A little while later, the girls came to an old looking wooden bridge. A small sign, stuck into the ground in front of the bridge, had the words, ‘Cooper Bridge’ carved into it. Below that, it had an arrow and the words ‘Wildpoint Lookout’ carved on it. The arrow pointed to a small path leading off into the forest, to the right of the bridge. The bridge crossed over a softly moving wide river below. From what Avery remembered of the maps Gumptin had them study, the river was called Moonfound River and it started in the Stormfell Mountain range, ran all the way through the Darksin and Wildwood Forests, and ended in a giant lake called Ravage Lake, bordering the Wasted Desert.
As they crossed the bridge, the sound of the flowing crystal clear water below sounded like bubbling bells as the water bounced off of the smooth stones and riverbed brush.
After about an hour and twenty minutes of slow riding, the girls reached a section where the road diverged off into three separate paths. There was a large wooden post sign in the center of the three paths, with multiple directional signs pointing to different villages, nailed onto it. At the very top of the sign there was a board that pointed straight ahead. On it was written the name, ‘Knighton’. Below it was nailed a board pointing to the right road, which read, ‘Blackmore’. Below that, pointing to the left road was a sign that read, ‘Stormfell’. Then, below that, another sign pointing to the right that said, ‘Vowhollow’. Followed by a sign nailed beneath, pointing left, that read, ‘Divinwood‘. Then, a final sign, that pointed right, with the word, ‘Darksin’ written on it and a small black, X carved into the wood after it, in what appeared to be a warning. The sign made it easy enough for the Protectors to understand that they wanted to continue traveling straight.
The farther they rode past the sign, the denser the forest became. With less light able to shine through the compact tree tops, a darkness fell over them, and a thickness hung in the air. It felt as if the very atmosphere itself were pushing in on them. The trees began to grow so close together, that as the Protectors trotted down the road; it looked as if they were surrounded on either side bay a dark brown wall. When Avery did manage to catch a glimpse of the forest between the trees, the only thing she was able to make out were dark shadows and the occasional ray of light, illuminating a patch of ankle high green grass. The only real color Avery could see were the spattering of multi colored wildflowers lining the edges where the forest met the road.
After riding for about twenty minutes down the more primitive road, the path began to gradually incline up a large hill. The top of the hill was also where the forest ended.
The moment they reached the top of the high hill, the trees opened up and a flood of sunlight smashed into the Protectors’ eyes. Avery pulled Phantom up to a halt, allowing her eyes time to adjust to the new brightness. The rest of the Protectors followed her lead. As she reached her hand up above her eyes to shield them from the sun, Avery scanned the horizon in front of her. What she saw almost took her breath away.
The dirt road they were on led down a hill of Christmas green colored grass, and as the wind blew through it, creating waves, it made the Protectors feel like they were standing in the center of a vast green ocean. When the road reached the bottom of the grassy hill, it leveled out into an expansive valley below. On each side of the road were scatterings of small straw farm houses, each with their own little section of land. From high above the valley, most of the farms looked like they were growing wheat and different types of vegetables. There were animals, sheep, chickens, horses, pigs, bunnies, and the occasional cow fenced into pastures around the houses.
There were two roads that led off of the Main Road once it leveled out in the valley, one to the right and one to the left. The roads led off into separate sections of the forest. Over a dozen people were using the road, most of them the farmers who had homes in the valley. They were using their horse and carts to take their crops towards the castle. The entire valley and castle were surrounded by the dense Wildwood forest.
It was the castle that was really leaving Avery in a state of awe. It was the biggest castle she had ever seen. Of course, up until this point, the closest Avery had ever come to seeing a castle was the pink and purple fiberglass castle on course four of Bobcat Bob’s Miniature Golf World, back on Redemption. So she was completely unprepared for the magnificent structure her eyes were now gazing at.
The castle sat on top of a high hill and was surrounded by a large octangular stone wall. The Main Road they were on led up the hill to the outer wall of the castle and right up to the drawbridge, which led to an arched gatehouse. The outer wall was massive, with high battlement walls built out of a light colored stone. It had a total of eight square towers built into each edge. The top of every tower had a low battlement and circular balcony with arrowslits wrapping around it. The castle, itself, was comprised of a mixture of light and dark gray stones. The tallest tower, cylindrical in shape, was in the dead center of the castle. It had a dark blue cone shaped roof with a long pole coming out of it and a black flag with a silver wolf emblem attached to the top of the pole. There were four smaller cylindrical towers on each edge of the castle. Each had the exact same cone shaped dark blue roof and pole with the flag attached. Built into the castle wall, on the north and south side, were two more towers. These had a flat roof with high parapets. Every tower had a wide circular balcony wrapped around it, near the top. All except for two square shaped towers, bordering the entrance to the actual castle. Arched windows and arrowslits lined the walls of the castle.
From behind her, Avery heard Sasha say, “That’s it, forget Havyn, we’re staying there.”
