"You've done it!" Shunzang the Wise said as we stood in the Temple of Eternal Serenity, having returned from Hamakala Temple. "Such a power you now possess... more than enough to call the Great Turtle and the Celestial Shrine! Below us, a bridge leads to a tiny isle, the Eye of Harmony. Go there, throw the Turtle Balls from the edge... Turtle time!"
"There is little else I can say that will guide you. Be respectful to Cao Tzu, and he will help you translate Marco Pollo's map." Shunzang said, and I nodded as I bowed respectfully to him. "Thank you for all your help, Shunzang, but now we must be off."
Monkey King led us to the Eye of Harmony, a small islet about thirty feet in diameter, with two stone obelisks near the left and right edges. With the Turtle Balls in hand, Monkey King tossed them over the other side of the islet and into the sky. "The Turtle Balls are away!"
We stood there for a minute, and I was beginning to wonder if the Turtle Balls were real when I saw the tops of buildings emerging from the pearl-like clouds, followed by their bases and the plant-covered shell of one giant turtle, who looked directly at us with an affably bleary face, and Monkey King said, "Behold, Maruzame Temple!"
The longer I looked at the great turtle's face, the more sleepy I felt, and before I knew what I was doing, I had already fallen asleep on the Eye of Harmony's soft grass.
XOXOX OXOXO XOXOX OXOXO XOXOX
Some time later, I awoke, and I sat up to look around for my companions, but they seemed to have all gone. As I faced forward again, I saw a Crane wearing a straw hat and orange robes looking down at me. I hurriedly scrambled up to my feet, and the Crane bowed politely. "Greetings and welcome to Maruzame. I am Brother Lian, a disciple of Cao Tzu."
"My name is Matthew Exeter. Have you seen my friends? They were on the Eye of Harmony with me, and-" I began, but Brother Lian held up a hand to stop me, and gestured for me to follow him.
As we walked on the sandy path, I remained silent as he spoke. "You have done much to come here. This is admirable. But evil-doers are just as wily as the pure of heart. You face a test before seeing Cao Tzu. You must face the five champions in battle: the Elemental Guardians of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water."
"Each Guardian holds a key to the temple of the next. You must defeat them in sequence to proceed. If Heaven smiles upon you and you are victorious, you may then speak to Cao Tzu and his wisdom will be yours." Brother Lian then stopped in front of a very thick tree, and I looked up to see that it was one of the tallest trees I've ever laid eyes upon.
As cherry blossom petals fell from its branches, I looked closely to see the cracks in the tree's bark glowing and pulsating with green energy. I laid a hand on its bark, and feeling it rumble with power, I drew back to see two sections of the tree slide apart with a grating sound. The inside of the tree was hollow and made of heartwood, and I stepped inside to see a set of stairs winding up inside the tree like a vine.
By the time I reached the top of the stairs, my feet were hurting and there in front of me was a living tree. The Wood Guardian was long and lanky, with tree bark for skin, and the branches growing from his head had cherry blossom petal falling down from them.
Catching the last of my breath, I drew my two swords as the Wood Guardian lumbered towards me, no pun intended. As I slashed across the Wood Guardian's chest, bits of bark flew as sap trickled slowly down his body, but he didn't even seem to notice as he drew his fist back for a punch.
The wind was knocked out of me as I was sent flying backwards, and I struggled to get up as the Wood Guardian approached me slowly. He was strong but slow in moving, so I wanted to win, I had to use it to my advantage. I glanced down at my belt to see the powder charges I used for reloading my pistol, and an idea began to form.
Sheathing my swords, I drew my pistol and began to load it. Priming the gun with a sprinkle of gunpowder, I poured the rest of the first cartridge's contents down the barrel before stuffing the crumpled-up paper cartridge and the bullet after it. With my gun at half-cock to avoid firing it prematurely, I grabbed the rest of the cartridges and hurled them into the thick pink-covered branches on the guardian's head.
Now that the powder was in position, I cocked the gun back fully and aimed carefully, holding my breath as I moved backwards to avoid the Wood Guardian's flailing fists. I pulled the trigger, and the burst of electricity flew and struck a powder cartridge nestled just above the Wood Guardian's face. A second later, it exploded, setting the Wood Guardian on fire as the other cartridges exploded as well.
The Wood Guardian roared in pain as he lumbered towards me for one last attack, but before he could punch me, a loud groaning and crackling sound could be heard as he fell at my feet like a tree being cut down. As the flames died down, I sheathed my weapons, but as I did so, the badly-scorched guardian looked like he was getting his second wind.
I nervously drew my swords again as the Wood Guardian towered over me, but he smiled as he reached into the branches above his head, which were now mostly removed of their blossoms, and I saw the key, which looked like it was made of molten lava.
"Your battle style shows growth and resilience. You may proceed to the Temple of Fire." The Wood Guardian said as he handed me the key, which was warm in my hand as I put in my pocket. "Thank you."