The Last Lands

CHAPTER 3-WHAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

They had been gone for almost half an hour, but Sir Douglas and Khol returned to where the trio had sat and quietly made camp amongst the tall trees. The cicadas and distant birds had made more conversation than Busco, Sareta and Master Gybalt, and what had been there had been awkward. All three of them were relieved when the two returned.

“We're on the right track.” Sir Douglas said, plainly trying to hide his relief from the others. On the horizon, flew a flock of pink and white birds, barely larger than bright spots in the charcoal sky. The rain had been light, but constant, and all of them save Sareta had pulled their hoods over their heads. Thin droplets coursed the rim of her hat, and fell sporadically.

“Alright, then let's get a move on.” Master Gybalt said, standing up, and the others followed suite.

Sir Douglas led the path through the jungle, as the rain began to intensify slightly. There was still a clammy warmth to the air, thick and stagnant in their lungs. As they reached the clearing that Sir Douglas and Khol had found, Busco's forehead was a cocktail of rain and sweat. The trees and foliage thinned out vastly, and they soon found themselves walking on dark grey rocks, as they reached the slopes of the great isolated mountain nestled in between the jungle. The peak rose high above them, with Busco pushing his tall head to its highest point just to see the very, and to his surprise, saw that even amidst the humidity of the jungles, it was topped with snow.

Their boots crunched on the hard rocks below, and Busco's breath began to heave as they breached the incline. The thin rain began to thicken, and the grey clouds had stolen the sky. A deep flush had taken over the entirety of his head and chest, and looking to his side, Khol and Master Gybalt had begun to feel the same too. Sir Douglas was ahead of them, and although his age had helped to slow him, he ascended the rocky slope far easier than them. Behind them, Sareta followed them as if on a relaxing stroll, watching the clouds roll forwards.

“Master...” Khol wheezed, pausing his great strides, and bowing in exhaustion.

Without asking for any confirmation, Master Gybalt also stopped, wiping the mix of sweat and precipitation off of his face. Sir Douglas paused also, studying the party behind him. Busco felt the weight of his muscles as he paused, but stood tall, trying to hide the ragged breath hissing out of his nose. Sareta was humming as she caught up to them, and stretched her arms out above her head, smiling contentedly.

“You guys okay?” She asked sweetly. The three men and a minotaur nodded and grunted.

“We can't be too far now.” Master Gybalt said.

“I think it's just over this ridge.” Sir Douglas said, pointing with his head towards the rocky outcrop ahead of them.

“Let's hope so. It's gonna get dark in a bit.” Busco said, spinning his satchel over, and taking out his water-skin.

Khol stood up straight, slowly, and nervously began to rub the back of his neck.

“Master? I just wanted to say-I am so, so sorry-” He began, full of guilt.

“I know Khol, you don't have to keep apologising.” Master Gyablt said, irritated.

“Oh okay, sorry. I just wanted to help.”

“We know, Khol.” Sir Douglas said, turning towards them.

“Yeah it's nothing to worry about, Khol.” Busco chimed in, with a cruel smile. “It's just you smashed an Astral Academy Master's incredibly rare crystal we needed to finish our mission, and there aren't anymore in the world like it.”

“Busco, that's enough.” Gybalt said sternly, ignoring Busco's dark chuckle.

Khol sat on a set of rocks and dipped his horned head in between his crossed arms, so his face wasn't visible. Sareta laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

Gybalt sighed and walked towards the minotaur. Busco felt a pang of guilt for his friend.

“Come on Khol, we've still got to find the castle.” Master Gybalt said, placing his hand on Khol's arm, and gently urging him to stand up.

Khol looked up at him with sad eyes, before standing up clumsily, his hooves struggling to find a footing on the slopes.

“We're in the wilderness now. You're not just students of magic out here.” He turned a grim look between Khol and Busco. “Here, you're going to learn a lot more than just about the tenets of magic. Anything can happen.”

Khol nodded, his large black eyes welling up slowly.

“Master Gyablt's right.” Sir Douglas added, descending slightly to meet them. “We're standing on ground that hasn't been stood on for thousands of years. This is uncharted territory, we need all of you to focus, and no liabilities.”

Sir Douglas gave a quick and angry look towards Sareta, who was mostly oblivious.

“Remember, so long as we're out here,” He added, turning to once more take the lead in their party. “Any one decision and wrong move can have consequences for others, so make sure you think through things carefully.”

