"We should be arriving at Ryu soon."

Hikari perked up when he heard Temenos' voice, finding the cleric had drifted to the front of their traveling company. After a long day spent on the road, it seemed that they would be making it to Ryu around nightfall. Hikari was looking forward to having the chance to sleep somewhere a little bit safer than out in the open sands. Any town that didn't force him to pray he didn't breathe in too much sand overnight was bound to be a victory in his mind, and the villages of Ku knew how to keep the bulk of the sand out when compared to the space between them. 

Though Hikari couldn't help but worry. He knew he would be better off sleeping in Ryu than out in the middle of nowhere, but... It was difficult for him to shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong when he made it to Ryu. The guards from Ku hadn't found him when he was in Conning Creek, but the threat had been hanging over his head all the while, and it terrified him to his core. Hikari couldn't believe that he had forgotten just how much danger he was in as the prince of Ku. Mugen wasn't going to let him go without a fight, and Hikari was kidding himself if he thought he would ever be able to slip out of his brother's grasp. 

Hikari could only hope that none of the soldiers from Ku wound up entering Ryu while he was there... Or at all for that matter. It would be dangerous if he wound up running into anyone who could hurt him when he was surrounded by innocent people. Hikari couldn't give up the fight to save Ku, but he couldn't let anything happen to the others around him either. If something went wrong in Ryu, then all of the plans that he had been working to construct would come crashing down around him. It was horrifying to think about, and Hikari couldn't seem to get it out of his head no matter how hard he tried. 

Up to that point, Hikari had been doing his best to try and keep himself calm. It assuaged his fears to know that the rest of the travelers were going to stand by him no matter what because they knew what they were getting into, but he was still afraid of everything that could end up happening if their plans went south. What if they were hurt because of him? Hikari had already seen too many people suffer because of him. He had watched countless lives flicker and fade on the night that Mugen seized Ku. Tsuki had died in his arms, and he had no choice but to watch as she collapsed into death right in front of him. He hadn't been able to save her even though he was supposed to be able to look after all the people of his nation. He had failed so many others too, and they had all perished because Mugen found them to be a threat so long as they cared for Hikari. 

The prince didn't have many connections out of the people who lived in Ryu, but the same could not be said of the others that were staying in the town temporarily. Kazan was there, and Hikari knew that Mugen could choose to target him either to weaken the resistance forces or to simply ask if he would be willing to cooperate with Ku in coming up with strategies to seize all of Hinoeuma. The gladiators of Montwise had only just managed to escape imprisonment, and if they died before they had the chance to live their own lives in freedom, then Hikari would never forgive himself. It wasn't right that others around him were being forced to suffer through impossible circumstances simply because someone he knew detested him. None of it was right. 

"I'm looking forward to seeing what Ryu is like," Agnea smiled from her place beside Hikari. He couldn't help but admire how she was able to look onward with such hope even when he felt that he was going to crumble. Hikari liked to think of himself as an optimistic person, but he didn't know how true that could be now of all times. He felt like he was failing in a million different ways, and it was only going to get worse if someone managed to catch him while he was in Ryu. "I've always wanted to learn more about Hinoeuma."

"Ryu is a fairly small town from what I have heard," Temenos went on, his nose buried in the map to ensure they were traveling in the right direction. It was easy to get lost in the vast deserts of Hinoeuma, and following the map was the only way to make sure the travelers weren't going to be buried in a random gust of wind and all the sand that would be kicked up along with it. "I imagine we will be able to finish our business in town in a matter of a day or two before we continue onward to our next destination."

"I suppose that's the next matter we should discuss," Castti said. "From here, there are two places that we can easily access, and we should decide which direction we want to head in first. We can go toward Oresrush by heading north, but we could also choose to travel south toward Sai."

"I think we should go to Oresrush," Temenos replied, and everyone turned to face him in search of an explanation. "If we leave Hinoeuma, then that gives us a little bit more time to wait for the matter of the soldiers tracking Hikari to blow over. We can go to Oresrush, resolve Throné's business there, and then come back down to march through Sai. By then, I imagine the soldiers will realize that they have lost the trail, and the intensity of their search will begin to lighten significantly."

