[over the palisade]

chapter seventeen

It was overcast for the rest of the day. The party was quiet, but not with the comforting silence that they had traveled in the previous day. No, this was the kind of silence that drove men mad. Tommy could feel that everyone around him was on edge, waiting for someone else to turn, waiting for someone to address the situation at hand.

Tommy knew the real effects of the party losing the brothers now. Of course, it hurt Tommy like nothing else to lose his friends- Tommy couldn't stand to call them anything else, enemies? They weren't enemies, they didn't have a choice, but even then, if they knew the risk why stay with them? No matter what their ambitions were, Tommy missed his friends, who was going to save his ass now?

But they didn't just lose friends, no, they lost who could have been some of their strongest allies. Tommy understood that now, when they explained their true identities, Tommy dug through all the stories that Techno or his tutor had told him about the gorgons, no doubt that they were powerful as fuck.

It did explain things though, the glasses, seemingly human appearance but too strong, too knowledgeable, too skilled. It explained how Deo and Techno were equals in arms, how Eret and Wilbur were equals in words, how Jack- haha, Jack. Jack's just fucking Jack, isn't he?

Tommy shook his thoughts away as Phil urged them to speed up as the terrain levels out again. The sun had started slipping through the clouds and Tommy guessed it was an hour or so after noon by now.

Tommy could tell that his seed was looking for its friends, it would always race with Jack, Deo, and Tubbo, but now it was just him and Tubbo.

Speaking of Tubbo, he gave Tommy a small smile but didn't meet his eyes, he could tell that Tubbo was still shaken by the events of the morning, he had tried to help the ghostly steed to the best of his abilities, but it was a worthless effort. Tommy can imagine why his friend is so shaken up after seeing it die in such a manner, killed by one of his best friends.

"Hang in there, Big Guy," Tommy told his friends, softening his gaze as he looked at him. Tubbo just nodded and pushed his horse forward again, and Tommy followed suit.

Within the mile, they started to see signs of civilization, Tommy felt himself release a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. It felt like someone lifted a boulder off his lungs, maybe they weren't completely fucked.

They were still a good few hours out but the path became more and more well-beat and clear. Infrastructure started popping up, old stone bridges and low walls that kept the masses away from what seemed like the miles and miles of wheat and barley fields on either side of them. They spotted a few cottages with smoke rising from chimneys, Tommy waved at a shepherd they passed and a caravan.

It seemed to inspire the majority of the party as well, taking everyone's mind off of their fears even if just for a few minutes. A few quiet murmurs escaped previously sealed lips. Phil pointed at a rickety sign that a plump wren sat upon, gazing at them curiously. It read "HELENGUARD" with a little arrow pointing further down the path. Under it "30 MILES". Tommy didn't know he could feel so much euphoria from an old rickety sign.

"Charge forth and carry on!" Tommy called out triumphantly, which received a strange look from the horse and rider that trotted along the street past them.

A few people chuckled at his antics but shrugged and started trotting back down the road again, "About four hours or so," Phil told everyone, "We'll get there at about six and have two hours or so of daylight."

"Poggers," Skeppy mumbled beside Tommy. Tommy turned to him and raised his eyebrow.

"What the fuck's a poggers?" Tommy asked him.