After a couple hours of riding, we reached the oasis, and fortunately, we were not pursued. At the oasis, Flora and Tasha got off their horse and I followed suit. It had gotten quite dark so we brought out the moonlight lantern before delving into what we were going to do next. I then took the time to finally toss away my torn glove and wash off the dried blood. I took a second to marvel at how cleanly the wound had healed, with only a faint scar remaining from such a gash. I’m not sure this would have even been possible if I was rushed to surgery and had weeks to recover. As I finished washing my hands, my focus returned to the present and I readied myself for another round of chastisement.

  “Dad…” Tasha slowly made her way over to me. From the lantern light, I could tell she was upset, but to what degree, I was unsure about. Well, it didn’t matter, I figured myself to be prepared for just anything she was about to do or say, and I was already starting to think I might have taken things too far. But then, the unexpected happened. She suddenly hugged me tight and buried her face into my chest. “T- that was way too dangerous,” she spoke with difficulty. Surprised, I just looked over at Flora. She stared at me impassively before putting on some kind of resigned expression.

  “Really, Mr. Braith, that was…really something we just went through. Especially the fire.” Flora took a few steps closer. “Tasha was panicking about you being attacked by fire magic up on the roof.”

  “W- well, it really did seem like magic fire! Besides, you were even more scared! It just came out of nowhere, and when we found water downstairs to use on it, it just spread out!” Tasha turned around to shout at Flora before burying her face into my chest again. Flora’s expression quickly changed to that of embarrassment. I was over my surprise now and I found myself letting out a chuckle. I wrapped my arms around Tasha. I was well aware of how often I found myself at odds with her, but in the end, she is still my precious daughter. She is the reason I pushed myself to such lengths. I also knew that this moment did not mean she had changed her attitude towards my actions, but it reaffirmed to me how such matters were secondary. We are in this together until the very end, and perhaps, even Flora has similar thoughts?

  “Flora, Tasha, I know that you have a lot on your minds and I’m sure there’s a lot you want to say, but let me speak first, please.” I paused before continuing. I nodded to myself upon seeing no objections. “Today was something I brought upon myself. It was also more dangerous than I expected. However, I fully expected that it would be neither simple nor easy.” I gently tried to force a bit of space between me and Tasha. “Does that mean I plan to do something like that again, though? Well, it depends. I do not know for how long, but the three of us will be traveling together. As you’ve already said, Tasha, we do need to be mindful about how our actions affect each other. But, I also think we should do away with the notion that we owe something to each other. Within limits, we should be able to do whatever we want regardless of how someone else feels. So, I’m not going to say it is stupid to act like a hero anymore. I also will not call it cowardly to flee from danger. Of course, though, as we continue to travel, we do need to act together. So, I will try to stop controlling our direction. We should be open about our thoughts and decide things as a group.” I paused again, trying to sort through what I just said. Was there something I was missing? It was hard to tell, since what I was saying was quite different from how I had acted up until now. I’m sure there have been a number of factors that prompted such a change, but those were not important right now. “So, let me tell you what I want to do. I want to get Tasha to the Dridam Plains, or the Plains of War as it is also known as.” I looked at Flora and saw that the name was registering with her. “Did Tasha tell you anything about this?”

  “Um, yes, she mentioned it to me before,” she replied, just a bit more timidly than usual. Perhaps she thought it was supposed to be some kind of secret.

  “In that case, I won’t explain further.” I then took a few steps back and let out a deep breath. “Okay, that’s my part. So, go ahead, tell me what you two are thinking now. And feel free to ask me questions.” Tasha looked to be struggling to find the words to say, but Flora’s expression was resolute as she spoke up first.

  “Mr. Braith, there is something I want to know. What was the real reason you wanted to attack the True-Bloods?” I raised an eyebrow. Was she really doubting my true intentions, or did she just want some kind of reassurance?

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  “I attacked them to prove myself.” It was Flora’s turn to act surprised.

  “Prove yourself? In what way?”

  “To prove that I wasn’t a coward. To prove that I was strong.” I took a longer pause before the next statement. “To prove…that I wasn’t a bad man.”

  “...I don’t understand. Did you think that you were a bad man to other people?” Flora asked.

