“So, every demon lord has a calling name?” I asked as we settled down by the side of the road so we could concentrate.

“Yes,” Aleph confirmed.

“If you say it out loud…” Nora started.

“They can listen in on your conversation and even pinpoint your location,” Tetora finished.

I looked at Nora. “Raelynn said the original demon king’s name in the story, right?”

Nora shook her head. “She called him the Accursed One.”

“Oh, I guess the narrator was the one who used… well, you know.” I turned to Aleph. What else should we know about demons?”

“Only enchanted weapons can banish them,” Tetora stated. “So don’t try to fight one now!”

I wasn’t planning to!

“What does banishment mean?” I asked.

“It sends them back to their respective lord’s dark sanctums,” Aleph explained.

“So banishment… is only temporary?”

“Yes, though it also appears to be quite painful to them.”

That’s something, at least.

I considered this information for a moment before asking, “What about exorcism spells?”

Aleph frowned slightly before answering, “Successful exorcism sends them to the Void. Only top-level priests and Holy Sage Relias can do that, and even then, it depends on the demon’s overall strength.”

Nora half-raised her hand. “But the Will of Euphridia can send them to the Void, regardless of their power? Right?”

Aleph nodded his confirmation. “Yes, if the Chosen One wields the sword, and the weapon strikes true. There are other high-level weapons blessed by Relias that would work on certain demons, though none would be as powerful as the Will of Euphridia.”

I was curious. “What other high-level weapons are there?”

“Well, my war hammer and Tetora’s claws once held such power, but–”

“It’s gone now?” I felt my heart sink at the news.

Aleph lifted one hand from his folded arms and scratched his beard. “I believe the blessings bestowed have faded. Luckily, I have not needed to fight a demon in many years.”

I shot forward slightly, hands on my knees. “But aren’t they roaming all over creation, causing trouble?”

He smirked. “They are mostly busy fighting amongst themselves far to the south from here.”

“Why does King O- I mean, why does the demon king allow that? He’s still in charge, isn’t he??” I didn’t get the sense that he would tolerate unorganized chaos from his subordinates.

“He is the most powerful, but the other lords are strong enough together to oppose him.”

I guess they weren’t happy with the new management.

I let out a hopeful sigh. “Maybe they’ll just keep that up for a few millennia and leave everyone else alone.”

“Unfortunately, there are many innocents caught in the middle.” Aleph pulled out a map. He pointed out three dark spots that formed a large triangle in the southern portion of the wastelands. “This dark sanctum is where the general resides. Here is the mistress’s... and the last one…” he pointed to the most prominent mark on the map.

“The king himself,” Nora murmured.

He had built his own towering fortress. At least it wouldn’t be hard to find him if necessary… not that I wanted to, right?

Aleph continued plotting our course, his finger moving along the map as he explained. “We will go east across the wastelands, then down through Turri to avoid detection. We should be safe with the three demon factions embroiled in the southern wastelands.”

“Ah!” Tetora suddenly shouted. “We’ve been sitting around all this time running our mouths and not training!”

So, he had finally caught on to my procrastination. “Uh…”

“Put your bo staff on your shoulders!” he commanded, and I did so. “Hold it steady!”

“Hey!” I protested. “What are you doing?!”

“You carry these travel sacks for a while!” He tied them to either end of my staff.

“It’s too heavy!”

“You’re still standing, aren’t you? Keep walking!”

I grumbled and did what I was told, for a minute or two, anyway. “Shouldn’t Nora train too?” I complained.

“Hey! I’m a squishy!” Nora objected.

Tetora frowned. “Squishy is no good. You will train too. Copy Rae!” Nora gave me a bitter glance, and I grinned viciously as she and her staff were also weighted down. Misery loves company, after all.

We continued down the dirt road for the rest of the afternoon. Although we were given brief rests with opportunities to stretch, it was still unpleasant for us as adventuring novices.

“We’ll stop for the night here,” Aleph said, halting our advance as the sun clung to the horizon. “Let’s set up camp.”

“Camp? Here? Outside?” Each question I asked was in a higher octave than the last.

“There is cover here,” Aleph explained, pointing to a few scrappy trees.

