The Last of the Guardians: Insurrection Read online

  The Last of the Guardians

  – Book I – Insurrection –

  JOÃO PAULO SILVEIRA

  The Last of the Guardians

  – Book I – Insurrection –

  1ª Edition

  Rio de Janeiro – 2016

  The last of the guardians

  Copyright © 2014 by J. P. Silverado.

  The author retains all rights reserved.

  Cover illustration: Ceasar Ian Muyuela

  Internal Illustrations: Gustavo Masías & J. P. Silverado

  Translator: Roque Aloisio Weschenfelder

  Catalogação na Fonte: Kelly M. Bernini – CRB-10/1541

  Dedication

  I dedicate this book to my parents, who always motivated me to read and have curiosity in learning about things I did not know and to my family who always supported me, encouraged me and understood my absences, necessary for the creation of this book.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Professor Roque Aloisio Weschenfelder, who handled with great zeal and professionalism of the review of this project, beside the precious suggestions and advices.

  And finally, to all friends who, along of the process, helped with suggestions and improvements that certainly contributed greatly to the final result.

  To the Readers

  Dear reader,

  This is the first translation of the book from Portuguese to English. Although revised, certainly some terms or expressions may be incorrect or different from usual.

  If you encounter any of these problems or others not mentioned, I would appreciate it very much if you could send me the adjustment by email: [email protected]

  It would be a great help.

  J. P.

  Access here: http://www.oultimodosguardioes.com.br/img/map.png

  The Tavern

  No! – Kitan yelled while pulled his bag of coins against himself.

  – Come on! Give me the money! – Gerter repeated, giving a slap on the face of the boy.

  People moved away from the counter where the discussion was happening. With a red face and tears in his eyes, the boy still held on the only coins that have left, after working a month on the tillage to earn them.

  In the opposite corner of the counter, a silhouette watched with tired countenance upset with the situation, drinking his beer barley in the gloom. The boy in hopelessness hit the groin of his attacker with a kick and run for the exit. Before he could reach the door, is overthrown by Lico, the pudgy Gerter’s sidekick, who sat on a bench near the exit, stretches his leg, hindering the passage. Kitan falls flat on his face and the small bag flies from his hands, opening and spreading the coins.

  – You should not have done that. – Gerter growls, still limping with hand on crotch. And walking towards Kitan, pulled a dagger to attack him.

  Moments before reaching the boy, feels a sharp pain in his head – a mug wood shatters on his forehead, and dizzy, almost let the weapon fall.

  – What a hell... – turning toward where the object came from.

  The only thing he could see was a gloved fist in chainmail toward his face, making his legs go up while his head was a bang on the floor, throwing the dagger up, by turning in an arc. When Gerter’s accomplice began to stand up, the stranger takes the dagger in motion and throws it at the foot of Lico across the shoe leather, flesh and bone, stopping only in the wood floor.

  A howl of pain is heard throughout the tavern, but only briefly, because one second punch hits dead center the face of Lico, who was screaming, spattering blood and brown teeth across the table behind him.

  Gerter, still staggering, grabs a bottle on the table and, breaking the bottom, turns it into a slashing weapon. With anger in his eyes, he shouts to the stranger: – Now you’re gonna die, nosy! – And advances towards his attacker. It is heard a loud noise of metal and Gerter flies on the counter, breaking the glass bar and a good portion of shelves full of drinks. On the left arm of the stranger shines a golden shield. The fight then ended.

  Kitan, recovered from the blow, begins to piece together his coins scattered on the floor. The air, which was already loaded, now seemed thick and the only person that moved was the boy, demanding for his meager copper coins. Even with tears in his eyes, he approaches to the stranger and speaks: – T-Thank you, this is all the money I have. – The stranger replied, – Then you should not be here spending them randomly in this bar, go now and don’t come back, this place isn’t for you.

  Before leaving, the boy hears the man’s voice calling him again. – Boy! – He looks back apprehensively. – Forgot one! – The man throws the coin with his right thumb. Kitan grabs the coin, looks back at the stranger and runs.

