Puh, long chapter this time and it's closely connected to the next one. That means Chapter nine will start right where this one ends. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Di-Gata Defenders and the original characters, only my OCs
Chapter 8 – Over The Abyss
The sun had barely risen above the horizon and was casting long shadows when they left for Arboth. The village people had offered them provisions which they had accepted gratefully so they would not be offended, because in truth they did not need them. But even the major himself had come to meet them to apologize personally for the inconveniences that had been caused by the hunters and their ambush. Several times they had reassured him that they did not blame him and his people but that they had enjoyed their stay, he only would not stop. The flood of apologies had only stopped when they were finally driving out of the village and up the hills to Arboth.
In these woods the storm two days ago had not raged that violently and it was not as dense as the Binn-Ar-Woods to start with. So they could pretty much enjoy the rest of the journey. It was quiet except for the voices of the birds and the sounds of their machines, the amulet was stored away safely in Erik's container and for the first time since they had left the dojo they could let their minds wander freely. Right now there was nothing to worry about. Instead they were looking forward to see the Arbothians again and suddenly the idea of a little party did not seem as absurd to them as before.
One and a half hours later they reached the top of the hill and the city itself. As usual the big gates were closed but they could already see the small, floating houses above the high walls. Somehow it felt like coming home.
They drove to the gate and climbed down from their stormers to greet the guards. The defenders themselves had convinced the peaceful people to set up some guards to ensure evil could not get in too easily, even though they doubted that these guards were a lot of help if real trouble was approaching. Nonetheless they might be able to warn them in time to send for help.
The guards had already spotted them and opened the gates right away. Obviously they were happy to see them because they shouted greetings down from the wall as they approached. The defenders returned the good wishes happily.
Inside the walls the first thing they noticed was the huge amount of people that had assembled in the city. Known as a safe place Arboth had always been crowded during war times, but whenever they had visited it, there had never been so many people all at once. Seth felt better instantaneously as he saw how cheerful they were. They had perhaps suffered, but against his expectations the past hardship and the party spoiled by the bad weather had basically not affected them.
Their arrival did not stay hidden for long. As soon as the gate fell shut behind them they were the centre of attention.
"What a happy sight! You're finally here! Welcome in Arboth, defenders, we almost feared you would not make it here at all. Who could have thought of such a storm when the celebration was planned?" The elderly man greeting them was one of the leaders of the city and looked incredibly delighted to see them. "Please, why don't you join us at once? We held the parade yesterday because we were unsure when you would arrive, but we are honoured by your presence on our celebration."
"Oh, we are the ones who are honoured by your invitation, elder. We did our best to come as fast as possible. Unfortunately the storm slowed us down. Of course we will be celebrating with you", Mel explained courteously and his eyes lit up.
"Then follow me. I will show where you can stay, we have some rooms prepared for our guests. Make yourselves at home and enjoy the party, we've got music, dance and plenty of food."
Seth smirked: "That sounds good. I don't think we'll have any difficulties to make ourselves comfortable."
The party was not bad at all. The whole day there was music, the people were friendly and lots of them wanted to hear the story of how the Ethos had been defeated in the end and Seth retold and retold it with pleasure. The others enjoyed themselves as well. With all the friendly people around it was not hard to find good company. There was a lot of talk, games were played and plenty other distractions were offered. It was impossible to get bored. All the beautiful decorations added to the relaxed atmosphere. Colourful ribbons were put up between the different buildings and were flapping in the wind to create a wonderful play of colours. One that also reflected the people here perfectly.
They had come from all over the realm, out of all the provinces and most of them wore traditional festival outfits. There were nomads from the Kar-Kin desert dressed in white and beige, farmers from Sumos and Infinor in green and brown, people from Yantos and the Arbothians in blue and even a few ones from Ogama-Gor and Yintos in their traditional brown and red. Altogether it was a funny and jovial mix, especially because they all seemed to get along fine.
In the late afternoon Mel inconspicuously left the party and made her way to the walls. She enjoyed the company and all the funny games and shows, but she was getting tired after the travel and the long hours without a proper rest. As much as she liked the celebration, all the attention the defenders got and the conversations they had to lead because of it were exhausting. She yearned for a little time on her own and this spot was the perfect place to breath deeply. The boys could not get enough of talking anyway, so they would not even notice she was gone for a while. She looked down on the calm forest where they had come from and felt her tension ease. Arboth truly was a magnificent place.
"There's nothing more beautiful in the whole realm than a wizard lost in her thoughts."
Mel blushed slightly and a bit embarrassed by these words she pushed herself up from the balustrade she had been leaning on. Then she turned around to see to whom the soft male voice belonged.
He was clothed in all shades of blue. From the dark blue trousers to the light blue tunic with the Yan symbol on his shoulder. He was smiling at her. A warm, friendly smile in his narrow face with the strong chin. His dark eyes could have seemed kind and inviting, but Mel was frozen at the sight so that she did not take the hand he had extended respectfully.
Immediately he noticed her awkwardness, lowered his hand and his smile disappeared to be replaced by a dismayed expression. "I am sorry if I startled you, Lady Melosa. But I have been trying to talk to you the whole day and finally I thought my chance had come. I did not mean to disturb you however!"
