Chapter 16: Traveling

The moment the first rays of sunlight touched the horizon, they set off. Leo’s eyes darted about the forest, still largely cloaked in shadow, but he could see no sign of any guards or pursuers. Not yet, at least.

Overnight, the fragmentholder counter had ticked up to 411,786, and it showed no signs of stopping. How many fragments were there in total? He couldn’t help but feel like he’d wasted time sleeping when he could’ve been searching for more, even if the more reasonable side of his brain reminded him that he’d be useless exhausted anyway.

Leo poked at his right hand. The swelling had gone down some, but it still wasn’t in particularly good condition.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

Leo turned to see Allan squinting at the injury critically. In truth, Leo had forgotten about it in the chaos of the previous day.

“What did you do?” The former rickshaw puller sounded genuinely flabbergasted as he took in the extent of the damage. Leo cringed. He hadn’t thought it was that bad.

“I might have knocked it around a few times.”

“Might have knocked it.”

“Look, I was more worried about getting out, okay?”

Allan shook his head with a frown. “I think,” he said slowly, “[Mend] should be able to heal it. But uh, you should probably wash off all the dirt first.”

Leo hadn’t noticed it last night because of how tired he was, but the blood and grime from yesterday still sat in a crusted layer atop his skin and clothes.

“There’s a stream pretty close by,” he said. “We’ll deal with it then. First we should make sure we’re far away from Sindrey.”

Allan nodded in reluctant agreement, and they stepped out from the ring of stones and into the forest proper.

Spade stood just outside the perimeter of the boulders, thin grey ponytail billowing in the wind as she peered between the trees into the distance. She glanced back at them as they approached.

“Ready?”

Leo eyed the [Executioner] warily, but nodded. Nothing had happened overnight, and the woman looked as calm and unflappable as ever. Even with the party system acting as a precaution, he didn’t think he’d be able to fully relax around her for a long time.

The sun rose a little higher, stains of gold and pink beginning to bleed into the sky. Leo squinted, turning his head and listening for any other signs of life. Finally, he turned south.

“Let’s go,” he said, and the trio set off.

—

Travel was quiet. Too quiet.

Leo kept expecting to turn his head and find guards, but there were no one. Perhaps they were busy quelling the prison riot?

Or, the [Fragmentholder] thought, they were dealing with the fallout of the notification. The mayor would probably have to make an announcement about it today.

By then, the sun had fully risen above the horizon. Golden rays outlined jagged, sharp trees.

The Aurelia Woods spanned far north into the Solomere Empire, but in Avel, the trees remained sparse enough to see through. Bird calls and rustling leaves sounded all around them, and when the sun was high in the sky, Leo heard the sound of running water. He hurried forward.

Up ahead, a small stream ran between tall, thin trees—too narrow to be called a river and only just deep enough to reach someone’s ankles.

The water was crystal clear, and the rocks beneath were clearly visible. This stream ran into the Glass Lake, and it shared the same impossibly transparent water.

According to local legends, the waters in this region had been blessed by the fae before the Fall of the Ancients, but any surviving fae had long left Avel behind.

Leo crouched down beside the water and finished unwrapping the bandages barely hanging onto his hand. He stuck both hands into the cool stream, sighing in relief. Dried blood and grime clouded the water before it was quickly pulled away by the waves.

“Let me see.”

Leo glanced back and raised his now clean injury. Allan inspected it closely, dark eyes focused. Finally, with a deep breath, he raised his hand over the injury and a faint ultramarine glow emanated from his palm.

[Allan has activated the [Mend] spell]

Leo watched in fascination as crooked fingers shifted, creaking back into place. Thin cuts and torn skin stitched itself together, the invisible needle threaded by strings of the blue light.

It became clear why he’d needed to rinse the dirt off first; if he hadn’t, it would’ve gotten trapped beneath the healing skin as it folded over itself.

It took a few minutes, but by the end, Leo’s hand was much better than before even if a little sore. A few fingers were still just a tad crooked, but he could actually move them now, albeit stiffly.

Leo flipped his hand around, inspecting it in awe. Healing magic really could do wonders.