Avery nudged Phantom into a walk, and the Protectors continued down the path towards the castle.
The closer they got to the valley below the forest; they noticed people beginning to come out of their houses. Men who were working in their fields stopped and stared as the Protectors approached. A group of young children playing in a wheat field began waving at the girls. Avery waved tentatively back. It was an odd feeling, having people she didn’t know interested in her presence. Back in Redemption, even if people knew you, it didn’t mean they were the least bit interested in your comings or goings.
As they passed a large potato field, a man, who had been tending his crop close to the road, took off his cap as they neared him and said to them, “You is them, ain’t ya…the Protectors?”
The girls nodded and Jade replied, “Yeah, I suppose we are.”
The man seemed to get excited, and clutched tightly at the cap in his hands, “Might good to see ya!” The man ginned, “All of us here were just so happy to hear ya weren’t dead!”
Jade let out a saucy laugh, “Us too, buddy.”
After they had ridden a few feet away from the man, they heard him yell out loudly, “It’s them!”
Sasha leaned in closer towards the other girls and said, “Let’s move it a little faster, ladies. I don’t want any more hick farmers telling me how excited I make them.”
Avery looked back and gave Sasha a disapproving look, as Skylar laughed and told her, “You need to get over yourself, girl.”
To which Jade responded by snorting and saying, “When horses shit apple pie.”
They walked their horses up the hill towards the castle. When they reached the end of the road, the drawbridge was down, allowing them to cross the steep ravine between the castle and the road. Phantom and the other horses’ hooves clomped on the heavy wooden drawbridge as they crossed it.
There were two guards posted at each side of the entrance to the castle. They were dressed in chain mail and wore a black tunic with a silver wolf’s head on it, belted over it. The silver helmets they wore made their eyes the only visible features on their face. Each of them held in their hand a tall lance and had a sword attached to a belt around their waist.
Avery slowed Phantom up slightly as they passed the guards. It was an instinct, like when she used to slow down her car back on Redemption when she would pass a police car, even
if she was going the speed limit.
Once inside the outer walls, it was like a whole other village had just opened up to them. There were wide flagstone streets. On both sides of the street there were multiple wooden shops, houses, and stands built up against the large outer wall and the castle wall. A hundred different scents and sounds accosted the Protectors’ senses. The smell of food, and smoke, flowers, hay, and horses all mingled together with the smell of human sweat. There were people talking, and shouting, and haggling over prices of merchandise.
Avery glanced up and saw a guard, in uniform, posted every ten feet along the top of the outer wall. Along the walls of the castle, including the tower walls, there were also uniformed guards positioned every ten feet.
“Apples, ten in a bunch!” A woman to the right of them, standing behind a fruit stand, shouted.
To the left, a man hollered, “Fresh fish!”
Dogs were barking and children were crying and laughing. People were carrying baskets full of goods, pushing carts, and strolling along on their way. They walked in front of, behind, and in-between the Protectors and their horses. It was by far the busiest place the Protectors had ever been to on Orcatia. The bustle threw them off guard.
Avery looked behind her to the other Protectors, looking for a little guidance, since she wasn’t quite sure where she was suppose to go to now that they were inside the outer castle walls. Unfortunately, the others were no help. Sasha ignored her, Skylar was distracted by a lean muscled blacksmith working nearby, Bunny looked more lost than Avery, and Jade just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
While she was still turned to the other Protectors, Avery heard a man’s voice shout above the other noises, “I take it you are the Protectors.”
Avery turned and saw a blond clean shaven man in his mid thirties standing in front of her. He was wearing the same chain mail and black tunic uniform the other guards had on, except he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Behind the man were two rows of five guards, each in full uniform, and carrying the same tall lances the guards at the entrance had.
“Hello.” Avery said tentatively, looking down at the man and weapon carrying guards.
“We’ve been expecting you.” The man said, “I’m General Stone, I command the guards, but you can call me Ferris if you like.” General Stone smiled up at each of the girls, effectively softening his authoritative presence. It immediately made Avery feel more at ease with him.
“Nice to meet you.” Avery told him, and then proceeded to introduce herself and the other Protectors.
General Stone said hello to each of them in turn, then said, “If you could please follow me.” He turned and walked towards the castle. The rest of the guards turned and marched along behind him.
Avery noticed that their little interaction with General Stone and the guards had captured the attention of a number of the people around them. Feeling a bit on display, Avery was happy to follow the General and guards towards the castle entrance.
When they reached the entrance, just a short thirty second walk from where they had been, they saw a large arched opening, about twenty feet wide and thirty feet high, with a heavy iron gate coming half the way down in front of it. On either side of the gated entryway were two guards. One stood next to a hefty wooden lever that Avery assumed controlled the rise and fall of the iron gate.
