The first thing she noticed upon waking up was the burning smell. It reminded her of when a few of her peers almost burned down the orphanage kitchen. The next thing she felt was a dull ache left over from the ripping she felt before passing out. Saiya wondered just what had happened. Did the Amedori above grow weary of mortal struggles and end them in one fell swoop? She knew that lying on the floor of a cave wouldn’t provide answers to these questions. So, with more effort than should be required, she opened her eyes and sat up.
Saiya noticed her friends stir awake as well. Friends. What a novel concept. Before last week, she wouldn’t have thought it to be possible. Both of them annoyed her to no end at times, but she oddly appreciated it. Saiya wondered why as she watched them rise from the ground. Perhaps it was because before meeting them, the only thing she had was apathy.
Kaztos was the first to stand up, with Zeltara following closely behind. The former took a moment to observe their surroundings while the latter spotted her on the ground and approached. “Saiya, are you okay?” Zeltara’s voice was raspy. She put her hand on Saiya’s shoulder. A familiar icy feeling passed through her from the contact. She sprang to her feet and took a step back to disengage.
“Thank you, I’m fine.” Saiya’s own voice was scratchy as well, likely because of the screaming from earlier. She cringed just thinking of those moments. The blond girl could still feel a phantom pain throughout her body. Zeltara gave her a reassuring smile but respected the distance between them.
“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I’m glad we can all stand on our own two feet.” Kaztos finished his observations and turned back to them.
“Besides the light coming in from the cave entrance, nothing seems unusual. Though I have to ask, what exactly happened?” Kazto’s voice was also hoarse. It was unusual to hear him so quiet. Saiya and Zeltara turned to look at the mouth of the cave. It was around twenty-five feet away, with nothing out of the ordinary. No, the oddity was indeed the light coming in from outside. It was darker than before, but it couldn’t be because of the moonlight. No, the color of the light was red and orange, as if someone had lit a fire outside the entrance. Though Saiya couldn’t imagine why someone would do that, let alone one large enough to emit that much light. Zeltara turned back to Kaztos to answer him.
“I don’t know exactly. The last thing I remember was fighting those goblins. Then there were those tremors and that bright light. We managed to make it in here before it hit us.” Something Zeltara said must have excited Kaztos as he gave a big grin and raised his fist in front of him.
“Indeed! I do remember our daring battle. That was a brilliant plan you came up with. Your quick thinking likely saved us from an untimely death.” Zeltara smiled at the compliment.
“Thank you. It was brave of you to fight in the front as you did. Saiya and I would have been toast without you.” Kaztos shook his head in response.
“Nonsense. I was on the brink of defeat before your plan gave us the upper hand. Though I have to wonder just how you did it.” Zeltara brightened at the continued praise. She then reached into her coat and pulled out a black marble. As she rolled it between her fingers, they could see that it only had a smooth surface.
“Look familiar? Remember my white marble that creates a flash of light? Well, this is like that, except the powder used creates a small explosion. Nothing too dangerous, but they are useful. I got the powder from the last time the traveling minstrel visited.” Saiya could practically see Zeltara’s ego grow as she boasted. Kaztos wore a thoughtful expression as he continued to question her.
“So, how did those marbles create the explosion that scared off the goblins? I saw you use them earlier, and the blast was too small.” In response, Zeltara reached into her satchel and pulled out a small bottle of black powder.
“Instead of just one marble, I used a bottle full of the black powder. I brought two along in case I needed to make more marbles when we planned to practice. First, blind them with the white marble, then blow them away with a big blast. Even with all that, it didn’t need to kill them, just force them to run.” Zeltara gestured toward Saiya and continued. “I needed something to ignite the powder. Luckily, I remembered the wand that I had given Saiya. The fireball wouldn’t have been enough by itself, but with the powder cloud, it did the job.”
“Brilliant! To think of something like that under pressure. You are indeed something else, Zeltara.”
“Hah, don’t sell yourself too short, Kaztos. Not everybody can fend off all those goblins like you did. Your weapon skills are something else alright.” Saiya could see that they wouldn’t stop anytime soon unless she interfered. She would prefer that to be before they collectively crushed her with their growing heads. She cleared her throat to get their attention.
“I think the important thing right now is figuring out what happened.” The mood immediately became tense. Zeltara’s smile dropped as she got more serious.
