Chương 21: Chapter 15 - The Old Path 1/2

Without the main path to guide them, there was less conversation on the road. While, during the stretch after the Volatu, they'd been trying to move in near silence and had needed quiet to stalk the Enrashi, now there was no direct reason for it. And yet it was there. Everyone took an extra moment to watch their footing on descent and to find their balance on the climb back up each of the dune-like hills that were growing larger and larger as they headed into the Sand Barrows.

The trees thinned as the hills swelled, replaced by rocks and towering patches of long, dry grass. By the time anyone slowed down, the sun was chasing the horizon yet again, and the shadows of the sparse trees were cutting long stripes across the hillsides, while the valleys cooled and a thin vapor of fog began to form in the lowest ones. From above, she could still see the tips of the grass poking through it. Farther down, the hollows lost their shape in the white.

Volrick quietly shepherded the group away from the hill that was directly towards Whiteshackle and up one that took them slightly out of the way. Alyssia, to her credit, didn't question him. Once they were on the top of the hill, a running river came into view, winding between several of the nearby mounds before flowing into the shadow of another and disappearing into a concept. At the top of the hill, the three huddled close to a tree for the sake of cover, with Karina's back pressed against the chipped bark.

The trunk sheltered her from some of the wind, though the branches above them were sparse. Meanwhile, Volrick scanned the horizon, slowly. Karina recognized the distant look in his eyes—memory.

"We could get to Whiteshackle just past the sun peak tomorrow," he said. Alyssia shook her head.

"Are you sure you've been there before? We're—""You're thinking of following the river, right?" Volrick asked. He was still staring off.

"If you follow the river... Yeah, we will be there by tomorrow night, but if we follow the shepherd's path, we could—""The shepherd's path?" Alyssia asked.

"Trail between the hills," Volrick said.

"There's a bit of muck for the shoes, but I've walked it a hundred times with Dad."

"How long ago was that?" Karina asked. Volrick just shrugged.

"While I would love to get us to Whiteshackle faster," Alyssia said, now matching Volrick's gaze, "we don't want to risk an unknown right now when who knows how many demons are following us."

"It's not an unknown."

"You said it's a walking trail that has a mysterious shortcut in it that you followed a dozen years ago, at least," Alyssia said.

"That sounds like an unknown to me." Karina tried to find the trail. There were several places where the grass thinned into strips of bare ground, but each vanished behind a slope before she could follow it very far. Any of them might have been a path, but that was assuming that the Shepherd's Trail was close and something she could see. Volrick finally allowed his eyes to drop off the horizon, checking his shoes instead.

"Hero?"

"Pardon?"

"Hero. You're technically in charge here," he said. Though what he was saying was simply objectively true, it was clear what lingered under it: 'Agree with me so we can take my way because Alyssia won't.'

"What are you asking her for?" Alyssia said.

"No offense, Hero, but you've never walked this path—""Neither have you," Volrick pointed out.

"We're off your path."

"She's only lived in this world for three days, and you're expecting her to tell us how to get anywhere?" Alyssia said. Once she'd made her point, she turned to Karina.

"Hero, I know you're sympathetic to Volrick's position."

"As a so-far, willing participant," Volrick said. Alyssia rolled her eyes at the comment, though he couldn't see it.

"First, don't let him hold us hostage with that. Party consent isn't as easy to concede as that." Karina nodded, and then Alyssia continued at a whisper.

"Just because you like him and you don't think the prison thing was fair—""I never said that." Alyssia raised her eyebrows, but pushed on with her original point.

"Doesn't mean we need to listen to him about everything. We're already far off the safer paths and—""We're off the safer paths because they weren't safe in the first place," Volrick said, turning to face the pair.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are. A Con Weaver has a skill or two to help me hear what's going on." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Alyssia straightened, separating herself from Karina.

"Do you have a problem with what I said?"

"I don't think you should put words in the hero's mouth."

"And I don't think you give a damn what happens to the hero as long as she gets you to Whiteshackle and takes the dampener off," Alyssia said. Volrick met her gaze, but didn't argue.

"But I would love to be proven wrong," she said after letting the air between them sizzle.

"If you are a fated companion and joining us on the redemption quest, then..." She closed her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink.

"Then it is my position, as a loyal member of the church, to assist you with your quest for redemption by inviting you to counsel the Hero, as I would." It was obvious from how she spoke that Alyssia was relaying a message that had been whitewashed in her head 700 times before making it to print. Volrick bit the inside of his lip, then turned back to Karina.

"Shepard's path is more exposed than the way we take to get there by tomorrow nightfall. More chance we'd run into demons—but it's faster, and I do know the way." Alyssia shook her head, but to her credit, didn't speak up.

"It would get us there faster?" Karina asked. Volrick shrugged.

"Unless we get into too much trouble."

"Will we be able to follow it without you?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I'd have to lead the way, which means—""Means you won't be able to scout ahead as well as you have been," she said.

"Yeah."

