~Di~

The path made for an uncomfortable sleep. That and sleeping on Matis's legs made Di's back quite sore after a few hours. She decided to get up when the sun began to set, stretching as the cart bumped along with the stray rocks and pebbles. Only Po and Longboar slept, both somehow looking incredibly more comfortable than she felt in her own nap. The heat had mostly dissipated into a comfortable stillness.

Di looked up. The sky was a fascinating purplish-blue, the sun setting far past the hills. Some stars shone, some clouds floated past, but it was mostly clear. And vast. And far. She felt more at peace again, despite being among four men and a wretched dwarf. The moon would soon rise, and her soul would too; she could feel her pulse slow and steady and her skin ripple. Moon rise was the best part of the day, even in her sleep.

Matis rubbed her arm, sensing her calm washing over the cart. Di saw Quo turn his head from the front, and smile at her in appreciation. Anyone could feel the height of an elf's power when it came around and that night Di would be at her strongest -- full moon with a clear and a steady sky. Quo pulled the reins and the horses softly pulled off the path, onto the grasses. No trees were around to hide them from robbers, but in many ways, their night would be safer this way. They all knew they were to pull watches in turn and trees usually meant any sort of fae could be lurking, especially elves; Longboar and Po would be the first to pull watch which is why they were the first to sleep in the cart besides Di.

As the cart rolled to a stop Di began to stand up, carefully not touching anything or anyone beside Matis's guiding hand and the side of the cart. She jumped over the rail, Matis behind her, while the others got up slowly.

"Girl? You mind caring for these maidens?" Quo held out the reins to her. She smiled and silently took them. She took care to unlatch the mares and took two of the stakes from the pile in the cart where Quo had been sitting on, making her way by a gathering of bushes. Di checked the leaves, noting the utter greenness of it and deemed it safe to set the mares by. Then, she took the pack for them and began the process of setting out water and brushing them, letting the men and dwarf put the camp together. They had water for another seven days, she wondered how they'd get more.

Once finished, she joined the others about fifteen feet away. They cleared a space for a small fire, made by some bushes somehow, and more space to lay out their bedrolls. She sat next to her husband, leaving a hand on his arm, a familiar touch of hers.

'What're we eatin'?' Po asked, rubbing his stomach. Matis smirked. Probably remembering how it was to be a growing boy with hunger pains. Waterwell rummaged around until he found a pack with bread and dried pig, taking some for himself before passing it around. Di grabbed two pieces of the crumbly bread and two of the salted pig before handing it to Matis. She sighed. A terribly dry meal, but at least this time they remembered to add some pepper to the meat. She remembered, with a smile on her face, how she introduced the idea of other spices on their meats in their last adventure. How simple men could be.

Po seemed pleased enough, choking on the bread. Di chuckled.

"Finally! A smile from you!" Quo excitedly pointed at her. She rolled her eyes and took her hand from Matis's arm, deciding to lean on him instead. Quo smiled infectiously. He looked around, "Someone tells a story. NOT one about ourselves, an actual story!"

"Oh just let us eat in peace!" Matis waved a hand. Po sat a little straighter at the thought. Waterwell and Longboar shared a look.

"Corban the Seafarer?" Waterwell questioned his friend.

"Nah, too close to 'Ban' o'er there. Tamlin, Witch of Hardwest." Longboar urged.

"No everyone knows Tam. Yrtel!" Waterwell's brown eyes shone at whatever Yrtell could be. Both men looked for any sign of knowledge of Yrtel in the group. Di surely never heard of a Yrtel, and she was certain neither had Matis. Waterwell nodded, "Yrtell."

"Do go on," Quo said. He plopped onto his stomach, looking eager to listen. Di always enjoyed the childlike passion in their prince.

"Right," Waterwell cleared his throat. "In the old days, in the lands beyond the seas, called Hastos, were poor and trodden people. Unlike here, they never got rains and the sun was blazing fucking hot every damn day. They had to make do with ocean waters, though we never knew how they figured out ways to drink it, but them bastards did! Anyways, poor people. They couldn't harvest much besides cactus plants and spiked bushels that honestly probably caused more fires to dry out the land more than providing food for the Hastoans. They begged their gods for sky water but never got an answer. It was a hundred or so years of begging before a man named Yrtel from the nearby city Hastosasi visited. He wasn't much but an apothecary, but he was well enough as one. He could make many cures, and he was a very curious man-"

"He's telling it stupid. Yrtel-" Longboar interrupted.

"Oh for fuck's sake man, let me tell it!" Waterwell hit the side of his friend's head. Longboar's eyes narrowed but he shut up. Waterwell brushed some crumbs from his chest before resuming. "Right Yrtel. Apothecary. So he was always curious about anything and thought he should see why his sister city was so depressed. As he arrived he saw how terrible it was. There was hardly any grasses alive and the people looked very tired. Probably from the saltwater. So Yrtel, right, sees his brothers and cries for them. He cannot begin to think why his city could be so abundant in green and rains and why these idiots never left their city. I mean it was really dead besides the damned cactus and bushels. So he asked around.

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"Well sir, they said, we belong here. We only know this land. Your people always looked down on us, and we really rather not be judged. So we stay here and live with this brown place, They said. Yrtel cried again. He was a real sensitive type. He began to knock on every door and see if anyone else would have new answers but not a single soul could say a different word. Then Yrtel went to the local bar to drown in sorrows with them, but they only served fucking saltwater drinks.

