by A. D. Wills
“Perhaps some civil conversation is all that's needed,” Snillrik suggested. “Excuse me.”
She whipped her head around, meeting Snillrik's big bulging eyes with her nearly entirely white ones, with only the faintest of iris visible.
“We would like to propose an early truce—a non-violence agreement that might allow us to engage in constructive talks.” Snillrik gestured, polite and proper, though their knees quaked in giving away what false confidence they might have otherwise exuded.
She stood up, shaking her head through wincing pain—still clearly feeling the effects of banging her head so hard before.
“Oh, no need to stand—” Snillrik offered.
She lunged forward, grabbing Snillrik's collar, and dragging against them to support herself standing upright. “Give me...my contract.”
“It looks like she remembers,” Sappo muttered behind Snillrik.
“Yes, well, you see, we weren't actually aware of our friend taking your contract. And not to mention he's under the impression it's his...” Snillrik rapidly trailed off at the end, and looking away.
“Where is he?” She asked.
Sappo and Snillrik didn't reply, but wild splashing could be heard through their sudden silence, and she proceeded to move them out of the way—through the bushes.
Caden backstroked all throughout the pink shimmering pond that looked like it could have tasted like candy. “Oh hey, you're awake!” Caden waved over. “You...” She sharpened her eyes, but upon seeing Caden, her vision went foggy.
“Are you alright? You look kind of off...” Caden focused on her distanced look, and waded onto the shore.
“Contract...” She uttered, before passing out, nearly hitting her head on a nearby rock, but Caden managed to catch her just in time.
“Whew, that was close,” Caden grinned, and laid her down. “This looks like a pretty alright place though, right? I mean, it's open, and the water tastes great too...”
“You drank from that!?” Sappo freaked out.
“Yeah, why not?”
“It does look unnatural, to say the very least,” Snillrik agreed with Sappo.
“Well, it tasted so sweet, and nothing's happened yet, so help yourself,” Caden shook off.
“But you're right, this is probably the best we're getting,” Sappo looked around at the small open space. “I'll see what I can cook for us from the food Snillrik bought, and I found some berries, and grubs along the way. I don't know if I can use them yet, but maybe I might be able to come up with something passable with them,” Sappo muttered.
“Can't wait!” Caden flashed his assuring smile Sappo's way. “Snill and I will get the fire going then.”
Sappo went to work on shuffling through the ingredients he had at his disposal, sampling to find out what he could use. Nothing exotic, or overly appealing, but plenty for Sappo to work with. He pieced everything together to concoct a dish from his thoughts—visualizing all the melding of ingredients and what they might produce before he settled on what to use.
Snillrik, and Caden went around gathering twigs, and breaking off what branches they could—even coming across the odd log or two to use. Even if they had a lantern, they didn't need it. The fireflies did their part, lighting their way under the pale moonlight. The soft, yet bright light was plenty enough.
Piling the wood around a decently large circle of stones, they made the fire, and Caden aimed his launcher at them.
“What are you doing?” Sappo had a double-take, turning his sights away from final preparations of the meal.
“I'm gonna light this fire by striking those rocks under the wood...” Caden held his free thumb up, while aiming his launcher steady with his other hand.
“Wait!” Sappo almost dropped the big bowl he was mixing everything in upon waving Caden off. “Here, I can light it.”
Sappo put the bowl aside, stepped in, and clashed two stones together sparking a little fire, before Sappo blew on it with his big lungs to create a swirling roaring flame.
“Nice, Sappo!” Caden flashed a naive thumbs-up.
Sappo let out a sigh of relief, and went back to putting everything together. He mixed in some berries while casting away the ones he sniffed out to be poisonous, thanks to his perceptive Ursine snout.
Caden sneaked over with Sappo's focus honed in on mixing the food, and tried to poke his finger in to sneak a taste.
Sappo swatted his hand away with a wooden spoon. “Not yet. It won't take long to cook, so just hold on a little bit longer.”