"And from there, we can loop through Wellgrove on our way toward Sai, and we can stop by Cropdale if we end up needin' any supplies," Partitio finished, and Temenos nodded. "That sounds like a good plan to me. If any of the rest of you have other thoughts, then we can consider those too, of course, but this seems like the safer choice in my mind."

"I agree," Castti nodded. "We should take the extra time outside of Hinoeuma to make sure the forces of Ku stop trying to pursue us. We won't be able to make it to Sai at all if they know to chase after us. Besides, we'll have to travel through a somewhat roundabout path to make it there in the first place. It would benefit us to travel toward Oresrush first."

"What do we think about heading to Crackridge?" Ochette asked. "That's where the next of the Three Creatures of Legend is supposed to be. Or at least, that's what I'm pretty sure the mural back on Toto'haha said. We can go in that direction and look around to see if we can find Tera."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Throné frowned, and this time, everyone turned to look at her in confusion. "I've heard a few... Unsavory things about Crackridge. I can't say how true the rumors are, but there's probably bound to be a bit of danger in going there. It would probably be better for all of us if we waited until we got a little bit stronger before we headed in that direction."

"I would be fine with waiting to go to Crackridge for my own investigation as well," Temenos chimed in. "If Crackridge truly could put our plans in jeopardy, then we should be patient and wait for a little bit longer before setting out. We have more than enough to think about right now, and we will no doubt return to the western continent another time. For the time being, I think we should do the bare minimum that we have to and then return to the eastern continent where there will be a bit less danger. Next time, we can be more careful about going somewhere that will not get us spotted by anyone who wants to make a bounty out of Hikari, and we can hopefully avoid the rush from our flight from Conning Creek."

Hikari nodded his agreement, but he couldn't help the pull of guilt gnawing away at his chest. The rest of his friends had told him to not feel too anxious about everything that had happened since they were choosing to be there, but it still struck him deeply in ways that made his skin crawl. None of them should have had to be in a situation like this to begin with. Hikari had seen what his presence could do to people. It seemed like he couldn't forget the destruction in the capital these days. When he closed, his eyes, he remembered Tsuki, and Hikari could only hope that he was doing enough to honor her memory by continuing to fight and help those who needed it most. 

"I guess we've got it all worked out then," Agnea smiled. "If we want to, then we can pass through Cropdale on the way back from Oresrush too. I'm sure that my sister would be happy to help cook us all up a homemade meal. I would love to help her, of course. There's nothing quite like a dinner with friends and family to lift your spirits!"

"Oh, we have to go then!" Ochette grinned. "If all the food in Cropdale is even half as good as that sauce you showed me back in Conning Creek, then we'd be missing out if we didn't go!" 

Hikari smiled softly. The rest of the group was trying to cheer him up. He could see it in the ways they were choosing their words, and he couldn't help finding it sweet even if he wasn't entirely sure of how else he was meant to respond. They wanted to make sure he felt his best even when he felt like his spirit was rotting from the inside out because of his guilt. What had he done to deserve such a fine group of people? What had he granted to the world that meant he had earned all of their endless care and generosity? 

"I'm glad to see you're smilin' at least a little bit after all of that," Partitio commented, coming up just beside Hikari. The prince looked up at him with wide eyes, having grown so distracted that he barely seemed to remember there were others around him who could approach him in the first place. "You've been so worried all the time ever since we had to leave Connin' Creek. All of us have been concerned about you."

Hikari shook his head. "You don't need to worry about me. If anything, I should be worried about all of you. I don't know what to expect from the next leg of our journey now that we have seen that Mugen is fine with sending his forces after us even beyond the reaches of the desert. If we end up in danger, then..."

"I think we're going to be fine," Castti told him. "We're going to Ryu, and Kazan is there waiting for us. We should be able to ask him for any help figuring out what we should do next, and if he disagrees, then we can change course. He knows this area better than any of us right now because he has been here for so much longer than we have, and I think it would be best if we listened to what he had to tell us about it."

"You shouldn't act like you're in this by yourself," Agnea agreed. "All of us are here with you, Hikari, and we're not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Even if we have to fight against the army of Ku ourselves, we'll do what we can to protect you!"

