Is a Gamble Worth a Gander?

Chapter 2: The Sword in the Box

Ch2

The Sword in the Box

β

Silence, pure and unbridled silence. This dark color of existence crept sleepily across the mountain range every morning, very nearly since the dawn of time. Blankets of lazy clouds drifting just over the tops of rocky peaks speckled with patches of snow here and there. Slivers of dawn's rays shone blazing trails across the very tips of the mountains, casting long-reaching shadows across the land as the sun slowly ascended to its daylight throne. Gradually came the waking sounds, stirs and echoes from the valleys below. Squeaks and squabbles, yawns and chirps as the world and all of nature slowly rose in time with the sun.

Silence had occupied this mountain range, silence as the grave. Eerily cold yet welcoming, replaced now by the dawn stirrings. One such stirring broke clearly above the rest, one particular sound that had fought the silence since before the first twilight rays of morning. The slow, rhythmic cackle of wooden wheels grinding along long-trodden stone paths through the mountain range. The melodic bobbing of passengers and belongings held in the back of a horse drawn cart carried along the dawn mountain, almost seeming as a wake-up call for the sleepy peaks. Clopping of freshly shoed horse hooves set a merry beat to the entire melody, framing the procession into something of a tiny orchestra.

Sleepy brown eyes the color of aged mahogany gazed across the serene beauty stretched out before them, drifting occasionally to the other passengers that sat alongside their owner. A lively young couple that was just a tad too forward giggled lightly at some shared inside joke. The man leaned in closer and hugged the clearly pregnant woman, a gentle sort of embrace, as an aura of joy beamed off the both of them. Opposite the young couple sat and oddly ragged man wrapped in a dingy grey robe, a hood obscuring the top of his face. Clearly asleep, a thin line of drool could be spotted precariously dangling from his slacked mouth.

The same sleepy brown eyes turned their gaze once again to the narrow pass of the mountain. Rock by boring rock they counted to tedious moments passing by, very nearing lulling themselves to sleep. One such rock found its way under one of the carriage's wheels, jostling the entire group and waking the owner of those sleepy brown eyes once more. An irritated look glazed across them as the journey pressed onward, winding slowly down the final mountain between them and home.

β

Lillian gazed longingly upon the cold, unmoving visage of the mountains stretched out before her. Patient, sleeping stone behemoths as they seemed to lie there, ever vigilant guardian of some long-gone world. Watching and waiting, sleeping but aware. Always guarding, those mountains. A vigil kept, surely since the beginning of time immemorial, with unwavering might imposed upon the scenery around them. Their shadows cast as long curling fingers that caressed the savannahs below with every dawn's rise and every dusk's descent. Their snowy caps akin to the wizened scalp of some great mage of stories and song. Yes, she gazed ever so intently upon these mountains, wishing to them, nay, praying to them that they would bring the last remaining Paragon home to her again. She prayed with all her might that these mountains, the very same that have separated them for these six years, would bring her brother home at last.

It had been two entire months now since the courier last came. Two entire months since that clockwork delivery had found her, assuring her that one Paragon remained in her life. Assuring her that she wasn't completely alone, torn entirely from the familiar faces of love and kindness she'd known through her formative years. Ah yes, two entire months since that clockwork delivery now weighed heavily upon her heart as she silently gazed upon the stony vigil, reciting her silent prayer.