The Far Wilds

Part 7

War left without so much as a note not long afterward, while Lucas stayed for a couple of days. Flame quickly learned to lean on him for leadership responsibilities, though he had a habit of trying to take control away from her. It wasn't as if she minded- really she'd rather not have to lead this group in the first place -but the constant reminders that they were close to a mercenary meeting place began to get on her nerves, so it was a relief when he announced that he was leaving to his homeland.

He called a meeting, eerily reminiscent of what Mold had done but this time without the podium, and said, "I know I've only been here a few days, but there are some people back home who need my help. I was going to stay longer, but I have a bad feeling." He looked through the unobstructed doorway into the blue sky beyond, his grey eyes distant.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Demanded Candy.

"Because I wasn't sure if I was going until now. Would any of you like to come with me?"

"I'm sorry, Lucas, but my place lies here," answered Flame.

"Same," said Swevy.

"I'll come," Candy replied.

Flame glanced at the ladder leading to War's room, wishing he had stayed. She wanted to go- and she knew Smevy would follow if she left -but she couldn't desert War. That wouldn't be fair to him. So she said instead, "I'll come and visit you soon, I promise."

"Why don't you come with us?" Candy asked disappointedly.

Flame stiffened her resolve. "Because we're not all here, and I can't just leave War behind."

Candy looked unmoved, the sadness in her eyes deepening.

Flame's heart softened. She had no idea she meant this much to the woman. "Tell you what- I'll think about moving, but I'm not making a final decision until War comes back. Deal?"

"Deal," said Candy, visibly brightening. Flame noted the sudden transformation and left to help them gather up their things.

Lucas's home was a five day journey southeast, through the Brown Forest, along the Yellow River, and across the Bay of Flowers. Then one had to cross the sea, which was another four days, before finally reaching New Zulia, an island on the western edge of Aurest, land of the deathbirds. Zulia itself was a very peaceful place, populated by wingless ground birds known as Kiuws.

Flame saw all of this many, many times over, traveling back and forth between her home and that of Lucas. It didn't take long for the near-constant movement to get on her nerves, so, one day, when she and Candy were watching the waves, she proposed a project.

"We should dig a tunnel between our houses!"

Candy gazed at her for a moment, her eyes unreadable, before saying, "Are you sure? That sounds like a lot of work. Maybe-"

"I got this," said Flame confidently.

Candy gave her a curious look. "Okay, what's your plan?"

"We'll do this in steps," said Flame. "First, we dig the tunnel and shore it up as we go. Then we lay a layer of ice on the floor, so we can travel across it by boat. Then we build some tracks over the ice for minecarts."

She looked up and realized Candy was looking at her as if she had grown a third ear. "What?"

"You know ice...melts, right?"

"There's a special kind of ice on the bottom of the world that never melts, no matter how warm it is."

Lucas walked up to them, about to ask them about lunch, heard what they were talking about, and said, "I know about that! I was down there last year."

"Why?" Flame asked. "In fact," she added thoughtfully before he could answer, "why did you come back? I haven't seen any danger. Seems even safer than it did where you were before, to be perfectly honest."

"That's because you didn't see what it was like before." His eyes darkened. "People walked without looking like they were scared all the time, and they could trust each other. Now..." He faded off, looking haunted.

"I know what you mean," said Candy. "Same thing happened to my mom. It's like everybody lives in a fog, and nobody's leaving." She met Flame's gaze, determination sharpening her eyes. "I want to help you make that tunnel. I don't want to be stuck in the fog like...like them."

"I'll stay where I am, thank you," said Lucas. "Maybe I can do something as an insider."

"We should all do what we can," said Flame. She gazed towards the ocean, towards her home, wistfully. Her heart burned to be back there, and her whole self wished she had never left.

Little did she know another pair of eyes was eyeing her home. But his gaze was far from wistful.