The Guardian
He whipped his horse to a gallop, repeatedly lashing the beast with the reins, urging it to race faster. Snorting and bucking, it continued to blaze a path through the thick forest. The man kept looking behind him, but his pursuer was not in sight. Too many trees in the way, got to be careful, he thinks. As the horse leaps a fallen log, the man catch's sight of it, the Inn he has stopped at earlier . . . Was it only a few hours ago, seems like years. Just then, above the noise of the horse, his breathing and his heartbeat, he could hear it . . . the sound that first started this horrific night. Soft, but noticeable, the sound of sandpaper across stone, he knew the thing was close. The horse must have scented it, because just then it went wild, bucking and skipping, not obeying any command. The man was thrown free, and the horse raced off, wide eyed with fright. Wasting no time, he was up on his feet running for his life. If only I had listened, he thinks. The words came back to him, Beware the Guardian, None shall enter the Forgotten Forest, and live, he had said. Stupid superstition, he had thought, one to many drinks for the toothless old coot. But he was right, and now John Mathews was going to find out the hard way . . .
When Franc L'Orendir was 18, he and three friends thought it would be great if they could disprove the legend of "The Guardian." They had grown up hearing the tales of travellers entering the woods just east of town, and never making it to their destinations. Of course, this was just a legend, something to scare the children into staying out of the woods, which were by no means safe, Guardian or not.
Late one night, Franc, Johzen, Rita and Henrie gathered together what they could swipe from home, and set out to find this creature who inhabited the "Forgotten Forest" as the stories called it. Franc, being the son of the town butcher, managed to smuggle out his fathers best carving knife, Johzen "borrowed" her father's bow and quiver, while Rita and Henrie gathered an assortment of herbs and salves, "just in case." The group met at the Cat's Rest Inn, just outside of town. The plan was to set out the next morning, and be back by no later than midnight. Dawn broke and the four friends started their journey, laughing and joking around, not taking their "quest" as they called it, too seriously. Rita and Henrie's mother was the township's librarian/historian, so they also managed to snag a map of the area to follow. None of them had ever been outside the close-knit community before, so following the map proved more difficult then they had first anticipated. After a few minutes of arguing, Franc took the lead and headed East, following the light trail that lead toward the woods. It was late morning by the time he brought them to a halt, Johzen complaining about Franc's sudden assumption of leadership.
"What makes you so special, that you get to lead us?" She quipped.
"Because I'm oldest, and I'm tired of listening to you guys argue" he replied.
"Oldest or not, that doesn't make you leader by default."
"Well, it was his idea..." Rita put in.
"Yeah, well, there is that."
That ended the discussion as Franc suggested a light meal before heading into the woods. They sat down on a grassy tear-shaped hill that was the centre of the roundabout, where the wagons would turn around and head back into town. Bread, cheese, dried meat and water was passed around, and soon the mood was back to its previous lightheartedness. When everyone was full, Franc once again took the lead and headed into the cave-like opening into the forest, where the road continued past and broke the wall of trees. The canopy above provided little light, but their eyes soon adjusted and they could see that the road was little more than two ruts, overgrown with weeds and grass. This was strange, because up until about thirty yards from the forest, it was a well cut and tended road. This continued on for some time, until was difficult to even find the road, and eventually it seemed to stop completely. Franc insisted on pushing through, even though it was obvious to the others that they were going to get lost.
The day slowly faded into night, and still Franc insisted on pushing on, claiming he could still see the trail, and knew exactly where they were. Rita and Johzen were outwardly frightened, and Henrie was putting on his best front, even though he was as scared as they were. Finally, in desperate frustration, Franc admitted to being lost, and suggested they find a place to camp for the night. It didn't take them long to find a large enough clearing for them to huddle together in . . . None of them thought of bringing a tent, or even so much as a blanket. Francs offered to stand watch while the others slept, but Henrie insisted on sharing the watch. Little did they know, something was already watching them . . .
Chapter 2