Chapter 7

The Plan

“You’re crazy, Mera. You know that, right?” Eddie said in protest. Regardless of his arguments against her, he followed her into their room. Meredith dove across Eddie’s bed to his pack and dug in it, dragging out their map and rolling it across the covers. “Will you not just…oh, come on, Mera!”

“Calm down, Eddie, I’m just checking the route,” Meredith said. She brushed her ponytail behind her head and looked to the paper map before her. The markings of where the next trial was burned into her retinas. It wasn’t too far of a trek, but being right in the middle of the Desert Loop was not going to make things easy for them. Her finger was about to place itself at the start of the Desert Loop, a day or two’s journey from where they were, when Eddie’s hand slapped the map away. “Hey!”

“Mera, can you just stop for a second?” Eddie said. Having snatched the map up, he began rolling it back into a tube. She looked up, glaring daggers. “Can we actually talk about this instead of just rushing forward without thinking?”

“I am thinking, Eddie. The Guardians downstairs don’t want to listen, but if we head for the Trial of Desert, then just maybe-”

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” The glare turned to a blink, and then her lips took a fierce downturn. Her best friend expelled a sigh and sat down, causing the bed to sink a bit under his weight. She moved her legs, crossing them as she did her level-best to etch her frown into Eddie’s eyes.

“Shouldn’t what, Eddie? Shouldn’t go to the next trial? Should go home?” He didn’t answer, but she knew all the same what he was trying to say. The implication made her stand, the bed springing back from the sudden absence of her weight. “I thought you went with me to find a dream for the future.”

“I did…I am…I just…” The tone of Eddie’s voice shifted; less chastising and more…guilty. “It was my fault you got ranked so low. I tried telling you, but Emil came to say goodbye and then you just ran off. I don’t think I’m cut out for the wider world, even places like Lacardia.”

Truth oozed from Eddie’s words. Meredith knew it. He’d never been one cut out for much adventure. It had taken him years just to explore most of Lumarina with her. Now, he just looked more lost in a much wider world. Her heart went out to him, and Meredith sat back down, taking Eddie’s hands in hers.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for it, either,” she admitted. It wasn’t an easy thing to say, but the red D and her poor performance against the creature in the cavern spelled out how ill-equipped she was. The starting stage of her dream and she’d already tripped. However… “I’m not giving up, though. As long as I still have the ability, I will work to become a Guardian. I will protect people. That includes you, Eddie. Whether you believe you’re capable or not, I will be there to protect you. Until then, please keep traveling with me.”

Her green eyes pierced through the air around them, communicating with Eddie’s own brown ones. He said nothing and, other than some blinking, made no movement at all. All that existed was the crackling of the fire, and then a chuckle.

“You, too,” Eddie said. He removed his hands from hers. “I…I want to protect you, too. So, if you’re going to keep going, I guess I’ll have to as well. I do still want to see Lacardia.”

“There’s the Eddie I know!” Meredith said. Instead of rejoining hands, Meredith slid across the bed and put an arm around him. “We may have gotten off to a rough start, but we keep going! Besides, at least for me, it’s not just about the trials anymore. If that guy does have a plan, I want to make sure no one gets hurt. I can’t do that with just my strength.”

“Neither can I.” The admission forced Meredith to think on the last twenty-four hours. If she had been alone against that mantis, she would have died. If she’d been alone through the trial, she would never have completed it. It was a sobering realization that, on her own, her skills couldn’t get her through. Her strength alone wasn’t enough as it was. Swordsmanship and sparring on the road would only get her so far.

When she thought she’d contemplated this enough, for however short a time it was, Meredith addressed her best friend once more. “I need to learn magic.”

It was clear that Eddie had absolutely no idea how to take her statement, or at least how to respond to it. He folded his hands, looking down. The crackle of the fire, as always, interceded in the silence.

“I’m not sure if that’s possible,” came Eddie’s response. Meredith’s lips pursed with disappointment. “Not that I know everything about magic, but…I mean, most people who use magic tend to manifest it at a young age. You’ve never mentioned anything like that.”

“True,” she said, reaching back to play with her hair a bit, “but that can’t mean it’s impossible. You’re always studying the magical progress and there’re always new things to discover. Maybe it’s possible that magic can manifest at a later age.”

“Possible.” Eddie was now tapping his chin. Meredith gave a small smile; she knew the look on his face. He was intrigued by the possibility of it, just as he always had been when it came to magic. “I’ve never heard of something like that…but maybe you do have dormant magic power. Trying to unlock it could be amazing, and if you managed it, you’d be able to really up your capability at doing the trials.”

“Yes! Then it’s a deal. Outside of sparring, you help me try to unlock any magic I have.”

“I can only do so much, Mera.”

“That’s fine! Wonder what kind I would have. Metal like dad? Is magic even inherited?” Her musings took her far away from her initial goal in returning to the room. Eddie called her back to reality, rambling on about planning the road ahead. His words rapidly spoke of getting out of the Frostland and into the desert, gathering supplies and gear before departure the next morning.

She agreed with everything Eddie said (concerning food mostly) and she soon took a shower to prepare for sleep. The grime and shame of the earlier day washed away with her thoughts before she laid down. Eddie was asleep by the time she had returned; he had to have been even more exhausted than she, despite the earlier nap.

The fire burned down to mere cinders as she lay there. Her mind slipped in and out of consciousness, running through all of the events of the day. Images of Emil, the man in the cavern and that infernal ranking floated around, mixing and matching. Interspersed were little flashes of white and black that peppered her vision, as if guiding her to all the individuals she was seeing. The blackest of all was doubtlessly Bowl Cut, his sinister expressions hinting at his insane plan. It was a sight that Meredith tried to pull away from, yet had no choice but to feel.

In spite of it, she awoke the next morning refreshed and excited for the road ahead. The previous day meant nothing, and after a quick trip to the settlement’s stores, she and Eddie were ready to continue their journey.

Unlike Lumarina, Meredith didn’t care to give another look back at Frostfall Cavern. All she needed was the sight of the trial administrator, whistling freely as though he hadn’t been told of an impending threat, to convince her of that. Eddie didn’t see the need, either, causing the pair to make fast tracks out of the settlement to the snow-laden plain.

“It’s not gonna be long before we break out of the Frostland, thank goodness,” Eddie said, in between chewing on a piece of jerky he’d bought that morning. “After that, maybe we’ll do our first lesson. From there, it’s about a day or two’s journey to the Desert Loop, with a small town for restocking on the way.”

“And then another couple days to reach the trial with an oasis in between. I got it, Eddie,” Meredith said. Her words were either a reassuring salve or just served to worry her best friend further, because he didn’t take his eyes off her for most of the morning. She also concluded that he may not have had much say in the matter with the renewed snow. At least that particular snowfall decreased with every step.

By midday, the snow had given way to the grassy plains, the magic core that rested inside Frostfall Cavern having lost its influence on the land beyond. The two shed their coats, grateful to be back in their standard travel garb, and decided to take their lunch break in a nearby copse of trees.

It was also where Eddie decided to give his first lesson, if that was what either of them could call it.

“So, magic is pretty natural, once you’ve started using it,” he said, while Meredith was sitting atop a rock. “For some people, they use meditation. Others, it’s kinetic. But the most important thing to understand is that magic is broken down into six elements.”

“Fire, water, earth, wind, light and dark. Eddie, we learned this in school. That’s the basics,” she reminded him. He showed no mortification upon being reminded of this fact.

“And when was the last time you used magic, Mera?” he asked. That shut her up, and she clapped her hands together to apologize. “Right, so, it’s important to understand the elements because you never know what you have, and you’ll just have one, especially if it’s light or dark-based. No one is noted to use light or dark and another element, since all other elements stem from them. But most studies do suggest a variant of inheritance when it comes to element. Nothing concrete, though.”

“So, I could have metal…er, earth…but how does this help me actually start using it?”

“Well, it’s like I said earlier. Meditation typically works. Though, you might be more kinetic,” Eddie said, looking her over. She couldn’t deny that one. If Eddie was a slow and steady river that brought trickling peace, then she was the rushing rapids that wouldn’t stop. “By doing one of the two and focusing on the magic in your body, you can pull it out.”

“Focusing on magic inside…yeah…that helps a ton…” Meredith said with a roll of her eyes.

“I know I’m not the best teacher.” He sat upon the rock with her and crossed his legs. “Still, you can always think of it like that magic core we saw: that there’s this bundle of energy inside, and it just needs to be forced out.”

“Worth a try, I guess.” Meredith closed her eyes, going back into the meditative mode she’d once tried. It seemed simpler that way.

Her breath slowed, absorbing the air around her. The breeze whistled through the trees and she could feel each sinew of the leaves and branches reaching out, as if to caress her. Just like before, everything whispered to her, speaking of the harmony of nature. Her hands reached out with her feelings, the light touch of frost and the far-off sensation of heat tickling her. Eddie soon placed a hand on her.

“Inside, Mera. Don’t reach out.”

Inside…Inside…Part of her felt that wasn’t right. She was meant to connect outside, but she listened and focused on her interior. Her nose wiggled and her face became twisted in concentration. Around her, she could hear the leaves rustling even louder than usual, and Eddie had taken his hand off her. In that one moment, she could tell he was looking around with awe. It could have been from knowing him all these years, or something more, but she just…knew what Eddie was doing.

Her feelings continued inward, reaching out for the very center of her being. There was a small light resting there, one that pulsed quietly away. Her hand stretched forward for it.

Then she remembered. That dark hand grasping for her, suffocating her.

Whatever journey she was trying to make ended as her eyes snapped open and she fell to her back, breaths heavy and strained.

“Mera, what happened?” She didn’t answer right away, feeling her forehead first. There was sweat there. “Were you able to do it? The trees were acting crazy, so I thought maybe…”

“Not sure,” she croaked out after some time. With a groan, she pushed herself up and began to guzzle down some water. “I feel like there was something inside…maybe…but I couldn’t tell what.”

“Well, you’ll get there,” he reassured her. She nodded, continuing to drink as she steadied her breath. The darkness hadn’t come to her this time. Perhaps it had been a fluke of the imagination before. Nothing more than delusion. That gave her light comfort, alongside Eddie’s words. There had been something there, and in time, she knew she could reach it.

Filling herself with joy, Meredith pushed the meditation for another day and packed up her things. There was a newfound sluggishness in her limbs from the exertion, much of her energy having been drained, but she still found herself going full speed ahead alongside Eddie. He, too, looked pleased with himself at having done something successful when it came to magic. It may not have been much, but it was enough that they were at peace when they made camp that night, setting off the following morning in equally high spirits.

Temperatures began to rise the further they got from the Frostland. By midday it had already gotten warm enough that Meredith had shed her vest on account of sweating. Eddie wasn’t faring all that much better.

“This heat isn’t normal,” she said to him as the sun beat down upon the pair. “Must be from the Loop, huh?”

“Only thing I can think of, though judging by the grass, this area must get at least a decent amount of rain, which is more than I can say for the Loop,” Eddie responded with. That was all that either had the energy to speak of, the heat driving them to drink from their dwindling water supply instead.

The only relief they got from the heat was the sight of a wending river. It was a welcoming, guiding sign for the future of their journey, but all Meredith could care about in that moment was slaking her thirst. To that end, as Eddie stared off towards the east, she plunged her head face first into the water, cooling off before filling her jug. When she’d finished, Eddie had now joined her from his staring, putting water in his canister with a far-off smile.

“The town where we can stock up for the desert we’ll be able to reach tomorrow morning sometime,” he said.

Meredith hardly listened. She placed her hand in the river, its lulling flow swishing around her, bringing her enough peace to close her eyes. On instinct, Meredith meditated again, looking inward, creeping towards the light that was present. It caressed her with its comforting touch.

Ripples traveled outward from her body with little provocation, and the welcoming beacon held out a hand, waiting for her to take it.

“Mera, I think your water’s full.” Eddie’s voice pulled her away from the meditation, making her retract her hand from the water.

There was something there, all right, and she’d pick at it until she found out what it was.

With that personal declaration, they continued on, trying to keep cool in the rising heat, which only gave them a reprieve come nighttime. Meredith attempted to meditate again but the sounds and smells of Eddie making dinner distracted her. She watched the lights of the nearest village, some distance ahead, instead. Its appearance didn’t surprise her. There were definitely more villages on the map since they’d left the Frostland.

Howls split the air in the nighttime, indicating the presence of creatures in the wild. Eddie was tense at the thought, occasionally making the fire flare a bit to ward off any unwanted guests. For Meredith, it kept reminding her of the second reason they were making their way to the Trial of Desert.

Had Bowl Cut come across this path? Was he still looking for weapons? The very implications he made were enough to keep Meredith alert while she kept watch, and helped her push onward the very next morning, all the way until they reached the nearby town.

Compared to most towns, Meredith saw an immediate difference. There wasn’t the quiet militarism of the Frostfall settlement, nor the ever-bustling activity of Lumarina. Meredith wasn’t even sure if this small town had a Corps garrison or regiment, or if they were one of the unprotected towns. No matter whether they did or not, they had a flavor all their own.

“I’ll get some food and clothes for the desert; they seem to sell some stuff for that here,” Eddie told her once they’d stepped inside its dusty confines. Meredith let him go without even a passing nod, choosing to absorb more of the small village’s culture.

From small fields to grow food to the wooden houses, it appeared to be a town that thrived on the simple life. Little in the way of threats and little in the way of complications. There were a few decorations that showed affiliation with the Corps, but they were few and far between, mostly relegated to posters that advertised for the trials on large message boards. Even when compared to Lumarina, they were sequestered and insular. Her tour through the city saw few television sets and not many sources of electricity, either. Whatever they did have mostly comprised of generators that belonged to individuals, particularly store owners.

“A small, boring town,” she said under her breath on her way back to the entrance, “but still one worth protecting.”

No one heard her, too busy selling their wares to the few fellow travelers like herself or other townsfolk. Meredith considered that a good thing, and watched with a smile on her face as a breeze came through, flapping the posters up and down. One caught her immediate interest, and she approached the batch of them on the side of a building, right next to a storefront selling fruits and vegetables. Her hand slapped it down before it could be ripped off by the breeze, and her eyes widened.

Bowl Cut’s face was right there on the poster, with big letters spelling out “WANTED” beneath his ugly face. There were further words that offered a bounty and, most importantly, a name: Caleb the Beastmaster.

“Excuse me,” Meredith called, looking towards the nearest shopkeeper. Said woman poked her head out, leaning over what was a near-empty box of apples. “The man on this wanted poster, has he been through town before?”

“Hm?” The woman craned her neck further to get a good look at the poster before smacking her lips. “Oh, him. He passed through town a couple days back, unscrupulous scamp.”

“Did he say what he was here for?” Meredith moved over to the woman, her eyes momentarily drawn to the empty box there before looking at the older woman’s pudgy face and miffed expression.

“Demanded to see the armory, if you’ll believe!” she said. “All we have are sticks and stones here. The monsters don’t dare come near on usual days. But this man threatened to sic a whole horde of them on us! We didn’t let him near the armory. Not one step!”

“You guys don’t have the Corps here. Weren’t you scared?” Meredith asked, now leaning forward to get some of her head in the shade. The woman matched her with a glint in her eyes and a smile that accentuated her dimples.

“Not a chance. Our butcher here used to be a Guardian over at the Trial of Desert, but left when old age caught up with him. He was firm. Bought the man off with a bunch of steaks we’d farmed. Weird dog seemed to like ‘em. He left right after, saying he no longer smelled what drew him there, or something. He was odd.” The woman’s story proved all Meredith knew, telling her that Bowl Cut, or Caleb as his name appeared to be, was a man on a mission. There was no doubt the Metropolis, or thereabouts, was his next stop. Although, a different, unsettling thought arose.

“So…if he didn’t do anything, why the wanted poster?”

“Oh, those things come through maybe once a quarter,” the woman said. She folded her arms with a huff. “We’re not too concerned with the goings-on in the outside world, but that poster was delivered by the Corps some time ago. I think…Eh, I doubt the man is too much of a threat if he was cowed by our butcher! Beastmaster, hah! All he had was that little dog who was tamed by a steak.”

Meredith smiled at the statement and pulled her head back, its contents now swirling in a confusing haze. The Corps knew of the man, but it had been three months or more since they’d even cared to track him down. While it told Meredith that her choice to get to Masters was the right one, there was still a level of doubt. Another look at the wanted poster, now that the wind was gone, showed her that it was covered up by other, more colorful and cheery posters, and the bounty on it wasn’t all that high to begin with. It could have been possible that his quest for weapons had led him to steal one from a Guardian, and they’d merely not cared enough to finish hunting him down.

“Mera, there you are.” Eddie’s voice jerked her away, and she looked to the new arrival of her best friend. In his hands was a pair of desert cloaks, while his pack appeared stuffed with foods and canteens of water for the journey ahead. “Sorry, there was nothing in your size.”

“Feh, that’s probably thanks to the rich girl,” the shopkeeper spoke up. Eddie turned his head alongside Meredith to look at her, a frown on his face when he noticed the empty box. “You want to talk about a menace, it wasn’t that Beastmaster. This girl comes in here, parks right outside as she spooks the livestock, drops some big Guardian’s name before demanding all the desert clothing in her size and then comes and buys out my apples…at a reduced price! I wouldn’t have caved, but her posse looked ready to destroy my stand. If there’s one thing the Corps doesn’t need, it’s candidates like that.”

“But why the apples?” The woman had no idea. Nor did Meredith, who finished taking her garb from Eddie and stowed it away. It seemed hard to believe there could be any candidate like that out there, yet the woman had no reason to lie. “Well, I wouldn’t mind some fruit. What do you suggest for the desert?”

Meredith didn’t listen much, leaving Eddie to it, as she considered all the information she’d been given. It wasn’t a long contemplation. Eddie quickly came away with a bundle of nectarines and a smile on his face. She felt no need to tell him what she’d learned, and he didn’t ask further, even though he seemed a little upset about there being no apples. “But we’re all set otherwise, right?”

“Yeah. Desert is just a couple hours forward,” Eddie said. Unlike herself, he had already dressed himself in the required clothing, prepared to endure the road ahead.

The two left town as quickly as they came, with no change in the activity there from start to finish. As expected, the lush, green grass began to turn dry and brown. The air became more arid and Meredith found herself instinctually reaching for her water. She had to stop herself before she could waste it, though. Like the Frostland before it, the signs of the Desert Loop approaching were obvious. Sands began to intersperse with the grass, the general flora of the area was different, and the heat ratcheted upwards. Even Eddie commented on the change he felt in his magic.

The one big sign that they were entering the doubtless challenging Desert Loop, however, was none of those things. Instead, the very first sign of what marked Meredith’s next trial was the near-pristine skyship waiting just outside it. And beyond it was not just one skyship, but…

“A graveyard of skyships,” she and Eddie breathed at once. Resting in the sand before them was a row of skyships, old and new, alike. Some broken and some working. It was the symbol of a climate that offered no discrimination to the foolish and unprepared. The Desert Loop had begun.