Kar wasn't alone in the cart, but with the bag over his head, he had no way of knowing how many of them there were or who was here with him. They bounced along for quite a while, up and down one incline after another, until Kar lost track of time. At some point, he passed out, then woke to being hauled roughly out of the cart and to his feet. The bag was ripped off his head and moon and starlight bathed him.
It was night now, which meant hours had passed.
He and the other captives were lined up in a row and their hands unbound. Kar searched down the line, looking intently at the faces of the other captives. He was both relieved and dismayed to see Isa standing there among them, and then was doubly shocked to find his friend Derek standing there next to her.
A gruff looking man carrying a sack that clinked as he moved walked down the line. He pulled out bands and latched them around the necks and wrists of one person after another with practiced precision. Behind him, another man with a long chain followed and latched each captive into place one by one. Riders stood guard all around them. Kar tried to do a rough count in his head. There were well over forty captives, most he recognized from the caravan, and a dozen or so riders. Far fewer raiders overall than he had seen back at the caravan.
"Apologies for the rough treatment," A women's voice said loudly behind Kar. Her horses' hooves thudded in the dirt as she rounded the end of the line of prisoners and came into view. It was that witch from before on her red horse. Kar trembled with rage and hatred that melded into fear as he thought about Nat, and Aldwin and all the others. What had happened to them?
"You'll have the opportunity to earn your freedom shortly, for now, we have a bit of a journey ahead of us and I need you all on your best behavior, understood?"
One of the riders walked his mount up alongside hers, a whip held at his side.
"Don't make trouble and there won't be none for you, you hear?" With that, she kicked her horse ahead and rode towards the front of the line. The man with the whip cracked it in the air, and they all shambled off into the grasslands.
They traveled up a nearby hill and at the top Kar stumbled in line as they came to a halt. Beyond a sea of grass lay what he assumed must be Iridess splayed out before them. Kar couldn't help but gawk. He'd never imagined anything on the scale of this city. A jagged line to their left marked what must be the Rift. As it neared the city, the far side of the rift's edge rose markedly into a sheer cliff face. It ran all the way to the base of a broken mountain peak which dominated the skyline, looming over the ruins of this once great metropolis. How many people had lived here before the Cataclysm? Aldwin had claimed millions. Tens of millions. Those numbers were overwhelming to Kar, but looking down on the rubble and remains of all the structures that had once housed and sheltered them awed him immensely.
He appreciated now the description Aldwin had given him of the city when Kar had asked what it was like. The Ruins were alive. Even from this distance, he could see that. Greenery ran in rivulets up and down old roadways and boulevards, and moonlight glinted off pools and streams of water that flowed freely. But the buildings, the buildings, were most remarkable of all. Obelisk towers of stone crowded the horizon like some strange, monumental forest. Most of their tops were broken and jagged, but some few still stood tall and proud, as if in defiance of time and cataclysm.
He was only given a moment to admire the sight. Soon he and the other captives were prodded down the slope and into that sea of grass.
For Kar, cresting that hill felt like leaving the familiar world he knew behind and entering an entirely new one.
----
Their lead captor's name was evidently Kiya. Kar overheard the guards talking about her in furtive and hushed tones amidst themselves along the trek. They were intimidated by her, though she was small and physically unimposing. Nonetheless, she towered over Kar and the other captives from atop that red horse of hers. Kar guessed she was in her late twenties or early thirties. Though, she wore those years hard. Her tawdry auburn hair was short under her wide-brimmed hat.
They rested around noon that following day, laying down amidst the tall grass. The chain weighed heavy on Kar's neck and arms, but its metal was cool against his skin.
He'd finally been able to make eye contact with Isa and Derek who were further up the line while he was almost at the rear. Isa especially had been excited to see him. Her hair was matted with dried blood, hers or someone else's Kar couldn't discern. He was just glad that Derek was with her, though he was dismayed that his friend had been caught up in this madness as well. There was no way to communicate directly with each other, so Kar did his best to smile warmly at them, hoping to comfort Isa in some small way. How were they going to get out of this? And what was this anyhow? Kar still didn't understand who their captors were or what they intended to do with them.
He worried about the others in the caravan, Nat most of all.
A Guardian. That's what she had said she had been. And Kiya had recognized it right away when she saw Nat in action. Kar still didn't understand how his aunt had moved the way she had, how she had fought like that. He realized it was related in some way to the light or power held within the crystal shards. Nat's explanation of things all those weeks ago replayed in his mind.
He wondered… that rod Kiya had used to test people. What was it sensing? Aldwin had given them those crystal shards. Nat obviously had special abilities. Did that mean Kar did too? She had said he and Isa would have been trained as Guardians if they had grown up in Iridess instead of Riftwater.
He managed to slip his fingers into his trouser pocket and groped for the crystal that he hoped was still there. He released a sigh of relief when he felt its faceted edges. It felt warm to his touch and strength seemed to flow from it to him, though he may have just imagined it. It soothed him regardless to know it remained in his possession. Though, he wondered if they would search him more thoroughly when they got to their destination. Kar hoped not.
Too soon they were roused from their rest, some kicked awake by guards or dragged to their feet by the chain they were all attached to.
Kiya rode past them, rushing towards the rear of the line. Kar noticed her talking to another rider that seemed to have just caught up with the group. She looked agitated as she waved several more guards over to her. She said something to them and then as a group, five or six rode off back along the course they had been following throughout the day.
Kiya herself wheeled around and spurred her horse back towards the front, "Let's pick up the pace!" She yelled, her command followed by the cracking of the guard's whips as Kar and the others were pulled along. His legs trembled, and he started to worry that he would collapse and be dragged along or beaten as a consequence.
Just then a resonating boom echoed behind them and Kar couldn't help but cower as he turned to look back. He caught a glimpse of something soaring at speed through the air in a falling arc. It took a moment to realize it was a person.
It was Aldwin. He had come for them.
Kar watched slack-jawed as the man fell feet first toward the ground, his arms extended and hands outstretched. He slowed as he descended until he had almost stopped altogether, hovering some ten spans overhead. Riders aimed and loosed arrows at him, but he continued to hang there unperturbed, his eyes scanning the grass below. The arrows were knocked aside or struck down by some invisible force long before they could reach their mark.
Kar stood then and waved his arms frantically, the chain and his shackles jangling and chinking loudly. The commotion drew Aldwin's attention, and he dropped towards the ground, where Kar lost sight of him in the tall grass.