Guardian 2, p.10
Guardian 2, page 10
“Where’s your wolf, Gage?” Devon asked as he looked around the area.
The gathered scanned around too. Seamus came padding out of the barn. I guessed he was lazing about.
I pointed over and said, “There he is.”
The ones not familiar with Seamus gasped and stepped away. That brought up a thought. Did they not see him in Nanrac? Nope, I recalled he was outside the city when they showed up and kept himself invisible during the girls’ fight.
Seamus moved over and I patted him on the head and rubbed behind his ears. He sat down beside me.
Devon smiled and shook his head. “It looks like he’s gotten bigger, Gage.”
Devon’s associates were wary now. I chuckled. “It’s okay, everyone. This is Seamus, he won’t kill you unless it’s warranted.”
That shocked them, but Devon cackled. “Seamus is Gage’s companion.”
His statement made them relax somewhat.
“Let’s go inside,” I suggested.
We made our way inside and Devon asked, “Have you any of that black liquid you’re always drinking?”
Seamus went over and lay down in his usual spot.
“Lexi, would you make some coffee?”
She nodded and began working as I looked over at the old man. “Are you guys hungry? Maybe some sweet bread or something with the coffee?”
The woman named Mellie smiled and said that would be nice, but Devon shook his head, as did the other man known as Paul. The underlings had stayed outside to tend to the horses.
“So, tell us what’s been going on,” Devon urged. “Any dramatic events since we last saw each other?”
I glared at him, but it was Ella who answered. “Yeah. Not too long ago, we took out some cave trolls and their mangy wolves.” Ella looked over at Seamus. “No offense.”
Seamus looked up and growled but closed his eyes and put his head back down. Ella snickered at his antics. I chuckled and shook my head.
“You had cave trolls out here, Gage?” Devon asked with concern.
I nodded. “Yeah, we were clearing out a kobold den when we saw a few panthers being chased by some cave trolls.”
Devon and his people glanced at each other.
“And you killed the trolls and wolves?” he asked.
I scoffed, “Yeah, like I was going to let those creatures roam our lands.”
The three were relieved to hear that.
“Well, that’s good,” Devon stated. “At least we don’t have to worry about them now.”
“You said that there were panthers around here?” Mellie asked, intrigued.
“Yeah,” Kat quickly replied. “They were badly injured too.”
“At least, until Gage helped them get their health back,” Callie blurted.
Paul glanced over at me. “You healed them?”
“I did. It took some time, but they are hopefully on their way back to their homes. They were in my lands as it was mating season.”
The others chuckled at my statement.
“He even spoke to them,” Kat stated with a smile.
I groaned at that.
“You spoke to them?” my mentor asked in surprise. “Decided to use your magic? Good for you, Gage.”
Mellie and Paul smiled.
“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start.”
“I’m proud of you, Gage,” Devon praised. “You have grown into a fine young man.”
I snorted. “What are you buttering me up for, Devon?”
The guy was up to something. Otherwise, why would he be here with the others? Clearly, he was going to send me out again.
Devon had a hurt look on his face now. “Why would you say that? I’m just giving you a compliment.”
“Uh-huh,” I scoffed. “Thanks for that then. Now, tell me why you’re really here. It’s not a friendly visit, Devon. If it were, then you wouldn’t have all these people with you.”
The girls looked concerned; they realized it was time for us to leave. Devon sighed and looked over at his colleagues. They nodded to him.
“We need you for another assignment,” he began. He paused for a few moments but carried on. “It’s a tough one, son.”
I nodded and said, “I knew you would ask eventually. What’s the assignment?”
I looked over at the girls, they just stared at my mentor.
“There is a major threat over in Fostrun. We have sent in the closest squad, but after a week, we have had no news from them. So, we sent in another, with the same outcome.”
Fostrun? “You want me to go to Fostrun? As in the Kanos Empire?”
What the hell is he thinking? The Kanos empire is dangerous.
I agree. Lots of races live there. Demons and their spawn, lamias, beastfolk, succubi, dragons, wyverns, and even gargoyles. Worst of all, liches and necromancers. I’ve even heard rumors that a demigod lives deep within.
Great, just fuckin’ great. Let’s hope we don’t meet them then.
I agree.
I was brought out of my brooding by Ella and Callie.
I saw that the girls were shocked, even Callie who asked, “You mean for Gage to travel to the daemon territory? That’s a dangerous journey for anyone.”
Ella scoffed, “Not to mention traveling through the Elven Kingdom. And that’s like a month’s travel, at least.”
Devon nodded. “Yes, it is. We believe that someone is slaughtering people from the nearby border towns of Windhollow and Tehula and taking their bodies inside the daemon territory.”
That sounds morbid. “Windhollow? Don’t the elves have garrisons at those locations? And why would they bring those bodies over there? It can’t be a ritual; they would need live sacrifices for that.”
