Read The Guardian, Protector of the Ocean Monument Diaries, Book 1: The Golden Blocks Page 3

Day 13

  Dear Diary,

  Everyone at the monument was impressed with the existence of such creatures. We had never heard of any intelligent beings living above the water, let alone creatures who could even manage to get invisible.

  This shocking discovery has brought many consequences to the monument’s defenses: we are no longer protecting the outside. Instead, the Elder Guardians required all Guardians to stay inside the monument for the first time.

  Most of us are staying by the central section, making it difficult for even an invisible being to get by without touching anyone. This new measure should lighten up the mood and help us protect the remaining golden blocks.

  Day 14

  Dear Diary,

  Today, a new surprise: instead of an invisible creature, we had a guest! This creature was very strange, and he came to the monument claiming he wanted to talk with the Elder Guardians. When the Elders came out to see him, they were impressed.

  - “What? A human here?” Zya said. “Careful, human. You’re in a big disadvantage here, so don’t try anything against our monument.”

  - “No, I am not here to do anything bad. In fact, I am here to apologize for my last visit.” The human said. We all watched from inside the monument when we finally realized what was going on: this was the invisible creature!

  - “Oh, so you’re the one who tried to steal from us while invisible.” Lem said. “And why are you here now?”

  - “To apologize, that’s all. I ran out of water breathing potions, but luckily you let me get out. Thank you for the consideration.”

  - “You’re welcome, human. But if you feel like helping us, could you tell us if you know anything on who stole our other golden blocks?”

  - “I’m not going to lie… It was me.” The human said.

  - “Very well. And where are they now?” Ohm asked.

  - “I am deeply sorry for stealing your golden blocks. I never thought they meant so much for you… I promise I will give it back to you, and I will never steal them again.”

  - “If you say so.” Zya said.

  - “The golden blocks are currently being used by my friends, but I will see if I can get them back to you soon. Wait for me!” He said, leaving shortly after.

  The human promised to return the stolen golden blocks. We can only hope he does!

  Day 15

  Dear Diary,

  The human came back to the monument today with the five golden blocks!

  - “Here they are, and sorry for the inconvenience again.”

  - “Thank you, it’s good to see there are good humans out there.” Zya said. “But may I ask why you needed these in the first place?”

  - “Sir, it is a very long story.” The human said. “But let me explain why in a few words: the world above has been taken away from us, humans. We are now forced to live in the ocean, in cities built under the water. The golden blocks found inside monuments can be used to activate a secret weapon, which we believe to be capable of returning the world above to our domain.”

  - “I don’t understand half of what you said, but it sounds important.” Lem said.

  - “Well, I’m also here to ask you something.” The human said.

  - “And what is it?” Zya said.

  - “I need your assistance with this matter… I know the above world matters are none of your concern, but we believe the creatures that are currently living up there might be planning to take over the oceans as well. In this scenario, we need help from each other.”

  - “And what kind of help do you need?” Ohm said.

  - “If possible, I’d like you Elders to come with me to my city and see for yourself what we are building there. The scientists and experts who live in my city could also explain more of what is yet to come from the world above.”

  - “Sorry, but Elder Guardians are tied up to the ocean monuments forever.” Zya said. “We are born here, and we never leave the area.”

  - “Oh, I understand…”

  - “But as I see it, we should not ignore your claims. That said, we will ask one of our Guardians to go with you to your city and report back once he’s obtained all the information needed.”

  - “That could work, thank you sir!” The human said.

  - “Kes, can you step over please?” Zya said. “This is Kes, one of our best Guardians. He should easily handle this task. Do you think you can do that for us, Kes?” He asked me.

  - “O-Of course, sir! I can do it!” I said.

  - “Great! I am sure you will be impressed with what we have. By the way, may name is Greg.” The human said.

  I don’t know what exactly the human has in mind, or what he meant with a new threat living in the world above, but this sounds pretty serious. We need to trust the humans on this one.

