Three days later, Zerona was out of the sick bay. Though he would often complain about his core being stiff sometimes, he was in fighting shape. May and Xnoa had finished their preparations for the journey ahead: salves, rations, and repair kits for their equipment. Since none of them could use supportive or offensive magic, Xnoa purchased a few single-use magic scrolls inscribed with basic elemental spells and curative magic. They would do in a pinch, he reasoned.

  On the morning of their departure, they gathered at the town gate. It was still being rebuilt after the attack. The Blacksmiths had reinforced the ramparts with extra plating, and there were more Gunner nests. Xnoa felt uneasy; the attack was coming, and he wondered how the town would survive. But, he had far more important things to worry about. The Boss and the Guild could take care of the city’s defenses.

  The Boss was there to see them off. He was tense, his gaze shifting every now and then. He whispered something to Zerona. For a split second, Xnoa noticed Zerona’s eyes widen. The Boss patted Zerona’s shoulder once and said a few parting words to the others. With the goodbyes out of the way, they started their three-day trek along the Eastern Highway, the main throughfare connecting the Eastern Alliance to Crusadia. Their destination was the vast network of forests on the eastern outskirts of Crusadia. Once they were there, Zerona would lead them to the Liberators. Their plan was to follow the Highway until the halfway point. Then, they would take the winding path through the foothills of the eastern plains under Crusadia’s jurisdiction.

  The sky was clear. The tall blades of grass rustled gently as the wind swept past. In the distance, wild horses galloped. Xnoa took a deep breath. He caught the faint sweet scent of Eastern Redlilies.

  “If only we had an airship,” May grumbled.

  “Those things are expensive, aren’t they? It took the Black Falcon Guild in Hakuroa three years to assemble the Black Regalia,” Xnoa said. “I can’t imagine the Boss having that much money from Guild contracts,”

  “We don’t need the Black Regalia. A medium-class airship should get us to Crusadia in a bit over two hours,” May retorted. “Even a four-person cruiser is better than this. By Emilia, I wish I was still back in Morgia…”

  After an hour on the Highway, they arrived at the border checkpoint. They showed their Guild IDs and their writ of passage to the guards. The guards were puzzled.

  “You lot? Going to walk along the Highway through the eastern plains? Don’t you know it’s dangerous out there? The plains aren’t what they used to be. Lots of dark monsters lurking about,”

  “Official Guild business,” Zerona said. “It’s classified,”

  One of the guards shrugged. “Their papers are in order. Let them through. Just be mindful of the refugees along the way. Safe travels and may Emilia bless all of you,”

  They continued past the checkpoint to the border town of East Cape. Xnoa had been there on an escort mission for a merchant caravan. He remembered it as being a bustling trade hub where Crusadian merchants sought Eastern agricultural products and sold them for a massive mark-up in the capital. The town now was not as he remembered. Tents lined the main street. The air was full of fear and sorrow. The people he passed all had hopeless blank stares. In the distance, children’s cries mixed with anguished moans were heard. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  “This is awful,” May said as they walked down the main street. “Why aren’t they moving on past the checkpoint?”

  Zerona sighed. “The higher-ups in Hakuroa don’t want to see more refugee camps outside the city’s walls. So, they announced only refugees with proper documents would be allowed past the checkpoint,”

  “That’s horrible!” May exclaimed. “How could they do that?”

  Zerona shrugged. “I want to know why, too. But a guard simply follows orders,”

  Xnoa glimpsed a child sitting on a piece of dirty cardboard. The kid was a Dominian, but his black demonic wings seemed broken. His blue shirt was tattered and bloodstained, but it did not seem like his own blood. The child silently wept.

  “That kid… I thought the Dominians didn’t hurt their own kind?” Xnoa said as they passed the child.

  “The Dominians are just like us, Ex. Some are evil, some are good, most are in-between. That kid’s just a victim in all this,” Zerona replied. “Probably lost his parents while trying to make it here, poor thing. But it’s none of our business for now,”

  Xnoa took another glance at the child and sighed. Zerona was right. There was nothing he could do right now, and even if he did, it would serve no purpose other than slowing them down.

