Thimble and I grabbed our stuff from the ship, and abandoned it. "So does this mean we go our separate ways?" Thimble asked. I stopped and looked at him. I analyzed him and sighed heavily. "If you want to follow me, I won't stop you." I responded. He rushed in and hugged me. The feeling was very nostalgic. Swiftly I pushed him off of me. "That's enough affection, remember you are the peasant and I the king." I replied. He quickly let go. "Of course sir!" He responded. I nodded. We walked across the breathtaking valley. The wind gently blowed. I let it all in. I didn't know where I was going anymore, This land was a peaceful one. "AGH!!!" Thimble shouted. I turned around to see Thimble being eaten by a small blue gooey substance. "What the hell?" I pondered. Surely enough from the ground, hundreds of these smiles arose. They were small blue globs, which changed shape. I took out my ax and began swinging at the slime digesting Thimble's foot. "GET IT OFF ME!!!" Thimble shrieked. "Good thing I kept you..." I muttered. The ax got stuck in the slime. Going to plan B, I grabbed Thimble and heaved him out. "Kid! Run!" I shouted. We both bolted through the once abandoned field trying not to step on the slimes. It was a strange situation. Eventually we made it to a hilly area where no slimes were situated. "I'm....so...tired...." Thimble panted. I spied a nearby village from afar. "Hey, peasant! Look!" I shouted. from the distance we spotted a town. We both began walking towards it. When we arrived we began walking down the streets. Thimble and I were awestruck. A actual town, not in ruins mind you. We explored. We went to a store. Luckily they excepted the money I had stolen from the ship. Thimble and I sat down in a grassy and shady part of town. We had a makeshift picnic. It was Thimble's idea. It felt so peaceful. Well, until I heard the yelling. I looked over to a tent where the shouting was coming from. "Hey, let's go peek." I announced. Obediently, Thimble rose with me. We snuck up to the tent and listened. I could hear voices more clearly now. "Please, this is an incredible break through! We need to explore it!" a voice pleaded. "Are you out of you mind Lucas!?!?" Another one shouted back. "Please! I don't care if the war interferes or not!" The voice shouted back. I froze. War. Estern was a land of peace they said, nothing could go wrong there! I burst into the tent "What god damn war!" I shouted. A elderly person and a cloaked man with brown hair stood there shocked. "Who are you?" The old man muttered. I walked forward. "Doesn't matter! What war!?" I yelled. Thimble nervously walked in behind me. "You....you don't know about the war?" The cloaked man asked. "Obviously!" He shouted. He nodded. "Your not from Estern are you? Where are you from?" he asked. "Doesn't matter! Answer my question!" I shouted. Thimble ran up to me. "Maybe, maybe we should be a tad nicer?" Thimble suggested. I frowned and glared at the cloaked man. For a unprecedented amount of time I stared at him undecidedly. "I....come from a war-bound land named Pacem-Bellum." I stated, calming down a little. The man nodded. "Thank you, now then, I'll keep my end of the bargain. Estern was once a peaceful place ruled by king Aethan. Peace was held until Lord Rolyat appeared and declared war on Aethan. However in the midst of the war a monster of a man named Kirem set his monsters to attack Estern. Now we're in the midst of the Aethan and Rolyat's attempt to cleanse Estern of Kirem's forces. Times are tough for everyone, we used to be peaceful, but now we live in constant fear." He explained. I slumped to the ground. "No..." I sighed. I was so tired of running, I wanted to sit down and do nothing for once, but of course I stumbled onto yet another war. Thimble looked down at me, with a hint of sorrow and understanding. "It makes our excursion much more difficult." The robed man sighed. Thimble perked up. "Excursion?" Thimble asked. He nodded. "We, can't journey over to a old building to retrieve some artifacts." He replied. "What temple?" Thimble pestered. The robed man sighed. "I assume you wouldn't know much of it. The legend goes that a man known Nympisis had came to Estern and given us three gifts. He claimed that they were gifts blessed by gods. The first one was named the Curseblay, it was blessed by a being of good morals. The second gift had no name. It was blessed by a being who simply watched and kept us safe. It's tune soothing to even the coldest of men's hearts." The robed man rambled. I perked up. "Soothing sound? Like...A music box?" I asked. He nodded. I remembered the music box I had left on my son, and how it was supposedly from Estern. "It's been missing for as long as the legends circulated around. Regardless, the last gift was named the Surukodo. However this item was not blessed, but cursed by a malicious and horrible being. In fear of the Surukodo's great power, a temple was built and all three items were sealed within it's walls, never to be seen again." He finished. Now my mind was swimming. Did I give my dying son a cursed weapon of the gods? Did it make his last moments even more miserable then they already were. This could not be allowed to sit on my guilt, it was heavy as it was. "I'll do the excursion for you." I announced. Everyone looked at me. "But, it's extremely dangerous!" The robed man yelled. "Yeah, well I'm used to that." I sighed. His words began to sink in, I had literally just escaped from war, and now I was about to leap willingly into another war, cus of my guilt. Heck at this point why didn't I just decide to wage war on Kirem by myself, and win? "Sir! I'm going with you!" Thimble piped up. I looked at him. He'd die in the first five minutes. However compared to all these cowards who weren't used to war, I felt oddly he'd be my best possible partner. I mean at this point I couldn't take any more guilt on my plate. I nodded slowly. He smiled like a god damn fool, considering he was walking to his death. Well, I'd try to keep him alive anyway. "Okay, just please come back with the artifacts, so I may see them. I'd come with, but I feel as if your the type of person that death follows." He explained I nodded grimly. "The ruins can be located south east of here, by Frutex bay." He told us. I nodded. Thimble and I exited the tent.