THE ELEMENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 7: The Journey Without an End

Dave, the Wood Guardian, woke up in the middle of a forest as big as the state of Texas on planet Earth. He rose from a bed of brown pine needles and looked around the woods to see if he could recognize his surroundings—he could not. Being by himself in this immense unknown territory, he knew he would need protection from any possible enemy. Luckily, Dave was always well equipped. He possessed an enchanted bracelet that, along with his strong willpower and a flick of his hand, allowed him to craft any weapon, from toothpicks to fully armed warriors.

With that very power, he now created a warrior made out of wood to serve as a guide on his journey—he would be good company, too. As he followed his warrior through the woods, Dave occupied his hands by creating a gadget, a new kind of weapon, and began thinking about where his Element Sword could be. He picked up a handy-looking walking stick as he hiked the perfect size for him—despite his love of crafting, there were some parts of nature you just couldn’t improve on.

Dave followed the warrior to a sparser area of the forest, where he found an old dilapidated treehouse. He regarded it happily, thinking once he fixed it up; it could become a good resting spot for the night. To get some help with this labor-intensive task, he created a few more toy soldiers and all went to work to rebuild the fort.

With the help of his wooden warriors, Dave was able to fix up the treehouse in a very short time. Once the work had been completed, Dave picked up two wooden sticks and brushed them together to create a small fire to warm the first section of the house. He then climbed over the newly fixed railing and continued on to the second section of the treehouse. When he opened the door to a room he hadn’t yet investigated, he looked around to see if the previous owner had left anything interesting behind. He didn't find anything except for some extra sticks, rope, and a knife—at least that could help him sharpen the tools that he created. He also found a satchel, into which he inserted his findings.

That night, next to the fire, Dave watched the sky while the warriors watched over him. Everything seemed to be going quite well, but for the fact that his Element Sword was not yet in his hands.

***

The next morning, the Wood Guardian continued on his journey, following the soldiers deeper and deeper into the woods. Suddenly, they stopped, for they had led him to the place where he was expected to encounter his first challenge. Unaware of this, Dave caught up with the soldiers, for they had gone a little bit ahead of him. He saw that they were all standing around a mound of dirt. When he stepped onto that mound, the ground started to shake, and a large hole opened up underneath him.

He landed on a hard dirt floor at the entrance of a tunnel. Too excited by the prospect of finding his way down it to bother checking for bruises, he immediately started walking down the path, using a homemade torch to guide him through the dark. As he followed the light of the torch, Dave saw what seemed to be the outline of a tile on the floor ahead of him. As he got closer to it, he saw that it had an emblem on it: the symbol of a cockroach.

Stepping on things had served him well in the recent past, so he figured he would try it again. As Dave walked on the tile, the tunnel started to shake. A section of the cave in front of him opened up, and before he could go any farther, he saw that it was occupied by—no surprise there—a huge cockroach, which, with its beady little eyes and pinching antennas, came after him right away.

Dave decided that now would be a good time for some backup, because he didn’t believe he could even attempt to defeat this huge cockroach by himself. He instantly projected his thoughts out beyond the confines of the tunnel, hoping to reach his animal guardian, his eagle. This eagle was a unique one, because it had been crafted out of a white oak tree that, when given life, had become real. When it was called, the former statue always watched over him unblinkingly. To make space for the eagle to enter the tunnel, Dave stepped on another tile, and the resulting tremor caused another section of the tunnel to open up a hole, one that was big enough to allow the eagle to approach the Wood Guardian.

After a few minutes of flight, the eagle landed beside him.

“Greetings, old friend,” said Dave. “Care to join me in an entertaining fight against this ugly creature?” The eagle clicked its beak in approval.

