He was right about only having an hour to sleep. Not long after his conversation with Rakkan, Casper experienced a rude awakening at the hands of someone with a very high pitched and girlish voice. They repeatedly nudged at his chest with their foot. “Ai! Get up! Cho says that if you don’t get up in a minute we’re leaving without you! I know he ain’t lying!”

In a panic, Casper swung his claws at whoever it could’ve been. The pain in his chest spiked at the rough treatment. The only vocalizations that came from his was a storm of swearing and stammering. Thankfully, for everyone’s safety, by the time he managed to fumble for his gun, that he realized he wasn’t in danger.

The one waking him was a small woman, clad in a black duster and shorts. A Squirrel. Her incredibly small stature, standing at barely 4 feet tall, caused her duster to graze the ground, divided by a line in a middle that made room for her long fluffy tail. “There we go!” She huffed, then gave a smug smile. “Now get outside, will ya! Vram is interested in meeting you and she’d slap me if we left without you.”

As she walked out of the hut, Casper noticed the logo on the back of her duster. Rather hard to see with her large tail in the way, but he was quick to recognize it: The word Holy Divers written in cursive, the logo and name of the Coalition’s monster hunters. But now, it wasn’t time to think about how a brat like her was one of the Divers. He was already mostly dressed, sleeping in his undershirt and shorts, all he had to do was throw his jacket on and have his rucksack by his side.

As he stumbled out, still tired, the first thing he noticed was a large vehicle parked just outside where they were sleeping. At the edge of the town, it had plenty of room to pull in. A large blocky looking vehicle, fitted with large treads and a few windows. Stenciled there on the side was the Holy Divers’ logo, along with two other stickers: A cartoon picture of the Squirrel from before and another one resembling some sort of white bear. As he began to approach it, the Squirrel shouted to Casper, “Man, you’re slow! But I shouldn’t be giving you shit, we’re the ones who were late. Vram wanted to bring the vehicle with treads and I told her it wasn’t needed.” A motormouth this one… The energy of someone who’s whole diet consisted of caffeine pills. “Feel free to take a nap when you get on, this thing isn’t built for speed.”

Casper opened his mouth, ready to tell the Squirrel to slow down, he stopped once a third member entered the scene.

She wore a similar uniform to the Squirrel, albeit with a beanie on her head. While the Squirrel was positively tiny in build, this woman was very tall. Tall enough that Casper was only at neck level with her. Rather chubby, with her shirt showing a bit of midriff. As she introduced herself to Casper, she wore a calm and gentle smile. As a matter of fact, she looked like she was about to tall asleep. Her large appearance, round ears, and white fur gave away her species: The Qestian race known as the Jambavan, a Polar Bear to be more specific. That would explain the other sticker. “Hey…” She waved to Casper, her voice barely audible, but made up for it with her presence alone. She then looked to the ATV, “My mistake… But I was topping at 50kms… I brought it because I thought it’d be useful in the event we came across the Artist Amalgamate… But you guys handled that, so heh…” She drifted off, yawning, before going back to her blissful smile. “Ah, I’m Vramosa. But you can call me Vram. Everyone does.” She motioned to the Squirrel, who had now crawled up on top of the ATV to the gun located at the top. “Her name is Sprag. We’re two swords of the Holy Divers, like Cho. You’ve already acquainted with him, yeah…?”

Sprag, who was cradling the gun at the top of the vehicle like it was a newborn baby, “I do love the firepower this thing provides though, so I forgive you for taking it. The Creator’s Guild would have our asses if I fired it for no reason, but man I’m tempted… Maybe just once.”

With so much to take in in such a short amount of time, especially with how sleepy he was, Casper could only nodded, “Pleased to meet the both of you? Where’s Cho and Rakkan?”

“Inside actually, Rakkan and Cho were already up when we got here. So, like, we’re ready to leave when you are?” She pointed to the ATV. There in the passenger’s seat, arms crossed, was Cho. Then, there, through one of the windows on the side of the vehicle, was Rakkan. Taking a nap, having stayed up all night. Honestly, Casper didn’t have to see him to know he was there, he could hear his storing from where he was.

With the thought of moving on in his head, the start of his final mission around the corner. He couldn’t help but feel though that meeting two of the Holy Divers would be something of more importance. “Right… First things first, though.” He hesitated, “You don’t mind waiting a little longer? I have someone I want to say goodbye to.”

