The sun dimmed, hiding behind the front of the plateau the campsite was set up beside, causing lights to brighten as their glow shone dimly through the tents. The now four of them, including the young man that would drive the carriage to their destination, headed into the fenced-off area, a tiny group of tents that ranged in various sizes, bound together by the wooden fence—they created a compound filled with dated mining gear and piles of rock and rubble.
"So these plant kingdom brats did tell the truth about this place..."
Having decided on following the man, Midas and his group wandered around and through the tents. They briefly stopped while the man headed into the largest one of the tents—its entrances and walls supported by heavy wooden beams, practically forming a doorframe at the spots in which the cloth parted—letting many of the workers enter and exit out of it, some stumbling more than walking. Having heard Javelin mutter, Midas stood beside him, glancing over a set of pickaxes that rested against some stacked-up crates.
"To be honest, I had my doubts as well... My plan is much more reliant on the carriage service than I like to admit, to be honest... just the thought of having to walk the distance makes me stressed."
"Yeah, we don't have any other option than trusting that guy with actually being a reliable driver... He at least didn't attack us right away, so I suppose that already makes him more trustworthy than these water kingdom knights..."
Uteli joined them, briefly dropping her axe to hold onto one of the heavy tools—seemingly comparing their weight as she tried to get a firmer grasp on its wooden shaft. Weighing it in her hands with a blank expression, she put the tool into its original place again, letting it lean against the crate as she quickly headed for her axe again.
"Why do you even want to go to the plant kingdom...?"
"Why do you...? You're the one willing to travel with complete strangers..."
Javelin quickly answered Utelis' question, his tone suggesting he was slightly wary of her—most likely due to what he saw her do shortly after they had gotten to Brutpierda, at least so Midas thought as he watched her brows slightly raise. Looking toward the middle tent again, their driver seemingly already disappeared inside—hopefully not trying to hide from them just yet, as Midas had no idea of where to spend the night.
Seeing that Uteli had no idea what Javelin said to her—still using desert tongue, as his understanding of the water kingdom language was much more advanced than his actual spelling—Midas eventually forced himself to face the two of them again. Sighing in between them, slightly tired from the mess that their first day revealed itself to be, Midas took it upon himself to translate what he spoke into the language Uteli understood, trying to do so word for word.
"I need to go much further north... to the northernmost point of the plant kingdom—where the mountains split up to reveal a path to the other side... When I'm there... I will search for my family there and return back to them... I need to find out why they left me behind..."
Midas's brows sterned up again, undoing his tired expression as he looked down onto her hands as one of them formed a fist while the other clutched tightly onto the axe she was given by the woman from the orphanage. Hearing her tone, Javelin glanced towards Midas, roughly able to tell that the reason why she headed towards the plant kingdom was as important as theirs.
"Well... Javelin's sister has a condition that puts a lot of stress on her brain—at any given moment, mana bursts into her head, causing her to lose consciousness... This time, we were told she entered a coma under the intensity of the mana burst. The reason we need to go to the plant kingdom is simply because they were told that a herb local to that region might help with the treatment..."
Midas's tone was chosen carefully, seemingly able to portray how uncertain and, for that reason, how serious their situation was as he watched Utelis's face form a frown through her loosely sitting braids that hung over her face. Javelin sighed, his face bitter as a feelingg of self-consciousness took over him, as he found himself to be responsible to take care of his only sibling—especially when he had already walked this great of a distance to the water kingdom. Turning away from them as both fell into silence, Midas headed towards the entrance of the tent.
"We should hurry... I have to ask them if there are any places for us to sleep in..."
As Midas lifted up the cloth of the tent to enter inside, he was instantly met with the sight of a crowded room—in its middle stood a circular bar, behind which three women roamed behind the counter to serve grilled meat and vegetables as well as beverages stored in cruets made from wood. Tables capable of seating groups of six were placed along the walls of the tent, encircling the inner bar—the walkway in between them crowded as tired workers slumped from one table to another, chatting loudly as they brought their food and drinks to their respective tables.
The air was filled with the aroma of grilled meat, and breathing was heavy—as only one single hole in the ceiling of the tent allowed for the used air to escape. Some waved their arms at each other, while others sang, making multiple others of them dance in a tiny group barely capable of staying on their feet. In the midst of the crowd seemed to be the young man, letting himself be served a fresh meal from one of the women behind the counter. Having stood right beside the entrance, Midas immediately was bumped into by one of the workers. Watching him barely stop himself from falling over, the youth decided to try again.
"It might be better if you two just waited outside... it's crowded here."
