Guardian of Elements

Chapter 32 - Ancient mystery

"Kate! Wake up Kate!"

Kate slowly opened her eyes. Lately, she had heard that sentence a bit too often for her taste. Tawarthion was standing in front of her, and he seemed excited.

"What's going on?" she asked. It was late morning already and the Sun was heating the meadow.

"We have some work to do. A lot, actually," he replied.

"Huh? Why, what happened?" She stood up, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Come with me, I'll explain it during our new quest." He went towards the forest, waiting for her to follow. She just went on with it and they entered the woods.

Kate found several berry bushes, some of them tasted great. Tawarthion showed her which were edible, but he was taking his time with the explanation.

"So, will you finally tell me what's going on or where we're going?" She was getting impatient.

"Well, earlier this morning, Verilion came here."

"What? What was he doing here?" She was really surprised to hear that another Guardian left his domain for some reason.

"He came to me to tell me about something. He was brief and secretive, but from what I got out of it, I think he and Eriana have found a cure to Raya's madness plague."

"They have? Really? How? Start from the beginning."

Tawarthion took a deep breath.

"Verilion told me that when you left his domain, he renewed his search for some knowledge that would help us push humans from our domains. You see, their homeland is Raya's domain, that's where they are spreading from. He said that after trying many times, he had two tangible visions that might've meant something. One was about a village in Eriana's lands and the other was about some cave, deep within my domain. Then, he left for the Guardian of Minds' forest to consult with her and I think that they have found a way to shield a clear mind from Raya's sickness. I couldn't really understand him, but he said that then he immediately came to me, to tell me about the cave. I think I know which one he meant, so now it's our job to find out what's there. He's no longer here however, he said that we won't need him, but I think that he was afraid of having to be in a tight cave. He's a sky-dweller after all, having his freedom taken away must be scary for him. Ironic, isn't it? That he has an underground maze I mean. You know about it, right?"

"Yeah, I sort of do..."

They were in the northern region of the forest, where Kate hadn't had a chance to go yet. With almost no animals to graze or birds to sing, it was calm and peaceful, but also a bit unnerving.

"So, the Guardian of Minds was able to protect humans from the plague?" Kate asked, hoping.

"I think so, but only those still not affected. Verilion's speech was... confusing. He left in a hurry somewhere to the west, probably to Lerinth's woods."

"But Eriana has power over minds and Raya has taken their hearts, how could she stop her from reaching them?"

"I have just as many questions as you. But for now, we'll just have to trust Verilion."

"And now we are supposed to find something in that cave to cure the infected humans?"

"I guess. We're here, by the way."

Kate found herself standing on top of a rock formation. Grass was partially covered by gravel and magical glowing plants were illuminating a darker place under the rock, the entrance. They both jumped down.