"SO LET ME get this straight. That young boy may be an incarnation of a man who helped seal away Sheol?" Cale asked after Josh and Mara finished explaining what they had learned in Ioana's meeting.
"It would seem that way," Mara said. "At least, I cannot imagine the name being pure coincidence."
"Could he have heard the name before and just remembered it?" Josh suggested. He stared at the young boy—Aharon, if he was to be believed. Aharon leaned against the stone wall, cupping his chin with one hand and using a stick to draw with the other.
Cale rubbed his face. The full color had yet to return to his skin, making the dark bags beginning beneath his eyes more prominent. "I don't know if that would make things simpler, but I doubt it. Something about this all feels almost structured."
"You mean like we found the objective of a game level and proceeded on to the next?" Josh asked. "Because yeah, I got that feeling, too."
"Do you only understand things in game terms—you know what, never mind. It doesn't matter." Cale sighed and crossed his arms. "What matters is that now we are playing into the temple's hands."
"No chance that we just escaped? No?" Josh said when Cale shot him a sideways look. "More likely we will see the reaper again or worse?"
Cale slowly nodded. "I don't know why Aharon would have monsters chasing him if he's the one who created this place, but I don't think they're going to stop. Meaning until we get out of here, we are walking targets."
Mara worried at her bottom lip and tapped her fingers on her thigh. "So now?" she asked.
"One step at a time," Cale said. "It seems we don't know enough about how these temples work to make very extended plans. For right now, I think step one is exploring this ruined city."
"And find a place for actual rest," she said, looking him up and down. "I can continue to create water, but what do you think the chances are of a bird flying overhead?"
"No idea, but we can look while we move. Josh," Cale said, "could you carry the kid—Aharon?"
"Of course." Josh jogged over to Aharon.
The boy flinched when Josh drew near, the stick swerving and leaving a slice through his picture—a dragon soaring through the sky.
"Nice picture," Josh said. He kneeled in front of Aharon and gave him a large grin. "Have you ever seen a dragon?"
"I can imagine it," he said. "I don't remember where I saw it or how I know about it, though. But... I think I know what you are." He studied Josh, frowning. "Soul-bound to a Mighty Dragon. A Paladin."
"Right." Josh nodded. "See? Like I said. I'm basically a superhero. Would you be okay riding on the superhero's back again?"
"I can walk," Aharon protested.
"We know you can," Mara said, appearing at Josh's side. "The closer you are to us, though, the harder it is for any monsters to get you."
"How about we let you walk after we explore first?" Josh offered. "That way, we know there's nothing around here dangerous to you."
"Okay."
He didn't sound very enthusiastic, but a few moments later, Aharon rested on Josh's back while Cale bore the shield once more. With a quick glance between themselves, they headed into the run-down city.
Perhaps it was because of the reaper encounter, or maybe the night played with his mind. Either way, Josh couldn't shake off the feeling that spirits lingered among the run-down stone buildings. This city had become a graveyard of tombs.
Josh swallowed and fought back a shudder. He would not let his own worries get to the kid.
Aside from the buildings, the rest of the area appeared bare. Perhaps the occasional scrap of wood and broken-down pillar, but nothing more than that.
"I don't like this," Mara murmured.
"Me neither," Cale said. "What did the book say about these dimensions?"
"Much of the dimension was crafted by the creators." Mara was behind Josh, but he could almost feel her eyes flicking toward Aharon. "They decide what is in here."
Josh gulped as he studied the buildings more closely. Then why was this here?
Despite the new weariness, nothing appeared by the time they reached the center of the city. The buildings here weren't as broken down and had lighter stone. The streets in front of them sloped to follow a steep incline with more better-kept buildings lining the edges.
Josh looked over his shoulder. Cale stared ahead, eyebrows drawn together. After a moment, he nodded toward the incline.
"That way. Better to have the high ground," he said.
Josh nodded and moved onward.
They reached the crest of the hill with no issues, and it was there the phantom city breathed its first hint of life.
From where Aharon had teleported them, they hadn't been able to tell that the city formed a broad crescent around a large oasis. The lack of sunlight made it hard to tell, but the water's reflective surface hinted at clear water. Palm trees shot high into the air, and spiky bushes sprouted from the grassy area around the oasis.
Like the city center behind them, the homes seemed to grow out of the hillside with few residing on the oasis' flat land. The houses were larger and lighter, like white marble despite being a similar rocky material to the others. Along with the size increase, the buildings had more decorations. High ceilings, long staircases with statues and vases, columned doorways.
The back half of the city may have held the same broken appearance signature to the area, but it felt like a whole other world.
"Wow." Josh gaped.
"Let's go down to the oasis," Mara said. "We may have found our source of food."
"But this is a desert," Josh said.
"And that is a source of water. It is possible for oases to have fish, and this city has to be here for a reason," she retorted.
She had a point. With a shrug of defeat, he continued forward.
He walked easier down the sloping street, no longer pressured by the weight of the city's gaze. Like the city, Aharon had come to life. He straightened on Josh's back, twisting each way.
"Remember anything?" Cale asked.
"I think I know this place." Aharon spoke slowly, uncertain, almost turning his statement into a question. "I get flashes of knowledge. Like there"—he pointed to a small section of buildings close to the oasis—"is where the elders lived. And people would have a market... or a festival... I'm not really sure which. Maybe it was both, but they would have it down there, by the water."
