The Journey South

It had just been a day after their departure.

On this morning, Terrence was sparring with Lorica in the field, while everyone else watched them from the campfire.

Terrence narrowly sidestepped a jab, then lashed back with a horizontal at Lorica’s leg, which she dodged with a graceful twirl. As she spun around him, she gave him a swift kick to the head, knocking him onto the ground.

He managed to recover with a roll, and moved up to continue the fight. However, he froze as the point of her rapier touched his nose. He sweated a bit as he stayed knelt, glancing up to see the Elf’s amused smirk.

“A decent recovery, but too slow.” She remarked, withdrawing her blade.

Terrence huffed as he stood up. “Let me try again.”

He flinched as he felt his stomach rumble, and he chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

“But…let’s see if breakfast is done first.”

Lorica nodded. “Yes, I’m feeling famished as well.”

When they regrouped with the others, they found Aquare and Symphonia already serving bowls of vegetable stew.

“You’re just in time!” The former said brightly. “Terrence, here’s yours!”

Terrence was taken aback as the Nymph stepped right up to hand him a steaming bowl. At that moment, Bjartbrandr came out and took human form behind her master, and peeked over his shoulder.

“It certainly looks delicious.” She said with a slight laugh.

With an awkward smile, Terrence nodded and accepted the dish, then went to sit between Hearthstone and Lorica. The Elven Princess scooted over as Aquare came to sit between her and Terrence. Meanwhile, the Sacred Treasures sat across from their wielders.

Terrence blinked as he noticed Mea and Lionheart weren’t among the group, and after a quick look found them at a slight distance away, sitting back to back.

“They’re not really the most friendly, huh?” Terrence said with curiosity.

“They’ll come around eventually.” Lorica said sagely, nibbling on some lettuce. “Mmm…Aquare, you’ve really outdone yourself. The broth has just the right amount of zest!”

“Sho…mmm…Hearty!” Hearthstone exclaimed as he dug in.

Aquare’s cheeks turned red as he smiled. “Heh, thank you! Terrence, what do you think?”

It took a moment for the Human to answer, as he was caught off guard by the earnestness in the Nymph’s smile.

“U-um, it’s the best I’ve ever had.” Terrence said with a small smile.

He felt his cheeks heat up as Aquare giggled, grinning with a certain joy.

“It’s only a simple meal, but I’m happy to hear such praise!”

Terrence nodded and tried to focus on eating, failing to notice how Lorica smiled in a knowing manner, and Naturia’s rather accusatory glare. Meanwhile, Bjartbrandr and Symphonia stifled their laughs and began to eat their breakfast.

A little later, the group put away their dishes and cleared the camp. Afterward, Lorica took out a map of the Human Kingdom and set it down, and the party gathered around.

She set her finger on a point just a bit south of Lucen.

“We’re right around here.” She stated. “As long as we keep going this way, we’ll reach the town at the Desert Border in a few weeks.”

She traced a straight line down to the edge of the map, at the dot labeled ‘Fredericksburg’. Then Aquare cut in, pointing to some river villages near the line.

“We should stop by the Karol Village and Magna Village, to maintain our water supplies.” He suggested.

Lorica nodded. “So that may be about two extra days to account for. Of course, we should expect some more delays depending on how many people we’ll likely be helping on our travels.”

Terrence frowned as he remembered the Wyvern brigade Captain Lucius had told them about.

“The Demons and monsters are heading for Nirvana as well.” The Human Prince said with worry. “If we don’t make it in time…”

“The Royal Knights will take care of them.” Lorica said in assurance.

Hearthstone laughed. “Yeah, as strong as those Humans are, even Demons would have a hard time!”

“There’s a reason why the Human race has been safe all this time.”

When Terrence thought about it, he realized they were right. Despite the power the Demons possessed, he knew for certain that the Royal Knights were on a level similar to them. That was why the Human race hadn’t fallen to such strong enemies, even after 300 years. Though, it did make him wonder…

“If the Royal Knights are as powerful as the Heroes of Arum, what’s keeping them from winning the war for us?” He voiced.

“It’s because they don’t have the blessings of the Five Deities.” Lorica answered in a solemn manner.

