Chapter 27: Heading East

 The delegation milled around the entrance to Crystallia. They numbered eighteen in total. Four guards stood watch over the group as they traveled along the lone eastward road. Alongside them were four coachmen controlling the carriages they were riding in.

In the first carriage were the representatives of Crystallia. Yuuki was the main representative of the City-State of Crystallia. With her, four more residents of the city were coming along. Two were representatives of the City while the others were servants assigned to attend to Yuuki’s every need.

The second one contained Sanum’s group. Sarman was the leader of that one and he was only joined by Kiara and Sarah. The three of them were the only representatives from Sanum, though each of the four guards also came from the large City-State.

The third carriage was the home of Aric’s representatives. Nic and Aria rode in this one alone. Neither of them minded privacy when they wanted it. And, when stopping to sleep, they were able to comfortably sleep in the wagon without being squished.

Of course the roofs of the carriages were made of cloth and could be taken down when wanted. This allowed for those on different carriages to converse with one another easily. Most of the journey was spent like this.

The last carriage was hauling provisions and necessities for the journey. Food, tents for sleeping, weapons, and gifts for the Shogunate of Kyoku were all stored on that carriage.

It had been over a week since the meeting deciding on the Alliance’s next course of action had taken place. Two days after the meeting, the delegation had left Sanum for Aric. Once there, Kayde said his goodbyes to the group before seeing them off towards Crystallia. Which brought them to their current location.

They had been in Crystallia for only a day and were getting ready to head East.

“Everything good over there?” A voice called out to Nic as he finished tightening the straps on the carriage’s cover.

“Yea, we should be good now. Everything ready to go inside Aria?” He called through the cloth to the person who was working inside.

“We’re good! Nothing should get wet if it does start to rain.” All four of the carriages were having their cloth overheads put on due to the sky. Dark storm clouds blotted out the sun, and had been all day. It was only a matter of time before the rain began.

Nic turned back to Sarah and gave her a strong nod. “Sounds like the Aric carriage is good to go.”

Sarah smiled softly before turning towards the Crystallian carriage to check on them. The Sanum carriage had been done for a while, as had the extra provisions carriage.

Taking that as his cue to get ready to leave, Nic climbed into the carriage himself. Aria was sitting to the left side, her back up against a couple of boxes that were being stored there.

They hadn’t brought much stuff themselves, just three boxes. They were lined up against the left wall of the carriage. Neither side had seats so the only way to comfortably sit was up against something like one of the boxes. To Nic’s surprise however, he found that Aria had put down their bedding so that it was a bit more comfortable to sit on.

“Tired of sitting on wood?” Nic popped the question as soon as he saw the bedding, which hadn’t been there the day before.

“Mhm. It was starting to hurt my butt, especially with all of the small bumps.” Aria let out a sigh as she spoke. “These carriages are sturdy enough for long journeys, but they aren’t pleasant to travel in.”

“That’s true. Too bad we couldn’t have used the fancier ones.” Nic thought back to the ones that they had ridden in before. They were always much nicer than these.

But they had been denied access to them for a variety of reasons.

“At least these are inconspicuous enough that we won’t get attacked by bandits on sight for our wealth.” Sarman peaked his head into the cart as he inputted his own thoughts on the matter.

“Isn’t that defeated by the fact that we have four armed guards with us?” Nic looked back at his friend. “Seems to me like anyone who has four guards probably has the money to pay for them.”

“What if we were just merchants?” Sarman shrugged his shoulders as he responded to Nic.

“Merchants? That would put an even larger target on us!” Nic and Aria nearly shouted at the same time. The two of them were in sync as they looked at Sarman with insane eyes.

“What?!” He held up his hands in defense. “It was a ‘what if’ question. I wasn’t saying it was a great thing.”

Shaking his head, Sarman moved back away from the cart. “We’re leaving here in a second, make sure you’re ready for the trip.”

“We are, don’t worry.” Nic nodded to him as Sarman turned away from the carriage.

With his friend out of sight, Nic took the opportunity to sit down next to Aria. The bedding that she had put down truly did make sitting in the cart much more comfortable. Just as he was going to bring it up, he felt Aria’s hand wrap around his and tighten itself. A familiar weight rested on his shoulder at the same time.

“The bedding was a good idea.” Nic squeezed Aria’s hand back as he spoke.

“I know.” Aria’s voice was quiet.

Nic could hear the coachmen calling out to each other, shortly after followed by the lurching of the carriage. Their journey had begun. Nic watched out the back of the carriage as the charred bricks that made up the entry to Crystallia passed them by.

Plip. Plop.

Just as they passed through the city gates, the rain began. Gentle at first, it soon turned into a torrential downpour.

Nic laid his head down on the head resting on his own shoulder. With the bumping of the carriage and the pitter pattering of the rain, Nic was soon lulled into a small rest.

