01-21-2013, 05:48 PM
Quote:Chapter 19: Pirates of The Berryland - Beyond The Seven Seas
Once upon a time, somewhere in the ocean far, far away from land, a pirate captain and her crews were sailing with one thing in mind. They were sailing towards an island where a treasure they were searching for was hidden.
"Lands ahoy!" Orange Blossom, who were on top of the mast, shouted.
"Is that the island we've been looking for, Captain Strawberry?" Angel Cake asked.
"It berry much looks like it," Captain Strawberry said, observing the island with her spyglasses.
"Finally! We have sailed the seven seas for a very long time, and now we are going to reap our rewards!" Purple Pie Man said.
"Not so fast, Pie Man!" Sour Grapes said. "We have to find the treasure first!"
"According to the writings on this old map, the treasure is hidden inside a cave filled with traps, and guarded by The Guardian Brothers," Blueberry Muffin said.
"Challenges waiting ahead, mateys," Captain Strawberry said. "But I'm berry sure we can overcome everything if we work together!"
"Aye!" everyone else said together.
"Massive storm ahead!" Orange shouted. Indeed, all of the sudden the calm sea became a very stormy sea with heavy rain, wind, and thunders.
"Get down from there, Orange!" Captain Strawberry shouted. Orange immediately went down the mast, but halfway down she slipped and fell down screaming.
"I got you, matey!" Purple Pie Man said, catching her.
"Thanks!" Orange said.
"Brace yourselves, mateys! We're going to have a berry rough ride!" Captain Strawberry said while trying to steer the ship.
Later, the pirates found themselves on a coastline with their ship stranded and badly wrecked. The storm had disappeared right after their ship had hit the ground, as if its only purpose had been to lead them to the coastline.
"What just happened?" Angel asked.
"It looks like the Guardian Brothers knew we were coming," Blueberry said.
"What did you say? Those Guardian Brothers, they can control weather at their will?" Purple Pie Man asked. "We won't have any chance against such power!"
"Pie Man, have you actually read the writings on the map?" Sour Grapes said.
"Uhh, no," Purple Pie Man said, looking embarassed.
"The Guardian Brothers put tests and challenges to those who come seeking their treasure. The storm was one of them," Blueberry said.
"Eh? Doesn't that mean I was right?" Purple Pie Man said.
"Did you hit your head or something?" Sour Grapes said. "If the Guardian Brothers don't want anyone to take the treasure, we would have been sunk into the bottom of the ocean since the beginning!"
"That's right, mateys. The storm led the ship right into this coastline. They want to see if we have what it takes to get their treasure," Captain Strawberry said.
"But how we will get out of the island after we get the treasure? The ship is wrecked!" Pie Man said.
"We will question it later. Let's move," Captain Strawberry said.
"Yeah, the Guardian Brothers should not wait much longer," Angel said.
"Let's show them what we got!" Orange said.
The group then walked through a visible path into the island. Along the way, they could notice that the island was actually a beautiful one with a lot of trees and pretty landscape. The wildlife they saw so far were harmless and there was no danger at all.
"I honestly thought we would face a real challenge," Pie Man said.
"Keep your eyes open, Pie Man," Sour Grapes said. "We never know what tricks those Guardian Brothers have!"
"Ha! What can happen in this boring, harmless place?" Pie Man said.
After Pie Man said those, suddenly the weather changed. Heavy rain came pouring down with thunders and strong wind for just a few seconds. Then suddenly a number of plants grew around them in an instant, and once the flowers bloomed they let out deafening trumpet sounds. The pirates immediately ran away covering their ears, but they were chased by a group of butterflies which spread pollen on them. Soon, all of them felt itchy all over their body. Within seconds, heavy rain poured again for a few seconds, cleaning their body from the pollen. Right after that, the weather became sunny again.
"What... just... happened?" Orange asked, panting.
"Pie Man angered the Guardian Brothers, that's what!" Sour Grapes said. "Now you see what they can do?"
"Alright, alright. Sorry about that," Pie Man said. He then said in whispering voice to himself. "What a bunch of touchy guardians they are."
Immediately, a trumpet plant grew near Pie Man and let out its deafening sound near him. He was very surprised that he immediately jumped and ran.
