Guardians Book 2, Ch 5: Smoke and Mirrors

Read all of Book 2: here

Even a few weeks after the incident, the warehouse at Elaganheart Harbor still lay in ruins. The multicolored flames had been extinguished, but the burned remains of Legion and Shado’s building still lay on the narrow street going down to the docks. Every once in a while, a kind soul would come help haul the debris away from the ruins, but for the most part, it lay abandoned.

Legion walked down the cobbled street, looking at the remains of his master’s last plan. He instinctively felt the bands around his neck as he thought about what he would do.

“Thisss will make up fffor my fffailure,” he hissed. Continuing down the street, he walked towards the city center.

Long shadows stretched over the center of the harbor in the early morning sun. People, citizens of Elaganheart, went about their business, hauling carts and selling goods. The city was still alive with activity, even after the Talulagan artifacts had stopped being shipped in from beyond the barrier.

As Legion watched the crowds, the shadows next to him stirred.

“Sssshado, are you ready?” Legion asked.

“Yes,” the shadows muttered. Legion looked around the city center, eyeing the six firepits the two had set up the night before. So far, they seemed to have gone unnoticed by the citizens. He hoped that they would remain that way.

“Then, letsss begin,” he said. Standing on a small platform, he dug a small artifact from his robes and looked at it. A white fang atop a small bottle filled with a dark red solution. He had spent the night extracting his blood and mixing the concoction. Stabbing hard to get through the thick skin of his neck, he felt the fang inject the mixture into his throat, coating it with blood and other ingredients. His tongue loosened in his mouth, removing the signature hiss that would make it hard to hear him. Raising his hands, he called out.

“Friends, brothers, citizens of Archana!” he called. He was not used to his new voice but must press on before the concoction wore off.

Some people stopped and looked at him, while others did their business, pretending not to hear the man as he spoke.

“I have been told to stay quiet, but I can no longer hold my tongue!” Legion said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shado dump a small vial into one of the blazing firepits. The flame wavered as its smoke took on a more blueish tint.

“I am Legion,” he went on, “I, along with my brother shado, were the owners of the burned warehouse near the north docks. We, like you, did our best to use our warehouse to make a living, storing shipments and scheduling with both deliverers and receivers to bring goods into and around the Archanan mainland. However, our warehouse was attacked and burned to the ground. Not by the hands of criminals or Idemoni, but by the Guardians themselves.”

Shado poured a vial into the next firepit, allowing more blue smoke to fill the sky of the City Center. More and more people began listening to Legion, the noise of the busy center slowly fading as he continued.

“believing falsely that our warehouse was filled with Taulagia artifacts, they came into our place of livelihood, threatened my brother and me, and when we would not admit to the crimes they accused us of, burned our warehouse to the ground.”

A small series of gasps spread across the growing crowd. Legion smiled under his mask. The smoke was having the desired effect. Shado melted into the darkness as another pit started spewing blue smoke.

“Our means of income was destroyed, our lives were thrown into turmoil, and all because those stupid “Defenders of Areothiel” decided we were too dangerous to keep around.” Legion shouted, “And I, for one, will not stand for it!”

Cheers rose through the crowd, the smoke blocking their minds and whipping them into a frenzy.

“I won’t let those Guardians terrorize innocent people anymore!” Legion shouted. “Who’s With me?!”

Shado poured the last vial into the firepit as the crowd shouted their agreement. Legion breathed in deeply, the scent filtered by his cloth mask. Jumping from the platform, he entered the crowd, continuing to shout about the Guardians’ sins. The crowd got louder and louder as the effects of the smoke took hold.

“Legion,” Shado said. The masked man slipped out of the square and down an ally. He felt his throat and tongue tighten again as the concoction that allowed him to speak clearly wore off.

“That went better than expected.” he hissed.

Shado nodded and looked out at the growing mob with approval.

“What now?” he asked.

Legion smiles.

“We begin our marchhh to Areothhiel.”

Read Book 2, Ch 6: Here