by Damien Lake
Colbey had nothing to contribute yet so he listened to the twenty-two men and women capable of speech struggling to fit the puzzle together. The noncombatants among them each told the same story. They had been about their normal day’s routine when the sudden shouting, destruction and unearthly roars shattered the peace. Most were buried under collapsing buildings before they had a chance to fight or flee.
Thomas gave the account for the remaining Guardians, a dishearteningly small number. He sat in the head council chair, his wounds having been aggravated to the point where merely standing brought pain. Also, he was the senior village member at the moment with the exception of Orlan, who still lay unconscious on the room’s far side with the severely wounded.
“The others and myself were on patrol duty. A pall came over the forest and we knew trouble was happening. Most of the animals were fleeing from the direction of the village, so we turned and headed back. We met up along the paths and formed a group. Every scout and Guardian who was working the southern patrols has turned up dead, so I assume they fell to the invaders before they reached the village.
“When we arrived, most of the damage had already been done. A resistance had formed in the hanging gardens east of the Ivy Platform. Council Member Farr was leading and organizing them, and we joined his forces. Our foes were two. Men and women dressed in green robes with red trims, and others wearing white robes with hoods, but the hoods were unused and falling down their backs. Some in the green robes were chanting what had to be spells since the surrounding structures collapsed or exploded as they did so.”
This bad news elicited denials from most of the survivors. Nobody wanted to hear it. Invaders were bad enough but the presence of magic users here, so close to the pool they had protected for generations, was the worst news possible. It meant the Guardians had failed to fulfill their primary function; to protect that which they had been created to protect.
“I saw this with my own eyes!” Thomas shouted over the protests from those who had been knocked unconscious before they could witness the facts personally. The effort cost him. He dissolved into a heavy breathing interspersed with coughs. Finally he recovered enough to continue. “They were only a few and their power was greater than ours! But however few they were, they were able to control those demons they had before them. You all saw.”
As they all had, with the exception of Colbey. Each, to a man, had described the horrors which shredded the populace. At first he attributed it to shock, but the repeated stories and identical descriptions finally convinced him.
The magic users had not been half as destructive as the monsters they brought with them. Nearly twice the height of a man, they were covered with course brown or black hair that could have been mistaken for fur in any society other than this one, as familiar with the weirdling beasts of the deep forest as they were. They bore the heads of beasts with furious, predator’s eyes. Many had horns on their heads which curved like a pair of sickles. A few carried weapons large as a man, mostly oversized axes or clubs.
The raw strength possessed by these demon creatures reached beyond comprehension, Colbey had been told repeatedly. A single swing shattered walls or toppled walkways. He remembered the mangled bodies missing limbs and found he could imagine it all too clearly.
“They fought their way through us. All of us combined defeated only a handful of these creatures. Whatever they were, they bled and died. But most of us were struck down. I fell myself and was left for dead. From where I lay, I could see them continue to the heart of the village.”
He stopped then. The people listening murmured to each other. Colbey allowed them to for several moments, then he spoke out on the matters the others had avoided. “I came back in the same manner as the other Guardians, but through a forest devoid of animals. I have spent two days searching for survivors and have three questions. One, what happened to the enemy dead? You say you cut down a number of these monsters, yet I have found no traces of them.”
“I lost consciousness soon after I fell. I didn’t see what happened to them.” The others also professed a lack of knowledge. With everything else happening, no one had noticed what became of their fallen enemies.
“Very well. That brings up my second question. I arrived late in the afternoon. You say this began shortly before dusk the previous day. Where did they go? After conquering us, they turned and left?”
One of the young children Colbey had discovered suddenly started squirming. She reluctantly spoke when everyone’s attention turned on her. “We saw them. From our hiding hole. All the monsters left the south end with the white robes.”
“You didn’t see anything else?”
“I was too scared,” the child murmured. She shook slightly and looked near to tears.
“It’s all right,” comforted Ceryl. “When did you see them go?”
“Maybe after sunrise.” Her small voice hitched as she buried her face in Ceryl’s chest.
“So half a day before I arrived then,” Colbey said. “Whatever they were after, they either found it, couldn’t find it or couldn’t get it. If they couldn’t find it, they would have spent more time looking after the effort they had gone through. I’m inclined to believe they either got it or couldn’t get it. The presence of these mages only leaves me one conclusion. Thomas, is there anyone left who knows how to work with seals? We need to check the defenses on the pool.”
“I’m afraid that you’re right,” Thomas softly admitted, silencing the few moans from the others. “Unfortunately, the only one left is Orlan. If he ever wakes up, it will be a long time before he’s up to the job.”
Colbey agreed, looking at the comatose old man. “We’ll have to work on the assumption they didn’t break all the seals and will be back. Any other supposition could spell the end for everyone left.”
“Again, I’m afraid you’re probably be correct. You’re the only one hale and whole though, so you’re going to have to take the point in whatever physical preparations are involved.”