  They continued down the main street, passing through more makeshift refugee camps. At the central square, there was a large white square tent where a long line of refugees formed. The sign hung in front of it showed a red sun, the official logo of the Reverste Healers Union. Next to it was a simple open-air soup kitchen, manned by Union staff donning white armbands bearing the Union’s logo.

  “Hey, Ex, you remember Hina, right?” May chimed in. “That Dominian girl you hung out with during basic training? Didn’t she join the Healers Union? Wasn’t she a Scout?”

  “Hina? I remember her. She did join, right after finishing her Assassin’s training,” Xnoa replied.

  “An Assassin in the Healer’s Union?” Zerona interrupted. “That’s… unorthodox,”

  “She was always a bit weird,” Xnoa chuckled. “Always nose-deep in her books on poisons. She thought she’d be helpful to the Union due to her knowledge of antidotes,”

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  “That sounds… reasonable,” Zerona said. “Still, unorthodox. The only Assassins I know just want to be rich by working for the aristocracy,”

  “Seems like you’ve been in touch a lot with her,” May teased. “What’s really going on with you two?”

  “Nothing really. We just send each other letters every month. She insisted. Haven’t heard from her since Crusadia fell, though. Maybe she’s working in one of these tents too,”

  May jeered. “C’mon Ex, tell us more about your love life. Are we really childhood friends?”

  “There’s nothing to tell!”

  They had reached the town’s main entrance. The wide cobbled highway stretched into the distance. Xnoa’s heart sank. What was once a magnificent, bustling road over a verdant landscape had been reduced to potholes and wooden wreckages of caravans strewn about. In the distance, he spotted a group of people huddled together, covering themselves with cloaks. More refugees from the capital. It seemed a miracle they had made it out here uninjured.

  Zerona called for a quick meeting. “Before we head out, the Boss told me of a winged Knight that’s been patrolling incoming roads into Crusadia. If it’s really who I think it is, then none of us would stand a chance against her,”

  Xnoa did not like where this was headed. The image of Zerona writhing on the ground after taking three bullets to the gut was still fresh in his mind. “You’re not telling us to run away and leave you behind to fend her off,” Xnoa said. There was a slight quiver in his voice.

  Zerona shook his head. “No, Xnoa. I wouldn’t even last a minute against her. She’s the strongest person I know. We must be extra careful,” he said, his eyes shifting to the ground. “But, if we’re spotted, we have to escape by any means…”

  May cocked her head and put her finger on her lip. After a while, she let out a crisp “aha!”. “How about smoke bombs?” she said.

  Xnoa looked at her puzzled. “Smoke bombs? Where would we get smoke bombs?”

  “You’re not the only one who came prepared, Ex,” May took her custom-made brown backpack—issued by the Artisan’s Guild after completion of basic training—and opened the outermost side pocket. There were five black reflective spheres. May took one and showed it. They saw their faces bizarrely warped in the sphere. “Custom smoke bombs, used by seasoned Explorers of the Mai Mai Ruins. On impact, it creates a smokescreen that even blocks out detection magic or skills,”

  She tucked one in a pouch hoisted on her utility belt and gave Xnoa and Zerona one each. “Just throw it to the ground as hard as you can,”

  “By Emilia, May, you could’ve mentioned you had these things before we departed,” Zerona scoffed. He slid his smoke bomb into an empty pouch on his belt.

  They continued along the ruins of the Highway. The group of refugees Xnoa spotted earlier passed them. Their faces were sullen, their steps weak. Mothers carried infants on their backs, and fathers held their children’s hands, nudging them to keep up. Not even one was armed. A middle-aged man in tattered overalls begged Zerona for some food. He ignored the man. Xnoa and May wanted to help, but Zerona shot them a glare, silently reminding them they were on a mission. Dejected, the man cursed at him.

  “You Knights and your pride! You take all from us, yet you can’t protect us when we need you most!”

  As they passed the group, none saw his trembling fist underneath his tattered black cloak.

