The Horseman of Calamity

Chapter 20 - The Calm

It had been nearly one whole year since Hung's arrival into the world of Saogalh, in fact, he would turn eighteen in a month. To him, he was the closest he'd ever been to getting home. Though he had lost track of time, he had figured it had been quite some time since he arrived.

Since their narrow escape from Illutia, he had recovered just fine, though the lack of his glasses had made things much more difficult for him. He'd need to find a fix for it soon, because without his glasses he couldn't even make out the face of someone more than a half a meter away from him. For now, he was differentiating everyone off of their voice and build.

They had now been passing by the villages lying outside of the city of Lugnvar and it would likely be a few more days until they reached the city gates. It was a double full moon tonight with the fresh scent of greens flowing through the breeze. Nearly everyone else was asleep in their own little corner of the camp. Hung sat up and gazed up at the night sky, thinking about his first day in this world.

"It's been so long already... What was I doing again...? Oh, right, I need to get home by getting the colors somehow." Hung thought to himself.

He was still unsure of how he was actually supposed to gain colors but he didn't think too much about it, trying his best to ignore the unpleasant what-ifs. Over in the nearby bushes, Nacara and Meo were sleeping together. Delly and Mahmoud were lying strewn about on the ground, being restless in their sleep as ever. Even the little plant, Bob, was sleeping in Mahmoud's hair like it was some kind of nest. And closest to the campfire were Goray and their newest member, Alberto.

Hung was unsure of what to make of Alberto. He hadn't spoken to him much and all he knew things he knew about him were all relayed to him from the others. In fact, Alberto had been the first member to join without even really knowing Hung. And it bothered Hung slightly how he had just decided to join like that with no open goal in mind. The possibility of him betraying them was a possibility, his strange mannerism and overall odd appearance didn't help his case either. What Hung found the weirdest about Alberto was that he would disappear from the group every once and a while, usually for a full day, and then return like normal despite the fact that his hair woud be all gone.

"Still up, Hung?" Goray turned to face him, smiling. Since their departure, he had wrapped a bandage around his head to conceal the disfigured parts of his face. Something done to not scare the people he met.

"Yeah... I can't really sleep."

"Same here, sleep is just something I cannot seem to do anymore. But hey, on the bright side I'll always be on night watch." He chuckled.

"Yeah, um... I guess I'm just excited you know? I'm finally one step closer to getting home."

Goray nodded and patted Hung's back, "Me too. I really hope my wife and daughter have done fine without me, I have one hell of an apology to make up for them."

"What do you have to apologize for? It wasn't your fault that you got stuck in that awful forest."

"That is fair, but death is never a reasonable substitute for an apology."

Hung pondered Goray's statement for a minute.

"So what are your plans once we arrive?"

"Well, once I reunite with my family... my adventure can finally end I suppose. I really can't wait to see my daughter again, I'm sure she's got her own family by now. I'm not sure if I can be a father now let alone a grandfather. She was so young when I left." Goray breathed a content sigh.

"Yeah... yeah, you deserve it. I mean, I can't even imagine what you've been through. What's your daughter's name?"

"Her name is Felicia. Felicia Vinnerd."