
 An orb stands quietly near an
old door, and the scratches on
his glassy outer skin make him
look as ancient as this portal
before him.  This door, an old
barrier of local woodwork, old
to the point of feebleness, is
all that lies between the dust
encrusted orb and a tall tower
whose halls contain, no doubt,
more adversaries, more gems, a
couple of energy capsules, new
weapons maybe. But whatever is
in there, the Orb must tread a
path through it and onwards in
towards his final destination,
where neither death or victory
is assured.
 But with a loud shriek, a cry
that  could  fry  butter,  his
thoughts  were  scattered.   A
compact  looking,  insect-like
thing  was  only  meters  away
from the him. It's eyes, while
fixed on the sides of it's big
head, still  focused  together
portraying a hated stare. With
very  little  hesitation,  the
creature  bellowed again,  and
charged.  The  last thing  the
Orb noticed was the huge array
of  spikes  on the  creature's
back.
 With  no time  to think,  the
Orb  thrust  himself  into the
air, where barely a second had
passed before the door splint-
ered as he crashed into it. He
swiveled to  regard the animal
as soon as he had regained his
stance, and with shock noticed
the deadly  creature frozen in
it it's tracks,  with what was
the animal's  best  expression
of horror on its armored face.
The  creature's wide  eyes did
not see him,  but  stared into
the  darkness  beyond,  within
the tower. It shrank back, and
in  one sweeping  motion burst
out of sight.
 What  had  he gotten  himself
into now, he thought. Whatever
it  was,  he  could only  face
forward and so rolled into the
darkness.
