~Meanwhile, at the Eastern Edge of the Garden~
The spoked star above head had finally ticked past midday; the hues of twilight were slowly creeping up the horizon.
Towards the Eastern exit of the Garden, a hooded figure sat down near a pile of rubble. They watched intently as whistles were blown and discussions were going on.
A group of firekeepers were gathered. Their expressions were all calm and composed. At a glance, they could all be recognised as individuals with a bit of confidence in their own self-preservation.
" Dixy, this is the first time in 100 years that the Garden will have almost no Rank 3 karma masters to patrol. It will be you and Relen who remain here. Relen will be at his usual spot in the lodge. You will be responsible for the Kiln."
Dixy nodded seriously and replied. " Don't die on me, old man. Night watch would get boring without you."
The figure sighed and grabbed Dixy's forearm. " The flames of the Garden protect me. I shall not want"
Dixy echoed, "The flames of the Garden protect me. I shall not want"
Dixy glanced around. The other senior firekeepers that were summoned only amounted to seven. Just seven souls would be the difference between the end of the brief years of prosperity held by the garden under Juraman.
Each one of them, even though outwardly composed. To people at their level, tension wasn't obvious; it was controlled and calculated in every movement. Even in casual conversation, their hands were near their weapons. Their eyes never linger in the light for too long, always glancing at shadows as if waiting for something to appear from them.
" Do you think you will be able to eliminate the Shuck King?"
Farod glanced around. At the mention of the Shuck king. He could see all seven of his companions flinch and glance in their direction, but quickly returned to their nominal state. Farod sighed to himself. ' They're listening to our conversation, hoping to hear something good from me.'
Farod looked around and shook his head. " I don't know." Hearing his declaration, the scattered conversations became even quieter as if waiting for him to continue.
" But Juraman has never failed us yet. He has always fought cryptids beyond his margin of strength since he came to be the owner of the Garden. He made it so that the Kiln's protective ash was not only for those who could afford it, but everywhere. So that our children could wander the streets of the garden without fear. He made it so that the weak could still live and work under the Farm's rules and survive as people, not as some lesser species. We choose to wear these uniforms not for the privilege but for the honour it brings. We are Firekeepers. We keep the Flame of hope from going out for those who cannot tend the fire themselves. "
He paused, letting his words settle amongst the crowd. Every one of the men and women felt their blood boil. If they were any rowdier, they would have let out a hefty shriek.
" Juraman has asked us to join him in eliminating an Elder Cryptid. I think we all know what that means. This creature has been alive for a minimum of five hundred years. It has thrived for five hundred years. It survived for five hundred years. It has the intelligence of a 500-year-old monster. So don't expect any honesty or chivalry in its actions. Cryptids are mutated monsters which must be purged…Most of us will not see 500 years into the future. But I hope that you can look forward to a year from now, an hour, a minute or even a single second that you can keep the flame burning for those that you love and burn brighter than ever, my friends. For WHAT?!
They could not bottle it anymore. Seven voices produced a tone as thunderous as 100 men.
"For The Garden!"
The group immediately began their final preparations before heading out. The figure who was kneeling in the rubble had mysteriously disappeared during Farod's rally.
They had snuck into one of the logistics wagons, hiding under a tarp. 'So this is what they're like. Every single one of them is so amazing. That Elder Cryptid has no chance against Juraman, Farod and the senior firekeepers. It's as good as dead. I have to see it with my own eyes. The flame of hope that my father talks so much about. '
Two young men continued to throw bags of grain, water and other supplies onto the bed of the wagon. The figure could hear the sounds of their quiet conversation while hiding under the tarp.
Huff!
"Heave! Hoo. You hear those fools? Talking about the flame of Hope and protecting the garden? " one of the voices sneered.
" Yaah, why would we need them to protect us if the kiln already does it? And Juraman? He's always off fighting some big monster that somehow would kill us all? If that's so true, how come he hasn't died yet? I mean, it's obvious he's just going into the Silent Forest to be lazy and do nothing. " The second voice replied with a tone that reeked of knowing everything under the seven colored sky.
The second voice let out an exhausted sigh. " Yeah, if I were a rank 4 karma master, I would have cleared out that forest and turned it into Kiln fuel years ago."
The first voice sneered. " You wish. You would probably have a shitty karma nature, like Turtle from the transformation.
The second laughed and returned the jab. " No mine would be manifestation, so I manifest your mother and fuck her like there's no tomorrow. "
" Yeah, Yeah. Let's get out of here. Vivian's got another shipment to outpost 16 and whoever does it gets paid double" The second voice sounded tired of his companion's lack of brain cells.
" Why do you think we're still bringing materials there even though we can't actually ship them out?"
The voice that seemed to know it all paused for a second and thought about it deeply. His tone now reflected that of someone who just got outsmarted by an idiot. " I don't know, and you do have a point. I guess it's just hard to notice. I mean, we've been doing shipments like this for years, and if they stopped now, I guess it would be abnormal, but the fact that they haven't is also equally strange. Hmmm."
The two had paused and sat in silence for a few seconds.
Smack! A hand smacked the carriage, causing it to wobble side to side. " Well, they're karma masters, right? I'm sure they would have done something about it if it was serious?"
" What if they don't know John?" his friend seemed unwilling to let go of his train of thought.
" What?" John let out a deep sigh that came from the depths of his soul. It seemed the fewer brain cells you had, the more susceptible to fear you were.
" I mean, what if they think the way we just did? What if they're actually doing something wrong?" His voice, which was just full of scorn, contained a hint of fear.
" You scared Doe?" John scoffed.
" Yes?" Doe replied immediately.
" Well, don't worry. Uncle John's gonna manifest your mommy for you. Just watch me."
A series of muffled grunts and groans filled the air as the cabin rocked back and forth before a light fart came out.
" Sigh, I guess my karma lake's all dried up, Doe."
The hidden person did not hear a reply after that, but they could hear the sounds of hasty footsteps.
After remaining still for so long, they immediately sat up. " That's not good. I have to tell Juraman and Farod?"
As they sat up, their hood slowly fell from their head, revealing soft features, brown hair and a face sprinkled with freckles.
It was Uquinn. However, before she could make her way out of the bed.
A voice tinged with a bit of annoyance called out to her. " Really? Were you going to tell them before or after you snuck into outpost #1."
Hearing the voice, Uquinn wasted no time as green karma bubbled from her karma lake, and her features began to transform into a feline.
" Do you think I'm a pushover?"
From out of nowhere, between the cracks in the wooden panels of the wagon, wooden arms extended and bound Uquinn.
The figure standing was covered in a thin veil of tangerine colored karma. His hair still resembled loose mop tissues, and his dark eyes trailed towards Uquin. This time, they held none of the friendliness that they once shared.
Uquinn, seeing his expression, frowned. " Relen…" Her body quickly began to swell and transform.
" I thought Juraman told you to stay in the Garden" The wooden puppet's arms squeezed tighter.
Uquinn, seeing that she couldn't escape, restrained her karma and settled down. " So what do you plan to do to me?" Her voice was tinged with undisguised malice.
" I was headed to Ziggy's after waiting for someone who didn't return after I sent them to deliver a message. I thought something might have gone wrong. Let's go together. He seems to like you."
Uquin frowned as a pair of arms separated from the wagon like polyps and restrained her as they continued their Journey.
The carigges left for Outpost #1 without any further interruptions.
The garden was now unprotected.