Chapter 18

The journey to the Southern Continent would take nearly four days of riding to get to the border, which is three-quarters of our journey. Ryoko had to move pretty fast. We flew back to back with no breaks. The day before yesterday, we arrived at the border, and since nobody bothered us, we decided to camp outside to give ourselves a moment of peace.

As soon as we got closer, I saw a castle that stood tall and majestic. Its walls were all stone. The gates that guarded it had metal bars surrounding each corner. The towers were built higher than any building I've ever seen; its towers seemed to reach up to heaven itself.

The courtyard was full of guards patrolling the grounds, but none of them paid attention to us as we entered. We rode around until we spotted a massive wooden gate that stood at least twenty feet tall. It resembled the gate of a castle, but looked different. It was carved out of solid wood, while the bottom edge was decorated with vines and flowers. A sign on top of the gate reads The Southern Gate.

A huge guard came marching out as we passed through the gate. After we went through the massive gates, the guard came to a halt as he observed us. I could feel the stares of his gaze on us, and I'm certain that everyone else could too.

"You may not continue your walk through the city." A guard said Then a man marched to stand before the gate blocking our path. Three more walked alongside him.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"I must warn you, the city is currently under lockdown." He replied.

"Under lockdown?!" Tatsuya shouted.

"Yes." The guard replied.

"...why is it being guarded?" I ask, looking at the guard suspiciously.

"For the safety of all inhabitants," he explained.

"What happened?" Ryoko asked.

"There have been attacks against the kingdom and many casualties, resulting in the current state of affairs. No one has seen or heard from King Farkas yet. The only thing anyone knows is that he and King Zarkon are fighting each other; there is nothing more to it." Another guard explains.

"Fighting each other?" Kaida wondered.

"Apparently. All the rumors are true about King Farkas' behavior in recent times," The man replies sadly. "His son and daughter are gone, and he blames himself. He spends most of his time locked up inside of his bedroom." the guard sighed, shaking his head

The man then turns his attention back toward us.

"But...what about-" Krios tried to say.

"No exceptions. The streets are heavily protected with guards, there are many patrols, and we cannot risk any citizen getting hurt." The guard cut him off.

I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. After taking a few moments to think, I decided to try a different approach instead.

"This is an emergency, I am the guardian on a very short deadline and I need to get inside there." I protested without thinking.

The guards looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then sighed, obviously not used to dealing with requests.

"Look kid we weren't born yesterday you'd think we'd believe that the guardian still resides in this realm. It's hard enough keeping order with just the three of us. But honestly, this place is already in shambles. And if we don't make sure the city is safe, someone who doesn't want to live here will." The guard on the right tiredly replied.

"Well... you don't exactly have to believe me, but I do need inside that building. Please just let us pass..." I begged.

He paused for a moment and looked around at the others.

"If we give you an extra set of keys to the outer perimeter gates, will you promise to return once you're done?" He asks.

I nod my head eagerly.

"Then we'll let you in." The guard on the left stated. The other nodded in agreement.

With that, the guards handed me a set of keys. After a few seconds, the guards sighed again and began moving to let us through. The moment that I stepped through, the heavy gates began closing and locking themselves in.

Before the gates could disappear completely, a loud bang could be heard and the gates shuddered before finally stopping, allowing us into the city. It was a beautiful sight to behold. We walked in complete silence through the city; as we moved along the cobblestone streets. Everything was filled with people walking around, talking, laughing, drinking, and enjoying their lives.

It looked so peaceful and calm that it was hard to believe that they all needed to be afraid. I couldn't help but stare; noticing how people were dressed and how clean everything looked. The air was cold and smelled of salt water, and I knew that it was probably from the harbor that was situated directly outside of the city.

We were riding through the center of town, passing numerous restaurants that served the most delicious foods. Everyone was dressed in expensive clothing, while the ones that weren't were wearing comfortable clothes, and seemed to blend in perfectly with the crowd. I signaled the group to follow me into an alleyway between two tall buildings.

They were doing well for a nation about to go to war without a king to rule.

"So where do we find the last crystal?" I whispered. Suddenly the book flew out of my backpack. It opened itself.

A blank page writing: I am a path situated between high natural masses. Remove my first letter & you have a path situated between man-made masses. What am I?

"Valley?" Kaida guessed. The book shut itself in and landed in my hands.

"All I know is that the earth nation has many valleys. How will we know which one it is?" Krios questioned.

The book flipped to a picture of a tree.

"That tree... it's the tree of divinity," Ryoko murmured.

"That can only mean one place..." Tatsuya whispered

"The Verboten valley." Kaida cried.

"The verboten valley?" I asked.

"Yes, a place where no inhabitants on this island are allowed to go," Ryoko sighed, patting Kaida's back.

"Yet also a place where many inhabitants are banished. More or less you go in and never come out. " Krios added.

"That's the risk we have to take then," I stated, and they all nodded in agreement.

'Why did Ryoko, Kaida, and Tatsuya look so place at the mention of the verboten valley?'

We continued through the town until we reached the gates at the end of town, which were large, towering pillars made of stone. They stopped in front of them, and the gates opened slowly, revealing an army of soldiers ready for battle. They lined up and gave us a salute.

After the last guard saluted us, we proceeded through the gates. The guards watched us closely as we rode through the gates. I could hear some whispers as they watched us. Most of them were worried because there hasn't been anything like this in centuries. The guards seemed confused, but let us pass.

As we continued riding through the city, there were more buildings, shops, stalls, and everything else to see.

We passed over bridges crossing streams and rivers and houses. At the end of the town, we were able to ride through several small towns, before we arrived at the Southern Border.