Chapter 4
“Should we go in?” Elliot asked Kiro.
“No, we should wait for the others.”
As if on cue, there was a sound of rocks tumbling to the ground behind them. Kiro turned around and waited a bit. Lo and behold, Nikki and Julian came stumbling into the cavern.
“Kiro!” Julian shouted and approached the two, “What happened? Why are you here?”
“That woman attacked me again. Elliot came to help, but he was wounded. We fell down this hole.” Kiro replied, “How did you two know we were here?”
“Well…” Juilan looked back at Nikki.
“Blood trail.” Nikki said.
“Yeah…anyway, Elliot, do you need me to look at your wound?” Julian asked the blonde boy.
“U-Um…Kiro already wrapped it…” he replied.
“Alright, but I’ll have to take a more serious look at it when we get home.”
“Nikki, this is the Earth Guardian’s shrine, right?” Kiro asked the tiger, who nodded, “Should we go in?”
“It’d be suicide to go in right now.” Nikki told him.
“But this is the only group we’ll get!”
“Elliot is injured.”
“I can help…I promise!” Elliot spoke up, not wanting to be the cause of their delay.
He got down off of Kiro’s back and forced himself to stand. He looked to be doing alright, but they knew he wouldn’t last long. Nikki shook his head.
“No.”
“Look, we’re standing right outside of the place, but no one is attacking us! It should be alright.” Kiro continued to protest.
Nikki paused to take that into consideration. He observed the tree, nothing seemed to be happening. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head.
“Elliot stays out here.” He said.
Kiro looked at Elliot, who nodded, “Alright…”
The group drew their weapons and slowly made their way to the door. No enemies made any move to try and shoot them down along the way. Once at the door, Nikki kicked it open while Julian entered inside. They kept Kiro at the back the entire time.
“It’s safe.” Julian said.
“That’s…odd.” Nikki commented on the lack of enemies.
“For now, it’s okay. Let’s move forward.” Kiro said and took the lead this time.
They advanced, but still no enemies came at them. They’d gotten so comfortable there that they put their weapons away and resigned themselves to just look around. Surprisingly, as soon as they had entered, they noticed the ground beneath them was stone rather than dirt and grass. The hallway that they had been cautiously walking down opened up into a large expanse with vines crawling up the walls. In the middle of the floor was a carving that looked like it was made to cast large spells. The Royal Crest was carved right in the center.
“Looks like it was made for you, Kiro…” Julian said.
“It is where the ceremony to appoint the guardian for the Earth Region takes place.” Nikki explained.
He then looked around to the doors leading to other rooms, “Fauna is in one of these rooms…”
He started for the room directly across from them, but suddenly, a large boulder dropped down from above, nearly crushing him! Luckily, Nikki jumped out of the way just in time. Kiro looked up and saw the blonde man Nikki had described earlier standing on a ledge that was normally used for holding a lamp. Was he waiting there just for them?
The man jumped down and tried to land a skull-crushing blow to Nikki. The tiger jumped out of the way again. The force of the punch had made large cracks form in the foundation below them. Drawing their weapons, the group surrounded him. It was three against one, so they felt they should win. However, the man didn’t seem worried at all. Instead, he got up and charged right at Julian. Julian raised his sword to deflect the blow, but the man grabbed it and snapped it in half without even cutting his hand!
“What is this guy!?” Julian exclaimed, using his wings to try and fly away.
The man reached up and grabbed one of the feathery appendages, twirling the griffin around and flinging him at the opposite wall. A loud crack was heard as Julian made contact with the wood.
“Julian!” Kiro ran to help his fallen brother, but the man stood right in his path.
With a sharp yank, the man lifted Kiro up by his shirt and pressed him against the wall with one hand. The other one gripped the prince’s throat, strangling him. Kiro grabbed the man’s wrist, trying to pry the man’s hand away from his throat with his own unusual strength. He looked around. Where was Nikki?
The tiger was busy checking all the rooms, hoping to find Fauna while the enemy was occupied. Kiro looked back at his foe. He was getting tunnel vision, and it wouldn’t be long until he blacked out. A sudden howl took them off guard, and suddenly, a white blur shot out and knocked the man away from Kiro.
Falling to the ground, Kiro coughed and tried to catch his breath. What was that just now!? He looked over to the white blur, which turned out to be Elliot in his wolf form. It and the man were wrestling, each trying to deliver the final blow to the other. Kiro grabbed his sword and stood on his feet as fast as he could. Quickly, he ran to the fight and readied the finish strike himself.
“WAIT!” someone screamed. It was a woman’s voice.
Nikki had found Fauna and let her out of the room. The elderly brunette ran up to the struggle and held on to the blonde man. Elliot turned back into his human form and backed off while Kiro sheathed his blade.
“Fauna, what are you doing?” Kiro asked her, “That man held you prisoner and threatened to execute you in front of all the citizens!”
“No, it’s different!” Fauna shook her head, “He may have threatened me at the beginning, but he changed! He even sent all the monsters away so they wouldn’t hurt anyone else!”
“Fauna…” the man looked at her and then sat up to look at the group, “I apologize…I thought you all were sent by Ravelien to check up on us. I didn’t want him to know I kept Fauna alive when she should have been dead by now.”
“Bear…” Fauna wrapped her arms around him and held him close, looking at Kiro and the others as well, “So you see, there is no reason to harm him any further.”
Kiro nodded and looked at Nikki. He didn’t seem to be happy to hear this, but he didn’t verbally object to it either. The tiger merely went to go tend to Julian.
“Excuse me…but…if you were supposed to be dead already, what does that mean for the other Guardians?” Elliot asked the two.