“Thanks,” the [Fragmentholder] said sincerely once the ultramarine glow had faded. Allan didn’t look nearly as impressed.

“There’s still scars,” he muttered. Leo waved the concern off.

“That’s my own fault for not taking better care of it. Seriously, it’s way better now.”

Allan still didn’t look completely content, but he nodded and sat down by the stream as well, peering at the waters curiously.

The axe he’d taken rested at his side, the blade still crusted over with dried blood. Honestly it looked like the blade might fall off the handle, but Leo guessed the man was keeping it around since it was his only real weapon.

Speaking of which, Leo dug into his pouch and pulled out the dagger he’d taken from the warden. He squinted at it, turning it around in the light to inspect it.

It was fairly plain, with a simple leather handle that fit comfortably in his hands. The metal gleamed in the light, and it did look fairly sharp. He dunked it into the stream to clean, just to be safe.

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“Does that flow into the lake?”

“Yep,” Leo answered. “It curves a lot though, so we’re not gonna be following it or anything.”

“You seem to know this area well.”

Leo frowned over at Spade, who was filling a water canister. Ironically enough, the [Executioner] had the least amount of blood on her—if you excluded the stuff already permanently staining her cloak, that is.

“I’ve been here before,” he said shortly. “It’s been a while, though.”

Leo lifted the dagger back up and wiped it off in the grass.

“Anyway, there’s a town a day away where we can stock up on supplies. We’ll have to spend tonight outside, and don’t expect any food for the day.”

That probably wouldn’t be an issue for any of them. He and Allen were used to going without meals, and he wagered that the [Executioner] wouldn’t mind it either.

Allan handed a waterskin to Leo, who took it with a raised eyebrow. The [Healer] had one as well, and he definitely didn’t remember seeing them anywhere in the house.

“I figured we’d need them,” Allan explained, and Leo had to admit the man was well prepared.

“Were these also a favor?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh no, I stole them.”

Leo choked mid sip. “Don’t just admit it.”

“There’s no one around, though.” Allan’s eyes darted to Spade, narrowing just a fraction, before returning to Leo. “Well, no one who’d care.”

He couldn’t really argue with that. Leo finished draining the waterskin, then moved to refill it. They’d have to set out again soon, and he’d rather not be low on water, especially since they’d be exiting the woods soon and traveling on an open road exposed to the sun.

The [Fragmentholder] rose, and Allan followed suit. Just as he was about to turn and continue, something flew at his face.

Jerking back, Leo caught it on reflex, muscles tensing. Instead of an explosive or a weapon, he blinked down at a crudely wrapped bundle of dried meat.

He looked up, and Spade looked faintly amused, a piece of jerky in her own hand that she tore into with no hesitation.

“Eat. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

Leo scowled, but ended up taking the offered food, albeit begrudgingly. He gave half to Allan, and after double inspecting the stuff, he bit into it. As expected, it was tough and largely flavorless, but it was edible.

“We’re gonna leave the woods soon,” Leo explained while they finished eating. “There’s not a lot of shelter on the road, so we’ll have to be careful tonight. Two watches again, and we should get ready for the Silence if it appears.”

“You think it will?” Allan’s brows were furrowed. “The last one was really recent though.”

“That’s not much of a guarantee anymore,” Leo argued. It used to be that the Silence wouldn’t appear in the same area twice in quick succession, but as the frequency increased, any sense of pattern was lost.

“Have either of you ever fought an Echo?”

Leo and Allan exchanged glances. Leo pursed his lips.

“We haven’t fought one,” he said slowly. “But we’ve seen them.” He more often than Allan. When you were traveling alone at night, no wards or shelter anywhere nearby, it was usually better to run if the Silence appeared than to stay and try to fight.

“It’s not much different from fighting people, right?” Allan said, and Spade hummed consideringly.

“Not really, no. It’s a little harder to know where to hit sometimes is all.”

Leo thought back to the [Executioner]’s [Anatomical Knowledge] skill. It turned out executions and effective torture took more knowledge of human anatomy than he’d expected.

