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“This webbing came in handy,” Amy laughed. She let the rest of the group continue walking so that she took up the rear.
Cameron looked behind him at the cocoon he was dragging, carrying a very healthy Balin inside. “My Dad always said that I’d like fishing. Forces you to clear your mind and wait for the trout to come to you. I think I like this better.”
“Going to become a hunter now?” Amy asked.
Cameron leered at her. She was weird, but he had to admit that it was nice to be acknowledged. “Yeah,” he said. “Something like that.”
“Do you think it was okay to let Momo run ahead?” Lorelai asked Tristan.
“I want to see if Alucard’s okay,” Tristan said. “She can take care of herself, and besides, I’d rather make sure Naaman isn’t coming back.”
“I was hesitant about your leadership at first,” Lorelai admitted. “I still am,” she laughed, “but I think there are signs of greatness within you, if you allow it to grow. It’s not an easy thing—leading others. I still mess up with my flock from time to time...can I ask why you embraced the role back then? You were sort of letting Cameron take over before we broke off.”
“It’s because this expedition has been about me,” Tristan said, looking up at the sky. “It was all about proving a point—to see if I could get the communities to play nice...but when Willa and Momo were taken, that all disappeared. I realized that you’re all real, living people too, with your own wishes and goals. I couldn’t just think about myself then. I had to reassess and rely on the lessons my father taught me—how to utilize others’ talents to reach the best outcome.”
“A true Musgrave lesson,” Lorelai laughed.
“Yeah,” Tristan said. “I suppose, if used for good, those lessons aren’t all bad.”
“’Good’ being the key word,” Lorelai said, glancing back at Cameron.
They finally made it to the cabin. Willa, Momo, Desmond and Felix were attending to Alucard, still on his back. Felix was weeping uncontrollably, giving off deep wails that made them all feel uneasy.
“Alucard,” Tristan said as he approached. He knelt by the sorcerer’s side and took his hand. “Is there anything we can do?”
“No,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I held on...for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are to lead them?”
“Yes,” Tristan said, glancing up to look at the people around him.
“Then be confident,” Alucard whispered. “Be careful and be wise.”
“I will,” Tristan said. He patted the old sorcerer’s hand. “I’ll do my best.”
“Your best,” Alucard exhaled, “will not be enough. You must evolve and grow together...as one.”
“Thank you for saving us,” Amy said. A chorus of nods broke out.
“Don’t be sad for me,” Alucard smiled, closing his eyes. “I can travel without restraint now.”
“You can see everything,” Lorelai said sweetly. She knelt and laid her hand on Alucard’s forehead. “Ancients of this world. Gods in our presence. Bring peace upon your faithful servant. Light his path and welcome him into your embrace. Let him feel love and tenderness for the rest of his days. Let him know adventure and triumph in the everlasting. Let him find comfort in all that is, and what will be. He has performed his duty. He has earned his just reward. He is surrounded by friends.”
Alucard broke out in a whimper and Tristan held his hand tight. “No, it’s okay,” Alucard said. “I’m sorry to scare you...it’s just,” Alucard turned his head so that no one could see his tears, “that was very sweet...”
“Whatever you need,” Willa said, standing over him. “We will provide it.”
Alucard did not answer.
He never would again.
Felix cried bitterly, and Momo patted him on the shoulder for comfort.
“This won’t be the last death, you know,” Cameron said. “I hate to bring it up, but if we continue this expedition, there will be a lot of hardship before us. Even if it’s only for a short time, we could enjoy our last days at home...sleep in our beds...cherish our beloved.”
“No,” Tristan said, setting Alucard’s hand down gently. “That is not what I aim to do. Though, anyone that wishes to leave...now is the time.”
“You will continue?” Desmond asked. “Despite what happened?”
“Especially because of what happened,” Tristan said. “This is bigger than us now. You saw a sliver of what awaits. Sorcerers. Giants. Spies. Forests that can eat you. Villains that mean to capture us all for experiments. Alucard is gone, and as much as it pains me to say it, we are down a protector. Felix is here, but he would be no match for Naaman. If we wish to protect our communities, and to save them from the world, then it falls upon us. We are their guardians now. We are their protectors. We can’t close our eyes and rely on the Lasting wall to keep us safe. We are no longer living in a fantasy world.”
