Chapter 67-The Land of Fire

"What the…"

Upon entering the Land of Fire, I…I…well -to put it bluntly- I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES.

Bustling streets, fancy stores, smiling, laughing well-dressed people, horse-drawn buggies, it looks like NOTHING is off-limits in the Land of Fire.  But more importantly than all of that…the food.  Food, food, and food, food stands as far as the eye can see, people greedily and happily eating food.  It's like the Land of Fire is…

"...A utopia…"

"Huh?"  Khione grunts as she peers over to me, "D-did you say something, Noah?"

"The Land of Fire…is NOTHING how I imagined it would be…" I shakily reply, "Never in my wildest dreams…"

"Mast Grandpa…did you know that the Land of Fire was so…so…extravagant?"  Mary asks as she tugs on Old-Man F's sleeve.

"N-no…" the Old-Man stammers as he shakes his head, "I had no idea…"

"I just don't understand how industrialized this town is," Ana adds as she rubs her chin, "I wonder if the rest of the Land of Fire looks like this?"

"Woah, what the heck is that?!"  Khione yelps, interrupting our brief exchange.

"Wh-what's that matter?!"  I cry as I frantically look around.

"What the heck is that thing?!"  Khione cries as she jabs a hand forwards, and we all trace Khione's finger to where she's pointing, lying eyes on a small, round child.

Old-Man F snickers, "That, Khione…is a chubby person."

"A chubby person…" Khione repeats in a wide-eyed marvel, "The only one I've ever seen before was Gambino.  I thought people so…stout and round only existed in legend!"

The rest of us laugh.

"You said that in your visions you saw a city, eh, Noah?"  Ana asks, "Is…this it?"

"No," I answer as I shake my head, "As amazing as the Land of Fire is…it pales in comparison with the technologically advanced city I saw."

"Gaia, what's up?"  I ask as I peer over at the Chef, who's distracted staring dead-set on the scenery in front of him, "You're being quiet."

Gaia sniffs the air.  "Do…do you smell that?"

"Sm-smell what?"

"That…wondrous aroma…" Gaia marvels.

I cringe when I notice a droplet of droll forming at the edge of Gaia's lips.

"I MUST GO FIND WHERE THAT SMELL COMES FROM!"  Gaia furiously booms as he spins to face me, causing me to flinch.

"Ah!  What do you want me to do?!"  I cry.

"The Land of Fire undoubtedly has spices I've never cooked with," Gaia continues, "I NEED to go expand my palate, Noah!"

"O-oh…I see…" I reply.

"New food, eh?"  Khione asks as she wanders up to Gaia and I, "You know I'm always down to try some good food!"

"Same here, sis," Ana adds, and the two women fist bump.

"You two sure have become good friends, eh?"  I sigh.

I then peer over at Mary, where I see her wide-eyed staring at a clothing store ahead of us.

"You want to check it out, Mary?"  I ask, causing the girl to flinch.

"U-um, n-no, it's okay," Mary stammers with a blush as she peers up at me.

I peer down at Mary with a smirk.  "It's okay."

Mary's eyes widen.

"PLEEEEASE, Noah!"  Khione and Ana plead.

"Noah, you don't understand…" Gaia adds as he pinches the bridge of his nose, "I MUST TRY THESE SPICES!"

"I don't know, guys," I sigh, "We're in uncharted territory, and everytime we've entered a new land we find ourselves in hot water."

"As the vice-captain I concur," Old-Man F adds as he takes a step next to me.

The other four look away in disappointment.

"BUT, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look around and examine our surroundings," I sigh.

The other four perk up as their eyes widen.

"THANK YOU, NOAH!"

"Just be careful and let's meet back up at- '' I begin to say, but before I can finish, Khione, Ana, Mary, and Gaia all dash away, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in their wake.

"-Sundown…"

"So what's the plan?"  Old-Man F asks as he places a hand on my shoulder.

I peer back up at Old-Man F with a smirk.

"We're gonna do some shopping, as well!"

***

"Woah…" I marvel as Old-Man F and I make our way through the bustling town of the Land of Fire, "This is the largest town I've ever seen."

"Enough to make you want to go exploring?"  Old-Man F smirks.

"Nah," I answer as I stop before a large fountain before us, spewing bright blue water into the air, "I need to stay on guard."

I hear some footsteps behind me.

"It's amazing, huh?"  Old-Man F asks with a soft smile as he stands next to me and stares up at the fountain as well.

"And wasteful," I scoff.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that the bystanders around us are staring at us.  Everyone from the shopkeepers to the shoppers.  The bystanders are whispering to one another, in between exchanging nervous glances over at Old-Man F and I.

"Are you still on guard?"  Old-Man F whispers to me.

"Even more so now," I whisper back.

"It may be wasteful, but it's beautiful," I heard an unfamiliar voice says from behind, causing Old-Man F and I to flinch.

Slowly…Old-Man F and I turn around to discover two people standing behind us, both in matching bright, flame-red cloaks with golden sun decals on 'em.  The first is a plain-looking man of average height, around five foot eight, or so, with crimson, matted-down hair, and white eyes, smirking at me.

The second, is a much shorter figure a tiny bit over five feet tall and a wicked hunched back, wearing a matching cloak.  Their face and hair is hidden by their cloak's hood and a flat white with a black sun decal on the front.

"That's because the Land of Fire is such a great place that we can AFFORD to be wasteful!"  The man continues, "Unlike the Land of Water.  Ain't that right, WATER CHARGER?"

To be continued…