Having repeated his words in desert tongue for Javelin, Midas watched both of them nod without obligation—able to understand why the youth decided to head inside on his own just by the tired frown he had on his face. Able to squeeze himself through men roughly double his size, Midas eventually resurfaced from the crowd to find a seat on one of the few free stools that surrounded the bar, looking down on a slab of meat that currently roasted on the fire that reached up from under the iron bars of the grill.
"It's you again...? Smelled the food and got hungry, huh...?"
Having crossed his arms around him as he leaned forward against the counter, Midas's head turned towards the young man—his brows stern as he barely was able to hear his voice from the loud groups around them as they celebrated into the night. His food was served on a lid that typically was used to close off barrels, and his cup was the same wooden cruse that was held onto by the other workers around them—double the size of the mud cups he saw in the northern fort.
"Do you know where we might be able to sleep...?"
Leaning towards Midas, as he barely was able to hear him speak, the young man immediately formed a grin on his lips as he laughed to himself briefly, loud enough to make one of the servants back up slightly. Regaining his composure again, he shoved his mug towards his face, leaning back slightly as he finished off his drink in one go. Stuffing his face with a big piece of the meat that was served to him, he faced him again, laying his arm loosely around the youngling's neck.
"Listen... this is a mining outpost, kid—there are no dorms you can rent here... If you want to sleep, you'll have to find a nice place outside... and don't get yourself eaten by a pack of Colmars, kid...! Just come back here; I will wait for you in the morning."
Midas listened to his carefree tone, making him furrow his brows in worry as he saw his behavior match the lightheadedness of the people around him—slightly leaning back and forth on his stool as he watched him with a hazy look. Sliding his arm off of him, the youth managed to exit the tent without being trampled, seeing that Javelin and Uteli actually tried to speak with each other, even though Javelin visibly struggled with replying in Water Kingdom tongue.
"It seems like we have to find a secure place outside. The only sleeping places this camp has to offer are probably already filled—I don't want to risk angering tired stoneworkers by stealing their beds..."
"Yeah... doesn't surprise me. This place turns out to be simply supplying the city that is known for its 'intricate stoneworks'... These plant kingdom students seemingly didn't know better. Look, there—we could spend the night at the campfire... that might just be better than spending the night in the forest."
Midas followed Javelin as he took his time with Uteli alone to also scout around the camp, having spotted the nearby campfire mere steps away from the entrance of the central tent. Seating themselves on a split-up log that acted as a handmade bench, Midas caught a remarkable rift in the stone front with his eyes, a path seemingly leading right into its direction, out into the dark of the night.
"That must be where they get their stone from..."
Sitting beside Uteli as she turned to Javelin again with a weak grin, Midas's eyes slowly drifted to the side of a passed-out worker—his limbs hanging off of the log his back rested on, seemingly asleep from the hard work they had to put up with every day. The youth lost himself as he stared into the flickering fire again, half-mindedly gliding over the bandage around his hand. He listened to both of them trying to chat.
Their journey towards the plant kingdom made the youth remind himself of Alma's last wish for him to visit Ajan. The youth practically was never this close to Cle'phoria than right now—the warm light of the fire made him remember the assault on the fort, the flames that spewed out of its many windows, mixed with the sound of clashing blades and the screaming of the prisoners down underneath the ground. Midas was unable to keep this memory from resurfacing every few days; the urgent glance of Alma before he left to fight the water kingdom general stuck in his head.
Completely lost in thought as the voices of his partners dimmed, Midas asked himself if it would be possible to somehow make the way from the plant kingdom capital to the east coast of the water kingdom—a seemingly foolish thought given the circumstances that led them to head there. Pressure began to build itself up slowly inside the youth's head—he just had to know what purpose the rune in his hand had to Alma, why it was given to him, and, most importantly, if this was the reason he had woken up in the desert in the first place.
Almas's men were the first he ran into; no one else could've been around, as the desert around him was completely barren of any structures and water. Perhaps he had to walk the distance to catch up to them because he was dropped unintentionally—lost, as they planned to bring him to the fort. Midas massaged his stern brows with his left hand, hiding his prominent frown, as he was still unable to figure out why he arrived here or how to stop the sandstorm from swallowing the northern desert completely.
Seeing Midas hide his sunken face in his palm as he held onto his forehead lightly, Uteli nudged him softly on his shoulder—the both of them watching Midas raise his head towards them with equally concerned faces. The youth only glanced at them briefly, forcing himself to worry about these things later as he noticed their worry—staring forward emptily instead.
"Is everything alright...?"
"Yeah, I'm just slightly worried about our driver."
Having made up another lie on the go, Midas shut down the idea of heading toward Cle'phoria right away after they were done in the plant kingdom. Having to drag or leave Javelin just because of his own motivations wouldn't be fair, since Javelin had a sibling to worry about.