Chapter 4: The World as they knew it.
"So this is the fog," Kyle stood only a few metres away from the border of their world. As if an invisible plane of glass was in place the fog spiralled on the other side, constantly moving and shifting, the white and grey spun around forming strange patterns but never moving closer.
"I heard it gets thinner the further you go," Lillia said beside him. "The first dozen metres you can barely see anything but after that.... I wonder what it's like."
"Should we find out?" Kyle joked.
"I would be fine but you'd definitely die," Lillia replied. If it weren't for the smirk on her lips Kyle would have thought she was serious, then again she was. "There are monsters in there that are apparently stronger than demons."
"And suddenly I want to go back to the truck."
Lillia giggled, "Well it looks like Bethial needs us anyway."
Not far from where the two stood was a semi-permanent campsite. Large tents had been set up forming a village of sorts. The amount of people working there was probably even more than the population of Tomph. Adults ranging from the young and fresh to the old and wizened, each of them the brave few who dared to travel into the fog.
They made their way back to the Captain who was talking to the leader of the Campsite. Although short in stature and wrinkled with age the women had a commanding presence that even outstripped the Captain.
"This is it," her voice was raspy and filled with a worker's edge. "I always save the best for the Hero's Guard." She smacked her hand against a strange looking machine.
Valandus raised his brows behind the Captain, "What is it?"
"Tch," the women shook her head disappointed. "Can't even tell? It's a-."
"Mana furnace," Kyle's mumble interrupted her as he realised what it was.
The older women's eyes lit up in interest as she turned to look at him, "Oh you know what this is girl?"
"Boy," Kyle replied feeling the mental wound. Lillia almost laughed out loud.
"Oh- you reminded me of myself when I was young," the lady laughed. "But could you really tell what this was?"
The Captain as well was curious, "You've seen one before Kyle?"
"Um no- I mean well I think I saw it in a book before," he lied. The truth of the matter was that he had seen it in his dreams. It was the same machine Estile had used, although they never said what it was in his dream, he knew its name.
The women nodded in interest, "Must have been a rare book. This thing here is a real beauty. Strange thing is we found it in the middle of nowhere. No town or city in sight."
"Wait you found this out there?" Kyle pointed to the fog.
"Of course we did," she laughed. "This your first time seeing a Sweeper Crew?"
"I've never been so close to the fog before so yes."
She looked at Bethial, "The Hero's Guard are really hiring wide now aren't they."
The Captain quickly went to fix her misunderstanding, "Kyle isn't an official member. He's a baker and working as support."
"Then I best introduce myself properly," the older women offered her hand and Kyle shook it. Her grip was stronger than he expected as he was almost pulled forward. "Lady Petunia Marigold. I run this crew and have for the past forty odd years."
"Kyle Baker," he replied politely. The fact she called herself a Lady meant she had ties to noble blood, though the few he had met would never have such well worked skin. He paused, "If you've been here for that long doesn't that mean you've seen everything in the area?"
The lady let out a rough laugh, "Just where did you find this kid? In the countryside? The fog moves kid and our world does as well. Enter one day and you'd wind up somewhere entirely different the next month. Heck travel a few miles down that way and you'll find something else." Kyle blinked as his view on the world became broader. To him the fog was somewhere he should never go and he was taught that way. The fact that people like Lady Petunia made a living exploring it meant that something bigger was out there, a trickle of excitement brewed in his heart. It didn't go unnoticed as the Lady grinned, "How about it, want to head inside for a little tour?"
"And I'll stop you there," Bethial cut in. "Kyle is a non-combatant. I can't have him going anywhere too dangerous."
"Bah," she waved him away. "The danger is the best part."
"Let's get back on topic," the Captain pointed back to the mana furnace. "Is it usable?"
"About as usable as I told your bosses."
"Meaning?" the Captain frowned.
"This is old tech, not something we can make ourselves and thing is, it's a full manual one to boot. None of this new day premade enchantments. You've got to play the strings on this one."
"You tried it?"
"Yeah our technician gave it a go. Managed to break a few of our guns in the process," the Lady shrugged. "Though we're just a motley crew. One of those fancy magicians in central might know better."
"Well a deal was already made. You'll have your money sent to the usual," the Captain nodded his head. "Thank you for your service."
"And thank you for your patronage," she revealed a toothy grin. "You'll be staying the night here won't you?"
The Captain looked back to the west as the sun set and then to Valandus who purposefully yawned. "We'll accept your hospitality."
"Make yourselves at home." She looked at Kyle, "Though boy be careful if you want to shower here. It's communal based on gender so you might confuse some of the others." Kyle's eye twitched causing her to laugh. "I'm just playing with you. Anyway I've got some other goods to process. Feel free to look around. If you spot anything else you'd like, give me a holler." She left with a wave.
Valandus chuckled, "Always energetic that old bat."
"Indeed," the Captain let out a ghost of a smile. "Reina, Valandus, get someone to help load it into the truck." He turned to Kyle and Lillia, "As for you two, I don't mind you having a wander but don't cause any trouble and stay away from the fog. It's not uncommon for things to cross the border our way as well."
"Yes sir!" Lillia saluted.
"Understood Captain," Kyle saluted again a bit behind.
As the older members left them alone Kyle looked back to the fog. In Tomph his lessons had always shaped the fog as a mysterious thing that should never be passed. Though still mysterious, what he saw now was the opposite of that.
"I don't know a thing do I?" he said to no one.
Lillia however responded, "You can't blame yourself. The fog is dangerous and everyone's taught not to mess with it. In fact it wasn't until about fifty years ago that they made it legal to cross through."
"Really, why'd they do that?"
She laughed, "You really are a country bumpkin." With an air of superiority she began to explain. "The fog doesn't have just random treasures from the time before the Hero but also plenty of natural resources. We're enclosed here so eventually we'll run out, that's why the Hero's Church issued the decree allowing Sweepers to operate. Most Sweepers make their money mining and such."
"But didn't Lady Petunia say that the location changes every month?"
"And that's why they have to do it quickly. A lot of equipment and money is needed so you get camps like this."
Kyle smiled, "You actually know quite a lot don't you?"
Lillia huffed a little indignant, "Of course I do. All of us have to study the world, and not just the basics like you did but the gritty stuff as well. If you thought I was like Jana you're wrong... she was more of the happy go lucky type." Upon remembering the energetic girl her mood became sombre.
Kyle forced himself to change the topic back, "I wonder if I can learn more as well."
"Of course," Lillia patted her chest. "I'll make sure of it. As the current Hero I have quite a bit of pull. Though... there are some things you might not want to know."
"At this point I can't just hide away." He raised his arms towards the fog, "I've lived for almost eighteen years and my world is only just now getting bigger. I know the stories of the Eternal Hero and how he created our world but if you can find a town within the fog that means life had to exist there. The thought of it kind of excites me. What were they like and where did they go? It's a lot more mysterious than just baking bread." At his words a sudden twinge echoed in his mind.
Lillia stared straight into his eyes and smiled, "You really are weird."
"I'm going to take that as a complement at this point," he sighed.
"Well let's go get some food and look around. It's my first time at this Campsite as well," with a casual gesture Lillia pulled him along. Kyle followed obediently but as they passed the Mana Furnace being loaded into their truck he felt his heart stiffen. He shouldn't have known what that was. A sudden thought resonated in his mind, what if Delsdale did once exist and it wasn't all just made up, what if unlike their enclosed world it was somewhere else, somewhere he couldn't reach. As the sun set the fog loomed above them, ever present and waiting.