“If an Echo shows up,” he began, “and it doesn’t look like we can outrun it, we should stay back to back to cover our blind spots. If it looks bad, we’ll split up, and we can use the party map to group up again.”

He paused, remembering that he’d cut off Spade’s access to it. “Or, I’ll find you both,” he amended.

Finishing off his piece of jerky and storing the rest for later, Leo strode forward, and the group set out again.

—

Leo was glad they’d cleaned most of the blood off. The main road wasn’t crowded, per se, but they did pass by a few farmers carrying pails of water, a carriage that kicked up dust as its wheels rolled over the loose dirt path, and a peddler carrying a box of wares on his way to the next closest town.

All of them, Leo noted, seemed to be in a rush, moving a little faster than usual. It wasn’t close enough to sunset yet for it to be in fear of the Silence, but given the suspicious glances passed in their direction, the tension lingering in stiff shoulders, he suspected the system notification had unnerved people. Many were probably still wondering if it was real or not.

The counter of fragmentholders went up to 503,561.

They kept traveling throughout the rest of the day, not stopping until the sun began to set.

“Here.”

At the side of the road, the grassy field sloped down slightly into a small dip in the ground. It wasn’t much, but when seated, it wasn’t visible from far away, which was better than the rest of the flat expanse.

“This should be a good spot,” Leo said. “If we leave early tomorrow, we should reach the next village by noon.”

A light wind blew past the blades of grass, causing them to ripple like ocean waves. Only a few stones and stray trees interrupted that smooth expanse, all too small to form a proper shelter.

Leo slid down the slope, taking a second to look around and make sure there were no blindspots. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Allan, you sleep first. I’ll take first watch with Spade.” He sat down on a nearby stone before the [Healer] could argue. “It’s only fair. You took first watch last time.”

“But—“

“The faster you go to bed, the sooner we get to,” Leo cut in.

Allan frowned. He casted a glance over at Spade filled with a degree of suspicion that genuinely surprised Leo. Between the two of them, he was usually the untrusting one.

Leo looked between them, trying to identify the source of tension, but Allan looked away before he could.

“Wake me up if something happens,” he said, and Leo nodded in agreement.

“Hurry up and sleep,” he said, making a shooing motion. Allan smiled wryly, but he did end up lying down on the grass with his back facing them.

Seated casually across from the [Fragmentholder], Spade watched with an amused look.

“As funny as it is, the suspicion must get tiring at some point.”

“It’s normal,” Leo muttered. He pulled out the dagger, carefully gripping it just in case. His muscles tensed, carefully studying their surroundings for any signs of movement.

“Do you know how to use that?”

“Yes.” Leo frowned over at the [Executioner]. Her own blade rested across her lap, and from what Leo could tell, it looked like an ordinary blade as opposed to the ones missing a point that were designed specially for decapitation.

“...What did you even do before coming to Sindrey? Were you a mercenary or something?” If they were going to keep traveling together, it would be good to know a little more about her background.

Spade chuckled. “Something like that, though I’ve been an executioner for about four years now. I used to travel around for work.”

Four years ago. That was when the Solomere Empire had first attacked Valendell. Leo frowned.

“Where’re you from, anyway?”

“The Empire.” She must have seen the look on his face, because she laughed. “I did say I traveled to get here.”

“That’s not something people just say,” Leo muttered. It was the easiest way to get yourself executed as a spy.

Spade simply shrugged.

“It’s the truth. I don’t have much love for the place regardless.” Those grey eyes settled on Leo, and she cocked her head. “You’re not from Avel either, are you? Adrya, I assume.”

Leo’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered.

The [Executioner] raised a scarred eyebrow. She opened her mouth to respond, but before the words could escape, she was interrupted.

The clear, single ring of a bell echoed in their ears.

Both of them jumped to their feet just as the sound of the wind abruptly stopped.

Leo cursed, the words silent, and his head spun wildly around. A dark coiling wisp of smoke appeared in his peripheral vision, and he jerked back.

There, in the center of the dirt road, a coiling cloud of monochrome smoke gathered, stray wisps escaping the tangling strands as a figure slowly formed.

An Echo.