Silence surrounded their journey as they continued north the following day. Each step taken by Haroken seemed heavier than the last. The grassy plains and thick forests were gradually replaced by a desertic expanse. How on Athoren were they meant to find a rebel base in that wasteland?

It was really hot in there, and the waterskins they’d refilled in a nearby river the day before were already running out. Merdilen could Transmutate acceptable food, but liquids were beyond him. He did Transmutate sun hats for all of them, though.

There was a point when Kayden genuinely didn’t know where they were going. They had no plan beyond reaching a settlement in which to ask. But there was nothing.

Even worse, Kayden could see Tham was slowly panicking, desperate to open his wounded eyes. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t complain, but Kayden could see his pain.

It was about mid-afternoon that they saw it in the distance. A collapsing heap of wood, moving slowly in the horizon. It looked like a house, wrecked and broken. A tavern.

Kayden’s heart skipped a beat.

Could it be?

“Follow that tavern,” he told Haroken.

“What?” Haroken asked, squinting and trying to spot what Kayden meant.

“It is them,” Kayden said. “It’s the Wandering Wonderinn.”

“What?” Tham exclaimed. “The Wandering Wonderinn? How is it? Describe it, Kayden!”

Kayden tried to focus on it as Haroken sped up.

“It’s… oh, no,” he whispered. “It’s ruined. The roof is half-collapsed, and its walls have burst open. What… happened to it?”

The whole Skyguard knew about the Wandering Wonderinn –Kayden, Tham, and the Mimicker had all mentioned it in casual conversation once or twice. Seeing it like this… It hurt.

As they approached it through the desertic expanse, it stopped. A man came out, ragged and bruised, holding a butcher’s knife in his thick hand.

“Halt,” the man, middle-aged and bearded, whispered. “We don’t want to fight anymore. But we will if we have to.”

Kayden jumped down from Haroken’s back.

“Hey, Chafter,” Kayden said, approaching the man and letting out a slight smile. “It’s been a tough time for all of us, huh?”

Abner Chafter lowered his knife in disbelief.

“It’s you,” he said. “Kayden.”

“Yeah,” Kayden said. “We’re back.”

Merdilen and Hassah helped Tham and the Mimicker down from Haroken’s back as they went to meet Chafter.

They introduced themselves before Kayden asked the inevitable.

“...What happened?” he muttered. “Where is everyone? How did this happen?”

“The Everbender,” Chafter started. “She found us. She didn’t even send a strike team –she attacked herself. I sent every adventurer away, but she still caught and killed most. And then we fought. I… there’s stuff I haven’t told you guys.” He pursed his lips. “I’m not what you think I am. I’m not just a bartender. We fought, I caught her off guard, and I sent her away. Far away into the Southern Wilds of Athoren. It wasn’t enough. She’s back already. But by the time she returned, we were already far gone. We –the Right-Hand Man, the Wonderinn, and me. The only ones who remain.” He paused. “We neared death, but avoided it. Barely. So here we are, heading for the Libertatum Brotherhood’s base. We don’t have a Wondrous Wanderers Guild to lose anymore.”

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Kayden remained silent, having a hard time processing everything.

“Yeah,” a small voice said from behind Chafter. The single right hand with a face that was the Right-Hand Man emerged from the Wandering Wonderinn, looking distraught. “The Everbender is hitting harder than ever these days. We don’t know why, but the reason can’t be good.”

“...Because of us,” Kayden said grimly. “She’s looking for us, for the Skyguard, and it seems like she’s intent on finding us sooner rather than later. We know stuff she desperately wants to know.”

“...I see,” Chafter muttered. “Well, then.” He stretched his hand out to Kayden. “We’re heading for the Libertatum Brotherhood’s main base. Come with us. Fight with us. We’ll have plenty of time to talk there.”

Kayden took a step forward and shook Chafter’s hand.

“Okay, guys,” Kayden then called back, addressing the rest of the Skyguard. “We know where to go now –we’re following the Wandering Wonderinn to the rebel base. Let’s move. We’re close.”

Haroken started forward as soon as everyone was on his back. Both he and the Wandering Wonderinn moved at a slow but steady pace. They were all hurt. But they had to keep going.

