THE LAST GATEKEEPER

Introductions

           “So how did you find me?” Crohan asked over the camp fire. He went straight to the point, if she was a witch he'd rather they get the killing on now rather than later. She shrugged with rabbit still in her mouth and after a large swallow she spoke.

            “The Truth-sayer talked about you nearly 3 weeks ago and anyone coming from the Wilds is unheard of but that's the thing... She’s never wrong. So I came out here and I’ve been waiting ever since. The smoke from the fire caught my attention.” The girl looked up from her meal and Crow did as well. He knew she wasn't a witch now but a new threat had traded for an old. Did she intend justice for the house and the woman who had lived there? 

        It took seconds for their looks to turn into truth telling glances. He saw her intent on being a Blades Barer for a moment and she saw his endless path of death for a moment. She flickered to her feet in seconds and had a blade in her hand. Crow swiveled into the mud behind him and drew his sword. “Why’d you kill the woman!?” She snickered and raised her blade. Crow grimaced in disgust, he hated it when they came against him, he had enough enemies as it was. 

            “She wasn’t a woman!” Crow barked. “You know my profession what the hell do you think it was?” Crow added, he hated dealing with the bystandards. She took it into consideration but convincing her this was all based off wrong presumptions would be harder than that. 

            “Take me to her, prove it!” She insisted and raised her blade higher intending to threaten him. "Or I'll do it." She said with some amount of pride in her voice, as if she had leverage on Crow. The idea made him laugh inside, somewhere on the surface where he'd grown emotionless. 

            “No," The words shocked her slightly, she hadn't expected No. "I’m all up for help but I’m not back tracking because some girl comes and claims to be the law.” Crow eyed the girl's shadow of a face. 

            “I’ll stop you if you don’t.” Crow took the second after her words and used it. He slashed her blade down into the embers, sending crackling sparks around their shoes. A disarming skill his Father had taught him and he'd taught many times since. 

          “No, you won’t.” Crow said. The girl hesitated, slowly accepting defeat and then reluctantly but nonetheless gave up and stood back. “What’s your name?” Crow asked and sheathed his sword in one of the many slots on his waist for blades. He looked like a walking arsenal when he moved his kilt and revealed the many swords on his belt. 

            “It’s Azlyn.” She said and sat back down. Crow did the same. She had golden locks of hair from beneath her hood hanging out now and Crow began to lessen his guard. She was just a girl, he could see that now, a young one at that. 

            “Why don’t you take off the hood? It can’t be comfortable.” Crow was already beginning to eat again. She was taken aback by how bad she’d been out done just then though and was hesitant before doing anything he said. Azlyn had previously and secretly thought she was the best swordsmen in these parts all her life and just like that Crow had bested her. She took off the hood revealing her blonde hair and red cheeks. He admired her fair skin that resembled his and felt bad for her, she shouldn't have been taught the way of the blade with such innocence, atleast visible innocence. “So Azlyn, how far away is your town?” Crow asked and chewed meat off a ripe femur. 

            “A days travel at most, if you limp there...” Azlyn said and looked into the fire. Crow grinned at the sarcasm, his sister had been particularly fond of sarcasm. Sparks arose into the dry air. “Where did you come from?” She asked without looking at Crow, still bitter but also still intent on finding out who Crow was. She was shuffling sticks and twigs around in the dirt beside her and eventually grabbed one, a frail piece of wood that she snapped inside her hands and then tossed into the fire.

            “It’s a long story,” Crow said without looking up from his food and then took another bite. Rabbit had a bitter taste to it but he had become fond of it. For weeks he had come across nothing but things that weren’t very nice to eat, critters and creatures in the belly of the wilds. Rabbits were a common population in these woods and for a few days he’d been able to catch food easily and eat without chewing that much.

            “Does it look like we’ve got anything else to do?” Azlyn asked gesturing to the area, nothing but darkness and tall trees around them for miles.

            “I guess not.” Crow set down his plate. “4 years. That’s how long I’ve been on this trek but it's a 4 year tale I've told too many times... Go to sleep, Azlyn." Crow said and that was it, Azlyn was going to respond but decided against it. 

            Azlyn watched Crow for at least an hour in silence before falling asleep. Crow slept shortly afterward.