Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Thirty Six ~ Discovery

November 20th, 1816.

Columbia River Bridge City of Hood River, Oregon and Washington Border.

The night grew long and cold as Garen and Diedrich finally made their way to Hood River, a spread-out city that bordered the Provinces of Oregon and Washington. Garen was just about ready to collapse after running for so long, and finally, Diedrich spoke.

"Oi Garen," he said quietly. "I don't think we'll make it to the Capitol today. Don't you think we should rest?" Garen shook his head, but he was breathless. Diedrich shook his head as well and sighed. "You can't keep pushing yourself like this, Garen. You won't return to Lenora alive if you keep doing this to yourself! Please... let's get some sleep."

"But Bartholomew's back," Garen finally said. "I-I can't just leave everyone alone at a time like this."

"Think about it, though. What good would y' be in a fight against Bartholomew if you arrived in this condition?" Garen's eyebrow raised as he thought about it, and Diedrich nodded. "Y'see? You wanna be able to protect them, don't you? Then let's stop at an inn for the night." Garen chuckled and he finally relaxed a bit.

"I guess you're right," he said.

The city of Hood River was quiet at night. Aside from the sound of the Columbia River, the ocean out in the far distance, and the sound of foghorns on ships sailing through the night, it was rather silent. Lamps lined the cobblestone streets, leading all the way to the incredibly long bridge that went across the river, the bridge that bordered the two neighboring Provinces. While the walk was long, it was nice after Garen decided not to rush into it. Garen and Diedrich finally approached a comfortable-looking inn near the river's shore just outside the Oregon end of the Columbia River Bridge. It wasn't a very big building, but it certainly looked accommodating.

"I suppose this'll be good for the night," said Garen. He approached the front door and went to open it, but he quickly noticed that the door was locked. He looked down at the knob and tilted his head. "Wait, what the hell?" He pulled at the knob again, but it was to no avail. "The freaking inn is locked. Now who would do that?"

"Beats me," Diedrich remarked with a shrug. Garen grabbed the knob and pulled at it frequently before a male voice shouted at him from behind the door.

"Get the hell outta here, beasts!" the voice exclaimed. "Or I'll pump you so fulla lead, you'll, uh... be like a chunka lead! ...Or somethin'."

"Hold on a second!" Garen replied. "I don't know what beasts you're talking about, but my name is Garen Leonhart! I-I'm from the Capitol City of Portland as a Knight-In-Training for the Royal Family!"

"The hell you are," the man in the inn scoffed.

"Sir, please!" Garen paused for a bit and leaned up against the door. "Sir, I've been gone for days now... all I want is a place to rest." There was a bit of silence after he spoke. Garen backed up a bit at the sound of a deadbolt being unlocked, followed by a latch in the knob unlocking. A middle-aged man with multiple scars on his face quickly opened the door and looked at Garen, gesturing for him to enter.

"Come in," he whispered. "And do it quickly. Those beasts will be out here before you know it." Garen entered the inn with Diedrich and the man looked around before he closed the door and locked it again. "Make yourself comfortable," he said in a regular tone, turning around once he assured that the front door was completely locked. Garen turned around and sat in a comfortable chair. The man walked toward a chair beside that one and looked at Diedrich. "So, you carry a squirrel on your shoulder?"

"I have a name, you know," Diedrich scoffed, much to the man's surprise. He pointed at Diedrich with his mouth agape, and Diedrich sighed, rolling his eyes. "And yes, I'm a talking squirrel."

"Can't say I've ever seen somethin' like that," the man laughed. "So, what is your name, weird, talking squirrel man?"

"The name's Diedrich, good sir. And might I ask for yours?"

"Not quite the name I expected for a squirrel, but okay," the man replied. "And my name's John Sleadd, longtime owner of this here inn, and most certainly proud of it."

A chill went down Garen's spine when he heard the man's name. "Wait a minute..." Garen replied, leaning forward as he looked at the man closely. "Did you just say your name was... John Sleadd?" The man, John, nodded. "And did you know a woman named Anita Leonhart?" John tilted his head with confusion and he broke his eye contact with Garen.

"Not anymore," he said quietly, his expression becoming a sorrowful one. "She passed away a long time ago, killed, by the beast I absolutely loathe the most." He looked at Garen with a confused expression. "Now, how did you know that?" A smile spread across Garen's face.

"My name's Garen Leonhart," he said. "Anita Leonhart was my mother." Now John wore an expression of absolute shock. "Hey, dad." John practically jumped out of his seat and wrapped his arms around Garen tightly, beginning to sob.

"Garen...!" he whispered, holding Garen tightly. "My son!" After a long embrace, they let go of each other. "My God, son... I thought I'd lost you back when Anita..."

"I thought I'd lost you," Garen replied. "I spent most of my years thinking my parents were completely gone. Bartholomew, curse his name, took your name, dad. He—"

"Let's not think about that now, okay?" John asked. Garen smiled and nodded, and they embraced each other again. After another time, John looked at him and laughed almost proudly. "You've grown so much! Garen, are you really a Knight-In-Training for the Royal Family!?"

"I sure am," Garen began. He told John all about how the first ten years of his life that he remembered were lived in the temple where Bartholomew disguised himself under the name of Bishop John Sleadd. He told him about how Princess Lenora appeared in the forest that surrounded their village, and all about the journey he took with Lucius, Peter, and The Bishop to return Lenora to the Capitol, and that it was just a plot of Bartholomew's to kill Lenora, and to promptly kill the rest of them. Garen told him about the time he got to meet Nohr, Maevis, and Xander, and about how he and Xander went from bitter rivals to the best of friends in just one mission. He was absolutely passionate while telling his story to his father, and he even shed a tear when he told John about what happened to Peter. John was in absolute awe by everything Garen was telling him, and he listened to every detail of the story earnestly.

"Well, no wonder they're considering you to become a Knight," John laughed. "My goodness, Garen! Look at who you've become! I couldn't be more proud of you! And with the help of the entire Royal Family, you took out Bartholomew?"

"Therein lies our problem," Diedrich said, finally chiming into the conversation. "Y'see, sir, Bartholomew's not actually dead." The cheerful expression on John's face faded away as soon as Diedrich said that.

"I never thought the words of a talking squirrel could bring me sorrow," he whispered. "Garen, is this true?" Garen nodded. John sighed with discontent and got up as he started to pace around. "Well, no wonder those damned demons have returned all of a sudden."

"Wait a minute." Garen tilted his head a bit and looked up at John. "Dad, what do you mean? Did you see them too?"

"Unfortunately so." John peeked out the closed blinds of a window in the inn's lobby. "Seven years ago, they reigned hell. But now they're back, taking on the forms of humans. I was hoping it was just coincidence..." John turned towards Garen. "So it's true, isn't it? Bartholomew is the cause for all these demons?" Once again, Garen nodded and stood, but as soon as he did, his legs went weak and he collapsed back down on the chair.

"The poor boy's in no condition to fight," Diedrich said, climbing onto John's shoulder. "That's why we came here.. We were hopin' to get some rest. You think you could allow us to?"

"Do you even have to ask?" John scoffed. "My long-lost son and his talking squirrel friend? You're both welcome here. I promise you'll both be safe here." John walked towards Garen and put a hand on his shoulder. "Free of charge, of course."