For the first time in a few days, the sky only had a few clouds slowly blowing across it. The air wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t cold like it had been before, and Trevor found himself closing his eyes more often than not when basking in the sunlight. It felt fantastic with the breeze from the steady pace of the wagon.

It was also comfortable on the surprisingly well paved roads. Trevor often looked down to see that they were better taken care of than the ones he used back on Earth, though they didn’t appear to be used nearly as often. Every so often other travelers, whether riding or walking, would pass by with polite bows that he and Adabelle would return.

Trevor found himself enamored by the scenery passing by. The further along they went, the more mountains started popping up in the distance. He clearly remembered the ones in the backdrop of Jackson’s painting, and couldn’t wait to see Castle Eskretet in person. The feeling only grew, but he made sure to enjoy this, as well.

“Probably for best that Rashie didn’t come,” he suddenly said a few hours into the ride. “She’d jump into that lake and I’m not sure we’d ever get her out.”

When Adabelle looked, he gestured towards a large body of water that appeared to stretch out for miles. The only indication that it stopped were the rolling hills on the other side. It reflected the clouds and sky beautifully. The woman snorted and sighed.

“We actually did lose her in that lake, once,” she admitted. “Wayne and I, I mean, back when I was adventuring more. She saw it and immediately dove in. We took turns camping out here for four whole days before she resurfaced. She claimed there were ruins down there, but never brought back anything substantial.”

“What were you doing out here?” Trevor asked, leaning against the front of the wagon so that he could pay attention to her better. Adabelle gestured behind him, and he reluctantly turned around.

A forest full of wide trees was a good distance away from the road, but something seemed off at first glance. He stared at them for a few seconds before shaking his head. “The forest?”

“They call it the Primordial Wood,” Adabelle explained. “Every tree that’s in that forest is hundreds to thousands of years old, and they’re bigger than the Summoner’s Tower back home.”

Tilting his head, Trevor squinted in order to try to get a better look at it. It finally clicked. They were much further away than he thought, but were so massive that he thought they were closer. He could even make out the shapes of the individual leaves, if only barely, from this distance.

“Wow, those are huge,” he remarked.

“Very much so. It’s also a protected dungeon by royal decree,” Adabelle continued. “It’s one of the types that don’t spawn constant monsters. Once a certain threshold is reached, then it stops. Because of that, there’s a thriving ecosystem that exists specifically inside the Primordial Wood with monsters at the top, but everything else is able to survive as well.”

“Did Wayne mention the name dinosaur at all?”

“Once or twice, I think,” she said, pursing her lips in thought. “It was a couple of years ago, but the name definitely sounds familiar.”

“Dinosaurs, awesome. But, if it’s protected, then how come you three got sent in?” Trevor asked, confused.

“Because there were poachers in there,” she said, her voice becoming acidic. “That’s what we were told, anyway. We took on the quest at a local way station, and they told us it was poachers. When we got there, it was a lot more dire than that.”

“What happened?” Trevor urged, turning to look at her again. He was momentarily taken aback when he saw the disgust on her face, but didn’t say anything more.

“A necromancer,” she answered. “Summoned, based on the body. He had been killing the monsters, reanimating them, and waiting for the dungeon to spawn more. By the time we got there, the necromancer had already claimed the corpses of several of them.”

“Did you manage to stop him?”

“Of course we did,” Adabelle huffed. She immediately took a calming breath before glancing back with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it’s just bad memories.”

“It’s absolutely fine,” Trevor told her honestly. “That had to be really traumatic for all of you. I imagine most quests aren’t happy events and I’m just a super special outlier.”

Adabelle’s mood seemed to change as he spoke, and she smirked. “You’re definitely going about it in a way I’ve seen few do, being exclusive to courier quests, but I suppose that’s just part of what makes you, you.”

“Yes, I am pretty much maximum Trevor,” he admitted. “It’s good that you were able to stop him, though. I imagine the landscape would have been much different if the Primordial Woods had zombie dinos constantly coming out. You all must have saved a lot of lives.”

“We did, didn’t we?” she muttered quietly, glancing back in the direction of the trees. Adabelle cleared her throat. “I wasn’t really thinking about that back in those days, but every quest does make things better for the people.”

“What were you thinking about then?”

Hesitating, Adabelle seemed to shrink into herself a little bit, an action that did not go unnoticed. “Would you think less of me if I said all I was thinking about was leveling up so I could get stronger?” she asked.

“Never,” Trevor said firmly. “Just yesterday, Wayne told me that nobody stays the same when they level up. They either get better or worse. Well, I don’t have to wonder what you’re going to be like when you level up, do I? You may have been aggressive about it, or obsessed with it, or whatever, but I’m glad for the Adabelle who’s here now.”

“Oh, thanks Tre-“

“Of course, I also heard you were as friendly as a bramble bush, lady, so maybe we wouldn’t have gotten along,” he teased.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Adabelle’s eyes went wide as she turned to look at him, and then they narrowed. “Oh, is that how it is?” she asked.

Trevor shrugged, but didn’t stop smiling. “Listen, that’s just what I heard.”

“Hey, hold still a minute, will you?” Adabelle requested, her voice suddenly sounding very sweet.

“Hold still for what?” Trevor asked warily.

“Just want to make sure I don’t miss,” she said, smiling.

Suddenly very concerned, Trevor opened his mouth to ask what she meant when the spade at the end of her tail slapped him in the forehead. It didn’t hurt, but it caused her to laugh, and he was sitting still with his mouth open as he processed what had just happened to him. His face made her laugh more, and eventually he shook it off.

