“You need a name that only you or I know.”
“Why?”
“I was a street urchin... it’s…”
“A street thing I know.”
“You are such a know-it-all.”
“Eh.” Harmony shrugged. “So about this name among brothers.”
“Oh, yes…” The black whelp eyed Harmony over for a moment. “You seem like Knight to me…”
“Knight?” Harmony nearly burst into tears at that.
“Yeah… I think Knight sounds cool…” At that the dam broke and Harmony grabbed Twixt’d into a bone crushing hug. “What is bucking wrong with you?” Twixt’d pushed Harmony away. “I don’t do mushy that well and you know it.”
“Sorry…” Harmony sniffed. “I couldn’t help it.”
“Whatever.” Twixt’d grumbled but allowed a quick smile through.
“So are you ready for our sparring match?”
“Of course,” Twixt’d grinned, “and this time, I will win.”
“Doubtful… You have improved quite a bit in the past month but you are not as talented as Quartermaster.”
“I can fly circles around that fatso.”
“Well in a non magic aerial battle you would have the advantage even I don’t think I could win against you there. We spar on ground to improve your weak area because what would happen if you are forced to fight on the ground?”
“Okay, enough lecturing Professor Boring.” Twixt’d gave an exaggerated yawn.
“Very well…” Harmony caught Twixt’d off guard with a spin knocking him on his back hard.
“Hey!” Twixt’d grumbled as he got back on his feet.
“Tell me, do those who fight ‘with honor’ live long on the streets?” Harmony asked.
“Not very long.”
“Then don’t be afraid to fight dirty if and when you have to. Use whatever you can to your advant…” Harmony was cut off by Twixt’d’s tail slamming him on his side.
Harmony slide across the mossy ground before he was stopped by something hard. He shook his head to clear the dizziness. Well he can be taught. He smirked as he pulled himself to his hooves. He turned to see what he hit. What he saw, however, chilled him.
“Knight? Are you okay?” Twixt’d asked as he ran up next to Harmony.
“Stay here.” Was all that Harmony said.
“But...” Twixt’d began to object.
“I SAID STAY HERE. This building shouldn't be here. And if it’s the building that I think it is it will be heavily boobytrapped. I’m going into to destroy it like it was supposed to be. Once I figure out why it wasn’t in the first place.” Just before Harmony ducked into an opening he gave his final instructions. “If Quartermaster comes back before I return just wait with him.”
Harmony dived into the building through the hole in the crumbling wall. Harmony paused for a bit to wait for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. He coughed as rush of dust blew through the corridor. The ground suddenly rumbled for a moment before quieting down. It sounds as if there is someone or something else in here…
He lit his horn to give himself more light and began his trek to where he knew he needed to go.
Harmony slowly opened his eyes. What happened? He carefully got back on to his hooves not sure if he had an injuries. As he did he suddenly could feel something sharp pressed up against his neck.
“If you wish to live you will tell me what you are doing in this temple.” A scruffy female voice sounded behind him in the near darkness.
“Temple?” Harmony laughed. “You think this is a temple?”
“You think this is funny!? Do I seem like a jokester to you?” The female voice threatened, putting more pressure on Harmony’s neck with the weapon she was using.
“No.” Harmony admitted, not even fazed by the increase in hostility. “Anyone that enters a trap filled ‘temple’ is either serious or crazy. You don’t seem crazy.”
After a short pause the weapon shifted and Harmony figured that any more pressure and he would start bleeding. “You never answered my question. WHY ARE YOU HERE?”
“Just trying to figure out why this building is here.” He shrugged.
“Doubtful. I think you're just here to pillage the artifacts in here for money. You temple and tomb raiders are all the same. It’s all about how much money you can get for an artifact but only if its ‘valuable’. Smash everything else because screw the history because there’s no money in it. Nevermind the mundane stuff is where the true value of places like this. I came here in hopes of preserving what was left behind. If I don't people like you come and destroy it and onces it’s destroyed it’s gone forever.”
“You surprise me…. the treasure you speak of is not the type that a dragon would normally be interested in.”
“How did you know that I was a dragon? And what makes you think I want gold or gems?”
“I didn’t say there was gold or gems here nor did I say that is what you are interested in. I merely made an observation that what you seek is atypical for a dragon. Which is interesting to me. But I doubt you will find anything of great interest here. As for the dragon part I’ve lived among dragons so long that I can tell by the sound of your voice… That and the sulfur.”
“Why do you think I wouldn’t be interested in gems or gold anyway?”
“Your pith helmet and the whip.” Harmony mused. I understand the pith helmet but what is with archaeologist-adventurers and whips!?
How did he? Nevermind it was probably the same way as him knowing I was a dragon.
