Guardian of Elements

Chapter 50 - Into the demon's lair

"Oh, come on, Kate, get up!"

Morcion's voice forced Kate to open her eyes. It was very early in the morning, dim gray light was coming from the rupture. The others were already awake, Lerinth was drinking from the pond and Tawarthion and Eriana were coming up to them side by side, chatting.

"Morcion, I told you to let her sleep," Tawarthion lashed out at him.

"She's slept more than enough. We have to go," was his brief answer as he went to the entrance, not waiting for the others.

"Forgive him. And good morning, by the way," Tawarthion smiled at sleepy Kate, who was trying to brush her fur into a reasonable shape. When she was done, she followed him down to the pond to have a drink too.

"So, are you enjoying the company of your old friends?" she asked him to start a conversation.

"Old? They've always been my friends. I just couldn't talk with them for a long time. But yes, I'm happy to see them again. They've been through so much! Did you know that Eriana is being worshipped as a savior in one village in her lands?"

"Yes, I've been there."

She took a drink, letting Tawarthion realize how much he didn't know about her adventures.

"Wait, so she knew about it?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes, I guess so. Oh my, yes Morcion, we're coming!" he shouted at the Guardian, who was trying to stab them with his gaze.

They joined him and the other two, and they went into the dark tunnel together. Although Kate could see just fine in the dark and so could Eriana and Morcion, she created one of her orb torches to make it easier, mostly for Tawarthion. With the Guardian of Might in the lead however, it didn't take long to reach the outside.

Kate was expecting the light of day might blind her after coming out of the dark cave, but no. The Sun was still hidden, and sky was covered in a solid layer of gray clouds, giving everything dim, shady look. There was a scent of soil in the air and Kate immediately realized why.

There was no longer any snow covering the ground. The soil was dug up and thrown over like on a fresh field, because of how the Guardian of Nature used his tendrils to bury the corpses.

"Um, Tawarthion?" Morcion couldn't recognize his own land at first. He was staring at it as Kate was on the wonders of the forest of Nature.

Tawarthion came forth too.

"I must admit that it didn't look this bad in the night," he commented. Snow that mixed with the soil thanks to his work had created mud pools in many spots. The rest was soft but dry dirt. Only trees were standing tall as they remembered them, contrasting with their white snowy coats against the brown background. Kate came to them.

"Maybe I could fix it a little..."

"Don't you even think about it," Eriana interrupted her. "You need to conserve your strength. You can do so afterwards."

Morcion went down from the cave's entrance and Lerinth and Tawarthion joined him, followed by Eriana and Kate. Their feet were making squishy noises whenever they stepped into a mud pool, but they managed to deal with it. With Morcion in the lead again, the Guardians set off to the crossroads.

Although the ghosts were gone now, Kate was nervous. She knew that they were about to meet Raya, the fallen Guardian. But she had no idea what to expect. She was Raya's nemesis, even though she had never had a chance to get to know her. Just that she was born was enough of a crime for her.