The Last Guardian

Chapter 2 The Shape of Destruction

     Drokindar opened the doors and stepped aside. The villagers entered led by a man and a woman wearing the crisp uniforms of law enforcement officers. The crowd behind them appeared to be nothing but civilians, which was not surprising. The town was little more than a fishing port.

     "Good day, friends! Due to some anger management issues the lot of you have been displaying, I shall not be serving alcohol for the day. However, Winika has her fabulous cooking ready for those of you who would like a snack. Officers, could you explain to us what the problem is? We thought we were rescuing an injured man, but it seems he may have done something wrong?" Infali said.

     "Yes, please explain," said Ofilo.

     There were some angry mutters at this, and no one moved to sit down.

     "Well, I can't confirm anything one hundred percent what with the power being off, but it seems that the man that stumbled in here was partly responsible for the destruction of Taisii," the male officer said.

     The female officer pulled a wad of paper from her chest pocket as dark muttering broke out among the crowd. The smoothed out the first piece and handed it over to Ofilo. He took it, and his eyes skimmed the paper. Infali leaned in to read it too.

     Taisii is a dangerous town, the paper read. There is a portal there that opens and spews negative energy into the area disrupting the electricity, causing hallucinations and excitability in living beings in the area and even harming the plant life by causing cancerous growths.  As such, we must send forth the best exterminators and curse breakers to the town. Most likely the portal has been opened due to demonic activity or some similar activity and the town will be collateral damage. Due to the island's location, it may be that the entirety of Kolisin-Geme is a dangerous existence that must be purged. The mission leader will report her opinion to the heads of the executive and judicial departments for further consideration. All personnel must carry their dragon statuettes with them at all times as they have been enchanted by powerful mages to ensure that the destruction magic needed to purge the portal will be successful. Details included within. Destroy this missive after reading to ensure that no civilians learn of it.

     "Where did this come from?" Infali demanded.

     "Someone accidentally intercepted the radio message long enough to write this down. Taisii was destroyed not long afterward," the female officer replied.

     "Did either of you hear of this?" Drokindar asked of Kamisto and Alilipto.

     They both exchanged fearful glanced and shook their heads.

     "You two are from Taisii?" the male officer asked.

     "Yes. We lived in the suburbs," Alilipto replied.

     There was a buzz of curious muttering at this. Several people stood on tip toe or peered around to get a better look at Alilipto and Kamisto. Kamisto blushed and lowered his head so that his hair slid down and obscured his features. With the doors open, his hair looked almost golden. Alilipto did not share her companion's shyness. Her eyes were on the papers int eh female officer's hands.

     "Is there any truth to that portal that spews negative energy?" a middle-aged woman in the crowd asked.

     "Yes, tell us!" several people chorused.

     Alilipto frowned, and Kamisto glance at her from under his hair.

     "Well, I'm not sure. There are a lot of haunted places in that area, but I'm not sure if that is a coincidence or not," she replied.