Hardcore: Qi Worlds Chapter 32: Vanguard

 Benzhi, Gisael and Reyas left the Seer's cave while the morning was still fresh. They had a long way to travel to the Glade and Reyas could not tree-run. The direct route was out; they sought to take mainly passes. The delay in speed was compounded by the fact the terrain was unfamiliar to all, except Benzhi. And his knowledge was spotty due to the small amount of time he studied the terraformed region. There was a major compensation in travel speed, not only for Reyas but all the Gaels. There were large swaths of terrain they could use their qi body techniques to run faster than the Fae. Although the ravines, covered in trees, were steep, Reyas could keep her on her feet for most of the journey. Rarely did they climb and only did so when it saved time compared to veering through a pass.

  The region now contained an overabundance of wildlife. From rodents, martens, foxes and all types of tiny to small mammals. Cats were in plentiful supply, it seemed to Benzhi that Mother had a thing for cats. Lynxes, pumas, caracals, bobcats and finally the mystical Snow Leopards. Benzhi warned the party about the wolf packs, he had witnessed tundra wolves and the mystical Ezo wolves. The physical terrain of the region may not be as foreboding, for non-talented men, such as those from Vaugend, to traverse. However, the wildlife would be extremely dangerous for small groups and probably fatal for solo travellers. The icy on the wildlife cake was the bears, including the Spirit Bear and the Ancient Kodiak, which, like the Snow Leopards were mystical animals. Benzhi was looking forward to studying the qi patterns from the mystical animals, he had a well-founded hunch there was something special about them.

 The three rested atop the tallest peak of their journey surveying the area. Through their bond, the intake of beauty was a euphoric experience.  Before the Mountains were a sight to behold and the Forest warmed the heart and calmed the soul with its elegant beauty. Neither held a candle to the Alpine Forest in its sheer magnificence. 

 Words between the three were superfluous and after an indeterminate time gazing upon their old home made new Benzhi just nodded and they moved on towards the Glade.

  Late that afternoon they arrived at the Glade to a warm welcome from all the Fae. Reyas was specially made welcome, the Fae had already heard stories from the Guardians about the Daughter of the Mountains and she was surely featured prominently. The only Fae, who was not present, was Ailen who would have been still tracking the slow moving men.

 The Glade was even more beautiful than Benzhi's vision, when he, Mother and the Seer formed it. Mother was the designer and she was a master, that was certain. The Lake would be freezing, but it still looked enticing with its clear blue waters. The entire valley was full of Giant Redwoods and Mountain Ash trees with a grassy field, in the centre, north of the lake where the loan Willow stood. Mother's Willow.

 Inchel and Radelia were both angry and delighted at the changes. Angry that they virtually had to start building again from scratch, however, delighted that this forest now had the potential to rival any Fae forest in terms of grandeur and elegance. Radelia was already planning a platform from the understory of the giant redwoods to connect to a mountainside ledge and building an entrance to their home. This would allow Fae returning from over the peak to walk down into the village in the sky without having to travel all the way to the ground. Benzhi wasn't concerned it would be a detriment to their security, as the peak was massive and one would have to find this valley in the first place. It had no passes to the outside world. It was the veritable secret valley.

 Before the Fae rested for the night Benzhi thanked them all for their help, everyone had played their part to remove the threat from the men of Vaugend. The Fae could now return to building their village, crafting, gathering and living as they pleased.

 Benzhi approached Paphyra and knelt down on one knee, "My thanks, lady Paphyra," he intoned with a great display of theatrics holding his shield aloft.

 Paphyra giggled like a small girl, 'she was probably two hundred years old,' Benzhi thought.

 "You are welcome Protector," Paphyra replied. "This world is wondrous and thanks to you it is now our home," she said more formally.

 "Protector," Mother called. "Do you like your new title?"

 "Protector, not Guardian?" Benzhi asked. 'Aren't they the same thing' he thought.

 "Yes, Protector of the Alpine Forest is now you. I shall call you Protector," Mother explained.

 Reyas nodded. "This be good. You are Protector of the Mountains and the Forest," she smiled sweetly. Before Benzhi had just been Guardian of the Forest, now he was the Protector of both.

'What happened to the short tempered tyrant,' Benzhi thought looking at Reyas. When he first met her, she was all bluster and bravado. But after he merged the Core she had changed her attitude dramatically to sweet girl and determined follower.

