KingSweet

A Journey's Beginning

"Head further west," Jumé reminded me. "Eventually the earth will grow cold and you will arrive in the Far West. You are looking for something to assist you in bringing down the walls. I suspect that it is an item of some sort, buried deep within the ice. That would explain why your fire powers are so strong, you need them to reach the item. You may want to check back as soon as the walls are down, then the crews can all head out before the other worlds know the walls are down. We will have the element of surprise on our side. Until the walls are down you are probably safe among your companions. Tithe will betray you the moment your purpose is done. If he does not attack you immediately it will be because Vinyé has come up with some scheme before now. Travel by night, so you can guide by the constellations and not be at the mercy of his power. Make sure you post watches while you sleep, and"

"Don't talk to strangers," Sparx interjected. "It'll be alright Jumé. We know what we're doing."

We found the other members of our party before Jumé had a chance to retort. The three guys stood ready with shouldered packs and guarded expressions. They stood apart, with Grim watching Red, Red watching Tithe, and Tithe finding the unadorned walls to be incredibly interesting.

"You girls ready?" Grim asked without turning to look at us. "I've got your packs here."

Sparx and I grabbed our packs. The bag was lighter than I expected it to be. Then again, I'd gone to a middle school that hadn't had lockers. Food and clothes were nothing compared to half a dozen textbooks.

The guys relaxed enough to all turn to face me. I was going to repeat the highlights of what Jumé had said, and was going to remind Jumé what I expected in my absence. But Jumé had the expression I'd learned meant an hour lecture was coming, so I decided to cut him off before he could begin.

"We're burning daylight." I said.

I led the way out of the fort that served as my camp and through the city, headed inland through the city. I knew where the river emerged from the city into the woods, and figured that would be a decent starting point. Then we wouldn't have to worry about water. We passed a few other pirates, but none spoke to us. They moved out of our way and stared after us. I don't know what I'd expected. Our journey wasn't exactly a secret, and everyone wanted the walls down. Pirates that were free to plunder were generally happy pirates, or so I'd heard. I knew better than to think they'd cheer, but still... their reaction was unnerving.

I paused at the edge of the city only long enough to let Tithe walk past me and take the lead.

"Due west," I reminded him.

He waved carelessly to acknowledge the statement, breathed deeply for a minute, and began to walk. I kept pace two steps behind him. Grim and Sparx followed me, and Red brought up the rear. No one spoke.

As soon as I stepped from the sun-warmed cobblestone into the shade of the forest, I began to doubt. I missed the comfort of knowing my exact location in the winding city that no one else could totally navigate. I fought the urge to look over my shoulder for a last look at the city. A strong leader would show no such sentiment, and I had to be strong. Yet I wanted to stop and check my packs, to pretend that something vital had been forgotten. I wanted to delay our departure for another day. I wanted to re-do our quiet departure. I should have said good-bye to my apprentice, my crew, or at least Obsidarian. He would understand of course. We'd agreed ages ago that the less of a deal we made of my departure, the more normal the other crews would react to my absence.

Now, I'll be the first to admit: I've never been on an epic journey before. I've seen movies, in which a group of companions sets out on a noble quest and ends up walking for a month. I've read books of histories in which people run for miles to warn the next town over of a great threat. I thought the most important thing would be physical fitness. No one wants to be forced to break every 30 minutes because someone's never walked further than a mile. But I was wrong.

The most important thing in a group is that you all like each other, even if it's a little bit.

Grim, Sparx, and I all got along pretty well. But Grim didn't trust Red not to stab me in the back as we walked, and Sparx didn't trust Tithe not to get us lost in the woods. So Grim was listening intently for any sign of Red's betrayal, and Sparx was cutting into the bark of every other tree along our path. Everyone was tense, and it was exhausting.

Red tried. He really did. When the silence became unbearable he started whistling songs from Robin Hood. It made me feel better at least. I couldn't whistle along of course, but the jaunty tunes made the silence upbeat. I think it grated everyone else's nerves, but I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop.

It stayed that way for the rest of the day.

By the time the sun went down, we were all sick of each other, and I gave up hoping that people would strike up a conversation. I called a halt in the next decent sized clearing we found. Tithe practically collapsed at the words, and sat holding the sides of his head while lying on the ground. I sent Sparx and Grim to find food and firewood, and Red to clearing the brush from the clearing. I crouched down in front of Tithe.

"Do you have to hold your power active all day to navigate?" I asked softly.

"Yeah."

"How is you power level doing?"

"Meh."

I sighed, and left the guy alone. Rest was probably the best thing for him now, that and food. I took the first armload of brush and wood from Grim and set to making a fire in the center of the clearing. I set the wood up nicely, but when I willed it to burn nothing happened. I tried a second time, with the same results. Tithe noticed, and snickered. With a flash of irritation at him, the woodpile burst into flame.

Sparx came back complaining about the lack of food to be found in the forest.

"They always make stew in the movies!" she told Grim. "People find herbs and roots and stuff. They add that to whatever they killed that day and throw it all in a pot. What do we have? Berries. We have fresh berries, plus the fruit and bread from our packs. I knew it wasn't going to be five-star out here, but this is ridiculous. We don't even have a rabbit!"

"Tithe has a bow." Red said softly.

Sparx and Grim hesitated at the sound of my brother's voice.

"Forget it," Tithe snapped. "It's not happening while we walk, I'll be too tired at the end of the day, and I'm certainly not letting one of you use it."

"He's right." I said, surprising even myself with the support. "Using a power all day is exhausting and demands all of a person's attention. Trying to hunt and navigate would be like trying to climb a tree while standing on your hands. It's practically impossible."

"So we all become vegetarians for however long it takes for us to get to the Far West?" Sparx asked.

"Every other day," I countered. "Every other day Tithe can hunt. We'll navigate by the river, and he can check our heading every hour or so to make sure we don't get totally off track. If the path is weird, or Tithe needs to concentrate, you or I can hunt. As long as we're quiet I see no reason why we can't hit a rabbit or a squirrel with a knife. Then we'll have real food, and can keep our energy up for the day's travels. Good enough?"

Everyone nodded. I took my share of berries from Sparx, and pulled some of my own supplies from my pack. I ate quickly, and rolled out my bed. I knew I wouldn't sleep for a while yet, but I hoped to drift off anyway. Tithe rolled his bed out a few feet away from mine.

"I don't need your help. You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." I said. "They don't get what it's like. Besides, the off day will give you a chance to get your magic back."

"Because I'm no use to you if I'm tapped out."

"Something like that," I agreed.

"I'll save you a squirrel tomorrow," he said. "Then we'll be even."

I smiled at him, but Tithe didn't see it. He had already drifted off to sleep.