Ruins

Chapter II Kaido

The twins carried him from the cave, he was passing in and out of consciousness. He couldn't feel his own arm where the wolf chomped down, but he could still see the monsters pale blue eyes, glowing in the dim light if the grove. That was that last thing he saw before he blacked out.

The caravan moved for weeks, yet he did not wake up, they traveled from village to village searching for a shaman or doctor skilled enough to tend to their wounded. They lost most of the tribe, they once pushed 120 not the pushed a measly 15. The tribe knew not what to do, they thought of disbanding the tribe. Of the 15 people left, 6 were wounded, they were running out of time.

They had come to a decision, they decided to disband the tribe, they had no other choice. They left their wounded in the safest place they could think. The Capitol of the south Kaido. They all had a cup of tea at the herbal clinic and went their separate ways.

He woke up to the sound of a bustling city, more specifically the busy market place. As he opened his eyes he saw an unfamiliar room, his eyes darted to the bandage covering his arm and shoulder. He was terrified that when he lifted up his wrapping that he would see a gangerous infection or a wound so bad he would have to have his arm amputated.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he peeked under the bandage to see that his arm was unscathed and barren, there was no scar nor gash. He must have been making noise as an old gingerly lady walked in very curiously "you're awake? After the dire wolves? Bah, where are my manners. Stay still dear, I'll fetch you some tea." As the lady ran off to get some tea, he slowly crawled out the bed and to the window ledge. He looked out on a breathtaking view, from this low lying hostel on the hill he could see the whole city... from the marketplace to the fields of wheat in the distance.

The lady walked back in and set a tray down on a table. "What is this place?" he asked as he looked out onto the town. "This is Kaido, the Capital of the Southern Kingdom. I'm madam Mary, this is my herbal clinic, I operate as a place to stay for visitors or the wounded of wandering caravans. That's how you got here, your friends in the tribe left you and your brothers in arms... you were the only one that lived." He looked on the horizon, this was a lot to take in at once. He looked at the position of the sun in the sky, weeks had past since he was last awake. Madam Mary rooted through a drawer and pulled out a box connected to some twine, he opened it to find his compass. He hadn't seen it since the tribe had found him. He studied the gem in the center, the more he looked the more it seemed to glow.

He looked deeper into the gem to see stage symbols floating around, he was captivated, the longer he looked the more he saw. The symbols seemed to ergo together to create sentences, he couldn't make sense out of any of it. He blinked and looked around the room, they floated across the wall and on the floor. The gem itself was glowing like a fallen star, he was starting to panic. The lady snapped him out of by closing the compass "Anyways, you should get going, they'll be expecting you" She said as she scurried down the hall.

He didn't really know what to do or who was expecting him or why but it was quite the shock when he was pushed out the door and pointed in the direction of the palace. Apparently the holder of the south had called for him when he first arrived. This was going to be interesting.

The sound of the markets and bazaars mixed with the sound of galloping horses in the cobblestone streets made his worries disappear. He was content. He strolled down the roads, whistling a tune on the wind. As he approached the heavy wood doors of the Kaido palace, his knees started to wobble, at the sheer size of the palace. It looked impenetrable.

The guards of the palace looked shocked when he climbed up the steps, the stood tall as he passed through them into the throne room. The holder stood there with his back to him "You're lucky to be alive you know, not many people can say they've seen a dire wolf, let alone fight one and make it out alive. So tell me, what makes you so special?" He strung a harp as he spoke to him, his eyes never left his though. The holder was rather intimidating. He stood there staring blankly ahead, not knowing what to answer. "I don't know sir,I only just woke. To be honest my liege... I don't even know my own name, let alone what happened."

They stayed there, talking for hours on what to do next, debating on what was what. The holder spoke of a library, a tower shooting into the sky, filled with books and manuscripts. Perhaps he could find something of use there. He left in a hurry, he could feel the eyes of the court on him. They feared what was to come. No. They feared him.