The Guardians' Fate: Book One (On Hold)

The Human Among Earthborn

Ever since she arrived, general Falkur watched the human vermin and her guard dog, the half breed elf Alcarin defile his city as if it was her own backyard.

What aggravated him more was the fact that the citizens eventually cease to care that a human, their worst enemy, lived among them.

'Patience' he had reminded himself all this time, as he waited for the perfect moment. He will do what the council or the queen did not have the spine to do. To cure the city of the human plague, even if it means to lay himself in the path of a dragon's wrath. He knew he wasn't the only one that felt the same. But up till now Alcarin made sure that such a moment could not arise. His sharp eyes saw any danger from a mile away and his blade stopped any who got too close.

But today all that was about to change. Falkur got word that the human had taken a liking to the dwarf's skill of building and Alcarin had arranged a meeting between Thrum and the human in the stone hall, an abandoned workshop in the outer edge of the city. A more perfect opportunity could not arise.

Falkur, who had disguised himself as a goblin with an illusion spell, even wearing their clothes, a robe which wrapped around the body from head to waist exposing only the eyes and limbs, to completely blend in. He covered the rest with a plane cloak that matched the robes.

To make his disguise perfect he even went to the extent of casting a small but powerful concealment spell on himself to reduce his presence.

He recited his flawless plan once more as he spied patiently in front of the human's lodgings waiting for her to come out. One way or another at the end of the day, the cursed one will be removed today.

His patience paid off when the half breed elf came out of the house with the human, talking with each other as if they were closest of friends.

"Disgusting!" he muttered to himself.

Without warning they were on the move. Hidden in the ever busy streams of Earthborn in the roads of Elismaire, Falkur followed his targets making sure to keep his distance.

From the goblin market to the griffon tower, the half blood exposed the entire city to her on their way to meet the Thrum, who they finally met near one of the many fountains in the city. The dwarf took the lead from there onward.

The morning shadow had nearly disappeared as the sun rose above him when they finally arrived at the workshop, its ruins at least. Everything which had survived the test of time remained in a clearing of the forest. Falkur hid among the increasingly abundant foliage while tracking their every move.

The wind whistled as it passed through Crumbled structures that littered the ground. They were the only evidence of the great marble columns that once proudly stood in front of the workstation.

The dwarf who seems to be in a rush, wasted no time and went straight to the entrance of the workstation. At first glance it was just a solid wall made of stone but Thrum pulled out a hidden wheel, cranked it clockwise twice and pushed it back in.

The wall sprung to life. Several other wheels started to spin and triggered an internal mechanism. The wall clicked three times and slid upwards, revealing a hidden tunnel leading down.

Falkur waited for the three to go in but Alcarin suddenly paused and looked back. He scanned the forest suspiciously. Falkur stood motionless, putting his faith in the spells. Eventually Alcarin turned around and hurried after the others.

The general stayed a few more second before he too descended the stairs. The curling tunnel led him to the centre of the workstation, the only area that was not completely destroyed when it was abandoned. Just as he came to the last flight of stairs he heard their voices in a faded echo.

He paused with his back against the wall of the tunnel and slowly inched to the edge as much as he could and took a look around. The centre of the workstation hadn't change much except for a thick layer of dust which now coated every exposed surface.

It was a rectangular cavern carved out of the ground. Eight columns carved from the rock around the perimeter held the ceiling of the cavern twenty feet above them. Two rows of Stone work tables ran parallel along its length. Most of the tables were destroyed. Unfinished armour, weapons and tools littered the floor. The Two tunnels leading further into the workstation were closed off when the place was abandoned.

He saw the human handing Thrum a contraption that made the dwarf's eyes pop open in amazement. "If only I had your knowledge and skills when we made the cursed golems. Perhaps we could've avoided just a tragedy" Thrum said as he thoroughly analyzed the human's contraption.

Falkur recalled the failed experiment. A year ago the dwarfs were asked to build five stone golems imbued with human technology they had acquired and magic, Thrum was the architect of the project.

But the technology corrupted the magic and caused a golem to go berserk. It was an unstoppable force. By the time its energy had depleted, many had died trying to stop it and the workstation was destroyed beyond salvage. Since then the stone hall was abandoned. The incomplete shells of the other four golems were kept at the four corners of the centre of the workstation.

At the centre of the cavern the human was busy rummaging through the interior of the cursed golem which now sat lifeless on its knees with its hands splayed out on its sides. Thrum and Alcarin were busy talking with the human next to the giant statue and had not noticed him yet.

Now was the moment Falkur had long been waiting for. A malicious grin appeared on his face. First he placed a spell on the tiny fissures on the wall of the tunnels end. Then he began to gather dark mana to cast a forbidden spell, making sure the spell was concealed well.

Once the spell was complete he collapsed the end of the tunnel by expanding the fissures and sealing the only way out of the workstation.

Without a moment wasted he activated the dormant golems in the four corners of the workstation and seized control of them.

"Golems! Protectors of Earthborn fulfill your duty and kill the human!"