Gardiani In The Mountains

Passing through Karakent, eastern gateway city of Ostanya marked our sixth month since we left Beyalan. We had helped many villages and towns along that way so much, that if such a thing exists in this world, the Elements brand was pristine in three out of the five empires. There was a grassland on the edge of the country coming up, and it had come time for us to say goodbye to Gerard and the rest of the caravan. We spent the rest of the week until then spending more time with the members.

Two of the soldiers from Beyalan decided to stay on, and they had grown close to Ogun, which was a surprise to us all. He had begun training with them, taking on some of their military drills.

Abel had quite a few of the refugee women hanging on him as we traveled. One of them I think must have fallen in love with him, because when it was announced that we’d all be parting ways in the next week she actually cried.

Skylar and Yuliya looked after the kids with Adaeze, learning from her and declaring to us that they would adopt in the future. It didn’t come as much of a surprise.

Sofiya befriended some of the elders that had decided to stay with the caravan until they passed, enjoying seeing their lands till the end. She said she learned a lot from them and would write their stories down.

Carter took it upon himself to train the younger men of the caravan in basic self defense tactics. It looked like it made him happy. Maybe he had found enjoyment taking care of us in the beginning.

As for Esther and I, we spent a lot of time together. She wanted to make up for not getting to have a meal with me, so she suggested we visit a tavern with tasty food that she had been to forty years prior, only to find out it was long gone. We decided we’d stop letting things get in our way and made our own food. We ate it under the stars by an oasis.

With our final week with the caravan spent as we wished, we said our goodbyes, seeing them off until they were out of sight.

“Shall we get going?” Abel suggested, spurring his horse on.

We traveled as far as we could before making camp, then calling a meeting.

I looked at everyone as we sat around the fire. Even Ogun joined us this time. Fighting off bandits for people so much must have taken the edge off of his need to help.

“Ok, so now we’re entering a new nation, Mingzai. We’ve crossed borders a couple few times now, but this is the third culture we’re going to encounter. We should make sure to do our best not to offend anyone while we learn our way around. I get the feeling that we’re getting close. It’s hard to explain, but I can feel the shikigami out there somewhere now. We also got a map from Gerard before they left.” I spread it out on the ground for everyone to see.

Esther pointed at a location. “I estimate we’re about here by now. Just inside the border of Ostanya.”

Sofiya leaned over. “This area would be Afghanistan, this would be India, up here is the Hindu Kush, and over here-”

Something came back to me. “Wait, say those names again.”

“Huh? Afghanistan, India and Hindu Kush.”

Skylar perked up. “Wait, Hindu?”

I nodded to her. “Soothsayer said Hindu when we last met her. Like, the very last thing she said. Maybe she was trying to say Hindu Kush.”

Carter slapped his knee. “I say we go. If it is not there, we can keep searching.”

Abel stood up. “I really want to go home, but I don’t hate that idea.” He turned to me. “Remember what I said about wanted to see my family again? The whole week you two were missing I was scared I wouldn’t see you again. It made me realize I’ve already been with some of my family. And I mean real family.”

I smiled. “I feel the same way man.”

Ogun also stood up. “I am going on first watch. Let us get you all home. Soon.”

Awkwardly, we ended the meeting and most of us went to bed.

We spent the next few days getting used to the change in scenery. Everything had started to become more green quickly. Trees became common, and grass sporadically filled their view until eventually it became commonplace. It had been a year since we had gotten ourselves transported here. The air smelled clean and crisp here, something I had begun to recognize over the past six months. I was reminded how wonderful the world looked. The untamed potential of it all made me wonder if I really wanted to go back.

When we came across the first village here, I realized these people must have been survivors and descendants of China. They seemed standoffish to us as we approached. A village elder, and a handful of armed young men came to greet us.

“Hello, we wish to know why you are here.” He rasped out.

Right to the point I see. “We are just passing through. We are headed to the mountains in the north east and just wanted to stop by for supplies."

