The evening was pleasant and uneventful.

Stepping through his door at the crack of dawn, Zan met Jiehong, who was leaving his room at the same time.

“On the same wavelength, then. Good!” Zan said. Jiehong nodded.

The two prepared for what they knew was going to be a long day. So, they bathed, eat heartily, and dressed in their best; which, obviously, was their fairy silk war-garb. In the war room before they left, the four of them, Zan, Jiehong, Sigma-Prime, and Simulacrum, reviewed the details once more.

“Is there anything anyone needs to add before we leave?” Zan asked.

Jiehong made a reply. “I do like this idea. Going south, linking up with allies. Sounds good. But when do we call it quits? Maybe there isn’t an expert in the sub-region. If so, how do we know when to call off the search, so we don’t over-extend ourselves?”

“Can we call off the search?” Zan asked rhetorically.

“Why shouldn’t we? We shouldn’t spend our whole effort looking for an academic if none is nearby. We should have a line and if something crosses it, we change tactics.”

“We can’t exactly just call it off, though, Jie. Normally, I would agree with you. Translating this list could change the war!”

“Could it? We know only a handful of details about this ‘system,’ Zan. And that was from an entity who is mysterious at best. All I am saying is a backup plan is in order.”

“If I might interject,” the Screen Master said. “Jiehong, you are correct. You and Zan should have a back-up plan. Yet Zan’s insistence on maintaining the quest is also correct. Focus your efforts on finding an academic with the prerequisite language skills. If you cannot find them, expand the radius of your search. Do this by looking at your countrymen’s war effort. Fight alongside them to reach new and more populous towns. When you arrive at those new towns, renew your search. Rinse and repeat until you find an academic capable of helping you.”

Zan held no objection to the Screen Master’s plan. It was solid. Though Zan still had one final issue, he wanted to air: “How will we know when to stop our search? Let’s say Jiehong and I search all over this part of the country. We find no academic, then what?”

“That will be up to you. A good Shiv-practitioner knows when to change tactics. Remaining focused on a difficult aim while having the flexibility to bend when the situation deteriorates is the hallmark of a leader. You are thinking too far ahead for the time being, Zan. I recommend advancing on your goal.”

“I understand. We will be on the lookout. Hopefully, both of us will have the grace needed to know when to ‘bend.’ Where is our first destination? Jie, do you have an issue with us heading to Feathervale?”

The map showed in its highlighted golden aura the town of Feathervale.

“No, I have no objections. A two day’s journey by foot, though. Not an odyssey, perhaps, but still a trek for us. We will remember to stay on the lookout for lodestones.”

Zan had nearly forgotten about lodestones. More lodestones meant more quick traversal of the environment. He had to find more. They had to find more.

“Okay. Good. Let’s get ready.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

With nothing more to say, the duo switched the table into rest mode.

Filling up on grenades, then checking to make sure their blades did not need sharpening — they never did — Jiehong and Zan put on a pair of nice hiking boots, which the Screen Master claimed would never wear even a slight for at least a century and headed out.

Passing through the encampment, everyone seemed to know they were heading to war. How? Zan did not know. Touching their hands as they walked by, people young and old granted them well-wishes of fortune. Zan hoped such intangible things would aid them, though he did not put too much hope on it.

Leaving the camp and heading south along the main highway, Zan and Jiehong encountered not a single soul.

Or automotron.

“This is so weird,” Zan said after a couple of hours marching in silence.

“I agree. Where is the war? I know the Screen Master said the enemy hadn’t yet penetrated into this region, yet, but I sort of expected to see the odd scout or raiding party or something,” Jiehong replied.

“Me too… I guess we can’t complain, right? Not having to fight.”

“Sure. Very true…”

Continuing to walk in silence, the two had spent the day doing nothing but walking. In his ear, Luxley said nothing. He did not sense the other boy’s verbal presence, which made him concerned. He would have gone to visit him again before he left, but he had not thought of it; Luxley had his horn, after all, so it was up to him to use it. Zan only wondered because of the silence. It was boring in the extreme walking non-stop, knowing you still had a full day’s marching to go. Hearing Luxley’s chatter would have been a welcome diversion.

Though they saw no foes on the road, Zan still held a touch of anxiety over encountering enemies. Namely, what would they do if a swarm arrived? Zan thought if more enemies appeared than they could handle, they would have no choice but to dash into the bushes. Unless they wanted to exhaust themselves fighting before they even reached the city. With the night’s arrival, Zan’s tiny worry melted. Golems couldn’t operate in the evening, or not well, anyway, as they learned when they raided the prison camp.

“How much longer do you think we should keep going?” Zan asked.

“A bit more. You know we have the advantage at night. Be a shame to waste it… I wouldn’t mind turning in, though. I’m not fully recovered from my excess evening. A full night’s sleep would be amazing. I won’t lie,” Jiehong said.

“I agree. On both counts. Let’s keep going till midnight. Then we can stop.”

Marching along in the darkness, Zan wondered why his life had to turn out this way… war, Ranger-Knighting, his best friend and he at odds more times than not, the strange boy Luxley… he would have preferred to live in peace in his village. Not this.

Midnight came and went. With it being their agreed upon bedtime, Zan sought a location suitable to camping. It needed to be secluded, away from the road, dry, and had enough space for both him and his large buddy.

Yet none came to mind.

Zan searched for any camp site but found none. As the night became longer, and they became more tired, more and more ready to collapse, they found areas only less suitable for camping.

With the situation becoming bleak, Zan asked, “Do we dare rest in the middle of the road? I think at this point it is the only thing we can do.”

Jiehong did not like the idea and said, “No. We’ll catch our death if we camp in the road. We’ll just have to keep walking and hope we find something.”

“I understand but… we haven’t encountered any person of thing or animal since we left the command center. I think our luck will hold for another few hours. We need to rest.” Jiehong considered Zan’s desperate option. “I am so, so tired…”

Sitting on his haunches, Jiehong looked ready to collapse into the dirt. Zan took this as a good sign they would sleep for the night.

“No, we need to keep moving,” Jiehong said, reversing course.

“Are you sure? I remember you saying you weren’t fully recovered…”

“I want to sleep, yeah. Badly. Like you. We can’t risk it, though. And besides, a couple of hours of ‘on the road sleep’ is only going to make us cranky and in an ill-attitude when we wake up. We need proper beds. Or at least a proper camp.”

Although Zan wanted nothing more than to rest, he agreed with his friend.

Together, they continued on their path and would continue deep into the morning.

It was sunrise an hour later.

Rain fell from the sky.

And in the distance, from some untaken road to their back, a mighty stream of horses galloped toward them.

“Who are they?” Zan asked.

Jiehong squinted. When squinting did nothing to reveal information, he took out his spy lens to magnify the resolution. “I don’t know who they are, buddy. But I don’t recognize the flag.”