“I'm starving over here Sappo, any snacks or something?” Caden dramatized, clutching his growling stomach.
“We do, but I didn't bring them out of the wagon. It would just ruin the meal too,” Sappo muttered, hoping that they would focus on his food instead, as bashful as he was in admitting.
Sappo gently poured in the odd purple colored mashing of potatoes, carrots, and everything else could have been anyone's guess. Regardless of the strange appearance, as Sappo sifted it around to evenly cook, the savory aroma danced around Caden, and Snillrik's noses, pulling them into a craving trance. As it appeared just about ready to eat, Sappo grabbed a couple pieces of stale sticky-bread, slapped the filling on top, and wrapped them individually into a nice neat roll of steamy goodness.
“Sappo...please tell me it's done...” Caden almost appeared to be drooling at this point.
“Yep, here it is,” Sappo handed Snillrik, and Caden one well-stuff wrap each. “I hope you like it, I'm not even sure how it might turn out, but it's at least edible. After all, sometimes the flavor changes so much when it's cooked compared to the mix, and...”
“This is awesome! You should name this a 'wonder roll' it tastes so good,” Caden declared with wide eyes after a big bite.
“R-really?” Sappo asked.
“It really is delicious, Sappo,” Snillrik agreed, blowing in between every small bite they took.
The three of them feasted on their scrumptious dinner together around the fire, patting their bellies, and relaxing under the night sky with their feet dangling in the pink pond, sitting on the cool sandy surrounding. Nothing else around them, no worries, no pursuers, nothing. There wasn't anywhere any of them preferred to be right now. Just enjoying the night among friends on full stomachs, aside from their captive.
Achi squeaked around to get everyone's attention, hopping around on the ground to point at the captive.
“Hey look, I think she's getting up again,” Caden said, turning to see her groaning.
She pushed herself up slowly, rubbing her head that was surely throbbing to say the very least.
“It's probably for the best if you lean back for now,” Snillrik cautiously approached, helping her slide over to sit up against a rock.
“...Where am I?” She cracked out with a tired voice.
“Uh, not really sure where we are to be honest,” Caden admitted.
“The contract...you have it, don't you?” She shook her head, freeing some of the cobwebs, and finally opened her eyes in looking directly Caden's way.
“Oh, this?” Caden grabbed the contract from his pocket in his nearby pile of clothes, and waved it around with pride.
“That's mine,” She reached for it, but Caden pulled it away.
“No way, I grabbed it off those guys in the Guild on the way out."
“I was there to grab the contract. You just got lucky grabbing it before me."
“So that means it's mine if you never grabbed it at all, right?” Caden reasoned, holding his chin up.
She gritted her teeth at his foolish reply, coming to such an easy conclusion.
“I don't think we need to start any fights over this...” Sappo tried to cool things, and stop Caden's taunting.
“Why are you so determined to get this one contract in particular?” Snillrik asked.
“Yeah, are you an adventurer too? Maybe we can team up!”
“I'd never become an adventurer,” she shot down.
“Th
en why do you even want it so bad?”
“I only want that contract, because it has information I've been searching out for a while, the whereabouts of a Divine Lieutenant.”
There it was again, that word, Divine. Caden, Snillrik, and Sappo froze up upon hearing it—remembering Von Weiss, and the oppressive looming presence Daunton spoke of.
“A...A Divine?” Sappo asked through a shaky voice.
“Yes, so unless you want to get mixed up with them, then hand over the contract, and we'll part ways. I won't need to take it from you."
Caden threw the contract into the fire without warning.
“What are you doing!?” She screamed out.
“Now you can't take it, and we're the only ones who know what was on it.” Caden crossed his arms in proud satisfaction.
“Idiot...you idiot!” She looked around for her claymore, but didn't see it, suspecting they must have left it behind somewhere. “Fine, then just tell me where it is.”
“Sure...but only if you help us out.”
Snillrik, and Sappo watched in a bit of a stunned gaze, surprised Caden—while risky—actually managed to gain some kind of leverage.