The world they crossed was a lonely one. Dry and silent, the desertic plains seemed like they’d swallow them all sooner or later, and Haroken’s paws were constantly dragging or sinking in the unstable sand. Fortunately, Chafter was able to supply them with water and some decent food from inside the inn, but no amount of hydration seemed to be enough.

It was towards the end of the second day that they saw it on the horizon.

A colossal sort of thin tower or pillar, shooting up into the sky. Light-gray, it seemed to be slightly bent to a side, but making up the details was hard.

“There it is,” Chafter called out to Kayden and the rest from the Wandering Wonderinn’s back door. “Kaijin Base. Let’s catch up to it before it gets too far.”

“‘Catch up’?” Merdilen asked from the back of the group. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, don’t get creeped out, but…” Chafter hesitated. “It’s a person. A titanic wandering humanoid that serves as the Libertatum Brotherhood’s headquarters. “It can literally just walk away if we don’t hurry.”

“Sweet,” the Mimicker said. “If only I could see it.”

“Same,” Tham whispered.

Kayden winced at the comment. It hurt. Everything hurt.

– – –

The world was silent. Not just them. There wasn’t a single soul in sight in the vast expanse of nothingness that was this desert. It all felt so unreal.

They kept moving forward toward the creature called Kaijin Base far into the night. Kayden knew they had to reach it now. Who knew if it’d still be within range the following day if they stopped to rest now? They were making progress. Just really slowly. But they were indeed getting closer.

Eventually, Kaijin Base in the distance stopped moving. It turned toward them in a slow motion. As it did, it made a strange sound as if wailing, or whimpering, loud enough for the Skyguard caravan to hear it, far as they were. In the night’s darkness it felt to Kayden all the more unsettling.

It stayed still as the caravan approached. Kaijin Base looked even more imposing from up close. It was probably as tall as Anthalopus’ tallest tower –which was a lot. The elongated humanoid figure, as disturbing as it was, was standing hunched but completely still, its arms hanging at its sides as it looked at the Skyguard caravan. Instead of a face, it had absolute darkness covering the front of its head, a black void that seemed to stare into their very souls. On its back were several dozens of edifications, somehow built upon a sort of armor or caparace.

“...Here we are,” Chafter called out to Kayden and the rest on Haroken’s back. “I’d heard the stories, of course, but I’d never seen Kaijin Base in real life. It’s… well, it’s massive.”

Kayden looked back to see Hassah describing Kaijin Base to Tham. The blinded teenager was nodding in appreciation, but Kayden could sense his pain. And, considering what Tham had told Kayden about his ‘mental link’ with Hassah, chances were she could physically feel it too.

As they reached Kaijin Base’s left foot, two figures dropped down from somewhere above. Though Kayden couldn’t see them well enough in the dark, it looked like a middle-aged man with black hair and an old dark-skinned woman. They levitated slowly down to the surface and landed nimbly. Gravitybenders? Could be Speedbending, too. Kayden wasn’t sure.

“Varokan,” Chafter whispered, hopping down from the Wandering Wonderinn’s front door to embrace the man. “My guy.”

The man –apparently called Varokan– returned the embrace stiffly, then sighed. “The Skyfall Empire’s cutting deep, eh?” he said in a bitter deep voice.

“More than ever,” Chafter replied. He took a step back to introduce Kayden, Merdilen, the Mimicker, Tham, Hassah, and Haroken. “The new Skyguard,” he finally said.

“I see,” Varokan nodded. “Well met. What about your folks, Chafter?”

“Lost,” he said. “They fled when the Everbender attacked. Only the Wonderinn, the Right-Hand Man, and I remain.”

The Right-Hand Man was nowhere to be seen. He was probably taking care of everything inside the Wandering Wonderinn. Kayden couldn’t blame him. He wished he could just stay inside too.

“...Well,” Varokan muttered. “Hop on board, all of you. We’ll need all the help we can get for what’s coming. We’ll talk later.”

“What’s coming?” the Mimicker asked.

Varokan glanced at the sword. “The counterstrike.”