 Reyas sensed his encompassing feeling of confusion through their link.

 "What be the matter," she asked.

 "You have changed since I met you," he answered.

 Reyas thought for a long time and finally responded, "Nay. Just my view of you changed. I be vicious to mine enemy."

 Benzhi nodded, finally getting her meaning through words and feelings. She was vicious to her enemies and fiercely loyal to her allies or kin. That explained why the major change was after he merged the Core. As the Seer explained, it was almost like he became part of the Mountains and thus her kin.

 "I dunno, I kinda liked the feisty Reyas, she turned me on," He laughed at her expense. Gisael punched him in the arm. "Hey," Benzhi accused Gisael. "She can look after herself," he said while pointing at Reyas. 

 "Should I leave you three alone?" Paphyra teased. 

 "No. I don't know if I would survive, stay and protect me," Benzhi joked. After an hour of small talk with the Fae, tiredness began to set in.

"It has been a long day," he continued and then looked around. He had no idea where he would sleep. Meditate he could do anywhere. And although this was home, it was his first time in this place. It was a weird feeling. 

  Reyas poked Benzhi. "Help me with this," she began to unpack the tent they had been using when trailing the army. 

 'Oh I love cuddling in the tent, wish it was colder,' Benzhi thought. This thought was followed by head shakes and chuckles from Reyas. 'Oh damn, he would have to work on control of this link. It could end up being embarrassing several times a day.'

 The next day broke and life, well his new life, got back to some resemblance to the time before the Vaugend trial. The three connected warriors sparred and trained all morning. Enjoying the glade, the lake, and the wide open space. Benzhi still thought of his little party, even now with the small war over, as the Vanguard.

 That thought led to the extra difficulty sparring, most of the time their moves were telegraphed to each other through their connection. Making sparring strange and unwieldy. Benzhi thought, at first, he should work on closing and opening the connection at will, like closing a valve on a water pipe. But it occurred to him, that would be handy when he was horny or needing privacy, but while fighting he should never do it. Even when sparring as that would increase their understanding of the link during combat. The connection would allow them to fight as a unit with unparalleled understanding.

 The Vanguard began to train their combat understanding. Fighting imaginary enemies with the intention of improving their understanding of the feelings coming through the link. They continued this on a daily basis for a week, they needed to rest before heading out to Loctris as Benzhi was not fully healed apart from general rest and recuperation. And it was likely that Loctris would not even find out about the small war for some time.

 Ailen arrived at the Glade from his tracking duties with Skanvord in tow. Benzhi had no idea how they found the Glade.

 Happening upon their training regime. "What are you doing?" He asked bemusedly.

 "Training," Benzhi answered succinctly.

  Ailen and Skanvord must have been tired and hungry. Yet they sat and watched the training. Benzhi finally relented, calling a halt and sat down to discuss their mission, the deserters and how they found the Glade. Gisael and Reyas kindly delivered some food to the group and sat down to listen to the discussions as well.

 The pair did not have anything out of the ordinary to report regarding the Vaugend men and their trek home, all gone to plan. It was the Seer who had shown them the Glade in a vision. Benzhi had to laugh, the vision juice was horrible, poor Ailen.

 Benzhi held a meeting with Mother, Reyas, Skanvord and the Guardians the next day. It was time to discuss Loctris and what they should do next. They discussed what they had found when fighting the Blackcloaks, their skill level and what the Seer had vaguely communicated. Loctris was not a threat, but Benzhi still had to travel there.

  "With that, I intend to travel first to Vaugend and then to Loctris, alone," Benzhi informed the gathering.

 Amidst much protest, Reyas was quiet, but Benzhi could feel her emotion, there was no way in fucking hell she wasn't coming or something similar.

 Gisael broke through the din, "I will be coming. You will not be leaving me again, not now." She looked at Reyas and back to Benzhi.

 "I know, I know," he said, "but, you are the head Guardian, their leader. What if something happens while I am away?"

 Gisael stared at Benzhi long and hard. She turned to face Mother for a moment, then she turned to Talila and announced, "Talila, you are Guardian of the Forest. You are ready."

 Benzhi was confused for a second, 'weren't they all Guardians of the Forest?' Perhaps it was the way it was said, even after spending months with the Fae some of the nuances were lost on him.

