path, but was without luck.
The monster rolled on the ground to extinguish some fur that was burning. Then it got up and blasted a fireball at the girl who had attacked it. Fortunately something inside her told her to hold up her fist and the ring caused a barrier to absorb the blast.
"We need to take this monster out quicker! Our friend is in pain at the shelter!" shouted the black headed girl.
"HOW?" asked her partner.
--- End of Part 4---