"Come on, we must not make them wait!" he shouted while running away. The others laughed and then the trip continued.
Not too far later, the group met a dead end. The path ended at a cliff wall which was green with plant vines.
"Looks like a dead end," Blueberry said. "That's strange. According to the map there should be a cave entrance here."
"Let's look around for clues," Captain Strawberry said.
"Captain! Over here!" Angel Cake said from near the cliff wall. "There's an inscription on this stone."
Everyone went to Angel Cake and saw that there was a large stone with an inscription on it.
"When bathed in light, the door will open and show the path," Captain Strawberry said, reading the inscription.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pie Man asked.
"Use your head and think, will ya?" Sour Grapes said. "It's a clue. Now think!"
"Maybe the light means sunlight?" Captain Strawberry said.
"But captain, it is sunny now and the cliff is bathing in sunlight," Orange said.
"It's a bit cloudy, though. Maybe the light isn't strong enough," Angel said.
"Hmm, I think I know a way," Sour Grapes said.
"What is it, Sour Grapes?" Captain Strawberry said.
"Just a moment," Sour Grapes said, walking away a bit. She then took something from her pocket. It was a small mirror, which she then held up. The sunlight got reflected by the mirror towards the cliff wall, which immediately reacted. The vines on the cliff wall moved away from the reflected light, revealing a cave entrance.
"Berry nice job, Sour Grapes!" Captain Strawberry said. "Let's move, mateys!"
The group then entered the cave, which at the inside was very dark.
"I can't see a thing!" Orange asked.
"We need to light a torch, but we have none..." Captain Strawberry said. Immediately, they saw something bright coming to them. All of them were surprised that it was a floating fireball.
"Aaahh! A ghost!" Angel screamed. The fireball then floated around right above them. "Get away from me!"
"Calm down, Angel Cake. It doesn't look dangerous," Orange said.
"In fact, it is lighting the way for us," Blueberry said.
"Alright then, let's move!" Captain Strawberry said, and the group started walking with the fireball following right above their head.
"Are the Guardian Brothers helping us now?" Purple Pie Man asked.
"Stay cautious! And don't tempt them again!" Sour Grapes said.
"Yeah yeah, I know already," Pie Man said.
Soon, the group met a wooden door at the end. Captain Strawberry cautiously opened the door, and behind the door was a rather large room with another door at the other side. The floor of the room was made from stone tiles, and the room was illuminated by a larger fireball floating near the ceiling at the center of the room. The fireball which had been guiding them in the cave didn't follow them. Instead, it went away and disappeared.
"What is this room?" Orange said.
"It doesn't matter. Let's go to that door over there," Pie Man said, walking towards the other side. Suddenly a stone tile he stepped on shattered and he fell down into a deep hole below it. However, Captain Strawberry and Sour Grapes managed to grab his arms at the last second and pulled him back to safety.
"This is why I told you to stay cautious!" Sour Grapes said.
"This means, we have to figure out which tiles are safe to walk on," Blueberry said.
"Hey look! There's an inscription over there!" Orange said, pointing at the wall above the door on the other side. Indeed there was an inscription there, and it was large enough for the group to read from the other side of the room.
"Nature will show you the way..." Captain Strawberry said, reading the inscription. "Hmm..."
"I don't know what that means," Angel said.
"Sorry, I don't know this time," Sour Grapes said. "And my useless brother here is too shocked to think of anything."
As Sour Grapes had said, Pie Man was sitting on the ground and shivering, being shocked at the fact that he had just narrowly escaped demise. Captain Strawberry kept thinking for a moment, looking at the stone tiles. She then noticed something and smiled.
"I know!" she said.
"Did you figure it out?" Angel asked.
"Look closely between the stone tiles. Don't you see anything?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"I see nothing other than some weeds... Oh!" Orange said, realizing something.
"That's right, Orange Blossom!" Captain Strawberry said. "Tiles near the weeds are safe. Plants can only grow if there is ground beneath them! Let's move, mateys!"
"How long are you planning to sit there and keep pretending to be shocked? Move!" Sour Grapes said to Pie Man.