“You are in a Keeper of Harmony buildings. One that I thought was destroyed. The only reason you caught me is that you activated the defenses and traps.”
“Likely story. The Keepers of Harmony is just a story. If they were real there would be evidence of them.”
“Don’t believe me? Smart, I guess. Very well, I shall lead you to your goal. What’s more, not a single trap or defense will activate, and further more I will purposely step on every trap.”
“You are crazy.”
“Keepers generally are…” Harmony rubbed the back of his head, “well one is more the the rest.”
“I repeat: you are crazy…” The dragoness sighed. “I have no idea why I’m doing this, but lead the way. Just know that one false move and your head is mine.”
“I won’t make a false move… mind if I ask what you name is? I really don’t want to have to keep saying dragoness all the time.”
“Tierra.”
“Harmony.”
“Okay enough of this… March.”
Harmony began to lead Tierra through the building. As they went Harmony was impressed that the pressure from the weapon remained steady. They walked down corridors and hallways passing some and stopping a few times for Harmony to reorient where he was. He stopped when he got to a place with four hallways shooting off in different directions.
“We need to take the corridor on the left.”
“I went down there already it’s a dead end. See the chalk mark on the wall?”
“Looks can be deceiving.” Harmony contended. He had seen the chalk mark but there was a different mark that told him to go down there anyway.
“I think it is you that is deceiving in an attempt to save your sorry hide.” The sharp weapon pushed hard against his throat again.
“Hasn’t it occurred to you that a place full of traps would have secret passages?”
“And how would you know about there being secret passage there? This place hasn’t been touched in ages. I know. I had a head start. Who are you and quit lying!”
“I’m not lying. Tierra the reason is I know the way is what I said already: I am a Keeper of Harmony and this is a Keeper outpost of sorts.”
Tierra grumbled angrily before she finally let up. “Fine. But you had better be right.”
Harmony said nothing as he led her down the corridor. As Tierra had contented they soon found themselves at a dead end.
“See?”
Harmony rolled his eyes and casually touch the dead end with his hoof. The wall noisily lifted off the ground in response.
Harmony so wish he could see the face of the dragoness as they entered a vast rectangular chamber. As soon as they entered the door shut behind them. During all of this the pressure on his neck change. Oh she is good.
“Impressive.” She admitted.
Harmony took this time to finally slam the weapon away with his magic before he grabbed her tail to flip her over. He could see the shock on the face of the two toned pink dragoness as he expertly flipped her roughly to the ground, wings down. She had spikes from her head all the way down to the tip of her dagger like tail. Harmony nearly lost his smile when he saw that the dagger like weapon was the end of her tail. It wasn’t a dagger but her tail!
“I was never in control was I?” The pink dragoness grunted when she recovered from the slam down.
“No, you never were.” Harmony offered a hoof which the dragoness reluctantly took. ”Like I said, one of the traps you set off temporarily knocked me out. I could have freed myself at anytime. Though it’s not for lack of any skill on your part. Not many can keep their tail that steady in that position while walking in dark corridors.”
“You are right there wasn’t anything here of great interest.” Teirra commented as she looked around the non descript room a stone chair was at one end but that was it.
“That because you haven't the magic to see.” Harmony slid a hoof across a wall and Tierra could see that where his hoof had made contact she could see glowing light green and blue glyphs.
Whoa. She walked up to the glowing glyphs and slowly touched one. When nothing seemed to happen she put her whole palm on it. She could feel the warmth of magic from glyphs as well as she traced her claw through on of them could also tell that it was carved into the wall but when she felt the were there was no glyphs the wall was smooth ‘Haven't the magic to see’… firemail fire is magical. She blew some of her magic flame on the wall but nothing happened.
Harmony chuckled at her rather brilliant attempt. “Nice try, but there are only twelve that could ever get those glyphs to appear unless you’re a very strong dark magic user. You are neither a dark magic user nor one of those twelve.”
“Who are these twelve you speak of?”
“The Keepers of Harmony.” Harmony let his horn glow brightly and the entire room painfully brighten when every part of the walls glowed with glyphs.
Suddenly eleven shades rose from the floor. Tierra recognized some of the shapes from some painting closer to the entrance.
We are the Keepers of Harmony. Twelve in all. One from each major Elder Race as absolution for the younger. Twelve voices chanted in power around the dragoness and one of them was Harmony who had led her here. This to her could only mean one thing and her jaw dropped. He really is a Keeper and they do exist! But why was all of this hidden?
Harmony’s eyes lost their white glow and the images faded away. He walked about studying some glyphs in a corner acting oblivious to what just happened. “A ha! Here’s the reason. Why don’t we fix that?”
“What are you talking about!?” She asked as she finally found her voice.