“I hadn’t expected anything else. After I rest tonight, we will return to work.”
* * * * *
Several days later, Colbey rested in the council hall. No other building was both intact and large enough to house the population’s remnants, so it continued to serve as their shelter. Most of the work thus far had involved recovering serviceable weapons and food stores, then retrieving the dead for funeral rites. As much as he would rather not, Colbey acknowledged that if the horde returned, no matter what they did to defend themselves they would all fall.
The others sifted the ruins for salvageable goods, which meant Colbey happened to be nearest at hand when Elder Orlan regained the world. Those villagers nursing the injured were busy when Colbey suddenly found the old man’s unfocused eyes staring at him.
“What’s happening?”
Orlan’s dream world slowly faded. Colbey decided against dragging him back into reality sooner than necessary. He allowed the elder’s memories to surface on their own.
The acting nurses found him. After several minutes of care, they left him to retrieve new bandages and fresh water. He lay on his pallet with his eyes closed, yet Colbey could see silent tears leaking from beneath his lids, leaving gleaming tracks down weathered cheeks.
“Elder, it is Colbey.”
Eyes resolutely shut, the old man responded hoarsely, “Yes. I remember you were the one who found me. Thank you for bringing me here.” He paused a moment. “I’m glad you were spared from this.”
Colbey had no desire to press the man. Except time was short these days. “Do you know who they were?”
“No, I haven’t a clue. What a thing to happen!”
“We’ve been trying to piece it together. Thomas is running things until you’re back on your feet.”
“Thomas is a good man. He’ll do well putting the village back together. The people will follow him.”
“As near as we can determine, they were after the seal beneath the pool. They left soo
n after they…they finished. We can’t tell if they got what they were after or not.”
“Are all of the seal masters gone then? Oh, this is our darkest time to be sure.”
“Elder—”
“They did not get it, young Colbey. I was down by the waters, remember? I was there when they attacked and I stayed there as they came. One of their sorcerers attacked me when he found me, but didn’t finish the job. I was there to see them try to steal our legacy, and I was there to see them defeated in their purpose.”
“The seals are intact?”
“They tore aside the first layers. They lacked the skills or strength to breach the final two. Those are the oldest, laid by the original founders of the village. Not even I could breach them if I desired, nor could I replicate them. That skill is lost to time’s erosion.”
“So it is safe.” Colbey sighed in relief before jerking upright. “But that means they will be back!”
From his pallet, the elder opened his eyes to take in Colbey’s visage. The young man was exhausted, near haggard. Unshaven and dirty, the smell of old sweat wafted strongly, yet his body’s set told Orlan the most. His clenched jaw and fists, tension in every muscle bespeaking the rage burning through him. In his eyes welled a deeper despair than the old man had ever seen.
“Colbey, if it comes to the choice, tell Thomas to abandon this place. They’re capable of killing us all to take what they want. If we can’t stand, we must run and survive.”
The younger man made no response for several long heartbeats. “Elder,” he choked, “all my life I’ve trained to act as Guardian to the village, the forest and our secrets. How can you tell me such a thing?” He refused to look at the old man.
“I tell you as a man who has served these people his whole life and come to understand what’s truly important! These people are sheltered, but they can bend and adapt. If need be, we can find other places to live, but I do not want to see them all dead!”
“You’d have us move out to the fringe towns? To live with those fools and barbarians?”
“We’d not be safe there either. Here in the depths of this isolated place, we were attacked because we are knowledgeable about ancient secrets that out assailants covet. Had we not been the protectors of such, we would have been left in peace, I believe. For a time. A short time.” Orlan started to say something else, then changed his mind, saying only, “Our people would be more at home in the sealed areas of the forest, with the twisted creations left by the ancient magical distortions. Those we can guard against…but not these others.”
The elder’s words sat ill at ease with Colbey. “You think not even our isolation would have protected us? That we would have been attacked eventually anyway even if we had possessed nothing of interest to these fiends? How could such be?”
“Colbey, do you believe this was an isolated incident? That a greedy mage from the outside learned of our legacy and tried to claim it for himself? When have you ever heard of multiple mages working together in a group when the goal is greater power? Never, unless they are attached to a ruler’s armed forces! This entire group reeked of cooperation and organization that is unheard of in the private affairs of those who use magic. They were part of a larger organization.”
“One of the outside lands is invading the forest? Or do you mean invading the kingdom? That makes no sense! I never caught wind of any such action during my exile there!”
“Nor did you hear of any armies employing those inhuman beasts, I’ll wager.” Colbey nodded. “We weren’t attacked so they could gain land, son. Nor to increase their position or better their army’s strategic placement. No, we were attacked so they could gain the power we hold in stasis. The first action any invading force undertakes once it begins moving is to gather all the might available to it so they can smash their enemy’s defenses. I believe we were attacked for no reason other than to give someone an advantage during a larger fight to come. A fight that has nothing to do with us. I am sure of it!”