The rain ended up not letting up for another two days. Most of their meals ended up being non heated food as the group was unable to safely make a fire. The second night they were able to find a small underhang that allowed them to make a fire and, in turn, some warm food.

On the third day they finally woke up to the sun rising over the distant mountains. Not a single storm cloud in sight. They were finally able to lower the coverings on their carriages. Because of that, the day was full of a lot more laughter as the three carriages of people were finally able to talk with each other as they rode down the path.

Their journey was not uneventful though. Monsters occasionally attacked them as they passed by their habitats. Most times the guards took care of them with ease. But the few times that they weren’t enough, the fighters stuck in the carriages were far too happy to lend a hand and stretch. It often became a bit of a race to see who would be the first to strike in those cases.

Nic was the only one who always stayed out of it.

He had another job that he was saving his strength for.

The route that they were taking towards the World End Mountains was host to a number of Rad-Towns of different sizes. With each one they would pass, Nic would get out and purify the Rad-Town. Once that was done, they would inform the villagers and tell them what they could do next.

Some of these villages elected to send people west to Crystallia to get in touch with a city that was a part of the Alliance. Others simply continued their lives as it was. To them, being a Rad-Town or a small City-State meant nothing.

A little past lunchtime on the third day, Nic found himself climbing back into the carriage after helping a rather particularly rude village of the latter type.

He sat down with an annoyed grunt. Aria handed him a sandwich with a sympathetic smile.

“Another one that didn’t want your help?” Her question was asked softly, though Nic could see Sarman sitting in a similar position to him.

“They cursed out Sarman and I this time.” Nic answered after taking a bite of the sandwich. “Didn’t want our ‘delusional’ help or something like that.”

“Well, we didn’t expect to be able to help every Rad-Town, or that every single person would accept it.” Aria comforted Nic as the bumpy ride east continued. It was becoming more of a ritual for the caravan to sit in silence like this after a Rad-Town that acted like the last one.

Nic and Aria sat in silence mainly because the other two would. Even on this sunny day, without the rain to hamper their ability to talk with each other, they fell silent.

The cause was Sarman. His anger at how their help had been dismissed was growing each time. And of course, it was showing to everyone. Heat rose from his body in large waves. Large enough that the last carriage, with its stores of food, had started trailing behind enough to not be affected by the heat.

Both Sara and Kiara managed to hop off the same cart as him and came to join Nic and Aria in theirs.

“Gosh, that heat really is something.” Sara whispered as she climbed into the carriage.

“I get that he’s mad, but should he really get this mad about something like this?” Kiara muttered her own complaints under her breath.

Nic grew a small smile as he listened to them.

“Give him a break. If it was just me, that would be one thing. I'm a nobody. But Sarman? He’s well known enough to be known on sight even all the way out here. They ripped into him especially hard, and even tried to talk bad about Sanum.”

“Oh…” Sara and Kiara quieted down.

The silence in the air hung heavy again. Hoping to lighten the mood, Nic and Aria started a normal conversation with the two that had joined them. A conversation that lasted long into the night, until they finally stopped to rest for the night.

Four days passed. Then five, and six, and seven. Soon a whole ten days had passed in their journey eastward. Each day held its own trials and tribulations, and by the tenth day, Nic had grown tired from the constant absorption of Irradiation throughout the journey.

Finally, on the dawn of the tenth day, Sarman called for a meeting in the morning after everyone had woken up.

With mountains looming large behind him, Sarman stood in front of a rock with a hand drawn map on it.

“Today we decide on what path we take.” Sarman put his hand on the map as everyone leaned in.

On one side were a bunch of upside down V’s marking the mountain range they were next to. Conspicuously a large portion of the line of V’s was missing. Nic could see that they had once been there though and had been removed after the fact.

“Currently we are here,” Sarman put his finger down near the mountain line. “We have two options at present. The first is to go over the mountain range on foot,” Sarman slid his finger over the line. “If we do this, we will need to leave the carriages at this Rad-Town near the base of the mountains and carry on the rest of the way on foot.”

“On the other hand,” Sarman moved his finger back to the starting point. “We can travel south for a while till we hit the Dragonsung Wastes. Once there we can move past the mountain range,” Sarman moved his finger down to the large break in the mountain line on the map. Once there he moved it across the open space to the coastline. “But, this route is dangerous. The Dragonsung waste is an Irradiated wasteland.”

Nic had heard of it before. He knew just how bad it was said to be. If a normal person stepped in, it was said that they would succumb to Irradiated Sickness immediately.

“And we don’t know if I will be able to guard us against it.” Nic spoke up.

Sarman nodded. “So we need to decide what path we will take.”

The southern route would be much faster, a result of using the carriages the entire time, but may be more dangerous if Nic couldn’t protect them all. But the route over the mountains would take more time. They would have to carry their provisions the entire time. It would be far more laborious for the entire group.

“Nic, can you do it?” Aria asked the question on everyone’s minds. He could see it as they all looked at him in suspense.

