Guardians: The Sacred Scrolls by Nick Venom (ready to read books txt) 📕

“We would be more than friends if you didn’t flirt with Zoe and any other attractive-looking women.” She spat, glaring at Gold. He looked away sheepishly. He was a well-known playboy in the surrounding area.

Since the construction of the Black Fortress, flocks of immigrants entered Arling and the other islands under the Isles of Southaven nation with no resistance. They rebuilt and populated the ghost towns, giving Leoni a chance to send Zoe to school right before his death.

She dropped out six years later after the combined efforts of stress and grief ambushed her 

“Hey, you two!” Griff said, entering the dining room. “Don’t mention Otherworlders, you do realize that any material about them is being purged and anybody holding onto them is being executed.” He warned.

“I heard that Otherworlders aren’t being killed anymore for some reason. It happened last year, didn’t it?” Gold said.

Griff shook his head. “In Great Wolfstein, but this kingdom isn’t the same. Anything about Otherworlds isn’t allowed.” He informed them.

“It’s our bad,” Violet said.

“Good that you understand your mistake. However, as punishment, you’ll have to cook me and Zoe a five-course meal.” He sat down at the wooden dining room table, a large circular table with four chairs.

“What? That is so unfair!” Gold shouted.

“Yeah, we’re not your slaves!” Violet added.

“Want to clean the walls?” Griff threatened.

Gold and Violet shared a quick look before turning back to Griff. “We’ll do cooking.” They both said simultaneously.

“Good, now get me those Otherworlders’ paen… panscale… Oh, they’re called pancakes. I want-” An alarm blared, cutting Griff off. The three cringed at the alarm before rushing out of the dining room towards the stairs that lead to the roof. Griff grabbed his ax on the way out, glancing towards Zoe’s door, at the end of the hallway connecting all of the rooms in the fortress. He then turned back, heading up the stairs. 

Fortunately, Zoe quickly caught up to them, her hand hovering over her sword in its scabbard - all of them bursting out of the roof’s entrance. They sprinted towards the side of the roof that the alarm went off on. 

Zoe sprinted faster than the others, reaching the frontlines before them. In front of them stood a small detachment of black-cloaked magic-users and swordsmen. They all wore black; their armor or cloaks masked in it.

“Same plan as usual.” She declared before jumping off the fortress, sticking close enough to slide down the slightly angled wall. It was built differently than the other sides, at an angle too steep to climb but enough to slide down without issue.

Griff slid down alongside Zoe, both landing with a roll. They rolled to discard their momentum and the pain they’ll feel when hitting the ground hard. 

Zoe swiftly brandished her weapon, a broken iron sword. The same sword was given to her by her father, known as Freedom’s Touch. The sword wasn’t as sturdy as Leoni thought, breaking around the same time as when she dropped out of school.

Zoe sprinted headfirst into the swordsmen, who all smirked and chuckled at her broken weapon, and caught them off-guard. “Divine Will!” She exclaimed, her broken sword being illuminated by a thin layer of blue that covered the entire weapon. She ran through an entire line of swordsmen, slicing them as quickly as she could.

Griff didn’t want to fall behind, exclaiming “Come at me, you bastards!” Before charging headfirst into swords and axes. He was sliced and scratched, but no wounds sunk deep. Instead, the superficial wounds gave him motivation, enough to decimate the swordsmen not killed by Zoe during her initial strike.

Violet and Gold remained on top of the fortress, both extending their palms towards the mages in the back of the detachment. “Earthquake!” Violet shouted, awakening her skill. The ground behind a few mages shook violently before opening, swallowing them with a few screams, and then sealing up like a healed wound.

Gold exclaimed, “Fireball”, and launched fireballs the shape of two soccer balls together, hitting the remaining mages left untouched by Violet’s attack.

Within two minutes of the attack beginning, the small detachment of mysterious people was slaughtered with little resistance. The Guardians, assigned by Leoni (Griff and Zoe) and Zoe (Violet and Gold), stood terrifyingly on top of in front of the fortress. The short but violent fight ended to the Guardians’ advantage. However… Where did the people come from? And why were they wearing similar gear? Were they from a vicious clan that talked with their hands first?

They’re here for the vault. Zoe deduced. Deep inside the fortress was a vault filled to the brim with treasures that Leoni found. The real purpose behind the Guardians protecting the fortress was to protect the vault. Especially the Sacred Scrolls---Immortality, Eternity, and Fortune. Immortality, for instance, would grant someone the ability to live freely without worry of death.

The vault was a goldmine that many wanted to pick clean.

TBC…

“Has the mission been completed?” A man greyed out by the darkness of night. The man appeared as a hologram in front of a heavily cloaked woman. She raised her head, her hood moving up to reveal her dark-skinned face. Her ears poked at her hood, revealing her race.

The woman kneeled, lowering her head. “No sir.”

“Why not?” The man growled.

“The detachment sent to deal with the protectors were slaughtered by them. It was a total loss on my part.” 

The man grumbled to himself. “Four people defeated nearly triple the number of swordsmen and mages?” The woman nodded her head. “Avene, you better not be lying to me.” 

