The Shield Bearer

Chapter 13

Rene carefully opened the door and scanned the corridor that it revealed. The faint sound of voices were coming from the left and on the right, was a wall, with a window. She was at the end of a long hallway. She didn't really want to go toward the voices, but that might be her only option. But first, she wanted to get a glimpse out that window.

She quietly stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. The boots that she had found, had reinforced leather soles, meant to protect against rocks on the road. They were also wonderfully quiet as Rene stepped lightly over to the window.

It was night outside, but there must be a full moon, as the vista below her was lit with soft silver light. She was on the second floor, looking out. Below her, was a vaguely familiar looking town, silent and dark. Her stomach sank as she realized that she was looking at Karos, from one of the gatehouses. Each gatehouse, had a small barracks attached, making shift changes easier.

Her hometown looked so desolate and empty. The buildings that lined the street that led to the gates, were crumbling, many of their roofs caved in. And there was snow, everywhere. It was piled up in drifts against the remnants of the buildings. Her eyes travelled up the length of the street and reached the temple district, which would have always been lit, back then. But the buildings were dark and cold. Even the walls of the Temple of Astra showed gaps. The once beautiful stained glass windows, were creepily dark.

She was in Karos...And if her rescuers were her enemies...Then Karos wasn't a safe haven anymore. Again, she wondered just how long she had been in that icy void, on the brink of death. So many questions started to rush through her mind, but she pushed back that onslaught, remembering what Astra had told her. She was in hostile territory and she had to leave. No, she had to escape.

Now aware of where she was, she knew where the exits were. Unfortunately, the street level exit, opened into the city. The normal way out of the city, was through the gate. This she recalled, from her brief stint on guard duty, during her training. If she was on the second floor of the barracks, there would be a staircase at the other end of the hall. Those stairs would go up one more floor, gaining access to the top of the wall and down to the ground floor.

Going down, would get her nowhere, but right into the city. If she was going to head north, then her only option was to go to the top of the wall and figure out a way to get down the thirty foot drop, to the ground. Along the way, she may have to deal with enemies, that she wasn't familiar with. If it was the green ones, she could deal with them. But if it was the demons, that she had encountered in her last battle, then dealing with them, would be very hard to do, without drawing every enemy that may be around or in the city to her. She could defeat them, but it required a lot of flashy magic.

She decided that she would deal with it, as it came. She didn't have enough information to make a solid tactical decision. So, she would wing it.

With her new shield at the ready, she began down the corridor, stopping to listen at each of the three doors, that she passed. They were quiet, empty. That was a relief. The sound of voices grew louder as she approached the end of the corridor and the staircase.

There was light coming up, from below and the voices she had heard. Looking up, it was dark. The voices, were two women. One of those voices, sounded familiar to Rene. It sounded like the voice of the one that pulled her back from the brink.

"I know that it was risky, but imagine what we could do, with her as an ally." Her rescuer's voice was unmistakable to Rene now. "Clearly, something kept her alive, all of this time even if it was barely. There must be something to the old rumors."

The other woman, sounded older, her voice was gravelly. "And if she chooses not to take up our cause? She may be damn near impossible to kill, now. And if she reaches Them, it will be too late. All of our carefully laid plans will be in the same state they were in, when the star fell. It's taken us more than twenty years to recover from that event. The only reason we can hold this city, is because the people left over a decade ago."