"In that case, I have a suggestion," Karina said.

"If we're going to keep running into demons in the area—""We shouldn't," Alyssia pointed out.

"But we are."

"If we're going to keep running into demons, then I need to be stronger. I need more time to practice the Fates than I'm getting if we're moving at full tilt." Alyssia opened her mouth again, but Karina motioned for her to finish.

"But we don't want to spend longer outside the barrier than we have to," she said before waiting for Alyssia to nod. That was what she'd wanted to hear.

"So instead, we will take the Shepherd's Path. Volrick will scout ahead while we have cover, and during that time, you can give me more training."

"Sure," Volrick said, "though that means we're going to have to wait to get to Whiteshackle and—""I want to know what's there too," Karina said.

"And it means I won't know where we're going and—""Perfect compromise," Karina said.

"Nobody's happy." Alyssia snorted at that while Volrick scoffed. But that wasn't quite true. For all the frustration the other two had, Karina had gotten exactly what she wanted. For the damned quest of the church, they had to keep moving. Now she'd just bought herself a chance to get stronger. It was a several-hour journey to get to the beginning of the Shepherd's Path, a crooked and half-dead tree with a pile of brown needles lying at its base.

Around it, the sand was thick and muddy, with small puddles forming in each of their footsteps. As soon as they'd reached the start of the path, Volrick volunteered to scout ahead, heading up the path alone before turning sharply to the right and following a deep rut in the side of one of the dune-like hills, moving gracefully across the heavy, awkward sand. Alyssia wasn't as lucky.

As soon as they had begun following the ravines between hills as opposed to climbing up to the fresh air and dry sand, she'd had to tie her dress off around the waist to avoid kicking sand onto her own clothes. What she was wearing certainly made her look the part of a cleric, but it wasn't the most practical travel gear, nor the best in a fight. Unless it was enchanted or there was some other reason for her to follow the Church dress code, even all the way out here. Karina scraped one shoe against an exposed root.

A heavy lump fell away, but the wet sand underneath stayed packed around the sole. There wasn't an obviously better place to stand. Once Volrick was out of sight, Alyssia allowed one of her bag's straps to fall off her shoulder so she could access the clasp. As she worked on opening it, she spoke.

"So you're the one who was so eager to train that you gave Volrick his way again," she said.

"Which Fate is that much on your mind?" The answer was Firestealer, but she certainly couldn't say that.

"I'm already getting close to leveling pyrokinesis again," she said.

"I think it's the most useful." Alyssia crossed her arms once she'd finished unclasping the pack.

"Lowering the cost would certainly be nice. You burn through your mana too fast, and I worry when I see the burns." She nodded towards Karina's bandaged hands.

"But it's also hard to know what the most useful thing is without leveling your class."

"But can't I only do that by fighting?" Alyssia reached into her bag.

"Unfortunately, that is by far the easiest way to do so," she said.

"Why?"

"Why?" Alyssia echoed.

"Why would it just be fighting?" Karina clarified.

"You said there are classes that don't really do combat, and there seem to be many mundane skills, so—""The gods need the experience tithe to power the barrier that protects the main lands from the demons," Alyssia said. Further away from the church, her tone was less practiced, even if the words were the same.

"Killing demons gives them the experience they need, so when they gifted us the class system—""Gifted?"

"When they gifted us the class system, they made it so that our battles would also feed the barrier."

"So the Gods made the classes and Fates to fight the demons?" Alyssia shook her head before pulling out a small, glass-like orb from the bag. As she turned it in her hand, the crooked tree appeared across its surface, its trunk bent even farther by the curve.

"Fates were there before the war against the demons. At least we have texts that reference the Fates that pre-date the first mentions of the classes." Karina nodded along. So the world had always run on Fates, but suddenly when the Gods gave a gift, it only rewarded the behavior that gave them their taxes. Obviously not a thought she cared to share with Alyssia for the time being.

"But yes, we basically would need to find more demons to level up your class," she said.

"Unfortunately, while sparring with me or training with me can help you progress your Fates, if nobody is defeated, there is no experience."

"Okay, so Fates it is," Karina said.

"Fates it is," Alyssia said before placing the orb on the ground beside her without explaining what it was.

"Though," she continued, before Kairna could follow up on the curio, "I would like to make a suggestion outside of pyrokinesis."

"Hm?" Alyssia took off the shawl she'd been wearing over her basic top to cover her sleeves and hung it on the branch of the crooked tree, where it slowly drifted in the breeze. Once she'd made sure it wasn't going to blow away, she turned to Kairna and pulled a single foot back to lower herself into a stance. Her shoe dragged a shallow line through the sand. Water gathered at the heel, but she settled into the position.

"Hand-to-hand," she said.

"Instead of fire?"

"You run out of fire at some point," Alyssia said.

"Let's make sure you can throw a punch to keep yourself safe afterward." Kairna just snorted.

"Or are you worried about getting beaten by a Cleric, Hero?"