"Yrtel would not have it. So he took his last sip of freshwater and headed to the local temple. He saw many different gods than his own and realized they were worshiping demons. The stag gods and goat gods and just all the nasty one. These idiots had it all wrong. Yrtel took it upon himself to use his skills as apothecary to make potions in order to please his gods. Then he put drops of the potions in every nook and cranny. He burned down the temple, which was honestly his worst idea because then the people went to stone him. And while tied on a rock, with everyone's hands carrying more rocks to kill him he shouted his words to the right gods. And then the heaviest rain he'd ever seen befell them. It was just a right flood of waters. The people all had to stop -- none of this generation had ever seen rain, so they were right shocked.

"Sir, how did you do it? They begged him and cried and freed him from the rock. He smiled and told them of his gods. Slowly the demons curses were rotted out by the water and the people would get a lake right in the center of town. Right where they were about to stone Yrtel. So they proclaimed him king of the town, and he became Yrtel the Wise."

No one said a word. Longboar eyed the group, taking care to smile at every person. It was an unexpected story for a man of the sword to come up with, or so Di thought. Yrtel. A man of beliefs and gods and water.

"What're the right gods?" Po's eyes scrunched up as he spoke; his head tilted like a puppy's.

"Well for Yrtel they were the of the Four Heavens," Longboar replied with a grimace. Most people of Difavose held little religious beliefs besides in that of prophets. "It doesn't mean much, I think. Who knows what god is good and all? My mother's side came from Hastos, and they all believed in the Four Heavens. This story is like my own."

Matis nodded and went back to eating his meat.

"What did the prophets believe?" Po asked quietly, almost breathless. Di sat up. This poor boy was going through a visible crisis, it seemed. A man so young could never have his systems so moved if he were to develop a discipline in him. Di could sense the urgency in Matis then. He was a trainer and could not help if a man changed his beliefs so quickly unless he could hinder the change in its tracks.

"Boy, the prophets are from everywhere. We fight for the crown, correct?" Matis said, leaning forward to create eye contact with Po. Di had seen this move many times over. It was Matis's way to create a connection with trainees, and force them to surrender to his words. "The crown believes in the prophecies. Only those have ever come true for Difavose. Perhaps you can learn now what to believe. Just know that the only order you have is to protect and serve."

"It's all theory anyway," Prince Alquorien waved his hand in dismissal. He shoved his bread into his mouth before saying more.

"The only truth in life is death," Treth uttered. Di's ears pricked. She said nothing, although she knew everyone could feel the wave of warmth wash over them. She would need to control her feelings against the dwarf,  or else her magic would constantly affect the group. Matis rubbed his hand on hers, taking it with a squeeze. Treth didn't show any effect by her magic and simply downed his canteen.

Wasteful monster.

Po didn't seem convinced by anyone's logic, yet the dwarf must have said something close to home because a light went through Po's eyes as he scarfed down the rest of his meal.

Di gave the rest of her second bread to Matis before laying down. She had nothing to say about gods or truth and could only hope they spoke of things other than this or magic. Feeling the moon rise and focusing on only breathing calmed her down. She heard the others murmur around her, but felt only sleep as it washed over her; right before she could really sleep, Matis softly took her hand again, holding it as she went to bed.

~Quo~

Quo watched, a slight twinge of jealousy coming through, before he swatted it away in his mind, as his friends held hands in peace. Matis was always a steady man, and of course, he'd marry first. Though women flaunted after himself for his future reign, Matis was genuinely adored by females all around. He'd always carried that rugged, safe-man-charm about him. Quo had many loves in the past, but he continued to court in an effort to find whatever Matis had with his wife.

He could never hate Matis for this. He loved Matis. They were friends since childhood and all the way through their knight trials together. Matis threw his claim to a lord's title to fight by his side and Quo could never ask for anything more than their friendship. He just could never understand how Matis chose one person to sleep by every night. He wished he could be so steady in mind.

Quo took a long drink of wine. The boy seemed much more alert after hearing the dwarf speak, thankfully.

"My lord, how's your water?" Quo smiled at Matis with a gleam of humor in his eye. Matis held up a rude gesture.

"Least I won't be under the weather come tomorrow," Matis said with a low chuckle. Quo shrugged and drank more wine. The taste was lightly sweet, just enough to overcome the horrid food.

He turned to the dwarf, "how much further until the next stop?"

Treth grunted.

"That long?" Quo said in false shock with a long gasp. The dwarf eyed him but brought out one of his maps.

"The ocean lies three days from here," he replied. The other men and Quo all leaned forward to look. It was a very plain map, hardly any illustration besides the lines to separate land and water. They were an inch from Difavose and about three from the Hastoan Sea. Between them were mostly open fields and some small villages, just one river to cross -- if one could even call it a river. Quo liked the outlooks. They could go and be home before four months pass and be on time for his father to return as well.

"And from there?" Longboar asked. Quo and Matis shared a look.

"The quest is guiding us along," Matis said first, while Quo responded with, "Just trust the dwarf."

Quo gulped. The other three looked around with so many questions in their eyes, but as good swordsman they said nothing. Just trust the quest. And dwarf. And me, Quo thought.