The group shuffled into the tavern, silently making their way to a far corner table. Already sitting there was a large individual. She had a stern face and a strong build to match. She sat with her arms crossed over her chest, watching as the other four individuals took their places around her. She was sat closest to the wall, the mural behind her looking grim in the dark light. Her demeanor changed, however, as the bartender approached. A friendly smile crossed her and she uncrossed her arms, setting a hand gently on the round table in front of her.

“What can I get for you?” She asked, looking over the group.

“Just a set of meals will do, please and thanks.” The leader replied.

With a nod, the bartender made her way back over to the counter, attending to another customer’s drink before starting on the food. The group stayed quiet for a moment as they took in the atmosphere of the tavern. The lack of strong lighting made the place feel small, though with this few people occupying its space, it was quite a good side. Better than some other places in town. The mural along the long wall made the place feel more welcoming, though in the dim light, it was rather unsettling to look at and no one person ever seemed to see the same thing. Its tone and meaning were a hot topic to any newcomers.

“So why meet here?” A soft voice piped up.

A smaller man in the city guard uniform shuffled his seat closer, resting a forearm against the table as he leaned forward. He looked at the larger woman expectedly, waiting for her to reply. The leader sat up, crossing her arms as she did, looking over the group.

“Because he’s been here.” She replied. “I was hoping to get some more information, but I’m not sure we’ll find what we’re looking for.”

A scrawny man sitting across from the woman rolled his eyes and slumped against the table.

“Just great.” His voice matched his look: Squeaky yet overconfident. “Can I leave now?”

The woman replied with a glare before a sigh escaped her lips. She turned to a smaller woman who also wore a city guard uniform sitting directly next to her.

“Were you able to get it done, Clair?” She asked directly.

The woman replied with a simple nod. The individual sitting next to the scrawny man scoffed and leaned forward, resting one hand in the crook of their other arm as they raised their free hand. They turned their head to look at the man, a smug look on their face.

“See? Some of us can do our jobs, right? Maybe you should try it out sometime.” They sneered.

Clair rolled her eyes at the remark as the small man’s face flushed with embarrassment. He stammered for a moment, trying to come up with a fitting remark.

“Yeah, well- maybe… Maybe I let him get away on purpose! Ever think about that? No, your tiny brain couldn’t think of such a smart strategy, I bet.” He snapped back.

“You’re one to jibe about having a tiny brain, pipsqueak.” They retorted.

“Enough!” The leader scolded quietly. “Do you want the whole town asking questions about us? Quit talking so loud.”

The scrawny man shrunk in his seat, now realizing just how loud he’d been.

“And you,” She pointed to the taller one. “Quit antagonizing him.”

With a sigh and a roll of their eyes, the other person leanded back in their chair, casting a simple glare at the scrawny one. The leader lifted her gaze, motioning for the table to settle down as the bartender made her way back over to them, four plates filled with steaming food in her hands.

“Meals for the lot.” She said with a smile, setting one down in front of everyone except the scrawny man.

He looked around at the rest of the group, a frown forming on his face. With a glare, he looked up at the bartender, watching as she wiped her hands off on her apron, turning to leave.

“What about my food?” He scowled.

The bartender gave him a simple smile and leaned towards him, tucking a stray curly lock of hair under the decorative scarf that wrapped over her forehead.

“You’re lucky I even let you in, Giles. Best thank your…” She paused, looking over to the larger woman. “Who did you say you were?”

“We’re his employers.” The woman said simply before shrugging her shoulders. “At least for now.”

“Best thank your employers.” She said again before turning and walking away back to the bar.

As the rest of the group began to dig into their meals, Giles slumped down in his chair, arms crossed over his chest as he pouted. When they were all near to clearing their plates, the leader spoke up again.

“Thanks to Clair, we have all the information we need right now.” The leader pointed out. “Puck, you head after him. I want you out of Foolshope by the time dawn breaks.”