“No! We need to find a place indoors! With a locking door!” I exclaimed. I had hoped we would stop at a cozy inn with fresh linens and a roaring fireplace, not sleep in the dirt where dangers lurked around every corner!

“Even if we walk all night long, little one, we won’t be able to find such a place,” Aleph patted my head. “The nearest town is several days away by foot.”

“I can’t do it! No! No camping! It’s too dangerous!” Even if I could run—assuming I could run—I still wouldn’t make it back to the village by midnight!

“I’ll take the first watch,” Tetora shrugged. Aleph can take the second. We’ll be fine—nothing gets by us!”

“What animals are indigenous to the area?” Nora asked while I continued to panic.

“Small game, mostly,” Aleph answered. “The biggest animal we might see would be a wolf, but most packs have migrated away over the last few years.”

“What about those redbacks? And those giant lizards?” I hedged.

Aleph looked confused for a moment. “Oh, those are demonic beasts, not animals.”

Oh, silly me!

“What’s the difference between animals and demonic beasts?” I asked Nora.

“The story didn’t make it clear,” Nora admitted. “I just figured if a creature had a funny old-world name, it was a demonic beast.”

Aleph sat down and began to unpack his rucksack. “Demonic beasts are byproducts of animus experiments conducted by the demons. They are not natural creatures and are much more predatory, especially towards humans and hybrids in particular.”

“Okay, so, are there any other demonic beasts around here then?” I wanted to have all my fears lined up together so I could freak out about everything all at once.

“The farther we move from the old castle ruins, the less likely we will encounter them. There may be a few apodemus nests… but it’s summer now, so they don’t need to venture this close to the road for food.”

“Apodemus?”

“They’re like enormous rats. Not as tasty, though,” Tetora sniffed.

“Not as…” I trailed off.

“The meat is too acidic,” he shook his head.

“I’ll take your word for it,” I murmured.

I perched on a large rock and tried to process what we were doing. Aleph and Tetora laid out their bedrolls after searching the ground for a few minutes. I guessed they were looking for a flat spot. My attention drifted away soon after; the rest of the evening sort of became a blur. I recall eating something for dinner and meditating, but I spent most of the night ignoring anyone who tried to talk to me. I tried my best to suppress the overwhelming urge to scratch my right forearm, knowing it was simply my body telling me I was not ready for what was to come.

As the last rays of light disappeared from the horizon, I hopped into my bedroll with my bo staff clutched tightly, keeping an ear out for any potential danger. I frequently glanced in Tetora’s direction to determine if he was keeping watch. I caught his golden eyes shining in the night occasionally, so I eventually relaxed a little. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sleep. The ground felt hard and uneven through my bedroll. I tried every position I could think of, but nothing worked.

“Nora, are you awake?” I whispered.

“No,” she replied. “Why?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“That’s because you’re too busy talking,” she observed.

“You’re awake too, though.”

“My answer to you is still the same.”

“You’re still mad about the walking exercises?”

“I’ll forgive you as soon as my calves do.”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I rolled over, finding another bump I hadn’t noticed when I set up for the night.

“Rae, you know I’m not mad, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” I loosened my shoulders a little.

Nora laughed suddenly. “Well, that’s interesting!”

“What is?”

“The constellations. I see the Big Dipper and Ursa Major.”

I looked up and searched the sky, and sure enough, I saw the Big Dipper, too.

“Actually… I found… Orion, too?” Nora sat up quickly. “Hmm…”

“I believe you,” I admitted. “But the Big Dipper is all I know how to find…”

Nora stared silently at the sky for a few moments. “Oh, well, uh, do you know what this means? I think we’re not that far away from Earth!”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, think about it,” Nora chirped quickly. “Space is three dimensions, but we perceive the night sky as a two-dimensional projection. If we were really, really far from Earth, then we wouldn’t recognize the constellations at all. It looks like our worlds really are next to each other!”

“I guess you’re right.” I didn’t want to find flaws in her hasty conclusion.

“Ah, what a relief!” She flopped back down on her roll loudly and sighed. “Night-night Rae…” It was only a minute later I heard her snoring lightly.

Okay, Big Dipper. I’m counting on you to be the real one we all know and love. Just keep holding up the sky while I pin down the ground! I closed my eyes, wondering if we would be able to go back, until finally, I fell asleep.

 Nora's Journal: Map of Speranza