Khol looked at him solemnly as he walked the slopes, and Gyablt and Busco exchanged looks before setting up to follow Sir Douglas. Behind them, Sareta's long Evean ears began to twitch.

“Wait, what's that sound?” She asked.

The others turned to look at her, focusing on the surrounding area. As far as the humans could tell, there was only the light brush of wind, the drops of rain landing on the rough rocks below, and the distant call of birds within the jungle beyond. Khol, However, also flicked his ears.

“Yeah, I think I can hear something too.” He said quietly,

“What is it?” Sir Douglas asked, firmly clasping his sword hilt.

“I'm not sure.” Sareta said. “It sounds like something moving.”

“It sounds like rain.” Khol added.

“Where's it coming from?” Master Gybalt asked.

“Over there, I think.” Sareta said, pointing towards the direction they were heading.

Sir Douglas gave Gybalt a concerned look, but the master did not mirror this, instead, Busco thought he seemed to be acting on a theory again.

“Alright, let's go see.”

By the time they had reached the rocky ridge, the rain had increased to a much more steady rate. They all stood along it and stared at the slopes along the horizon. The clouds to the east were much lighter, silver amongst iron, and below them, were the yellow towers of the castle they sought.

“Looks like we're nearly there.” Sir Douglas said, and Busco felt a deep sense of relief, but the sight of the towers themselves stirred a primordial dread at what they might find within its crumbling walls.

They began to descend the stony slopes, as the mighty mountainous sentinel watched them from above. Amongst the crunching of rolling rocks, Busco began to hear something too.

“Hey, I think I can hear it.” He said, listening to something that sounded like a continuous crash of water.

“Me too.” Master Gybalt said. “Sounds like it's close.”

“Really close.” Sareta said, louder than the others, wincing slightly with her sensitive hearing.

At the bottom of the ridge they descended, was a shallow gorge, and on the straight outcrop of rock to their left came a steady stream of white water, pouring from several orifices in the mountain. The gorge had been turned into a large stream, with the water running furiously past large rocks, and down towards other ridges, before finally plummeting to somewhere unseen in the jungle below.

Busco, Sareta and Khol laughed happily at the sight of it, it being their first sight of fresh-water since they had entered the jungle that day. Even Sir Douglas and Master Gybalt looked relieved, each smiling as they descended to get closer to the stream. The rain pin-pricked the surface of the flowing water before being swept away, and the group crouched down to wash their faces and refill their water-skins.

Busco splashed the freezing water to his face, revelling in the refreshing shock of it hitting his face and dripping down its neck. He filled up the palm of his grey hand and drank gratefully, feeling the cold, soothing taste, and thinking that he had never tasted water so sweet. Down the stream, Khol and Sareta were crouching next to one another, talking and occasionally giggling when Sareta playfully splashed water onto him, and he responded with a much larger wave with his large hands. Busco smiled, and Master Gybalt crouched down next to him, refilling his water-skin too and drinking deeply, sighing with satisfaction. Sir Douglas stood closer to the cracks that ushered out the water studying it carefully, before gingerly reaching out a hand and testing the water.

“Don't mind him.” Master Gybalt said with a wry smirk. “He's just being cautious.”

“About water?” Busco asked with a grin.

“Knights in the Old Order are taught to be survivors, and to carefully analyse each situation for threats. He's probably weighing up whether the water is safe to drink, in his mind.”

“It doesn't taste like there's anything wrong with it.” Busco said, watching Sir Douglas carefully taste the water in his hand, and then draw his own water-skin.

“A good rule of thumb, apparently, is to only drink water from where you can see a source. Saves drinking anything that's contaminated it further downstream.” Gyablt said as he pawed his hand into the refreshing water, clenching his fist, then releasing it, feeling it course past his fingers.

Busco thought upon what he said, making a confirmation noise from his throat. Gybalt looked up at him.

“What?” He asked plainly.

“Nothing.” Busco said, hesitating before deciding to commit. “It just seems odd to me that the order would teach such things when before now, when there was nowhere to go except the city.”

Gyablt thought about this for a moment.

“They say the Old Order pre-dates the city by some centuries. Back when these lands were probably settled. They are a rigid group of paladins, designed to serve the people. They are chaste, loyal, and honourable to a fault, but more than anything, they are taught to be prepared for any such situation. It's possible that the knights who first came to New Peridios thought that one day they might return to these lands, and that the Old Order would be there to protect those who returned to these lands.”

