Ep. 86 The Days Ahead Part 3

The wilderness between towns was a harsh mistress, unforgiving and relentless. Our pathe to the next town was much rougher then the one previously covering rolling grasslands giving way to rocky outcroppings, dense forests breaking into open plains. The landscape was a constant reminder of how small we were in the grand scheme of things.

Six days had passed since the nightmare slug incident in Eldor, and two days since we'd left the relative safety of the town behind. But those days felt like a lifetime, compressed into moments of intense training and quiet reflection.

Maya had become complacent with her talents and slacked on training ever since leaving Ms.Vera's. But the encounter with the nightmare slug which left her feeling powerless had stripped away her complacency, revealing a determination that burned bright and fierce.

"Again!" she would call out, her voice a crack of command that would have seemed ridiculous just weeks ago.

Rowan, bless his patient soul, had become her primary training partner. Where another might have complained or refused, he absorbed her strikes with a mix of professionalism and barely concealed amusement. I could see the bruises forming on his arms, the way he would subtly adjust his stance to absorb her increasingly powerful blows.

"Your left side is still too open," he'd critique between her attacks, demonstrating a countermovement that would leave her momentarily vulnerable.

My own training was no less intense. I too become more complacent then I would care to admit but Maya's newfound intensity pushed me to my limits. My sword movements became more deliberate, each practice stroke carrying the weight of our recent experiences.

As the afternoon light began to fade, we gathered around our campfire. The ritual was becoming familiar—training until exhaustion, then huddling together for warmth and conversation. The flames cast flickering shadows across our faces.

"Hey guys..." Maya's voice broke the comfortable silence, carrying a tone that immediately caught our attention.

Rowan and I exchanged that look—the unspoken communication of companions who knew each other far too well. Something important was coming.

"I know we don't need to take jobs right now," she began, her gaze fixed on the dancing flames. The firelight caught the determination in her eyes. "Not with the money the Lord gave us. But I want to take as many jobs as we can anyway."

She looked up, vulnerability mixing with an iron-clad resolve. "I can train all I want. Meditate. But to truly get stronger, I need real battle experience. I still have much to learn and that's how i'm going to do it."

I found myself smiling, a genuine smile was more far and few in between then id like these days. "Yeah... okay, let's do it."

Rowan's response was pure Rowan—a dramatic groan that dissolved into a knowing grin. "Ugh... you guys are gonna kill me." But there was no real complaint in his voice, only a deep-seated camaraderie. "I'm in."

Our conversation stretched deep into the night. We spoke of the jobs we might take, the skills we needed to develop, the rumors we'd heard about the capitol and much more.

As my companions drifted off to sleep, I remained awake—my usual state these days. Sleep was a fickle companion, memories of past battles and lost loved ones keeping me company. Ms. Clemintine's face would sometimes appear in the darkness, her knowing smile a mixture of pride and concern. My mother's words to me in that nightmare would echo in the quiet moments between breaths.

But it was getting better. Slowly, but surely.

The road to the capitol was more than just a physical journey. It was a path of transformation, of becoming something more than we were. The Order might be hunting us, but we were no longer running in fear. We would hit every town between us and our destination, take every job, train at every opportunity.

Let them come, I thought to myself. We'll be ready.

The night wrapped around us—silent, watchful, holding the promise of another day's journey. Another chance to become stronger. Another opportunity to face whatever challenges awaited us.

Dawn would come soon. And we would be ready.