  The further they headed west, the more devastation they saw. What used to be green plains as far as the eye could see were now a patchy mixture of brown and ash gray. Even the sounds of wildlife had disappeared, replaced with a heavy, unnerving silence punctuated by the subtle howl of the wind. They had to make sure they did not trip over potholes. In some places, they had to circle around still-smoldering holes. The embers were purple, which May recognized as Dominian fire. She cautioned them not to get even a smidge of it on their skin, lest they suffer from unhealable burns.

  The sky had already turned a blazing orange and the sun gradually descending behind the hills. In the background, there was a wispy outline of the Sky Tower, the ancient connector of the Pillars, the elevator of the Gods. From Aftergale, it was difficult to see, even on a clear day. If the Gods really did exist, Xnoa questioned why they would allow all this devastation to happen in the first place.

  “See any scouts?” Zerona asked.

  Xnoa scanned the horizon again. He shook his head. “No scouts,”

  “Good,”

  They arrived at a seemingly abandoned barn off the Highway. From the outside, the red paint was peeling off its walls. Roof shingles littered the ground around it. The surrounding weeds had taken over one side of the barn, but they were decaying from the bottom-up. The strong scent of decay lingered. They tried to enter through the side door, but it was jammed. Zerona gave it a kick and it swung open.

  Inside the barn, several sleeping bags were tucked neatly in the corner near a large chest full of farming equipment. In a small cupboard were emergency rations and medical kits and restorative potions, along with some dusty clay cookware. In the middle was a sunken hearth that added some rustic charm to the place. Zerona started a fire, while Xnoa and May went outside to draw water from the well.

  Nightfall came. They sat around the hearth, satisfied after having warm soup and hard crackers. Zerona told the story about the barn, how there were many of these sites scattered across Reverste thanks to the Merchant’s Association. Since Crusadia fell, these some sites had been ransacked or turned into temporary shelter for refugees.

  It was getting late. Zerona had already retired for the night. May was tending to her pistols and equipment. Xnoa was on first watch. He slouched on a crate outside the barn. He sighed and stretched his arms. The night was still. Too still. Not even the chirp of crickets or the hoots of owls. The stars above seemed dimmer than usual. He felt blanketed in an unnerving darkness. Yet, for some reason, it felt somewhat calming.

  He heard the side door creak open.

  “How’s it going?” May asked. She had a white mug, slightly chipped on the rim, in her hands. “Coffee?”

  “Thanks,” Xnoa said. He took a sip. It was slightly sweet, just the way he liked it.

  “I remember you like it just a bit sweet,” May said. “There was some sugar in the cupboard…”

  Xnoa shot her a suspicious look.

  “I made sure it was still safe!” she said, flustered.

  Xnoa took another cautious sip and put his mug on the crate. “Thanks again, May,”

  “No problem,” she replied.

  A long silence followed. They avoided eye contact. Xnoa kept scratching the back of his head and May fiddled with her thumbs.

  “It’s been a while, huh,” Xnoa said, breaking the awkward silence between them.

  “Yeah,” May said.

  “You could’ve told us why you were sent to Morgia and Tonka, but I kind of have a hunch now,”

  May cocked her head. “You do?”

  “It’s an airship, isn’t it? The Boss is getting the guild an airship,”

  May let out a chuckle. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

  “You’re predictable. Everyone knows how much you love airships. I just put two and two together,” Xnoa said. He then let out a long sigh. “Just wished you could’ve at least told me in secret or left a note or something instead of, you know, just suddenly leaving for six months… especially after Crusadia fell,”

  “Were you worried?” May asked. Her usual cheery expression turned serious.

  Xnoa looked straight at her hazel eyes. “You think?” he said, his voice trembling. “You’re my closest friend, May. I was worried you were caught up in the initial attack, or even worse…” He bit his lower lip. “…dead,”

  May’s head sank. “…Sorry,” she said timidly.

  The billowing vapor from the coffee mug twisted to the west following a light breeze. Xnoa put his hand on May’s shoulder gently. “Welcome back, pal,” he said.

  He could not see it, but there was a smile on May’s face as she tried hard to hold back her tears.