Busco followed his master's gaze as he turned it back towards Sir Douglas, who was now putting his water-skin back into his satchel, and descending the stones slowly.

“Protect them from what?” Busco asked, expecting the answer to be obviously about animals or monsters.

“From what was left behind.” He said quietly.

Sir Douglas stepped towards the East and watched the horizon, where the yellowed castle stood silently.

“But no-one has left the city in thousands of years master.” Busco said quietly. “Even with his training, he can't be all that much more prepared than any of us. It's not like he's seen any action himself.”

Gybalt turned to him, a look of curious irritation in his eyes, which seemed to soften when he remembered that Busco was still a student. No longer a beginner in the eyes of the Astral Academy, but still with a whole world to learn.

“I think you'd be surprised.” Master Gybalt said gravely.

Busco chewed on this, with only the sounds of running water and the giggling talks of the two down the stream. Master Gyablt had begun to rise, and Busco went to follow, when they heard a scream of fear and a sudden splash of water.

The three turned their heads quickly, and without a word, descended the stony slop to where Khol and Sareta now stood, on either side of the stream, watching the water intently. Sareta held her hands to her chest, and Khol watched the water intently.

“What is it?” Sir Douglas called down, coming down the slope quicker than the other two.

“What happened?” Master Gybalt called out pulling up the sleeve on his right arm, revealing a series of bronze bands on his wrist and a metal plate the back of his hand, in which an azure crystal was nestled.

“Th-There's some-something in the water.” Khol said pointing towards the stream.

Sareta took a step forwards, but her eyes were still locked to whatever was inhabiting it. Busco and Master Gybalt reached the other two, and Sir Douglas was shortly behind them, his longsword already drawn. The trio scanned their eyes for a few seconds, struggling to see what Khol was pointing out, when what appeared to be one of the larger rocks in the wide stream appeared to move.

“There.” Busco said, pointing at it, and Sir Douglas and Master Gybalt followed the path his finger pointed to.

What was once a large, slippery rock, proved to be a thick, snake-like body, with a large, black round head, with a small, finned tail, and four stubby legs sticking out of its middle. The group watched as it moved slowly in the streaming water, raising its head up to lavish in the rain.

“What is that?” Khol asked quietly. “Master?”

The creature was about five foot long, and as they cast their eyes downstream, there were several more, all moving slowly or not at all. They were all close to the stream, either submerged by it or basking by its side.

“Hmm, I'm not sure.” Master Gybalt said with an air of curiosity. “Some sort of reptile, it seems.”

Busco watched with astonishment, crouching down to examine his first glimpse of life in these newly uncharted lands.

“Are-are they dangerous?” Sareta asked, clutching her hands close to her chest.

“Doesn't look like it, or that big one would have had your foot off by now.” Busco said with a wicked smile.

“He's right.” Sir Douglas said, stepping closer as he sheathed his sword, ignoring the scorns from Khol and Sareta aimed at Busco.

“I've never seen anything like it, in any of the menageries I've been to.” Sareta said quietly.

“You wouldn't have. These creatures were thought to have disappeared into legend.” “Sir Douglas said, examining them thoughtfully.

“You know what they are?” Master Gybalt asked, impressed.

“They're salamanders.”

“Sala-salem-sal-aman-ders?” Khol said, frightfully confused.

“It was the emblem of Helder Schwarz- The Black Salamander.” Sir Douglas said darkly, and Busco turned to look at him. Master Gybalt gave him a look that was absolute in understanding.

“Who was he, Sir Douglas?” Busco asked him quietly.

Sir Douglas replied with a look that appeared to be a wince, and turned away, meaning to continue the way to the castle.

“A paladin who turned from his oath.” He said sadly.

A restless quiet fell on the travellers, and only the eternal flush of water continued. Busco dropped his eyes to the water, watching the debris wander down. Small bits of green and brown vegetation from deep in the mountains stomach, shards of stone, and occasionally a small black fish.

“Huh!” He said remarkably. “Look, there's fish in the water!”

They watched as the miniscule creature surrendered itself to the current, and travelled into the open world.

“Aw! It's so tiny! I wonder wha-” Sareta said, until she was interrupted by a splash as the salamander near them thrashed its head, evidentially consuming the fish.

