Chapter 14-1

Chapter 14: The Wandering Warder

“Why do so many turn to evil means to acquire what they want? Is it because their desires are, themselves, evil? Or is it that they lack the patience to work for them? Or perhaps they are so prideful they think they have been wronged in not having them?”

“All of these play a part, I am certain. But perhaps it is simply a part of the nature of thinking life, to be vulnerable to the temptations of evil. Whatever the case, so long as there are those who will use violence to take from others, I will stand against them. I am a Warder of Bahamut. I stand between evil and those who cannot defend themselves, till my dying breath.”

“So your father was a blue dragon, but you were raised by a gold dragon?”

Garkhen looked ahead at Tirel, pausing a moment from the laborious uphill climb.

“Yes. My father was... less than interested in caring for his child, it would seem. From what my mentor told me, my mother tried to raise me alone for a time, but dwarven culture is... not particularly accepting of such cases, much less of the children of monsters, as they saw it. So when he offered to raise me in her place, she accepted.”

Tirel looked back at Garkhen and grinned a bit. “That must have been strange, living with a dragon.”

The half-dragon shrugged slightly, his armor creaking only slightly at the motion. “It was all I had known.”

They were already several hour's journey from the city. After his decision to leave, Garkhen had sought out the Wyre and asked if he wished to accompany him. Tirel had joined him gladly, and they had set off this morning for the nearest village in the foothills that had reported recent activity. Now Garkhen was physically regretting both decisions. His feet were scarcely well-made for walking on level ground, and the steep, rocky terrain was quickly causing him pain. But it was nothing, really. He would continue on for the sake of those who lived still in fear.

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It seemed like the rest of Garkhen leaving town was going to be boring, so... he's out of town. :)