Revolutions

134 - Legido

Your travels north are like a funeral procession. Nobody speaks. No one looks away from the ground. Though the sky is bright and cloudless, and the brisk chill in the air brushes your cheeks, there is no happiness among those journeying to the next destination. Nature and the world around you seems to merrily mock your gloom. There is nothing to celebrate, nothing about which to find joy, excitement.

Where is this next destination? The Great Xiatli has never specified, only saying that you must trek north. Why? What awaits you there? You sense that the god among men has some plan, some greater purpose, but He guards His intentions like a secret held close to His chest. The silence, the not knowing—it has only made this journey more and more unsettling the further you travel.

What is to the north that the Great Xiatli deems so urgent, so vital? When the scouts returned with flecks of gold, the Sapa was not pleased. You could sense His anger burning beneath His cold exterior, but His dismissal of such treasure—that left you with more questions than answers. The glimmer of gold is meaningless to Him. So what is it that He truly seeks? What could be more valuable than the very thing that has driven countless men to war and madness?

You can't shake the anxiety that grips you. The further north you go, the worse it feels. But you and the settlers keep moving, trusting in the Great Xiatli's will even as uncertainty festers beneath the surface. He has never led your people astray before, and He certainly wouldn't do that now... right?

And then, there's the other matter. Your eyes sweep through the line of trudging bodies, again searching for the face that should be there: Landera's. Every time you look, she's nowhere to be found. Your heart beats faster, and the knot of worry tightens in your gut. She was with you, wasn't she? Just before Captain Lema's departure, she was among the crowd, within reach. But now, there's no sign of her. She had been there—somewhere—on the periphery of your vision. A sick feeling churns in your stomach as you recall how easily she could've been swept into his service, another hand to man the ship. Is she gone with him? you wonder. Is that why I can't find her?

The more you think on it, the more it worries you. Landera wouldn't have gone without telling you. She wouldn't have just disappeared. Right? Something else is happening, something you can't quite place—but the unease refuses to leave you.

You think back to that moment, how Iker had grabbed you, pulling you into the crowd with such urgency that you barely had time to react. He kept saying he was protecting you from being drafted onto the ship, yet you can't help but feel a twinge of suspicion. Why had he been so desperate to silence you? You had seen Landera and tried to call out to her. But Iker stifled your voice before you could get her attention. He said it was to save you from the same fate as the poor souls being taken aboard Captain Lema's doomed ship. But now... no, you don't want to think it.

Yet the thought persists: was that really his only reason?

When Captain Lema made his ludicrous claim that he could sail to Legido and return in four months, you scoffed inwardly at the boldness of his words. Four months? It took longer than that to get here! Yet you noticed the quiet murmurs of doubt, the sidelong glances of the settlers who, like you, knew better. They didn't voice their objections, but everyone present knew that Captain Lema's plan would almost certainly end in disaster.

And what of Gartzen? Loyal, dutiful Gartzen, always at Captain Lema's side—surely, he would've been called upon to sail. Was he aboard the ship now, heading back to Legido for what was certainly a futile mission? Your heart aches for him, for his wellbeing. Captain Lema's doomed mission will surely sink everyone aboard, taking every crew member down with his ill-fated and desperate plan. Which is why you are so concerned for Landera. Where has she gone?