“Well, there we go.” Master Gybalt said, as more fish flowed down the stream, and more salamanders splashed in their efforts to catch them. “A world forgotten for thousands of years has developed its own ecosystem. Remarkable, truly.”

Sareta's face was of quiet horror, as she watched nature in its true course.

“Come on then. Day light's burning.” Master Gybalt said, standing. The others followed suite, with Sareta lagging behind, apparently still coming to terms with the way this ancient world works.

The group continued their march over the rocky slope, no longer needing to ascend, but the journey was no less arduous. Although Busco felt most at home on solid ground, the sounds of rocks like cries from old friends, they were still treacherous, attempting to betray his every footfall. Still, no-one struggled like Khol, who fell behind but did not complain. The nimble Sareta dancing in between the large rock and stone, but when she saw Khol lagging behind them, she slowed her pace and walked with quiet grace besides him. Sir Douglas and Master Gybalt continued their trek, allowing them to follow in their own time, occasionally throwing a quick glance behind themselves to make sure no harm had fallen them.

Busco took a brief pause, resting his palms on his thighs. The yellow turrets of the castle had grown exponentially, like dim fires resting on a stony sky, and he guessed they were perhaps only a mile away now. He rested until Khol had caught up to him and turned to see the tired looking minotaur struggle to balance his hooves on the uneven surface.

“You okay?” Busco said, trying not to sound exhausted himself.

Khol only nodded, taking a brief pause for himself too, wiping away the sweat that had mingled with his matted fur.

“We're not far away now, at least.” Sareta said, stretching lavishly.

“Yeah.” Khol said, in between pants.

“Who knows, there might even be beds inside and we can nap in something that isn't a hammock.” Busco said with dreamy optimism.

“Well, isn't that what you're doing? Settling in there?” Sareta asked, innocently.

The trio begun to move again, as their master and protector begun to turn into smudged dots.

“What do you mean?” Busco asked.

“Well, you're settlers, right? I just assumed we would be sleeping in there tonight.”

Busco and Khol scoffed.

“What?”

“You think we're settlers?” Busco asked, smiling incredulously.

Sareta paused, letting the boys take the lead from her.

“You're not? Then what are you?”

“We're students.” Khol said breathlessly. “Well, Master Gybalt and Sir Douglas aren't, but we are.”

“From the Astral Academy. Don't you recognise the robes?” Busco asked.

“Well I, I just thought they were shabby, settler clothes, you know? Rough but durable, that kind of thing.”

The boys laughed, and Sareta smiled comfortably.

“No, we're students.” Busco said cheerfully. “Master Gybalt chose us to go on a mission.”

“Right.” Sareta said, understanding.

“You came along with us without knowing what we were doing? That's bold.” Khol said.

Sareta shrugged, a little embarrassed.

“I thought I'd be able to sleep under a roof tonight, that's all. That and, I was really hoping there would be showers where we were going.”

“Showers?” Busco said, laughing again.

“Well, I don't know! I was just hoping, is all.” She said, blushing.

The boys chuckled again, and they continued their march towards the faded gold ahead of them.

“So what are you guys doing here?” She asked after a few minutes.

She looked at the struggling Khol, who just shrugged. Busco continued his walk, concentrating on not letting his feet slip.

“What? Is it a secret mission?” She teased.

Busco smiled and turned his head slightly to her.

“You'll see when we get there.” He said plainly.

The slope descended, and the three moved quickly and carefully down it without incident, but even Sareta struggled. At the bottom, Master Gybalt and Sir Douglas patiently waited. The ground here began to even out, they saw with relief, and beyond was the castle, two towers of mustard-yellow brick with a long wall around it, and the tempered jutting walls of a hall within.

“Take a break, then we'll go see.” Sir Douglas said, and the students reached for their water-skins.

The damp humidity had eased itself slightly here, and the air was a refreshing coolness on their brows. Busco swallowed his water and studied the castle. Something about it was off, and not least the unusual colour. It was small, but the walls and towers were also short, standing at just over ten foot, at a guess. The left-hand tower had a tree growing besides it, at least, that's what he thought at first. The tree was next to it, but its long, thick branches also bore through it, and the top part of the trunk twisted and melded with the towers, but the bricks had no signs of breaks or cracks. The walls themselves, appeared to have shrunk into the ground, the rocks were sticking up around the walls. The front gates were open, the doors too sunk into the barren earth.

“Alright.” Master Gybalt said. “Time to do some investigating.”