Josh pursed his lips. The little tidbits of information were nice, and they further proved this had to be the real Aharon who helped shape this place. However, it made his amnesia even more confusing.
Maybe similar thoughts plagued the others, because neither Cale nor Mara spoke up again.
Sand turned into grass as they stopped a couple of feet from the water. Mara crept past the group and kneeled at the edge. She peered into the dark depths. After a moment, she relaxed the pull on her bow and lowered it to rest on her thigh. Light illuminated her hand. Her ice magic still tainted the energy, so it cast a pale blue shine over the area.
"There." She moved the light over the water, following the shadow that darted beneath the surface. "Fish. We have a source of food."
"The tree," Aharon murmured. "Can you shine your light toward the trees?"
Mara stood and held her arm up. At her approving grunt, Josh turned. Hidden among the heavy leaves were bundles of orange fruit. At least, he assumed they were fruit if they hung from a tree, but they looked more like beans from where he stood.
"A date tree. Very useful. Caleb, ready to catch?"
Metal slid against leather as Cale sheathed his sword. "Yes."
"Okay." Mara took aim with her bow and fired. It sliced through the date's stem.
Cale caught the fruit before it could slam into the ground. He examined the dates and nodded. "They look ripe." He tore one from the rest and popped it into his mouth. "And taste it."
After a quick discussion, they decided to eat the dates tonight and go fishing in the morning. They found a home mostly intact halfway up the hill and took refuge there.
The house had a few beds, though they were made of a reed structure with a thread-like interior. It didn't look like the most comfortable thing in the world. Cale dozed off less than a minute after laying down, but Josh had a feeling that said more about Cale's exhaustion than the bed's comfort.
Mara shook her head at his slumbering figure as she sat in a window. "Should have at least eaten first. Here." She placed an ice bowl on the ground filled with dates she had washed off with her unfrozen water, as well as a few ice glasses. "Enjoy dinner."
Josh munched on the fruit, fighting a grimace the entire time. They tasted like sweet raisins. It could have been worse. They could have had no food.
Because that had been a possibility. He had thrown them into a situation with no known way of surviving. Mara's melted ice had been a lifesaver, but it couldn't replace food.
He pushed to his feet. "Mara, how about you rest first?"
She twisted back around to face him, her eyebrows drawn together. "You need the rest more right now, though."
He shrugged. "I don't feel tired yet, and we have already done a look through the city. If anything, right now is the least dangerous time. You or Cale would be better for when it's less safe."
"I don't know if any time is really safe here," she pointed out.
"Okay, maybe not," he admitted, "but still. I'm not going to sleep right now, and it's a waste if there's two of us are awake."
When the protest didn't leave her eyes, he sighed and walked over to her. He cupped his hand against her cheeks. She looked beautiful with the moonlight bathing her, but that very light revealed the cuts and bruises spread across her body. Paladin sturdiness or not, the desert had put them all through the ringer.
His heart squeezed, and he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. He would have preferred her lips, but it felt weird with a kid in the room.
I'm sorry, he thought.
Aloud, he said, "I got to sleep earlier. You didn't. Can you please get some rest?"
She met his eyes, though he couldn't tell if she was studying him or deciding on an argument. Finally, she sagged and laid her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.
"Fine, but the moment you even think you need me, wake me up. Get tired, you see something, whatever, you get me. Let Cale sleep."
Josh chuckled. "He has earned a couple of days rest with all he's done," he said. "Okay, I'll let him sleep."
Mara stood from the windowsill. With a hug and a peck on the cheek, she walked over to another bed and lay there.
Josh felt much colder after the hug, but he forced himself to sit on the windowsill and watch instead of following Mara for cuddles. He studied everything yet nothing, his eyes roaming without a single focus. The only lesson on doing watch he'd had was with Akachi in the forest, but he mostly recalled all the teachings from then.
Don't look too long at any one spot. Don't expect to see movement but always be aware of the possibility. Don't let your thoughts roam too much.
Josh repeated Akachi's rules like a mantra, yet no matter how many times he did, he couldn't force himself to listen to the last rule.
They had almost died three times already. If they hadn't found food, it would have made a fourth eventually. Continuing on in the desert only meant they would encounter more potential close calls.
All while working on the small chance he would find Eli.
He let his head slam against the wall. It throbbed, but not because of the collision. The thoughts bounced around his skull, echoing as loud as the reaper's shrieks. He left his head there, gazing out into the night, keeping watch with only the weight of his guilt to accompany him.
Fun Fact: This town was thought up of in the moment because I had no idea how else to progress the plot, so I just threw a random city into the desert xD Am glad I did because of the stuff it opens up for some ideas for next draft >:D
So yeah, this town looks all nice and welcoming, wouldn't you say? :D Also, Cale is finally getting some rest! At the end of the day, isn't that the real win? But yeah, the town has to be planted here for some reason... Any guesses as to what they'll find? I'm sure it's just food and water. Nothing sinister this way comes or anything :D
Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment. Or even join my Patron, which can be found in my bio. The lowest tier only costs $1 a month and gives you access to my discord, where you can get chapter previews and other perks detailed in Now That You're Caught Up.