Once inside the castle gate, the Protectors found themselves in the main courtyard. The flagstone walkway had continued inside the castle gate and outlined a lush green rectangular yard the size of a hockey rink. A packed dirt walkway led up the center of the yard and was bordered by rows of five foot tall trees, all dappled with dark red flowers. On the right and left side of the courtyard, the castle walls were straight, but as the courtyard ended, sections of the wall protruded and portions seemed to be built on to the walls as extensions. There was a large rectangular building attached to the middle tower section of the castle, on the opposite side of the courtyard. It was almost the width of the courtyard and appeared to be about five stories tall. It attached to the right section of the castle wall with a small two story building. The connecting section had a walled archway through the middle of the first floor, to allow people and horses to walk from the courtyard to the back right section of the castle.
The part of the castle in front of them had a wide ten step white marble staircase that decreased in width the closer it got to the enormous arched heavy metal double door entrance, which had two large wolf heads etched into the metal of the doors. Above the entrance was a massive window that Avery thought was probably equal to the size of her house back in Redemption. She squinted to see if she could see anything behind the ridiculously large window, but the sun was gleaming off of it, allowing Avery to see nothing but a bright shine.
Three boys, all in their late teens, came running out from behind the tower section of the castle, through the archway in the small attached building. They were all in lightweight cotton pants and dark colored tunics. They ran up to where the Protectors sat on their unmoving horses and formed a straight line. To Avery, they looked like professional versions of Pip.
“They’ll take your horses.” General Stone told the Protectors, which gave Avery a little understanding of why they looked like three order following Pip’s
Avery and the others dismounted, handing over their reins to the stable boys. They watched as their horses were led away and out of sight.
“This way.” General Stone said to them and walked down the dirt path in the center of the courtyard.
The Protectors followed him, but the ten guards they had walked in with made their way down the left side of the courtyard and down a small path that led into a different section of the castle.
When the Protectors followed General Stone up the white marble steps and through the thick metal entrance doors, they found themselves in the most spacious room they could imagine. It was even bigger than their high school auditorium. It shocked them to realize that they were only standing in the entryway.
The floor was entirely covered in black marble, and the dark stone walls were lined with black and burgundy tapestries, depicting forest landscapes and battle scenes. There were two closed wooden doors to the left of the girls and an open archway to the right that led to a sunlit sitting room with crimson red walls and black cushioned chairs and benches. Avery looked up and saw that the rest of the floors had no floor landings above the square entryway area. She was able to see straight up to the dark blue painted roof. She was also able to see the stone railings for every floor above her. Avery counted them, one, two…five. There were a total of five floors above her. At least, that she could see.
About a hundred feet in front of them was a long dimly lit hallway. From what the girls could see, it had stone walls lined with suits of armor and unlit torches. On either side of the hallway entrance were the beginnings of two massive staircases. The staircases and railings were polished and carved out of a hard dark stone. They wound around in a crescent moon shape and led up to the high second floor, which in any other building would have been more like the third or fourth floor.
The Protectors followed General Stone up the right hand staircase. When the Protectors reached the second floor, they became level with the large window that Avery had tried to peer through from out in the courtyard. As unsuccessful as she had been peering in, Avery was able to see out completely fine. She walked over to the stone railing that stood between her and a fifty foot drop and gazed out the multi-paned window. From the height the window was at, Avery was unable to see the bustling society outside of Knighton Castle or the valley below, but she was able to see a great expanse of Wildwood Forest, with its tall lush dark green trees. She could also see the bright blue sky and cotton ball clouds. The sun shone down through the trees, illuminating the rich dark brown of the tree trunks. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had seen all day, and she was including the castle in that assessment.
General Stone let out a small cough, letting Avery
know that he was waiting for her before continuing on. Avery tore her eyes away from the window and walked over to where General Stone was waiting for her. Both staircases continued winding up to the floors above, but General Stone led the girls down a long, torch-lit center hallway. A dark red carpeting ran down the middle of the hard stone floor. Large square canvas paintings, over at least two dozen, in heavy mahogany frames lined the hallway.
They passed one painting with a small silver plaque attached to the bottom of the frame that had, ‘Ivyville’, engraved on it. It was a painting of a smaller village, with spread out chalet-like houses that had brightly painted red and green roofs. There were no trees to be seen in the village, just open fields of long yellow grasses and a narrow but long river running through the center of it. Throughout the fields there were dozens of horses and foals running, standing, and munching on the grasses. The painting across from the Ivyville painting had a small silver plaque that said, ‘Klover’, on it. The village in that painting was lush and over abundantly green. It was in the middle of the forest, just as Havyn was, but the homes, instead of being built into trees, were built directly next to the trees. They were short one story homes, covered in vines and moss, so much so, that one of the only visible things about the homes were the windows and doors. Next to that painting, was a painting entitled, ‘Lilydale’. It looked just as the girls had remembered it, except without any buildings on fire or dead villagers lying around. The straw homes of the village were intact. The yellow Everlily fields were in full bloom and it almost looked like the houses were built next to a giant field of sunshine.
The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga Page 25