“Nothing that will be of any concern for much longer…” Harmony waved a hoof dismissively before standing upright and blocking Teirra from seeing what he did. “I think we should finish this conversation outside, shall we?
“What…” Was all she managed to get out before she and Harmony disappeared in a flash.
Damn magic. “Why’d you…” The ruins that she had spent weeks staking out and preparing to document and check out for artifacts glowed brightly then dimmed way into nothing.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” She roared trying to swipe at Harmony who yawned as he blocked her with a hoof. This shocked her enough to lower her volume but not her anger. “There may have not been anything of value in that building but the building is got to be thousands of years old and you just up and wipe it off the face of the planet!”
“Until just moments ago you thought that the Keepers was just a story. Part of that story is the ‘Nameless One.’ He is very real and his seal is but a single breath from shattering like glass. I will not have the knowledge that was contained here to fall into his claws.“
“And what gives you right to do that just because you are a Keeper!?”
“YOU ARE NOT READY! THERE ARE SOME THING BEST LOST TO THE SANDS OF TIME AND NEVER SHOULD BE RECOVERED…” Harmony mane calmed down as he sighed. “I’m sure in your adventures you came across magical artifacts that you had to destroy because they were too dangerous for anyone to have even for someone with pure intentions like yourself.”
She hung her head a bit he was right there was a few artifacts that she had to destroy before it caused could cause untold pain and destruction.
“Besides, the glyphs that you saw I can recover from a more secure location than this mere ‘outpost.’”
Harmony fell into his usual lecturing. “Keeper lore, artifacts, and sites are sacred to the Keepers as they are the legacy left behind by the Elder Races for you. There will come a time that you younger races will come into your own and will become worthy to know the things lost to myth and time.”
“Then why destroy something that you claim is sacred?” She was fascinated at all of this new information but it still didn’t lessen her anger though.
“That building?” Harmony barked a short laugh. “It was merely a home and should have disappeared with the death of the owner. The only site that truly sacred that ‘anyone’ can access right now is…” Harmony suddenly could see something glinting on the neck of the whelp. It was a medallion on a silver chain. A very interesting medallion. “Hourglass… Where did you get that medallion?”
“I’ve had it for a long time.” She lovingly traced the design on it with a claw. “It’s one of the first artifacts I ever discovered… I actually found it not to far from here. Why?”
“Because that medallion has the crest of the City of Hourglass on it.”
“City of Hourglass?” This got her curiosity really going and the greed of adventure and discovery in her rose slightly.
“The City of Hourglass... A very ancient city that was abandoned due to a cataclysmic event for many millennia until very recently. It’s also the only remaining city of the Elder races remaining. According to legend it’s the birthplace of the Keepers themselves. That city is sacred to the Keepers because of that.”
“As for the lore and true ‘site’ of the Keepers I spoke of, those, for the moment, are out of the reach of ‘mere mortals.’”
“Dragons are not ‘mere mortals!’” Tierra snapped, almost letting lose her flame before she remembered who he was.
“I know that, but it's still out of the reach of dragons… As for Keeper Artifacts there are only seven that I know of: The Crystal Heart and the six Elements of Harmony. Those artifacts are not to leave the guardians that the artifact has chosen.”
“I wouldn’t dream of messing with your artifacts. Only to make sure they are preserved for future generations.”
“That is why part of the reason I created the Elements. I can’t speak for the Crystal Heart though.”
“Enough.” Tierra pinch the brow of her snout. If she wanted her curiosity to be satisfied so her next stop was going to be the City of Hourglass. “I’m coming with you. I want to see this ancient city of the Keepers. And there is nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Who said I was going to stop you?” Harmony smirked as he lead the dragoness into the jungle to where he left Twixt’d. Gotcha ya.
“Hey, your back! I thought... that…” Twixt’d trailed off as he noticed the pink dragoness with a pith helmet walking up behind Harmony.
“Who do we have here? Well,” The pink dragoness slide right up next to Twixt’d who gulped, “aren’t you a handsome drake.” She ran a claw around Twixt’d’s ear which sent shivers all up and down Twixt’d’s spine. Harmony stuffed a hoof into his mouth trying very hard to not fall over laughing. “You, me, and that twisted horn of yours, we are going to have a little alone time if you know what I mean.”
She’s the Forge of dragons. Harmony smirked. “Well you got one thing going for you Twixt’d your black scales mask your blush.”
“Shut up.” Twixt’d snapped, letting a puff of smoke to escape.
“You know this reminds me of a song.”
“Knight…” Twixt’d growled, clenching fists in anger. “I swear, if you…”
“You’re right..” Harmony conceded. “I should have Tierra help me sing it.”
“YOU GET BACK HERE YOU LOW DOWN NO GOOD PIECE OF…” Twixt’d roared taking off to catch up with the laughing alicorn.