“So, when we leavin’?” I turned to him as we walked back home, “I’d prefer if we left before pops comes back. Too much of a hassle if he’s opposing us.”

“Yes, yes, I agree as well. Sooner is better than later.” He brushed off the question in favor of a more personal one, “By the war, what is your mother making for dinner tonight? I am eating with you tonight if it is stew.’

“I think she mentioned it was moussaka.” I replied, “Will that do?”

“Good enough, haha!” He patted me on the back with a grin that went from ear to ear, “Ah, Schnell, my dearest of friends! You know just how to treat me like a king!”

“Yeah man, I know your situation.” I gave him a slick high five, “You can join us whenever you want. Mom really doesn’t mind one bit.”

“Ah, now you have demoted me from a king to a mere beggar…” He tisked sarcastically, “I could not live with the shame of mooching off of someone else’s family ties. Please, I thank you for the hospitality, but I said that I will only ever eat at your place when your mother’s stew is on the plate. That, and maybe moussaka.”

Really, we’re joking about this, but nothin’ about his situation is funny at all. He’s got a confident mask, but behind it lies a young lad too scared to oppose his abusive parents. Since we’ve practically known each other all our lives, I’ve seen him barely crawl to our house all bloodied and bruised from his alcoholic punk of a father’s beatings. His mother as well, she ain’t any better, the skank! Now I don’t mean to badmouth anyone’s mothers, y’hear, but she practically boasts about how much she sleeps around with other men at any possible moment. Heck, the last time I dined at their place, she even tried to pull something on me as well, so I had to flee the scene to preserve mine and Shaid’s friendship.

Now you may be thinking that his father’s life is in such a pitiful state because of his mother’s numerous infidelity cases, but with how fucked their family is, even that isn’t the truth behind the story. One time, when Shaid and I were still kiddos around the age of ten, we were playin’ hide and seek and somehow managed to get stuck in an awkward scene, that being one of Shaid’s mother’s adulterous escapades. The weird thing wasn’t the fact that she was getting railed by three men, but rather the fourth guy who was just standing there and staring like an imbecile. Indeed, the listless fourth guy was none other than Shaid’s father himself, and it seems he was pretty into it. No matter how ya’ look at it though, that definitely wasn’t appropriate for the two of us ten year olds to witness. I think I won’t ever forget that image for the rest of my life given how well-engraved it is into my Eyes...

“Hey, what is the problem?” Shaid looked me in the Eyes, “Something bothering you, friend?”

“Nah, ‘s nothing…” I quickly switched gears, “But come on now! Don’t go ignorin’ the question I asked ya’! When do you wanna leave? Pops’ coming back in a week!”

“Well, preparations aside, we don’t even have a proper plan yet.” He started rambling, “You see, it is alright to use whichever cards we are dealt at times, but that simply will not work for such a grand journey we are about to embark on. We need to know of the route we’ll be taking, and only then could we properly assess the situation further.”

“Damn, you really thought this through!” I started getting more and more excited, “With my strength and your brains, we’ll be a real force to be reckoned with! So, got any routes in mind?”

“Well, one thing is for sure.” He replied, “Definitely not going to The Kingdom.”

“Carmen?” I tilted my head, “Why not? Isn’t that where the route of the problem is?”

“Exactly. It is a hot zone, as you call it.” He explained, “A lot of soldiers are patrolling the paths there even after this so called “Great War” has “ended”. It is neither safe nor wise to go there and believe our safety will be assured.”

“Alright then, maybe Sulfury?” I reckoned, “It’s a pretty barren wasteland after the Great Wars started, so maybe if we go there and start convincing people to only wage wars within its borders, the entire hot zone will be encapsulated.”

“That is a good end goal.” He praised me, “But it isn’t something we can do at the beginning. You are thinking out of order, friend, as we can’t convince anyone if we do not have credibility and reverence in our names.”

Damn, I’m kind of getting demotivated now that he’s shooting down my ideas left and right. So we can’t go to either of the places that could be considered important landmarks to the war, which only leaves us with the barren wastelands of the Solaris Desert and the scholar’s paradise of Simpleton, both of which really don’t strike me as optimal places to help us reach our goal.

“I believe we should go to Abyssus Solis.” He elaborated, “It is a place filled with the dark-skinned race. If there is any place that is more discriminated against, then that is the place. If we are to end this endless cycle of hate our World is cursed with, then that is our best choice.”

“That’s…” I got quiet for a sec, “That’s genius! Shaid, buddy, you’re a genius! Haha, I knew I could count on you!”

“Ah, you give me too much credit.” He chuckled, “Oh, we have arrived. Please, do ask your mother if it is alright for me to join you for dinner, just in case.”

“Oh alright.” I opened the front door of my parents’ house, “But I’m telling you – to us you’re practically family, so there’s no need to be all reserved!”

***

“Hey ma!” I yelled from the entrance, “Is it alright if Shaid joins us for dinner?”

“Hey, don’t yell!” She popped her head out of the other room, “You’re annoying the neighbors! And besides, didn’t I tell you that it’s always alright?”

