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Walking upon solid ground was a nice change of pace. It was a lot easier to walk without causing a mess. He knew they had about an hour of walking until they hit the city. The sun hung low in the sky, if they didn’t move quickly, it would set before they arrived.

The two of them walked with haste, making idle chit-chat about Faelde city.

“So, you ever been to Faelde before?” asked Leo.

“Yeah, been there once when I was younger, though my memory is fuzzy. I vaguely remember it.” She answered. “Have you ever gone to Faelde before?”

“Nope, don’t know the first thing about it,” he replied truthfully.

“Would you care to hear about it?” Marem asked.

“Better than going in blind, and it’s not like there’s anything else to do,” he answered.

“Faelde is a trading hub, people stop by either before or after traveling through the Koraha desert,” she explained. “There’s all sorts of trade there, alongside delicious food from all over Kalpania. They also have an adventurer's guild there, so we may end up meeting some local legends.”

“Meeting some other adventurers could be fun, I’ve been curious about seeing more magic in action,” responded Leo.

“There are some monsters in the nearby woods, nothing that dangerous, so we could see some mages on the way there. Wherever there are monsters to hunt, there are adventurers hunting,” added Marem.

“Any chance something could attack us on our way there?” he asked.

“Doesn’t seem likely, adventurers make sure the main path is clear. Though even if some monster snuck through, I doubt it’d be of any threat to us,” she replied.

Leo felt comforted that this leg of their journey would be peaceful. He didn’t like needing to be careful with how he fought, having grown a taste for his uncontrolled fighting style in the desert. Though even if something did attack, he felt confident with Marem’s assertion that nothing here could threaten him.

“Oh wait, quick question. Do they have, like, a tailor shop there? A lot of my clothes are messed up,” he asked Marem.

Marem, the Seamstress, looked back at him with a blank expression. Leo took a few seconds before he remembered that this was something well within her skill set. Even if she was a Seamstress, he didn’t want to just act as if she owed him her service.

“Not that you wouldn’t kick ass at it, just thought it would be rude to ask,” he tried to play off his lapse in judgement.

“You did protect me from a horde of bandits earlier today, I wouldn’t mind patching up a few holes in your clothes, dude,” she chuckled.

“Thanks, though it’s definitely a lot more than a few holes,” he sighed.

There was a beauty in the path they walked; the nearby trees and plants decorated the path beautifully. The desert had its benefits, no innocents to hurt and nothing to destroy. though even if it was objectively the perfect location, he still didn’t like being there.

He had grown a love for plants and nature, one that he never had in his past life. He never would have thought he would eventually want to touch grass, but the influence of Koram and Buddy have changed him. Being surrounded by nothing but seas of sand was torture compared to the beauty of the forest.

He could see the setting sun, nightfall likely to happen before they would reach Faelde. He didn’t want to run, as he enjoyed the peaceful walk they were on, but he knew the walk would be more difficult with Marem unable to see. While his night vision made solo travel simple, having a companion made it far less convenient.

“Hey, Marem, how long until we reach Faelde city?” he asked.

“Hm, can’t say for certain. Not too familiar with the path to it, though I’d assumed only 20 minutes left, so we may reach it before nightfall,” she optimistically replied.

“I’ve just been assuming, but we’re gonna have a place to sleep, right?” questioned Leo.

“Well, we can always get a place at an inn or a hostel. They always have rooms available, need to keep adventurers and travelers comfortable after all,” she answered.

“Alright, let’s just keep pace and hopefully get a place to rest soon,” he concluded.

He’d grown to appreciate Marem in the few days they’d known each other, happy to have made another friend in Kalpania, though he didn’t know if she saw him the same way. Just having somebody to talk to makes a world of difference, and while there were the downsides of needing to worry about her in combat, it was worth it to have someone around.

Their path started to quickly rise, the incline sharply increasing. The path turned more into a hill than level ground. Leo looked at Marem, making a confused noise that you just couldn’t put into words.

“Oh yeah, I remember this part of the pathway. It was easier to build over a hill than move around it, even if it was inconvenient for carts, though now it provides a beautiful overlook of Faelde,” she explained.

Leo had been excited to see his first big city, and knowing he would get a scenic overview made it all the more exciting. He quickened his pace as Marem followed suit, trying to keep close. With the sun fully setting, it would illuminate Faelde city in a golden glow.

Though when he reached the top, he came to an abrupt stop. What the sun illuminated was a city in ruins, with crushed houses and smashed carts surrounding the outskirts. He scanned over the city, his eyes unable to spot any signs of activity or life.

This was when he heard a twig snap come from nearby woods, as he turned around to see a few small monsters starting to crawl out from the forest. It seemed as if he and Marem had been surrounded on both sides, possibly by the creatures that destroyed Faelde city.