The Guardian

Chapter 3: Going a little bit crazy

I woke up with a kick to my side. I must have slept longer than I expected because Mamble, Rosslyn, Amphia, and the king were all waiting for me. Rosslyn jumped onto my head and yelled in my ear to get me up more efficiently.
"Wake up, bozo!"

My ear was ringing now, but I was definitely awake now. Amphia pulled me up to my feet, and the king handed me my bag.
"I taught Mamble all I could with our short time, and I went to the courtesy of re-organizing your bag there."

The bag felt a little heavier than usual, so chances were, he gave me a little gift. With a smile, I thanked him and threw my backpack over my shoulders.

Mamble helped by rolling up my bedroll and putting it back on my bag, snug as it always was.
"Come on. Dodeca's waiting for us, and the fire's a lot closer than we thought."

I looked over at the swampy river where Lady Nature and the Dodecahydra waited. The smoke seemed much thicker, making it almost impossible to see. Clearly, we were more low on time than before, so we didn't waste any more time.

The two mythical beings seemed delighted to see us, so delighted in fact that Dodeca immediately grabbed Mamble and tossed him up onto Lady Nature's back before doing the same to me and Rosslyn.
"I'm sure you guys still wanna say your goodbyes, so how about we mix in some cardio and do it while running, yeah?"

He gave one of her massive legs a kiss and flew ahead. Before I could even question it, she started moving, prompting Amphia and the king to jog with us. Amphia was first to wish us well.
"Listen, guys. The desert is no joking matter. Ever since the war burnt away, half of the jungle, the dry, vast landscape it left behind, has become volatile and ruthless. It's covered in gaia, monsters, and sand pirates, and if the Old Testament already made it over here, you best believe they're over there, too."

Lady Nature started picking up speed like a train, leaving station. The king panted as he tried to wish us good luck.
"Remember all that's been taught... it'll be useful... one way or another... and by all means... keep clear of the Skull crabs... They're vicious!"

The king slowed down to catch his breath as Amphia kept running.
"Stay safe, you guys! The fate of the world rests in your hands! Well, be ok over here! And we'll try to rally as many people we save as possible!"

Lady Nature started running so fast that Amphia couldn't keep up. I had to sit down just to hang on without falling.
Right before we sped up the swampy river, we got one last group of visitors. Red, Yellow, and Blue, with what seemed to be a scroll in a tube clenched in each of their beaks.

They swooped in and landed near us, urgently dropping the scrolls in my lap.
Red was first to speak.
"Those bird brains! Look what they did! Look what they did to you guys!"

Blue was next.
"Those nutjobs! Don't they know? Don't they know what you're doing?!"

Finally, Yellow spoke.
"Open them! Open them! You need to see!"

With anticipation growing inside me, I grabbed one of the scrolls and opened it, fishing out a dusty paper. On the front was... my face?

"WANTED: PREFERABLY ALIVE. Reward: 300 blue lupas. Name: Harlen. Reason: Crimes against the Old Testament, Crimes against The Guardian, and Arson of the Artlandian Jungle. If found and captured, please return to Hawk Tree Village. Payment upfront."

Hawkmus. That stupid named little scab. Arson against Artlandia!? Crimes against the Guardian?! Hawk Tree Village!? I was gonna be pinned as enemy number one if people thought I was burning down the Artlandian jungle, and they'd hate me more if they thought I was going against Rosslyn. Villages were gonna be harder than ever to get on our side. But that wasn't the worst of it. The second scroll was worse.