The first rainfall in a month had burst from the clouds as the sun set, leaving Arc, Jack and Julie desperately seeking shelter. As luck would have it, they found a cave to hole themselves up in that was angled uphill just enough to were when the sky decided to play its soaking wet trick on them.

“Got any dry clothes cartridges?” Jack asked.

“No, I’m tapped out of those,” said Arc, taking off his scarf and ringing it out. He hung it over a rock to let it dry. “If this gets damaged, I’ll not be happy. Of course, it rains when we’re on the road.”

“Why do you wear a scarf in a hot wasteland?” asked Julie.

“Why do you fasten your belt over your t-shirt, Julie?” asked Arc with a frown. “Perhaps we’re just a fashionable bunch in our little gang.”

Arc pulled up the collar of his jacket, walked deeper into the cave where the shadows were thick, and then sat down on the stone. He kicked off his boots before lying down, letting his blonde hair fall from his face.

“Someone’s in a mood,” muttered Jack to his sister who nodded in agreement.

“I’m not in a mood!” barked Arc.

“I forgot he was dog-like hearing,” said Jack, no longer bothering to keep his voice low. “Once he’s slept, he’ll be back to his merry old self.”

“You children,” said Arc, rolling his eyes under his shut eyelids.

Julie walked to the edge of the cave and held out her hand, letting the drop smack her hands before splashing away and onto the stone. She was smiling as the heavy rain beat against her hand so vigorously that it almost pushed it down.

“This is nice,” she said, tilting her head to the side and inhaling the scent of the rain. “I haven’t seen it rain this heavily in at least a couple of years. Do you remember that one time with the stairs, Jack?”

“Do I remember when it rained so heavily it broke through our roof and turned our staircase into a waterfall?” asked Jack, turning up his nose. “Dad and I spent days trying to dry everything out.”

“Yes, but do you remember the rainbow afterwards? We stood on what was left of the roof and watched it arc across the sky.”

“Eh?” called Arc, waking from his doze. “Someone say my name?”

“No, we’re talking about rainbows.”

“Ergh,” grumbled the bounty hunter, deciding to fall back to sleep.

“Alright,” said Jack. “The rainbow was a nice way to brighten up a bad couple of days.”

“And we heated up that canned fish because our pantry was ravaged. It was so disgusting that mum threw two spoons of chilli in it to try and mask the taste.”

Jack winced. “I can still remember it. At least we were able to fill up the water tanks and make them last a couple of months. It was money we badly needed to repair the roof.”

The two continued reminiscing as they watched the rain overwhelm the land’s ability to absorb it. Granted, the flooding amounted to no more of a centimetre of water, but it wasn’t a sight often seen in these parts. After an hour of chattering, Arc stirred again and walked over to join them as he wrapped his scarf back around his neck.

“Isn’t that still wet?” asked Julie.

“A little, but it’ll dry better around my neck than over that stone.”

“It’s going to smell,” said Jack. “I’ll have it washed when we reach Cliff Town, don’t you worry, Jacky Boy. Let me worry about my clothes.”

“If we’re travelling with you and you stink of damp wool, I’m giving you a wide berth.”

Arc ignored the young man. “Any sign of this letting up?” he asked, looking to the cloudy sky.

Julie shook her head. “No, it’s been consistently heavy the entire time you were sleeping. I wonder if it’s reached as far as Pembroke?”

“Hard to say. That’s a couple days away, so maybe that little rust hole is bone dry. I think one of the few people in town prepared for this sort of thing is Jamison. That man has got supplies for every occasion.”

“Where to next once this subsides?” asked Jack. “We took a bit of a detour, didn’t we?”

“Yes, but we’re still heading for the river anyway. We follow that along and, eventually, we’ll reach Cliff Town. After that, we stroll into town and see what the deal is before taking any further action.”

“Elaborate on that, if you don’t mind.”

“It’s very simple,” said Arc, taking out the Golden Hawk and pointing it at a cactus a few yards away. “If King Obsidian is the tyrant I’m told he is, then I’ll find a way to remove him from power. If the shady guy who gave us the job was full of it, then we’ll ask for a tidy little sum from the king in exchange for killing someone putting unjust bounties on his head. Either way, we get paid.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“And you think a king would go for that second scenario? You see no flaws in that plan whatsoever?”

Arc put away his gun and put a hand on each of the twins’ backs. “My young friends,” he said smiling and shaking his head. “I am a savvy negotiator; did you not know this about me?”

“You did talk us out of mugging you and leaving you in a cave,” said Julie with a laugh.

“I blame the goblins for that,” murmured Jack.

“Nice try, Jacky. The goblins came along after you set me free. I’ve got a memory like an elephant too. I’m a one-man army.”

“Had you not recently saved my life, I would retort, but I’ll shut up as a special favour just this once.”

“And I appreciate it,” said Arc with a grin.

After a few more minutes of watching the rain, the trio walked up the slope and set up their makeshift beds consisting of their clothes and their bags before turning in for the night. Arc, however, struggled to sleep, so fresh was he from his nap.

He lay on his back and thinking about the journey ahead. It shouldn’t take more than a week to reach Cliff Town, but he was concerned about having Jack and Julie out on the road with him. They had proven at the gnoll stronghold that they were capable of holding their own and yet, he still worried that a terrible fate would befall him and he would be powerless to stop it. He knew this feeling well and had no desire to suffer through it again.