Bear frowned, “I suppose…they would have been executed already, unless something kept them from doing so.”
Elliot bit his lip and looked away, “Alright…thank you.”
The wolf skulked away, still limping from the wound in his leg. Kiro watched him go, feeling bad for him. He’d also lost a parental figure recently. That reminded Kiro of his original mission.
“Fauna, you may already know this, but my father was killed by Ravelien recently. I’m the only thing keeping him from gaining control, so I need to establish my own Guardians as quickly as I can. I already have the Calling Stone with me, right here.” Kiro pointed to the stone embedded in his crown and waited for her reply.
“So King Adrian has already fallen…” Fauna stood on her feet, “We must hurry then. Nikki, come here.”
Nikki looked over to them and left Julian, whom he had just resuscitated. Fauna asked Bear to please step out of the circle that was carved into the ground, and then gestured for Kiro to stand in the center while Nikki was to kneel in another circle about fourty-five degrees to his right.
“Now then, I want you to close your eyes and repeat after me.” Fauna said, “You’re going to say this every time you appoint a new guardian, understand?”
“I understand.” Kiro nodded and did as he was told. Closing his eyes, he listened to Fauna and then repeated what she told him.
“As thou hast wished, I grant unto thee, youthful knight, the gift of eternal life and magical power. In return, I entreat ye to stand, take up arms, and protect your king and your country with this life I entrust to thee. Thou shalt be unwavering in your ordeal. If thou shalt fall, I will raise thee from the grave. But, bear in mind that thou duties will never end ‘till I am dead. Only then, wilst thou contract be terminated. If thou wishest this duty thrust upon thee, stand now, and accept my blessings.”
Nikki stood. A white light shown and enveloped Kiro completely, seeping down into the carvings and tracing the pattern on the floor. Eventually, it found its way to where Nikki was standing and surrounded him as well. After a moment or two, the white light turned green and flowed completely into the tiger, disappearing and returning the room to the state it was before the spell was cast.
Kiro’s heart pounded and he lost all power in his legs, collapsing to his knees. The others quickly circled him to check and make sure he was okay. The prince laughed and assured everyone he was alright before forcing himself up to his feet again.
“You’re just a little green.” Fauna said, “You’ll get used to it eventually.”
“So, how do you feel, Nikki?” Julian asked. He was to undertake the same vows later, after all.
“The same.”
“Really? NOTHING feels different?”
“No.” Nikki frowned in annoyance.
“Huh…weird.” Julian shrugged.
“You all can rest here until you’re ready to leave again.” Fauna told them, “There are plenty of guest rooms.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone is leaving alive.”
A sudden voice cut in from the entryway. Everyone looked to its source and found Shadow standing there with a large mass of strange, imp-like creatures. She had a look of disappointment on her face.
“You have betrayed us, Bear.” Shadow said, “Ravelien has ordered me to carry out the punishment myself. You are aware that the usual punishment for traitorous acts is immediate execution, aren’t you?”
“I am aware of that fact, yes.” Bear nodded. He didn’t seem to be resisting at all.
Kiro frowned. They needed to find a way out of this, fast. Fauna needed to escape as well.
“Bear, don’t let them touch you!” Fauna said, clinging to him like a leech.
“There’s no way out of this Fauna. You’re intelligent; you know the odds of all of us getting out of here unscathed.” Bear smiled at her and slid his arm out of her grasp before looking to the group, “You all, take her and leave. I will hold them off.”
Nikki nodded grabbed his teacher’s wrist, pulling her towards the back exit. Fauna bawled and resisted, but it was no use. The others followed, Kiro stopping to bid
Bear a quick farewell before joining them. Bear nodded back to him, and then turned his gaze back to Shadow.
“I don’t know why you did this…it confuses me…” Shadow sighed, “Bear…if you come back with us…I will vouch for you. I will say that the woman had you under her spell.”
“That’s impossible.” Bear smiled, “Indeed it may have been a spell of sorts, but it wasn’t the usual kind. This one I allowed myself to fall under.”
Shadow observed him momentarily and shook her head, “Then so be it, but before you die, I’d like you to know that you were more of a father to me than Ravelien ever was.”
The woman ordered her pseudo-goblins to chase after Kiro and the others while she dealt with Bear. However, the man quickly changed into his animal form, undoubtedly a bear, and slammed into the ground. Gravel and leaves fell from above as the whole structure shook. Cracks appeared in the floor beneath them, and suddenly, it broke apart! Before Shadow could pull out her wings and fly away, Bear grabbed her and pulled her down with him as he fell.
Luckily, the group had entered a hidden tunnel Nikki and Fauna had showed them. It was created in case the Earth Guardian needed to make a hasty retreat. They ran up the stairs and emerged once again into the forest at ground level. Fauna slumped to the ground and continued to weep. Kiro and the others watched her until she was finished.
Kiro knelt down next to her and made a promise, “We will avenge him…you don’t even have to worry about that. I promise.”
Fauna looked at him and then removed her glasses to wipe them clean of fog before standing, “I certainly hope you will.”
“How are we going to finish this? There were four of us and we couldn’t even defeat Bear! What about the others?” Julian sighed, exasperated.
“We will need more people…and although I am reluctant to ask this person for help…I know of one person who may give us aid.” Kiro said.
“You don’t mean…?” Julian frowned, disgusted.
Kiro nodded, “I do…we’re going to have to see Rue.”
“Who’s Rue?” Elliot asked, Nikki looking curious as well.
“You’ll find out when we get there.” Kiro sighed.
“Well at least we’ll knock out another Guardian Position while we’re there.” Julian sighed.
“For now, we should go back to Nikki’s home and rest.” Kiro suggested.
Nikki nodded and lead them all away.
