There wasn’t any real path between Nalya Troop and Mt. Nidavellir, but getting out of the forest seemed to be the hardest part. It was, after all, about four-fifths of the journey. Aikel and Kyri were each clad in new white clothing and soft leather armor. Pegasus and Unicorn were on their shoulders, and they had an unexplored pack of supplies around their waists. Kyri had a walking stick in one hand, and there was a short sword hanging on Aikel’s belt.

The forest was darkened by its foliage, and the sun was hanging low in the east. Kyri found it unnerving that the area was so quiet; she felt like something might be sneaking up on them. She focused half of her attention ahead of her, while the rest of her mind wandered back to some of the information Saraelye had given them. They had to find the magic orbs that were used to defeat evil before. The orbs of Primary Elements had to be obtained before the secondary ones. An example was Water being a Primary Element while Ice was a Secondary Element. The nearest Primary orb was the Orb of Earth, the Soil Orb. It was hidden certainly somewhere in the Nidavellir Caverns.

Aikel sighed as he trudged over a tree root. He muttered, "How did we get conned into this?"

"Doesn’t matter," Kyri mumbled, "You couldn’t win a fight versus a hamster, so we’re doomed."

Aikel made a growl-like grumble and said, "Like you could do better."

"I’m not supposed to do better," Kyri responded. While many women chose to learn fighting skills alongside more womanly duties, it wasn’t an insult to tell a girl she was a bad fighter.

Aikel scowled at her. "Even if you were a boy, you wouldn’t even be able to pick up a sword. You may have valkyrie blood on one side, but you’ve got the genes of a lazy pig on the other."

Kyri fumed. "We’ll see how long you last on your own!" She turned and vanished into the trees with Unicorn.

Aikel watched her go before he continued the way he’d be going.

"Aikel, we need to go find them," Pegasus insisted.

"No we don’t," Aikel said, "Kyri wouldn’t come back with us anyway. It’s okay because we’re better off on our own."

"But you two—"

"We’re supposed to get those eight orbs, right?" Aikel asked, "We’ll each pick up four of them on our own. The job gets done faster and easier. And…."

"And…?"

Aikel’s eyes darkened. "The troops that attack Ministrair… they destroyed my life. I don’t need her help to destroy theirs." He continued on wordlessly, ignoring his friend’s sad look.

When they emerged onto the plains, the cliffs of their destination were clear in the distance. A few miles of tall yellowish grass was all that stood in their way.

"Aikel…?" Pegasus tensely. Aikel felt him inhale deeply in an attempt to make himself look bigger.

"What is—?" He had turned a bit, but he stopped speaking when he saw something move in a nearby bush. He reached for his sword and called, "Who’s there?"

Pegasus let out a growl that was too high-pitched to be intimidating. A moment later, he shouted in start and jumped as he and Aikel were surrounded by five figures that jumped forward to attack. His fur emitted a blue energy wave that collided with the swords that came down on them. The attackers stepped back as their swords were blocked. One of the blades were snapped in half.

Aikel dashed out of their circle and drew his sword; Pegasus flew over him protectively. The men were dirty-skinned with ugly armor over thin bodies of muscle. They lunged. Aikel raised his sword to block. Two swords plus the broken one were pushed away, but the other two went lower and slashed at his stomach. His armor was ripped, but his wounds were shallow.

He slashed at the closest man, hitting his chest. As the man’s blood dripped through the gap, he seemed to become stronger and faster. Aikel shoved him away and ducked under another sword. Pegasus collided with the attacker’s ankles and used the man’s momentum to trip him. Aikel shoved his sword through the man’s back and hopped away from the others.

The four men were grouped side-by-side as they rushed at him. He held his sword out in front and waited. When they approached him, he dropped and sliced them across their shins. He dragged his blade up through the skin of the second man and pushed past him unharmed. Pegasus popped one of them in the side of his head.

When they attacked him again, the man with the broken sword managed to slice at his shoulder. Aikel jump, kicked the man, and shoved his sword downward through his throat. He got a few more slashes from the others and rushed to move. The plains were at his back.

Pegasus dropped down near Aikel’s head and said, "Best to run when they’re distracted." He flew back up. Aikel parried part of the next attack, but the injured man’s sword sank into the leather over his hip. Pegasus knocked him away, and Aikel stabbed the man with the chest wound. He shoved the other one away.

Pegasus was still pestering the other man. He felt the man’s left hand grab him from above. Pegasus cringed and released another bluish wave of energy. The blast knocked hit the man’s head and dazed him. Pegasus dropped and flew under the second man’s legs. He bounced up and collided with his chin.

"Now! Go!" he called. Aikel backed away. He turned and began a limping run when he saw that Pegasus was following.

* * *

Aikel trudged toward a town full of squat buildings and mounds of dirt. His clothes were stained with patches of dark red. He grabbed the pack on his waist and turned it around in front. It contained a small bag of leaves, a handkerchief, a flask of water, a dagger, a map, a set of silverware, the compass he’d been using, and a pouch full of coins.

"I was sure I’d heard someone mention bandages," Aikel said weakly, "They give me silverware instead."

"They probably figured that Kyri would know more about bandages than you," Pegasus said from behind, "and what if you end up in some place where there’s no clean silverware?"

"What are these?" Aikel asked. He opened the bag of leaves and showed its contents to Pegasus.

"I think they’re healing herbs."

"So why do I have them?"

"Maybe Kyri had too much to carry," Pegasus said. He was panting.

"Are you okay?" Aikel asked, turning. Pegasus was flying low at various heights. He looked like he was ready to collapse.

He struggled to reach Aikel’s shoulder and said, "I need some rest."

"I know how you feel," Aikel said. He approached the gate to the town. There was a booth of sorts with a sign saying ‘Welcome to Haunkyo.’

A short stocky man seemed to be looking for something behind the booth. He heard Aikel approach and said, "Just a minute there." After a moment, he mumbled, "Darned thing…. There. Fixed." He sat up. "Hello and—Holy iron ore! What happened to you?!" He eyed Aikel’s injuries incredulously.

"Some soldiers or something…" Aikel said uncertainly. He pointed back the way he came.

"Oh… from Felanci?" the dwarf asked quietly. He looked as if he thought that saying the country’s name would cause something horrible to happen.

"Mmm-hmm…" Aikel mumbled, "Can you point me to a store that sells bandages or something?"

"Uh, down the main street, second building on the left. Has a red cross on it," the dwarf said.

"Thank you," Aikel said.

The pharmacist looked almost as surprised as the other dwarf. She sold Aikel a roll of bandages and directed him to the Haunkyo Inn.

"Hoo-boy…" the innkeeper chuckled, "You’re the third banged up human that’s come in here today."

"Really?" Aikel asked.

"A black-haired kid crawled in early this mornin’ and left at about eleven. A blue-haired girl showed up at noon, took a nap, and left."

"Kyri?" Aikel wondered.

"You know her?" the innkeeper asked, "I think she went to see the Fernon Tunnels."

"What’s that?"

The dwarf rolled his eyes. "Our tourist trap. It’s an old mine shaft that leads into the cave area. The tour doesn’t that far in ‘cause of all the animals that are in the caverns."

"Hmm…."

"Are you gonna stay that night or take a nap and leave?" the innkeeper asked.

"I just need to rest awhile," Aikel said.

"That’s fifteen silver pieces. Twenty-five if you stay the night."