The Guardian

Celebratory mini tea party

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."