Author's note: Yes, Mat, "hand in hand" DOES mean holding hands. Didn't you know that? I guess you didn't. That was an unusual time to review, though. You usually review later in the day. Oh, well. Next chapter!
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Chapter 8: The Earth Temple
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We bravely entered the Earth Temple. It was a lot bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, but that wasn't surprising. It was always that way in RPGs. "So, which way do we go first?" Sam finally said.
"Any way is as good as any other," I decided. "I say we go straight ahead first. Let's stick together. I know this is only the first dungeon, so it should be simple, but I'd hate to take chances."
We all agreed, and began to head straight. A few monster battles got in our way, but they were pretty easy to conquer. Our way was soon blocked, however, by a large statue with two outstretched hands. "Great," Alex muttered. "How do we get past that big thing?"
"It looks like it should be holding something," Sam deduced. "Let's find something for it to hold somewhere in this dungeon."
We left the room and went another direction. This time, there were three crates and three suspicious-looking floor tiles. "Alex, take that crate. Sam, that crate. I'll take this one. Get the crates onto the floor tiles."
Alex and Sam went to their crates and we began to push them. Sam and I got our crates okay, but Alex messed up and pushed hers into a corner. She couldn't pull it out, so we left the room and immediately re-entered. The crates reset to their original positions, allowing us to push the crates around correctly this time. When all the crates were placed correctly, a little melody played, and a chest appeared in a puff of smoke.
Sam inspected the chest. A big lock held it shut, which was a shocker, as chests aren't usually locked in RPGs. She called us over to look. "This is a pretty sturdy lock," I mentioned. "If I had to choose a lock to protect my valuables, I'd certainly pick this lock."
Hearing this, Sam's face suddenly brightened. "Wait! Leo, say those last three words again!"
"Pick this lock?"
"Yes, exactly. Alex, pick this lock."
"Huh?"
"You're a thief. Shouldn't you be able to pick a lock?"
"Well … okay, I'll try."
As if she knew exactly what to do, Alex removed her glove and stuck her fingernail into the lock. It popped open with a CLICK, leaving even Alex surprised. I shoved the chest open, and fetched its contents. All right! It's a Red Crystal Sphere! It looks pretty, but what could its purpose be …?
On the other side of the temple was a different kind of room. A chest lay on the far side of a big waterway. Swimming across was out of the question; there had to be some other possibility. Then, our eyes fell on a large statue with a big eye on the other side.
I knew what to do instantly. "Stay back, girls, this one's mine." I raised my bow, and shot an arrow at the statue's eye. The hit was direct, and a bridge formed across the waterway. We crossed it, Alex picked the lock on the chest, and Sam got the next item. Magnificent! It's a Blue Crystal Sphere! It's very beautiful, but what is it for?
Returning to the statue, Sam placed the blue sphere in the statue's left hand, while I took the red sphere to the right hand. For some reason, they didn't fit if we tried it the other way around, even though they were the same size. When both spheres were placed, the statue crumbled, revealing a door. It was a no-brainer to go through that door.
The next room had an odd painting of an old man on the wall. On a hunch, Sam fired a magical blast at it, and it reacted. "Whenever you need advice, find more of me," it said.
I shrugged. "Well, I guess we should find one of those paintings whenever we find a puzzle that's a stumper. Sort of like those owl statues in the Legend of Zelda: Oracle games. Come on, let's move on."
And so we went, solving puzzle after puzzle with my arrows, Sam's magic blasts, and Alex's lock-pick fingernails. Finally, we reached a really huge door. "I think the main boss of the dungeon is just through this door," Alex figured. "Let's go. I can't wait to get this over with."
When we went through, we encountered a HUGE lion. "Travelers, what are you doing here?" it roared.
"W-W-We were just leaving," Alex replied.
Sam shoved Alex aside. "Actually, we're here for the ring, so hand it over!"
The lion laughed. "I am the Earth Lion! I would never hand over the ring to the unworthy! We fight here and now!" A scene transition took us to the battle stage.
Here it is, the team's very first boss battle. Leo starts simple with a normal arrow, Samantha uses her Fire Slam, and Alexandra attacks with her dagger. A pretty good setup, and the Fire Slam does some good damage. The Earth Lion attacks with a claw swipe that aims to attack every member of the team. Samantha and Alexandra dodge it, but Leo isn't so lucky. Oh, that has to hurt.
For his second turn, Leo uses a Fire Arrow, Samantha uses another Fire Slam, and Alex uses Camouflage. Both fire attacks work wonders. The Earth Lion's attack this time is an Earthquake Roar that shakes the room, but it doesn't harm Leo or Alex. Sam gets a little (laugh) shaken up, though.
The rest of that battle was a little boring, so let's fast-forward to the big finish.
The Earth Lion is down for the count! The team gets 72 G, and 28 experience points each. Sam and Leo both get levels up, and Leo now knows the Snare Trap move! Good work, team! We'll see the rest tomorrow, since that's all the time we have for today. This is Tina D. of RPGames saying, thank you for viewing and be sure to tune in next time!
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Like Tina D. said, thank you for viewing and be sure to tune in next time!