Leaving Cascrender

Midas checked his back one more time just to make sure he didn't forget anything. Looking down onto his opened leather bag he was able to burrow from Avalon - Midas briefly glanced over the old lexicon of water kingdom words, spare pieces of bread he managed to hoard and steal from unsuspecting students in the dining hall, and a rough map - depicting a rough path they would need to follow.

He glanced at his still somewhat empty dorm again; only a few books and loose papers managed to find their place inside his somewhat still barren shelf. The only object that stuck out from the old paper, used candles, and ink splatters was the tiny flask of gold that used to belong to Alma—untouched since he had placed it inside the shelf days ago.

Midas grew unsure at the sight of the glistening metal trappings inside the dated flask, quietly fearing they might not be prepared enough for the trip ahead of them. A sudden knock on his door eventually forced him out of his thoughts, making him place the tiny bottle back onto his shelf between stacked papers and books—the morning still early, as Midas opened the door.

"Why didn't you tell me anything about this…?"

Ivyda clenched her teeth slightly as she immediately leaned against Midas's face, staring him down with frustration—being left out of his grand plans to leave the university behind. Seeing her unexpected presence, Midas flinched, taking a step back into his room.

Ivyda straightened her posture again, sighing briefly as she invited herself into his room, scanning it with a somewhat tired expression. She stops eventually, glancing at the many stacked papers—all of them smeared with words and sentences, used to practice his writing and reading. Midas turned his brows, noticing she held clothing under her arm as she stood in front of him.

"You used all of that paper…?"

Midas reluctantly stepped beside her, momentarily forgetting about the blue clothing she brought with her to scan the stacks of used paper bundled together and stored inside his shelf—nearly filling out two of its rows with the addition of his books. Her anger seemingly forgotten, she spoke with almost a murmur to him.

"I suppose so. I tried to use all of the space on them so I wouldn't waste them too fast… I guess it didn't help much."

"Well… You clearly put some effort into your studies—I can't deny that. Here, there aren't many people this dedicated like you… You've earned it. Your own exploration garments."

Midas's eyes widened slightly at her low-toned praise, looking down on a folded-up blue hood—paired with brown leather trousers, slightly shorter than the trousers of his uniform. Accepting her gift, the youth grinned slightly - not having to travel with his old clothes that were given to him by Alma.

"Thank you… They will come in handy when traveling to the plant kingdom."

"The plant kingdom…? You're traveling that far…?"

"Well, Graf—the man we rescued from that dungeon—told me that the capital of that kingdom was closer to us than the capital of the water kingdom… I don't think we will have to travel too far."

Ivyda widened her eyes in surprise, not having known what Midas committed himself to do. Watching him as he scanned his new clothing, she paused at the mention of Graf—remembering him being trapped inside the ruin, someone Midas was willing to risk fighting a golem over.

She recoiled slightly and opened her mouth to speak, only to have Javelin interrupt by opening the door for them. Midas couldn't help but form a dim grin; the relief he felt was cut short as the hooded boy came for him.

„Midas…! Come on… The sun is already rising. What are you waiting for—why is she here…?"

„Give me a second… Let me try them on before we go. This way I don't have to sacrifice my last clean uniform when we travel to the grass kingdom."

Inaya flinched slightly at the idea, immediately heading out of the door in a slight panic, while Javelin sighed to himself as waiting any longer became a hassle. Loosely fitting onto his torso, Midas clothed himself in a blue cloth—the color similar to his blazer, paired with leather trousers that were secured by a belt, reaching to his ankles.

Slotting his rusty sickle onto his belt, Midas threw his somewhat heavy bag onto his shoulder, watching as Javelin nudged his head in the direction of his room's door. Inaya watched as Midas appeared in front of her, her expression softening as they hastily stepped through the hallway to head for the stairs.

Both of them didn't waste any time stepping out of the university gate, having to shove open its metal doors to enter through—shutting them close behind them again as they stared at the path in front of them, the sky a dark blue—tainted pink as the sun made its way to rise up again.

Stepping onto the gravel path, the two found themselves wandering the empty streets of Cascrender, finding their way between the stone bases of the many houses, passing by the metal streetlights, as their blue shine reflected in the uneven shapes of the stones the houses were built out of.

Passing by the bridge they had crossed many times before, Midas was able to pinpoint the exact position he lay in as he was forced to watch Skye get handed over to the water kingdom general—Inaya's frozen stance had burnt into his memory; their helplessness against the man grew eminent just at his presence in front of them alone.

„Where do we go…?"

"Oh, head right then left…"

Midas gave instructions without having to look at his map, using the knowledge of the region he had gained when being carted to the ruin behind the mountains that surrounded Cascrender from the opposite side of the bridge they left behind.

It didn't take long for them to be surrounded by pine trees, their needles a vibrant dark green that sprouted from their dark stems—the floor of the forest surrounding them covered in a thin layer of fog, its movements silky as it formed morning dew on the grass that sprouted in between the trees.

