Walking the path south towards Ephatas, Cer and Punkin notice many people also leaving Haeven as they converge from various whereabouts to a single path.

Keeping thoughts internal, Cer scans the people as they pass them by. All these people seem so afraid and tired. They must be leaving the chaos in Haeven. “Pupu, what do you notice about these people?”

Breaking her happily aloof stride, Punkin looks around at the people. “They are dirty. I think they are hungry and sleepy. They need naps and some cleaning.”

Looking around, Punkin sees a child clinging to an adult who seems to be trudging slowly southward and begins to shout towards them. “Hey! I’m Pupu. Want some my bread?!?! My baba made it. She is a…”

Startling Punkin, Cer places a hand on Punkin’s shoulder and stops her from finishing her sentence. I don’t think they heard us. “Please excuse my daughter. She get excited when she sees other children. We do not see kids often so she does not have many friends. Where are you headed and where are you coming from?”

Tired, the adult turns around slowly and responds. “ A large storm and a swarm of locusts ripped through everything from our town to the apiary. Even the parts of the Western Woods were uprooted. ”

Breaking free from Cer’s grasp, Punkin steps forward holding her honey bread. “YES! Want some? I can share!”

Happy to see food, the child’s mouth gapes open wide as they gawk at the bread.

“Sorry for our eagerness, we haven’t eaten since last night. They call me Ai. We’ve been walking along with all these others for hours. Is there enough bread for the two of us?” asks the adult.

“Yes!” shouts Punkin. “Why won’t they talk to me? They don’t want to be fwend?”

Looking down in sadness, Ai responds as they hand their daughter some bread. “Sorry, my daughter is deaf. She can’t hear you and she can’t talk. Her name is Adeline.”

“Oh no! Did Nin hurt her?” asks Punkin.

“Nobody hurt her. She was born this way. Who is Nin?” asks Ai.

Excited to answer, Punkin begins to blabber. “She is my fwend. She was a monster. Now she is nice and pwetty because daddy and I hugged her. She is a pwetty witch.”

Interrupting Punkin, Cer interjects as Cer notices the aura of the adult and Adeline shift from afraid to curious and hopeful. “Pardon her. Like I said, she doesn’t have many friends her age. She has a wild imagination. Her aunt is Nin and likes to do magic tricks and sometimes scare her. Where is your partner?”

Looking even more sad, Ai responds with an aura of saudade. “He died almost 3 years ago. It feels like such a long time ago, my memory is blurry. There was a storm back then and he was sucked into a tornado. It’s such an odd memory because tornadoes don’t normally happen in our area. Come to think of it, we don’t get many storms either… such a weird thing. You think it is another armageddon? Like the stories of old? I wonder if the Stewards and witches will come again…”

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Assuming it was a memory altering spell casted three years ago, Cer tries to reinforce the narrative. “Uhh.. I remember the storm. Pupu lost her mother to the storm too.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Punkin gets upset from Cer’s accounts. “Mommy was killed by a storm? Was it another monster like Nin’s monster? I’m gonna beat it up!”

Fixated on their thought, Ai continues to probe the conversation. “I hope witches still exist. They can fix Adeline and stop whatever is causing the storms. It is a shame they were hunted for so long. I read that their tears healed the world many times over. When it is safe, we will head back and visit the Athenaeum. I am sure there is a cure recorded for Adeline in the Athenaeum. It has been closed for years. We will break in if we have to.”

Hoping to end the conversation and continue their journey, Cer shrugs. “I guess you won’t know until you try. Anything is possible isn’t it as long as we have hope and the Will to continue.”

Looking ahead to a fork in the path, Ai scoffs “Hope. What is that anyway? It only leads to disappointment. We get let down so much that I am afraid to even hope some days.”

Scanning Ai’s aura and sensing her mana drain, Cer responds. “Hope is just remaining open to the idea that things can change. There will always be a chance things will be in your favor or against it. We just often hope that things go in our favor.”

Sighing, Ai asks “What if we are let down so much we have no energy to take another disappointment? I just want to preserve what is left of us.”

Offering a warm smile, Cer places a hand on Punkin’s shoulders as Cer notices Ai’s aura change to determination as they calm to a halt. “Being afraid to remain open to change is the same as giving up on the idea that things can be different. I know you wish things were different. You fear the possibility of more disappointment and failures. When we fear that possibility, we learn to feel and embrace despair because we close off the possibility of success and that things will get better. I do hope that Mana flows in your favor and your Mystic may never waver.”

Looking side to side, Ai briefly acknowledges Cer’s words. “ Thank you. It is so easy to forget how powerful hope can be when that’s all we lived on for so long. I wish my husband was here. He’d know what to do. Like this fork. I don’t know which path to take, but I know I have to choose with conviction and just start walking and hope I get to where I aim to go.”

Realizing there is a fork in the path, Cer agrees to conceal Cer’s blindness. “Ahh yes the fork. You are headed to Ephatas, right? If my memory serves me correctly, Ephatas is to the left. Follow the path and stay on the lifted boards through the desert and you’ll know you are on the right trail because there will be trees sporadically along the path and the boards will be under your feet. There is an underground stream feeding the trees. You can eat the plants on the path and find clean ponds to drink from. It is about a day or two before you reach Ephatas. I believe this is where we part. We are headed to the right to see a friend.”

Surprised, Ai chuckles as she continues down the path to the left with Adeline while waving behind her. “Thanks for the tips and the bread. You seem to know this area very well. That, or you have impeccable memory. May mana flow in your favor as well. If you see any witches, send them our way. We all can use a little sign to keep our hope alive.”

Sighing from relief, Cer and Punkin continue down the path to the right while Punkin occasionally looks back to see if Ai and Adeline chose to follow them. “Daddy, why are we going this way? Aren’t we going to Ephatas?”

Sensing sad doubts in Punkin’s aura, Cer reassures Punkin she will meet other friends. “We’ll probably see them again. We have to visit a friend before we head to Ephatas. Back at The Mystic Evermore, Miyas told me she has a sister out here in the desert. She is the third hag of their coven. We are going to see if they know anything about the chaos witch or if she has seen Miyas.”

–Break–

After walking for what seems like hours, Cer stops abruptly and grabs Punkin to drop to the ground. “Pupu, quiet. I see 7 auras traveling fast. I think they could be bandits. Lay still, maybe they won’t see us and the sand dunes can hide us.”

Looking around confused, Punkin whispers. “Daddy?”

“What is it?” whispers Cer.

“We are laying in the middle of the dirt. They can see us.” whispers Punkin as she curls into Cer. “They are coming to chase with their horses.”

Confused and welling up with panic, Cer picks up Punkin and begins to look around for other threats and a place to hide. I should have noticed, there are no sand boards. “Can you see any place to hide, Pupu?

Punkin clasps Cer’s cheeks and redirects Cer’s gaze to the East.

Straining, Cer perceives another aura approaching rapidly. “You see that? What does it look like to you?”

Shuddering, Punkin grabs onto Cer more tightly as she whispers. “Daddy… It’s a dragon. I hope it’s nice and we can be friends…”