“You’re right. Let’s get out of the cave and get a lay of the land.” Kaztos also settled when faced with the gravity of the situation. Zeltara began to walk to the entrance of the cave. Kaztos and Saiya were only a few steps behind her as all three moved at a cautious pace. They had made it just over halfway to the entrance when Zeltara stopped and gasped. Saiya instinctively pulled out a knife and moved forward to help as Kaztos followed suit with his hammer. When they moved beside her, they noticed nothing hostile. Saiya glanced at Zeltara and saw her staring at the ground in shock. She followed her gaze to see what was there.
Saiya also felt her breath leave her. On the ground lay the presumed remains of the goblins. Not a single body, piece of clothing, weapon, or speck of dust could be found. No, the only things left were the shadows of the goblins stained into the ground. Their outlines marked at the moment of their demise. Try as she might to find a less terrifying conclusion, Saiya couldn’t find anything else this could be.
“I can’t believe it. The energy required to do something like this is beyond imagining,” Zeltara said. The three continued to stare at the shadows on the ground. Saiya, seeing the other two close to panic, thought of a way to alleviate the tension.
“Perhaps an outside force took pity on us and struck them down to aid us.” Saiya could tell that they believed that as little as she did. Kaztos cracked a small smile, but still looked too severe.
“Yes, perhaps the holy lords blessed us on this day. They must have seen our plight and decided to smite the cursed creatures.” Kaztos sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than either of them. Zeltara shook her head in response, but the banter seemed to help calm her.
“This power may be beyond the Amedori themselves. We were only a dozen feet further into the cave behind some cover. To think the difference between life and death would be so close.” Zeltara took a deep breath and gave both a shaky smile. “It’s no matter. Let’s keep going and see what we find. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad and we can make it home.” The other two nodded and followed her out of the cave. Their gazes lingered on the shadows as they passed.
Saiya was glad to see Zeltara recompose herself. They had only been together for a short time, but she had already been making herself the leader of their group. It was for the best since Saiya herself didn’t want the position, and she didn’t trust Kaztos enough after his stunts. If anyone of them could lead them through this, it would have to be her. This time, Saiya and Kaztos walked beside Zeltara to avoid any more surprises. The light from the outside was too bright for them to see outside clearly, so they had no way of knowing what faced them. As they moved, they passed more shadows of the goblins. Each one in a pose signifying a futile attempt at either fleeing or hiding.
As they approached the entrance, the smell of burning got stronger. Saiya felt a sense of dread and knew the other two were likely feeling the same way. She couldn’t imagine what could be out there, but knew it had to be horrible. As the three exited the cave, the sudden change of light momentarily blinded them. Saiya covered her eyes as they adjusted. When the blond girl opened them, she froze at the sight before her. It was worse than anything she could have possibly imagined.
The heavens themselves were burning as fire spread from horizon to horizon. Nowhere was the sky clear as cinders rained down from above. An inch-thick layer of ash already covered the ground. The only remotely recognizable part of the sky was the sun itself, or what remained of it. Rather than the bright yellow light it normally emitted, the sun now blazed a dim crimson that, along with the flames, stained everything a dark red. That was not the worst part, as a hole had been torn through the life-giving orb. About a fifth of it had been blown off into small pieces that were now floating nearby. As Saiya looked down at the ground, all that remained was a wasteland. There wasn’t a living thing in sight as the charred-out husks of trees littered the landscape. To Saiya, it seemed like they walked out of the cave and straight into hell.
Saiya collapsed onto her knees as she tried to get her breathing under control. The harsh breaths caused by the raining ash didn’t help matters. At the edge of her contracting senses, Zeltara babbled to herself in a panic. Meanwhile, Kaztos only continued to stare vacantly into the sky. No matter how hard she tried to breathe, Saiya couldn’t get her wind back. Her vision began to dim, and she feared of falling into unconsciousness.
A hand on her shoulder jolted her back to lucidity. Saiya turned to see Zeltara shaking her with a haunted look in her eyes. Saiya, now back to herself, gave her a nod as she stood up. Zeltara let go and opened her mouth, likely to say an apology. After a few seconds of saying nothing, she closed it again and turned to look back at the horizon.
“I... we... we should go back to Urada.” Kaztos barely managed to choke the sentence out. The words were almost comical to Saiya as she looked over the desolate landscape. If she weren’t so shell-shocked, the blond girl could have laughed at the suggestion.
