The Unbidden: A Nocuous World (3)

Chapter 4 (Part 1)

The journey to the other side of the Silfer Desert was not meant to be a quick one, at least, not by sailing. While it was definitely easier to fly on Hargen's back to the various towns and cities, I didn't want to risk any more exposure than we already had.

Karnied and his forces were subdued temporarily by our skirmish a few weeks back, but I knew he was trailing after us. I didn't have any proof, but somewhere deep down, I knew it to be true. Even that thought alone sent a pang of fear shooting through me. Apparently, the land on the western and southwestern portions were void of any towns or settlements. It was both a good and a bad thing.

We wouldn't have to encounter any of the Silfer Desert's armies, which was the good thing. We couldn't get any hot meals or supplies – the bad thing. Fortunately for the crew of the ship, they had a few powerful magic casters and a dragon.

"That ability of yours sure is something else," I scoffed in surprise.

One of Liliana's spells was the ability to detect forms of life in a certain area around us. We first found out about it several days into our long trip around the desert.

"I never quite tire of it myself," Felt commented.

She would climb into the crow's nest and spread her arms out, parallel to her side. Every time, as though the world was giving her a guiding hand, the wind would blow in a specific direction around her rather powerfully. Usually, it took us a few hours of travel to reach where the wind guided her, but once we did, there was plenty of sea life around.

The sailors, who we'd come to know a bit about, were rather envious of her for that reason. Regardless, they took plenty of joy in netting as many fish as possible before we set sail again.

"I'm sure you never quite tire of her, either," a smirk crossed my face.

Felt narrowed his eyes at me.

"Of course not, she has the ability to do things I have only read about," it was impossible to tell his reaction even still, as he avoided showing any emotions around us when it came to her.

I had the feeling that his curse was no longer after we killed Visilius. Maybe it was just my optimism, but he had to have something good come of it. Otherwise, what satisfaction did he really get? Still, it was going to take time before we truly found out if it did.

Liliana came down from the crow's nest shortly after and smiled. Her leather mask still made it difficult to see any facial expressions. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. The two of them looked to me with heads slightly tilted.

"What?" Felt asked with a raised brow.

"It's nothing," a thin smile crossed my lips.

"It appears they have seen through you," Hargen chimed in as his head crested the waters next to us.

"What do you mean?" it was my turn to look confused.

"'Tis always the same reaction. Not that it was hard for me to notice," a familiar guttural chuckle escaped his throat.

They had me there, I suppose.

"I just thought the two of them were really similar."

"In what way?" Felt's voice was as monotonous as ever.

My eyes flitted to Hargen for a moment, then back to the two.

"It's pretty hard to read either of your faces. I just thought it was kind of funny," I smiled awkwardly.

At first, Felt furrowed his brows, and then sighed.

"I do not see the amusement in it."

With a shrug of my shoulders, I looked to the nearby sailors. They were finishing up hauling in the last net full of fish. The men wrestled with many of the floundering fish as they threw them into saltwater-filled barrels. After finishing, they had the burliest of men – comparable to professional bodybuilders in my old world – pick them up and bring them below deck.