The old man stood still for a moment, not moving. Then I heard a snore come from him. One of the young men nudged him, and he gasped, startled. "Ah yes, we will allow that here. You would be wise to proceed to Dongrui on your way north. They will have steeds that are more suited to the terrain here." With that, the young warriors escorted him to a nearby home.

We replenished our supply of dry foods and moved on.

The mood in this land felt more suspicious of outsiders than any we had been in before. Sporadic homesteads dotted the countryside, and the further north we went the terrain became more hilled and treacherous. Frequently we saw crevices as deep as a cart was long.

In examining one, Esther determined that there must be a monster with the means to stab the ground with large amounts of force. It didn’t make me feel very confident in our chances if we ran into it, so I remained especially vigilant.

We spent a few nights camping out before we came across another village. Much like before, they acted suspicious of us, told us we should go to Dongrui, and then quickly ended the discussion. This time they said we should go to the town to receive a blessing for travel.

It was the third village that sealed the deal. The leader of the village said she wouldn’t recommend going anywhere but Dongrui. Those who go elsewhere perish.

It sounded more like a threat than a warning. Without any other leads in the area, and it seeming like we’d have to turn north soon anyway, we decided to head to this highly recommended town.

We weren’t nearly as close to it as the villages made it seem like we were. It took us a full two weeks to get there, and in that time we almost fell into one of those monster crevasses, camped in a cave that turned out to be a burrow for a giant worm that we promptly fled from, slaughtered a horde of filphers that tried to overrun us, and fought and killed an armored lizard. The filpher bones added a lot of ammunition to our supply for the guns, and everyone except the part lizard in our party was conflicted about eating a lizard monster.

When we finally arrived at Dongrui, we were already tired. The region had too much activity for us after what we had been used to. The gates opened automatically as we approached, and then closed automatically when we entered. The only guards around the gate were those up on the walls.

“Oh! I’ve been wanting to see that invention!” Esther called, bouncing in her seat.

“What invention?” Abel asked.

“You see that eye above the gate? It’s monster parts. A power crystal is affixed to it, and it has a magic line tapped into the gate mechanism. When it sees motion it triggers a function. For this side it’s to close the gate. For the other it’s to open. Of course you turn the whole thing off in the event of an invasion. But wow I can’t believe how clean it looks!”

Our wagon bumped along until a group of guards stopped us.

“You may not possess weapons in Dongrui. Disarm now.”

I looked at everyone, then back at the guard.

“May I ask some questions before we do?”

He looked impatiently at one of the buildings behind him then tilted his head slightly, like he was looking down his nose at me. “Speak.”

“First will we get them back? Second, why do we have to disarm? Third, what if we just want to pass through without stopping? Do we still need to disarm?”

“You may get your weapons back. Only guards are allowed weapons in any settlement. It is imperial law. No one may leave without permission from the town legate.”

I began removing my weapons as a demonstration to the others.

“I would like to speak to your legate as soon as possible. And if you would be so kind, where is the Collection building?”

The man took my rapier before answering. “The legate will ask for you if he wants to speak to you, and we do not have a Collection building here.”

We were halfway through disarming when we heard that.

“How are we supposed to get permission to leave if the legate won’t normally see us?”

“Some people never leave.”

One of the guards reached for Ogun’s spear, but he couldn’t get it out of his hands.

“Let go plebian!” The guard began punching his arm to get him to release the weapon.

I stood up from my seat in the wagon and jumped onto the guard, freeing Ogun to act, and dragging the man to the ground. I kicked his head to knock him out, then turned on the man holding my rapier. I used water blades to knock my weapon out of his hand and to cut his belt, causing his own sword to fall to the ground.

“Magic users! Anti magic tools! Quickly!” He cried out, reaching for his blade on the ground. A bunch of the enemy soldiers pulled out what looked like grenades to me, twisted them, and tossed them at my feet. Nothing really happened, so I started using water blades to cut more belts.

Some of the guards fell to the ground and then crawled away.

“Why isn’t it working?” One of them panicked as I cut his own belt.