"All right, all right," Pie Man said, standing up. Soon, the group was at the door on the other side. Behind the door was another large room with its own floating fireball and a door on the other side. At the center of the room there were five pedestals standing on a circle stone platform in a circle formation, and on each pedestal there was a crystal of different colors floating. In clockwise order, the color of the crystals are green, red, brown, silver, and blue. Between pedestals close to each other there was an arrow mark pointing from one pedestal to the other, also in clockwise direction. In addition, there were also straight arrow marks from each pedestal to another pedestal two steps ahead. All together, the arrow marks form an image of a star inside a circle.
"We did it! That's the treasure!" Pie Man said, running to the pedestals. He then tried to take the crystal from a pedestal, but he couldn't grab the crystal. His hand were obstructed by an invisible barrier surrounding the pedestal.
"I don't think the crystals are the treasure, Pie Man," Captain Strawberry said.
"Then what are these?" Pie Man asked.
"Look at the next door here," Sour Grapes said. Pie Man then walked to the next door and saw that the door had five insertions of different colors, arranged in the same formation as the pedestals with the same arrow marks.
"It looks like we have to insert the crystals here to open the door," Orange said.
"But how are we gonna take the crystals from the pedestals?" Angel asked.
"I've searched for clues in this room, but I didn't find any," Blueberry said.
"I somehow feel that this looks familiar..." Captain Strawberry said, looking at the insertions and the circled star image.
"You too, Captain?" Blueberry asked.
"In any case, split up and examine each pedestal. Maybe you can figure something out," Captain Strawberry said.
"Aye, captain!" everyone else said, and they spread to each pedestal while Captain Strawberry stayed near the door, pondering on why there was something familiar with the insertions. The others examined the pedestals and tried to find out if there was any clue. They also tried a few physical methods such as a pushing, rubbing, or punching, but none worked.
"This is getting frustrating," Pie Man said. Out of frustration, he grabbed a nearby stone and threw it to the blue crystal he had been examining. The crystal's barrier deflected the stone, but then it shattered. "Hey, look!"
Everyone else immediately ran to Pie Man.
"What did you do?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"I just threw a stone at it," Pie Man said, taking the crystal.
Everyone else then tried throwing a stone at the other pedestals, but it didn't work the same way. Red and brown crystal didn't react at all, while the barrier of the silver crystal became solid and seemed more durable. As for the green crystal, the stone shattered when it hit the barrier. After a few minutes, the barrier of the silver crystal reverted back to normal condition.
"It seem each crystal has a different method to remove the barrier," Orange said.
"Figuring one out was already confusing. How are we gonna figure five out?" Angel cake said, being frustrated.
"Whatever. Let's just try everything with trial and error! Burn them, flush them with water, everything!" Pie Man said.
"That will probably take days! There should be a way to figure them out!" Sour Grapes said.
"Wait! Now I remember!" Captain Strawberry said. "It's the circle of five elements!"
"Oh yeah! That's it!" Blueberry said.
"What is that? I have no idea," Pie Man said.
"It's a philosophy of the Eastern land. There are five elements, and each element interacts with some others in a certain way," Captain Strawberry said.
"The elements are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. A stone counts as earth, and earth defeats water. That's why throwing a stone at the blue crystal removes the barrier. The blue crystal represents water," Blueberry said.
"What about the others?" Angel asked.
"Earth is defeated by wood. That's why the stone shattered when it hit the green crystal, which represents wood," Captain Strawberry said.
"As for the silver barrier becoming solid, earth strengthens metal. The silver crystal represents metal," Blueberry said.
"So that means the brown crystal is earth and the red crystal is fire?" Orange asked.
"Alright, now tell us the weakness of the remaining crystals. Don't leave the rest of us in the dark," Sour Grapes said.
"Water defeats fire, fire defeats metal, metal defeats wood, and wood defeats earth," Blueberry said.
"Alright, leave earth to me," Pie Man said, approaching the brown crystal and kicking it with his wooden leg. As expected, the barrier disappeared and he took the crystal.
"I'll take the wood," Angel said, walking to the green crystal and removing the barrier with the head of her belt.
