Once his eyes were accustomed to the darkness within the walls, he saw quite clearly that a young man was standing near the door. Next to this mystery man was a table with an open book. He leaned forward to read what the pages said, but the man pushed him back. Dave was just short of reading what the book said.
"You must be a guardian to lay eyes on this book," he said. "I am Nimrod, and this is Guardian Tower." Nimrod was wearing a peculiar suit of armor. It looked a lot like the regular armor that Dave had seen other adventurers wear, but it was more complex with more plating. The edges were hued yellowish. His shoulders looked like they had shoulder pads like football players wear on them for the armor. A yellow stripe ran right down the middle of the breast plate and divided halfway down. The line met a crest at the waist, which was also yellow. The gloves were made of mesh, the knuckles with yellow and the wristband yellow. Even the ends of the gloves were laced yellow. The tips of the shoulder pad things were yellow too, and looked sharp as a razor.
"How do I get to be a guardian?" Dave asked, quite straightforward.
"Well, most importantly, you must have something of great worth that you can contribute to Guardian Tower. We control Lore, and if we fall short of funds, we will indeed be unable to continue protection and administration of Lore. Do you have something that you can contribute to our cause?" Nimrod seemed well versed for someone with the name "Nimrod".
Dave looked to the floor for inspiration for a moment and thought. What did he have that they didn't? His hands began patting his pockets for something. In his pockets, he found some lint, a pocket knife, a nickel, and his house key. He thought and thought. None of these were rare in any manner, way, shape, or form. Lint had absolutely no use, knives seemed to be everywhere in Lore, his house key was worthless, seeing as he doubted that he'd see his house very soon. The nickel was the only thing that he could think to give him.
Then it struck him. Didn't he have some money left from school the day he came here? He stuffed his hand into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. Opening it, hoping to find some money, he breathed a sigh of relief. President Andrew Jackson was staring at him. Thanking the fates, he handed the twenty to Nimrod. Nimrod studied it for a while, then said, "This is indeed a rare and valuable donation. Come with me to the armory."
Dave followed Nimrod to the left of the entrance. He passes into the second of the three towers in the main area. Here were two more guardians. Both wore the same garb as Nimrod, but differed in their facial features. The woman was a red head and very pale. The man was blonde, but very tan. "Hello, Nimrod. Who is that with you?"
"This is Dave, another of the adventurer converts," replied Nimrod. Dave looked at Nimrod with a questioning face. When had he said his name? Nimrod saw this and explained, "We guardians know all who wander this land. It is our job, you see."
"Well," said the redhead, "We need to get you some armor." And with that, she turned and began rummaging through the armor suits already on display. When she found one that suited her taste, she began undressing Dave.
"Whoa, hang on there," Dave started. "I didn't sign on to get dressed down by someone else. I want to know how to do it, so let me do it."
"Why are your cheeks red, Dave?" she questioned. Dave had begun to blush deeply.
"Just let me get my own armor on, okay?" The others left the room for a few minutes and came back to find Dave had figured it out. Nimrod nodded.
"Good job," he said, tossing his two more health and mana potions. "These come standard. Now, on to your next test." They traversed the stairs, unaccompanied by the guardians from the armory. They passed through what seemed to be a display hall. There were four pedestals, three on the right and one on the left. The one on the left had a peculiar golden statue on it. It seemed to be a small angel. On the other three pedestals, there were helms, one resembling a Viking helm, one, a knight's helm, and one in the precise shape of Drakonnan's head.
Instead of stopping here, they made another right. Apparently, this was called the war room. Further down the hall this way was a large door with a skull on it. The closer that he got to the door, he noticed that the eyes were glowing red. He reached out and got within an inch of the glow when Nimrod stayed his hand. "I wouldn't suggest touching that." Nimrod instead pulled the door ring, opening the strange door. Dave was about to look into it when he felt a rough shove on his back.
Dave landed face down on the hot dirt of an arena. He looked up to see a girl standing over him. She turned away and faced the open. "Welcome, one and all! I am Mia, the announcer, and this is…" She paused for dramatic effect. "The Guardian Arena!"
Dave looked and saw what was before him. He was in the center of a huge arena, surrounded by stone steps, almost like bleachers. Occupying these bleachers were guardians, of all colors and faces. Dave took this moment to examine his own armor. It was designed exactly as all the other guardians, but his was black with white trimming instead of gray with yellow trimming. He noticed a small string poking up from his shoulder. He yanked it away, only to find that it unfurled his cape. It was blood red and ankle length. He nodded and turned his attention back to the girl.