Behind me my friends just watched, only hopping out to gather their weapons. I seemed to have it under control. I reached down and picked up my rapier, reattaching it to my belt, and climbing back up into the wagon, setting it in motion as fast as I could. We crossed the large court yard that separated the two gates and approached the northeast gate. It didn’t open as we got closer.

“Ah ha!” Esther called out. “That’s why the eye is set that way! So that people can’t get out without permission!”

I panicked as we got closer to the door.

“Sofiya! Ideas!”

She was ahead of us on a horse. Raising her hand, she pointed at the sides of the gate and several spires shot out and impacted the bolts. There was a large metallic groan, and after a moment of silence she summoned another that hit the door and sending it flying down a hill.

When we sped through the huge hole where gate was now missing, I was gob smacked by the breathtaking view in front of us.

Many blues, yellows, and reds dotted the trees and bushes along their path. Avoiding the gate door, we flew down the hill, stopping only when we couldn’t see the city anymore. I knew we were near a river, because I could hear it. As we made a turn, Ogun spurred his horse ahead, temporarily getting out of sight. When we turned another corner, he was flying towards us. With his spear extended, he clotheslined me and knocked me clear of the wagon.

I rolled quite a few times, coming to a stop by a cliff. As I stumbled to my feet, I realized the river was right below me.

Ogun cantered over on his horse then hopped down.

“I am getting tired of you embarrassing and acting like I cannot handle things.”

I was still dizzy from what just happened. “What are you talking about?”

Ogun continued. “And then you will not do the right thing and remove these despots. You ignore the suffering of the people. Even though you have the power to topple a city if you wanted.”

“Again, what are you talking about?” I was started to get angry. It dawned on me that Ogun had actually attacked me.

“Enough is enough.” He threw his spear down and charged. He swung at me, which I narrowly avoided. He then tried to hit me with an uppercut, but I sidestepped it too. The more he swung though, the faster he got, until eventually he hit me in the stomach. When he did, I grabbed his arm despite the pain.

He tried to pull himself free, but my grip was too strong. He pulled back and ended up slipping off the cliff. I tried to hold on but the momentum pulled me over the edge as well. The drop wasn’t immense by any means, but it was still a drop. When we hit it felt like my left shoulder dislocated. I controlled the water to keep me afloat as I search for Ogun. He was floundering a meter away from me, so I controlled the water to helm him too. As I frowned at him, a large shape rose out of the water behind him. It had massive amounts of spikes, and it’s face reminded me of a whale shark.

It opened it’s maw to reveal row upon row of broken and jagged razor-sharp teeth. It moaned from deep within itself.

I was frozen for a moment until I heard Ogun’s voice.

“Why are you helping me?”

I propelled us away from the monster as we started moving faster and faster upstream.

Overhead I heard the others calling out to us. When they spotted the monster chasing us the sisters started making a stone bridge to try and reach us. While we were outpacing the whale shark monster, the girls were unfortunately too slow making their bridge so we started to lose sight of them. After about a kilometer of swimming we made shore on the other side of the river, which helped them in the long run, but made them more separated from the others.

I sat down on the beach, watching the whale shark monster turn around and swim away, slowly sinking below the surface as it did.

Ogun was lying on his back near me, heaving.

“Why… did… you… save me?” He gasped out.

“Because you are my friend. Even if you’ve been a jerk and stupid lately.”

He looked at me incredulously. “But I attacked you and almost just got you killed.”

I picked up a rock and threw it at him. “And any decision I made since we got here could have gotten you guys killed.”

He sat up, throwing a rock back at me. “You would have solved any of those problems anyway, so don’t act like it’s been hard for you.”

I stood up and kicked a bunch at him at once. “Who do you think I am? Some infallible genius?” I was mad at the insinuation. It was like he invalidated any worries I have had all this time. Like I worried for no reason.

“You’ve done a better job at leading than I ever have!”

I was surprised by the comment and didn’t dodge the punch coming my way in time.

