The trip to the stables was uneventful, and frankly, a little scary. Joe pressed herself against Nero as they walked out of Evan’s Lodgings, staring fearfully at the abandoned houses around them. They stood dilapidated and ominous, their shadows swaying against the flicker of the lantern. In the hindsight, she should have been ashamed of her behaviour, but there were more important matters at hand.

 

“Say, why do we need another horse again?” She peered up at Nero with beseeching eyes. “Is Griffon not sturdy enough to take us all the way to the Western Frontier?”

 

“It’s a long and treacherous road from here on out, my lady.” Said the man, as they rounded the corner and (finally) walked out of the shady alleyway. “It would be best to have a horse familiar with the terrain. And Griffon wouldn’t be able to carry the both of us together to Sandora and return back by the midday, see?”

 

Joe supposed she couldn’t quite see, but understood that Nero was better versed in the matters of the terrain than her pathetic self, so she wisely kept her mouth shut. Screw it, he wouldn’t answer her straight even if she grabbed his collar and tried to throttle him.

 

She mentally added ‘horse-riding’ to the list of things that she needed to learn after this fiasco was blown over.

 

The central square was desolate and deathly still in the darkness of the night, a stark contrast from the cacophony of the bustling crowd during the day. A handful of inns dotted the perimeter of the settlements, their lights flickering incoherently like fireflies. Hardly a soul stepped out on the streets, and Joe was pretty certain that she wouldn’t have the balls to venture out alone, not without Nero and Nathan walking confidently by her sides.

 

She saw a pair of shadows moving out of the corner of her eyes, and almost jumped up in fear. Two hooded figures stood outside one of the inns, conversing in hushed voices and sending furtive glances along the road. The shorter figure abruptly turned around and caught her stare, and Joe could have sworn that she saw a glimpse of pale hair and clear eyes beneath the shadow of that hood.

 

Eyes having the prettiest shade of blue that she'd ever seen in her life.

The person gave a start, as if they hadn’t imagined that they’d actually see someone around. Their large cloak fluttered against the breeze, and the pale moonlight revealed a pair of sharp, narrowed eyes squinting at her suspiciously. A smarter fellow would have feigned ignorance, but Joe, like the colossal idiot she was, squinted right back. The narrowed eyes widened in surprise at her. The figure under the cloak must have seen something (or someone?) behind her, because they gave a soft yelp and darted behind the horse in record speed. The other figure stood silent as a rock.

 

Joe blinked in confusion. Did she somehow scare the fellow? Nah, can’t be. She didn’t think that she could actually scare anybody, not with her puny size and twigs for arms. What the hell happened then? She turned around only to find that Nero and Nathan had marched way ahead of her in the meantime, while she had been busy ogling at stupid shadows.

 

“W-Wait!” Joe lifted her heavy skirts and ran with all her might, mysterious figures all forgotten. These blasted dresses! If she managed to survive this trip all the way to Sandora and back, she’d be getting rid of those folds and frills first thing in the morning!

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“This is Merlin.” Nathan gestured towards a tall, copper-coloured horse like a proud parent. The stallion shuffled and snorted, and nudged against his owner like a spoiled baby hungry for attention. Nathan had brought them all the way to a wooden structure with rounded roofs, patched together in the most haphazard manner. He dubbed it as ‘the Round Stable’. Joe glanced at him with wide eyes, unsure if it was intended as a pun or not.

 

“And that one is called Arthur.” He continued the introductions serenely.  “He is the best one of the lot. The best breed as well. The one next to him is Lancelot. Hmm, what’s the matter, my lady? You want another horse?” He must have sensed her eyes on him, and smiled indulgently.

 

“Eh? N-No, no, it is absolutely fine.” Joe backtracked nervously. This video-game world was one huge universal joke. “No worries! I’d be thrilled to ride Merlin!”

 

Wow, that sounded all kinds of wrong!