“I… I wouldn’t know for sure until I was standing in front of the wastes, but if I have to make the decision right now,” Nic took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can.”

He could see everyone nod in assurance. None of them were going to doubt his own personal assessment, not at a time like this.

“I think we should take the mountain path. It will be harder for everyone, but it is less likely for us to end in complete failure.” Nic placed his vote.

“Alright. What about the rest of you?”

“I agree with Nic.”

“If Nic says he doesn’t want to risk the southern route, then the mountain is our only option.”

One by one, most of the group voiced their own thoughts. Each one agreed with Nic. If there was a danger to the south, then it wouldn’t be worth it. By the end of the meeting, it was abundantly clear which path they had decided to take.

“Alright then, we will take the pass over the mountain range. Our destination then is the Rad-Town at the base of the mountains just a bit northeast of here.” Sarman looked around at the group of them and smiled. “Let’s get going.”

As if a fire had been lit beneath them, the entire entourage packed their carriages and were on the road within just a few minutes. Their goal was on the other side of the mountain range. All they had to do was pass over it.

Less than an hour later, Nic found himself at the gates to a rather large Rad-Town. It had stone walls surrounding it, but Nic could see the tops of many buildings squished together within. He could even see what looked to be a place of religion sticking up near the center.

“Wait here.” A guard at the entrance to the city told Nic to wait. After explaining why they were there, the guard had run inside the city to grab their leader.

Nic and Sarman waited patiently until an older gentleman came out to meet them. He had managed to live a long enough life for his hair to turn gray. Despite that, Nic thought that he looked strong enough to hold his own in a fight against monsters.

“So I hear you travelers have something you wish to discuss?” The old man spoke with ragged breaths as he coughed between almost every word.

Nic could see the Irradiation seeping off of him.

“We do.” Sarman was the one who spoke up. He couldn’t see the Irradiation, but Nic was sure that he knew what it was. “We are passing over the mountain range and would like to stow our carriages here if at all possible. In exchange, we have a way to rid your Rad-Town of Irradiation completely.”

“You-!” The words that Sarman spoke lit a fire in the old man’s eyes. “I don’t know what you nation dwellers think you can do, but Irradiation is not something you can get rid of. It permeates everything and is a part of life. To get rid of it is impossible! A farce that goes against his Lord’s will!”

“His… Lord?” Nic asked the question in confusion before he could realize what he was saying.

“Yes! The one true God of this world: Kronus”

Nic and Sarman passed sidelong glances at each other.

“So, this town is a follower of the True God Religion?” Sarman named one of the ten major religions in the world. It was the only one that didn’t revolve around the praise of one of the Spirit Progenitors.

“Of course!”

“Praise be to his grace.”

The old man and the guard spoke in unison in response.

“I see,” Nic spoke up this time. “And what exactly is your Lord’s will?”

“His will? That humanity must suffer for our greed. Our suffering comes in the form of Irradiation, given to this world by his Lord’s greatest disciple: Verilo!”

His fist tightened as he listened to the man. Nic couldn’t bear to listen to this perversion of the truth any longer. He took a step forward.

“Wait.” Sarman whispered as he held out a hand to stop Nic.

“You say all of this old man, but have you ever talked with your God? Have you ever talked with this disciple?”

The man scoffed.

“To talk with a God is preposterous. Even those fake Gods known as Spirit King’s shouldn’t be talked to. It’s heresy!”

Sarman scowled himself this time.

“So you’re a zealot. One who refuses to listen to anything but your own voice. Well, unfortunately for you, this conversation makes you a sinner. Both of you.”

“What?” The old man peered at Sarman with menace.

“Salamander, do you wanna come out?” As Sarman spoke, a flaming salamander appeared on his shoulders.

“We ‘fake gods’ as you put it have no desire to stop humanity from conversing with us. And let me tell you one thing; father communs with humans in the Eye all of the time.”

“W-W-What?!” The man fell on his back as he stared at the salamander. “How! Why?” His shouting caused a small crowd to form around the entrance. One of the people walking out, a woman with dark black shoulder length hair, punched the old man in the head.

“You are way too zealous, Kam. Go rest again. You’re not well enough to be out here.”

The old man crawled away with the fervor of a scared animal running from its largest predator. With him gone, the woman turned to address Sarman and Nic.

“Sorry about that. To be honest, he is far more zealous than anyone else in this village. He’s the head of a group that believes that suffering through Irradiation is some sort of rite of passage.”

“I see.” Nic stayed quiet while Sarman hesitantly responded.

“If you are still open to the deal, I think the rest of us would gladly take it. And we will allow you all to stay in the village tonight in order to rest for your journey.” She offered an answer to their offer. One that Sarman was all too glad to accept.

“Then I think that settles that.” Sarman turned to Nic. “Can you do it?”

“Yea.” Nic grumbled slightly, still annoyed by the old man.

But he couldn’t allow that annoyance to stop him from doing what he needed to do.