“Fine, then how do you want me to help?” She said through gritted teeth, left without any other choice.
“Hmm, well do you know how to get to Qw—”
Sappo, and Snillrik stumbled over in a rush to cover Caden's mouth.
“That's the only leverage we have,” Snillrik reminded him.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, I almost spilled it eh,” Caden laughed it off once they lifted their hands from his mouth.
“You mentioned the Divines,” Snillrik began. “Do you have any information about them?”
“You seem to know enough about them to be scared of them,” She read their faces.
Snillrik and Sappo looked terrified at the mere mention. Seeing what power someone like Von Weiss could do as a mere underling to these Divines.
“I'm not scared of them!” Caden refuted with fire in his eyes.
“You should be,” She began to sigh with closed eyes, and a heavy sigh. “They have a disgusting amount of power that goes completely unchecked. Everyone in Gamriss, it doesn't matter who you are. You eventually submit to them whether you like it or not.”
“How come I haven't even met them then?” Caden asked.
“They barely ever show themselves in public. Not much is known about them. But what I do know, is everyone in power, in some way, they all answer to the Divines. Or at least, they're too terrified to do anything about their atrocities.” She curled her fists, pausing before gathering herself. “One such atrocity was when they almost wiped out every single one of us Boreans...”
“So you're a Borean!? I've never seen one before.”
Sappo elbowed Caden in the side to shut him up.
“There aren't many of us left to meet after they slaughtered us for fun, no reason for it at all. One day, they came to Borea, and when they left, it ceased to exist. It was wiped out from the map, and no one in power did anything about it. They treated our country as their own twisted playground, and they got away with it."
Caden, Sappo, and Snillrik scanned over the map, and didn't see Borea anywhere on there either. They felt as though the once dewy air around the oasis had been all but sucked out, and replaced with this heavy sorrow.
“So, I want that contract, because it gives me a chance to kill one of them. It's that simple.”
“And this Divine is where the contract says?” Caden asked.
“I know that much for sure, even if I have no idea why they're there. It doesn't matter to me. As long as I can get to that Lieutenant.”
“Hmm, alright, then why don't you just come along with us?” Caden asked, clumsy, and without shame as always.
Her face backed away, shifting her eyes and her mouth agape.
“W-wait, you shouldn't just ask everyone we meet to join,” Sappo cut in, trying to bring Caden to his senses. “She was just trying to kill us a little while ago.”
“If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it already.”
“See? I knew she could've killed us if she wanted to. So what's the problem if she joins? Plus, we could use someone strong like her. She held those three off on her own back in Tortsia”
“I'm not joining whatever this is,” she held her hand up in pausing, waving at them.
“Why not? It just makes sense. You need the contract, I know where this Divine is, and you want to kill this Divine too. We're all going the same way in the end.”
“You still want to go where they are?" She asked.
“Yeah, why wouldn't we? I took the contract, and after seeing that Baron in Tortsia, I wanna see these Divines for myself.”
Snillrik and Sappo didn't stop Caden. They didn't know about facing anyone that sounds as daunting as the Divines, but they knew full well and good what they agreed to upon joining Caden. He even warned them himself it would be dangerous. Perhaps a little more reckless than anticipated, but they were strapped-in along for the ride.
“So come on, how about coming with us?” Caden held his hand out firm with a smirk. “We could all probably use some help when we get there, so may as well help each other, right?”
She shook Caden's hand, albeit reluctantly. “For now, we have a deal.”
“Awesome, we've got another along for the ride!” Caden pumped his fists.
“I said I'm not joining. This is only temporary, and taking a ride there,” she insisted.
“Yeah, sure, I know that...” Caden whistled away with shifty-eyed suspicion.
“Shouldn't we introduce ourselves then?” Sappo nudged in.
“Oh, yeah...I'm Caden.”
“Snillrik, pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“S-Sappo here.”
“Zasha.” She looked around for her belongings, namely her sword.
“Oh, and due to...obvious reasons, we have your sword, it's just back in the wagon,” Snillrik cleared up.