“This servant would never. You are the benefactor of my tribe and our people.” She pressed her forehead against the cool dirt.

The man glared at her. “I see… take all of your forces and defeat them no matter what.”

“It would be suicidal,” Avene said, raising her head to meet the man’s eyes. “We would be devastated by them. Many of my brethren will fall.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” The man declared. Avene cowered under his words, which nearly crushed her. “Your chief gave your entire tribe’s lives to me. I will do with them as I see fit.” 

“Y-Yes,” She pressed her forehead on the ground again. “Yes, my-”

“Your Commander. Don’t refer to me otherwise.” The man turned around, facing away from her. “From now on, you are Captain Avene of the Artifact Collection Squadron. Furthermore, your ties with Asher have been buried. There’s no Avene in the Asher Citizen Count. You’re a ghost and you will act as such.” He ordered her. “This will be the last time we talk unless you bring me the Sacred Scrolls; specifically the Scroll of Immortality. Don’t bring what I want and you’ll be-” He glared at her, looking over his shoulder. “-taken care of.”

Avene nodded violently, her forehead and hair scraping against the dirt and slowly digging in. “Yes, my… My Commander. I am a ghost leading a rogue squadron. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The man grinned, nodding softly. “Get me my spoils.” He reminded her as his hologram disappeared, leaving Avene in the cold draft of the night wind. The moon shined overhead, but not on her. It shined on the fortress.

***

The day had passed, everybody taking the downtime to relax and regain their mana and strength, before converging into a room in the fortress dubbed the War Room. The War Room was a large room with a few rows of chairs and with a whiteboard and desk at the front of the chairs. It reminded Zoe of her days in school.

“Who were they? They aren’t your standard bandits.” Gold noted, sitting down on one of the chairs. “They seemed like a team.”

“Who knows?” Zoe remarked, standing by the door. “They’re dead.”

Griff shook his head, standing near Zoe. “This matter is far from dead. Gold is right. Something is really off here. They were working too well to be standard bandits and too strategically to be a gang.” 

“Maybe some elite force sent here to rob us? I’ve been hearing some nasty rumors from refugees from Asher.” Violet interjected. She stood by the whiteboard. “Some kind of elite force has been dispatched and is headed towards us for the scrolls.” Zoe glared at her and she cowered under it. “I’m sorry Zoe, but that’s what I heard. I… I didn’t mean to mention them.”

Griff outstretched his arm in front of Zoe. “Calm down. We don’t need a civil war here. Violet was reciting a rumor she heard.”

“Don’t recite anything then.” Zoe snarled. Violet took a step back.

Griff shook his head, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Shut it, Zoe. It’s better if we hear about these rumors while they remain as rumors than when they become reality. If there is some elite force on its way to snatch up the…” He voice trailed off as he racked his mind for a substitute for the word ‘scrolls’. “If they’re here to steal from us then we should be prepared for their arrival. Those people that attacked us might’ve been a trick to make us lower our guards. Who knows?” He said.

“That makes sense.” Gold added. He glanced at Violet who looked a bit shaken up, walking over to her. He draped his arm over his shoulder and brought her closer to him. “You okay?”

She nodded, appearing less frightened. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She pushed him off. 

Griff ignored the lovebirds. “We have to realize that, one day, somebody will successfully steal from us. What will you do when that happens?” 

Zoe glared at him. “It won’t happen… because I will protect my father’s valuables.”

“Then what will happen when you die? Who will protect this fortress after?” Griff asked.

“My children.” She responded without a moment of hesitance. “They will protect their grandparents’ creation.”

Griff let out a laugh, surprising Gold and Violet who were enjoying a peaceful moment. “Kids? You? The woman who nearly cut a man in half for flirting with you? You almost killed Gold when he first tried to flirt with you.”

Gold pulled up his shirt, revealing a small scar next to his belly button. “I still got the scar.”

Zoe puffed her cheeks. “If I wanted, I could get someone.” Her words were accompanied by awkward silence. Nobody believed her.

“So… you are-” Gold sidestepped around Violet, who shot a not-so-nice finger at him, and approached Zoe. “-looking for someone because I’m available.”

“You’re single for a reason.” Violet retorted. Griff and Violet chuckled as Gold approached Zoe, who glared at him. 

“Gold, do you want another scar?” She calmly asked. She was scarier when calm.

Gold spun on his heels and retreated behind Violet, peering over her shoulders at Zoe. “Nope, I’m fine.” He ducked his head behind Violet, semi-disappearing.

Zoe shook her head, turning away from him. “Griff, I-” The alarm went off, all four of them cringing at the loudness of the blaring alarm. However, they pushed forward. They gathered their weapons and strength before moving outside.

They reached the rooftop, peering down at the attackers. A larger number of black-cloaked men and women stood in the open field surrounding the fortress; mages and magicians galore. 

“Not standard bandits.” Gold remarked.

“Yup, not bandits,” Violet added.

“Shut it the both of you.” Griff barked, his ax in hand. He counted the number of people standing in front of them but quickly lost count. “It isn’t a simple fight this