T

he five regrouped in the town square about an hour later; each member of the “Fellowship of the Map” having gone off to gather everything they needed for the trip.  Arya looked every bit like the leader of the expedition, standing on the edge of the fountain with her legs apart and her arms crossed.  She still seemed rather livid, for whatever reasons, so nobody dared to ask her any questions--or even say anything directly to her, for that matter.

                Lay was the last to join them.

                “What took you so long?”  Arya demanded.

                “I stopped by the grocery.  We won’t have dinner until late tonight—will you carry this bag for me, Yul?”  Yul took it from him and slung it over his shoulder.  “I also bargained with the stablemaster and got a great deal on the horses that we will ride that far at least.  And, I got this from Mama Chan.”  He handed Arya a small brown box after she had leapt down from her perch.  She skeptically opened the box, and inside found many pieces of her favorite lemon-ginger candy.  She raised an eyebrow at Lay.

                “What?  Do you not want them?”  He reached to take the box from her, but she held it back.  “That’s what I thought.”  Arya put the box into her bag and cleared .  She was about to say something to the group when Beck came up to her.

                “Um, we haven’t been properly introduced yet, Miss Arya.  I mean, I know that your name is Arya, obviously...  Anyway, my name is Beck.  Yul and I repaired your sword for you.  And as Yul was trying to tell you earlier, I engraved it for you.  I hope you don’t mind... I just thought that it looked very plain.  I hope you like it!”  He held out the sword in its now cleaned and polished sheath.

                Arya took it and fastened the strap around her torso without even taking it out to examine the work.  “Thanks.  I’m sure it’s great.”  She nodded at Beck, who smiled and did the same before returning to his place beside Yul.  Beside Arya, Wendy giggled at Beck’s childish mannerisms.

                “He’s eager to please.  Not a bad trait.”  considered Arya, with a small smile.

                “Are we ready to go?”  asked Lay.  “Our horses are waiting at the North gate.”

                Nobody answered right away.

                “I am.”  said Yul, finally.

                “Me too!”  said Beck.

                “I’m ready.”  added Wendy, nodding.

                “I suppose we are, then?”  said Arya.  “Let’s get this show on the road.”   She said it so plaintively that Wendy almost laughed.

                Lay rolled his eyes at the horrendous cliché, but refrained from commenting on it.  Yul, on the other hand, made a derisive comment that earned him a kick in the shin from Arya.

The group acquired their horses from the stableboys at Rho’s northern gate.  All of the horses were black except Lay’s, who decided to keep the grey mare he had ridden to and from the woodsman’s house.  Beck’s was a bit lighter than the others; a very dark sable brown.

                The five rode towards the midpoint of their short journey, Dresdain, in relative silence.  It was a rather boring stretch of grassy plains that gradually became rocky and uneven as they approached their destination.  Arya, having been to Dresdain many, many times, led her companions on their way, with Lay and Wendy on either side slightly behind her.  Beck rode in-between them.  Yul took up the rear; being the largest and strongest of the group and carrying most of the baggage, he was slightly slower than the others.  With his adept fire bender abilities, he would also be able to protect the group best from that position--just in case that was necessary.

                The weather was overcast and dull.  The air was stale and humid; there was barely any wind.  Not favorable conditions for hours of riding on horseback, but it could certainly be worse.

                It was nearing the fifteenth hour when Lay pulled his horse to a stop.  Everyone else did the same after him, except Arya, who hadn’t been paying attention and had continued on full speed ahead.

                “Arya!”  shouted Lay in his cupped hands.  She straightened in her saddle, slowed her horse, and turned towards him.  Realizing that they were taking a break, she rode back to where they had stopped.

                “Sorry.”  she said to everyone, and then to Lay, “Warn me beforehand next time, okay?”

                “I thought you would have noticed that we were stopping.”  he said, plainly.

                “I was lost in thought, I suppose.”

                “Okay.”

                “I’m not even hungry yet.” she continued, dismounting.

                “The others are, though.”

                “Hmph.”  said Arya quietly.  Lay nudged her.

                “Patience, dear.”  he said.  She made a face and walked off.

                Yul tied up all of the horses and unfastened the food pack from his saddle before unloading its contents.  They had chosen a good spot to rest; at the top of the last great hill before Dresdain, where a lone sycamore tree grew majestically and served as a natural marker for the city to come.

                Wendy and Beck prepared a firepit, which Yul lit up for them a little while later.  Lay, meanwhile, checked the horses and returned strength to their muscles with his magic.  He patted his grey mare affectionately.

                “You’re doing well.”  he said, quietly.

                “Hey, horse whisperer.”  said Arya from above him.  She had climbed up the tree a little ways and sat cross-legged on one of the limbs; leaning against the trunk.  She absentmindedly twirled a small knife in her hand.  Lay looked up and gave her a small smile.  She smirked back before looking off at the city in the near distance.  Dresdain was a rather colorless city, built upon six enormous steps of ascending size, against the southwestern side of the first of the twelve Black Mountains that bordered the whole northern side of the country.  Dresdain had a twin city, Gardell, opposite to it on the southeastern side of the twelfth mountain.  The people of Allas Nura were inherently fond of parallels, and their geography and architecture reflected this fascination.

