“Thanks again for letting us crash here. Who knew that all the inns in a town made for travelers would be full by nightfall.” Sanora sighs as she sits down in a chair in Tor and Flux’s room. The two of them kindly offered Sanora and Mari a place to sleep after they found no free rooms elsewhere in town. Mari was out like a light as soon as she laid down. The last few hours completely drained her.

  “I mean, a lot of people probably.”

  Flux pokes Tor’s side at the remark.

  “I was joking.” Tor raises her hands in defense. Flux shakes her head.

  “I’ll go talk to the merchant tomorrow, see if there’s any chance we can leave early.” Tor says.

  “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Sanora leans back in the chair exhausted. “And sorry for the trouble, but in all honesty, I’d really like to avoid… moving.”

  “Don’t mention it, I can imagine. After what you two went through.” Tor nods. “Just get some sleep now.”

  “Sorry for stealing the second bed.”

  “Oh don’t worry, we’re sleeping in the same one anyways. They just didn’t have any single rooms left.”

  “You are?”

  “Most couples do.” Tor shrugs.

  “Fair enough. Goodnight.” Sanora heaves herself into bed, leaving the thinking to future Sanora for now. She crawls under the blanket and cuddles up to Mari, enjoying the warmth. It has only been one night they spent in separate rooms, but right now it feels like an eternity of loneliness lies behind her. Sanora wraps her arms around Mari, pulling themselves closer.

  She takes one last look at Mari’s face, her eyes still red and puffy from crying until she fell asleep.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.”

  ============================================

  “Hey you two, get up. It’s almost midday.” Torkastra pokes Sanora’s face.

  “Nghhhh…” Sanora just makes a noise as she rolls away.

  “I thought you were the ones who wanted to leave early?”

  “Yeah but no this early.” Sanora groans.

  “Like said it’s almost noon. Get moving, the carriages are ready and waiting for us.”

  “Already?” Mari asks, stretching the word as she yawns.

  “Like said, you are the ones who wanted to leave early, so we leave early. I’ll be waiting downstairs.” Tor says before leaving the two of them alone in the room.

  Mari sits up and rubs her eyes. It’s been a while since she slept this deep, which is odd to her. She fully expected nightmares during the entirety of her sleep, but she can’t remember having any. The exhaustion from the last days must have been a lot bigger than she thought. She looks around the room. Tor and Flux already cleared out all their things, leaving nothing but Sanora and Mari in there. It’s at this moment that something finally catches up to the girl.

  “Fuck. Sanora, we need to get up, now.”

  “Yeah, I heard Tor. Just gimme a minute…”

  “I mean it.”

  “Alright.” Sanora sighs and sits up as well. “Let’s pack up then.” She mumbles half asleep.

  “Yeah, that’s the problem. Sanora, you know where our stuff is?”

  “Sure, its at…” The sleep finally fades from Sanora’s eyes as she comes to the same realization Mari has.

  “Fuck.”

  Their things are still at the Golden Drop.

  “Gods dammit.” Mari buries her face in her hands. “My staff is still there too. I don’t even care about the rest, but I need that.”

  “Let’s head down for now, we’ll think of something. Maybe the others have an idea too.”

  “I hope they do.” Mari sighs.

  “There they are.” Tor says when she spots the two girls leaving the inn. She is waiting outside with Flux and the rest of the caravan. The workers of the merchant are hustling around, getting crates on and off the carriages, stowing away new goods and heaving away stuff they sold while in town.

  “I kinda didn’t expect you’d be so fast. So, good news, we still have a solid ten minutes.” Tor says with a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry. We just remembered that all our stuff is still at the golden drop so… yeah.”

  “Hmm I see, been a while since I broke into a building.” Tor nods, ready to break bad. Or in this case, a window.

  “What? No, we aren’t gonna break into the building.” Sanora sighs. “I’ll just go there and ask for our stuff.”