Instead, Saiya said, “There’s probably nothing left at this point.” Kaztos only sputtered at this as he threatened to fall into a greater panic. Seeing this, Zeltara walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders to ground him.
“Calm down, Kaztos. The town probably isn’t there anymore.” Kaztos gave a small cry of dismay that made Zeltara grimace. She rushed to correct herself. “I mean that the town is probably somewhere else, look.” Zeltara pointed west toward where the village should be. Nearest to them was the burnt-out forest. Further away were a desert and a mountain range. Saiya couldn’t see what she was insinuating.
“What do you mean?” Saiya asked. Everything looked different from before, but considering the circumstances, it made sense.
“Those mountains and the desert weren’t there before. Urada only has forests and plains to the west. I doubt whatever did this would create new biomes or raise mountains. I don’t even see any sign of Urada River. There should at least be a riverbed remaining. Somehow, the very land itself has shifted around. It’s possible that Urada won’t even be there.” Zeltara’s answer caused Saiya to give her an incredulous look. Across from her, Kaztos had a similar reaction. The world itself shifting around?
Kaztos asked, “Do you even realize what you’re suggesting? What, did the world tear apart like puzzle pieces and put itself randomly back together?” Zeltara glanced at him, and after a moment, nodded.
“I know it sounds crazy, but nothing looks to be where it should be. It’s like we teleported to a different part of the world.” Saiya could only shake her head in response. Zeltara probably lost her mind. Figure her new friends would go crazy on her after only a week. Meanwhile, Kaztos looked back at the cave in thought.
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“The caves are the exact same ones as they were earlier. So, how did the rest of the world shift but not the cave?” Zeltara gave it another minute of thought before she responded.
“I don’t know Kaztos.” Her gaze shifted to the shadows of the goblins littering the ground. “I don’t know how we even survived that in the first place.” Silence descended on the three once again. Without the distraction of discussion, the panic at the edge of Saiya’s mind started to creep in again. In the end, what happened might not matter if they were forced to die in a doomed world. By the looks on their faces, Saiya knew they were falling into their own spirals of despair. Hoping to stave off the encroaching madness from the situation, she got the other two’s attention.
“How about we go back to where the town was and see if there’s anything left?” Zeltara perked up at this and nodded.
“You’re right. We should check to see if my hunch is correct. Based on the damage, there should at least be some sign of Urada left if it was caught in the blast. Hopefully, I’m right and our home still has a chance to be safe.” Saiya was glad to see that with a goal in mind, all three of them had recomposed themselves. Kaztos took a step towards both of them with a big grin.
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go now to settle this once and for all. Onward, my friends!” With that, Kaztos began to march west. Before he could go more than a few steps, Zeltara stopped him.
“Wait, I have something for the two of you.” She pulled out some cloth pieces from her satchel and handed one to each of them. “There’s a lot of ash in the air. It won’t do us any good to breathe too much in. Cover your faces with this.” Saiya looked out to see the heavy ash fall and saw Zeltara’s point. Already, she could feel her throat burn without protection. She nodded in agreement and wrapped the cloth around her mouth and nose. The other two followed suit. With that out of the way, the three began their journey in earnest.
They walked in silence for about half an hour. In that time, ash continued to rain down from the sky. Just over an inch had accumulated on the ground. The ash that landed on her felt warm to the touch. It made Saiya look up to the heavens that continued to burn. She hoped it would stop at some point. Not just for peace of mind, but to avoid being smothered by the ashfall. But that wasn’t the thing that disturbed her the most. No, the worst part was the silence. On the way to the caves that morning, the forest was filled with the sounds of life. From the buzzing of bugs and squeaking of rodents to the rustling of the grass. There was always something that her ear could pick up on, even if her mind had filtered it out before. Now, all she could hear were their hollow footsteps that seemed to echo in this environment. Though if she concentrated, Saiya could maybe hear the faint sound of burning above her. She’ll have to ask Zeltara if that’s true or if her mind is playing tricks on her. But maybe it was insensitive to assume elves had better hearing.