“Then I will accompany you,” Willa said. “There is much I wish to protect as well.”
“As do I,” Desmond said, glancing at Willa. “I’m no soldier, but I will do what can.”
“You’ve done plenty,” Tristan smiled. “For you to stay behind and distract Naaman all by yourself, knowing you could face death...that was impressive.”
“Felix was inside the cabin,” Desmond blushed. “He would have intervened.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Amy said, punching him in the arm playfully. “Just so you know, I’m coming too. Danger is just the thing to keep my mind off the past.”
“I still need to find a home for my congregation,” Lorelai said. “It certainly won’t be in a forest of ravenous trees.”
Momo nodded to Tristan. It was all that needed to be said.
“Yeah,” Cameron said, looking up at the trees. “We should get out of here. If Alucard is gone, then he may not have any more power over them. They might attack us again.”
“Then you’re coming too?” Tristan asked. “You don’t have to.”
Cameron nodded back at the cocoon behind him. “This scratched an itch that I didn’t know I had. I’m curious to see where this goes.”
“It would appear we have an expedition team again,” Lorelai said.
“I think so,” Tristan said, looking back at Alucard. “I only hope that we can even do half the job he did.”
Felix reached out and placed a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. He grunted and then leaned in, making their foreheads bump together.
Tristan got the message.
* * *
THE TREES BEGAN TO stir, but it was a slow awakening, almost as if Alucard had granted them one last reprieve in his passing. It wasn’t until they reached the edge of the forest that the trees’ stomachs growled, and they began swaying in interpretive dance, reaching out for unaware critters. They were grateful to be clear of the trees, but it was apparent that what would come next would test their newfound comradery even further.
There would be no rest in sight.
“It’s a desert,” Lorelai frowned, squinting her eyes.
“I could already feel the heat,” Cameron groaned, removing his thick coat. “I don’t understand how this is possible.”
“It goes on for miles,” Amy whistled. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought Blaze was lying when we were little.”
“Has your friend come out this far?” Tristan asked.
“Blaze was rich, well, by Comida’s standards,” Amy said. “Her parents would venture outside the wall sometimes. Go on a little adventure to spice up the romance. They said these types of land existed.”
“They never mentioned murderous trees?” Cameron asked.
“It must be different on all sides,” Willa said. “Perhaps to dissuade intelligent predators?”
“Then Landon and his expedition team will face some other horror,” Desmond said. “I don’t envy them.”
“To the desert,” Momo said. She began walking on the sand, and then she stopped. The way it accumulated between her toes was a strange sensation. A flash of Kent entered her mind—the joyful lad that wouldn’t shut up. Though she could never adopt his lifestyle completely, it was possible that there was something behind his outlook on life. To savor the little moments such as this...it calmed the nerves.
Momo turned around and nodded to the group. “Come,” she said. “It feels nice.”
One by one, they stepped out onto the sand, removing their shoes and planting their feet in the warm sand. They kicked and laughed and warmed their skin.
Tristan smiled and remained standing on the edge of desert and forest, trying to bask in the joy of the moment and not the strangeness of it all. Cameron stepped beside him, with Balin still in tow.
“You going to let him out sometime?” Tristan laughed, glancing at the cocoon.
“Eventually,” Cameron said. “For bathroom and water breaks. Then he’s going right back in. I’m waiting until he gets desperate for the necessities. Then he’ll be more willing to give us information.”
“Good plan,” Tristan nodded.
“Hey,” Cameron said. “Sorry for calling you a buffoon back there.”
“You didn’t call me a buffoon.”
“I didn’t? Huh...must have been thinking it. Well, I’m sorry for whatever I said. Your plan worked out in the end.”
“They won’t always,” Tristan said. “I’ll have to come to terms with that.”
“Of course,” Cameron shrugged. “That’s life. It’s like in business. Unless you inherit your money and everything’s given to you, you’ve got to fail a lot to succeed.”
“Is that what we’re doing now?”