  Everyone looks at Sanora in silence, their gazes saying more than a thousand words ever could.

  “Sanora, I really, really love you, but that’s a stupid idea.” Mari says, gently putting a hand on Sanora’s shoulder.

  “Why so? Worst case they toss out stuff out the window with some insults. And if not then ill just call the guards or something. And if all that still doesn’t work, yes, then we can also just break in.”

  At this the others blink in slight surprise. Sanora looks around a bit confused.

  “What? What’s with those looks?”

  “That was just surprisingly reasonable for you.” Tor says.

  “Gotta agree with Tor.” Mari adds.

  “Wha- You haven’t even known me for a week!” exasperated, Sanora argues with Torkastra.

  “True, but do I need to remind you how we first met?”

  To add insult to injury Flux joins the discussion as well, holding her hand to her forehead before dramatically sinking down to the floor where she lies motionless.

  “Not funny.” Mari says with a sour expression.

  “Agreed. And that aside that wasn’t me being reckless, I was just trying to keep Mari safe. I never planned on dying.” Sanora crosses her arms, as unamused as Mari.

  “Right… sorry, that was out of line. Been a while since we travelled with anyone else.” Tor says, avoiding the girl’s glares. Flux does the same, and even without her saying anything, her red face makes it clear she’s feeling rather stupid.

  “You… died?” a quiet voice interrupts the four. They turn to see a young girl none of them expected to be here.

  “Johanna?” Mari’s eyes are wide as she looks at her younger sister loaded with bags.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just thought you might need this.” Johanna says, wiggling Mari’s staff in her hand. She’s holding one more pack in her hand, and one is slung over her back.

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  “You brought us our things?” Mari blinks flabbergasted. “But why?”

  “I… don’t really know.” Johanna shrugs, looking off to the side. “Now can you please take them they are really heavy.”

  “Ah, right.”

  They quickly take the heavy bags off the young girl who rolls her shoulders in relief.

  “I can’t believe you travel with those.”

  “You eventually stop feeling your shoulders.” Mari sighs.

  “I see.” Johanna says quietly,

  An awkward silence falls over them. Tor and Flux quietly retreat from the group, blending in with the caravan workers. That leaves Mari, Johanna and Sanora standing there in silence, none of them managing to say another word for a while.

  After a solid minute of avoided gazes and head scratches Johanna is the first to break the silence.

  “You’re leaving early?”

  “Yeah. Don’t really feel like staying here any longer.”

  “I see.” Johanna nods, her expression a mix of confusion and sadness.

  “Are you coming back?”

  “I don’t think so… Sorry.” Mari’s response is quiet, barely audible over the all the noise on the road busy with people passing through.

  “Oh…” Johanna’s shoulders drop.

  “I’m sorry, really. But you know I can’t anymore. Not unless mother miraculously changes her mind.”

  “She’s pretty upset to put it lightly.”

  “I saw.”

  “Yeah…”

  Both of them go quiet again.

  “We should get ready to leave now, the others are waiting.” Sanora can’t bear the silence any longer.

  “Right.” Mari nods and takes a breath. “I guess this is farewell.” She heaves the bag over her shoulder. “Take care Johanna. I love you.” She tries her best to muster up a smile, but her watery eyes betray her.

  “Mh.” Johanna just nods, her eyes fixed to the ground as Sanora and Mari turn to leave. However, the sound of dirt rapidly crunching makes Mari turn around one more time, and right as she does Johanna jumps at her, pulling her big sister into a tight hug.

  One by one the tears roll down Johannas’ face as her lips quiver.

  “I’ll miss you.” She whispers.

  “I’ll miss you too.”

  Johanna lets go and after wiping her teary eyes she finally heads off.

  Mari looks after her, doing her best not to give in to the feeling tugging in her chest to run after her little sister. She wouldn’t know what to do in the first place.