Now that she was over the first shock her eyes went cold: "Save yourself the pretty words, you won't fool me with them! What are you doing here, and do you really think I'd talk to you?"
"Well, you already do", the hunter mentioned and confidently brushed a streak of blonde hair that had loosened from his braid, back. "I understand if you are biased after what has happened, but I really am sorry about the incident in the village, and when I heard that the famous defenders had arrived I thought…"
"…that you could finish your murderous business?", she snapped angrily at him. Clearly uncomfortable because of her icy interruption he took a step back, his confidence swaying. In the end he only shook his head. Mel straightened herself and went on: "What if not this? To rob us? Simply to cause a little trouble now that you can't hide behind your companions anymore?"
He shook his head again: "Please, give me a chance to explain. Even if you won't accept my excuse I want you to know something: Firstly my companions and me never intended to kill you, we only planned to disable you enough to get the amulet. Secondly I wasn't hiding. You know they're not human, I couldn't have been fighting alongside them, but this is something you don't need to understand. And thirdly I didn't know who you are back then. If I had known that I was dealing with the Di-Gata Defenders I would have refrained from attacking you."
"Big words for someone who orders a bunch of fighting machines. Who are you anyway?"
"What can I say? My name's Cecil, and the rest is just what I do. The defenders are a great force of good, but you cannot be everywhere. I am paid to take care of some things the Gatashin monks don't want to bother you with. Well, I only wanted to beg your pardon - and to ask for the amulet." His expression became hard. It was amazing how easily he could switch from polite to rough. He looked very persuasive this way, too, with his eyes narrowed, almost frowning and his chin set.
But Mel was not afraid: "We can take care of the amulet ourselves, we've got full control over it. As soon as we're finished here we'll talk to the monks personally. We need neither your help nor your menaces."
"Oh, I saw the control you have! Your control destroyed four of my companions! That amulet is more trouble than I could ever be!" He let the words sink in and when he noticed that she was not affected, he continued: "You'll probably be fine until you reach the monks, but remember my words: It's dangerous and you're not trained to deal with it. Go on and push your luck. Just don't blame me when we meet again, Melosa."
She watched him turn on his heel and disappear in the crowd with a sour face. His words made her think, however they did not make her change her mind. At the village they had lost control over the amulet, but thanks to Erik the danger was stored away now.
They did not need his help, if he had been honest about his offer. She was not sure yet. By the way he had spoken he had seemed trustworthy and he was working for the monks after all, but he was obsessed with the amulet and obsession was never a good thing.
"Forgive the disturbance, but I do not have a lot of time and we have to be finished until dawn."
The words did not only startle him, they actually made him jump right out of bed. Adam remembered dimly how they had left the party well after midnight and his current state proved how tired he had been, because he had not even changed for bed. Automatically he wondered what time it was and how long he had been sleeping, but judging from the woman's words it was still night. Another proof that he definitely had not slept enough was that he felt washed out.
Rather moody he focussed his attention on the woman standing in front of the door. She belonged to the Arbothians as she was wearing a blue dress and the mass of brown curls on her head was held back by an orange bandana with a blue Yan. Even though it was in the middle of the night she was in a good mood and gave him an understanding smile.
"Are you sure this can't wait until morning?", he asked sleepily but he got to his feet before she answered.
Her smile grew even wider and more heartily: "There are things that can only be done at certain times. This is one of them. The moment the sun rises it might be too late, and this is too important to take any chances. Come with me, you'll understand when I show you." She moved out of the room like a shadow and disappeared down the hall.
With a sigh he hurried after her. He could not even say why he believed her, because usually nothing could have been important enough to convince him so easily, especially not at this hour, whatever hour it was. But something about her behaviour washed all his doubts away and it was as though he could almost grasp the urgency of the business.
She did not go far and he caught up with her on the little balcony. The house the defenders' rooms were in was one of the numerous floating rocks and was quite big for the standards of the modest people in Arboth. They guessed that their quarters were supposed to show their importance to them and they had not wanted to argue.
At first he had the impression that she had forgotten his presence completely. She was bent over the side of the balcony and watched the ribbons floating in the wind. He wanted to complain, however the situation and especially her appearance were so enchanting that when he opened his mouth he did not know what to say.
A hundred questions raced through his head, but he could not concentrate on any of them, let alone think clearly. He hit his head once to make the confusion go away, but unsuccessfully.
That moment she turned to him again, still with the cheerful smile upon her lips, a smile that started to look nearly insulting to him. With a hint of sincerity in her voice she announced: "We have to reach the other side , then I can tell you. There is no other way, so you will have to trust me!"
"Trust you?", he managed to get out breathlessly. His stare was fixed on the thin rope on which the ribbons hung and which connected the balcony to the next house. Perhaps she was not afraid of the thirty feet of nothing underneath them, but it seriously bothered him. He looked at her to see if she was joking.
The smile was still there, but her eyes were serious. She really meant what she had said. Just then did he see the orange glow around her eyes and the glowing amulet around her neck. He gasped in disbelief.
"I needed to borrow it for a moment. If you don't believe me, why don't you believe it? It's not that difficult." And with these words she spread her arms and walked with such light steps over the rope like over solid ground.
