The Guardians' Blade
Chapter Two - Journey to Ramoth

Boar was curious as to how they were going to make the journey from Shaylo in the far north east to Ramoth in the distant north-west in less than a month. Travelling over land would be hazardous to one’s health as the desolate land of Hymbroli was not known to be kind to travelers. He was therefore both surprised and impressed when Mycol took the underground highway – a series of long tunnels carved out beneath the lands above that linked up the various Guardian Cities - this allowed for swift and safe travel.

For those who were not aware of this underground highway, it made the Guardians seem all the more mysterious, with their seemingly innate ability to appear out of nowhere at any given time. Such travel was a guarded secret, and since the loss of Tuchmore to a Black Robe, the Guardians had become all the more tight-lipped about such things.

“Are you becoming used to our way of getting around, Guardian Lionheart?” asked the elder Guardian as the three exited a tunnel in the rocky mountain range of Drakebare. It had taken four days riding through the tunneled highway to get there so quickly. Overland it would have taken weeks as the mountains were not easy to cross, and the northlands that ran along the mountain borders were teaming with beasts that were likely to cause trouble.

The towering snow-covered peaks shone brightly in the sunlight so that Boar had to shield his eyes for a brief period while his eyesight adjusted. The chill of the air was sharp and crisp. From where the three men stood, the sprawling mountain range was breathtaking to look upon.

“Indeed, is that usual?” he asked after a moment, pointing a gloved finger at a group of winged creatures that were flying rapidly towards them.

“No. Qarma are not usually about, but they are a sign that Warlords are in the area” Krammer quickly drew a black bow from his saddle, sliding an arrow onto the string. He fired off three arrows smoothly. Three of the winged beasts dropped to a rocky death below.

“I don’t think that has dissuaded them,” muttered Boar as he quickly dismounted from his steed and drew his twin blades.

“It never does,” smirked Krammer as he exchanged his bow for a sword. There was a rush of wings and eerie shrieks as the Qarma attacked, talon-like claws extended, razor-sharp teeth bared. These creatures looked like hairless spider monkeys with deformed heads and were extremely ugly to look upon. They made up for their size with a deadly ferocity that was frightening.

Boar quickly backed up a few steps while whirling his blades in a crisscross manner in front of him. Thirty of these winged beasts hurled themselves at the three men. With agile skill Boar decapitated one, and slashed another in half, whirling on his feet like a dancer as he called upon the Shadows to assist him. He stepped into a Shadow as if it was a doorway and faded from sight. Moments later his blade cut through another two Qarma from behind as he stepped out of another Shadow. The Qarma scattered, as they realized there was a Shadow Warrior with these Guardians. Boar chuckled quietly to himself, and cracked his neck before moving swiftly after the nearest of these winged little monsters. He was fully aware of his advantage in using the Shadows to move from place to place without being seen.

Krammer grunted as one beast attached itself to his back and tried to bite through the chain mail he wore beneath his tunic. But he was more concerned with the three swarming around him like wasps as he attempted to cut at them with his sword. Finally he had enough of the one on his back, reached back with a gloved hand to grab it by the scruff of its neck and threw it at its three companions. This had the desired effect of scattering them, giving him time to regain his footing and his breath.

He heard a harsh shrill shriek and turned his head to see a beast dive-bombing him and quickly raised his blade in preparation to meet it, only to see it get skewered by a long black arrow. Turning sharply he glanced around in an attempt to locate the archer, and saw the wild black mane of Alixa Lightweaver in the distance where she perched further up the mountain side. He gave her a quick salute by raising his blade before re-entering the battle. His shoulder ached but he ignored the pain for the moment. His injuries could be seen to later.

Sir Mycol calmly removed a contraption from his saddle. He had yet to be attacked as the two younger Guardians had been taking the full brunt of the fighting. With painstaking slowness he drew out of a tube a long pipe, and un-wrapped a bundle that revealed a set of black-feathered darts. With nimble fingers he slid a dart into the pipe then raised it and took careful aim. He shot at one Qarma who seemed a little larger than all the others. It began squeaking; then flying and breathing with difficulty it dropped like a stone onto a boulder, where it lay rasping for several moments. This immediately sent the other Qarma shrieking. They withdrew from attacking Boar and Krammer and after a few minutes picked up the unconscious leader of the winged pack and flew off with him. Mycol slid the pipe back into its tube while the other two Guardians stared at him. He offered a slight smile with a simple explanation: “Like most packs, there is a leader. Take down the leader and the pack will leave.”