 Gisael turned back to Benzhi, "I am now Vanguard, I follow you like Reyas."

 Ailen said passionately, "I am coming too!"

 Benzhi shook his head. "If Gisael leaves it is too much. I love you Ailen. You make me laugh. But, the place for the Guardians is here." Benzhi had resigned to allowing Gisael to follow, he could do little about it. But Ailen. 

 Ailen was downcast, "Take me then, she is needed here more than I," he said desperately pointedly not making eye contact with Gisael.

 Benzhi didn't have the heart. He looked at Mother for help. Mother merely stood there statue like as if this was beneath her. 

 Benzhi looked at Gisael. There was no way he could leave her behind, she was strong, she was beautiful and she was stubborn as all hell. He considered taking Ailen, but it just felt wrong, he was needed here.

 Benzhi looked at Ailen. "No."

 Ailen, the happy go lucky wood elf. Always smiling. Always positive. Swore. He must have learned it from Benzhi. "Fuck," he yelled at no one in particular, then he turned on Benzhi in anger, "it is just because you want her isn't it," he accused Benzhi.

 Benzhi didn't know what to say, so he just said, "Yes."

 Ailen was gobsmacked. He ran off.

 Benzhi went to follow, but Talila stopped him. "It is mine to help," she said. Talila went after Ailen.

 The Vanguard began the task of packing and preparing immediately. Benzhi would try to speak to Ailen before they left. They packed rations, furs, arrows for Gisael and the one measly tent they had used during the small war. 

 Benzhi never did get a chance to reconcile with Ailen. The trio left an hour later, heading for Vaugend.

 Benzhi led the group to what was the North gate of Vaugend. It had been boarded up. He smiled, the nobles had acted quickly, which bode well. After scaling the wall Benzhi held out his hand for Reyas and pulled her up to the top of the wall. No point for their group to walk around to the South. Reyas stood on the wall surveilling the city while Benzhi watched her. He could sense her strong feelings as she absorbed the view. She was incredibly beautiful while being different to Gisael in almost every way. Where Gisael was cold, Reyas was fiery. Where Gisael had blond hair and tanned skin, Reyas had raven hair and alabaster skin. Benzhi learned that Reyas was fiercely loyal which was not to be confused with her brutality if you were her enemy. The disgust that emanated from Reyas as she took in the sights had been the same he had felt when he first visited this place. Hopefully, with the Duke gone things could improve, how he wasn't sure. Benzhi did know one thing, he didn't want a bar of it.

 Gisael was on his other side, pretty much feeling the same.

 "Well," Benzhi said quietly, "let's get what we need and get out of here. Should we head in, or should I call them here?"

 "Call them here," both the women said simultaneously. 

 Benzhi layered his mouth with qi. His qi shout, albeit possessing a total lack of finesse, was effective.

 "People of Vaugend. I am Benzhi. Send for Master Gilford to meet with me here and the..erm...Yellow cloak, green cloak and ...." Benzhi paused and said quietly, "what was the other colour?"

 "Purple," Reyas supplied.

 Benzhi continued to shout, "the Purple cloak lords. And hurry I am not patient."

 Within the hour, the lords started to arrive one by one with an entourage of guards. It seemed the guards were to protect the lords from the rabble. 

 Benzhi nodded to the tower and the lords entered from the bottom and met the Vanguard on the top level. Gilford quickly ordered his men to gather seats and a table for everyone. Most of the guards crowded outside with the seven on the third floor.

 "Welcome to our... city...again...What do we owe this pleasure?" Gilford asked nervously. His intonation implied he wasn't sure whether to call it their city or not.

 "We will be brief. I came to ask a favour," Benzhi asked. "Or a trade, whatever you like." Benzhi waved his hand side to side indicating he did not care which. "I want a copy of the best maps you have. Especially anything that shows the way from here to Loctris. And I want a letter from you four recognising my people as the rulers of the lands to the north and west of Vaugend."

 "Uh, that won't be difficult," stated yellow cloak lord.

 "Is that all?" asked green cloak lord.

 "That is all we need," Benzhi replied.

 The four lords looked at each other confused.

 "We will do as you wish as a favour. No trade is necessary," Master Gilford volunteered.

 Benzhi nodded. "Thanks. I'm in a hurry."

 Less than an hour later the Vanguard were on their way towards Loctris in possession of a couple of maps and the letter. 

Chapter end