The Guardians' Blade

“My lord, I have news.” A hooded figure shuffled over dust and broken rock to where the Wolf King stood, watching as his Pavilion was erected. He had decided to set up his camp close to the mountainous border. If he was right, Dargoth wished to be near when the Dragon child was located, for swift maneuvering. He turned slightly and fixed his General with a frown before asking sharply.

“What is it?”

“The Qarma detected movement in the mountains. We have found one of the entrances to the Underground Highway of the Guardians.” The hooded figure shuffled forward, than stopped to lean upon a gnarled staff. His voice was raspy as he continued, “I had them followed. They seem to be heading towards Ramoth, right out in the open.”

Dargoth raised one eyebrow at this information. He wasn’t all that interested in what the Guardians were doing. His sole focus was the Dragon child, for capturing her would bring about the demise of the Guardians very easily. “And?”

His General blinked beady red eyes at the Wolf King. “What shall I do my lord? Attack them? Kill them before they reach Ramoth?”

Dargoth waved a hand of dismissal. “I have little interest in what the Guardians are doing at the moment, Rangor. My attention is focused on the Dragon child. Find the Dark Krysalith called Rakkath, I have a mission for him.”

Rangor scowled within the shadows of the hood, but bowed at the order given by his King and Warlord. “Yes, sire.” He hissed, and turned to shuffle off towards where some horses were standing, motioning with one hand at another hooded figure to join him. When a second rider drew near leading two horses he grunted to his companion, “We are to seek out Rakkath and his little pack.” His tone showed how much he despised the job.

“Then let us get it done.” The softly spoken voice revealed his companion to be female. “Perhaps Dargoth’s obsession will play into our hands.” The robed figure offered Rangor the reins of his horse.

“I hope you are right, Malificant,” came Rangor’s muttered response before he put a foot into the stirrup and swung up with a wince and a grunt of pain, to settle in the saddle. “Let us be off then.” He snapped the reins and turned his steed away from the makeshift camp, and rode out across the desolate snowy landscape.

Rangor despised being sent around like an errand boy. He was far better than that. He was a General after all, and General’s commanded armies. But the Emperor had commissioned him to keep watch over Dargoth and do all of his bidding. No questions asked. The deformed Krysalith twisted a smirk on thin lips from beneath the hood drawn over his head as his thoughts now drifted towards Rakkath. That one thought he was some kind of noble, a leader of a luckless band of bounty hunters and mercenaries who sold their sword to the highest bidder. Currently that just happened to be his benefactor.

Rakkath was lucky that he had found favor in the eyes of the Prince, however anyone who gained the favor of Dargoth immediately also got the jealousy of Rangor who felt that he alone should hold the favor of his Lord. All others should be forced to grovel on their hands and knees to gain an audience with the so called ‘Wolf King’.

His attention than shifted to his companion, she claimed to be a Black Robe from Aldernia, a land from across the black sea. She was a strong spell caster, and her heart seemed to be as black as his own. She had an interest in what Dargoth was doing, though Rangor had yet to pry the reason out of her for her interest. He was jealous of anyone who showed any thought or attention towards Dargoth, feeling that anyone could knock him out of the power game at any given time. So while she was a fellow companion she was also a competitor for Dargoth’s attention.

Malificant felt his gaze and turned her hooded head slightly to regard him with a baleful look. Shifting slightly in the saddle she waved a gloved hand slightly as she spoke to him. “You are staring. What is the matter now?”

“Nothing, you simply have my curiosity.”

She smirked at that as she looked forward, noting the landscape around her. How cold and desolate it was. The ice and snow, and how the snow was so dirty gray rather than the pure white color it took when it first fell upon the ground. It seemed to be discolored as soon as it reached the frozen waste. “And what pray tell might you be so curious about me?”

“As always the question rises in my mind of why you are here.” He was straight to the point and very blunt about it. He wanted to know her agenda, what she was planning.

She smiled a little, she was silent for a while, and knew that her silence was irritating him as he had started shifting in the saddle in a fidgeting manner.

“I really don’t see the reason why I should impart upon you why I am here. But I sense you are the sort who will ferret it out one way or another and will not be satisfied until you know.” Pause. “I am here for the same reason that Dargoth is here, for the Dragon child. There is a prophecy about this creature and I want to see her with my own eyes. And then I want to manipulate and use this creature for my own purposes. The only way I can see this occurring is by befriending our Lord Prince and assisting him in his obsessive hunt.”

Rangor let out a slight growl from his throat and jerked his horse to a halt to fix her with a red stare. “Means within a means eh? So you wish to use this creature for your own desires? And how do you think such a thing will come about? You cannot simply expect that Dargoth will give her to you, for whatever purpose you have in mind.”

“He won’t know.” Malificant snickered softly from within the shadows of the hood covering her face.

That response did not quite make sense to Rangor and he reached out sharply to grab at her wrist, jerking her to face him as he leaned in and hissed at her harshly. “What are you trying to say? What are you hiding from me impetuous Black Mage?”

She gasped sharply and jerked her wrist free before glaring over at him. “I need the Dragon child for reasons of my own. Such reason’s I cannot explain to you as you would never understand. It is my own agenda but it will not clash with the plans of Dargoth. In fact it will see that his plans come to fruition faster than he thought possible.”

Rangor eyed her in a distrustful manner before snapping the reins of his mount to continue the journey to where this band of vagabonds could be found. “Indeed.”

Malificant smirked darkly, as she urged her horse forward to follow in his wake. She fell silent once more, noting to herself that Rangor may cause her problems so she would have to keep a very close eye on him.