  “Let’s go. Please.” She sniffles. Sanora nods quietly and they head to the caravan. They climb into the front carriage wordlessly, joining the others. None of them say anything, having seen the commotion. But Mari doesn’t care. She just sits there in silence, tuning out everything around her as she pulls her knees in to bury her face in them. She notices neither the ride through town, nor the hold up at the border to the open road. Time feels like a jambled mess to her as they begin their journey through the vast plains towards Southvalley. Sanora can’t do much more than hold Mari in a gentle hug. It is moments like these that make her feel as helpless as a little child. She knows there’s nothing she can do for Mari right now besides be there for her and hope that things will get better soon. She knows just too well the pain of losing one’s family.

  The small caravan makes good time over the course of the day. No hiccups present themselves to the travelers which is a surprising but welcome break to Sanora and Mari. So far, every moment of their trip has been a hassle in one way or another to put it lightly. But it seems for once fate doesn’t have any unpleasant surprises in store for them. While Mari spends the time sitting in silence and occasionally dozing off on her girlfriend’s shoulder, Sanora passes the time looking out at the Vast grasslands stretching as far as the eye can see, or talking with Tor. Aside from their similar looks, the two have a few things in common. Both have a past shrouded in secret, and both prefer to keep it that way. Like Sanora, Torkastra is a mage, though one specialized in flesh magic while Sanora isn’t really set on anything yet.

  The way they discovered their magic abilities is also rather similar fashion. A life-or-death situation, followed by almost dying due to overconfidence and using too much magic. The details, however, Tor keeps a secret…

  “And so, you ended up as an adventurer.” Sanora nods.

  “That’s the gist of it. What I used to do wasn’t for me anymore. Too high risk, too low reward. So once my magic abilities kicked in, I had my way to get out of my old life. I packed what little things I had and went on my way. Hah, I was off to a rough start on my first few quests I’ll tell you that. But luckily not long after I began, I happened to meet this weird looking girl who was trying to barter at a stall. It was proving a bit difficult to do so without talking, so I figured I’d help out. And before you ask, the Stall owner was as surprised as Flux that I was somehow able to understand her.” Tor finishes with a chuckle as Flux makes some vague gestures, seemingly agreeing with the girl next to her.

  “That’s a sweet story you two have.” Sanora smiles at them. “To think you happened to meet in this large world…”

  “Well, that’s true, but things like these just happen when you’re constantly travelling. Just like we ran into you on the road.”

  “Can’t argue with that.” Sanora nods and looks at the girl sleeping on her shoulder. “Now that I think about it, Mari and me meeting wasn’t much different either, completely by chance. And now I couldn’t imagine my life without her.” Sanora gently sets down her hand on Mari’s head, a warm smile spreading on her lips.

  “The world is full of people who are important to us, we just don’t know them yet. But trust me, as we keep traveling, we’ll find more.”

  Flux leans onto Tor’s shoulder, a content smile on her lips. In response, Tor gives her a gentle pat

  ‘I already did…’

  Sanora’s mood gets a damper as her thoughts wander to Bawarag and Amni. If she would have told them beforehand, maybe they would have come along and be sitting here with them. Maybe they would have never had to leave Deepvalley. Maybe they would have found more clues already.

  A sigh escapes her. The warmth she felt just a moment ago has now yielded to an empty feeling of loneliness and anxiety.

  ‘Just had to think about it, didn’t you.’ She thinks, staring out into the vast plains behind them, shifting in her seat uneasily.

  ‘This is going to be a long ride.’ Sanora leans back and closes her eyes, hoping to catch some sleep as well.

  ============================================

  The ride is bumpy but all in all eventless. The occasional breaks they take are calm and not very long and they make good time. After what happened to the merchantman’s daughter they are hellbent on getting off the road as soon as they can.

  And it pays off. By the time dusk is setting in they finally see the buildings of Southvalley in the distance.

