The Exiled King | ✔

Chapter 5 - The Guardians Return

One by one, the guardians dropped out of thin air—much to the astonishment of the wide-eyed residents of the room they appeared in.

Adrian was first to come to his senses, and he quickly stood up at his desk and strode over to a shell-shocked Leus Ravenstorm sprawled in a disoriented heap on the floor wedged between two chairs. His fine white-blonde hair that was normally tied up neatly was loose and dishevelled and his fine clothes had clearly seen better days. And more than anything, his eyes looked like he'd seen things beyond his lifetime.

Adrian helped him to his feet, and not a moment too soon, for as soon as he'd moved away, an unconscious Jason appeared in the same place, dropping lightly to the floor. Adrian cursed under his breath and rushed to drag Jason's limp body away, kicking the chairs roughly out of the way in the meantime.

"A little help here?" He groaned, casting an exasperated glance at the other occupants of the room who stood idly watching the spectacle. He looked pointed at his brother, as he was unsure if the fat ministers would be of any help.

Leyon jumped to his feet and hurried over to help Adrian lift the prone body of Jason away from the table. They gently laid him down on the floor not far away and Adrian quickly knelt down, inspecting the copious wounds all across his body.

"Call a medic! Now!" He ordered, and watched as the fat ministers scrambled out of the room.

Adrian looked over at Leus, intending to ask what had happened, but the words never left his mouth as a breathtakingly beautiful creature, unlike any he'd ever seen before, fell out of thin air and landed gracefully on her feet. She bore the emerald circlet and wore a tattered green robe. Her ears were long and slender and droopy in a unique way that had Adrian convinced she wasn't an elf. She had long and sleek black hair and faded scars across her face and Adrian was momentarily stunned into silence, before he realized that she must be one of the famed and faceless druids. He now knew why they hid their faces from existence.

Her eyes flickered over him with disinterest before she strode away and stood near Leus.

Adrian noticed his brother similarly starstruck and he cleared his throat pointedly. Leyon jolted and stared determinedly at the stone brick wall.

A dull thud alerted Adrian that the next guardian had appeared, and sure enough, a limp figure dropped down at the same place. She bore an obsidian circlet, so Adrian presumed that she was the lost keyguard.

They're all appearing there, He noticed, How many more? Five guardians and... one keyguard... six. We've had four, so two more should appear.

He and Leyon carried the keyguard and laid her next to Jason. She didn't have any visible wounds, but Adrian checked that she was breathing regardless.

The dwarven guardian of Westik was also conscious and well enough to walk away on his own two feet, but his eyes also reflected an expression that mirrored Leus'. Something had clearly happened there, and Adrian planned to ask when the opportunity presented itself.

As the medic arrived, winded and gasping for breath, and dropped to his knees to treat the gold guardian's wounds, the sixth figure appeared.

Adrian frowned. He'd been certain that the last returnee would be the elven silver guardian. Perhaps they'd picked up an extra on their journey and it would actually be seven people appearing?

The sixth returnee was not a guardian, but a boy with curly dark brown hair and red rimmed eyes, whose face looked strangely familiar. When he looked over at the keyguard, he felt there was a slight resemblance, but Lirya Throeyns was an only child—or so he'd heard. Perhaps a cousin of hers?

A long silence passed as Adrian waited and waited, but eventually came to the conclusion that there would be no one else.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized what the most likely answer to why the silver guardian was absent was, but Adrian forced himself to think of something else.

A million thoughts whirled around in his head, but foremost were the questions he wanted to ask.

Did you win?

Did you kill the perpetrator who unleashed the demons upon Dargon?

Are we safe now?

Feeling a headache building, he glanced around the room and sighed. The guardians were clearly in no state to converse.

"I'll call some servants to take you to your rooms. They might be a little dusty as we weren't expecting visitors today," He said, running his hand across his face as he thought of the fit the head housekeeper was going to throw when he told her about the six new arrivals that would need rooms and food and clothing.

Adrian walked to the window and reached behind the thick curtains to pull a cord that was hidden from view. A few moments later a couple of servants appeared and Adrian instructed them to take the conscious guardians to their rooms.

As the guardians headed out, Adrian hesitated, unsure of how to broach the questions he desperately wanted answers to.

"Wait," He called out, stepping forward.

Are the demons dead?

Is Dargon safe?

Is Garyth Herus dead?

He had so many questions, but all he could muster was a quiet inquiry.

"The silver guardian?"

Leus turned to Adrian and said hollowly, "He's gone."

A glimmer of emotion in his voice, Leus continued, his voice breaking on the last word, "He was... killed."

"I-I'm so sorry for your loss," Adrian stammered awkwardly and let them leave in silence.

He strode back to his chair and slumped in his seat, massaging his forehead.

What a day, He thought.

He'd scarcely gotten a break when Leyon tapped his shoulder urgently and said, "Adrian! We've got news from Jaromaen. It's bad!"

Adrian frowned, but let his brother continue.

In a jumble of words, Leyon said, "We got a messenger just now—from Jaromaen. He rode all night to get here... brother, Silvardor's frozen solid!"

"What in the Abyss? This is no time to joke, Leyon!" Adrian cried.

Leyon simply shook his head.

"I don't think he's lying. I felt the mana displacement. The messenger says the Eruen ocean is frozen all the way to our shores!"

"Marai vrae!" Adrian cursed, using an Ovaal curse he didn't quite know the meaning of, though he'd sometimes heard his father utter the phrase.

"Gods above and below! This will be the death of me!" He groaned.