On The Way

'Damn, this sledge is almost burning, my hands are numb from this rope already. How are we supposed to carry the supplies if our hands become useless by the time we reach the ruins… ugh 

As they tightly hang clung on the sledge, the horses pass through the vast expanse of desert with no end in sight. It was only the second time they were out in this world. First being when they were out on the evening stroll yesterday. 

The sky was very similar to the one in their world. With a blue sky and a yellow sun. But it felt Unnatural.

Sorken couldn't understand the feeling in his chest as he looked at the sky again and again. 

'It is so similar to our world, why does this look so unusual' 

There are many things in our lives that we view so often that even the smallest of their nuances are deeply ingrained in us. Knowingly or unknowingly.

It is only when we notice something different we start to notice if anything has changed. 

'Maybe this world is not so similar, afterall' he didn't give much thought to it.

But the vast expanse of deserts did make him covered in sweat and dust. While the sledge itself was made of material that prevented it from heating up. Same couldn't be said for the ropes. They were also not given any equipment to help through it. 

Others were having a hard time too. Jorah and Kesta looked almost as tired and in pain like him. 

As they were struggling with immense heat and burning rope. A silhouette of multiple buildings came into view. No need for useless suspense, it was their destination. The buildings in this world were too different from earth so it was hard to understand what importance did it hold.

When they were out last evening. They were so focused on newfound independence that they forgot anything about the temple they were supposedly in. But weirdly enough, it also never stuck them as they never saw an overbearing building that can be considered a temple. 

Even now, the ruins were too….. weird for a magnificent ruin that contained something that these people wanted to get their hands on. 

There was no structure to speak of in all honesty.

'What the fuck is that' sorken thought.

Finally, they arrived at the ruins.

Sorken was bewildered and an uneasiness crept in his heart as he looked at the ruins. It didn't look like an old castle at all. There were pillars and small tomb-like structures spread over a large area. In the middle, there was a half-broken structure, bigger than the others made of yellowstone. A big gate was visible in it.

"We are at our destination, that gate… you see it can only be operated when you channel some mana. All the gates in the ruins are like this…" Valakh then turned and looked at Sorken and the other two slaves before speaking.

"If you are left behind in any of the closed rooms and we do not have extra time to spare, prepare yourself to be targeted by spirits and wraiths" his eyes were so sincere while speaking this that Sorken had a hard time believing it. 'Oh yes, if it can kill us, he must really be sincere'

"Take all the supplies from the horses, we are going ahead to open the gate. Don't be too slow" Valakh pointed to the other apprentices to follow him.

'Shit, I was not able to talk to Tamara again. Come to think of it, Valakh has been spewing death flags on me since the time we started this expedition. Can it be related to the fact that Tamara likes me and he knows he cannot curry favor unless I die… that bastard is really nasty'

"Jorah! Kesta! Listen to me, I have something very important to talk about… it really is". Sorken finally decided to let his fellow slaves know of his conjecture.

"Keep loading the supplies, or else they will yell again. And yes, I understand what you are saying and I believe the same. I thought you would be spared because you know… your girl Is the apprentice…" Kesta hesitated to speak further and took a glance at Jorah to continue.

"No, Tamara is not part of it, I am sure, that doesn't make sense. I am also going to tell her, maybe she is also in danger like us…"

Jorah cut in between

"Lad, you look smart. But, what you are saying now sounds like a bullock of bullshit coming from a 10-year-old lovestruck boy. See, I and Kesta discussed it before. Now, I am telling you because we all may die if we don't work together.

"I was not sure about Tamara before and even I asked you to be patient… ain't i?"

Sorken nodded.

"She was glaring daggers at me when I spoke about going back…" 

"It may be because Valakh is her friend while she doesn't know you, it doesn't prove anything…" Sorken protested 

"You guys don't just talk, fill the supplies and hang them" Kesta chimed in. Sorken and Jorah just nodded before continuing their discussion.

"You are not hearing me at all. I didn't say anything when I was yelling at him. When I talked about going back, her expression was clear as day, she didn't want us to go back. And if that is not enough, did she try to warn you if there was any danger? How did Elara die?... I am sure that bastard Ted killed her. He never seemed in grief or even sad about her demise. When I was training with him, he would leave me in between if he saw some maid that caught his fancy…"

"Ted and Tamara are diff…"

"She didn't even try to come to you all this time, I could see half of the journey, you were just looking at her. Sorry to break your bubble, but she wasn't that busy at any time. She was purposely ignoring you and going to Valakh whenever we had some time to spare. It's so clear that even a fool… not every fool I guess can understand what's going on…

"I also heard Azim talking to Ted about how hungry he was since all of them hadn't eaten anything for a day… it was because of some precaution… and what happened to us last evening?"

"...errent people"

Sorken understood what Jorah was implying, even he had found it amusing but the condition they were in for so many weeks didn't help when they were given a chance to enjoy themselves.

"Stop fretting about that woman. If she is going to help us, we will see it soon. If not, I just suggest that you don't say anything that will alert them." 

Jorah continued in a creamy and raspy tone.

"Can't you see! These people are no different from others in this world. They have fucking changes with whatever power they have got. During our entire training, they didn't even tell us how it works."

"Worse yet, do you realize we know damn nothing about whatever the fuck we are going to face?" A sudden anger flashed through his face as he grabbed Sorken's shoulder and spoke in his face.

"Lad, do you know what these creatures they were talking about are? They just skimmed as we didn't need to know. Rightly so, we have nothing to defend ourselves. I have no fucking idea why they even bought us. What use are we?" 

"I am already losing my mind and your whining about a woman who is no different than them makes me want to punch your face to oblivion, you dumbass." Jorah barely contained his voice so as to not get heard by the valakh and group that were ahead discussing their further steps.

Jorah then patted Sorken's shoulder and shook off his previously enraged expression with a kind one. "If we die, we do, let's get to work and do whatever we can" 

As he spoke, he moved ahead with his share of luggage. Kesta soon followed by giving a side eye and a gesture, as if saying that do not take Jorah's words to heart.

Sorken also shook his head and followed them. 'Jorah is right, let's keep doing whatever we can' 

Thud

They all stood up with bags of supplies to go to the gate. The bag was filled with potions, and weird artefacts none of them knew the use for.

Thud thud thud 

Sorken was suddenly feeling very heavy, especially after his conversation with jorah. He did notice that Tamara was being distant but didn't want to accept it. Now, he was in a situation where ignoring it would be akin to death for all of them. 

He didn't know why he couldn't do that but his heart still clung to hope.