“Why didn’t you do something earlier?” grumbled Boar as he wiped the sticky black goo off his blades.

“You seemed to be dealing with them quite efficiently,” was Mycol’s response as he swung up into the saddle. His destrider turned to follow the winding path that led downwards.

“Nowhere as efficiently as I would have liked,” came the muttered response from Boar as he climbed up into the saddle and moved to follow the Elder Guardian. He glanced over at Krammer and asked, “Were you aware of that method to overcome the Qarma?”

Krammer couldn’t help but smile a little. “Normal Guardian tactic: act as a decoy while the leader is put into a state of unconsciousness, usually by a dart. It’s the normal procedure for dealing with Qarma.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Boar growled under his breath, before nearly jumping out of his skin as Alixa stepped out onto the path ahead of them, holding her bow in hand and leading her Destrider up to them. She smiled brightly at all three men.

“Hello, boys, thought I would come along.” She bowed to Mycol who rode past her. Then climbed back up into the saddle and nudged her Destrider to fall in with Krammer and Boar. “What’s the matter with him?” she asked, glancing at a grumpy Boar then looking over to Soryn, “He didn’t get up on the ride side of the bed this morning?”

“No, I simply knew something that he wasn’t aware of,” His words rewarded them with a muttered curse from behind that caused Alixa to giggle softly with amusement. The rocky winding path they followed twined through a series of high-reaching mountains, each white-capped with snow. A fierce cold chill could be felt spreading down from the heights, causing the Guardians to be glad they wore thick winter clothing. Alixa was in high spirits as she related the story of her journey through one of the various underpasses that the Guardians used for travelling.

“Does the Council know you are here?” Boar finally demanded, still irritable.

“Yes, they do,” came her retort. “I have a letter of passage. I volunteered to join you when I heard where you were going. I’ve heard of the Golden Realms and I’ve been dying to pay a visit.” Alixa flashed a smile over to her comrades, apparently pleased with herself. She got a frowning stare from Soryn who had opposed her desire to come the night before.

“But as the Keeper of the Crystal, shouldn’t you stay close to Shaylo? What if you are needed again?” Boar demanded, scowling at the woman. The adventures that had occurred in the past were still very fresh in his mind, as were the deaths of Mysterious and Katarna. They had affected him deeply, and Alixa was aware of it.

“I will not be wrapped up in cotton-wool,” was the fiery response as she fixed clear blue eyes upon the ex-Shadow Warrior. “I am just as good a Guardian as anyone. I can keep the Crystal safe as well as take on assignments, you know.”

“And we do not doubt that in the slightest.” Mycol intervened before Boar could persist with the argument further. He turned in his saddle slightly, to regard the other Guardians, Alixa in particular. “I am pleased that you wished to join us, Guardian Lightweaver. Not all Guardians are so willing to volunteer themselves for assignments to new lands.” He glanced at Boar, who abandoned any further argument for the moment. Although he still wasn’t impressed with Alixa, however Boar couldn’t stay angry at her for long. He still had a lot to learn about the Guardian way. It still intrigued him that the Guardians could not remain amongst the various races for too long before they became susceptible to people’s emotions and fell ill. Once upon a time he would have used that to his advantage in a fight, but now he was learning about how these Guardians dealt with it, and still continued on with whatever mission they might be assigned to.

They followed a weaving path down through the mountains towards the foothills. One could start to see groups of trees on the rocky sides and the snow was thinning a bit on the ground. The further south they would journey the warmer the weather would become. The path that lead off to the right and Mycol decided that they should camp for the night in a rocky alcove which gave them shelter from the beasts of the night and the elements. The Guardians dismounted and unsaddled their Destriders so that the Great War beasts could relax comfortably before setting up camp.

By the light of a campfire Alixa sat down next to Soryn and spoke softly as she laid her belongings on the ground nearby. “I reckon we should take a look at that shoulder of yours. Make sure you haven’t been poisoned.”

Soryn nodded slightly and with a wince and grunting a little as he did so, managed to shrug off his chain mail shirt and leather jerkin. He sat still so that Alixa could look at his wound. It was caked with blood and dirt, so she used some water from one of their water containers to clean the area. Then she took a closer look at the bite marks. They were red and raw and she knew that if she didn’t put something on the wounds soon, they’d become infected.