  – Tavern keeper! I'm out of beer! Fill another mug. – Putting two silver coins on the counter, concludes: – this is to pay for the damage!

  Gerter and his partner had made it out of the tavern stealthily, when the city guard arrived. Someone had called to sort out the mess.

  The oldest, with a more reinforced uniform, seemed the leader and two who visibly had just finished training, wearing only regular clothes, helmet and spear, were towards the tavern keeper who told the occurred and pointed to the corner where was the dark stranger.

  – Make way –Toram says, followed by the two recruits. – You there, get out the dark, I want to see your ugly face!

  Looking through the hood, a hard semblant faces the guard deciding whether to accept the order. Seconds in silence, go slowly until the stranger gets up and walks towards the guards and the light illuminates his face.

  – Oh, it's you! – the old guard exclaims, smiling scornfully.

  – Whatever here, Toram, go back to your kickbacks and leave me alone. – the man answers.

  – With a sneer, the guard says, speaking loudly for all to hear: – what we have here is our glorious guardian Galaniel, as was the high council – and continues: – now it's just a drunk who round our city arranging confusion and being wasted.

  – Already speak too much, Toram. You better shut up and keep your remaining teeths. Last time I think my shield plucked how many? Two, three?

  The guard boils with hate and threat from towards Galaniel, being held by the recruits. – Let me loose! – Toram shouts. – Our job is just to see what was going on, sir, –said one of the guards.

  After the impulse, Toram speaks: – I will not get my hands dirty with a guardian. Let's go. – He left the tavern pushing who was in front.

  Galaniel turns back to his dark corner and continues to drink his beer, oblivious to the rest of the people who was in there and seeking maintain distance.

  Six mugs and two hours later, Galaniel leaves the tavern Steel Throat, slightly staggered toward the coaching inn Dew Drop, which has captive room. The road is poorly lit, since the tavern is on the port and the coating inn is in the downtown. After turning the corner in the house of net maker and enter the pier, two shadows take shape in front of him: Gerter and Lico, both with swords in hand. – Now will not catch us off guard, you fucking nosy drunk! Let's see how you deal now.

  The guardian says nothing, just drop his cloak, revealing his helmet, chainmail, the shield and the sword already in hand, starting upwards of the two. The shield goes against Lico's breast, making a hollow noise, pushing it back while the sword defends the attack from Gerter on the right. Lico recovers from the shield's thud and attacks the Galaniel's left flank, finding again his shield. Galaniel turn right, hitting the shield edge in the hand of Lico, dropping his sword and attacks with his, hitting him in the neck, making the head fly toward the pier floorboards, to then, bounce and fall in to the lake.

  Gerter yells i
n a mixture of fear and astonishment at the sight and move's towards Galaniel, hitting him in the left rib, piercing the coat of mail and opening a deep and wide cut. The guardian raises his shield and strike with the bottom tip of it against the Gerter's right elbow, breaking his arm and making his sword fall into the lake. Then stick his sword in the left temple Gerter, which falls lifeless at his feet.

  Losing a lot of blood, Galaniel walks even more staggering, between houses, pasts the port towards the market, knocking on doors looking for help. Many people look between the gaps of the windows, but no one opens. Almost without strength, falls in front of a humble house where, gathering his last energies, knocks on the door and scream for help, fainting next.

  The door opens just a bit, small eyes watching Galaniel’s body on the ground and then notice the trail of blood leading down the three steps of access to his home. – Mom! Has a wounded man at our door! – Melina runs into the room and shakes his mother until she wakes up. – What is it, girl, dont you see that I was asleep? You should also be long ago. – I was, Mom, but a noise woke me up. There's a man fallen on our door, he's hurt! – Stay here! – Corinta said – I'll see what's going on – says she, putting her daughter sitting on the bed.