The one sitting next to Giles quickly finished their meal and nodded, standing.

“In that case, I’m going to get some rest.” They replied. “He won’t get away from us this time.”

Levy grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat, stretching as best he could in the confines of his tent. This whole ‘traveling with Cabre’ thing wasn’t going great. It was like every plan he suggested, Cabre always managed to find something to gripe about. No plan was going to be perfect, why couldn’t he get that? Levy sighed and rolled his blanket up, riffling through his bag for some rations before shoving the fabric inside. With a yawn, he unzipped his tent, squinting in the harsh morning sun.

“Morning!”

Levy flinched, startled by Cabre’s chipper tone and bright attitude. As he looked around, he realized Cabre had already packed up all of his things and his pack was slung over his shoulders as if he were ready to leave.

“Ready to get going?” Cabre asked.

Levy looked tiredly from Cabre to his tent, which he was still in the middle of crawling out of, back to Cabre.

“What does it look like?” He grumbled, standing up into another, more effective stretch.

Cabre frowned.

“What?” Levy looked over at him confused.

“I figured we should start traveling soon if we want to make it to Diremore today.” Cabre said.

Levy shrugged, taking a bite from his breakfast. “Diremore’s not goin’ anywhere.”

Nonetheless, Levy broke down his tent while he ate. As Cabre prepared to descend the landmark rock they’d camped on, Levy looked out over the horizon. The sun had already made its way out from behind the distant cliffs and was shining intensely over the wasteland. The air around them was already growing warmer and the cloudless sky promised to keep that trend going. Instead of putting his sand cloak on, he shook it out and rolled it up into a tight wad, shoved it into his bag. Before long, they were both on the ground, setting off into the desert. At first it was silent, as per usual until Levy remembered.

“Oh yeah, I mean to ask.” Levy started. “Why did you hire that idiot, Giles to come after me?”

Cabre raised a brow, looking over to Levy as they walked.

“Who?”

Levy raised a brow back. “Giles? Ya know? Kinda scrawny, squeaky voice, scraggly brown hair, pointy face?”

Cabre shook his head.

“Never heard of him.” He replied. “I think I remember taking down someone like that before shooting you though.”

Cabre’s face flushed, his head quickly turning to face forward.

“Sorry about that… by the way.”

Levy shrug. “I’m not that worried about it. It worked out in the end right?”

Cabre let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I guess it did.”

Cabre fiddled with the straps of his pack as the silence settled in again. He hated small talk, but not talking at all was even more uncomfortable. He wanted to ask Levy about why he was always wandering the wasteland. Why he hadn’t settled down somewhere like most other people and gotten a job? He was sure Levy had questions about him as well. Maybe he was just waiting for him to start up the conversation? Would it be like this the entire walk to Camp Primary? He took in a deep breath and silently promised himself that, before they reached their destination, he would ask Levy about at least one thing he was curious about. Levy looked over at him, a curious look on his face.

“You good?” He asked.

Cabre nodded, opening his mouth to speak. This was the initiative he needed. He was already thinking about asking, why not do it now that a conversation had started. Before he could, he felt his foot catch on something. Then he fell flat onto his face before he was promptly pulled to the side. Frantically, he shifted his weight, eventually sliding himself onto his back so his face was being dragged through the sand. He dug into the ground hard with his free heel, but it was no use. He was being carried away. He looked behind him, his eyes desperate as he watched Levy bolting after him, eyes wide with shock and determination.

“CABRE!” Levy yelled after him.

Levy gritted his teeth, pushing himself forward with every ounce of energy he had in him. His eyes and boots began to glow with magic. It was his only hope of catching up. He drew closer and closer and closer. Cabre reached out a hand, his eyes pleading for help. Levy lunged, arms outstretching as he tried to catch his companion's hands in his own. He landed hard against the sand, his fingertips just barely grazing Cabre’s as the man was pulled away into the darkness of a large cavern.