“That’s fine.” Vram said, giving a slow thumbs up, “But dont’ stay long. Tracks is a wonderful place, but the Coalition is expecting us back before nightfall.”

Sprag, however, had a different way of answering Casper. “You heard her! If you don’t get your bare ass in here in 5 minutes we’re leaving! I mean it!”

“Now, now,” Vramosa said, looking over her shoulder to her friend. “If you keep treating our new friend like that-” The Polar Bear lowered her voice to a growl, “-I’ll punish you.”

To which Sprag only froze up, gulping, holding her tail like a security blanket. Currently straddling the minigun like a horse. “I’ll be good, miss.”

Casper ignored such a threat and what it could mean, to thank Vram. “Thank you, I’ll be back very soon.” He said as he ran off, in search of the one person he had in mind to say goodbye to. He passed by numerous train cars, all of them repurposed into bedrooms, merchant stalls, and storehouses. It was, as he passed through the streets, that he realized the scale at which Tracks occupied. Nowhere near as the villages he had been to in the past. More rustic than most town. But certainly large for what was basically a rest stop.

“Hey! You there! Sphynx!” A store owner shouted, flagging Casper down. He was a mangy looking monkey, smoking a pipe, old enough to be Casper’s grandfather if all the wrinkles were anything to go by. Sitting at his own little stall, several knickknacks in front of him. “You’re the guy who was with Trace earlier, yeah? Me oh my, she seemed to really like you, didn’t she?” He coughed as he smoked on his pipe, which emitted a brown, dense smoke.

“That was me, yes.” Casper said, brushing past a few people on the crowded street, before stopping in front of the man. The first thing he noticed about him, beyond appearances, was his smell. He smelled absolutely horrible, Casper couldn’t even get close without his nose wrinkling at the man’s stench. He couldn’t tell if it was his pipe or his body odor actually.

“She left.” The Monkey grinned, “Said something about going off to live in some imperial city all cozy like. Think she’ll join the Legion while she’s at it.”

Casper gasped between the fingers now covering his mouth. “Wait? Why?” He always figured her to be someone neutral to the Empire, at least he assumed so, but he didn’t expect her to leave just like that.

“Well, she had a reason.” He said, before motioning to all the CDs, books, and video cassettes in front of him. “If you buy one of my wares, I can tell you! I’ll give you a discount just because I like you, kid. These are all Pre-Bloom, can’t get them anywhere else!”

The Sphynx, with a moment’s hesitation, got ready to pay. But then, he stopped himself, narrowing his eyes, grimacing. “Wait… Most of these I could just get at a store in a settlement.” Shaking his head, he made a tsk tsk sound. “I spent a good chunk of my life around restoration specialists, people who know how to make Pre-Bloom stuff new. I’m not a common Sphynx.”

The Monkey gritted his teeth, fidgeting in his seat.

But, then, Casper shrugged and put a few Shells down on the table anyways. He took one of the albums, “But, you’re lucky I like instrumental. Have a good day.” Before Casper got ready to leave, running out of time, he was stopped by a voice.

“Bizz! What did I tell you about scamming people!?” The familiar voice said, as it called from the next stall over. Red mohawk, missing right arm, and small leather jacket. The person Casper was looking for. Trace, the Hyena. “You’re lucky I was next door and happened to pay attention, Casper.” She cast her eyes to the old Monkey, now shrinking in his seat. “I… See you already paid though. Not sure where that leaves me…”

“It wasn’t a scam! I was just getting him to pay me in order to get information I could’ve easily given without money! These are all fairly priced!” Bizz protested, tapping his pipe on the table. The CDs were all things one could get in Imperial, Coalition, or even rarely Independent cities. While they were overpriced, they weren’t terribly so.

One can expect this sort of price gouging in Independent cities. Places where the ruling body could control the prices.

“The stuff looked manufactured… Probably bought in a far off town for cheap. I wanted something to listen to, since it’s a long road to Terminus.” He coughed, looking back to Trace, “But I’m curious, you aren’t actually leaving are you? I know it doesn’t concern me, but I’m curious.”

Trace put her arm over her chest, as if to cross her arms without a second one. “You say that, yet you sound so worried. You’re really going to worry about me despite knowing me for a day?” She laughed, teasing the increasingly embarrassed Casper. “If it wasn’t for that ‘not into women’ comment from yesterday, I would think you’re hitting on me.”