Hikari couldn't decide if he felt more reassured or disturbed by Agnea's words. On one hand, it was sweet of her to want to do something that would help him so much. She wanted to try and keep him safe from all that was to come in case a battle broke out, and Hikari was glad that he had a group of allies that was willing to go so far in his name... But at the same time, it terrified him. He knew what had happened the last time there had been people willing to do anything to help him. The citizens of Ku had suffered significantly because they believed he was the one who should sit on the throne, and Mugen had them all slaughtered without so much as a second thought. Hikari didn't know if he would ever be able to forgive himself if he wound up losing his next group of friends in such a similar way. 

Cruelty had no right to be the driving force behind the world. Hikari had believed that for years, and he intended to stand by his ideals for as long as he was able to do so. Mugen was a danger to everyone across Solistia, and Hikari had to make sure he was stopped once and for all. Mugen could not be allowed to roam freely so long as he was going to use his power to harm those who did not have as much power as he did. One way or another, Hikari was going to see him stopped. He had to. 

"Hey! I think we're almost there!" Ochette cried out. She had stuck her nose up in the air, and she was sniffing at the air with excitement pressed across her face. "I can smell a lot of humans up there, and I think some of them are familiar from Montwise too! We should be able to get to Ryu in just a few more minutes!"

"Then we should keep moving," Osvald said. "We need to make our trip there as brief as possible." Osvald looked at Hikari with a frown a moment later. "And you need to find a way to relax. You're not going to be able to help anyone if you're as tense as you are now."

Hikari wanted to argue with Osvald by saying that he was more than fine to handle whatever it was that they had to take care of on the next leg of their journey, but he could already tell that the scholar had no such plans of listening to him. Hikari sighed a moment later, wishing that he could say that he disagreed with what Osvald had to say. Hikari wasn't going to be acting rationally if he let his anxiety get the better of him, and that seemed to be all he knew how to do at the moment. Something was going to have to change if he was going to protect those he cared for most. 

"I'm sure we can find something to do in Ryu that will be a bit less taxing than running from the soldiers of Ku," Temenos told him. "Surely there are other hobbies that people within the village have developed. It wouldn't do if that was all they could do to fill their free time." 

Hikari laughed under his breath. Temenos was certainly right about there being other hobbies for the people of Hinoeuma. It was slightly harder to maintain some tasks because of the intense sandstorms that blew through the continent, but Hikari knew that it was worth it. That just meant the people had learned to retreat indoors as necessary, and he could only hope that would be enough to help him and the rest of the travelers too in case they wound up in danger that night. 

Ochette had darted ahead of the rest of the group out of her excitement that they were almost there, and she waved one hand high above her head to try and gesture her friends closer. Hikari began to walk a little bit faster when he saw the silhouette of Ryu in the distance. He was afraid of all that could have gone wrong when he got there, but at the same time, Hikari was looking forward to have the chance to step out of the elements. Out of all of the places a person could rest in the wilderness of Solistia, Hikari couldn't help but feel like the desert was perhaps one of the worst. Getting away from the elements for a short while was going to work wonders on Hikari's stress levels... Or so he was hoping. He didn't know what was going to happen if that turned out to be false. 

The entrance to Ryu was simple, and Hikari couldn't help but bite his lip at the sight of it. The last time he had been in Ryu had been just after he made his escape from Ku. He had to move quickly if he was going to get away from Mugen's forces, after all, and fleeing from Ryu had been his only option. Hikari was so close to the place that he had once called home, and yet, he knew he wasn't going to be able to reach out to it fully. He couldn't go back to Ku until he was sure that he was safe to do so, and it was bound to be at least a few months more until then. At least Hikari would be able to enjoy a little dose of his culture before he was forced to hide it in the name of keeping his identity as the prince a secret. 

That was perhaps what Hikari was looking forward to the least about all of this. He could not say he was proud of the bloody history of Ku, but he still cared greatly for the culture and customs of Hinoeuma. As a child, Hikari had bonded with his mother over the ways in which their people prayed and lived, and it felt wrong to have to step away from that. Hikari was bound to find a more effective disguise in Oresrush, but it stung to think that this was the last town he would be able to visit for quite some time where he would be able to identify with his own beliefs and bloodline. Hikari knew it was for the best, but that did very little to erase the pain that came with having to walk away from it. 