The team of warriors and the eagle managed to kill the cockroach, though it was a difficult fight. For the first thing they had to do was to lure it out from the hole that it was gazing its prey from. The warriors, guardian, and eagle found getting the vermin to come out a challenge. Clearly it did not want to vacate its premises. To resolve this conflict that the team was faced with Dave had the warriors split up and use a turtle formation to push it out. Two warriors were set on either side of the cockroach’s stomach. The other warriors approached from the back by utilizing the opening that Dave made for the eagle to enter... Dave instructed the eagle to provoke it. The eagle used its sharp beak and claws. This had little effect on the creature’s hard exterior shell. So our guardian decided to aid the warriors from the back. His idea was to use the torch he had as another tactic to draw him out. Before he entered the opening he warned the warriors on either side of the creature to be on the alert. If this maneuver would work, the creature would surely be perturbed. He ran through the opening to where the other two warriors were anxiously waiting. Dave explained what he was going to do and if it worked, to be ready to push from behind. The two warriors showed that they understood. They motioned to Dave to proceed as planned. It got the results Dave was hoping for. The fire from the torch rattled the cockroach and forced him out from the area he was hiding in. The moment he started moving, the three individuals pushed from the back while the other two that were on either side scattered on opposite directions. The flames got the cockroach onto its back legs, so that it came to a standing position. This gave the eagle another opening. The five fighters carried out their attacks while the opportunity was making it possible, however, Dave could see that the creature still had some fight left in it. The insect used its pinchers every time one of the warriors got too close. Then Dave came up with an idea to use a poisonous orange- type fruit he stumbled upon while walking in the forest. He hoped that by setting the fruit on fire and aiming it into the creature’s mouth, the toxic fumes would be released inside of it. He raised the deadly fruit up in the air using his walking stick, set it ablaze and aimed right at the creature’s mandible. It worked! The ghastly fumes resulted in the cockroach’s death. As was usual after a fight, the warriors vanished, as if there was another battle going on somewhere else and they were needed at once.

***

Dave resumed walking, watching carefully for more tiles on the ground—when he stepped on the next one, another section of the cavern crumbled into dust, and another opening was created. This time, a spider with eight hungry eyes appeared in front of him. Dave looked at the eagle and told him that he was okay for now—he could create his usual backup to help him out in the fight against the eight-legged arachnid. As he sent the bird off to keep watch, out of the ground appeared four warriors.

They charged the arachnid and made short work of him. Once the spider was defeated, the warriors vanished into the ground once again. This time, when Dave continued walking, he felt a tug inside him, stronger than ever. He followed it, feeling it more strongly with every step, and eventually he began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. When he reached the opening, he realized that it was simply another section of the forest. Be there was no doubt in Dave’s mind that he was getting closer.

After a couple of minutes, he arrived at a clearing that had a tree that looked as old as the one on the other side of the tunnel in which he had spent the night. At first, he feared that the tunnel had deposited him right back where he had started, but as he walked closer to it, he saw long thick ropes dangling from the branches. That was new. As the sun was setting behind him, Dave figured that it would be an ideal location to build a resting spot for the night. His warriors created a large hammock out from the ropes that were tied to the branches of the tree—perhaps that had been their original purpose. That night, Dave created another fire and lay in his hammock, observing the stars until he fell asleep.

***

The next morning, Dave reached the end of the forest—as the Wood Guardian, he’d never been so happy to be out of the woods in his life. He saw a large white mountain ahead of him. All of a sudden, he felt that familiar tug inside his being growing very strong, thus indicating that he was nearing the endpoint of his journey. Seeing as the mountain was his next point to reach, he thought this was the right time to summon his animal guardian again, so he projected his thoughts to the eagle. Instantly, the eagle appeared next to Dave, and after learning that his master needed help to reach the top of the mountain, it readied itself for transport. Dave, turning a backflip in the air, leapt onto the eagles back and headed toward the mountain.

The eagle flew him up to the top of the mountain, landing on a smooth ledge far above the tree line, an excellent vantage point. Dave got off the eagle and surveyed his surroundings. From where he was standing, he could see a whole new section of unexplored forest below him—at its center, standing apart from the rest, was an enormous tree whose branches interlaced with each other like a tapestry. He closed his eyes then, and felt the tug leading him to that specific tree. He climbed again on the back of the eagle and made it down the mountain to the entrance of the new section of the forest. As he was having the eagle nose dive into the opening of the new challenge; two new unfortunate conundrums blocked his entering. The wind was the first thing that started picking up speed forcefully pushing up against the eagles wings. To prevent any further problems which would probably result in harm, Dave instructed the eagle to get to the first closest tree that the strong winds would allow him to reach so he could dismount off. Once the eagle spotted the first tree he got as close as he could and Dave jumped onto it, shimmied down and slowly started the next part of his journey. On the verge of entrance, the second obstacle stopped him once more in his tracks. Turning around he was able to see bird monsters heading in the same area the two were at. The guardian must have been spotted by them while flying. Thinking quickly he had the animal guardian see what he could make of them and he’d figure a way to avoid the stragglers while running through the new course of his mission. While running through his new terrain he could hear the sounds of the bird monsters which meant that some stragglers made it passed the eagle. Keeping his eyes forward on the trail he pulled his walking stick out, grabbed some loose vines that he spotted on the ground and tied them on both ends of the stick. Next he used some of the extra sticks he had saved from the house he rebuilt earlier on and spun around in time to strike the bird monsters dead with the hand- made bow he had just created.