                Wendy cooked up the steak and vegetables that Lay had bought at the grocery.  Even though he did not accept payment for his services as a healer, he would constantly be receiving anonymous gifts and donations from the townspeople and beyond.  Consequently, he always had plenty of money to spare, and to thus spend on such high quality food.

                Although Wendy had elected to skip the rice, Beck insisted that they have it, too, so he busied himself with that.  He and Yul got into a little argument over the best way to prepare rice.

                “You must stir it continuously until the water boils, then you cover the pot and let it cook.” The former was saying.

                “Who ever heard of such a thing?” cried Yul with a laugh, “That’s way too much work to achieve the same end.  My mum always says, ‘let it, but don’t forget it.’”

                It was Beck’s turn to laugh.  “...What does that even mean?”

                “Are you making fun of my mum?”

                The other was mortified.  “No, no--I merely meant that it’s a rather clunky way to say--“

                “I’ll punch your nose in if you ever--“

                Beck put up his hands.  “--I’m s-sorry!”

                The two wrestled on the grass (it was a very unfair match, as you can imagine) as Wendy quietly took over cooking the rice.

                Lay swung himself up to a branch near where Arya sat and seated himself there.

                “Tell me what is on your mind.”  he said, after a moment.

                “Nothing really.”  she said right away.

                He looked at his gloves and adjusted them.  “You’ve been silent and distracted all day, and quite frankly, I’m annoyed of it.  You can’t be like this the rest of the way to Craymor.  If you are to be the self-appointed leader of this expedition, at least act the part well.”

                “Sorry.”  She sighed.  “...I’m fine, though.”

                He turned in his seat and leaned over to look at her, the best that he could from where he was sitting.  “Something must be bothering you still.”

                “I don’t--“

                “Arya, I’m being serious.”

                “What is there for me to say?  You know what is bothering me.”

                “Yes, I do.”  he said.  “But it will help you if you tell me how you feel about it.”  There was no hint of condescension or dishonesty in the way he said it.  He was using that calm, gentle, caring voice of his that made everyone love him so much.

                She her lips and thought for a moment.  Up there in the tree, she could feel a slight breeze, and it calmed her, too. 

                “I’m scared, more than anything.”  she admitted after a while.

                “Of what?”

                “Of finding nothing.  Of searching and searching with false hopes and dreams that are far beyond my grasp.  I just want to believe that it all was worth something.  All this time, I’ve searched for this treasure blindly.  Blinded by my own confidence and the exhilaration of adventure.  Up until now, the thought that it doesn’t exist had never even crossed my mind.  I’ve been foolish, to be honest.”

                Lay considered her words.  “There are many things that I could say.  Words that would just be lost amongst the wind...”  he said, “But regardless of whether or not the treasure exists, it all will be worth something in the end.  You will gain knowledge.  Experience.  There are many opportunities and possibilities that will be opened to you during the course of this adventure, I’m sure.”

                “I know.  I just... I really want to find that treasure, Lay.  I want it to exist so badly.”  She paused.  “...Am I selfish to desire something like that so single-mindedly?

                He laughed. “Selfish?  You?  Certainly not.”  Arya couldn’t help but laugh with him.  “...Not in this case, anyway.  You simply want to finish what your father started and essentially died for, and in doing so, gain some peace of mind and resolve for yourself.  That is a fair ambition.  And when you find it, it’s not like you’ll become a queen because of it.  You’ll donate most of the wealth to needy villages as you always have in the past, keeping only what’s necessary for you to sustain yourself until your next discovery.”

                Arya sighed, returning the knife she had in her hand to her thigh pouch.

                “You are noble girl.”  said Lay.  “And I am certain that you are far more important to this world than you think you are.”

                “Everyone is more important than they think they are.”  she remarked, motioning to get down from her perch.  “And I assure you that indeed, there is far more to come from me.”  She swung herself off of the branch, “...Thanks, dear.  I needed that pep talk.”  She climbed down, leaving Lay up in the tree. 

                He leaned the back of his head against the trunk behind him and smiled.  “Yes.  Yes there is.”

A tall man in a dark cloak and hood hurried down a flight of stone steps into the pitch black.  As he made his way down, he lit a lantern--he would certainly need it.  His swift footsteps echoed throughout the subterranean structure as he navigated its narrow corridors.  He wandered for a long while; descending several more flights of stairs.  The walls that were once rough and dull like coal had become slick and glossy obsidian.  Enormous black gems protruded from the walls, ceilings, and floors in various areas.

            Finally, the man stopped.  He took a moment to catch his breath.  Before him was a wall of the same smooth, sleek rock.  Raising his pale hand, he pressed it flat against the wall.  There was a bright black light, and suddenly the wall disintegrated into a pile of fine dust at the man’s feet.

            He entered the chasm.  There were many, many gems that scintillated as the man passed b