Where is Iah?

Where is Elyon?

Ask the wind.

― Common folk saying

Asteria

The hero’s quest has started!

Oren returned ten days later. He met with Katja first then they went to see me. They wanted to say goodbye because Oren had decided to search for his missing sibling, and Katja was going with him.

“I'm going to find the truth. Before he died, my father told me that his previous wife was pregnant when she disappeared. He’s sure the Kraej Company scientists took her for their experiments,” said Oren. “When her body was found later, she’d given birth, but there was no sign of the child.”

“You resigned? I thought soldiers couldn’t quit once they enlisted,” I said.

“I was only on a temporary contract since I didn’t pass the physical,” said Oren. “Even if I had an enlistment contract, I’d desert anyway. I’ll never work for the Kraej ever again.”

Oren’s clear blue eyes had a certain hardness and coldness that hadn’t been there before. This was the first time I’d seen him outside of the uniform he’d been so proud of wearing. He was in khakis and a black T-shirt.

“That’s… that’s…” I stammered.

“Don’t look so worried, Asteria,” said Katja. She was wearing her usual jeans and T-shirt combo. Unlike Oren, she was the same bubbly girl she always was.

“I didn’t mean you, Asteria,” said Oren. “I know you’re not working for the Kraej, and I trust you.”

“But where will you go? What will you do?” I asked.

“I’ll start from the beginning and look for clues in Herning where she disappeared,” said Oren.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll take care of him,” said Katja.

“I’m glad you’re going with Oren. Why don’t I go with you, too?” I said.

Oren and Katja exchanged glances. Oren scratched his head, and Katja looked up at the ceiling of my apartment as though searching for answers there.

“You guys! I’d be useful,” I said. “I traveled from Lieceni to Kraej City on my own, you know.”

“We know,” said Oren.

“Must have been a miracle,” said Katja.

“Fine. I’ll stay here, but you have to promise to call me if you need anything,” I said.

“No. These people kidnap people and leave only corpses behind. It would be too dangerous to keep in touch after we leave,” said Oren. “This is goodbye.”

“I’m just waiting for my salary. We’ll be leaving in two days,” said Katja.

I hugged Katja and Oren. “Be safe. Take care of each other.”

Katja and I were crying openly.

“Take care of yourself,” said Oren. His voice was a little choked up.

I begged them to stay one last night with me in my apartment. We didn’t sleep a wink and spent the entire time talking. We mostly reminisced about our time together. I told them about how hard life had been in Lieceni with only a mother who was mostly out of it. Katja and Oren talked about their hometown and their families.

None of us discussed their mission, but I casually mentioned that my new job meant that I had to travel to Varde, Dragor, and Virklund. Those three towns were near three important events in “Tales of Vesterland.”

“At least promise me you won’t do anything reckless. If something’s too dangerous, retreat and come back to it later when you’re stronger,” I said.

“I’ll try,” said Oren.

That wasn’t a promise at all.

I didn’t know then that there would be a complication.

***

Oren and Katja weren’t able to leave in two days.

The day of their departure, I woke up screaming.

“Calm down. Calm down,” I said to myself. I’d dreamed about one of the most spectacular events in “Tales of Vesterland,” the monster wave. That wasn’t supposed to happen until much later in the game’s plot when the hero and his companions had leveled up.

Oren and Katja had mentioned that the monsters around Esbjerg, their hometown, had been acting strangely and had glowing green eyes. I hadn’t paid attention to that, but my subconscious must have realized that something was up. When I woke up, I remembered that glowing green eyes was one of the earliest warning signs of an oncoming monster wave. That was when monsters in the continent became mad and rushed towards the eastern sea, killing everything in their path.

Esberg was a port city in the westernmost part of the continent. Kraej City was in the easternmost part. In between were sparsely populated small towns like Lieceni.

From what I remembered from my studies in this world, the last monster wave occurred more than a thousand years ago. The people in the small towns had survived by hiding in the mountains. That wouldn’t work for the people in Kraej City. There were twenty-eight million people in this megalopolis who had nowhere to go.

“Damn,” I said out loud. Time was of the essence now. I didn’t wait to brush my teeth before calling the emergency number Magnus had given me all those years ago. I explained to the person on the phone that I’d found out from friends that monsters on the west coast were acting strangely and that I believed that a monster wave was incoming.

The glowing green eyes were the first sign. The second sign was when their eyes turned red. They would start rampaging and rushing to the lowlands then. The third and last sign was when their eyes went black. That was when all the monsters would start rushing to the eastern sea to their death.

The person on the phone patiently listened to me then asked me to wait for the reply. I was not to speak of this to anyone in the meantime.

After brushing my teeth, I spent the next hour pacing in my apartment. I did have the presence of mind to order a bunch of five-gallon water containers and emergency lights in case the electricity and water were cut off in the future. I also made a list of food and other items that would be useful in a city-wide emergency.

Seraphiel, Sariel, and Uriel wouldn’t run out of essential supplies because the army undoubtedly had their stockpiles. Oren and Katja, on the other hand, weren’t that lucky. I planned to buy enough for all three of us.