As he walked through the trees, he began to wonder if there was a way to use the trees as a means of travel. There were many similar-looking trees around, and if they were somehow spiritually connected—what if they could function like a portal? While envisaging this new way of traveling, Dave placed his hand on the bark of a tree near where he was standing and imagined it turning into a spinning portal, one that would lead him into the trees themselves. After a while, he felt the wind blowing in his face, and the strange feeling of his hand sinking into the bark. When he opened his eyes, he knew that his ideas of travel in and out of trees could be realized.

Before resuming the trip with this new method, he projected a warning out to the eagle, telling it to go on ahead and to meet him at the strange huge tree. In response, the eagle shrieked and took off. Before fully entering the portal, Dave imagined the inside as a pathway on which he could walk on while he traveled the trees. And so it was done.

However, traveling through the trees took longer than he’d imagined, and it drained a lot out of him. For this reason, he would pop out from the trees every so often to sit and rest on their branches. After a couple of these forced rest stops, Dave sensed that he wasn’t far from the tree he was being tugged toward. Then suddenly, he saw a dark shadow moving through the bushes, but could not identify its making. Whatever it was, it was heading toward the same gigantic tree as he was.

Dave knew that he would probably have to beat this creature there, or at least hold it off until he could get hold of his Element Sword. To prepare for the coming confrontation, he used his bracelet to create more warriors so that they could go on ahead to try and stop the creature. He also sent a message through his thoughts to the eagle, asking that it provide help to his warriors. Immediately, he heard the shriek of the eagle over his head and watched his new army heading for an eventual battle.

By that point, he felt rested enough to make the final portal trip through the trees that would lead him to his destination. It didn't take long for Dave to get there; he came out from the bottom of the huge tree trunk. Next to it was a little house. As he approached it, he felt that it was surrounded by a force field. A little voice in the back of his head was telling him to take out the walking stick that he had been using during the journey. He pulled it out and saw that the top of it was glowing. On the verge of what he thought would allow him to penetrate the forcefield, Dave was suddenly his by a wave of darkness. Shrouded in darkness he sensed an eerie entity pass in front of him. Just as quick as darkness had fallen upon him, it lifted away and the wood guardian found himself once again surrounded by bird monsters. He looked down and noticed his stick was missing! In a panic he quickly did a scan of the area to assess what he had to work with. He made a new bow and began to shoot down as many birds as he his eyes could see. While his hands were actively destroying the birds, his mind was actively trying to come up with a new way to penetrate the forcefield. Dave closed his eyes and with all his might concentrated on applying mental pressure. He had nothing to lose. When he thought he could stand not more, the forcefield imploded upon itself. Dave opened his eyes and he noticed that a burst of fire came out to greet him. Dave immediately banished the flame by directing it into the portal. That was neat, he thought—it must have been a new Wood Guardian thing, channeling his power like that.

Entering the house, Dave noticed right away that the inside had little to it, apart from the long winding staircase that he figured would lead upstairs somewhere, maybe to the top of the tree. As he went up the stairs, he felt the pull of the strange power that had been getting stronger by the minute.

“I might be getting closer to my Element Sword,” Dave guessed. He was nearing the top of the stairs when he saw a light shining from not too far away.

As Dave got closer to the light, he saw that it was arched in the shape of a door. When he went through it, he came to a small garden. The garden didn’t have much in the way of plants, but there was a little stone block with a hole in it positioned firmly in the soil. When he got to it, he saw that the hole was in fact a keyhole. Then, just like when Dave had gotten to the front door of the little house, he felt the walking stick glowing again. Dave was confused, how could this be possible? Hadn’t he misplaced it? Had someone taken it when he was shrouded by the short wave of darkness? He wasn’t going to question it, for it may all have been part of the master plan.

