On a narrow path surrounded by lava, Caitlin, the hero of this journey, approached a doorway into a mountain guarded by two knights in full armor, each holding a sword. Caitlin drew her own sword.
“Hello, traveler,” the first guard said. “I am Miro—I have a passion for guarding the treasures that lie beyond—you shall not pass.”
“Hello, traveler,” the second guard said. “I am Kyle, and I have a passion for juggling. I am a guard of the treasures that lie beyond. You shall not pass.”
“Juggling?” Miro, the guard said. “What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t know we were supposed to state our passions,” Kyle said. “So I was taken off guard. No pun intended.”
“My statement shows that I am a serious guard,” Miro said.
“Hey, I just responded to the help-wanted ad. I don’t know these things,” Kyle said.
Caitlin looked on bemused. “How good of a juggler are you?”
“Fantastic,” Kyle said. “I just can’t make enough money to juggle as my day job.”
“Can you prove it?” Caitlin said. “Why not juggle our three swords?”
“Now wait a second,” Miro said.
“I’ll give you mine first,” Caitlin said. She tossed her sword underhanded to Kyle, who started juggling the two swords. Then Caitlin and Kyle looked at Miro, who shrugged and tossed his over.
Kyle was a great juggler. He threw one sword high into the air and continued to juggle the others without missing a beat.
“Alright, you’re a good juggler,” Miro said. “Now give us back our swords so we can settle this.”
Kyle tossed Caitlin’s sword back to her, and she caught it easily. Miro, distracted by Caitlin’s grace, missed his sword as it flew too quickly to him. The hilt banged off Miro’s helmet and clanged to the ground. Miro wobbled and then fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Kyle looked over at him anxiously.
Caitlin pointed her sword at Kyle. “My name is Caitlin, and I have a passion for sword fighting.”
Kyle dropped his sword in terror and ran past Caitlin in the other direction.
“Good luck with the juggling,” Caitlin yelled after him. “You have a real talent!”
She looked down at Miro, the guard with a passion for guarding, and then opened the door into the mountain.