The Marvelous Adventures of Tippit -- Chapter 4

Serpia stared at me. "To save the world. That is what you were sent here for."
"What?!?" I shrieked. "I can't do that! I'm only eleven, for goodness' sake! How am I supposed to save the world? What about Pinnip? What's he supposed to do?"
"Pinnip? Ah, yes. The feline. Well, Pinnip can accompany you on your journey. First we must train you, though."
"Wait, what journey? To where?"
"Oh! Silly me, I forgot to explain. You are to go to the edge of Jomblia and get the Fire Sphere. Do you know why our world is so strangely colored?" I shook my head. "It is because the Fire Sphere was tampered with. The Great Pig monster, who lives in a stone castle in Sartia, stole it and uses it for a play thing. You goal is to get that back and banish the monster from his castle. We do not care how you do this deed, just please, do it." He hung his head.
Feeling sorry for him, I said, "Well, I can try my best, but I think the training would be very beneficial before I go and try to defeat the monster."
"Very good. Sleep well tonight, and we shall start your training in the morning. Good day, Tippit."

I lay awake in the soft bed the girls had prepared for me. They had given me a lovely dinner and a soft cream-colored nightgown that was cut like the dress I had worn earlier. Yawning, I thought about all the days events. Not being able to sleep, I got up and, with Pinnip, went outside to look at the stars. The sky was black, to my relief, and the stars were twinkling white. "Save the world." I stroked Pinnip's soft black fur. "How am I supposed to do that, Pinnip? What am I going to do?" Leaning against the hut, I closed my eyes. "Dear me..." I drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Tippit? Where are you, nya?" The girls were calling me. Jolted awake by the sudden sound, I leapt up. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Where is she, nya?"
"Here I am!" Picking up Pinnip I ran around the hut and into the door. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep so I went outside."
"Oh, my, my, my. You scared us, nya! You are to meet Master Serpia in the cavern today. Let us get you dressing in proper clothes, nya."
They stripped me of my nightgown and put the blue dress back on me. "You must hurry, nya! He will be waiting! Resti here will escort you, nya."
Resti, the girl who she indicated, was a short, pretty girl. She wore a bright green dress and had purple eyes. "My name is Resti and I will guide you to the cavern, nya."
We walked for what seemed like miles down the most gorgeous, if not the queerest, path I had ever seen. The tree that lined the road were all pink and purple. Yellow apples hung from some of the trees. I plucked one off and took a bite. It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. The juice ran down my chin and dripped onto the ground. It was tart and sweet at the same time. I picked another and ate that as well. The grass all around was checkered, but not black and white. Now it was black and bright green, almost the same color as Resti's dress. The pink sky was cloudless, and the huge yellow sun hung like a dish suspended in the air. The air was fresh and smelled of apples and flowers. All around the trees were little flowers of all the colors of the rainbow. They reminded me of a botanical garden I went to with my grandmother several years before.
A large waterfall loomed ahead. I could hear the splashing of the water on the rocks. The water we white and foaming. It was gorgeous. There was an overhanging rock at the top of the waterfall which created a sort of tunnel behind it. Standing in the entrance to the tunnel was Septia. He was standing with his back to us and running his hand through the water. As we walked up, he slowly turned around. "I've been waiting. Resti, leave us." She bowed, turned, and walked back up the path.
We turned and walked under the waterfall. "How did you sleep, Tippit?"
"I slept well, thank you. But, where are we going?"
"We are going to the cavern. Did they not tell you?" As we walked, a large hole in the rock wall came into view.
"Is that the cavern?"
"Yes. Please enter."
Inside the cavern was very spacious. It was at least fifty by fifty feet. Every five feet or so around the wall hung a lantern. In the middle of the cave was a tall stand, about six feet tall, that looked somewhat like a candelabra. There were fifteen candles on the black stand, which was very intricately designed. In one corner of the cave was a large trunk. The trunk was closed, but the latch was unlocked.
With long, determined strides, Serpia walked across and opened the trunk. Inside were clothes like the ones Miss Lorma wore, but different colors; a forest green tunic, a pair of black trousers, and black knee-high boots.
Serpia left so I could change. When he came back he was holding a short sword about two feet long. "This is your training sword. Cut this block of wood to chunks." He brought in a large slab of light brown wood.
I raised the sword and brought it down hard. It bounced back. I cried out in pain as the hilt reverberated in my hand. Dropping it, I shouted, "How am I supposed to do this? This sword is as dull as a play thing!"
"Keep trying. Here's some food, I will be back at night fall."
With that, Serpia turned and left.