Young Writers Society

"Yep..." Valeri was still wide-eyed. "Okay, that was definitely better than the lame wizard's parlor tricks."

"I know, the sword is awesome, right?" Amy giggled quietly. "And now that it has a hilt, it'll be so much easier to use! Do ya wanna try it out on a guard?"

(49 words)

Vendetta shook their head. “I want to leave the museum before we’re caught with a magic artifact and find the gem to complete this thing.”

Amy sighed. “Alright. You want to save your first time for a completed sword. I can respect that.”

The trio snuck back to the bathroom, and Amy took out the portal again. “Hmm… I’m pretty sure the gem is somewhere in San Diego.” She tossed the sphere into the air and it expanded into a shiny yellow portal. “Come on!”

“Wait, you think?”

But once again, Amy ignored Valeri and unceremoniously dragged them through the portal.

(58 words)

Vendetta followed, stuffing the now much larger sword in their bag. “Shouldn’t we have waited for Jospehinzo’s letter?”

Amy shrugged. “He told me everything that I needed to know to help out. Like the location, the city. I’m pretty sure I remembered everything.”

“Pretty sure… great. That makes me feel soo confident about this quest.” Valeri rolled her eyes.

The portal spat them out on a sidewalk bordering the beach. Palm trees waved in the wind and seagulls flapped by, and Valeri subtly shielded her head with one hand. “So, Amy, what does this gem look like?”

(54 words)

“It’s a peridot gem! A very distinctive shade of green.”

Vendetta tilted their head. “A green gem? On a sunrise sword? That doesn’t exactly fit.”

“It totally does, silly!” Amy giggled. “Peridots are considered Gems of the Sun. Everyone knows that!”

“Okay, well, color schemes aside… Where the heck are we supposed to start looking for this ‘Gem of the Sun?’”

Amy looked thoughtful for a second. “I think Josephinzo said something about a giant… a giant ant? Or maybe Zion, like Zion National Park? Or maybe just a regular giant.” She shrugged.

“Okayyy…” Valeri looked doubtful. “A giant would probably stand out, right? And we can use the sword to get to the approximate location…”

(75 words)

Vendetta looked around before pulling out the sword. “Okay, Mr. Sword. Let’s find your final piece.”

The sword whispered again. It was slightly clear than before but still mostly unintelligible.

“Is it nearby? Are we in the right place?”

The sword hesitated, as if it was unsure, then tugged Vendetta a little to the left. Valeri glanced in that direction and saw a street lined with shops and dining areas. “Think a giant’s likely to be shopping for some jewelry?”

Amy shrugged. “Well, let’s find out! Also, I am so down for fighting a giant if it comes to that.” She tossed some confetti in the air, then started skipping down the street.

(74 words)

Vendetta followed the sword’s lead, ignoring the strange glances they were receiving. “Okay, Mr. Sword. Where are we going?”

The sword pulled them past the shops before stopping in front of a small, family-owned diner. The sword hummed, gently butting against the glass.

Vendetta turned around. “I think the gem’s in here.”

“Alright then.” Valeri pushed open the door, which announced their arrival with a jingling of bells. Inside, there were people chatting, eating, and even having food fights.

“Ooh, I see a giant!” Amy pointed towards a back corner, where a giant was indeed bent over a plate of burgers and fries. Yes, burgers plural.

The sword gave an excited whisper and pulled them forwards.

(64 words)

Vendetta followed along, approaching the giant. Vendetta smiled, trying their best to act natural. “Uh, excuse me?”

The giant looked up. One eye was a normal, brown eye. The other was a green gem.

A peridot gem.

Vendetta flushed. “My- uh- sword wants your… eye?”

“Ma eye, ya say?” The giant grumbled and stuffed another handful of fries into his mouth. “I ain’ givin’ up ma preciou’ eye!”

Amy bounced up and down and held up some confetti. “Time to fight the giant?”

“No, wait, maybe we can trade him… um… another eye?” Valeri winced. “Okay, that might not work out so well.”

(58 words)

The sword hummed, surging a bright light. The peridot gem glowed too.

Maybe if they could distract the giant long enough, the sword might bond with the gem like it did in the museum.

Vendetta looked down at the giant’s plate. “Your burgers are so dry. Do they not serve ketchup here?” They deliberately ignored the ketchup bottle sitting right next to their elbow.

“Eh?” The giant frowned. “I hate ketchup.” He took a bite of one of the burgers.

Valeri eyed the ketchup bottle and noticed a spell on the back— “Unlimited Ketchup! *Only lasts for fifteen minutes.” Hmm… that might be handy. She subtly pointed it out to Vendetta, then asked the giant, “What burgers are good here? I see you’ve got four on your plate.”

(64 words)