Symphonia elaborated. “Maladeus can only be vanquished by the true power of all Sacred Treasures put together. Even the Sacred Arts of the Royal Knights won’t be able to harm him.”

“As for storming Hell itself,” Naturia added. “that’s another big problem. The only way in or out is on a flying mount, meaning our numbers will be severely limited. As well, there are far more powerful monsters lurking down there than Wyverns. We’ll need all the power we can get.”

“Which is why we’re on this Pilgrimage…” Terrence murmured.

“Correct. However, we Sacred Treasures can only receive our true power once in our lifetime. That was the restriction placed on us by the Heavenly Council 300 years ago. Only when the time was right, could we journey to Nirvana and receive that power from the Deities.”

Aquare nodded, looking concerned. “Maladeus is close to breaking free from his prison…If we can’t fully awaken you all, then we’ll never be able to vanquish him this time.”

Hearthstone scoffed and stood up. “Then why are we still sitting around? Let’s get moving, and obtain our true might! Then we can destroy that bastard once and for all!”

Mea hummed as she got up as well. “The oaf actually says something smart, for once. Let’s not waste anymore time.”

With a dramatic sweep of her wolf hide cloak, she turned and began walking away. Lionheart disappeared in a flash, following his Master as she left. The rest of the party was quick to follow suit.

As they walked along the dirt path, Terrence looked up at the cloudy sky, worries still in his mind. Would the Royal Knights be able to stop the Wyverns before they crossed the Desert Border?

He shook his head, and instead focused on his friends. Lorica and Aquare were up ahead, chatting with each other in a manner that was a bit flirty, and made the Nymph blush somewhat. Mea was in front of them, shaking her head as if annoyed by the talking.

The female Sacred Treasures were in the back of the group, chatting happily amongst themselves. Bjartbrandr noticed Terrence’s staring, and gave him a wink that made him look away with a blush. While he heard her and Symphonia giggling in amusement, he didn’t see Naturia’s slight scowl.

Overall, the prince felt like the next few months were going to be…interesting, to say the least.

He sighed and took out a small mirror from his pack. One of two matching mirrors, the other belonging to his betrothed, Mai.

He longed to talk with her, as they did last night. Though, she was likely working with the palace servants by now, so he decided to wait until the evening. Still, he stared at the mirror as a slight sense of foreboding crept on him…

He flinched in surprise as Hearthstone, who was beside him, spoke up.

“Really missing your bride, eh?”

“Y-yeah.” Terrence muttered, putting the mirror away.

“Hey, keep your chin up! It’s not like she’s going to die while you’re gone!”

“I know, it’s just…we’ve been inseparable since we were kids. Being without her for such a long time…is gonna take some getting used to.”

Hearthstone frowned slightly. “I hear ya. I mean, I don’t have my own lover yet, but I can imagine how painful it is to leave someone like that behind for months.”

Terrence nodded, then looked at the sky again as he tried to relax. Yet, with so many worries going through his head, it was hard to.

____________________________________________

Later, in the afternoon, the party encountered a small group of weary and beaten travelers.

“Oh…adventurers!” One of them gasped, raising a shaky hand.

The group stopped, and some fell to their knees. Aquare rushed to their aid, summoning Symphonia to play a Soothing Melody to heal their fatigue and minor wounds. At the same time, Lorica walked up to a man and spoke in a calm manner.

“Where did you come from? What happened?”

“W-we’re from Karol Village, a week away from here.” He said with desperation. “Monsters have taken over, and we’re afraid they may poison the water supply!”

Aquare narrowed his eyes. “If the water is poisoned…then people, animals, and the land will get sick and die. We have to stop them!”

Lorica nodded in agreement. “We’ll set off at once. Everyone, let’s go.”

As the party followed her, a woman stepped forward and spoke out in concern.

“Just the five of you!? There’s at least two dozen over there! Won’t you request the aid of the knights!?”

Hearthstone chuckled as he turned to her. “Lady, do you know who we are?”

The others turned to her with confident smiles, though Terrence’s was a bit more uncertain. Mea kept her back turned, but did throw a glance behind her.

Lorica then flipped her hair, and spoke in a more prideful manner.

“You don’t need to fear, because we are the Heroes of Arum.”