The open sky between the thick conglomeration of pine crowns had turned a mix of light pinks and blues—the morning gone, even though the air still remained cold from the early day. Javelin was more prepared when it came to the early mornings, his ears shielded from the cold by the fur that was woven into the inside of his hood.

Alarmed by a pack of birds swarming away and in between the tree crowns, scattering wildly as they flew into the sky—away from whatever disrupted their rest. Midas's hand grasped onto the handle of his sickle. Narrowing his eyes at the distance, Midas watched the tree the birds seemed to have flown out of.

Trying to get a closer look, Midas hesitantly came closer, keeping his back glued to one of the surrounding trees—glancing at whatever might sit in between the bushes causing this distress. Widening his eyes at iron helmets that reflected the shine of the morning sun, Midas immediately crouched down, gesturing for Javelin to duck down too.

Seeing two guards, both of them equipped with lances, Midas peeked up from the trunk he hid behind. The two of them watched a guard leap into a bundle of bushes, the action was immediately met with a shrill scream. Trying to retrieve the grasp of the guard, a girl the size of Skye was forced to get up from the bushes.

Her brown hair was rugged, cascading down her shoulder wildly—reaching down to the height of her stomach as her furrowed brows blitzed through her long strands of hair while struggling to escape his grasp. Her clothing matched the torn look of her hair—old leather and used wool clothing covered her.

„We should leave them… We don't have time for this. Remember—we need to get to that town on the edge of this plateau to get our carriage ride."

Javelin didn't risk peeking up from the growth they hid behind, his expression stern as he mustered Midas's clutched sets of teeth—already knowing the youth would try to save her. Not replying to his hushed words, Midas kept his eyes on the girl—slowly gliding the bag off of his shoulders.

„What are you doing…?"

Javelin hissed quietly, following him with flashed teeth as the two of them crouched through the bushes—his stress growing with every rattling noise the leaves covering them made as they came closer to the guards. Mustering them more closely, Midas grew sure that these knights belonged to the water kingdom army—most likely taking another child from the orphanage with them.

The map he managed to construct from the atlases provided by the university and Grafs' help, Midas knew they would sooner or later cross a river—meeting fleeing orphans in this region was more likely, as the orphanage sat upwards of the same river.

Slowly unsheathing his sickle, Midas mustered the movements of the occupied guard—both of them unaware of their proximity. Watching as the guard forced the girl to cross her hands behind her back and turned away from him, Midas noticed the other guard held onto both of their spears, rendering his ally completely helpless to a strike from the back.

„I'm doing it… Just take her with you and run away—I will figure out the rest."

Midas whispered back to Javelin, not waiting for him to reply, as he flexed his shoulder muscles. While doing so, Midas kept his mana flow up—letting it fill up in between his fibers just enough for him to not overdo it.

Taking a slow step out from the bush the guard turned away from as he bound the girls' hands together, Midas angled his sickle, letting the metal rip as he relaxed his muscle to swing at his calves. Not met with much resistance, the rusted blade managed to cut through the leather, forcing the knight to scream in pain as he collapsed onto his knees.

"Damn you…"

Javelin hissed as he tugged at the bound-up hands of the confused girl, shoving her back with him into the bushes, while Midas was met with a panicking knight throwing one of the spears at him. Seeing his scared stare made Midas grow more confident at fighting someone nearly double his size, stepping towards him at a quick pace as his sun shard began to glow.

Able to dodge the spear as it didn't fly far enough to reach him, Midas raised his bandaged arm at the knight—loosely forming a fist, the youth used his mana without much thought, the uncompressed attack forcing the stone pillar to extend up from the ground—pummeling the second guard as they forcefully pressed themselves against his torso.

Seeing the guard gasp dryly for air, unable to speak, Midas eventually turned back to his bleeding comrade. Seeing him glance up towards him as blood flowed out from his calves. Turning to the girl as the sound of her struggling came from the bush, Midas felt a sharp pain in his left hip, feeling something elongated stuck onto his back.

Widening his eyes at the sight, Midas turned to the second spear the knight had carried in his hand—seeming to have thrown it at him as Midas's attack wasn't enough to make him faint, most likely protected by his armor. Immediately ripping the weapon out of his hip, Midas crouched in pain, blood staining his blue cloth almost black.

„Midas… come on…!"

Javelin howled, seemingly struggling to keep the girl in his grasp—unable to calm her. Biting his lower lip in agonizing pain, Midas lumbered through the bush, seeing the girl looking up at him with stern brows, trying to wiggle herself out of Javelin's grasp.

Breathlessly crouched in front of her, Midas threw his sickle loosely to his side—his left hand free, he held onto his bleeding hip. Seeing her struggles dimming down, he stared at the ground, eventually looking up at her unsure face with tired eyes.

"What happened to you…?"

„Doesn't matter, you… Do you understand northern desert tounge…?"

Dismissing Javelin's worry, his words came out of his clutched teeth, mustering her as his fingers loosely covered his bleeding spot on his hip. Unsure whether she would trust them or immediately run away after they let her go.