“I know, he’s just being himself though.”

This kind and lively woman was the mother of the Schnell household. Her hair was the same brown color as mine, but I seemed to have completely surpassed her in terms of height. She’s this really small, tiny being that propagates peace and hospitality above all else. Shaid constantly praises her for this trait of hers.

“Ah, hello again, Miss Mirka.” Shaid gave her his kindest greeting, “Thank you very much for this. If there is anything you need helping with, please do not hesitate to ask me. I will do my best to assist.”

“Oh you!” She put her finger to his lips, “Anything to help with he says! Come on, Shai, you’ve been doing more than enough by helping my knucklehead of a son do his job. For now, just zip it and have a seat, dinner will be ready in a moment!”

“A-Ah, thank you again…” He got all flustered as he zoomed to the chair, “Sigh, how cruel it is for such a perfect woman to be taken.”

Does he realize what he’s saying right next to said woman’s bulky and noticeably peeved son? This guy, I’m not sure if he’s being serious or just joking around like usual when he says this. I mean, given the circumstances, I really can’t be mad at someone for complimenting my mother, but isn’t this going a bit too far?

“Don’t worry, when pops comes back, you’ll have all the time in the world to discuss my mother’s strong points together.” I whispered just quietly enough so that my mom wouldn’t hear the tease.

“You joke, but I am serious.” He glanced at my mother preparing the food with a warm smile, “A woman devoid of any hate, that is what she is. The definition of perfection. Of course, I would never try anything with her in particular, but if ever I wanted to settle down with someone, I’d want it to be with a woman at least half as kind as her.”

“That’s…” I was at a loss for words as my mother put the moussaka on the table.

“Here you are!” She smiled as she waited for us to take the first bite before sitting down herself, “Come on, come on! Try it and tell me what you think of it!”

“Mmm!” Shaid took his time to savor the bite before taking his napkin to clean off his goatee, “Miss Mirka, without a doubt, your cuisine is unparalleled.”

“I always like it when you come by, Shai.” She finally sat down across from him, “You’re courteous, yet still you don’t shy away from handing out compliments! Your girl must be a lucky lady.”

“A girl? No, no, you misunderstand.” He tried to explain his dating status as quickly as possible, but was caught up in her pace.

“Ah, of course, you boys are at that age where one girl just won’t suffice? It’s that thing, right? Go out with a girl for a week or two just to test the waters, before ultimately growing bored and moving on?” She teased, “It’s alright, I understand. Just try not to break too many hearts, you hear?”

“No, that is not who I am…” He blushed as he looked down.

“She’s just yanking your chain, man.” I comforted him, “She knows full well that you’re not like that. And you mom, please apologize to Shaid.”

“Ah, did you take offense to that?” She got up from her seat, walked around the table, before burying his face in her chest as she gave him a good ol’ hug, “My sincerest apologies. Ooh, there, there…”

“A-Ah, i-it is… alright.” He tried to keep a cool head as he spoke, but the euphoric expression on his face all but gave him away.

Well, after witnessing that whole scene play out in front of me, I kind of lost my appetite, so I closed my eyes and finished the plate off quickly before waiting for Shaid to follow suit. After eating our fills, I told mom I’d walk Shaid to his house under the false pretense that we had some more stuff to discuss about our work tomorrow at the smithy.

“Well alright.” She folded her arms, “Just don’t take too long now. It’s getting pretty dark.”

And with that, we had about five minutes to discuss our last minute plans about the journey. During our walk, we had once again landed on the conclusion that our first order of business should definitely be to go to Abyssus Solis and document our time there. Before that, though, we had listed off all of the tools, equipment and documents we’d need to go there. It wasn’t anything too special, just the bare minimum like some bread and water. Apart from that, our passports were the only documents we’d really need.

In terms of when we’ll be departing, we had decided that in this scenario, the sooner the better would best apply. As such, we will be leaving our snuggly little town and departing on our grand journey to unite the world tomorrow, at the crack of dawn!

“But wait, if we are to document our findings…” Shaid realized, “Then doesn’t that mean we’ll need a book to write it all in?”

“Ah, I guess you’re right on that.” I put on my best thinker’s pose, “Say, we probably can’t write in Cardinic, since Entropic is the universal language, right?”

“Right.” He added, “Our town speaks Entropic due to the high influx of traveling merchants that pass through here, but do you know how to write in it?”

“Nope. Not a clue.” I shrugged, “You?”

“Not even a letter.”

Eh, we’ll figure it out later. For now we’ll pack our things and gets some rest. Tomorrow’s a big day, I just hope neither of us oversleep. It’d be pretty annoying if one of us got to the meeting place all ready for the trip, only for him to get stood up by the other because the roosters still haven’t woken up themselves.

“Hey, just in case…” I thought of a good idea, “If one of us were to oversleep, what do you say we have the other person go to their house and wake them up. Ha-ha…”

“Sigh…” He immediately picked up on the detail that I definitely don’t plan on waking up in time, “I’ll be sure to do that…”