The map was… Surprisingly… Incomplete. There was more blank space than actual entries on it. Kazius felt almost like he was ripped off. Then again, it did only cost a gold coin… But Veleno’s coins were so incredible that it still felt like a scam. Still… It was better than nothing.

“What the hell!? What even is their alphabet?” Alice exclaimed in shock, studying the map. It seemed the map took her mind off her worries… Even if her internal struggle was far from solved.

“They’re squiggles! I like them!” Eve exclaimed in awe.

“Whoever made this has explored maybe one third of the Continent… And the letters look like snakes… I Have no clue what it says though. This may have been a waste of money.” Azanor stated in annoyance. It seemed his ability to understand other tongues truly was limited. Written text was excluded… But Kazius could actually read the map just fine.

“I can read it. So it doesn’t matter.” Kazius assured. It was strange. To him, the letters just looked normal. He wasn’t sure if he could tell if he was reading a different language or not unless he was told. Just like with speech.

“Really? Not even m… Never mind… That is quite the useful ability though…” Azanor asked in shock before nodding, impressed, but did look a bit concerned.

Knowing the fear Azanor held for Shadow Fiends… a bit of concern was understandable. Could all of his kind read any language like this?

“I guess it isn’t so worthless then. It is up to date, unlike anything I know… And… It doesn’t help that Monsters tend to not care about what others are doing… This map might be the best we can hope for.”Azanor stated in annoyance. Considering his amount of knowledge from so long ago, not knowing so much of how things were presently was likely far from comfortable.

“To be honest, I am not sure what I expected… I guess it is better than no map… But one gold coin for this… Their gold coins are already so valuable too…” Alice whined out, seeming to feel the same way as Kazius.

“It is a nice picture though!” Eve chirped, seeming to enjoy the drawings on the map.

‘At least someone is happy…’

“Well, what does it say?” Azanor questioned.

Kazius would study the map before beginning to describe it… It only had about 4 places on it… There was a village named Sakura to the far Southeast. As well as a town fairly close by, to the Northeast, named Vargstam. Lastly there was a… Was that just a cemetery? A big one? No name given… Just said cemetery in a large, shaded area… And then to the farther East there was a dotted line indicating Dragon territory.

“Dragon territory, huh…” Azanor stated in amusement.

“Dragons? I think I heard of those Monsters… I heard Ratier fought one and gained it’s respect and then it joined him as one of the heroes… Before it turned traitor… Or at least that is how that lie goes.” Alice stated curiously before grumbling.

“Lie?” Kazius questioned.

“Well, at this point I will just assume things I was told are a lie.” Alice admitted with a frown. She truly had a broken spirit from this all.

“I wouldn’t go that far… But I suppose caution doesn’t hurt at this point.” Kazius stated in concern.

Azanor looked like he was biting his tongue again about something he knew, but he did say something after a while. Maybe not all he had in mind, but at least he was being open.

“It makes sense there is nothing marked on the line past that… Leviathans and Dragons had a rivalry for a long time… No one from the city would go past that line. There was actually a barrier against Dragons that we passed… On our way inside.” Azanor explained.

“Really? When?” Kazius questioned in shock.

“I have always had an eye for barriers and large amounts of Mana, so it was easy for me to sense… Remember when I kept staring back at something while we were approaching the city? That is because I saw it and I found it funny they still can’t stand each other even after so long.” Azanor explained.

Kazius was surprised to hear this, but it did make sense why Azanor didn’t bother telling them about it, After all, it wasn’t relevant to anything.

“I had no idea.” Alice admitted curiously.

“Maybe one day they will be friends.” Eve stated with a smile.

“I really doubt that, Eve… They hated each from even before I was born…” Azanor stated hesitantly. It was then he noticed Eve pouting a bit at his answer.

“Then again you never know. Crazier things have happened.” Azanor would add, the addition cheering up the Elf. He truly had a soft spot for her.

“Well… I guess it is fine the map doesn’t have that much detail from that area…. We have no reason to go all the way to Dragon territory… Looks like it would be a journey of a month anyway… We need to go somewhere safe that is closer, where we can hide. Unless you think we would be safer farther away?” Alice would change topic back to focus.

“No… We shouldn’t try and go for a long journey. We don’t even have the supplies for that. I am also worried about how most of the areas in between these settlements aren’t even filled in… I suppose it is better than nothing… But with the lack of landmarks, we may get lost if we don’t follow the sun’s position carefully… I will have to keep a good eye on the stars too… We don’t have a compass.” Kazius stated with a sigh.

“In that case… Where should we go?” Alice questioned curiously.

The question was a tough one… Kazius felt like he was running away from more than just Holy Knights… His fate was also something looming over him… He did not want to be controlled by the Oracle… But… For how much longer could he run? Avoid the subject of The Demon King’s return with his own mental excuses… Wonder around, just fleeing without direction? It wasn’t like he had the strength to stand against the entirety of The Church or an Edict… He currently had no chance against The Demon King… But perhaps in their travels, he could grasp his powers and identity better… His friends as well… He did not have the luxury to suggest fleeing to the end of the continent. It was not a good idea…

And whether he liked it or not… He did not believe a two front conflict would be good… Sooner or later… Before The Demon King came… They would have to confront The Church.

“We should head to Vargstam… It is the closest… I doubt The Church knows about such a place… It seems to be surrounded by mountains… They probably hide the place well enough… Hopefully the people in Vargstam are hospitable… And things there are not as expensive as in Veleno… It could be a good place to sit down and plan properly.” Kazius stated. He needed to get his shit together for his friends’ sakes….

“That sounds like the best idea, I agree.” Alice stated, sounding a little hopeful, but a hint of hesitation remained in her tone.

“Vargstam… That place is new to me… Definitely established recently. I think it would be a good idea…” Azanor agreed while in thought.

“Then it’s settled… Let’s go… Maybe if we’re lucky we can get there before sundown… I doubt we would find such a place in the mountains that easily though… But at least the map shows a river valley that can get us through without climbing them…” Kazius stated before beginning to walk.

The others followed; their walk fairly uneventful.

Hours passed.

The Mountains coming into view as they traveled away from the dark forest surrounding Veleno into a lush and vibrant one. The sun was bright, reflecting beautifully in the river valley as it began to set. The sky was orange and red. A beautiful view.

Kazius though had too much of a preoccupied mind to enjoy it though.

Despite their fear of persecution, they had yet to be confronted by anyone associated with The Church, much less an Edict…

It was a good thing, that was for sure…

But…

He had a bad feeling in his gut.

Why was he so anxious?

They had headed off very fast… They had been traveling for many days… Yet he felt like something in his head was yelling at him. Why did he feel so certain that The Church would send people so fast?

Perhaps it was just the scared child that grew up tormented by The Church that made him think that way…

How would the church, that never set foot out, know how to find them? Then again… They had the Oracle. Just because they had not used it yet, did not guarantee it was not ever going to be used…

Still… Why…

‘I don’t like this, not one bit…’

Kazius thought to himself. It was almost like he could hear something yelling at him in his mind… Warning him…

‘I must be losing my mind…’