He pulled it out and felt the power it was emitting, stronger than ever before. He reached forward and stuck the rod into the keyhole, where it began to grow in length and width, becoming sharper and smoother. Dave backed off as he watched the walking stick he had been carrying but then misplaced and now had in his possession once more transform into his Element Sword.

Dave was at a complete loss for words. When the rod had completely transformed, he pulled it out incredulously—and just in time, for danger was all around him. Dave heard a noise behind him and turned around to see a mutant porcupine, ready to pounce.

Great, just what I needed, thought Dave as he saw his warriors scramble up the stairs behind it. I came all this way to discover that I’ve been carrying my sword the whole time, and now I might be killed by a mutant porcupine.

Exasperated, Dave shouted at the creature, “I’m willing to bet I know what you want, you spiky overgrown pine needle, but I’m not letting you get this sword!”

All of them charged the gigantic beast while the eagle used its large wings as an impenetrable cover to protect Dave. In a couple of minutes, there was nothing in the garden but the thorny remains of the mutant porcupine.

Dave walked over to the eagle and said, “Come on, my friend. Let’s start the journey back.” Promptly, the sword worked its magic and both Guardian and animal guardian vanished.

Chapter 7: The Journey Without an End

Our final journey takes place in the deep dark center of the tundra. The Metal Guardian woke up in the snow, and used the direction of the blowing wind to figure out his position. Right then, a blur of black and white sped past Quester and stopped in front of him. It was his animal guardian, a big white tiger that somehow always knew when it was needed. How did it know that the Guardian was about to call it? Well, it wasn’t the time or the place to investigate that issue. Quester needed help from his animal because the tiger’s speed and agility would allow him to get to his castle, where he could grab the supplies he needed to start on his quest. He patted the tiger’s head and told it where he needed to go. The animal guardian positioned its head against Quester as a gesture that he should hop on.

Their goal was to get to the Metal Guardian’s fortress as soon as possible, and they achieved it easily. Once they got there, Quester went to his underground workshop. He saw that everything was in its place, except there was something new on his workbench, an unassuming piece of metal, along with two paper notes. He picked the first one up. It was a message from Master Ribbit.

Dear Quester,

Time grows short. In her dreams, Master Topaz has foreseen the invaders preparing their weapons for war. She fears that the two years we predicted it would take them to arrive has been shortened to one year. As you can see, Quester, this change affects all five of you Guardians. I’m pleased to say that the other four Guardians have found their swords and are on their way to the location where I can bring you back to the temple, but it won’t show itself until your sword is retrieved. That’s why I’ve summoned your animal guardian to link with you immediately. Your tiger will stay with you all the time, helping you as much as possible. Use it to ride the tundra. Hurry and be safe. Let the elements empower you.

Master Ribbit

“Well, well, well. Now I know who told you to get me in the tundra,” said Quester, looking at his tiger with a smile. “I owe you a steak dinner. I couldn’t have gotten here so fast by myself.”

He looked over at the other note, which had sat next to the letter that he’d just read. Quester noticed immediately that this one was written in riddle form.

This piece of metal needs to be worked on. This is the point where your journey begins; you’ll need a coat along with your wit, your skill, and your hands to use your tools. So here is your first clue: What tool does one use to melt one object into another?

Quester looked at the object. It really was just a piece of metal as far as he knew, but his sense of logic was telling him that it needed to be turned into something he could carry with him, something he would need. He walked around his shop, trying to figure out what the lines of the riddle meant. Then he came across a machine that he was looking for—a soldering iron. The answer to this riddle was right in front of him! Next to the soldering iron was a metal tray, a mold in the shape of a hilt.

Quester gathered up his tools and prepared to work the metal. He used a small chipping ax to chip away the extra metal from the piece. Once the excess had been broken off, he took what he needed and went over where the soldering iron was. As it got hotter, he set the pin that was on the machine. By the time he had it set; the soldering iron was ready to go. He watched as the liquid fire came down. He had always loved to watch the metal melt down and mold itself into the tray. After a while, a hilt began to take form.