Saiya continued to allow her thoughts to run. If she allowed herself, it would be all too easy to fall into panic once again. The goal was to focus on her surroundings and not on questions like what had happened and what they were supposed to do. Glancing at her friends, she noticed Zeltara seemed to do the same. She had her journal out and was recording everything in their surroundings. Saiya wouldn’t be surprised if Zeltara ran out of pages soon with how much she used it. On the other hand, Kaztos seemed increasingly unnerved as he continued to observe their surroundings. His thoughts were clear as he kept staring into the burning sky. She hoped that one of them would strike up a conversation at this point just to fill the silence with something, but no one said anything at first.
In the end, it was Kaztos who broke first. “This doesn’t look familiar at all. Are we even going the right way?” Zeltara put her journal away and glanced over at him.
“It would be hard to recognize anything, given the condition of our surroundings. Though I guess it would be better to make sure. Let me check to make sure we’re going the right way.” All three stopped as Zeltara reached into her coat and pulled out her compass. Almost immediately, her face turned to confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
Saiya asked, “What’s wrong?” She didn’t respond and continued to fiddle with the compass. Zeltara gave the compass several quick shakes, but this didn’t seem to work as she got more frustrated. Eventually, she turned the compass toward them. Saiya found herself confused by what she was seeing. The needle was moving erratically in every direction. It would sometimes stop for a second before shifting somewhere else. There was no rhyme or reason to the movements.
Kaztos asked, “So, what’s the problem? It’s unfortunate that it’s broken, but that’s nothing important compared to everything else happening.” Zeltara didn’t answer right away. Instead, she seemed to open the back of the compass to check on something. After a few moments, she closed it and turned to Kaztos.
“That’s just it. The compass isn’t broken. Or at least in any physical way. Whatever happened must be affecting it somehow.” Zeltara put the compass back into her coat. Kaztos seemed to become downtrodden at this revelation.
“So, we don’t know where we’re going? Shouldn’t we have gotten there by now?” Seeing his despondent mood, Zeltara went over and tried to reassure him.
“We haven’t been walking long enough to reach where Urada was. It’s going to be okay, Kaztos. We’ll do our best to figure this out. Now, the cave had been facing due west before this started. So, we should be going in the right direction.” Kaztos’ morale appeared to rebound, which Saiya was glad for. They couldn’t afford to lose themselves in the bleak circumstances. The lack of any life was concerning enough for more than one reason. If they were stranded out here, then food would likely be a problem. It was a good thing Zeltara had decided to over-prepare on supplies. Saiya came back from her thoughts and heard as Zeltara said, “-and if all else fails we can use the sun to figure out our direction.”
Saiya couldn’t help herself and said, “That is, if we can even still use the sun for that. It seems to have trouble even staying together.” Based on the look Kaztos gave her, Saiya’s attempt at humor wasn’t well received. She berated herself for the snarky comment. It wouldn’t help the situation if Kaztos lost composure again.
“Not helping Saiya,” Zeltara grumbled as she gave Kaztos a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She could only mumble out an apology. “Now, let’s keep going. It’d be better to figure this out before dark.” Saiya barely stopped herself from also snarking at that. It was unlikely they were going to experience dark with the sky’s current condition. Though, she much preferred it to be daylight or night instead of the harsh red the world was bathed in. The three continued on their journey westward.
It was at this point that conditions got worse. The temperature was growing uncomfortably hot. To make matters worse, there wasn’t even a gentle breeze to offer any respite. Saiya had already drunk from her waterskin twice at this point. The ash fell even harder, reducing visibility. Saiya was thankful for Zeltara’s foresight. They would have been in danger of suffocation without the cloth pieces as protection. Unfortunately, they didn’t have eye protection, and she could feel them begin to burn. Saiya found herself hoping that Urada was there so they could have shelter. Though she had trouble doubting Zeltara’s reasoning.
Saiya continued to observe her surroundings as they traveled. To her dismay, she continued to find no sign of life anywhere. Though based on the burned shadows on the ground, there used to be life here. Most distressing of all was that not all of them were animal-shaped. She could only hope that it was a relatively painless death for them. It's best to not think about it too much. Saiya allowed herself to get lost in thought for the rest of the trip. She needed to let her mind wander to avoid the reality of the situation.
Though the trip felt much longer than before, the group eventually reached the tree line at the end of the forest. Entering the clearing, they encountered an empty desert that stretched on for miles. On the horizon stood countless mountains that stretched from north to south. There were no signs of Urada visible anywhere. Zeltara whistled for their attention.
