The Zero Hour | #Wattys2016

Chapter 15 - Goodbye (Part 1)

"You did what?!" Izumi screamed at Amadeus after he had explained why he had taken so long to come back with water. "We sent you to get water and food and instead..." she gestured angrily at the silent Rokuth who was standing behind Amadeus. "...you bought a pet!"

"Well, I did get the water too..." Amadeus gave an innocent shrug.

The Rokuth, now known as One silently stared at his feet. He was clearly uncomfortable that they were talking about him.

"Father, tell him how ridiculous this is."

Rei wasn't paying attention to their conversation and was too busy gulping down water thirstily. When he heard Izumi call for him, he looked up from the waterskin, cheeks puffed up like an inflated balloon and water dripping down the sides of his mouth.

"Hmm?" he replied, oblivious to what was going on around him.

"Don't finish the water!" Izumi shouted as she snatched the waterskin mouth out of his hand and started drinking from it daintily.

Amadeus took advantage of the momentary silence to recall the timeline Malevolent Drake had given the commoner camp before he would initiate the execution order. He counted off the days that have passed by memory. Today is day two. If I reach the Jagged Peaks by tomorrow morning, there should be enough time to get help back before the morning of day four.

"How long more before we reach the Jagged Peaks, Rei?" Amadeus asked.

Rei shielded his eyes from the sun and looked towards the horizon to get an indication of his position. He pointed towards a cluster of sand dunes. "It's another half a day's walk in that direction before we reach the Jagged Peaks. We only have another two to three hours before the sun sets. We will need to set up camp before then. We will only reach the peaks tomorrow morning provided your new 'pet' doesn't slow us down."

"He won't," Amadeus replied, while peering at the sky. "Can't we keep walking through the night? The sky is cloudless and clear, the moonlight should give us enough light to continue our journey."

"Don't you know anything?" Izumi interjected. "We are in the Crystal Plains! The temperature will drop rapidly the minute the sun sets."

"How was I supposed to know that?" Amadeus asked defensively.

Izumi ignored him and went on to explain, "The clouds in the sky protect the land from the sun's heat, but there are no clouds in the Crystal Plains, and that is why it is so hot during the day. The sun shines directly on the land."

She took another dainty sip from the waterskin. "The same clouds also prevent heat from escaping into the great sky when the sun disappears into the horizon. Since there are no clouds in the Crystal Plains, it will get so cold that the entire ground will freeze over."

"The good thing about that is we won't have to worry about attacks from wild beasts, they'll all be in hiding underground from the cold." Rei added. "But we do need to build a large campfire before nightfall, or we'll be frozen solid too." While Amadeus found this rather disturbing (he didn't plan to becoming frozen solid anytime soon), Rei seemed unperturbed by the facts. He grinned widely; eyes turning into slits.

"Well, it's time to get going. We should at least put some ground behind us before setting up camp." Rei started walking ahead, gesturing for them to follow him.

Izumi plugged the cork back into the oversized waterskin and motioned impatiently for Amadeus to get going. "Standard Izenth scout formation remember? I need to stay at the back to guard the rear. The weakest have to keep in the middle."