As Quester was waiting for the hot metal to cool, he packed extra tools that he thought he might need for the trip. He was looking around his shop when he discovered another message on the other side of the door where he had come into the shop. It was another riddle:

While one task is done, there are many more that are left undone. This one won’t be as easy as the first, but your mighty tiger will be of use along the way. Your next task will lead you somewhere with flightless birds.

For this one, he was going to need his parka. After retrieving it from the closet, Quester opened the door and found his white tiger there waiting for him. He got on its back and they headed off into the snow.

The journey took a while, a little longer than it usually would have, for they were trying to find the right type of penguins. The message on the door of his castle had been very clear, but Quester never doubted his animal guardian, and his animal guardian didn’t want to stop. Suddenly, he felt warmth from the pocket of his parka. When he pulled out the fresh hilt that he had smithed back at his shop, he saw that it was humming with power.

Astounded, Quester thought to himself, This thing is asking for a rest.

After spending some time resting up next to a flowing river of ice, they continued. He didn’t ride the tiger for long periods, so the animal followed him now. As he walked, the hilt became hotter, and he took it as a sign that he was getting closer. After a while, he heard sounds coming from over an approaching hill. When he got to the top of it, he saw a whole waddle of penguins gathering together down below. He walked down the hill and started making his way to the group of penguins. He figured that these little birds had to be the ones he was looking for, because the hilt in his hand was growing almost unbearably hot.

Quester and his tiger walked through that group trying to find the particular penguin that he was looking for; as the penguins saw his animal guardian, they immediately shuffled aside. Then Quester felt the hilt yank him forward, just as they were coming to a glacier that held two penguins. Somehow, he knew that they had come to the right place.

The flightless birds stood guard, holding various fish in their beaks. Quester told them that he was brought to them by a riddle, and explained the rest of his quest as well. The two birds were very good listeners and held on to every word. Once the conversation ended, they opened their beaks and said they would advise the Emperor penguin of his arrival.

After a while, both penguins came back. Apparently, the Emperor had been expecting him.

***

The Emperor penguin displayed a crown of yellow-orange feathers framing his face. Once the old penguin had heard his story, he made a few body movements starting with his wings, made a visual head nod, and vocalization from his beak The penguins who brought Quester to see the emperor, followed by waddling and flapping their wings and making sounds from their beaks in answer to the Emperor. Through another wave of vocalizations, body movements, and visualizations the Emperor explained to the guardian that he would agreed to help him on his quest. He told him that there were slabs of metal that had appeared to him suddenly one day, along with a note that said that a warrior with the power of metal would come to obtain it. The Emperor led the way to an area of snow where the slabs of metal were hidden in a snow bank.

Quester thanked the old penguin, but he wasn’t finished yet. All three flightless birds, the Emperor and the two guards, disappeared and came back with a harness and sled for Quester and his tiger to use as they continued through the snow. While the penguins fastened the harness to the tiger, Quester was hefting the metal onto the sled. Once they were ready to disembark, Quester and the emperor shook hands—well, flippers—and he thanked his feathery new friends for the help by respectfully thanking them with a means of head movements and flapping of his arms. He got on the sled and slapped the reins, and the tiger took off.

The Guardian had no idea where he was heading, but his tiger seemed to know exactly where to go. So once again, Quester put his trust in his animal guardian.

After a while, they arrived at a medium-sized cabin. When he got inside and shut out the cold, he found it to be very similar in design to his castle. That was curious. When he walked around the place, he saw that no one had lived there for quite a while. It was cold and damp, and Quester decided it could use a little life. He reached into his satchel and set to work. He started on the pipes, getting them straightened out, thawing them in places, replacing old screws and nails. It took a while, but he finally got them working—Quester was a technology wizard and a master smith, but he was no proper plumber.

Back behind the house, he was lucky enough to find a pile of firewood. Using the reflective properties of some of the metal he had brought with him, he was able to make a crackling fire. He figured that he might get some of the dampness out, if he was going to stay here. While the fire was blazing, he went and fixed the windows. When he had arrived it was still light, but working hard, by the time he had finished all of the repairs, it was pitch black outside. Quester found a bed, which he furnished with some dry quilts from the closet, and appreciating that stroke of luck, he made camp and fell asleep with his tiger at the foot of his bed.

***

The next morning, he got up and went outside