“This whole time I haven’t seen you screw up once. You’ve handled all these situations perfectly. Meanwhile when I was leading our group it was just childish stuff. The last thing I did? Get us all sent here!” He punched me again, causing me to fall on my back.

I forced a geyser of water to blast him from the river. “We had fun with your childish stuff.” I stood back up, wobbling side to side. “We all agreed to do that experiment too. It was dumb on all our parts, not just yours. We all share the blame.”

“But if I hadn’t suggested it in the first place, we wouldn’t have been talking about it anyway.” He set himself into a sitting position and pouted there.

“Oh stop it. We could have told you no and you would have been by yourself with it.” I walked over and smacked him in the head. “That’s for pulling us off the cliff.” Next I extended my hand. “This is for my lost friend to remember that his friends care about him even when he does stupid stuff.”

He stared at it for a moment. “Aren’t you a bit quick to forgive me?”

I shrugged. “Maybe, but that’s another decision I’m making as leader. Maybe this is the one where I actually made the wrong decision, but I’m sticking by it, so deal with it.”

Ogun paused for a moment longer before slowly reaching for my hand. I didn’t want to wait so I reached the rest of the way and grabbed it, pulling him to his feet.

Behind us we heard stone noises, like from when the girls make something. I turned just in time to see Yuliya come flying in with a kick. It his Ogun square in the face.

“You stupid idiot!” She kicked him a few more times on the ground.

“Ok Yuliya, that’s enough.” I quickly said. “I already let him have it.”

She looked at me, seething rage still plastered over her face. “Yeah? Good!” Yuliya stomped over to Skyler and crossed her arms.

I helped him up again. Carter was pulling his horse along. “Is he ok?”

I nodded. “He will be I think.”

Ogun mounted his horse again and kept his head down. He couldn’t look at anyone. That is until Abel made him.

“Ogun, that was reckless and uncalled for.” He put his hand on his leg. “But if you need someone to talk to, you can always turn to me man. I always have an ear for you.”

I could hear him begin to sniffle, and he nodded before spurring his horse on.

We had to reference the map, but Esther pinpointed where we were.

Not that it mattered much. I could sense which direction the shinigami was in now. It was so much more clear that I knew we were almost there.

We gained a lot of ground, but in a way we lost time and needed to camp for the night.

As we sat around the fire, Carter cleared his throat. “I was wondering something since back with the caravan. If you all were home right now, what would you be doing?”

No one spoke at first, but then Esther raised her hand. “I’d probably be inventing something right now.”

“You always invent things. That’s nothing surprising.” Skylar commented. “I’d probably be making proper graves for Ge, Ke, and Ti.”

“I’d be sitting alone in my room, trying to find something to take my mind of where I was. I took the Montfords home for granted.” I scratched my head.

Adaeze stretched. “I’d be taking a bubble bath probably.”

Sofiya pulled out a book and began writing in it. “I think I’d be studying some of Yuri’s more complicated college books.”

Yuliya whistled. “You probably would. I wanted to go pro on a women’s basketball team. Maybe I’d be practicing.”

“I would be getting ready to go into the police academy.” Ogun added. We had been so used to him not joining us, that we were shocked.

“I would be playing with Rosalie for sure. And probably making dinner.” Abel said happily.

I shared a look with some of the others. Of all of us, Abel wanted to go home the most. We all knew it.

I saw Sofiya hand her book to Yuliya, who read some of it, then looked at her in shock. Her sister handed her the writing utensil, and after a moment’s hesitation she began to write in it too.

Carter looked around at us all. “I have enjoyed all of my time with you all. I hope you all will remember that you have become important to me.”

We smiled at his rare show of vulnerability. With nothing much else to say, we dispersed for the night.

In the morning, we rapidly made progress to the source of the pull I was feeling. We crested a hill and saw a plain before us. Ahead, nestled in a mountain was a large temple-like structure. It was dark black, like obsidian. The area around it almost looked like it was being sucked in, but I could tell it was just in my head. This place pulled in lost things. I must feel it. We made a straight line for the temple, but just outside of it the ground began to shift. Rising from the ground were undead and ghostly forms. They moaned and wailed in many languages. I caught a snatch of English here and there amongst it all.

