those left behind
"Such a headache, my dear sister. Do you really think we should bet on a random Goddess Dropped in the middle of nowhere?" Aziz spoke while rubbing his temples sitting in a private lounge with the core members of his caravan.
"She is by no means a random Goddess. You don't come across Gods or Goddess that can truly kill a god in this world every day, do you, my brother. Our father thought you wise enough to lead our tribe in business, so lead us," Altina spoke back. Ever since they saw the scene of their stray Goddess warning another before she was obliterated by lightning. The pressure from it was beyond anything they had ever felt. As though a behemoth large enough to swallow the whole world was staring at them.
"What was her plan again, something about building a city?" Aziz asked.
"I didn't understand everything she said. It was quite fantastical sounding. I remember she wanted all the orphans so she could teach them and guarantee a better life." The blonde-headed Celene speaks up, entirely fixated on this one point.
"She said she was going to make a large oasis with big bathhouses. She wanted to put it between the existing trade routes and steal all the business from Lioad for treating her badly." Starla Responded back.
"She said she has a way to let us grow stronger again without abandoning the marks of our gods completely," Altina adds to the list of impossible things the Goddess had said.
"So what do we need to give her again." Aziz now unsure of the sanity of his group.
"She said a ton of magic crystals and laborers." Altina finished with a sucker punch for any merchant. Rare resources in excess and a large amount of manpower. Massive investment with no guarantee of a return, cities always start as money sinks before any tangible benefit can be made.
"So what can I do. There is no way for me to get that many mana crystals no way at all. Even Orario rarely ships them out, and they are the dungeon city. The best we can do is labor and maybe convince an orphanage or two."
"You have reach, brother. I am sure that if we gather whomever and whatever we can, it would at least be a start. How many adventurers have fled Orario after the decline or destruction of their familia and can't make progress. I'm not saying to cause a mass exodus, but we have options." A long pause followed Altina's spirited speech.
"We have capital but not enough for a city, each city is a bottomless pit, and you know it. Just our tribe wandering the desert as minimalistic as possible drains our funds. I am not trying to naysay or dispirit everyone, but this is something that could completely ruin us. So we need to decide first before we bring it to vote. Are we all in, or is this just a half measure to see if she can carry through and fulfill her promises?" Aziz gave his final position on the subject.
"all in." Celene and Starla respond immediately without a second thought. Altina, on the other hand, seems to be debating with herself. If it was just her, she had to worry about she could get by, but it involves her brother and tribe as well. If this fails, it could doom many. A heavyweight descends onto Altina's shoulders, and she has to make a difficult choice.
"Altina, what's stopping you, isn't what she told us, everything we have dreamed of since we lost everything to Apollo," Celene speaks meekly, her voice a hint of pain in it. The poor innocent girl still suffering after all this time.
"I just don't want to lead you all to a dead end again. I don't want to lose so much at once, having my family suffer for my choice.
Celene and Starla proceed to embrace Altina, providing reassurance and comfort. The warmth that only a family can give in times of struggle. They sit there in this moment for a long while, not saying anything, just being there. It's not every day you get an opportunity to change what fate has in store for you, yet change is often painful and full of uncertainty.
"Sister," Aziz says, taking a long drag from his pipe.
"Your instincts have never failed us, and I trust them more than my own. Our tribe's desert scorpion is not one that can be crossed and live easily. Your instincts to survive have saved us more times than we can count. Don't falter now." he says, giving her a look that has a hint of reverence and nostalgia mixed together. As though remembering his hero saving his life long ago.
"Brother, don't."
"Sister, if I am going to bet on the impossible, I will do it in an impossible way. Let's go all in. We will invest everything into this, and even if it doesn't take off as big as we think, we can at least finally give permanent shelter to our tribe. We have gone on long enough as the outcasts. I believe it's time we build a home." He says to those gathered. A decision had been made, and now his blood was boiling with resolve.
"Prepare to head out tomorrow night. Altina, we need at least 2 more groups of adventurers, preferably those who wish to join us. At most 4 groups, have them bring their own water and food, enough for 2 weeks." Aziz stands and begins heading out, the fire in his eyes burning with determination, and gives one final statement on the way out. "based on what the Goddess said it should be 3 days before we reach a meeting point if we don't stop moving."
"I Follow your wishes Chief," Altina Responds before he is out of earshot, her fist resolutely placed over her Heart.