"Excuse me, but what exactly am I doing here?" he asked.
"Well, obviously, you're new, so you'll be taking the Frogzard Face-off challenge," Mia explained. Dave nodded like he knew what she was talking about.
"And when do we start?" he asked.
"Well, are you taking the challenge?"
"Yes…" he responded.
"Okay, then now!" Mia quickly ran to the brink where there was located a secret door so she could safely exit the arena. Another door opened on the opposite side of the arena. Dave looked around the arena, seeking a higher point in the place than another, but his search was fruitless. He found that the arena was completely flat. And then he heard it.
It was a growl unlike any other. It was low and menacing and not alone. He saw something exiting the door on the other side of the arena. And not just one something. It was a pack of them. And they looked exactly as their name described them. Frogs combined with lizards. Frogzards.
From above him, her head Mia's voice begin to dictate the match. "Today, we have a new challenger! Please help me in welcoming Dave! May this brave guardian's weapons strike true and spells not falter because round one is the Frogzard Face-off! Show us what you're made of!"
Six Frogzards hurtled out of the gate and straight at Dave. "Whoa, an Icezard, a Firezard, an Energyzard, a Windzard, a Rayzard, and a Frogzard all working together to take down their pray! This will be very interesting!" Mia called from the top of the stadium. Dave looked at the pack. It was obvious that the leader was the Rayzard. He gulped for a moment and was about to charge when he heard a strange voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was whispering something to him, what it said, however, he couldn't tell.
A sword cut straight through the air and stabbed point down into the ground in front of Dave. He dropped his old long sword that Robina had given him and reached forth to the hilt. When he grasped it, he felt a power surge through him unlike any other. He pulled it from the ground and marveled at the blade. It shifted from color to color like a rainbow, ever moving. Lifting the new blade into stance, he began advancing on the enemy.
The zards either saw this coming or just got tired of running in a line, for they broke formation and began to circle around Dave. Dave wondered what exactly he could do in a situation like this. He wasn't given much time to ponder, however. The Energyzard leaped forward first, head on at Dave. Dave held the blade ready. Swinging with deadly accuracy, he sliced the zard cleanly in two. He looked to the sword, surprised. The blade itself was perspiring. The Windzard took up the attack, dashing headlong at Dave.
Dave swung vertical, missing by a fraction of an inch, though that was moot at that point. Static electricity crackled off the blade and caught the zard right in the skull. The voltage went straight to the brain, killing it instantly and giving a dramatic death dance. The Icezard hopped forward, just out of blade range and spat forth icy balls. The frosty missiles caught Dave right in the chest, knocking him back a pace. The Firezard took advantage of Dave's imbalance. It leapt on Dave's back and began gnawing at his armor. Dave fell to the ground with the Firezard right on top of him. Reacting without thinking, Dave grasped the zard by its feet, the only appendages it had, and swung it into the Icezard. The Firezard exploded on contact with the Icezard, creating a small heat wave, which in turn, melted the Icezard.
"Oh, dear me, our Dave looks like he's got this covered! Only two zards to go!" Mia shouted from the stands. The Rayzard circled Dave slowly, waiting for him to recover his feet. Dave stood, using the sword to give himself leverage. As soon as Dave had his footing, the Rayzard emitted a short bark, at which point, the Frogzard dove at Dave's chest. Dave reacted quickly this time, ducking just in time. The Frogzard ate dust. Dave stabbed the blade deeper into the ground trying to keep his balance after the speedy attack.
The Rayzard jump at him. Dave only just had time to grab the Rayzard before it could clamp jaws onto him. Dave brought himself face to face with the zard, still clasping its jaws wide open. He sneered at its attempt to clip him. Twisting it sideways, he brought his hands further apart, tearing the top half of the Rayzard's head away entirely from the body. The jaw fell to the ground limply. The final Frogzard turned around to deal a blow to Dave's unprotected head, only to find that Dave was nowhere to be found.
"I'm here," Dave whispered from behind the zard. It spun around just in time to witness Dave's finishing hit, which was becoming a regular; his haymaker. The punch landed squarely in the belly of the beast and, carried by its momentum, knocked the zard a dozen feet in the air. When it hit the ground, it flinch a moment, and then lay still.
"VICTORY! Amazing! You saw it with your own eyes, folks, we have a new champion! More exciting events are coming. I cannot wait to see what our champion will do next round!" Mia shouted enthusiastically. Dave noticed a small box that had been brought up onto the arena after he had beaten the last zard. He walked over to the box and opened it. Inside was gold. He counted the pieces. Fifty. Not bad for a first timer.