She searched amongst some bandages and other medical supplies for one particular jar, which she carefully opened. It smelt disgusting and looked a bit like black tar. She scooped some up onto her fingers and slathered it carefully over the bite marks. This action was rewarded with a hiss of pain from Soryn who was doing his best to remain still. Alixa grinned as she padded the wound carefully with clean rags, wrapping up Soryn’s shoulder with bandages. She turned away and wiped her hands.

“My thanks,” said Soryn as he carefully eased back into his leather jerkin and glanced over at his fellow Guardian. “Maybe you should have been a Peacekeeper instead,” he jested.

Alixa smiled as she started to put her things away. “My mother was one, and she taught me a few things. She said that sometimes where I would be sent there would be no healer to be found to tend to my wounds.” She looked over at Soryn as she finished putting the other bandages into her satchel.

“And she was correct. I sometimes think some of us should learn some healing techniques as well as how to wield a sword. For years the Guardians have focused on warring with the Warlords of Dryn. I am quite sure that we have forgotten the importance of having someone there to put us back together again when we get off the battlefield.” He lifted his arm, flexing his fingers into a fist before looking back over at her. “Perhaps you’ll start a new trend, eh?”

Alixa laughed as Boar handed her a bowl filled with some warm hearty broth. “Perhaps,” she agreed, before glancing at Boar. “Do your people have any healing techniques?” she asked curiously.

Boar smiled a little as he swirled his spoon around in his bowl before answering. “We have a few, though because we are who we are, they aren’t really things I can share with you.”

Alixa wrinkled her nose at him. “What, because of the whole Shadow Warrior thing?”

Boar smiled gently over at his companion and pointed a spoon at her. “Exactly.”

Soryn chuckled and waved a spoon at Boar. “There aren’t too many things you can keep as secrets from us, my fine friend.” Then he glanced over at Alixa. “Though I must say, he does a very good job at keeping quite a few things from me.”

Alixa grinned “Someday I shall learn at least one of these techniques from you, because someday you’ll need someone to help you when you’re in a tight spot and can’t heal yourself.”

Boar smiled a little, ducking his head slightly as he ate some of his broth then glanced up and over at her. “Well, Alixa, if you can remember; I did use one technique on you out at the Emerald Valley to keep you alive.” He winked as she gave a look of annoyance.

“I can’t remember what you did! I was unconscious, remember!” was her response.

“Yes, yes. Perhaps one day I’ll tell you just what I did to keep you alive.” He smirked at the Guardian before continuing his meal.

Alixa rolled her eyes and grumbled as she decided to give her full attention to her dinner. Once finished she rose to her feet, tipped her bowl and then used a cloth to quickly wipe it clean. She took up the bowls of her fellow Guardians as each of them finished, and then put everything away that had been brought out for eating. Then she settled down on her bedroll for the night.

Boar watched her for a moment from beneath hooded eyelids, a little smile playing over his lips. He didn’t mean to aggravate her, but he couldn’t simply reveal all of his secrets to everyone. He wanted to keep a few tricks up his sleeve for special occasions. He watched as Mycol and Sir Krammer settled themselves down in their bedrolls and lightly tossed a twig onto the fire. He had pulled the short straw for first watch this night. They had made a good deal of progress that day following a windy road that lead them down through the mountains. And currently from where he sat, he could see the mountains still looming high over him, with white caps from recent snowfall. Stretching arms over his head, he yawned than leaned his back up against a boulder, and crossed booted ankles, as his eyes drifted up over head. He Watched the twin moon’s as they rose higher in the sky, and graced the landscape with their soft gray light. He was no stranger to taking his part in watch at night over fellow companions while they slept. It was invigorating, and he knew he wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway as he still had a bit of adrenaline running through his form from the battle earlier in the day.

He turned his head to look of in the direction they were head, south down out of the Drakebare Mountains and then along the foothills west towards where the Drakebare and Thilbare mountains joined. That was where Ramoth was to be found. A grand Guardian Mountain Keep that was growing famous in its own way. Though he had yet to learn why, and his curiosity about the Golden Realms they would be entering was growing. He hoped the people of this new Realm were a good sight less hostile than the Hymbrolin back home. It would be nice to get to know these people.