"I'll have the fire," Blueberry said, splashing the red crystal with water from her drinking bottle.
"Uhh, mateys!" Orange said while standing next to the silver crystal. "I have no fire. My matches are wet."
"What? How are we supposed to take this crystal now?" Pie Man asked.
"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said, looking at the silver crystal and then at the ceiling. "Anybody got rope?"
"I have," Orange said, taking a long rope from her bag and giving it to Captain Strawberry. "For what, captain?"
"To get our fire," Captain Strawberry said, making a thick knot at one end of the rope. She then threw the knotted end towards the floating fireball at the ceiling. The knot touched the fireball and got burned. She then pulled the rope quickly and used the burned knot to remove the silver crystal barrier.
"Great job, captain!" Blueberry said.
"We all did a great job, because we worked together," Captain Strawberry said. The group then walked to the door and inserted all the crystals into the insertions. The door then let out a bright light.
"Congratulations, treasure seekers. You have passed my test," a voice said from the door.
"Does that mean we got the treasure?" Purple Pie Man asked.
"Silence! Hear the voice out!" Sour Grapes said.
"You have shown me that you all work together as a team, and I'm impressed. Behind this door you will find my brother, and he will test you like I did," the voice said. "If you can pass his tests, the treasure will be yours."
"Did you hear that? Just a little bit more and it's ours!" Pie Man said.
"Shut up and listen! He might have more to say!" Sour Grapes said.
"I must warn you. The tests my brother will give are unfair, or so it seems. Best of luck!" the voice said, and the door opened.
"Wait! What is your name?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"You will know soon," the voice answered while fading away.
"Did the voice say 'unfair'?" Orange asked.
"Does that mean we're gonna face an unfair test?" Angel asked.
"He also said, 'or so it seems'. I wonder what that means," Blueberry said.
"In any case, there's no use staying here. Let's move, mateys," Captain Strawberry said.
"Aye!" everyone else replied. Behind the door was a short cave passageway which led to another room about the same size as before. However, this time the walls on the left and right side were open like large windows, showing views to the outside. At the other side of the room, there was someone wearing robes like a shaman sitting on what seemed like a throne.
"Is that the other Guardian Brother?" Orange whispered to Blueberry.
"That is correct!" the person suddenly said. "I am Guardian Almond, and you are treasure seekers."
"Guardian Almond, what test should we do to get the treasure?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"Straight to the point, eh? Mind you, I'm not as soft as my brother, Guardian Blackberry," Guardian Almond said.
"No matter how hard your test will be, we will get past it because we work together as a team!" Captain Strawberry said.
"Ha! Unfortunately, my test is made to deny that!" Guardian Almond said. "Only one person is allowed take the test! Choose wisely."
The group was surprised hearing what Guardian Almond had said. Then they all gathered to discuss what to do next.
"What should we do now? Who will take the test?" Sour Grapes asked.
"What will happen if the one taking it fails?" Pie Man asked. "Can another become a replacement and try again?"
"No! One try only!" Guardian Almond said loudly, still sitting on his throne.
"He sure has sharp ears," Angel said.
"Alright then, I'll go," Captain Strawberry said. "If something goes wrong, just leave me and run away."
"We won't leave you, captain!" Orange said. "We stick together as a team, no matter what!"
"Agreed!" everyone else said. Captain Strawberry smiled seeing the determination of her team. She then moved forward.
"I'll be the one taking your test," Captain Strawberry said.
"All right, let us begin. You see the two candles between us?" Guardian Almond said. Indeed there were two candles on the ground. One was much shorter than the other. "Pick one candle. I will pick the other one and we will lit it at the same time. If your candle is still burning after mine is off, you pass the test."
"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said, thinking.
"It's logical to pick the long one, but it must not be that simple. The long one is probably rigged to burn out fast," Blueberry said.
"But it is possible to be a trap for us to think that way and pick the short one, and none of the candles are actually rigged," Sour Grapes said.
"Let's just believe in our captain," Orange said, and everyone else agreed.
"I'll pick the long one," Captain Strawberry said.
"Nice choice," Guardian Almond said. The long candle then floated to Captain Strawberry's hand. Guardian Almond then took a short candle which had been sitting on his throne's arm rest. "I have the short candle here as you can see. Let's begin right now."