“It’s unlikely that we’re going to find anything, but it’s better to be thorough. Take a quick look around to see if there’s any evidence of Urada.” Saiya gave her agreement and took a look around. She could only shake her head in annoyance as Kaztos enthusiastically searched the area. His energy and demeanor could be both refreshing and exasperating to experience. Though, Saiya supposed it was for the best with how badly this affected him. She supposed he wasn’t as capable of internal distractions as she was. But something about his demeanor was off to her. Though she couldn’t figure out what it was. Saiya shook her head and continued searching. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted.
Ultimately, they found no sign of Urada anywhere. There were no buildings, debris, or traces of life. Saiya walked back to Zeltara, who had just finished her own search. Kaztos wasn’t far behind and joined them not even half a minute later.
Zeltara glanced between the two of them. “So, just to make sure, neither of you found anything? No sign that Urada was here?” Saiya shook her head in response.
“No, I haven’t seen anything,” Kaztos said. Zeltara nodded in response and looked thoughtful. She observed their surroundings again and paid particular attention to the western mountains. Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion and turned back to her friends.
“I think we have enough evidence to know that Urada isn’t here anymore. Whatever this cataclysm is, it not only caused mass destruction on the world. Somehow, the very land itself has shifted around.” Saiya found herself in agreement, even with how fantastical it seemed. But, when presented with only one possibility given the evidence, it must be believed. However, Kaztos continued to disbelieve the situation.
“But couldn’t it be possible for the town to have just been annihilated? The power released could have caused that.” At this point, Saiya wondered just what Kaztos was hung up about. It almost sounded like he preferred Urada to be destroyed rather than moved. But she knew Kaztos wasn’t like that, so what was he thinking?
Meanwhile, Zeltara shook her head and gestured all around them. “Look at all the evidence here, or lack thereof. What happened caused a lot of destruction, but there were always some signs of what was there. From the burnt shadows of the goblins to the charred remains of the trees. If Urada had stayed where it was, it undoubtedly would have been destroyed. But there would have been signs left over. The debris would be all over the place. I checked west for the Urada River and found nothing, not even the riverbed. Those mountains are new as well. Finally, despite all the differences, the caves to the east were the same as before. The only conclusion remaining is that somehow the land itself has shifted.” Her speech did nothing to reassure Kaztos. In fact, he seemed even paler than before. His breath was becoming more uneven. Both Saiya and Zeltara looked at him in concern. She thought of intervening, but Zeltara took the initiative first and grabbed Kazto’s shoulders. She gave him a firm squeeze to ground him. His eyes met hers as the elf started speaking.
“It’s okay, Kaztos. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we have to deal with it now. Just take some breaths with me, alright?” Zeltara and Kaztos both took calming breaths. It took a minute, but he appeared to recompose himself. “Now, it’s not as bad as it could be. At least there’s hope that Urada is still standing. We’re all still fine. We just have to find a solution to the current situation.” Kaztos glanced between the two of them before he spoke in a calm tone.
“Thank you for that. You’re right. Now isn’t a time to panic, and I apologize for that.” Zeltara took a step back from him but still looked at Kaztos with concern on her face.
“Are you sure, Kaztos? You can tell us if anything is bothering you. I get that we’re in a crisis right now. The panic is warranted.” Kaztos shook his head in response as he straightened up. He put on a boisterous grin. The sight of it rubbed Saiya the wrong way.
“No need! I will be ready to face our problems head-on with the ferocity of a true Molinar. Now, what do we do now? Urada isn’t here, so we must decide on a course of action.” His tone was almost back to its usual upbeat nature. Both Saiya and Zeltara noticed the change in subject but decided to not comment on it.
“Well, the two obvious options we have are staying in the area or moving on somewhere else. Staying would keep us in a familiar area, but...” Zeltara trailed off. Saiya knew what she was hinting at and moved things along.
“We can’t stay here, or we’ll die.” Kaztos grimaced while Zeltara nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. You saw it too, didn’t you?” How could she have not? It became more obvious the longer they had traveled.
“There’s no water, no food, no anything,” Saiya said. All they had for supplies was in their satchels. If those ran out, then they would die of dehydration or starvation. Kaztos seemed to understand as he opened his satchel to check for supplies. Zeltara and Saiya followed suit and checked as well.
“I have about two days’ worth of food and water for myself. How much do you guys have?” Kaztos asked. Saiya took a quick look through her satchel. Zeltara packed generously, and she was thankful for her friend’s preparedness. She wouldn’t be criticizing her for carrying too much in the future. Saiya finished counting and was the next to answer.
