Departure

Calum ran through several alleys, searching for Kia. Tilaya matched his pace, following close behind. “Kia!? Where are you!?”

There was no response. Again he called, but there was still no answer. Unease gnawed at his stomach. He called a third time, but Kia did not reply. “She shouldn’t have gotten far…”

He entered another alley and caught a glimpse of Kia’s foot next to a turn. “Kia!”

She poked her head around the corner and stepped out into the open. Her daggers were in her hands, but she quickly put them away when Calum and Tilaya approached.

“Kia, are you alright?” He stopped in front of her and examined her for any injuries. Not even a scratch showed on her body.

“I felt a dark presence enter town,” Tilaya explained.

“We came as quickly as we could. You were the only one away from the feast, so we thought you might be in trouble.”

“I did encounter a monster, but it was nothing I couldn’t deal with.” Kia looked back at the alley she came out of, then back at Calum. “We should go back to the party. It can’t be the Hero’s Feast if the hero isn’t there, right?”

“It’ll be safer there than it will be here, that’s for sure,” Calum agreed. “Since Kia’s not in any trouble, we can relax a bit.” He retraced his steps with Kia by his side.

Tilaya paused, watching the distance between her and the others grow. “Something doesn’t seem right… If Kia had fought the creature I felt, she would have lost. And if she did fight a normal monster… I should have felt its presence.” She cleared her head and ran to catch up to the two.

…

The next morning, rays of sunshine brought Calum back to consciousness. Around him, Erik still slept, sprawled out and snoring. Tilaya meditated on her bed, and Kia leaned against the far wall, sharpening her daggers against a whetstone.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” She didn’t look up from what she was doing when she asked.

“Yeah, I’d say so. Did you?”

“I don’t require as much sleep as you do, so yeah. I’ve almost thrown my whetstone at Erik, though.”

Calum laughed. “It’s not very pleasant to sleep in the same room as him, is it?”

“Definitely not.”

“Let’s wake him up and head out. It’s best to get a move on early in the day so we can cover more distance.” Calum pushed himself off the bed and stretched. “How long does it take to get to the capital from here, again?”

“A week,” Tilaya commented. She continued her meditation, never opening her eyes. “It’ll take longer if Erik continues to sleep in.”

Calum moved around Tilaya’s bed and stood over Erik. He leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Goblin feet…”

Erik launched out of his bed and crashed to the floor. “Ugh… how many times do I have to tell you not to wake me up like that? I’m going to have nightmares about goblin feet tomorrow now, thanks.”

Kia tried her best to contain her laughter.

Erik narrowed his eyes. “What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, nothing…”

“I had to wake you up somehow. We’re heading out, so get ready.” Calum returned to his own bed and grabbed his armor from underneath.

…

The townspeople had gathered in front of the inn to thank the hero and his friends again for their service and to see them off on their journey.

Tilaya had bought extra food to last the week-long journey to the capital and kept it in her bag. She trailed behind the others, making sure no one fell behind.

The main road was empty of travelers other than the hero’s party. All was quiet except for the dirt crunching under their feet.

Calum pulled out his map to review it. “It looks like we should be able to take this road all the way up to the capital.”

“Hopefully your map isn’t outdated,” Kia commented while traveling down the road with her new friends. “How old is it anyway?”

“Thirty years. It should still be accurate.”

“We’ll find out if it is or not on the road. There’s no point discussing it,” Erik pointed out.

“It’s not like our journey is slowed down by the discussion. We’re moving at the same speed as we would be if we weren’t talking.” Tilaya stared at the road ahead. In front of them was a large hill that the highway went over. It was impossible to see the other side until they reached the top of the hill. “What kind of equipment are you all getting?”

“An oxite sword would be lovely,” Erik patted his sword hilt. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my current sword, but an oxite weapon would be really helpful against demons. Oxite armor would be handy as well.”

“I think mithril armor would help a lot. It’s the best option out of all the types of light armor,” Calum smiled as he thought about replacing his chainmail. “I don’t need another sword, though.”

“Having a spare sword might come in handy, you know,” Kia added. “I don’t think I need any equipment.” She took a dagger off her belt and stared at it.

“The capital has the best gear in all the world. It’s too great an opportunity to pass up.” Tilaya gripped her new staff. “I feel bad since those nice people back there just made this for me, but I could really use a high-priest-grade staff.”

Calum led his friends to the top of the hill and stared at the valley below. The smile that came from discussing the equipment they all wanted sank. “We might have a problem here…”

Kia stepped next to Calum and gazed at the road ahead to see what he was worried about. A giant stone wall was being constructed over the road, extending for a good kilometer in each direction. “Looks like that map is outdated after all.”

Erik stopped next to Calum with Tilaya on his other side. “So, what do we do?”

“We’ll have to go around.”

A voice came from the side of the road. “Hello heroes!”

Calum turned to see a man dressed in a white robe holding a golden staff in his left hand. “Are you… a high priest?”

The man bowed. “Indeed I am. I’ve been expecting you. This wall you see,” he gestured to the valley below where the wall was being built, “is here so the demons cannot enter any deeper into the northern region.”

“Hold on, you’ve been expecting us?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting so I can teach the hero and his sorceress companion divine magic. What do you say?”