When Magnus Kraej finally called me, all he said was that he had men checking the information I’d given him. They’d received reports yesterday about unusual monster activities. He reiterated the need for me to not talk to anyone about it in case it caused a panic.

“I’m surprised you thought about that. Most people think monster waves are a mythical event,” said Magnus.

“Not in Lieceni. The people there still remember the cave our ancestors used to escape.”

“I see. It’s probably nothing. My staff tells me that glowing green eyes could be caused by anima disturbances in the environment. It could just be the aftereffect of a minor earthquake,” said Magnus.

“But you’ll have it checked out, right?” I asked.

“If it’s a monster wave, monsters everywhere should be affected,” said Magnus. “We’ll know soon.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“I’ll probably be too busy to talk to you again, but you can call the same number if you need anything.”

“Thank you. Bye,” I said.

“Later.”

Seraph and the others will undoubtedly be among the first to know, so I wasn’t worried about telling them.

I went to the grocery store and bought all the items I needed first. Fortunately, they had a delivery service. I paid for my items and asked them to send them to my address. I probably wouldn’t need any of that, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

Then I went to see Katja. I arrived just in the nick of time. She and Oren were already in the hallway, ready to leave the city for good.

“Oren, Katja, wait up,” I said.

“Aw, I said you shouldn’t see us off. I’m gonna cry again,” said Katja.

“No time to cry. I have something important to tell you. Let’s go back to your apartment.”

“What is it?” asked Oren.

Inside Katja’s tiny but neat apartment, I told them about the monster wave.

“I’ve never even heard of that,” said Oren.

“Don’t listen to him. He never paid attention in class,” said Katja. “Do you really think that’s happening?”

“Have you watched the news today? Monsters on the western coast have been acting weird since yesterday.”

Katja had already told her landlord that she was leaving, so another renter was arriving later today.

“Come stay with me for now. If it’s nothing then all you’ve lost is one day.”

Oren and Katja mulled it over for a few minutes before agreeing.

“And you know, I have an idea that might help. I’ll probably need you two,” I said.

“What could help with a monster wave? And you wouldn’t need us since you’d have Seraph,” said Katja.

“No, if there’s really a monster wave then Seraph will be in the frontlines. We’d better stay with Asteria. The goddess knows there’ll be massive looting and rioting if monsters really do come,” said Oren.

“Damn, I hadn’t thought about that. People will panic when the news spreads,” I said. “We should keep this a secret.”

“The people in Kraej City will be in for a lot of trouble, but my family back home should be okay. Esbjerg is in the outermost edge where there’s not much danger,” said Katja.

Our mood was subdued during the bus ride to my apartment, but they perked up when I told them about my plan.

“I feel like that’s a bit of a longshot. Don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work,” said Oren. We’d put away their saddlebags and the grocery items that had been delivered. He was seated on my couch, sharpening the sword that he’d gotten from his father.

“You think? Looking for the descendants of the priests who saved Kraej City a thousand years ago isn’t a long shot, it’s a pipedream,” said Katja. She and I were eating some of the snacks I’d bought while she helped me pack an emergency bag for myself.

“Look!” I waved an old newspaper at her and pointed at a headline that said, “Priestess Protests Planned Demolition of Thousand-Year-Temple.”

Sofia, the priestess in the news article, was an important character in “Tales of Vesterland.” She was a talented healer from an ancient line of clerics. I hadn’t gotten in touch with her because she was the suspicious type who hated the Kraej. The other hero’s companions had quickly warmed up to Oren, but not her. If someone as charming as Oren had a hard time with her then she’d probably slam the temple doors in my face once she learned of my connection with Seraphiel and the others.

“Yes, but just because the temple exists doesn’t mean the priests there can do anything,” said Katja.

“We can try. I’ll feel better if we do something, even if it doesn’t help,” I said.

“True. I would hate to sit around in your apartment doing nothing,” said Katja.

“Okay, then I’ll call ahead and ask for a special blessing.” I looked to Oren for confirmation. When he nodded his head, I picked up the phone and called the temple. My coming-of-age was recent enough that it wouldn’t be strange if I asked for a blessing ceremony. A young person’s voice answered the phone and I was able to schedule it for later in the day.

“I’ll cook something for lunch,” I said. “Oren, can you help me?”

“I can help, too,” said Katja.

“No thanks, we shouldn’t waste food,” said Oren. He went over to the kitchen counter to help me with the vegetables. “Although, maybe we should let you cook. If the monsters come we could use the food you cooked to scare them away.”

“Shut up. My cooking isn’t that bad!” Katja playfully punched Oren on the shoulder.

He fended her off when she tried to mess up his hair, saying, “Not the hair.”

“Stop it, Katja. You know it takes him two hours each day to make his hair all spikey like that,” I said. “We need him to look good when we go to the temple.”

“Oh, yeah. We’ll get Mr. Charming Dimples here to persuade her to help us,” said Katja.

Yes, Oren was sure to be of great help when it came to the priestess.