“I have nothing to add to that…” Was the only thing Casper could say, “I guess it’s just because our last goodbye wasn’t the best, so I wanted to make up for it.”

Trace nodded as she walked away from Bizz’s stall, when she realized the conversation was just between them. Bizz, meanwhile, got back to flagging down would be customers. Trace, with a solemn smile, admitted, “But, he’s not wrong. I’m leaving Tracks.”

“Really?” Casper said, frowning, as he walked next to her, “Any reason why?”

“Simple. I met you and I saw you and the others go off without hesitation. Saving another person. Wanting to join the Coalition. That scared little girl… She has a future because of you guys.” Their little walk went further, to the edge of town, from here Casper could see the Holy Divers’ van. The walk lead the two up to an empty train car, still in perfect condition, ready for whoever wanted to use it. “I’ve lived in Tracks my whole life. My mom was a guard, my dad was a guard. They lived their whole lives here. I have no idea what anything is like outside of the immediate vicinity. The closest I’ve been to leaving is going on the trade routes for a few miles. That and reading the news. Hard to find good sources of news sometimes.”

“Wanderlust.” Casper said, rubbing his chin. “I know that feeling. Tired of seeing the world from a piece of paper.” It was hard to hold a good news company, requiring a strong economy or source of ink and paper. Which was exactly why so many companies went under the Empire’s umbrella. “Well, just north of here there is a publishing company.” Trace said, as she inspected the empty train car, making sure it was in top shape, “But that doesn’t matter right now. I want to go off and explore. I’ve heard so many stories of travelers and explorers, about the world out there. I’ve always been tempted by them. You, Rakkan, and Cho, you guys pushed me over the edge into that…” She sniffled, wiping her eyes, the brown fur of her arm was wet with tears. Casper approached her, placing a scrawny hand on her shoulder. But, through her tears, Trace smiled, “I won’t be alone… I have two people coming with me, taking me where I want to go. We leave in a week.”

“Where will you go? Why not come to Terminus with us?”

“For now, we’re just going to wander. Once I get my bearings and see if this exploring thing is for me. Well, they volunteered to take me to their home in the Old Path.”

Casper’s eyes widened. That was probably the last thing he expected. Other than joining the Sunseekers. The Old path, those who rejected modern day and lived a medieval life style. Complete with armor, swords, and lighting by torchlight. Such an oddly specific choice made him curious. “I’m sure they’d love your spirit. You just won’t be able to wear your jacket anymore. Any reason why you chose them over, say, the Coalition?”

“It’s only temporary. I want to see what life is like for others. No way I’m giving up my favorite jacket.”

“Good. It’s a nice jacket. Just be sure to stop by Terminus sometime.” Giving an awkward thumbs up, “We’ll see who’s changed more in a year, maybe more.”

“If we don’t die by then!” Trace laughed, slugging Casper in the shoulder with a friendly punch.

“Yeah,” He said rubbing his armor. “If we don’t… Die by then.” He said, taking a frozen pause.

“If I like it with the Path, I’ll be meeting you wearing full armor. Maybe something lighting, all that plate armor looks super uncomfortable.”

“That’s a good sight.” He said. For those brief moments, he came to realize just how fleeting these moments were for him. A smile on his face, determination in his eyes. “I have my goal in the Weald. You have yours in the Old Path. Let’s see who finishes first. Agreed?”

“Agreed!”

“…And… Tracks will be fine without you?”

“I’m not going to leave without a going away party, no.” Trace looked out at the busy streets of merchants, buyers, sellers, and travelers. How long Tracks lasted, a place that was once used as a hub of transportation years ago, now still finding use after the death and rebirth of the world. Straining herself not to cry again, Trace sighed, “You worry too much, did anyone ever tell you that…?” Then, she motioned over to the Holy Divers’ van in the distance, just several meters away, “Now get out there, they’re waiting for you!”

“Yeah… They have.” With that, he walked off, giving Trace the same gesture he gave Rakkan just last night; a strong, solemn, thumbs up from behind. “Thank you, Trace.” He didn’t know if his journey was going to be successful. He didn’t know if Terminus would accept him. He didn’t know if these fleeting moments would stop feeling so fleeting. But, for those brief moments as he walked to the ATV, he thought to himself: Things just might turn out alright.