Shield of Fire
Xepo

An ear-piercing whistle came out of Lura’s mouth, causing Crini to hurriedly bring her palms to her ears to block the sound a bit. Helion was the first to arrive from the group. Crini almost jump to her feet from the shock when she turned and found him close. He is so silent and quick.

The memory of him and Lura fighting with the Firfiri resurfaced. The stealth, the incredible speed and the elegance in their moves as they were killing anything standing in their way. A warrior’s dance.

She found Helion’s eyes on her and this made her cheeks flame on. She didn’t want so much attention, especially the way he was looking at her. Searching and studying her every move and expression. Making her feel uneasy.

A few moments later, the rest of the group came as well. “What is it?” Tadal spat, with a frown decorating his forehead. Triana was standing next to him, with her arms crossed over her chest and a similar look on her face, looking like a mirror reflection of Tadal. Crini thought for a moment that they seem annoyed that a human - an outlander - may have found the answer to the trial of their world.

“You found something, Crini?” Poinary spoke with a gentleness in his voice that calmed a bit Crini’s nervousness.

She moved her head up and down in confirmation of his question. “If you look at the engraving, especially that form,” she stretched her body and arm to show the form on the left side of the gate but she wasn’t tall enough to reach it, “you can see that there’s something like a shield with a face on. Maybe the name we’re looking for is the shield’s?”

Ada and Espa’s faces lighted on, their eyes sparkling in excitement. “Is the shield of Leukos!” they shout in unison. “The face on the shield is Xepo, Leukos’ Trubak.” Ezpa said with a raised tone from awe.

“Trubaks are giant creatures with sharp teeth and powerful paws with strong claws. Raised in the pit of fire in Zolos.” Ada explained to Crini. “Unfortunately after the day of eternal darkness, they are all gone.” Her face darkened. “The stories say that Leukos managed to put the spirit of his most-trusted creature inside his shield, giving to it the strengths of a Trubak.”

“Some say that the shield is still in existence but this is not justified,” Tadal added. “Many had perished in the attempt to search for it…”

Crini spotted the sadness in Tadal’s voice. The pain reflected in his eyes and his clenched jaw pointed he was still grieving for something. Or someone.

Without further contemplation, Triana marched to the gate. Standing in front of the massive iron structure, she stands tall and straight as a spear. Her arms land on her sides and her palms turn to powerful fists.

“The name you seek is Xepo,” she announces with determination, her voice echoing loud and clear through the deserted landscape.

Everyone awaits silently in anticipation. Some are unintentionally holding their breaths, like doing so will keep away a possible jinx. Crini’s eyes never leave the gate, refusing to close them in case something happens and she’ll not be able to respond. Her right hand is deep within the giant pocket of her trousers, fingers tightly grabbing the metal cylinder that previously had formed into a sword.

Her body feels infused with a mix of agony and adrenaline. Her senses start to malfunction. She thinks she’s hearing something. A faint whisper. Drifting away her gaze she gives a glance at everyone. They don’t seem to have noticed anything.

Perfect. My imagination runs wild. Focus on your breaths. She tries to convince herself to calm down.

She tries to control her breath but the success is temporary. The ground beneath shakes violently and Crini loses her balance. Like she’s been swooped off her feet, she lands hard on the ground on her back.

The earth continues to shake and a deep bass sound makes Crini’s skin crawl as one side of the gate opens out. Triana gets out of the way on time before the thick iron mass crashes her. When the gate is fully opened, the shaking starts to fade away.

With hesitant steps, each one starts walking towards the path opened before them. Even Tadal - who was previously familiar with the mountain, as he claimed - was now guarded up with each step he took closer.

Once the open path through the mountain-carved walls appears, everyone leaves a breath of relief. The path is larger and even - compared to the one they’ve been following through the sandy hills and dried land full of cracks. The height was exactly on their level, so they had to be careful. Except for Crini. She didn’t have such a problem.

The first thing they had to do was to replace a safe spot to camp for the night. Although they will be in the dark for the rest of their travel through the mountain, the map would facilitate them in keeping track of time as it showed the positions of the sun and moon as well.

Luckily for them, there was a cavity a few metres deeper within the mountain path. Ezpa and Ada searched nearby and found no hostile creatures. It was also decided that two persons would keep guard, changing shifts every two hours in case something appears or something enters through the gate. They didn’t want to close it, keeping it as an escape route, in case something happens within the mountain.

The sweet warmth emanating from the fire made Crini finally relax. The tension landed on her shoulders was painful. She remembered her days in the palace, doing chores that caused her muscles to ache.

Jato and Loftak had gathered a small number of small creatures that lived around this land that looked like the Earth’s lizards. Crini had managed to see one before she’s been transported to this planet. According to Koniaak, these lizards were considered a delicacy in Ethnos.

Jato and Loftak occupied themselves with the food preparation while Koniaak and Lura were in charge of keeping the fire alive. Tadal and Triana finally helped by setting the tents and Poinary was looking at the water reserves. Ezpa and Ada were the first to keep watch. Moiki and Zoiki - with the map open - were studying it for any functionalities that maybe they haven’t discovered yet.

Crini was asking around to offer help but they all politely rejected. As she was looking around to replace something to do, Helion’s soft cough made her turn around to see him standing close.

“You need help with something?” Crini asked, eager for him to say yes. She was not accustomed to staying put without doing anything.

“It’s time for a lesson.” Helion’s deep voice - so smooth it reminded her of the purr of a cat - caressed her ears. “Follow me.”