Benjamin tossed and turned in his sleep, having nightmares about a bunch of things. He woke up in a panic and sweat, clutching his chest, trying to calm his heart. A tight clump hit his throat as he scurried downstairs and went to get a drink to calm himself down. Benjamin took notice of how Hugh wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and assumed he was in the other room, not wanting to be disturbed.
While waiting for him to return, he tried to operate and get the communicator working, but reception was nonexistent there. Footsteps pattered in, as the magician looked up at Hugh coming back inside, completely drenched.
“Huh? Hey, are you ok?”
“Oh, Benjamin, you’re awake?” Hugh wiped his reddened eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Benjamin asked, tilting his head. “You seem to be out of it.”
“I needed to clear my head for something; that’s all.”
“Uh, ok. And what about Isabelle?”
“I hadn’t forgotten about her. Her body has gotten serious injuries and has been treated, but she still needs some medicine to heal her ailments for the insides of her body.”
Hugh walked to the shelf and pulled out a book to plop on the table. He scrolled through the pages until he came across a specific page with notes attached to it, detailing the different parts of the landscape. Some parts of the pages were either left blank or torn off. Other aspects didn’t reach the border of the land they currently stood on. Surrounding the scribbled notes was a sketch of a sparkling magenta flower shaped like a star.
“Whoa, you wrote all of that by yourself?” Benjamin asked, leaning closer.
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“Sure did,” Hugh replied, pointing at the sketch. “This is what I’d like to call a Star Mallow. You can find these in the Crystal Chasms near the Red Ribbon Falls.”
“Those are interesting names, to say the least. So, when should I head out?”
“Wait, you’re seriously going? It’s dangerous out there! Besides, you still need healing. You’re in no position to go out right now.”
“No, I don’t. I can’t just sit by while Isabelle might be in danger!” Benjamin jolted out of his seat. “I have to do something!”
Hugh bit his lip. It didn’t seem like he could change the magician’s mind. He sighed and went to take out a map to bring to the table. He examined the potential routes before marking them down with a pencil.
“This is the safest and quickest route to get there. We should be able to get there in due time if—”
“Hold up, you’re coming too?”
“You need to know the ins and outs of how to survive here.”
“Who’s going to defend your base if you’re gone?”
“Well, I had to leave to take care of things the first time.”
“Who’s to say nothing bad will happen here? Are you going to leave your two patients here? We don’t know how long we’d be gone for!”
“Calm down. I know you’re upset, but don’t raise your tone.” Hugh rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about what he said. “When you put it like that, you got a good point. Alright, I trust you, but please be careful and come back safely.”
“I will. You can count on me.” Benjamin tapped his fist on his chest.
Hugh walked over to the storage chest. He motioned for Benjamin to take a closer look. It contained a small variety of tools and weapons.
“Pick whichever you like.”
Benjamin leaned over to inspect the arsenal at his disposal. Inside, had a hunter’s knife, a spear, and a bow with arrows. He eventually decided on a weapon to trek out with. He grabbed the map along with a canister and a bag of fruits.
Before he left, Hugh insisted he borrow his transportation device to quicken the journey. He told him a brief summary of how to operate it, which took him a while to learn the inner outs of the strange contraption. After that, the two waved goodbye as the magician headed out at a breakneck pace.