“No, no ritual.” Devon shook his head. “We think the culprit is a necro, up to no good. But we don’t know that for sure because we lack the intel. Anyone we or the elves send in is taken out. We even tried to get the emperor from Kanos to investigate, but he has not responded to our requests.”
I groaned and closed my eyes to think. “Okay, and you want me to handle it.”
“I know you can,” he stated confidently.
I laughed. “What makes you think that? You sent other guardians there, and they perished, Devon. Yeah, I know that we go by peacekeepers, but guardian is our real name, isn’t it?”
He was surprised by my rant but sighed. “I know that I should have told you and was going to, but you’re hard to talk to.”
That confused me, and I was about to respond when my girls giggled and said that they agreed with him. I was appalled.
“What do you mean by that, ladies?”
They were still giggling for a few moments after my question. It was Ella who answered after she got herself back together. “You are hard to talk to, honey. Most of the time when we ask questions, you either grunt or nod, which is great sometimes, but other times, we would like more input. At first, it was hard, but we have gotten to know you now and it doesn’t bother us anymore.”
I shook my head at her, not knowing what was going on. We would need to have a discussion about this. I turned my attention back to my mentor.
“You still should have told me. I had to learn about it from Vlad. Thanks, by the way, for getting us out of that sticky situation.”
He grunted. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. …And since the ladies here already know about what’s going on, I’m sure they’re going with you to help. Yes?”
“Damn straight,” Ella hissed. “He isn’t going without us.”
Kat and Lexi agreed. Callie slowly nodded her agreement. I wondered if she would leave now. I noticed her reaction when I said guardian. We would see then.
“Okay, since that’s settled, I’m assuming that we leave tomorrow.”
“We would be grateful if you could,” Paul said in response.
I grunted and said, “We have to get ready. You will take care of my farm then?”
Devon nodded. “We will.”
I got up and began to get prepared for our journey.
Chapter 16
I went over everything in my mind again to check we had all our necessary gear and bags packed and loaded in the wagon. The two underlings that Devon was leaving here got the horses prepared for us. When ready, I had a discussion with Callie about everything to make sure that she knew what was going on, that is, my being a guardian and such, and what it meant. I told her about my last mission and how I met the girls, and then the issues we had when dealing with the slavers and nobility in Nanrac. She took it in stride, telling me that she had already made the decision to pursue a relationship with me and become part of the family. She had spoken to the girls’ numerous times about it. My brow rose at that. It seemed they were conspiring.
All four ladies would take a seat in the wagon while I was going to ride solo. Devon approached as I was finishing packing my saddlebags.
“Have you got everything ready?” he asked with a sigh.
I nodded and replied, “Yes, sir.”
He handed me a bag, and I heard the clinks of coins inside as I grabbed it.
“Take that and get situated somewhere on the border,” Devon suggested. “If you can find an abandoned place, all the better. I want you to investigate and get back to me when you find out what’s going on. Don’t take chances and get yourself killed, okay?”
Devon looked worried. I sighed. “I’ll do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
He groaned. “You are hardheaded, Gage. I didn’t want to send you on this mission. It’s very dangerous. The Kanos Empire isn’t some vacation spot to hang around. Get in and get out.”
I smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I will. What I want to know is, don’t they have patrols around the borders?”
Devon nodded. “Yes, they do. But this necro must be onto their schedules and such. Either that or he waits in the shadows for them to scurry off.”
“That sounds plausible. Okay, when we get there, I’ll send word.”
He hugged me and mentioned, “I sent word to the guild halls in those towns so that they know you’re coming. Show them this.” He handed me a gold star that said peacekeeper. “That will let them know that you are there to investigate the murders.”
I grunted and pocketed the star. “I’ll check in when able.”
Devon smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “Take care, kid, and make sure that you keep an eye on those ladies of yours.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure it will be the other way around. They will make sure that I’m always in their eyesight.”
He laughed and stepped back as his colleagues walked up. We said our goodbyes and left. Seamus followed along with me. I sighed as we turned and set out, knowing that my ass and back would be sore the whole trip. Again, I needed to find a healer to join our group.
The trip was uneventful for the most part. We skirted the towns and cities until we needed to resupply. The money that Devon gave us went toward the inns that we stayed at. The girls chatted about what needed to be done. They had heard what Devon said about us finding a place to get situated. That told me that this mission wasn’t going to be a quick one. Although, I didn’t think it would be. If what he said was true, then our job would be difficult. Dealing with a necro wouldn’t be easy. The bastard could revive the dead and use dark magic. Terrible magic.
During our downtime, I had Ella go over the basics of magic. I wanted to try and figure out what I could do besides illusion and mind magic. The other skills came from Seamus. She did bring up that I might have beast magic. I didn’t know what that meant and asked for an explanation.
Those with beast magic had different skills and abilities. Most could communicate with creatures, and others could bond with them. She then brought up the crystals that Devon had given me when I set out on my own. They were to help bond with a companion, though I didn’t use any. I told her that, and she responded that I could have a high enough affinity for beast magic that I didn’t need them.
