The Exceptions

We Just Went Along With It

Mirai

Throughout the journey S kept knocking down questions the trio asked.

"Listen, we need to move quickly ok. I will answer all of your questions once we reach the tavern in Magus Haven."

"Is that the name of the place we are going?"

"Yes. duh." After about 1000 more yards of pine trees, the trio suddenly collapses and starts clawing at their necks frantically. S turns around, then quickly pulls out a bag from under his grey cloak and what looks like three masks from his bag. Muttering some swear words that Mirai couldn't make out, he turned to hand the masks to the three.

"Put these on then breathe normally. I forgot you weren't used to the dry ash. And before you ask, dry ash is a condition the entire wasteland has. If there is any plant or nearby, the dry ash protects said plant from dying. The plant coats itself in it to save it from the harsh conditions of the Wasteland. Sadly, it is lethal to humans, it will kill you after an hour of exposure. It is possible to build up a tolerance to it." By this time Dawn, Mirai, and Lucian had all put on their masks.

"Ack it's still hard to breathe. It feels like my airway is still closing up." Dawn complained.

"These masks aren't 100% effective. I made them this way so you can slowly develop a tolerance to dry ash. Eventually you will no longer need a mask." S explains, then he pulls away a little bit of his hood so they can get a good look at his lower face. He indeed wasn't wearing a mask. He has thin lips with a sunken jawline. His facial hair was disheveled. He probably hasn't shaved in days. "Dry ash causes the airway to constrict until the victim can't breathe at all. And that is also why squirrels and other forest animals have adapted to either A, live higher in the trees so the ash doesn't affect them or B, they evolve to develop a tolerance like us."

"Holy shit you're smart. Did you ever go to a school?" Dawn asks.

"No, I was taught by other wanderers before me." S replies. The rest of the trip, they move fast. No one else talks the rest of the way. I wonder why he requested Lucian's presence. I should ask them that when we get to the town. I wonder what horrors or mysteries still lie out there in hopes of being discovered someday. There is so much we still don't know about this place. On the horizon, the trees begin to thin, and bright lights shine through the pine, like what they would see on Christmas.