It wasn't just the castle now; even the outlying ruin of a village had become littered with temporary shelters for both those alive and dead. And no longer were there any blockades or towering walls of corpses; the main street was once again a beehive of activity. 'It's good to see, isn't it. Violet?' She'd wandered off.
'What's going on over there?' Someone asked.
'Keep back!' Another threatened.
'Help me, they're-'
'Violet?' She was already pushing her way through the gathering crowd when she looked back over her shoulder. 'We need to hurry.'
I followed in her wake, apologising to the poor folk she'd shouldered aside. 'Wait up.' I'd had to stop to help an elderly goblin to its feet.
'Get off.' It screamed before biting my leg.
'Damn Goblins.' After kicking the monster away myself, I turned to chase after Violet, but she was long gone.
I knew calling after her would be useless; if she were saying something, I'd have no chance of hearing her over the sound of this lot.
Eventually, I made it to the front and noticed straight away that the wide-eyed villagers were clamping around an entrenched circle, where inside lay a man pinned underneath a split wooden cart, and beside him sat a little girl. She was weeping and vainly pushing up against it in a futile attempt to free him.
'Stay back.' The man repeated as he shoved his little girl out of the way.
'Daddy!' She screeched while leaping back over to help him.
'It's okay; they're here to help.' I was hoping that I wouldn't come to regret my questionable faith in the strange creatures.
Then they began to lift the broken cart with ease before dragging the man out gracefully. And I could tell by the shocked expression on his face that he wasn't expecting the help; I knew how he felt.
The villagers quickly whisked the father and child away, gawking at the Protectors as though they might change their minds about helping them at any moment. I was surprised at how quickly the street was clearing, and after a few minutes, we found ourselves standing toe to toe with the robed figures.
'How are you still here?'
Instead of replying to me, they began twirling and rolling in mid-air. And through the Protectors' dance, I found myself staring through a fuzzy grey lens, much like it'd been decades ago back in the old world when watching black and white television was the norm. There were blurs of images detailing just how far they had travelled; they'd crossed vast oceans and climbed giant mountains in search of something, and whatever it was, they had not yet found it. It seemed that they were lost without guidance from their master, whether Jasper or the thief Professor, Magnus Melia.
I had to look closely as the still images started to change, and then, I bore witness to a place that I'd never seen before.
Violet grabbed my arm. 'That's Jasper!'
I could barely remember his face, but clearly, Violet did. Suddenly, I knew what they wanted; they were desperately trying to find their way home, back to Jasper Farhorne's world.
Even from so far away, it seemed as though they could sense great danger. Jasper, their true master, was in trouble, and they sought to tell us in the only way they knew how. The image froze, and in it, we could see our fellow student sat alongside his entire family, staring fixedly at the ground.
In trying to identify what they were each looking at, I noticed skin-piercing shackles being held in place by bulky chains of white light. Behind them lay a cliff-edge, and beyond that, a scorched grassy plane seemed to go on for miles. They were being held prisoner, and they had nowhere left to run.
Following every twirl, the Protectors' would show us something new. Dark rolling clouds began to gather above the Farhorne family, with the only light source coming from the surrounding drab grey sky. Then it started to rain, and as Jasper squinted, a colossal black shadow appeared above him, growing in size until it seemed to blot out the rays of the faint sun.
Soon after that, the image fizzled out, and we were left staring into their empty faces. I could feel the urgency of their plight, pulling me closer to them as though I were a planet being sucked into a black hole. Protectors they may be; something told me that if we were ever to cross them, they'd reduce us to nothingness within the blink of an eye.
'We need to go there.' Violet said.
'Once my Dad gets back.'
Violet glared back at me. 'It's been three months already, Jake; maybe he's not coming back?'
I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but deep down, I knew she was right. All I had was a promise from my father that he'd be back soon, and I couldn't sit moping around the castle halls like a zombie for much longer. The wait was becoming more unbearable with each passing day, although my mother hid her sorrow remarkably well. Perhaps it was time to move on.
'Where to then, smart ass? Which one of these bridges takes us to Jasper's world?'
She pointed at the Protectors. 'I don't know, but I bet they do.'
I should have thought of that; presumably, these beings had already traversed most of Brockwing Vale, so wherever else they hadn't yet searched would be our next destination. Still, something didn't feel right about the whole thing.
'Wait a minute, Violet, If they knew where they were going, then why would they need us to get there?'
Her smile vanished, and she turned to face the Protectors. 'Well, why do you need us?'
There wasn't so much as a whisper of a reply, and the beings were standing completely still, staring at nothing, with only their ghostly robes wavering under a strong breeze. We had no clue what they wanted from us, only the knowledge that Jasper was in desperate need of our help, and despite not knowing him all that well, I couldn't help but feel like it was my duty to rescue him.
I started walking back to the castle to collect supplies, and Violet had to run to catch up. She'd left the Protectors in her wake, and I could only assume they'd decided to wait for us back there. 'Another adventure then?' She laughed, punching my arm. 'You just can't help yourself, can you?'
I didn't reply. We'd barely made it through our last adventure in one piece, and here I was, throwing us into another one. Perhaps if lady luck were on our side, this time could be different.