Chereads / The 12th Guardian / Chapter 5 - The Journey Begins

Chapter 5 - The Journey Begins

"Hello, young warriors."

[The Mayor says entering the room]

"Hello."

[Says both Twilight and Temti startled]

"My name is Anita, and first I want to thank you once again for helping save my people. They had already taken the lives of my parents and we had lost all hope. But thanks to you my people and I can rebuild."

[Anita]

"Don't mention it, just in case you forgot, my name is Twilight and this is Temti."

[Twilight]

"Hi."

[Temti]

"I saw you admiring that plant over there. Do you want to know what kind of plant it is? It's a Zithinion Mining Plant. Said to be the rarest of all the Mining Plants in existence."

[Anita, addressing Temti]

"Wow, where did you find it?"

[Temti]

"Oh, my parents got it as a gift from their friend, the Chief of Mine City."

[Anita]

"Mine City?"

[Temti]

"It's another kingdom on the other side of the island. They are known as the world's leading exporters of Mining Plants."

[Anita]

"What's a Mining Plant?"

[Twilight]

"They're creatures made of both ore and nature. They are said to be extracted for their essence and used in crafting."

[Anita]

"Well they sure are beautiful."

[Twilight]

"Yeah, but I fear Mine City will soon, if it hasn't already, end up just like my village almost did."

[Anita, disappointed]

"Wait, why would that happen?"

[Twilight, confused]

"Well, you see my parents received this letter from the Chief of Mine City. Inside was a grave warning of what was to come."

[Anita handing over the letter to Twilight]

[A letter from the Chief of Mine City]

S.Y. 640 Dara 2 

To My Dear Friends,

I am writing to you with an urgent warning, the Cult has begun to make their move. If you remember just about 7 years ago the Twilight temple finally shunned its light for the first time since King Shiro passed. Since then the Cult has been taking power wherever it can, and it looks like they've finally reached us. Please send a few of your able body soldiers to assist us. I'm unsure of the state we might be in so I do hope this letter reaches you both in time. 

 - Chief of Mine City

"So we are probably too late as you just read."

[Anita]

"What is this Cult?"

[Twilight]

"The Zenshu Cult, they came to rise 11 years ago when King Shiro died. They were a small magic group back then, but after the King's death that all changed."

[Anita]

"What happened?"

[Twilight]

"We aren't sure one day it was this small group and a few years later they were like an army. They gained power in almost all forms of government as well. We are the last to be invaded."

[Anita]

"Are you sending people to the City?"

[Twilight]

"Well, I was thinking of asking for your help, Twilight."

[Anita]

"My help?"

[Twilight, confused]

"Yes, you see we only have old men, women of all ages and young children left. None of which are prepared to make a journey or survive a battle if needed."

[Anita]

"So why are you sending me?"

[Twilight]

"Because I saw your skills on the battlefield and you may look young but I can tell you can fight."

[Anita]

"Will it be just us?"

[Twilight]

"No, my parents sent a few men there before this all happened. You'll be looking for a man named Adum"

[Anita]

"I hate to be rude but why should we risk our lives."

[Temti]

"Not rude at all, you're right, name anything you want I'm sure we'll have no problem meeting it."

[Anita]

[Quest Rewards]

Zithinion Mining Plant

5,000 Gemstones

500 Experience

"Oh, we can honor that. We will need your help with a few things before you leave. As well as the child you saved, he would like to thank you properly. They don't live too far away."

[Anita]

[New Side Quest: 3]

I wasn't sure how I was going to get to Mine City, I'd never left my cave area. Luckily for me Anita was already prepared, she offered Horse Riding Lessons. One of the villagers is a teacher, so I couldn't say no. Plus I don't plan on walking over there. The first thing on the list was to go to that child's house. Since Anita said he didn't live far I thought I might as well stop by. 

It seems the mother was a merchant. She runs the potions shop in the town, which I was not expecting. When I arrived we greeted each other and she thanked me again. I found out her son, the one I saved, his name is Jekab, and she also had a young daughter Arie. The mother lives alone and it was already hard enough without her husband but she was still gracious to me. She gave me a small meal and I helped her with some repairs. It also seemed Jekab wanted to join Temti and I on our journey. I told him we would love to have him join but when he's older and if his mother allows it.

After that Temti and I headed around town to see if anyone else needed our help. Turns out there were quite a few of them. We helped as many as we could and I think we were able to restore the village to its former glory. After that, we headed to Anita's Horse Trainer. It was already late so we didn't learn much but we went again for a few days after and continued helping everyone. We even helped Jekab and his mother a bit more. Eventually, we were fully trained and ready to go on our journey. I said bye to Jekab and he swore to be ready the next time I visited. The villagers sent me away with a warm goodbye and Anita had a lot of hope and faith for our journey.

[New Side Quests: 5]

S.Y. 641, Inu 3 2:21 S.Q. - Somewhere Outside Areon Village

The way there wasn't an easy route to travel. It was full of so many things. Before we could completely leave Areon Village we had to go through the Crescent mountains, and we found this perfect spot in the peaks. It was a perfect view of both the Tree of Understanding and Lake Adion. We eventually passed the ruins of Dagrion. The place felt familiar to me too, so I explored it a bit. Then past the remains of a Siaberion, all of that took us a few days, maybe even a week. The only reason I know all this is because we ran into Adum on the way. They taught us a lot about the island. Though the journey was long it was worth it and both Temti and I gained a lot of experience from it. As we entered the outskirts of Mine City, we could already tell something was off. Entering the city limits, it became even more apparent how the Cult had changed Mine City, at least compared to what Anita said. The village seemed empty and there was this gloom in the air. Adum stayed outside with the other village warriors, to inspect the City Outskirts. Before we entered I asked him what he thought it would look like and even his description wasn't even half as bad.