“I could have sworn I heard you say that thing had a mind of its own,” he accused.

“It does, but that’s only when I’m not paying attention to it,” she said. “I’m glad you were able to follow basic instructions. I would have hated hitting you anywhere else.”

“From where I’m sitting, and the way your tail is swishing in such a self-satisfied manner, I think you would have enjoyed hitting me even if it wasn’t on target.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” she said sweetly.

“Uh huh, I guess not,” Trevor responded with a half amused snort. His eyes were glued to her tail, and he felt the urge to reach out and grab it. He didn’t, though. That kind of playfulness was off limits, and he tore his eyes away in order to take in the landscape again. “How long until we get there, do you think?”

“What?”

“Until we get to Eskretet.”

Adabelle gave him a confused look. “Wasn’t Wayne supposed to go over that with you?”

“He told me a little bit, like dueling and expecting my pockets to get picked.”

“You have that problem?”

“Nope,” Trevor said proudly. “And I don’t intend to.”

“Okay, but what else did you spend your time on if not talking about the trip?” she asked, bemused.

“Oh, you know, shooting guns,” Trevor said slowly as he remembered the turn in the conversation. “Lots of firing weapons and talking about Earth and stuff like that. Just guy stuff.”

Adabelle snorted. “Guy stuff, huh?”

“Yeah, just a lot of macho stuff going on,” Trevor claimed as he turned his attention to another crystal lake. “But, uh, what about my question?”

The woman shook her head, but answered. “We’re going to stop tonight at a place called the Halffle Inn. It’s the halfway point between Tosa and Eskretet. We’re already pushing the wracors at a good pace so we’ll drop them off there and pick up another pair so they can rest until we get back.”

“Will they be taken care of there?” Trevor asked, frowning.

“Of course. They know us, and we know them. They’ll be fine,” Adabelle replied with a wave of her hand. “What they won’t be fine for, is two whole days at this speed. We would have to make it a three day trip instead of just two, which means we probably wouldn’t be able to prepare for the festival.”

The young man perked up immediately. “There’s a festival?”

“I’m going to whack Wayne when I see him next for not explaining anything to you,” she said with a sigh. “Yes, the Festival of Golden Lights. They hold it every year on the day of the city’s liberation. It’s been going on for around 70 or 80 years now, and if we hurry we can get clothes so we can celebrate properly.”

“What’s wrong with what we’re wearing now?”

The look Adabelle gave him made it clear that she thought that was a stupid question, but she just shook her head again and looked back at the road. “You don’t have anything to wear to the festival, trust me,” she said.

“Okay, I believe you,” he said, though it certainly sounded more like a question. “I find it hard to believe you don’t, though. Since you seem so ready for it.”

“My last outfit got shredded,” she answered slowly. “On account of a duel.”

“Yeah, that tracks,” he said, snickering.

“That doesn’t matter,” she stated firmly. “We’re going to the festival, we’re going to be appropriately dressed, and we’re going to have a great time.”

Trevor opened his mouth to make a quip when he realized that sounded just like a date. He closed his mouth and thought about it for a few moments, mentally arguing with himself about what she actually meant by that.

“That sounds like a good time,” he said lamely.

“Darn right, it does,” she confirmed.

“And when does this Festival of Golden Lights take place?”

“We’ll arrive there tomorrow night, see the king and make deliveries the day after. The festival is the day after that,” she answered. “And then we’ll either take a recovery day or leave for home, depending on how we’re feeling.”

“Planning on fighting more duels, huh?”

“Tons, but only if you don’t try to stop me,” she admitted with a grin.

“Stop you? I’ll be behind you carrying your stuff and staying out of your way like a good retainer,” Trevor balked, causing her to laugh. “That said, I guess I just thought this was going to be a quick stop. I definitely don’t mind staying in the city for a couple of days, though.”

“It’s a beautiful place. Different from Tosa in a lot of ways, but it reminds me of home.”

“Is being there hard for you?”

Adabelle shook her head. “No, I recognize that they’re different places,” she replied. “Just very similar. Tosa was a bit of a culture shock to me when I first arrived, and it took me a while but I finally started moving at their pace just a couple of years ago. It was a long transitional period, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“I’d like to hear more about that time, if you don’t mind,” Trevor stated.

“Seems like you’re really going all in on trying to learn more about me, don’t you think?” Adabelle asked slyly.

“In my defense,” he said quickly. “You’re one of the few people here who have also been Summoned, and you’ve been here a lot longer than I have. Jackson’s busy all the time, or gone at the very least. I could talk to Wayne, but I think he’d end up embellishing everything.”

“And Rashie is Rashie,” she concluded.

“Rashie is very Rashie,” Trevor agreed. “So, as the most mature and sane one of the group, I naturally want to fall back on asking you.”

“Maybe,” she said. “We’ve got a long way to go, so who knows what we’ll end up talking about. For now, though, get up here.”

“Up in the driver’s seat?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m going to teach you how to drive this thing so I don’t have to do it the whole way all by myself,” she said. “I want to relax, too, you know.”

“Oh, uh, sure. Yeah, let me get up there, then.”

Hopping the wall, Trevor maneuvered himself onto the bench-like seat. She scooched over for him, but it wasn’t as wide as the rest of the wagon and they had to sit fairly close together. The young man took some time to get it, but eventually learned enough that Adabelle felt comfortable heading to the back of the wagon to rest.