Captain Riggs was standing at the entrance of the city when they got there. He gave them a small nod as they drew up alongside him.

“I got the feeling that you four might be heading out,” Riggs said. “I’m sure that the council has already thanked you, but I wanted to do so personally as well. I’ve done some rounds to see the damage to the city – your plan worked, Belmont. The wyrms followed the paths we made perfectly. You saved more lives than I can count.”

Belmont blinked, seemingly at a loss for words for once. The armored man’s hands twitched at his sides and he gave the captain a slight nod. “I am glad to have been of service.”

“You were more than that. All of you were,” Riggs said. “I apologize for my doubt in the beginning of the plan. The rest of the guards wanted to bid you all farewell too, but I ordered them to remain behind. We don’t need to tell the whole city you’re leaving after all.”

“That’s appreciated,” Arek said, a small grin flashing across his features. “Please let them know we were pleased to fulfill our duty as adventurers, and we hope that such an event never befalls Red Mount again.”

“I will pass your words along,” Riggs promised. “Travel safe, friends of Red Mount. You will always have sanctuary here, even if the city is little more than rubble now.”

Riggs gave them a firm nod and walked back into the city. The Happy Sunflowers watched him go, then turned and headed back into the forest surrounding them.

No further monsters emerged from the shadows on their way back down. The Vorgt mountain was at the opposite side of Red Mount. According to the map, the forest on this side of the mountain extended significantly farther than it did on the other side.

The fog that had hounded them on the way up to Red Mount was gone. Without it, the forest was significantly easier to traverse. Small gaps in the trees allowed faint beams of light through, illuminating the damp floor.

The chirp of crickets rose up to greet them at night, and Arek spotted several small animals fleeing their approach. The unsettling amounts of mana had faded as well. Malissa managed to catch several rabbits and she helped Arek cook them over a small campfire that night.

Their trek through the forest lasted nearly two weeks. However, their rations were practically untouched by the time that the forest started thinning out. In fact, Arek they had enough fresh meat stored in Malissa’s Bag of Colding to last them a week.

The forest came to an abrupt end in a rocky, windswept field. It marked the halfway point between Red Mount and the Vorgt mountains. Faint sunlight peaked down at them through the dense grey clouds overhead.

Arek sat down on a large rock and drew in a deep breath. “It’s good to be out of the forest. Orcs aren’t meant to be in such tight spaces.”

“Neither are humans,” Belmont grumbled, pulling a leaf off one of his armor spikes. “But now we encounter a new dilemma. Where do we go? We could take Rovin up on his offer and go to the Floating Cities. It’s unlikely the Howler Guild will expect us to find a way into the Floating Cities, and who knows if they even have any influence there.”

“Well, what’s the alternative?” Malissa asked. “We can hardly return to Riverfall right now. It’s just asking for trouble at this point.”

“We should go wherever we can get good food,” Ming suggested. “And maybe somewhere that my brother won’t find me.”

“I know little of the Floating Cities,” Arek said, rubbing the back of his head. “But they do sound interesting. I wouldn’t be opposed to going there. I highly doubt Rovin is going to sell us out after everything we’ve done for him.”

“They’re likely no more unsafe than any of our alternatives,” Belmont mused. “I believe we can trust Rovin.”

“I agree with that, although I never expected Belmont to be the one who said it,” Malissa said. “I’m also for going to the Floating Cities. I’ve heard they’re a beautiful vacation spot, and I think we could all do with a nice change of pace. It’s not like we don’t have some money to spend anyways.”

Ming and Belmont’s eyes both lit up at the same time.

“I can eat flying food!” Ming exclaimed.

“All food is flying if you throw it,” Arek pointed out.

Ming tilted her head, considering the orc’s words for a few moments. Malissa shot her a pointed look. “Don’t even think about it. We’re not going to waste food throwing it around.”

“But what if that makes it taste better?” Ming asked. “Flying is cool.”

“I don’t think lobbing something really hard is going to make it taste better,” Arek said. “But that doesn’t mean that the Floating Cities don’t have really good food. Malissa is right. We need a change of scenery. A big one.”

Ming let out a sigh but gave them a nod. “Fine. But if there’s any flying food, I get first dibs on it.”

They set back off across the rocky plains, following the map as best as they could. There weren’t many significant landmarks to reference aside from the massive mountains surrounding them.

Another week passed uneventfully. From what they could tell, the rocky plains were almost completely barren. The extra food from the forest was first to go, and they were chewing on jerky by the time the Vorgt mountain grew close enough for them to see the base.

The marking that Valea had put on the map directed them to a small outcropping near the edge of the mountain. It wasn’t hard to spot. A ring of stones the size of massive houses jutted out in all angles a short distance from the mountain.