It didn't take long after stepping into Ryu for Hikari to catch a glimpse of the gladiators that he had helped to liberate from the Montwise arena. They had all made it to Ryu safely, and they were now doing what they could to help the townsfolk thrive. Hikari could already imagine the kind of work they were doing to look after Ryu. Since Ryu was such a small town, it wasn't uncommon for bands of bandits and brigands to try and attack it in the name of getting what they thought was bound to be easy loot. The gladiators would be more than capable of pushing back the attacking forces and protecting the people who were at the most risk of having their lives ruined by such grand theft. It was the least the warriors could offer since they had all moved into an existing town so suddenly. 

Zeto was close to the entrance of the town when Hikari arrived, and he gasped when he realized the travelers were there. "What are you doing here?" he asked, eyes wide with shock. "I would have thought you would be... Anywhere else."

Hikari bit back a wince at Zeto's phrasing. He wasn't wrong in saying that at all, but it still made him feel as if he was making a mistake by being there. "We ran into something of a... Situation on our way through the western continent," Hikari said, though that didn't do anywhere near enough to actually define how miserable the last few days had been. "We had to run in this direction. We'll be leaving tomorrow at some point, I imagine. Until then, is Kazan here? We would like to speak with him."

Zeto nodded, and he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at a small tent positioned near the edge of town. "He's in there." Hikari wasn't surprised in the slightest to see that Kazan had set up his place in the camp near the outermost corner. That gave Kazan the best vantage point to gather information, and there was nothing anywhere near as important to Kazan as figuring out how he could learn more about the people around him. That was what a good strategist's duties relied upon, after all. 

"Thank you," Hikari told Zeto with a nod. After a moment of contemplation, Hikari turned to look at the rest of the travelers. "You don't have to come with me if you would rather not. Perhaps it would be best if some of you went to procure food for the evening. I hate to put a strain on the townsfolk, but..."

"We'll figure something out," Ochette assured him with a wave of one hand. "You just go on and talk to your friend. If we need you, then we'll come and find you. Don't worry about us at all." She glanced around the rest of the group in search of someone to help her, eventually deciding to grab Osvald and Castti by the wrists before pulling them off toward the center of the town. "Come on! We've got a job to do!" Temenos looked after them for a moment before sighing and shaking his head, jogging to catch up with them to ensure Ochette didn't get into too much trouble for her odd way of exploring the world. 

With half of their group off to take care of their other business for the night, Throné sighed and looked over toward the tent. "I guess that makes up our minds then. Let's go see what we can learn." She gestured for the rest of the group to trail after her, and Hikari snapped out of his trance just in time to pull ahead of her in reaching Kazan's tent first. 

Hikari pulled the tent flap aside slowly, finding that Kazan was sitting on the floor and looking at some kind of notebook. His expression was severe and stoic, but it all melted away when Hikari spoke his name. "Kazan?"

In an instant, Kazan's demeanor relaxed, and he cast the same loose smile up at the prince that he always wore during their conversations. "My prince," Kazan greeted. Confusion bloomed across his features just as quickly a moment later, and he frowned when he realized that Hikari was there in front of him. "What brings you to Ryu so soon?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble in Conning Creek, and we had to come in this direction in order to get away from it," Hikari explained. "There are wanted posters scattered throughout the western continent asking for me to be turned in to Mugen, and it seems that the guards of Conning Creek noticed that and then tried to have me arrested. We managed to slip away without being caught, but it was a close call. We have other business to resolve on the western continent, so we couldn't simply leave, but..."

"You had to come here sooner than you would have otherwise," Kazan finished for him, and Hikari nodded. "I hope you aren't planning on going to Wellgrove just yet for the arms deal. It isn't happening for quite some time, I'm afraid. I believe there was a delay in getting everything ready because of the conflict between Sai and Timberain. If you want to stop it, then you will need to wait until it is closer to the date when the forces of Ku will be headed in that direction."

Hikari couldn't help but feel relieved to hear that the weapons deal would not be happening just yet. He didn't know why, and he felt horrible for it, but he knew that he was going to need a bit more time before he would be ready to handle something like that. "In that case, we will return," he told Kazan with a nod. This would likely be the safest option anyway; if Hikari was already being chased down across the western continent, then going to Wellgrove would put a massive target on his back. It would probably need to be one of the last things he did before he essentially vanished into the wind until the next chance he was able to find to strike back at the forces of Ku. It wasn't going to be easy, and Hikari was sure it would involve careful planning. 