  “Ahh I love travelling by carriage.” Tor says. “I mean, Way’s Crossing to Deepvalley in one day? Whoever heard of such a thing!” She laughs.

  “Yeah, its definitely a lot better than walking.” Sanora nods.

  Flux gestures around vaguely. Except for Tor no one knows for sure, but she seems to agree as well. Mari is the only one to stay quiet, she doesn’t even listen. For the whole ride she hasn’t said a word and just been sitting there in silence, staring at the floorboards. Naturally Sanora is worried, but after what happened at the Golden Drop it seems only natural that she’d be in a bad mood to put it lightly. All they can do now is hope for the best, and let time heal Mari’s wounds.

  They finally reach the end of the line before the city gates. Sanora is already about to complain as she looks out at the small horde of people wanting to get into the safety of the walls before darkness falls, but to her surprise the drive right past it.

  “We don’t have to wait?”

  “Nah, that line is like the ‘poor people’ line. Cities usually have a second line for high priority people and large caravans since those usually take more time to search through.”

  “That sounds a bit unfair.”

  “Cause it is. But it makes sense that the city wants the money makers in first.” Tor shrugs.

  But even here there is a small line of carriages ahead of them. As they stop at the end a guard walks up to the carriage. After a short conversation with the merchantman and a few nods he heads back. The wait isn’t very long. They soon reach the gate. A few more guards make a not very thorough check of the wares and finally wave the group into the city. Sanora cant help but be a little disappointed as she sees the city. It looks rather similar to Deepvalley. She was hoping to see something new and exciting, but it ended up just being more of what she already knows. The streets are already mostly empty. Only a few people are still out. The only thing that really stands out is that this city isn’t built on a hill. It’s all flat, and not segmented by walls like Deepvalley. At last the carriage finally comes to a stop at a large building. The yard is spacious and lined with all sorts of carriages. The smell of hay and horses lies in the air.

  “Ah yes, the small of the city stables. You either love it or hate it.” Tor says. “Alright then, lets look for a place to crash. You coming along?”

  Sanora looks at Mari, but she wasn’t even listening.

  “Yeah, we’ll come along. You probably know this city better than we.”

  “I sure hope I do, considering I am from here.” Tor nods and they hop out of the carriage. In unison they all stretch their stiff bodies. The cracks resounding from Sanora’s body pull a few looks.

  “That doesn’t sound healthy.” Tor raises an eyebrow.

  “Well, a lot of wear and tear lately.” She sighs in response.

  “Fair.” Tor snorts.

  After a short talk with the merchantman, and repeatedly turning down his offer to pay for their lodging, they head into the city to get a room. They just follow Tor, trusting her expertise on the matter. They end up in an old but cozy inn. Sanora takes a breath, the strong smell of pine in there calms her nerves, and the familiar sound of a crackling fire makes her almost feel like she is at home.

  “It was only a few days, but it feels like we’ve been on the road forever.” She sighs.

  “Probably cause your body was on constant flight or fight mode. Makes time feel all stretchy.” Tor says. “But don’t worry, been here often, it’s a safe place so don’t worry and get some good rest.”

  “Thanks. We will.” She nods. They pay for a room and without and further ado head in. Neither of the two even bother to change before plopping into the bed. They lie next to each other in silence, staring at the ceiling. Sanora turns her head to look at the girl next to her. Mari’s empty eyes are unmoving, her breathing slow and quiet.

  “Hey, you ok?”

  Mari says nothing for a while, her mouth opens and closes again. She shakes her head.

  “Not really.” Her words and barely a whisper. “The last days were too much.” A tear soundlessly rolls down her face.

  “I know… I’m sorry. There might not be a lot I can do, but I’m here for you, always.”

  Mari nods quietly.

  “Thank you, Sanora.” A moment of silence passes. “I love you.” Mari says before finally closing her eyes and falling asleep within seconds.

  “I love you too.” Sanora says through a sad smile before finally giving in and letting sleep take her as well.