The Crown of the Thunder King

CHAPTER SIX

"Aaah! It's the Imperial Lake!"

Lily's jubilant cry echoed out over the shallow valley below them, as Adlai's group crested a small hill that overlooked the landscape.

"What's the deal with that, huh?" Kolohe complained, tweaking one finger in his ear. "It's just a body of water."

Well, that was true. Still, there was something mystical about the way it sat like a silver mirror in the grassland, pouring out its life in thin, snaking rivers that curled around and gurgled softly before they slipped over the horizon, heading to the sea.

Lily crossed her arms and smiled broadly, giving the impression that she was puffing up.

"It's not just any body of water, Kolohe. The Imperial Lake was the site of Tevyne's original capital, and-"

"Yeah, yeah," he yawned. "Who cares? All I'm looking at is a potential beach day."

Is it really a beach day if it's on a lake?

Adlai shook his head to clear it. It didn't really matter in the end. Plus, it was probably best not to get swept up into Kolohe and Lily's banter.

It had been four days since they left the village behind, and after too many hours spent staring at a map, they'd discerned that there was about a week of travel left. That was good, because Adlai was getting tired of sleeping on the ground. It was hard to stay asleep until noon when you didn't have an actual mattress.

Elke, standing beside Adlai, stretched contentedly, basking in the sun's rays.

"Haahh... I needed this, after all those days in the north." She turned her head to Sanja. "We are stopping here, right?"

Sanja dropped the bags he was carrying onto the grass below, cupping one hand over his eyes as he tried to gain a better view of the landscape.

"Even if I say no, Kolohe and Lily will disregard me anyway. We're taking a breather here. Don't stray too far."

"Elke!" Lily cried, leaping next to her and latching on like some kind of small animal. "Let's go to the water!"

The blonde girl shook her off and cocked her head.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to sun myself. That water's probably filthy with silt."

Lily tactfully chose to ignore this, and began to drag the larger girl down to the lake with an ecstatic look on her face. Kolohe, following close behind, gave a thumbs up to Adlai.

"Make sure to come on down later, man."

Dobrea, Sanja, and Adlai let out a collective sigh as they watched their teammates stumble down the hill to the lakeside.

"I should keep an eye on them," Sanja said, shouldering his bags again. "They're the troublesome ones."

"What, you don't think I qualify for that label?" Adlai joked. "Looks like I have to up my game."

Sanja's expressionless green eyes fixed him in place.

"Are you going to make trouble for me too, now?"

"Err, no. Sorry."

Dobrea laughed, holding one hand up to her mouth in an almost cliched gesture. Adlai cast a lopsided smile at her, scratching at the back of his messy brown head.

Sanja turned away from them, and nodded to one of the rivers that led from the Imperial Lake.

"Why don't you two find a place to set up camp? We need more kindling and some stones for the fire."