“What is going on?” Carter cried out. He was clearly spooked.

“I have no idea, but they feel familiar.” Sofiya said thoughtfully.

Yuliya created a spike barrier between us and the creatures. One of them blasted the barrier with a beam of light.

Abel gasped. “Wait a minute.” He send a ball of fire at it, and another one shot a geyser of water from the air into the ball. “These might be gardiani that were killed during the early days of the war!”

I hated the idea, but it would explain why they seemed familiar.

“So they came here because they are lost souls then?” Adaeze mused.

I pulled my rapier out of it’s sheath. “Well we need in there, so there is only one thing to do here.” I dashed forward and impaled. It didn’t take much damage until I funneled water to the inside of it and made it explode. A vine came flying at me, but a blast of wind sliced them up, and traveled all the way down to the dead druid that launched it at me, freeing the soul from the dead husk.

One by one everyone joined the fray, taking out the ancient gardiani zombies. Every time one was vanquished, it sounded like the soul was breathing a sigh of relief. We got closer and closer to the entrance, the opposition thinning out slowly. Yuliya got tired of the fight and summoned a massive disc above us.

“Everyone close in around me!” She took her raised hands and thrust them towards the ground. The disc fell down with an impactful thud. A couple of the undead made it to the circle, but Carter took care of them.

After Yuliya disintegrated the disc and dispersed the pieces, we entered the temple proper. There were pedestals all over the massive single chamber. Many things that must have been lost. On one it said Gardiani, and sitting on the pedestal was a bag. I opened it see seeds.

I pocketed them and moved on. As we got to the center of the room, I saw it. A glowing blue orb. Sticking out my hand, I beckoned it to come to me. It resisted at first, but then flew to me and landed in my hand. As soon as it made contact I knew. With one hundred percent certainty, I knew exactly what this could do, and my heart sank.

I turned to the others. “I can feel it. This really is a ticket home.”

The others smiled at each other.

“But a ticket only works for one.”

Everyone became quiet.

“One?” Abel asked.

I nodded.

“Well, who will you guys choose?” Skylar asked.

I looked at Yuliya, Sofiya, Adaeze, and Ogun in turn. I could see in their eyes that we all agreed.

“It has to be Abel.”

I approached him and placed it in his hand.

“Me? Are you guys sure?” He looked to his left and then his right.

“Very sure.” I pulled a sheet of paper from my pouch. “I want you to take this. I thought about it a lot, and I never intended to go anyway. Please deliver this letter to the Montfords for me.”

Sofiya came forward. She had tears in her eyes. “And this one for Yuliya and me.” Yuliya had buried her face in Skylar’s chest.

Adaeze pulled one out as well. “I’d like you to give this to a friend. And here. I’ve help onto these, but you can have them. I made a will leaving it to you anyway.” She handed him a letter, will and car keys. “If it’s still there.” She added. Carter wrapped his arms around her.

“You are an amazing young man. Go take care of your family. Your sister is waiting, remember?” He smiled gently.

My vision began to blur. My cheeks felt wet. As he continued to receive goodbyes from everyone, I felt the overwhelming sensation of loss. Esther started rubbing my back.

“Esther, I’m in love with you.” I blurted out.

Her hand paused for a brief moment before resuming. “I have fallen for you too.”

Before I lost my composure I addressed Abel. “You have to hold it and wish for home. Do that and it’ll take you back. It’ll be around when we left, but I can’t tell you how close.”

He nodded and did as instructed. The blue orb grew to encompass him. He clutched the letters tighter in his left hand. He raised his right and blasted some fire into the air. I followed suite, maybe by instinct and shot a geyser into the air. The flood of tears was the only thing that matched how much water I sprayed into the air, as my vision became almost nonexistent. The last thing I saw of Abel was his beaming smile.