  “No, I just- I mean… I wanted to make sure I wasn’t as bad as them.”

  “What are you saying, dad? There’s no way you’re as bad as them!” I smiled, but only for a second, as I quickly put on a hardened expression.

  “Well, I guess it’s a pretty bad comparison. There is a world of difference between heroes and the True-bloods after all. I don’t plan to ever be as vile as them, but I also don’t expect to ever come close to being some pure-hearted hero. The two of you have a much better chance at that, but I would still advise you to not go down that road. Being naively innocent and merciful can be even more dangerous and catastrophic than being heartless.” Tasha’s gaze remained fiery while Flora’s face showed concern.

  “I will never be evil, and I won’t let you do anything evil, either!” Tasha shouted at me.

  “Well, I did say we should do anything we want, so if you want to keep pushing at me like that, then so be it. But, I am willing to do anything as long as I think it’s necessary.” Tasha stared at me for a few more seconds before looking to Flora, perhaps for support.

  “Then you should have no problem if Tasha or I stick to what we believe in as well,” she stated strongly.

  “Yes, I have no problem with that. I don’t want to force either of you to do something you don’t want to do, but that doesn’t mean I will let myself be bound either.” Flora nodded to herself.

  “I understand.” There was a moment of silence before she continued, back in her usual timid tone. “So, um, should we talk about what to do next?” She looked over at Tasha, probably waiting for her to relax her expression. Eventually, she did, but she still looked a bit unhappy with the situation. It was good enough for now.

  “Yes, it’s time to go over what to do next, now. So, despite that attack we made back there, there are still plenty of True-Bloods around this area. The Dridam Plains are directly east of this desert, though, so it might be something worth risking.

  “Um, I really don’t think it’s worth the risk,” Flora said. “There’s…a lot more of them, and…they could be looking for us.” It was a simple but sound argument.

  “Well, if we want to get somewhere safe, we would probably have to leave the outlands,” I suggested.

  “Um, there’s Brennan to the south.”

  “Hmmm, maybe we could head there first. Eventually, the True-bloods might give up on the search and we could head back towards the plains. What do you think?” I asked both of them. Tasha did not seem to like the idea. “Do you have a different idea, Tasha?” I asked her after another brief period of silence.

  “Huh? Oh, well…” Tasha shifted her gaze upwards as she contemplated something, “Maybe, we could…go somewhere else after Brennan.” I blinked a few times at Tasha’s vague suggestion.

  “Like where?”

  “Just…somewhere else…” Feeling a bit annoyed, I decided to just bring out Lars’ map.

  “Which place in particular?” I asked after splaying the map onto the ground. Tasha looked at it rather absent-mindedly. When she still did not give a response, I started scanning the map in order to give out random suggestions. “The Plains are north of Brennan, so if we’re not headed there afterwards, we’d probably go south. So…” I stopped myself. In fact, I almost wanted to hit myself for forgetting about it. Southeast of Brennan was Deimos, the place that Dennis told me to go to during his dying moments. Then, my anger started to simmer once more. I still needed to get revenge on the ones who murdered him. But, who did kill him? Was it the True-Bloods after all? But, the other reports I heard about his murder suspects indicated that they appeared to be merchants. I suppose it was possible that the map the True-Bloods had was just acquired from some merchants. Human merchants to be specific, assuming that they survived meeting them. “Where would merchants go next?” I pondered aloud.

  “Probably to Brennan,” Flora answered. I shot a confused look at her, just realizing that I did not keep the question to myself. “Um, well, merchants would prefer to travel to cities and towns that have merchant guild houses. All the capital cities have them…well, except for the Nature Clan.” I looked at the map again.

  “Where would merchants go after Brennan? Holtzan? Or, maybe the kingdoms of the Fields or Harvest Clan?”

  “Um, not really sure about that.” I sighed. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Ah, no, it’s fine.” Just knowing that Brennan was a good stopping point would do for now. I could sort out the rest after gathering some more information. “Alright, we’ll decide on what to do next after getting to Brenna’s capital. For now, let’s just keep riding since the True-Bloods might be looking for us right now.” Flora and Tasha nodded, although Tasha did it with no enthusiasm or energy. We got back on our horses and rode south.