“I have about four days of food and water.” Both turned to Zeltara, who continued to look around in her larger satchel. Finally, she closed it and looked at them.
“I have about seven days of rations. Put together, that’s thirteen days divided between three people. We have only four days’ worth of supplies,” Zeltara said, her tone grim. So, there was no sign of anything, and they only had ninety-six hours of supplies. If conditions didn’t improve, they likely wouldn’t last much longer than that. Kaztos appeared to think for a second before making a suggestion.
“We can stretch out our supplies to last longer through careful rationing. If we eat half, it can last for over a week.” The other two considered the proposal. It was a good plan in theory. However, Saiya saw a problem with it.
“We can stretch the food out that long, but water is another issue.” Both her companions nodded and seemed to reconsider their calculations.
Kaztos said, “You’re right, we’re going to need more water because of the heat. And if we try to ration too harshly, we’ll be too weak to continue traveling. How about we ration everything to last for six days? That’ll give us a week to find help or resources.” The answer gave Saiya little comfort. Six days was not much longer, all things considered. She could only hope that it would be enough.
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll try to stretch it to six days. Now the only question remains which direction we should go.” Zeltara said. This had the three of them looking in all directions. This might be the most important decision in their lives up to this point. If the three went the wrong way, they would walk straight to their deaths. Saiya instantly knew one way they couldn’t go.
“East isn’t a good option. Backtracking would waste valuable time, and there were no signs of anything that way.” The other two were quick to agree.
Kaztos was the next to chime in. “West wouldn’t be advisable either. There doesn’t seem to be a pass through the mountain ranges. It would be too dangerous to risk traversing them.” His suggestion was also unanimously agreed upon.
Zeltara was the last to input and said, “That only leaves north and south as options. Looking in both directions, I would say north is the better option.” Both Saiya and Kaztos looked in the two directions. It took them only a few moments to see the validity of her suggestion.
Kaztos said, “The south seems to be littered with deep crevices. We would have to find a way across the larger ones or make detours. It would be better to cover as much ground as possible.” Zeltara nodded in approval.
“Right, the north has the fewest obstacles at this point. There’s mostly flat land as far as the eye can see. We’ll be able to travel and see farther. Do you two of you agree with that?” Both nodded in response. Zeltara then looked at the sky again. Saiya did as well and saw that the sun was about to set. Zeltara turned to them and continued, “I think we should try to travel at night. The heat will hopefully be less intense, so the water may last for longer.”
“Sounds Great! Though, wouldn’t it be harder to see at night? It’ll be harder to find any potential food and water,” Kaztos said. Zeltara shook her head and then pointed straight up.
“With all the burning? Even at night, I bet there will still be plenty of light. Though let’s take a break until sunset so we can make it through the night.” With a plan set, the three found an elevated stone to sit on.
Side-by-side, they watched as the damaged sun set on the horizon. The light of the sunset mixed with the red flames in the sky. The heavens were a beautiful mix of reds, oranges, and purples that blended and swirled together. To Saiya, the destruction of the world was the most magnificent sight she had ever seen. This was perhaps the first time such a view was present in their world, and Saiya could spend forever soaking it in. Glancing over, she could see that her friends were also enjoying the view. It allowed them, if only just for a moment, to forget their current troubles and enjoy each other’s silent company. But all too soon, the sun dipped below the horizon and their time of rest was at an end.
Zeltara was the first to stand up. She looked at her companions. “I hope you’re well rested because we have a long journey ahead of us.” Kaztos was quick to spring to his feet and had again adopted a familiar exuberance.
“Magnificent! Let’s begin a new adventure. Onward!” With that, Kaztos took the lead and began their march northward. Zeltara seemed happy that he was back to his usual self. The two started conversing as they walked.
Following along, Saiya found herself in disagreement. Zeltara may have failed to notice it, but she could see past the mask. That brief rest had allowed Kaztos to fall back into the emotional pit from before. While Saiya rarely minded his upbeat nature, she found it grating when it was faked. She could only hope her patience would last long enough for Kaztos to resolve the issue. Curiosity ate away at her, wondering what was plaguing his thoughts. Perhaps she could find out later. For now, Saiya focused on what would probably be a long journey ahead of them. She hoped it wouldn’t end in their deaths.