I thought about it and shrugged after a bit, not really knowing what I could or couldn’t do. I would perhaps need to see a mage about that soon. They could tell me what my affinities were.
Ella then elaborated on the skills. Some were called summoners and had the ability to bring forth creatures from another plane of existence. Those who were evil could summon malignant creatures to do their bidding. Others would have their summons help them in battle or with their daily life and jobs. That was interesting, and I could see that such a skill would be good to have. I asked if she knew how to use that kind of magic, but she didn’t know.
I dropped the subject, and we got into a discussion about the elementals: Wind, fire, earth, and water. She went into detail about each one, though she could only use earth. I found it fascinating. My mind went back to the times when I was younger when I observed the magic users show off their powers. To be able to bring forth wind or shoot fire out of your hands would be awesome. I then thought about the ability to find water when needed or have shelter because if you were an earth mage, like Ella, then you could build something to protect yourself from the weather. I asked her how difficult it was to build a shelter for our group. She shrugged and told me that it wouldn’t be difficult, just that her mana pool would take a hit depending on the size of the building.
We also discussed battle spells. When Ella mentioned her mana pool, I got the impression that you had to have a lot of mana to perform large spells. She nodded and said grand-tier spells took a lot out of her. I pondered for a bit until she brought up mind magic and the different tiers: Illusion, telepathy, and even telekinesis. That would be cool to have that kind of magic. The ability to move an object with your mind. But Ella pointed out that I could use illusion and telepathy already; had I ever tried to move objects? I shook my head and told her that I didn’t even know that was an option until now.
The girls perked up when Ella wanted me to try it out. I sighed and thought about how she performed magic. I tried to duplicate her technique, but it didn’t work. No matter what I did and with her suggestions, I failed to move anything with my mind. I gave up after I began to get a headache.
I sighed and scanned the area we were in. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It had been a little over three weeks since we left the farm.
Are you okay?
Turning my attention to Seamus, I said, I’m fine. Head hurts, though.
Well, it would be great if you could use telekinesis. That would give you an advantage when facing those who have shields and where arrows fail to hit their mark.
That’s true. It could help in other ways as well.
He grunted and turned his attention to observing the area around us. I thought about what he said. Telekinesis could be used in a lot of different ways. Range attacks, close encounters, and even sneak attacks. It would have been great to have that ability.
We were getting close to the border and the elven guard squads made us identify ourselves at least a dozen times. They were on high alert now since all the incidents. I had asked numerous times what exactly happened, but none would answer. They just told me to head out when I advised why we were there. One of the leaders told me to see the commander at the garrison in Windhollow, an elf named Vulwin. He would be the one to speak to about the incidents.
I thanked them and we continued our journey.
“There it is.” Kat pointed in the distance. “Windhollow.”
I grunted as I observed the city. It looked like any other city that we traveled to. Well, at least from here, it appeared the same. But the elves liked the forests and since this was out in the open for the traders, merchants, and others to sell their wares and such, I doubted any trees were about. The elders and council would be hidden within the forests, so I wondered who oversaw the city.
“Thank the goddesses,” Callie moaned and rubbed her ass. “My ass is sore.”
Ella, Lexi, and Kat voiced their agreement and rubbed their tushes.
“Well, let’s hurry and see about sleeping in a bed since we haven’t even seen an inn in three days,” Ella suggested and flicked the reins to get the horses moving again.
I’ll stay outside the city to begin a search for any clues. I’ll let you know if I find anything.
All right, be careful. We’ll meet up by that grove of trees over by the west exit after we speak with the guild master.
He grunted and moved off. I followed the girls and soon we were at the gates. The guards were slowly letting people in. It took a bit but finally, we were allowed in after showing them our badges and letting them know that we were there for the Adventurer’s Guild.
When we were a bit away from the gates, Lexi asked, “Why did you tell them we were here to see the guild and not to investigate the murders?”
“Because we don’t know who is involved, so we’ll just use the guild as the pretext for us being here.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ella agreed. “The guards being less suspicious about us is a good thing.”
We moved our way to the livery and dropped off our horses and wagon to be taken care of for now.
“Where did the guard say the inn was?” Lexi asked as she looked around the city.
“He said it was a couple blocks north of the livery,” Kat reminded her. “And I would enjoy a night in and a hot meal before we begin looking for a spot for us to use as a safe house.”
I grunted and handed everyone their packs and bags before replying, “That will be fine. Let’s get a room and a bite to eat since it’s almost dusk.”
“And a bath,” Callie recommended, smelling herself. “No offense, but we all reek.”
The ladies giggled at that. I had to agree after taking a whiff of myself. “That we do. We will seek out the guild master tomorrow then.”
They nodded and we made the trip down the cobblestone road to our destination and went inside the inn. The common room was busy, but an elf came our way when she noticed us strolling in.