  With forty-eight years, but still keeping his nice features, green eyes, brown hair, five and three tall and one hundred and thirty two pounds well distributed, Corinta opens the door and sees the limp form and a vein of blood that has accumulated a pool on the first step of the ladder.

  She runs back and go awaken her husband to help her. – Come, help me to bring him inside. – Still rubbing his eyes and tired of a day's work in the fishmonger, Moahn raises grumbling: – bringing who? What are you talking about? – Has a wounded man at our door! – she replies. This seems to wake the man who hastens to go to the door. – This is not our business, let him there, tomorrow the guards collect the body. – But he's still alive! See, still breathing. – I already said, is not our business! And if it is a thief? It can rob us, or worse... – Moahn! See how he's dressed! Look at his face, see that there isn’t a thief's face? Do you not you see that is a warrior? Come on, stop laziness and help me carry him inside.

  Still grumbling, Moahn helps Corinta to take Galaniel in and put it on top of a straw mat. She removes his helmet, belt with sword and shield and puts them on top of the cabinet of the room, as he turns his body sideways, leaving the wound get upwards, removes the chain mail covering the chest and analyzing the cutting, speaks: – This one does not survive! Already lost too much blood and the cut is deep. – Corinta slaps on the Moahn's shoulder and responds smiling: – Come on, stop chattering and sew this cut. Do it like you do with the old fishes that you put herbs inside to improve the smell, sewing and sells saying they are filled with 'spices'.

  Seeing that would not have escape, the fishmonger takes a great hook already tied with fishing line and begins to suture the cut. With practice and skill that has due to his labor, the cut is tightly closed in, now leaking very little blood. Corinta returns with a pot where she macerated herbs and curatives oils, and makes a patch over the wound, stanching the blood, and then bandaging it with a small roller flax, already very worn and with dried blood stains and other substances.

  After leaving well fixed the bandage, places the back of his hand in Galaniel forehead and realizes that fever is already established. – If he passes of this tonight, I think he survives... – Moahn, that already gone to bed again, answer from the room: – come, woman, come shortly, I have to wake up soon. The fishermen arrive early and if I don't find them soon, I'll get only the rests of the day fishing. – Corinta puts Melina in bed, kissing her on the forehead, blow the burning candle and lies down in the room. Her husband already snoring as she thinks about who is this man who is in his house. Is he a knight? What was happened? With these thoughts, she falls asleep.

  Morning

  Scent of freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked bread, wake up Galaniel. The sun is starting to get hot and the street, which leads to the market, is already buzzing. He gets up with a leap of bed and goes toward the kitchen. On arriving, takes a bread roll slaphappy steaming the basket which is on the table, it takes a slap, dropping the bread back to the basket. – First wash your face and hands! – He looks sullen and answers to Eushaniel: – but I am hungry! – Hurry! Or you'll be left with nothing – she concludes, removing the basket from the table.

  Galaniel runs to the bathroom, gets the kettle with water and puts a little in the basin that sits on top of the bank, wet his hands and rubs in the face. When he prepares to return to the kitchen hear his mother speak. – Wash right your face and dry! – He comes back and sticks his face in the basin, opening his eyes in the water. The cold and uncomfortable in the eye remove the remains of sleep that he still had. He grabs the towel, dries his face and hands and runs back to the kitchen. When he arrives, bread is already cut and past with butter, and a glass of warm milk is at side.

  Galaniel devours the bread quickly and stealthy, get another, putting it on the plate. Eushaniel, without looking back, speaks: – just one, you need to lose weight! The tests are coming and chubby as you are, you will find it difficult to pass.

  Galaniel, who had already cut and past butter on the other piece of bread, drinks the glass of milk in a single swig, get up with the bread in hand and talks, leaving the kitchen: – for that very reason, I need to be strong to get through. – Still without looking back, Eushaniel shakes negatively his head, smiling.

