Today, I came across Rosslyn, got jumped by Hawks, and then saved by an eagle man. After that, I got stopped by a giant rock turtle and had to chase a rat through a busy marketplace. Then I entered a cheese mill that turned into an entire other world just so I could kidnap a cheese maker. From that point, I met Orion in a hillbillies boulder barn, then went off to destroy an igneous tiki head and their fortress.
I haven't had a more eventful day in what seemed like years, if not my entire life. In one day, I went from being a hunter, living an ordinary life to being a hero who would save the world. At first, I didn't think I could do it, and to be honest, I still don't. But there were six kingdoms who desperately needed me and my team's help.
So I prayed that my years of dart experience would pay off, assuming that if they didn't, our journey would be over.
When the boom from the pea sounded,
I opened my eyes, ready to see if I made it or not.
I felt a smile appear on my face as I saw the cracked open skull of Vulcan at my feet. His steaming igneous body started to cool down, slowly turning back into cobble.
The Gothers that ran towards us from the cloud of dust slowed down and began to crumble, turning their eyes to dust as they fell. I was about ready to celebrate when I felt Rosslyn jump off my shoulder and run towards Mamble.
He was on the floor, unconscious. He hadn't mastered any of the Jinjaga spells, so holding up an entire tower must've drained all of his energy. Rosslyn tried waking him up, but he didn't move an inch.
"We have to get him help!"
My hand reached for the scroll in my back pocket instinctively. I rolled it out on the floor, looking for someplace close I could take him to heal. The closest thing I could find was a Lanta Grove.
Lanti were known best for their healing properties. In all of the stories Grandpa told that had them in it, they always healed the heroes when they were at their worst. Mamble was a hero, so surely they would save him.
I rolled the scroll back up and shoved it in my back pocket before picking him up. He was a lot heavier than he looked, which would make lugging him all the way to the Grove a tough job, but it was to save the world, so I pushed down my complaints and started walking as fast as I could.
Rosslyn stayed on Mamble's shoulder as I carried him over mine. She tried to make sure he was okay during the trip, but he was mostly unresponsive. The most he would do was breathe a little heavier. It was scary seeing a friend like this, but I knew he would pull through.
I didn't know much about him, but I could tell he was a fighter. After all, he did create an entire cheese empire.
After a while, Rosslyn walked up to where my ear was and sat down.
"Mamble will be ok. How are you doing?"
Currently, I was carrying a mystic cheesemaker to a Grove of health spirits after defeating one of the coliseum's top three fighters. So I didn't really know how to answer.
"I'm alright... was that guy actually number three in the coliseum?"
She laughed, thinking back to what we did.
"Yeah. I guess he's more used to fighting people his size. You know, I thought about fighting in the coliseum, but I just didn't think it would be fair. So I decided to watch instead."
The thought of putting 150 amazing warriors against each other to fight and see who was the best was such an interesting idea. Rosslyn seemed to know more about this stuff than anyone I've ever known, so I had to ask all about it.
"Were all of fighters that big? How long was it all together? What was the prize of winning?"
Clearly overloaded with questions that I wanted answers to, she slowed me down and just decided to tell me all about it.
"Back in the day, there really was tons of heroes that went on adventures. Some got turned into stories, others were forgotten, but all in all, they were real.
Well, one day, a man decided that he would use the grand coliseum he built to see exactly who was the best hero of them all. The coliseum was gigantic. You could fit four baseball stadiums in the ring alone. He sent out flyers, hung posters, and announced the tournament worldwide. He had gotten 150 mythical heroes, fighters, or even beings that just wanted to fight, and he made the largest bracket battle anyone had ever seen."
150 heroes, all fighting against each other, one on one. That type of event would take weeks to finish, but that just made it sound even cooler.
"Every day, ten fighters would face off. Five battles a day for 15 days, and that was just the first round. By the second round, there were still 75 people left. There were another ten battles per day until they got to the last five. They couldn't make them all fight one on one since it would leave one fighter out, so they all fought at the same time, and Vulcan was the one that won that fight.
Those five were rumored to be the strongest, but Vulcan swept the floor with them all. Even then, he only made it to third place."
I couldn't help but imagine how cool it must have been to watch five fights a day and all between the greatest heroes and fighters of all time. It must have been a top priority for everyone in the world at the time. Something that massive must have caught the attention of millions. Just hearing about it made me want to go back in time to experience it first hand.
"By the third round, there were 36 people left to fight. They all trained like their lives depended on it. After all, this far into the game, there were no easy fights left. People placed bets on who they thought would win or would make and hang banners outside their homes of who they were rooting for. It was so majestic seeing the world come together for something like this. It was such an amazing time that brought such a positive spirit to people. By the fourth round, there were 18 people left. By the fifth, there were nine. They all faced off, leaving five to remain. Two more mesmerizing fights later, and we had our last three."
Seven rounds of fighting doesn't seem like a lot until you realize that the other two people you were going up against also went through seven rounds. 150 people fought, and only three came out on top.
"The eighth round would decide who would go up against each other at the very top. As you know, Vulcan lost the eighth round, putting him in eighth place. As for ninth place, it was the most exhilarating battle I had ever seen."
I completely ignored the aching in my back and in my calves to hear the story.
I was so distracted that I didn't even notice we were approaching the Grove.
"What happened in the ninth round? Who went up against each other?"
Rosslyn just laughed before jumping off my shoulder and running up to the Grove. I ran after her, wanting to know the rest of the story so desperately.