Almond then shot fire from his finger to his candle, and then to Captain Strawberry's candle. Both candles began to burn, signing that the test has begun. Captain Strawberry stood still while holding the candle with one hand and covering the fire with the other hand from winds coming from both openings of the room. Suddenly, Captain Strawberry's candle burned very fiercely, consuming the candle very quickly.
"The long candle is rigged!" Angel said.
"Oh, you should have chosen the short one!" Sour Grapes said.
"No difference," Guardian Almond said. "Both candles are rigged like that. That's why I have my own candle here."
"What? You cheater!" Orange said.
"Say what you want. This is my test, and I choose the way I test treasure seekers," Guardian Almond said.
"Curse you!" Pie Man shouted.
Captain Strawberry didn't say anything. She looked at her burning candle, and then she smiled. She then put her candle to the ground and calmly walked towards Guardian Almond.
"If my candle burns like that, the wind will not put it off," Captain Strawberry said once she were close to Guardian Almond. She then blew Guardian Almond's candle, putting it off. Captain Strawberry's candle was still burning for the next ten seconds until it finally went off. The group cheered, knowing that their captain had won and passed the test. Guardian Almond smiled seeing what he had just seen.
"I'm honestly surprised that you found the answer to my test. All treasure seekers before you just threw the candle away and attaked me out of rage," Guardian Almond said. "Congratulations, you passed my test."
"So they made it huh, Almond?" suddenly another person dressed in shaman robes came from behind Guardian Almond's throne.
"Yeah, brother. After all these years, finally someone passed my test," Guardian Almond said.
"Are you the one who tested us before?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"Yes, I am Guardian Blackberry," he replied.
"Are we getting the treasure now?" Pie Man asked, looking very excited.
"Actually, there is one more test," Guardian Almond said. "Come with us."
The group then followed both guardians into a cave passageway behind the throne. Soon, they arrived in another room. At the other side of the room there were two doors next to each other. There was also a large cage near the left door. After every people entered the room, the entrance suddenly closed by itself and was sealed tight.
"Behind the door on the right is a labirynth which leads to the exit of the cave," Guardian Almond said. "The labirynth will take at least three days to go through, probably more. Behind the other door is the treasure you seek and also the exit of this cave."
"Now you have to choose which door to open," Guardian Blackberry said.
"Opening the left door should be the logical action, right?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"That's right, but there is a catch," Guardian Almond said. "Opening the labirynth door doesn't cost anything, but if you want to open the treasure door, three of you must enter the cage."
"Once three persons enter the cage, it will be sealed with our magic. They will never get tired, thirsty, and hungry, but they will never get out of the cage forever," Guardian Blackberry said.
"Take your time and pick your choice," Guardian Almond said.
"What kind of choice is that?" Pie Man said. "We have no supplies. We won't last three more days!"
"I said, pick, your, choice," Guardian Almond said, emitting fire from his hands.
"What should we do, captain? Pie Man was right. We won't last three more days without supplies," Orange asked.
"That means only three of us getting out of here, or none at all," Blueberry said.
"I can't do that!" Angel said.
"Yeah, we have been through things together. We can't just throw it all away!" Sour Grapes said.
"Whatever you say, the choices are either only three of us, or we all perish together," Pie Man said.
"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said. She then walked towards the two doors and looked at them. The doors were close to each other, the separating cave wall between the doors was maybe just about twenty inches, maybe even less. Yet what lied behind each door was so different.
"Captain!" Orange called. Captain Strawberry then walked back to them.
"We have discussed, and we have decided," Blueberry said.
"We will leave the final decision to you," Angel said.
"No matter what you choose, you will always be our captain and we will support you," Sour Grapes said.
"Yeah, I guess that's the decision," Pie Man said.
"Thank you, mateys. I'm really glad to have all of you with me," Captain Strawberry said. She then turned to the waiting Guardian Brothers. "I have made my decision."
"Speak your choice," Guardian Almond said.
"I want to open..." Captain Strawberry said. "The labirynth door."
"Are you sure with your decision? It's still not too late to change your mind," Guardian Blackberry said. "Remember, you have no supplies."
