King of Days: The Veiled Guardians

8. Home Again

Karíto could not believe how far his old house was from the castle, no wonder why it had taken his father so long to return in the past. He took the southern road through the Valley of Yore, after going through the Salvas Pass, he rode by Lake Town and the Sable Mountains. It was already around noon, the horse needed to be watered and he was tired from the journey. He stopped by a bazaar that was on a crossroads to get water and food. A lady who had two children looked at him funny, but then it dawned on them both, they knew one another. He couldn't remember for the life of him what the name of the lady was. He recalled that she and her husband were old friends of their family, for they had a nearby farm to the Vírlas farm. After a happy reunion Karíto was directed to the well, where he pulled enough water for himself and the horse. Some time later he got back on his horse and continued his journey.

Dusk was closing over the land when from over the hill Karíto saw the familiar chimney and wooden house. But instead of a welcoming sight, the house looked to be in tatters and in disrepair, the once proud house, home for many, was now disregarded. He looked around and saw that the barn had been leveled, it must have been the last season's winter. Karíto walked into the old beloved house, the door was lying flat on the ground, and some plants had started to grow inside. The glass windows were gone, and a type of ivy had grown over most of the house, however the shutters remained. He cleared the ground and prepared a fire in the chimney, he propped the door against the doorway, and closed the shutters. Karíto sat in front of the fire, reminiscing of all the time he had had in this quant house. In the morning he would search the Salvas Wood for that treasure trove. He was pretty sure, however, that he would not find it.

The night was uneventful, except for the occasional noise that awoke Karíto. He was not used to the country sounds, the city sounds had been all he was used to for so long. At one point Karíto started to dream, or was it a dream, he couldn't tell, but he felt as if he was obliged to watch. He saw before him his house, and his family was huddled in a corner, outside there were fierce noises, as if there were both man and beast. Next he saw the door fling open, as if paper had been torn from the binder. A man stood in the doorway. Hûstin stood up among the group of cowering figures, he grabbed the fireplace poker and rushed upon the iron clad man. Their mother cried out, and a great noise was made between the two metal pieces. Then with the swiftness of a storm the man spun around and knocked Hûstin over the head with the butt of his blade. Next what happened was truly strange, time moved as if it was sped up. The family was quickly escorted out of the house, he saw himself and his sisters move about, then with a sudden slowness a blacked robed man entered the house. He looked around, then proceeded outside of the house. With more perplexity the situation changed, he saw all the moments that had led him to the one he was now at, it was as if pictures were speedily looked at. Then he saw the tree he and his siblings had found, and as if the wind spoke he heard "Arise courage" With a startle Karíto awoke.

Looking around his heart was cheerless, the cottage looked worst in the morning light. It saddened him that all of this happened, but now he was determined to find the tree, and that old pit of treasure. Gathering his things, Karíto walked outside. The air was crisp and cool, it felt like winter had set in early, 'It's a tad bit early!' he thought. He then untied the horse and mounted it and found a game path through the Salvas Wood. Soon enough he came to a break in the woods, it all looked so familiar, but he was not quite sure. Getting off of the horse, he eyed a particular tree, fixing his gaze on a hole in the tree he got closer. He heard a faint rustling within the hollow of the tree. Drawing his sword he tapped on the bark. Holding his breath he looked into the hole. Not a sound was made. Laughing he thought to himself 'Stupid birds, trying to startle me!' From behind he heard a snap of a twig, reeling around toward the noise he looked, but nothing could be seen. Turning back around he looked at the tree, but staring into his face on a low branch was a great black raven. It looked at him, then immediately cawed and took off to flight. The surprise was too much and caused Karíto to stumble back and trip over a root.