 

“That one over there is Guinevere, one of the two mares of the Round Stable.” Nathan went on, pointing at a beautiful white steed at the corner. “The other mare is Morgana, but she’s kinda moodier than Guinevere. Ah, but Morgana’s faster too! Well, it’s not like our Guinevere isn’t fast. She’s pretty well behaved around the others, but it seems to me like Guinevere prefers Merlin over the other stallions of the stable. Owner’s intuition, y’know? Ahahaha!”

 

‘Shoot me’, thought Joe. ‘Wait – ! Guinevere, you weren’t just satisfied with Arthur and Lancelot, were you?!’

 

Nero, bless his one-track mind, politely interrupted his friend’s rambling. “That’s good to hear that your horses are doing well, Nathan, but we should get going as soon as possible.” He glanced at the sky. “Our time’s running short right now.”

 

“Ah, my bad friend!” Nathan looked sheepish, and Joe suspected that he had a thing for his beloved horses. The man pulled Merlin by his reins, gently coaxing the steed forward from the hay. There was soft neigh, but he didn’t struggle. Instead, he nuzzled against Nero like a long lost friend, and Joe had to quash down a sliver of envy at the sight. As someone hilariously bad with animals and birds of all kinds, she wanted to be nuzzled against as well, dammit! She attempted to stroke his long mane, but the horse shook her off with a snort and thinly veiled irritation.

 

Joe slumped against the wall in despair. She was doomed to be hated by animals all her life.

 

 

---

 

The moon had hidden behind the wisps of grey clouds as they rode out of Riseindell. Nero had stocked up on canned food and water for the rest of their journey ‘just in case’. Merlin neighed softly and galloped out of the grand city gate into the wilderness of the fields beyond. The stars twinkled from the corner of the clouds, spread across the sky like an artist’s dream. Joe found her eyes drawn again towards the vastness of the milky way, and she said as much to her travelling companion.

 

“That is beautiful! I’d heard about it before but today is my first time seeing it in person!”

 

“Ah!” Nero nodded along. “The Silky way is indeed beautiful, my lady!”

 

Joe stared at the man over her shoulders. “……You mean the Milky Way.”

 

“No, my lady.” He stared back innocently. “Nero is pretty sure that it is called the Silky way galaxy, y’know?”

 

“….” Joe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but then decided that neither was a useful option right now. “You’re a hundred percent sure?” Was this a conspiracy? Was this a new ploy to pull her leg?

 

“Two hundred percent, my lady.” Nero made a mock salute, his eyes shining resolutely. “I’ve never heard of this ‘Milky Way’ though. Whatever would that be?”

 

“Err, just to be sure…” Joe ignored his question and rambled on, “We live on a planet called Earth, right? There’s only one moon in the sky, right? Anything else you might wanna add? Like y’know, the Mole Star or the Big Stripper?”

 

Nero cocked his head to a side, his face a picture of endless confusion.

 

“Nevermind.” Joe was certain that the game had one ridiculously lazy writer. Silky Way?! Jesus Christ, it sounded like some drunkard’s fever dream. But then again, that was what it probably had been all along.

 

A cacophony of bubblebirds flying overhead interrupted her train of thoughts. They flew together harmoniously, like a giant arrowhead soaring in the sky with a mind of its own. Joe scowled at the sight. She never did like those loony birds. Couldn’t the creator come up with a cooler design for the game?

 

Nero must have sensed her irritation, because glanced up at the flock thoughtfully.

 

“D‎’you know, my lady? The bubblebirds are really excellent guides of the night.”

 

“These butt-ugly birds are actually useful?!” she asked the man incredulously.

 

Nero giggled good-naturedly. “Why of course.” He pointed at the flock. “The bubblebirds have a very specific pattern of flight when they go foraging in the night. They would start the hunt from north, followed by the east, the south, and then the west, right before they return to their nests at dawn. The reason we set out at midnight was partly because around this hour, the bird start their northern flight. By the time we part from the King’s Highway and turn towards Sandora, the flock would be preparing to fly westwards. Then all you need to do is follow their lead, see?”

