-”It has been a week by now, right?”- Hashi speaks in the otherwise silent driver's section.

-”Indeed”- Masha says -”The Ether Winds, even when they have quiet down a bit, they still push us with a bit too much strength. Not counting the radiation with the Ether not settling down, this trip by the Winds alone has been proven to be a pain from the get-go.”-

-”All because of the Ether Storm… This is frustrating.”-

-”Yeah,”- Masha replies -”No one can predict an Ether Storm sweety, and even between the ones I have seen, this one is quite an ugly one. Let us pray that it doesn’t turn into an Ether Star because then this trip would be definitively terminated.”-

-”Prayers, you say?”-

-”Yeah, to seek the favor of the Gods in this journey.”-

-”Masha, please, the Gods are no longer with us…”- Hashi moves in her seat, her body stiff after being sit in the same position for a long time -”And if they are, I doubt they would pay attention to our prayers…”-

-”Can’t say that I don’t see your point, sweet Hashi,”- Masha says, as he raises his right hand and one of his ringed fingers with it -”Ever since the revolt thirty years ago our world has become barren of any God. You could say that no one has seen them. Rumors that run in the taverns and pubs tell tales of some people still managing to see them, but even when you take into account every one of said rumors, the most believable ones can be counted with one hand, and still, no one makes a hard case for them to be true, even by the guys in the Divine Archeology Guild, and you know that they are the Eminences regarding knowledge about the Gods.”-

Hashi lets out, without noticing, a heavy sight.

-”Still,”- Masha adds -”I doubt that they would turn a deaf ear to our prayers. They aren’t like us, humans.”-

Hashi lets a snort escape and then says -”Doubt they would answer the prayer of a slave trafficker though.”-

Masha chuckles -”Hey! You never know! As far as I see it, I’m driving divine punishment to the fools that supported the revolt. I’m sure that at least one or two Gods will appreciate it… in some way at least. I mean, I even have a couple of Arcadians in the back right there! Those idiots who were the first to revolt and shattered Goddess Ishtar… For all I care these bastards aren’t human. Certainly, their blood agrees with me.”-

-”You can be quite chatty, uh?”- Hashi giggles as she covers her mouth with her left arm.

-”For you, anything, my sweet Hashi”- Masha replies as he lets a giggle escape that makes him sound like a mix of a teenage boy and a donkey. Then, suddenly Masha leans forward on his seat, then he stands and says -”It seems Fleck was right, the beginning of the chasm is right there.”- Then, he turns to the inside of the Automated Cart and yells -”Hey Fleck, you were right! When we get to Sarahasha the drinks are on me!”-

-”Prepare your wallet!”- Hashi can hear Fleck’s voice, mumbling like if it were drunk.

Deal with it

The echo of Fleck’s words still bounce in Hashi’s head. It has been such a long while since a man has flat out rejected her. Not in the romantic sense, but in such an… uncaring way?

I thought I had him with my breasts, after all he stared at them so hard and so nonchalantly. He looks rough on the edges but nothing special overall, yet his expression didn’t change at all… Something just doesn’t make sense.

As Hashi is deep in thought, the automated cart enters the chasm, hovering right over the small river, surrounded by multiple gray and white rocks. Since the Ether Winds don’t reach the automated cart here, it suddenly gets a lot more speed, bursting forward as if it had dropped tons of cargo. A small orange ball bounces into the drivers section, ending between Hashi’s tights.

-”What th-!”- Masha exclaims as he moves on instinct to the side, rotating the crystal that controls the automated cart and making it do a hard left turn. He incorporates fast and stabilizes the automated cart just as a small boy appears in the driver’s section entrance.

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-”Sorry boss!”-

-”The Hell Selvin! Want to get us all killed!?”-

-”I apologize, Boss!”- Selvin says as he bows fast, but then stands up as fast and asks -”Did you saw where my ball ended? I was playing with my sis but I threw a bit too hard.”-

-”Here”- Hashi says, as she reaches for the ball and gives it back. Selvin opens wide his eyes and his entire face blushes as he takes the ball back.

-”Thank you.”- He mutters before entering back.

Hashi lets a giggle escape. Ever since this little trip started she has been relaxing a lot more than usual, dropping her guard further than what she usually lets herself open.

-”Boss…”- A bald man with a large beard and a scar in the shape of an X on his left eye, white skin, appears in the driver’s entrance.

-”Fergus? What’s the matter?”-

-”I have a reading.”- He says as he opens his left eye, revealing an emerald green Ether Stone with carvings.

-”What do you see?”- Masha’s tone and voice change from the more goofy one to a more serious, somber one.

-”It isn’t clear, there is still interference. I thought that once we entered in the chasm I could finally have clear readings, since we have taken refuge from the Ether Winds… but that isn’t the case.”-

-”What does that mean?”- Hashi asks.

-”Sweet Hashi, it means that we are going right into an ambush. The question is when it will come?”-

At this moment, the automated cart is shaken from behind. A couple of screams can be heard, followed by an explosion and the smell of magic reaching Hashi’s nose. Then, from the driver’s entrance Fleck appears and says -”We have a problem.”-

-”Then what are you doing here!? Go solve it!”- Masha barks.

-”No, no, that problem is already solved. We have another problem right now.”- Fleck replies.

-”What do you mean?”- Fergus asks.

-”Mimics. Look outside”- Fleck says as he point towards the window -”See those rocks to the sides? On a natural weather, there aren’t usually that many rocks here, but since an Ether Storm erupted, many mimics have come here and taken refuge in this chasm, mimicking the rocks that they have beside them and using them as cover. Back there when the boss made that strong left turn, the automated cart hovered over one and it latched to the cart.”-

-”Oh, God…”- Masha says as he rubs both eyes -”How much of a problem it is?”-

-”Zunkois mimics are known to move in hives, so… no matter what, keep the straight line if you don’t want all of us to die under the weight of hundreds of mimics.”-

-”Now… that is just great… I understand now…”- Masha says.

-”What’s the matter?”- Fleck asks. At the same time that he asks this question, the automated cart is shaken from the side.

-”We are moving straight into an ambush, that’s the matter!”- Masha yells his lungs out.

-”Another mimic!”- can be heard someone scream from the back, together with Selvin’s and his sister’s scream.

-”I’ll go out and take care of it. While I’m it I’ll try to keep the road forward clear of any rock that it a bit too close to the automated cart path.”- Hashi says as she opens her window and starts getting out and climb to the top of the automated cart.

-”Wait, th-!”- Fleck starts saying, but Hashi interjects him -”Don’t bother, I have to collaborate on this little trip, don’t I?”-

Getting on top of the driver’s section, Hashi can feel the wind hitting her face at great speeds. Keeping her hood in place with her left hand, she turns to see the mimic, a lobster-like creature with large, thin limbs, grabbed to the side. Hashi, with a smug in her face, chants.

Meteoro.

In an instant the mimic is surrounded by rainbow sparks, and the next instant a strong hit impacts it, making it lose its grip and make it fall on the river.

Well, they aren’t that dangerous, that i-

As she turns to face forward, she can’t complete that thought since a strong flash of light comes from a collection of rocks forward, hitting the automated cart head-on, stopping it almost on the spot, sending Hashi flying through the air a couple of meters forward.