The Oracle

Chapter 53: A Kingdom of Riches

SORA

Timber is an elevated area in the mountains filled with trees that surround the mountain paths and cliffs. Kit and Clea lead the expedition through the mountain path while Shae, Sekai, and Gambit guard the front and middle while Merrick, Isabella, and I guard the back.

According to Kit and Clea, we should be reaching one of the outside walls of Aurora in about three more miles.

"Once we reach the outside walls, we'll begin our plan to sneak in by using one of the runestones," Kit says.

"Right," Isabella nods.

"Am I the only one who thinks this seems too easy?" Shae frowns.

"No," Gambit sighs. "Nothing's ever easy when it comes to bearing the weight of the world, but we do it anyway."

"You don't think Aria would already be here, do you?" Merrick asks as we walk side by side. "I mean, would Aurora give them a free pass to enter if it meant keeping us from reaching their strategist?"

"I don't know," Isabella frowns. "If Aurora is as wise as they appear to be, I somehow doubt us sneaking in will end easily."

"I fear that you're right," I sigh.

"Whatever the case may be, at least we're together," Merrick smiles softly, glancing between Isabella and me. "We can face anything if we have each other."

"Yeah," Isabella smiles sadly, her smile falling after a few moments and a frown forming on my face when I realize she's probably thinking about her mom.

"Hey," I say softly and place a hand on her shoulder. "That wasn't your fault, you know. Your mom would've wanted you to be safe. If you had been there, you might've been hurt too. I promise that we'll find her justice."

"I know," Isabella says softly. "But sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it. I mean, are we all just pawns sacrificed in Carmin's game? He says he wants for there to be peace, but all he's doing to get that peace is kill innocent people. How is that peaceful? I understand that sometimes you have to fight for peace, but why fight those who are innocent, who want to make things better? Why not work with them instead? Slaughtering people simply isn't right. Why is it such a crime to be able to understand both sides of the story? I simply don't understand. I don't think I ever will."

"I won't either," I frown.

"I think, the way Carmin sees it, he has to fight for the peace," Merrick starts. "And like you said that's how it has to be sometimes, but there's no reason for him to be killing civilians, to be killing his allies to get a step ahead, to have such a one-track mind that he refuses to listen to anyone else. That path he's heading down, the path where he's the only one that's right, it's going to destroy him and everything around him in the end."

"Yeah..." Isabella trails off, her eyes sad as she looks at the ground ahead of us while we walk.

"Hey," Merrick says softly, gaining Isabella's attention. "Don't worry. It'll all work out somehow."

"Let's hope so," Isabella smiles sadly back.

It takes us a short while until we reach the outside barrier to the city, which appears as a barely visible clear dome that surrounds the tan castle walls. Knowing what to do, I make my way through our group as they step aside to make room for me. I slowly pull out the runestone Niktia gave me from my pocket and hold it up to the barrier, watching in awe as the barrier momentarily flickers where the runestone is presses, creating an opening a few feet wide for us to fit through.

"Come on, let's go," Kit says and runs through the opening, followed by the others.

Once everyone is through, I remove the runestone as I roll through the opening, barely making it through just before the barrier closes once again.