Colbey thought fast. Could it be true? If an outlander army is already so formidable that they control demons to their whim, why would they need more power? Or can other armies use such beasts as well? “I see what you are saying, but I can’t see who it would be. No one in the entire kingdom could produce the forces that arrived here. Of that I am positive! None of my research in the outlands suggests the surrounding kingdoms could either! Adel didn’t recognize them, so who does that leave if no one in the lands around us could have done it?”
The answer came to him the same time the elder voiced it. “Someone outside the lands, of course. That those demon beasts match no description of anything known to us supports the theory as well. And remember Thomas’s saying, Colbey. Assume nothing. Did you closely study the bordering kingdoms during your journey, or any of the farther lands beyond them?”
“No. But how would an outlander outside our knowledge even know of the forest, let alone the seals it hides within?”
“Easily if they were magic users, as we know they are. Spells for seeing things which lie far away are common enough. Spells for locating power useful to a mage also exist. We’ve had to fend off magic users quite often who come investigating.”
Shocked anew and angry all over, Colbey demanded, “Why did I not know that?”
“Calm down, son. Your training is still incomplete, is it not?”
“By a few months! I should have been told!”
“Farr was in charge of the Guardians. I think he felt the harsher histories were best saved for last. The point is that we have been discovered in the past, so being discovered by a strong enemy seeking power to aid their plans is perfectly possible.”
“But to what end? To destroy the kingdom, or conquer it?”
“I do not know, and I grow weary. But Colbey, I see hard times ahead for all the kingdom, not just the Rovasii. The force that invaded us might be nothing compared to their true strength; an expendable exploratory force at best. Please tell Thomas not to cling to our roots if it means the extermination of the entire village.”
Unhappy, Colbey nodded and said, “I will. I think you need to rest now. The Healer has been waiting to tend to you.”
The old man closed his eyes. Colbey left to find Thomas while Ceryl, who had given Colbey the time he needed to speak with the elder, returned with fresh bandages and food. It turned out she had been perceptive. Elder Orlan soon fell into his coma again for the last time. Probably he went so quickly because deep down he wanted to. It was a refuge from reality.
By next morning, the survivors of the unspeakable tragedy numbered forty-six.
* * * * *
The men and women recovered slowly. They regained their strength a piece at a time, each working as best they could. This left Colbey to his thoughts longer than he would have liked. After interring the dead within the forest soil beyond the pool’s edge, Thomas called a meeting to discuss the future. With the elder’s words at the forefront of the discussions, they finally agreed to move into a different area.
A lesser sealed area existed close by the ruins. Thomas elected to use it. They would be able to maintain a watch of sorts for the horde’s return. After settling down they might be able to resume patrol duties against the outland trappers and hunters. Colbey wondered what the point of it was.
While the Guardians had been weaker in strength than usual, they had still been utterly defeated. What point now in keeping out the occasional wandering hunter searching for treasures, one who was too stupid to sense the seals around the forest, when at any time a larger force could come and brush them aside like ants?
Also, he refused to believe nothing could be done against these unknown foes. If Orlan had it right, then something evil brewed somewhere. Whether it simmered across the nearest border or in lands further away, it had clearly cast its eye on the Rovasii, if not all of Galemar. It would return, and Colbey meant to have his own back.
When Thomas ended the meeting with stated intent of rebuilding their lives a
s much as possible, Colbey made his decision. The next day while they collected material to build litters for transporting those still too wounded to move on their own, he approached Thomas.
“I must go.”
The older Guardian nodded. “You know, I had a feeling I might be hearing that from you. Let me say that we need all the hands we can muster.”
“I know and I am sorry, but the wounded are becoming stronger everyday and you can still scavenge most of the goods you need from the ruins.”
“Are you planning to come back? I can see your mind enough to understand what’s driving you, but the non-Guardians might hold it against you.”
“I don’t know yet. I still need to make several decisions. I know I’ll lose face in their eyes for leaving now.”
“I’ve thought about it myself. So have the other three. If the villagers weren’t depending on us to protect them from the creatures behind the seal, we’d head off looking for those bastards ourselves.”
Colbey nodded. “It is part of who we are as Guardians. I can’t sit still when I could be fighting back.”
“I’m sorry to see you go, Colbey. You were one of my best students, though your head’s always been a tad larger than is good for you. I hope you’ve learned not to let your emotions and your feelings rule your thinking.”
“I’ve thought it through.”
“Then I’ll try to keep the others from feeling you’ve abandoned them. Maybe I’ll tell them you’re scouting the horde’s location so we’ll have advance warning of their return.”
“Thank you, Thomas. If I do learn they are returning, I’ll come back as fast as I can.”
“Then I’m not even lying. I feel better already.” Extending their hands, they grasped each other’s wrists. “Strike a blow for all of us, my friend.”
“I will. No matter what else may come, I will do that much at the very least. Fare you all well.”