  – Good morning, uncle! – Galaniel says to Boldar, though he is only the husband of his mother. – You are late, as always! – He replies. Still chewing the last piece of bread, Galaniel just smiles clumsy. – Come on, we have a lot of work ahead – Boldar talk to the boy, while carrying a sack of grain on the right shoulder: – the winter is coming and provisions must be stored in the pantry. Furthermore, the animals need to be maintained and that fence must be finished today – he says, pointing to the fence that surrounds the property and that was very damaged by the overflow of the cattle that occurred in the past fortnight. When looking at the fence, the Galaniel's smile vanishes, making a boring face, knowing that the day will be full.

  Help to load grain, wood, weeding the garden, bathing and brushing the horses, feed the chickens, the dogs, the ducks and all the rest of animals. They stopped only for lunch and then immediately continued. Galaniel was already very tired when they were deal with the fence. – They removed the broken wood and crushed nails. Boldar tells to her stepson: – go there to the barn and take two battens and one fence post. He goes slowly because the legs are tired from walking to and fro all day.

  Arriving at the barn, passing through the plow horse, that was tied at the gate and sees the battens stacked in the corner behind the hay bales. He takes two, puts them on his shoulder and walks towards the exit, when it is almost out of the barn, remembers the fence post and come back, turning to the other way. When turning, he hits with the batten on the horse's back, which scares and kicking Galaniel's ribs, that flies along with the battens and falls on top of a haystack.

  He wakes up the next day with a sour taste of blood in the mouth, mixed with bile and wine. He looks around and does not recognize the house where he is in. He sees his stuff on top of a cupboard and, while trying to get up, he feels a sharp pain near the ribs. When he looks at his belly, he sees that is just with pants and has a bandage on the left. He feels his body warm and is bathed in cold sweat, hears a child's voice in the background, but can not understand it very well. A woman comes near him with a mug and says something, raising his head and approaching the mug of his mouth. He drinks only three sips. The liquid has a strange taste of milk mixed with herbs and makes him feel sick, almost putting it all out. She lais him down and he falls asleep again.

  – Well, he drank some of the infusion, let's see if the the fever lower. – Speaks Corinta with his daughter. – Let's change this bandage. Get some of the water that I warm up and those rags that are on the table. – Car
efully, she pulls the stripe of linen and the curative. She wets the rags in warm water and goes removing gradually the parched patch. The wound began to heal on one side, but on the other, the red skin around the cutting and the presence of pus shows that it is infecting and that it may be the end of the stranger.

  After cleaning well, apply a new patch, she puts clean bandages and fixes is again with the linen stripes. She makes compresses with cold water and puts them in the man's forehead to help lower fever, covering it with an old blanket, but very warm, to help perspiration.

  Thereon Moahnarrives for lunch and see that the food is not ready. – Corinta, where's lunch, woman? I'm hungry and you there, wasting time with strangers! – Corinta looks upset to her husband and answers: – stop it, Moahn, eat a fried fish there in the fishmonger, dont you see I'm busy. – He leaves slamming the door and complains.

  Melina stops sweep the kitchen, laughing at the confusion between his parents, knowing that at night all will be alright, after all, since that she can remember, their parents argue and then after make peace and everything back to normal. – Come on, girl, finish sweep the kitchen that still has the rest of the house –Corinta says, giving a flick on the ear of Melina, who was standing listening to the parent’s conversation. Immediately, she returns to work and pays attention to the task, but first looks at the strange and questions whether it will get better.

  Corinta hears knocking at the door and will suit, opening the door just a little. On outside there are two guards of the city, and one of them asks: – did you saw or heard anything last night? – Why? – she returns – We found two bodies near here and it has blood at the foot of your door. – Corinta looks down and sees the blood stain. – This is blood of fishes, my husband is fishmonger and brought a bunch of fishes to home yesterday at the time to throw the viscera in the lake, he dropped a little there. – Then she continues: – I didn't hear anything, all was quiet around here – and staring the guard with arched left eyebrow: – that is all? I have other things to do, if you don't mind. – The guards looked at each other, thinking of the many houses still to visit, they shrugged and continue their journey.