The spellslinger wrapped his left index finger in his scarf and tugged it slightly. He moved his right hand to his neck and touched the two scars on his neck that the scarf hit. They would not fade until his flesh had melted away and he was but a pile of bones buried underground. He let out a small laugh; he would be lucky to have a burial considering his line of work.

Unable to shake his grim thoughts, he walked back to the mouth of the cave and watched the rain fall throughout the night. At least the rain kept most of the wasteland predators at bay. As long as he could avoid the deep crevices of the wilderness, he would be able to keep Jack and Julie safe until they reached the river.

*

“Rise and shine, kiddos,” said Arc, prodding Jack in the side with his foot and then more gently awakening Julie by nudging her shoulder. “The rain’s gone and we’re back to sunny old Nuvaria.”

“Any rainbows?” asked Julie, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Sadly not,” said Arc. “But there are a few puddles if you want to jump around for a while.”

“Do you think we’re seven or something?” asked Jack, climbing to his feet and throwing on his blue jacket.

“Alright, misery guts, it was just a joke,” said Arc, looking to Julie and then muttering. “Someone’s in a mood. I think he needs a nap.”

She giggled as Jack grumpily threw his bag on his back before looking up at Arc. “Breakfast?”

“I’d like to put some distance between us and this cave,” he said. “It was fine during the night when the rain rendered us invisible. Right now, I think we’re better somewhere more open so we can see if anything tries to sneak up on us.”

“Jerky it is,” said Juile, reaching into her pack and pulling out a stick of meat. She threw one to Arc and one to her brother and all three wolfed it down as they prepared to set off.

They walked outside and onto the mushy soil, upon which they took great sopping strides towards the broken asphalt road a hundred yards away. As enjoyable of an anomaly as the rain was, it was nice to have the sun back in the sky so they could keep moving at a good pace and without catching hypothermia.

Every now and then, the road became so broken or buried in sand that it proved difficult to follow, but Arc’s keen guesswork and estimations of where to go always led them back on the right track. As they passed over one hill, they spied a large wooden billboard wedged into the sand. The poster it once bore had long since vanished, leaving only the board itself still standing, but neither of the twins had seen one before.

“What is it?” asked Jack.

“It must be a watchtower,” said Julie as Arc fought the urge to laugh. “It’s a clever design, if you think about it.”

“I know what you mean,” said Jack, nodding along as though he had it all figured out. “The large wooden part gives you cover from your enemies, but there’s the walkway that lets you peer around the corner. I think we should start using these again.”

Arc started sniggering and had to bite his tongue. “Good thinking, you two,” he said upon clearing his throat. “The only problem is the positioning of this one. It’s much too close to this hill to be useful.”

“Very true,” said Julie, putting a finger to her chin. “What were the builders thinking?”

The trio continued walking along the road and saw little else aside from the wreckage of a car that must have been sitting there for months, if not years. Sadly, there was nothing inside worth looting, but it served as a good pitstop for the three to take a short break and enjoy a decent lunch before continuing their journey onwards.

As the sun reached its peak, the sound of the rushing river finally hit their ears. Arc squinted to see up ahead and spied something large sitting in the water up ahead. What it was, he could not work out, but it was bobbing up and down slightly and pushing up against the bridge that led to the other side.

“What’s that?” asked Jack, now also seeing the bizarre object.

It was largely white with chunks of its paint missing that revealed wood underneath. There were small archways all around it, in two tiers, while another tier up appeared to be a small hut. Rising from the second tier were two large black poles that were topped with faded gold. It wasn’t long before the realisation of what the object was hit Arc.

“A river boat,” he said quietly. “I’ve never seen one of these in person before. How peculiar.”

“That’s a funny looking boat,” said Julie.

“Why’s it here?” asked Jack.

“That’s a very good question,” remarked Arc. “And how long has it been here for? Weapons out, kids.”

Arc drew both his revolver and his spellcaster while Jack and Julie drew their pistols. As they walked closer and closer, Arc suddenly had a strong feeling in his gut that he should turn away, but before he had the chance to act on it, a man’s voice called out.

“Please, strangers!” he cried. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Show yourself!” demanded Arc.

“Only if you promise not to hurt me. I’m armed and won’t hesitate to shoot you if there’s any funny business.”

Arc didn’t lower his weapon and pointed it at where he thought the man was calling from on the top deck. “As you can no doubt see, we’re armed too. Before I agree to anything, I need you to tell me how many of you there are.”

“I’m the only one left,” wailed the man. “They’re…they’re all gone!”

“And is that because of you or because of someone else?”

“Someone else…something else. They took everyone, and everyone they didn’t take was killed. I only survived because the storm hit at just the right moment. They’re monsters!”

“And who are these monsters you’re referring to? I don’t mean to make light of your pain but, if I’m to trust you, I need you to tell me.”

The man stood up with his shotgun held by his side. He looked to be in his forties with brown hair that was fading to grey and he had a scraggly beard that maintained its colour much better than the unkept mess on his head. Even from a distance, there was a look of despair on his face.

“Orcs,” he said. “I’m talking about the orcs.”