 

“Sound awfully roundabout for a trifling thing.” Joe cocked her head to a side. “Can you not just memorize the way to the forest? Or you know, use a compass?”

 

Nero simply gave her one of his endless supplies of mysterious smiles.

 

Joe blinked. “…..You don’t have compasses here?!”

 

“Ah, but that’s not the real problem, my lady.” The man ignored her question and went on. “What we truly need the bubblebirds for, is to escape the death traps of the land at night. We call them the Devil’s Dew.”

 

If Nero’s casual chitchat didn’t fully catch her attention, those two words sure as hell did. “D-Death traps?!” she asked with a shiver. “Whoa whoa! I thought that you said that this route was totally safe at night ?”

 

“Ah, yes, yes. Nero did say something like that ~ !” The man had the audacity to wink. “And Nero totally didn’t lie. But you see, while this route might be much easier in the long run, but that doesn’t quite mean that it is completely safe either. After all, no place in the kingdom is completely safe, yes?”

 

Sweet baby Jesus. What in the world had she unwittingly landed herself into? Joe swallowed down the dread creeping up her throat. Where was the wonderful, fluffy and magical world promised in that stupid lovey-dovey game?

 

Nero might have sensed her discomfort, but he continued anyway. “My lady would not find them around the King’s Highway, but the wild grass fields and forest trails near Sandora have these weird pockets of magical spots in them. You wouldn’t be able to tell them apart unless you’re a local who knows every inch of the land, but once you step into one of these pockets, you won’t be able to get out unharmed.”

 

“What kind of places are these?” Joe asked fearfully. “What sort of magic is that?!”

 

“Haha, but that’s the thing, my lady.” Nero replied cheerily, as if talking about his favourite comedian. “We know that there is some magic involved, but we don’t really know what kind of magic causes that. After all, it’s not something that falls into any of our four elemental attributes!”

 

“But then what exactly happens if you actually walk into one of these magical regions?”

 

The man smiled serenely, but Joe felt the chills running up her spine. “There is no way predict that, my lady. These are places with distorted planes, nonsensical dimensions, and paths which shouldn’t exist in this world. Length and distance and speed do not matter, your sense of direction doesn’t matter, nothing that could save you, ever matters in those places.”

 

“Only the bubblebirds instinctively know how to locate these places.” The man went on. “They give off a warning cry as they fly near the magical pockets, and try to avoid these places even as they go foraging at night. They hunt through the night and sleep by the day, which is why most travelers prefer to cover the wilderness at night, and ride along the flocks of the bubblebirds flying overhead.”

 

Joe shivered despite herself, and Nero scratched his chin in contemplation. “Does my lady remember what I said about the bottomless pits around Sandora? You see, those are one of the Devil’s Dew Nero was talking about.” The girl thought back to his words about the treacherous shortcut to the forest from the Winsten manor. His words were beginning to make more sense now. “If one were to fall into one of those, there is rarely, … no, there is no way to ever climb back up.”

 

“There are other effects as well. If you step into one of the endless loops, there is no way to get out from that.” He continued ominously, “You shall be walking onto the same road over and over again till death. From the outside it might look like a man just walking in circles, but step into the field to help him and you’ll be stuck forever as well. We call those loops, the ‘scary-go rounds’.”

 

Joe stared back with her mouth hung open; there were no such shitty death flags in the video game dammit! “S-So it’s a magic that distorts …. Space?! Is that how you’d describe them?”

 

Nero hummed in response. “Who knows? They are quite impossible places, my lady. Everything infinite and infinitesimal exists simultaneously. It’s an endless loop of distorted paths. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and in angles that do no even make sense. Ah, but to describe them in one word would be …..”

 

“Madness.”