I always hated cliffhangers, but Grandpa told me they were one of the greatest gifts of stories. He said that it would always leave you wondering what would happen next. But I wanted to know what would happen next now!
I didn't even know what the two fighters looked like.
I tried to push it to the side and stop thinking about it as we walked into the Grove. It was a wide, long red forest with crystal blue water trickling from a rock formation in the middle that looked like a queen Lanta. Lanti were known to look like red spirits with three pairs of arms and antennas for eyes, like crabs.
The Grove looked empty, though. Rosslyn seemed bothered by it, but tried to focus on helping Mamble first. She just climbed the water fountain shaped like a queen Lanta and gestured for us to come over.
"Give him a drink, hurry!"
Quickly, I shuffled over to the fountain and pushed his mouth towards the spouting water. After a few sips, Rosslyn gestured for me to put him on the floor.
I did as she asked, laying him on his back gently.
"What if he chokes on the water?"
Rosslyn cleaned her paws with the spouting water, then jumped down to check on him.
"It's Fresher water. It can only do good.
Even if you bottle it and poison it, the positive effects of it would just overpower the poison. You can't even drown in Fresher water. That's how people live in the underwater city in Metamorphia."
As if surprised by her sudden spring of knowledge, she smirked, then coughed nonchalantly as if she knew it all along. Finally I gave Mamble the drink and laid him back on his back.
We both stared at him, waiting for the Fresher water to clear up his system and give him the energy he needed. I couldn't help but get distracted by the Grove while looking over him, though.
It may have been weird, but the red tree's leaves and bark, and even the red speckled grass looked... tasty. I'd always loved cherries, apples, strawberries, and especially watermelon. It just felt like there was something about this forest that made my mouth water. I almost let my impulsive thoughts win by scooping up a handful of grass and eyeing it hungrily, but thought better of it.
Rosslyn noticed me drop the clump of grass. I feel like if she could, she would put her hand on my shoulder like wanting to eat grass was a normal thing everyone felt.
"It's all medicinal, so I wouldn't, even though it does have a nice peppermint taste."
I didn't like peppermint, so it was for the best, but I couldn't help but look at everything differently.
"Everything here is medicinal? Everything?"
She nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but getting interrupted by a voice behind her.
"I'd suggest not eating the grass."
Rosslyn jumped as she heard the voice, looking behind her fearfully. A Lanta appeared behind Rosslyn. It looked just how they did in the stories. She had three handfuls of red ferns and three handfuls of rocks. She didn't even stop to greet us. Instead, she just floated past us, disappearing into the woods behind me.
Rosslyn got up and ran after her. I picked up Mamble and followed her, hoping the Lanta would be able to help us.
Following a rat with a purple scarf through a red forest was a lot easier than following her throughout a busy marketplace. But to make things hard, I had to run carefully, so I didn't accidentally whack Mamble's head against any trees.
Rosslyn eventually stopped running when we reached an open spot in the woods, just like the one where we got attacked by Hawks. Only this time, there was a small house that was just a foot or two higher than me that could perfectly fit a Lanta.
Rosslyn jumped in through the dog door, leaving me to follow. I gently put Mamble down, then tried opening the door, but it was locked, so I tried knocking and got no response. They must have been in an intense conversation to ignore me pounding at their door.
The house had no windows I could look through or knock on, and the chimney looked like it could barely fit Rosslyn, let alone me. I only had one option left.
I got down on my hands and knees and tried to climb in through the dog door, squeezing in until I got stuck at my armpits. Despite my conundrum, I couldn't help but notice how cute and small the house was. There was a little living room with mini furniture and a mini fireplace, holding a mini TV. A dining room with a small dining table and chairs surrounding it. A bathroom that had a mini toilet, sink, and shower. A bedroom with a tiny bed and nightstand. And to top it all off, a kitchen with a mini fridge, stove, and counter.
Rosslyn and the Lanta were sharing a cup of tea in the dining room, making small talk like they were old friends. They only seemed to notice me when I started struggling to get free.
"Oh, hey Harlen. Sorry I didn't answer the door. The walls are really soundproof."
The Lanta in the chair across from her just awkwardly chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "The house parties get really loud."
With the help of the Lanta's six arms, I managed to get free from the door's tight grasp. It was a little cramped, but I could sit at the dining table without worrying about breaking the mini chair I sat on.
Rosslyn caught Vivian, the Lanta and long-time friend of hers, up to speed on our situation. It was good luck that we found a doctor, but from what I heard of Lanta Groves, they should be full of Lanti, floating around and doing errands to keep their Grove growing healthily. A lot has changed because of the pirate king, so it must be the same for the Lanti. They were probably scared off, or maybe they were hiding.
Vivian looked outside the window the moment Rosslyn talked about Mamble. Before Rosslyn could finish, she flew quickly out the door. Rosslyn ran after her, leaving me at the dinner table holding a miniature teacup with my fingers.
By the time I squeezed out of the door, I saw the two standing still around where we left Mamble. Vivian grunted in fustration as Rosslyn looked at her with a worried expression. "He was just here a minute ago. Where'd he go?"
Vivian looked around for a good minute before getting low to ground and feeling the soil. She perked up and then pointed deeper into the forest. "This way. Follow me."
She flew off quickly in the direction of where she pointed. Having no other choice, I picked up Rosslyn, grabbed my backpack, and ran after her.