Misunderstood Destinies

"Aye"


After a short travel, they were standing at the gates to the castle, when a familiar man in a black cloak approached

"What is your business here? Who sent you?" He asked, not recognizing the two

Layla spoke, "Business we have with the king for the sake of Garlan and the world. Allow us to proceed."

"Explain or you will get nowhere"

"Do you want to sit here and waste time while thousands of people are dying to the hands of beings much stronger than you alone? If not, then I suggest you allow us to pass here and now. We have information that concerns only the King at this point in time."

"Let them pass, Balthozar" A man in a royal garments, and a crown walked up behind him. He was clean shaven, but had chestnut hair. He was an average sized man, but he carried himself so well, that some might have thought him to be of Jargos' stature

Layla understood the status of the man that arrived and properly bowed like she had done to Elder Ramona of respect.

"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Jargos bowed very low, showing deep respect. and the man nodded to them both. The blad man moved out of the way and the gate opened. The King motioned for the two to follow him and he headed back inside

Layla followed, observing the inner castle closely. Never had she seen such riches and such before.

Once they made it to the throne room, the King properly introduced himself

"I am Belthan, King of Garlan. To whom am I speaking of the safty of my kingdom with?"

Jargos made a bow, them removed his cloak, his spine popping and his shoulders and knees creaking as he stood to his full height. It was a custom where he came from to preform the warriors call before addressing a superior on a matter of urgency. A low rumble came from Jargos' chest and his runes began to glow red. His muscles tenses and he took a horse stance. He bowed his head, then put his right arm out, palm up. He threw his head back in a sound that seemed like a cross between a wolf howl and a bear roar. The sound reverberated for a moment before he took a deep breath and stood up normally, his rune's glow fading

"I am Jargos, Beastblood, Ruler of Darkwoods"

Layla removed the cloak she wore and summoned her staff to her hand. Twirling it like a baton for a moment, then stopping to hold it like a regular walking stick, the rune on her hand glowed green.

"My name is Layla, Light Elf, once a Warrior of the Zeiza Village."

"Ah, I see . . . Now, what do you have to tell me?"

Jargos left the first explanation up Layla

"You have heard of the stories of the Dark Mages from long ago, correct? We believe that they have returned after a recent attack on my partner. I know little of them except that they had some past conflict with my clan before my birth. We both have reason to believe they aim an attack on, not only the kingdom, but the world itself and have come to seek assistance."

"Hm . . . Tell me, What has happened that would make you believe they are back?"


"My mind was taken over for almost a month by a Dark mage who wanted me to come here. My friend was able to thwart him. I killed a Dark mage just outside the wall of thine city, and . . ." Jargos looked to Layla to tell the last part, he felt it was her right

"After completion of that task, we spent the evening in Garlan and proceeded to my home up in the mountains. Zeiza, a village rumored up in the Northern Mountains, is where I lived. Well, at least, once did. I sought out some assistance for Jargos to aid us in learning more about the Dark Mages. Of course, the village elder didn't exactly like the idea of someone coming. An attack was launched while we were there. Jargos was the first to defend, of which I attended second. He was cast away by the leader's magic. I was forced into exile. That's why we came here. With no other lead of location to go, we thought Garlan would be the first place to try."

The King listened intently, then nodded when she finished. He stood up and whistled. Once he did, Balthozar came into the room and bowed to the king, then was taken aback by the sight of the beast and the elf girl


"Y-your majesty! These are the two I told you about!"

"Enough, Balthozar, These are our guests. You shall be my eyes and hears. You shall travel with them, and come to me when they need aid. If what they said is true, We are on the verge of war"

Layla smiled. "Your name is Balthozar, correct? I do apologize to you and His Majesty for the problems brought into Garlan from before. If it could have been avoided, we would have done so. I'm willing to pay for any damages that were done, however I'm afraid to say that little money do I have after some payments to the inn-keeper for our stay here."

"You need not pay for anything. Now, go, and fair well"


"I thank thee" Jargos said, as he turned to leave

Balthozar skullked off behind jargos

Layla bowed to the king once more and then followed behind the departing group.

Once they were out of the castle, jargos looked to Layla, still pained by his guilt

"Dost thou think we should depart?"

"We need to wait and plan out what we're going to do. I say we walk the path up the mountain and stop before we reach the peak. We can rest out in the forest now that the patrols have been called back and Airen isn't exploring. We'll need to go into the village early morning. It'll be the best time to confront Elder Ramona."

"Aye"

Jargos led the way

As they started heading up the mountain, Layla stated, "Remember to stay together. Strong magic is casted on the fog and mist. If we lose one another, we'll have to start back at the bottom."

Jargos nodded, and Balthozar did as well. He wasn't as big as they remembered him, but they had seen him at night, so Jargos shrugged it off. He still had his rapier

Layla followed behind as they went up the mountain. She started plotting out what they could do while in Zeiza. Airen would surely be waiting, and she'd have to get past him and make it to Elder Ramona.

"Why are we headed up this blasted mountain?!" Balthozar blurted out. Jargos ignored him