"We can wait then," Partitio nodded, nudging Hikari in the side. "That gives me a little more time to come up with a plan for how I'm gonna approach Alrond anyway. It wouldn't hurt for us to take a while longer to figure out how we're plannin' to handle somethin' like that. We'll be back to look around for Tera and to help Temenos with his investigation in Crackridge anyway."

Hikari nodded, and he felt his chest lighten and relax. He hadn't realized just how much tension he had been holding onto regarding the situation with Ku until he was reassured that it truly was for the best that he wasn't able to go to Wellgrove just yet. He needed a bit of time to do something else, and it seemed the rest of the world agreed with him that this was for the best. Everything was going to be fine in the end. Hikari needed it to be. He just also had to be patient for a while longer before he could start to think about how the pieces would fall into place. 

"Where are you headed to after this?" Kazan questioned. "If you have other matters to resolve on the western continent, then you must be planning to head west, especially if you came here from Conning Creek."

"We'll be going to Oresrush after this," Hikari answered. "After that, we need to loop south so that we can pass through Sai. We should be able to leave through Canalbrine the same way we came after that. We weren't able to finish our business in Conning Creek before we had to leave, so we intend to be as careful as possible to ensure that does not happen a second time when we return."

"I see..." Kazan hummed thoughtfully. "Going to Oresrush next is the best course of action. The last thing I want is for you to end up moving in the direction of Sai prematurely only to end up caught in a fight. It will be dangerous to enter the desert again at all, but at least Sai has a military presence. Sai won't take kindly to anyone from Ku coming after you since that could lead to an invasion of their own land. I doubt their military is anywhere near as strong as the one Ku has, but it will at least deter any invasions for a short while."

Hikari sighed with relief. "Good... Good." He was hoping that it wouldn't be a concern at all so that he didn't have to worry about potentially hurting the people who had nothing to do with all of this, but there was only so much that he could do on his own. Hearing that Sai would be able to fight back, at least to some extent, should an attack break out was beyond good to hear. Hikari didn't know if his luck was going to keep up for too much longer, but this was helping at least for the moment. 

"I would suggest exercising extra caution when you get the chance," Kazan continued. "Perhaps come up with a way to hide your face so that no one is able to figure out who you are again. Wearing Hinoeuman clothing outside of the desert may a bit too much of a giveaway, my prince, at least here on the western continent."

"I understand," Hikari murmured. He couldn't deny that it was rare for someone from the desert to leave that life behind. They tended to stay close to the towns that they had been born in without gathering much interest in walking away. Hikari knew that there were many people in Montwise who had been confused by his presence because of that. On the eastern continent, people likely would not think too much of it, especially since it would take longer for them to get in contact with the army of Ku to hand Hikari over in the first place. Hopefully, that would give the travelers enough time to flee. 

But on the western continent, the danger was far greater. Hikari was hoping he wouldn't have to think about it again after he began to disguise his appearance, but there was no way to say for certain. He hated having to leave his culture behind after all that he had come to love about it over the years, but this wasn't going to be a permanent ending. Hikari would be able to embrace it again one day. He simply had to wait long enough to see Mugen stopped and then his return to Ku. The pieces would fall right into place from there... Or so Hikari was hoping. 

"We have dinner ready! Come on out!"

Ochette's excited voice cut through the tent flap, and Kazan laughed quietly at her antics. "Go on," he instructed, gesturing toward the door with a wave of his hand. "I believe your friends are waiting for you."

Hikari nodded, and he led his group out of the tent and back out into the nighttime air. They were going to find a way to be alright. It wasn't easy in that moment, but that hadn't stopped them before. They could do this. 

All they had to do was reach Oresrush in one piece... And then every other town after that. Surely it would be possible after all they had done up to that point, right?

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A new day, a new chapter!

This one acts as the transition point between Ochette's first chapter two and then our next crossed paths, and I'm overall happy with it. I love being able to give the NPCs a bit of extra time in the spotlight, and it felt very natural to reach out to Kazan here to do something with him. It would have felt wrong, in fact, to just gloss over everything that he was set to do in the background of the story. So here he is! 

Other than that, I don't have too much to say about this chapter, so I'm going to go on and leave you here since I'm in a bit of a rush to get out of the house. Next time, we'll start Hikari and Agnea's crossed paths. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital