Lundama Jungle, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

Annabella was well-trained at fighting exhaustion, but still, it warred within her. The wound in her thigh was incredibly painful; was it possible that infection had set in from the water she had trudged through? She managed to reach the edge of the jungle before nightfall, stopping before the terrain traded thick underbrush for dry sand. Finding a shaded spot, she stripped off her pants again to check her wound. It looked ugly, jagged and red, but it had stopped bleeding at least. Her sewing job was only okay. The chances of infection were quite high. She needed professional medical attention beyond herself and her little first aid kit, something she had no access to in the middle of this barren wasteland.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she spread an ointment over the wound that was supposed to soothe it and help fight infection before wrapping it again in clean gauze. She was just pulling her trousers back on when she heard the screaming.

Annabella drew her sword, squinting as she looked out into the desert. Whoever was screaming was out there. Finally, she spotted the source. Off in the distance, a figure was running in her direction. Above them was a scout, following them through the air like a shadow, about ready to swoop down and pluck the person from the ground.

Annabella grimaced. If she had brought a bow, she could have had a chance at taking the scout down. But she hadn't, and if she ran out there and was spotted, her cover was blown. Chances were the scout would attack, but the chance of it taking off and bringing the knowledge of her location to Motch was also there. The vision had told her that the Deliverer would be here. She couldn't imagine the Deliverer screaming like that, but maybe whoever it was knew where to find him.

Taking a deep breath, she left the shelter of the trees, hurrying across the sand toward the two. The boy — she realized it was a boy now — was running quite fast, taking the sand in long strides, his scream of terror still going strong. She began to run as well, doing her best to ignore the searing pain in her leg when she saw the dragon swoop down, claws outstretched to snatch the boy up. The boy saw it too and panicked, lunging away a bit too hard and cutting off his own scream with a mouthful of sand. Annabella ran for him, hoping to reach him before the scout did, but with a landing that sent sand scattering and dust rising, the dragon put itself between her and the boy. It had clearly seen her coming. She stopped, squinting through the dirty air at the enemy before her.

"Put down the sword, Princess," he hissed, baring dozens of long, sharp teeth. "You don't want to fight me."

She slid her right foot back, holding her sword in both hands, ready. When he didn't move, she cocked an eyebrow. Come at me.

The dragon narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. Without warning, he snapped at her like a snake, straining his long neck. She dodged it, thrusting her sword at his neck, narrowly missing it as he veered away. He rose into the air, pounding his powerful wings and sending sand and dust into her face. She leapt away, rolling on her shoulder and springing back to her feet on his left. He landed hard, whipping his tail at her. She blocked the strike with her sword, slicing at least a foot of his tail clean off. With a howl of pain and anger, he took off into the air.

"Come at me, you coward!" she yelled at him as he began to fly away. "You disgrace the Birumis name!"

Just as she hoped he would, the scout turned back, roaring in anger and flying at her with incredible speed. She stood still, letting him get just feet away before she dove forward, just barely missing his sharp claws as she rolled. He crashed into the ground, too blinded by his anger to think to veer up. Annabella was on her feet in a moment, leaping onto the stunned dragon with a yell and shoving her sword through the scales on his back, piercing his heart. The dragon gave an ear-shattering scream, jerking and nearly throwing Annabella off. In seconds, he stopped writhing. A moment later, he took his last breath.

Exhaling deeply, Annabella tugged her sword out of the creature's back and climbed off of it, clenching her teeth as the pain in her leg nearly caused it to buckle. She stared at the dead scout for a long moment before she turned around. The boy was sitting in the sand several yards away, staring at her, as white as a sheet, mouth hanging open.

"Arrogance and stupidity," she said, deciding every moment could be a teaching moment. "Birumis' scales aren't strong enough to withstand a sword. He knew he was outmatched, but one simple taunt was enough to bring him down."

"Uh-huh," the boy responded. Then he fainted.

Annabella blinked several times at the reaction before she rubbed her face with a sigh. Doing her best to clean the blood off her sword's blade, she sheathed it. Then she went to the boy. Up close, she realized that he wasn't as young as he had seemed. In fact, he seemed to be around her age, maybe even older. Dirty blond hair, a boyish face. She was almost tempted to leave him. She was here to meet the Deliverer, not some scrawny, fainthearted boy who looked as though he hadn't held a sword in all his life. He looked rather pathetic, lying in the sand. She knew he'd die without a doubt if she left him behind.

Crouching beside him, she gave him a shake. "Hey, get up. You can't stay out here." When he didn't respond, she sighed heavily and grabbed his arms, hauling him up onto her shoulder. With a limp she couldn't hide, she carried him across the sand to the shelter of the trees. He was still unresponsive when she put him down, and so she checked him for injuries. He seemed to be alright, no bleeding — so the fainting had solely been from shock. He was rather out of place here, that was for sure. Sitting back, Annabella let out a breath as she watched the boy.

A terrible thought crossed her mind: What if this was the Deliverer?

No, no, no. This... this kid was in no way capable of being the Deliverer. Rising to her feet, Annabella returned to the edge of the jungle, looking out into the vast expanse of the desert. Besides the scout's dead body, there was nothing but sand, boulder, and sky. Deep within her, she began to realize that it was true. This boy... he was the Deliverer.

Bloody hell. She dragged her hand down her tired face, pausing at her mouth as she let out a deep sigh through her nose. Behind her, the boy stirred, and she turned around, a dull sense of hopelessness filling her as she walked back to him. "Hello there."

He watched her in apprehension, sitting up against the tree behind him. He was still incredibly pale. "Hi." The word was barely audible.

Her leg throbbed, so she sat down across from him, doing her best to mask her grimace. "Annabella LaKline. You look lost."

He swallowed hard, his eyes drinking up her appearance in trepidation. "I think I'm dreaming."

If only, she thought bitterly. "I'm quite positive you aren't." She opened her pack, looking for some water to give him. "What's your name?"

"Todd. Todd Vinson."

Todd. How... unoriginal. She had expected — hoped for — something more bold-sounding. "Well, Todd Vinson, you aren't dreaming. You're in Desmond." She tossed him a water bottle, and he barely managed to catch it.

He fumbled to open it with shaky fingers. "I've never heard of it. I didn't know there was a Desmond in Amissah."

Annabella let out a long breath. It was just her luck, the Deliverer turning out to be not only completely pathetic and unprepared, but an ignorant Amissian at that. "It's not."

He gave her a blank look.

She leaned forward, holding his gaze to catch his reaction. "You're not in Amissah. You're in Desmond. Desmond isn't a city or anything like that. It's a world."

He frowned, looking so innocent and lost in the way he pushed his fingers through his hair and stuttered. "I... I don't think that's really, uh, possible?"

Annabella nodded slowly, nibbling on her bottom lip. Inwardly, she was beginning to panic. How could the Immortal One do this to her? Sending an incompetent Deliverer was the last thing Desmond needed! "Look, we can't stay here. Let's go. I'll explain things as we travel."

Benjamin, she thought as she pushed herself to her feet. Benjamin could help her with this... this helpless boy. It was a bit of a journey to Asural, but she couldn't think of any other option. There was no way that this boy was prepared to do what it took to find the Immortal One's son. He was soft, clearly, and possessed hands untrained in battle. What did Amissians even do with their time?

Todd was giving her an incredulous look. "Hold on, you expect me to just... like, just follow you? I don't even know you."

She stooped to pick up her backpack and swallowed back a grimace as the pain in her leg flared. "Fine, stay here and die." Turning away from him, she started back the way she had come, tromping through the underbrush. It'd be easier going back as long as they followed her trail. With a sinking feeling, she knew that they wouldn't be making it out of the jungle before darkness fell. It was incredibly dangerous to travel at night there, especially with her new straggler, but what other choice did they have? Stay there and face the night dangers of the desert and jungle simultaneously? That was a death wish.

"Wait!"

She sighed irritably, turning back to Todd. He was on his feet, looking torn.

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked, his voice cracking a little.

Annabella looked at him for a moment, biding her time to present a good answer. "I'm the only one you can trust. It seems it's my duty to protect you until you can protect yourself."

His eyebrows went up. "Protect me? You?" He looked her up and down, pressing his lips together and finally nodding. "Okay, okay, sure. But why? What's going on? Why am I here?" He ran his fingers through his hair again, mussing it even more. "I still think this is a dream."

"It's not." Unfortunately. "Come on. We've got a long road ahead of us. I'll explain everything on the way."

He looked beyond her warily. "That's no road."

"Wow, how observant of you, Smartie. No, it's not a road, but it'll do. If you do, however, require a road, I'm afraid you'll just have to make do with a bridge and get over it."

Todd stared at her for a quiet second. Then he let out what could have only been a breathy laugh, turning away as he pushed his hand through his hair once again. When he looked back at her, however, there was no amusement on his face. "Are you always this rude?"

He had laughed, and it struck her more than she'd care to admit. It'd been years since she had seen anyone smile, much less laugh. This boy had no idea. No idea at all. He was in for one rude awakening. "I'd prefer it referred to as 'overly blunt'."

He pressed his lips together, and then took a deep breath. "Fine. So say I go with you. Where does this so-called road lead?"

"Hopefully to freedom and peace for many." Hopefully. She tried not to grimace. "It's a long road. A really long one."

He nodded slowly, looking at her but not really seeing her. "Uh-huh. Okay. Um. You know, I mean, I kind of have a meeting that I sorta need to get to... in, in Amissah, I mean, not in... your, uh, little world here, so I think I'll just go... back now..."

"Okay. Stay here and die, because there's no way back to Amissah." With that, Annabella turned and started walking again.

"What do you mean, there's no way back?"

"None whatsoever. Trust me, if I could send you back, I would."

"I need to go back! I can't stay here!" He was beginning to sound desperate.

"You'll stay here until you complete your mission."

"What mission?"

With a deep sigh, Annabella turned around again, putting her hands on her hips. "The mission of the Deliverer." She hated saying it, but she knew it was true. "You are the Deliverer, brought here to find the son of the Immortal One so that he can destroy Motch, the Great Dragon, and free Desmond once and for all."

"Literally every word you just said made absolutely no sense."

"If you'd shut up, follow me, and listen, maybe things would make sense!" She rubbed her hand down her face yet again, the weariness dragging her down. She did her best to tuck it out of view. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. You're just annoying me."

Todd gave a small, sardonic nod. "Spoken with blunt honesty."

"I don't beat around the bush."

"You mean you don't do nice."

"Sure."

He closed his eyes, shaking his head a little as if knowing he'd regret the decision he was making. "Fine. Fine, I'll come. Maybe I'll wake up from this dream on the way."

"I wouldn't count on it. You're not dreaming, Smartie."

He opened his eyes to give her a look. He clearly wasn't in favour of the nickname. She thought it rather fit.

With a deep breath, he reluctantly closed the distance between them. "Okay. Lead on."