  Day 16

  Dear Diary,

  Today, Greg and I left the ocean monument. He is short on water breathing potions, and can no longer stay so we had to leave without any further delay. He is going to take me to his underwater city. We didn’t even know those existed!

  Swimming to the city, the human told me more of how they ended up here. He explained the humans used to rule the world above, but one day a terrible menace took over their lands and expelled them from the earth. Without a safe place to stay, they were forced to flee into the oceans and build cities in an environment where they did not belong.

  It must be tough, to be removed from your own home, having to move out to a different place and live under harsh conditions!

  Day 17

  Dear Diary,

  We arrived in the underwater city this morning. The place was quite interesting: some structures had been built in a similar fashion to the ones we had over at the monument. The difference here is the types of materials and sizes they had.

  The city was protected by a transparent overlay, which the human called ‘glass’. Quite an interesting material this glass they have, it retains the same physical property of regular blocks and can be seen through. They used this glass as a giant ‘roof’ to cover the entire city and keep the water away.

  Like the Elder Guardians said, these humans don’t breath under the water as we do, and need air to survive. These humans lived inside the ‘glass dome’ filled with air! It was impressive. I had never seen any creatures living outside the water.

  Greg entered the city through a big portal which divided the water from the air.

  - “Don’t worry Guardian; we have a small dam inside the city where you shall be able to swim through. I will talk with the builders so they can rearrange the currents to allow you to get inside the city by the water.”

  The humans are building a small ‘water path’ for me to get inside. I’m curious to know what they have to show me!

  Day 18

  Dear Diary,

  Once finished with the water path, the humans asked me to get inside the city through the water current. I swam into it and followed them to the central area of the city. Greg was there, waiting for me near a small golden pile on the ground.

  - “Hey, Kes! Nice to see you here.” Greg said.

  - “I’m glad to visit this city. What did you want to show me?”

  - “You see, this is what I was talking about back then.” And he pointed to the pile.

  - “What is that?”

  - “It’s what we call as Beacon.” Greg said. “Beacons provide special status effects to anyone within its vicinity, and they are shaped up in the form of a pyramid. This one is still small, but it should be up one day.”

  - “And why is it made of gold?”

  - “It’s not any gold… It’s gold from other ocean monuments.”

  - “Oh? How is that?” I asked him.

  - “I know this doesn’t sound good… Taking gold from other ocean monuments… But trust me, we don’t have any other choice. The gold from the ocean monuments has a special, unique property which grants the Beacon powerful status effects. Once we finish building the Beacon with this special gold, we sha
ll receive enough power to defeat the monsters living above.”

  - “I understand. And what do you need help with?”

  - “We still need eighty-three blocks to finish the four levels of this Beacon. Finding other ocean monuments is very hard, and as you know, stealing from them is a bad thing. We don’t want to continue doing it, and we need your help to find other monuments and ask for golden blocks.”

  - “Alright. If my help means you won’t be stealing anyone else again, I am in.”

  - “Thank you! We’ll discuss the details later.”

  The humans are trying to build a powerful golden Beacon to return to their land. I understand their objective, and I want to help.

  Day 19

  Dear Diary,

  The group of humans discussed their plans to visit other ocean monuments and use me as the bridge between them and the other Guardians, since most Guardians don’t trust humans at all. In most cases, humans are attacked as soon as they reach the monument’s limits. Hence their attempts to steal golden blocks using invisibility potions.

  The humans want to ask the Elder Guardians of each monument to ‘donate’ a certain amount of golden blocks, with the promise of paying them back as soon as they return to the land and promising to never invade the monuments again.

  I explained to them something important about golden blocks: if all eight are taken out of the monument, the Elder Guardians get weaker and slower. They eventually despawn from the world after a few years if the blocks are not brought back in place. But as long as there is one block remaining, they will stay strong and active. This is something the humans didn’t know, and it will help them with their quest.

  Later, I returned to my ocean monument