“Um...There's also some food, if you're hungry,” Sappo muttered, offering a wooden slab with what was left of the food.
Zasha begrudgingly took the wooden slab, and her stomach shot out a growl.
Caden burst out laughing. “Sounds like you haven't eaten in a while eh.”
Zasha shot an icy glare Caden's way, and took a bite of the wrap.
Sappo waited, hoping Zasha had an opinion of any kind—he even braced himself for the harsh truth he was anticipating.
“This is fine.” Zasha inhaled it with a calm face, showing no emotion, but clearly enjoying the meal.
Sappo's face slowly crept up to a warming beam—curling his fuzzy cheeks up to his eyes.
“So, where are we going?” Zasha cut to the chase.
“Oh, Qwayke...but we kinda don't really know how to get there,” Caden scratched his head in admission.
“I've joined a group of fools...” Zasha groaned.
“Well do you know where it is?” Caden fired back.
“I've heard of it, and know the nearest village from here,” Zasha argued.
“That's not the same thing though, right Snill?” Caden tried roping Snillrik in.
“I don't want to bother butting into this little argument, but perhaps if Zasha knows the way to a nearby village, we can ask for directions there...” Snillrik tried to mediate.
“It's not perhaps, I do know where it is,” Zasha looked Snillrik's way.
“Yes, well, very nice...let's just do that then,” Snillrik stumbled over their words.
Interrupting them was a heavy rumbling growl, echoing out a deep creaking bellow that sounded like twisting trees, and a moaning whale.
“What was that?” Sappo's eyes looked around, ears perking up and twitching the moment anything felt off.
“We should leave,” Zasha said, observing their surroundings carefully.
“What? We just got here though," Caden bemoaned.
“I agree with our new companion here,” Sn
illrik added, trying to raise a bit of cooperation out of Zasha, who only looked back in silence.
Again, the same grinding groan echoed, this time shaking the earth itself—sending them all tumbling around onto their backsides. The pots and pans rattled around, and the stones surrounding the fire rolled all over, suddenly tilting to the side.
“It's moving...this place is moving!” Sappo freaked out, trying to gather up everything he could back into his pack.
“We need to leave now!” Zasha sharply snapped their focus to her.
All of them agreed, grabbing their things, and bolted off back toward the wagon parked just outside of the oasis.
“I can't believe it, this place is alive! This is amazing!"Caden couldn't stop running with a smile on his face.
“There's nothing amazing about this!” Sappo shouted over what sounded like the ripping and tearing of the earth itself.
The four of them ran down the tilting ground in a frantic frenzy toward the flats getting further and further away with every second the oasis continued to rise. The angle became too much to keep their footing, and all of them barreled into one another, rolling down the upright oasis, and into a free fall.
“There's no way we're going to survive this!” Sappo screamed out.
“Grab onto each other, trust me!” Caden yelled out, shuffled for his launcher, and shot it off to anchor into a tree on the border of the oasis.
All of them clasped onto one another in a makeshift chain link, and the thin line snapped straight once they reached the end—swinging them down toward their wagon just below. Bracing for impact, and closing their eyes, they fell face-first, smashing onto the top of the wagon, with Caden landing on top of them quite comfortably.
“Guess that wasn't so bad, eh?” Caden laughed amid the chaos.
“Idiot...” Zasha pushed up from under Caden, tossing him aside.
“I don't think we have much time to argue for the time being,” Snillrik scrambled to the front of the wagon, looking back at the gargantuan creature letting out another groan.
A Torportoise—a rare subspecies that masks its massive appearance in plain sight around the world. Being the size of a small mountain cast a shadow over the entire immediate area of the illusionary flats, carrying the entire island-sized oasis on its back. Just one of its legs looked bigger than anything any of them have ever seen before. Even Zasha had to steal a lasting glance back in stunning awe. Its pale gray weathered skin, closed eyes as if it were still trying to sleep, and waterfalls of rubble showered down all around after emerging from what was a gaping crater behind them.