“Definitely,” Cameron smiled. “We’re going to fail hard for sure, but if we survive to see another day...who knows? We might get a little bit stronger.”
“Have a little bit more teamwork?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“TRISTAN!” Willa shouted, her voice sounding warbled. Tristan squinted his eyes. He hadn’t even realized that she had scouted ahead. She was standing way off in the distance, to the point that the heat waves shimmered over the silhouette of her body.
“WHAT IS IT?” he shouted back.
“SOMEONE’S COMING!”
“Come on,” Tristan said, reaching out to grab a section of the cocoon. “I’ll help you carry him.”
“Not complaining,” Cameron said.
The expedition team broke out into a run across the desert, eager to experience something new, for better or worse. After what they had just been through, they felt invincible.
“Horses!” Amy shouted in delight, jumping up and down in a circle. “There are horses! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“We might be able to barter,” Cameron said. “If any of our clothes are exotic to them, it might work out.”
“We could get across the desert quicker,” Tristan said.
“Hmm,” Momo said, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Not until we know we’re in danger,” Tristan warned.
“They certainly look...pleasant,” Desmond winced. There were sixteen horse-riders, divided up into pairs, and each pair carried a cart or wagon behind them, filled with burlap sacks or groups of people. Every person was dressed in dirty rags and chains and wearing goggles or a mask to protect their eyes from the bright sun.
“Do we have time to divide into two groups?” Willa said. “We shouldn’t all be here.”
“Too late,” Amy said. One horse sped ahead of the others, carrying a short person on its saddle. The horse rode up to the group and stopped in front of them.
A kid’s face emerged from underneath the leather wolf mask.
“It’s a child,” Amy said.
“That’s master to you,” the boy said.
“You’re like ten, kid,” Amy said. “Chill.”
“Amy,” Tristan said. “Let him speak.” He approached the child and suddenly found the tip of a sword in his face. Momo unsheathed her sword, but the kid didn’t care.
“Tell her to put her sword away or you die,” the kid said.
“I don’t think she’ll listen to us,” Cameron shouted. “She does what she likes.”
“Whatever,” the kid laughed. The other riders caught up to them and began creating a circle around them, kicking up dust into the air.
“I don’t know who you are,” Tristan said, “but I was hoping that we would be able to barter.”
“Yeah, we don’t do that,” the kid said, with his sword still in Tristan’s face. “I will be taking your stuff though.”
“Oh?” Amy scoffed. “And who are you?”
“Name’s Max,” the kid laughed. “Obviously you never heard of me, or you’d be peeing your pants right now.”
“Right,” Amy said in disbelief.
“Believe what you want. You’ll find out about me soon enough. For one, this is my desert. And second, you are all now my slaves. You can try to resist, but then we’ll have to break you.”
Tristan took a deep breath and looked around him. He had a decision to make—to fight or flee. Either way, it was going to hurt, but after seeing what his team could do, he had confidence that they would be victorious.
One adventure had ended.
A new one was starting.
Over and over, the cycle would continue. There would be new enemies, but also new allies. New sights, but old, festering wounds. They would gain new knowledge with each interaction, new strength with every win, and every loss. Though they had barely left the Lasting Wall, it already felt like years ago, and it was magnificent.
This was living.
This...was purpose.
“We just want to talk!” Tristan shouted as loud as he could for all to hear. “But if you’d rather fight, then we will be forced to show you what we can do!”
Max laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his horse. When he finally came to, he wiped the tears from his eyes and pointed a finger at Tristan. “Take them all.”
Tristan turned to his group. They all stared back at him, waiting for his call.
He nodded.
It was the first day that Expedition One ventured out into the world, ready to make their presence known.
They were ready to prove that they belonged too.
––––––––
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES!
FANTASY WORLD: The Explorers
VOL 4 – Desertion
Expedition One may be in over their heads on this one. The grueling desert wreaks havoc on their bodies even if it’s the last thing on their minds. A group of persistent slavers, a heist, possible new teammates, and the threat of Balin looms over them. Meanwhile, Willa’s backstory unfolds!
It’s just another day in Fantasy World.