"I am berry sure!" Captain Strawberry said.
"Then, so be it," Guardian Almond said. He then waved his hand to the right door, and it opened, revealing a dark cave passageway. "Best of luck."
The group then walked into the labirynth door. Once everyone were behind the door, the door shut itself tight and Captain Strawberry stopped walking.
"Everyone, take out all our digging tools!" Captain Strawberry said.
"Huh? For what, captain?" Orange asked, taking her pickaxe which had been hanging on her belt. Captain Strawberry took hers from her belt and started hitting the left wall with it.
"What are you doing?" Pie Man asked. He then realized something. "Oh! I see!"
About one hour later, there was a large hole at the left wall of the cave passageway, large enough for a person to go through. The group had dug a hole from the labyrinth straight into the treasure room next to it. As the group entered through the hole, they noticed that the treasure room was as large as the previous test room, and at the other side of the room were two thrones with both Guardian Brothers sitting on them.
"Congratulations!" Guardian Almond said, slowly clapping his hands. "You have entered the treasure room in a way which is not supposed to exist!"
"Uh oh, he is mad," Orange said.
"Should we run away?" Angel asked.
"There's no use running away from him. Let's face it together," Captain Strawberry said.
"Smart move, captain," Guardian Almond said, standing up and approaching the group. "Do you know what you have just done?"
Nobody in the group said anything.
"Not only that you broke the wall of the room. You also broke the wall of common thought, and for that, I am impressed," Guardian Almond said as he got close to Captain Strawberry.
"What are you going to do to us?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"Only one thing," Guardian Almond said. "Giving you the treasure you seek."
"Are you serious?" Purple Pie Man asked, being very surprised.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Guardian Almond said. He then revealed a big treasure chest in the middle of the room. "Go there, captain. You have earned it."
"Not me, but we," Captain Strawberry said. "I would never get this far without them."
Captain Strawberry then opened the treasure chest. To her surprise, there was only a piece of stone tile with an inscription on it. She picked it up and read the inscription in front of her teammates.
"If you highly value your teammates and always work together with them to overcome any problem, you already have the greatest treasure of all," Captain Strawberry said.
"That's it?" Orange said.
"That's the treasure?" Angel asked.
"You gotta be kidding me! All those challenges and tests, and all we got is just a useless philosophy?!" Pie Man said.
"I don't think anybody is kidding, Pie Man," Sour Grapes said.
"But it is berry right, mateys," Captain Strawberry said. "We have gone through many things to get here, and from the beginning we always worked together and had fun together searching for the treasure. I value each and every one of you berry much, and I will never trade that for any kind of treasure."
"You are absolutely right, captain," Blueberry said.
"Of course!" Orange said.
"Together we can overcome any obstacle!" Angel said.
"I guess I can agree with you on that one," Pie Man said.
"He's still upset," Sour Grapes whispered, and the whole group laughed.
"Now that the treasure is found, we have served our purpose," Guardian Almond said.
"What are you going to do after this?" Captain Strawberry asked.
"We will soon fade away into eternal rest," Guardian Blackberry said, getting up from his throne. "And for that, we thank you."
"However, you all have come all the way here. It would be a shame to walk away empty handed," Guardian Almond said, doing a finger snap. The wall at one side of the room then opened, revealing a coastline outside. There was also a dock there, complete with a pirate ship ready to set sail. The ship was bigger and looked much more powerful than the ship the group previously had.
"Life is a journey where we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we're curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths," Guardian Blackberry said, while walking and then standing next to Guardian Almond. "That ship is now yours. Go on and seek new adventures with your greatest treasure of all."
Right after Guardian Blackberry said that, Captain Strawberry suddenly hugged both him and Guardian Almond.
"Thank you berry much for everything," Captain Strawberry said.
"No. We thank you..." both Guardian Brothers said together, and then they faded away into light. There was a silence for about one minute as some of the group leaked tears.
"All right, mateys! Let's go!" Captain Strawberry said. "A new adventure awaits us!"
"Yeah!" The group shouted together, and they ran towards their new ship, ready for the next adventure.
-End of Chapter 19-
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