Chapter 16 - Continuing the Journey

The next day, the man arrived with his horses, giving four people a ride back to town in his wagon.

The Elf hid her face from the sun with her cloak as she continued to sleep. Scala adjusted her hat, making sure it looked perfect on her head. Peter did nothing in particular, sitting patiently and eating an apple gifted to him by the man. The cowboy that escorted the man back checked his weapons, making sure his rifle was in tip-top condition.

In other words, it was quite peaceful compared to yesterday.

"Hey, Matthew." Scala called to the cowboy.

He turned around and faced her. "Yes, Boss?"

"How do you think this looks on me?" She stood up, moving her head around to show off her hat.

The cowboy rubbed his chin. "It's great, Boss, but I think having the brim facing a bit more downwards could work good."

"Like this?" She adjusted her hat accordingly.

"Yeah. Like that!"

"Hmm. Well, I'll rock with this then. I'll probably readjust it without thinking anyways."

He chuckled. "Sounds just like you, Boss."

The Elf merely grumbled, simply trying to get more sleep in. Peter laughed in his head. For her, it might be a really long ride.

. . .

After reaching the town, Peter and the Elf reunited with Maya, and the cowboys with Scala. The cowboys shot mean eyes at Peter, still suspicious from the duel. Scala just laughed it off. Before the three set off by themselves, she fetched a revolver from her bag of guns and handed it to Peter. Its plating shone like stainless steel, and its grip was black. He knew from just a glance that this gun wasn't cheap, at least not as cheap as Maya's revolver.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Giving you one of my guns."

"But why?"

"Just a small memento. I've got plenty of other guns anyway, so you don't need to worry about me losing my stash. If you don't want it, I don't mind."

He took the revolver, looking for the button to swing it open.

"Oh, this type of revolver has a loading gate. See there? Put it in half-cock and you can reload that way."

Scala spent about ten minutes teaching him how to use the gun. The gun was loaded with six bullets, but he took out one on her advice that the hammer rest on an empty chamber. She also handed him twelve more bullets, which he stuffed into his pockets. She didn't like that, but with no pouches or bandoliers to slot them in, she had to accept it. Soon afterwards, she, along with her crew, went off in a different direction, their journeys taking them in different directions.

The Elf kept her hood on as they rushed through town, buying a healing elixir on the way. When they exited town, Peter asked a question as he sipped the elixir, which tasted like Granny Smith apples. 

"Hey, so when we were walking on the road, you didn't seem to care that anybody saw you. What's up with that?"

"If normal people see me, that's fine. It's the officials I'm trying to hide from."

"What about outlaws?"

"It doesn't matter if outlaws see me or not, because most likely they'll attack anyways. And I have a rule to never let anyone who attacks me live."

"So you would've slaughtered that entire group with your glaive?"

"If the snake woman's crew hadn't stepped in, then yes."

This conversation made him realize he'd never seen her fight, considering she relied on Maya for all the hunting. Considering her weapon of choice, the corpses she left behind probably didn't look pretty. He preferred not to think about it.

The trio continued on for the rest of their journey in Phegolan in relative peace. He was forced to buy a holster at the next town, which dug into his savings even more, but he didn't seem to mind. The days traveling were now spent trying to emulate Scala's spinning, practicing while the gun was unloaded. Maya couldn't do the same; the weight distribution wasn't the same, and she couldn't simply unload it either. He asked her if she'd like it instead, but she refused; the gift was his, so his it should remain. He didn't mind; twirling a gun was much more fun than he expected. His only concern was the Elf, who would get visibly irritated if he spun for too much at a time.

Finally, after a couple days worth of journeying, they reached the border between Phegolan and Arkalo.

The border was covered in a forest of tall pine trees with dark blue leaves, clustered together tight enough to block most of the light coming through. Fireflies danced inside it, flying from one place to another. The grass and the bushes matched the leaves, with a visible transitioning between Phegolan's green and the forest's blue. He checked his revolver to make sure it was loaded. Somehow, this place was giving off a bad vibe.

"Has anyone here read up on Arkalo?" The Elf asked.

Maya and Peter shook their heads.

"Figures. Just a heads up: Arkalo's wilderness is more dangerous than Hylokans and Phegolan combined. If you don't know it well, you can end up killing yourself by accident. Stay close to me, and don't do anything unless I tell you to. Alright?"

They nodded, and with a sigh, the Elf led them into Arkalo, Phegolan's summer sun replaced quickly by the forest's chilling breeze.

. . .

Eric and his group ended up at the same cafe again, discussing the new quest the Phegolan King had given them.

"So why are we being sent to Arkalo?" Laura asked.

Antoni sighed. "Politics. The king wants to strengthen the relationship between Phegolan and Arkalo, so he's sending us down to take care of a particular issue they're having."

Eric nodded. "At least this is my kind of politics. Taking care of the bad guys will never stop feeling good."

Laura pouted. "You say that, but you haven't even told us who the enemies are supposed to be."

"Whoops! Yeah, slipped my mind. Sorry guys." Eric leaned forward, taking a sip of tea. "Apparently, we're supposed to take care of some guy named Taykaw."

"Taykaw? You don't mean the Taykaw of the Dryhunter Cult, do you?"

"That exact same Taykaw. Why? Is he bad news?"

Antoli ate a piece of his cake slice. "He is very bad news. He used to be Fermigan's servant, gifted a body impenetrable by anything but divine magic. And now, he leads a cult called the Dryhunters."

"Ah, that's right. My lightning counts as 'divine magic', so we can run him through when the time comes. Shouldn't use it too much though, I don't want to cause a fire there. But what exactly is their deal? The king didn't tell me much about the Dryhunters."

Laura bit into an omelet. "The Dryhunters have been around for a long time. Most of the time, you see people preparing for doomsday, even with no indication from the Gods that anything like would occur, right?"

"Yeah, makes sense. It's like that where I came from, too."

"The Dryhunters are the opposite. They're trying to start the apocalypse. They want Fermigan back."