The others remained stunned, and so had thankfully missed Gragya’s terrible attempt at lying. Instead they were focused on staring at the now shattered ruins of the palace, mouths hung slightly open. 

Gragya decided to let out a sigh of relief at that.

“Alright, it was big and bright and all that, but we should probably get going,” Gragya said, tugging at Fuan’s shoulder.

The elf resisted her light tug. “That—that was solar magic! It had to have been!”

“Isn’t solar magic banned?” N’ratha muttered.

“Very,” Pin mumbled.

“We can discuss the legal-ness of the explosion later,” Gragya said. “We—well, you all need to get going. Now.”

“Why?” Hyi asked, turning to stare at her with slightly stunned and blank looking eyes.

“Because—” Gragya started, before shouting reached them from the surrounding streets.

“The Draconic League attacked us!”

“The League!? Not a chance! This is the Divine Alliance’s Work!”

More shouts followed. And then crashing and bashing noises. Followed by magical crackles. It was clear the entire city was descending into chaos as foreign merchants and diplomats rallied their personal guards. The amount of chaos likely indicated there were others involved, seeing an opportunity in the confusion to either support the side they prefered or get up to general misbehaviour and vengeance. 

“Because that,” Gragya said, groaning due to the fact they weren’t getting out in time.

“Ah. Yeah. Fair,” N’ratha muttered.

“What about your delightful cousin?” Fuan asked.

“I’ll go get her. I think I can trust N’ratha to keep you safe for an hour or two,” Gragya said, before turning to her and Pin. “If you don’t, Illyxa is not known to be forgiving to people who make her lose money. And only leaves behind scorch marks.”

The Half-Dragon grimaced, but then gave a small nod, promising to keep Fuan safe until they met again. It was agreed they’d all head south, mostly because they already knew there wasn’t much to be found to the north. The others began hurrying off into the chaotic night and Gragya charged back towards the palace grounds. She might have overdone it on the whole ‘threatening N’ratha and Pin’ bit, but if they messed up her neck would possibly be on the line too. She didn’t want to risk that.

As she ran, bounding off more stable piles of rubble or still standing portions of the palace, she saw the royal guards digging themselves out of the debris. Thankfully they were mostly too dazed or focused on pulling their allies out to notice Gragya. She was easily able to slip past them and reach the centre of the destruction.

It seemed a safe bet that that was roughly where Illyxa would be. 

Not seeing her cousin immediately, Gragya closed her eyes and loosened the wraps on her left arm by the slightest degree. She felt the solar magic flow out, reaching into the environment. It wasn’t drifting out in a perfect sphere like it should, though. There was a slight tug.

Gragya hoped that tug was it being drawn towards Illyxa’s own tattoos and scrambled across the rubble towards the point. A bit of digging (some of the larger bits of masonry feeling actually heavy due to tired state), she found her. 

Illyxa was staring blankly into space, her eyes unfocused. Gragya slapped her cheeks a few times.

“Ow. Ow!”

“Ah, good, you’re alive,” Gragya replied.

“Of course I’m alive. I got my barrier spell up right after I threw that solar bomb,” Illyxa muttered.

“I thought you’d said we weren’t supposed to use our trump cards?” Gragya said, an eyebrow raised for dramatic effect.

“They had a Red Dragon mage,” Illyxa complained as she sat up and took in a few breaths. “I didn’t have much choice.”

Weighing the options, Gragya reluctantly admitted that was fair. A Dragon was bad news for most people. A fireproof dragon was bad news for Illyxa. 

Before she could say anything further on the matter a portion of the rubble nearby began to shake. A male figure was starting to crawl out of it, and Gragya felt rather safe in guessing who the figure was. Since he didn’t look like the prince.

“Since we already played our hand, should I go all in?” she whispered to Illyxa.

“No. We should just get out of here,” Illyxa replied, getting to her feet.

“But—he saw?” Gragya muttered.

“Yeah, but who’s going to believe him that a lowly Goblin managed to do solar magic? Either he’ll take the blame or they’ll think one of the artifacts here blew up and did it.”

Gragya wanted to argue, but also could tell the Dragon Sorcerer was regaining his senses. If she wasn’t allowed to call on solar energy then she really didn’t want to fight him. So she scooped Illyxa up over her shoulder and started running.

Soon enough they were bounding across the rooftops of Mezora City. Then she leapt onto the city walls, which were abandoned in the chaos. Gragya had her eyes peeled for any obvious way across the river other than swimming when Illyxa spoke up.

“Where is the coin purse?”

“Fuan? I left him under N’ratha’s protection. We’re going to meet up just south of town,” she replied.

“YOU LEFT HIM UNGUARDED!?” 

“I really don’t think a Half Dragon who used to be a royal guard counts as ‘unguarded’,” Gragya replied. “Anyway, looks like we’re going to have to take a dip, so hold your breath.”

“This conversatiooouuuunnnhhhhh—” Illyxa started to say, only for Gragya to leap before she was finished.

The need to take a breath overpowered her need to complain. Just as Gragya had hoped.

---

It took an hour or so for them to find the others, by which point Illyxa had explained in great and redundant detail what she thought of Gragya’s actions as well as the implications about her intellect. 

Finding the other four looking perfectly healthy (even if Pin was still a Goblin and still squirming about that) seemed to almost disappoint her. Until she remembered that was the option that let her still get her paycheque. That helped her mood significantly.

They were all left with a question of what to do next, however. They couldn’t exactly go back into town to meet up with their ship to the Draconic League. Or head north in any way, due to the numerous towns along the river where people would probably try to arrest them. Plus the whole ‘knowing there was nothing to be found that way’ thing. Not that there was much to be found to the south either. That would lead them into the hottest and driest parts of the Waste. 

At least it was an unknown, though. There was a slight chance of finding something useful to their mission down there.

As such, they agreed on a rather simple plan. Move south without stopping. They hoped they would reach a small town before news of what had happened did. That way they might still get to buy some food and gear. Something they were desperately in need of, having lost everything when the inn betrayed them. Especially moving into the desert portions of the true Waste.

---

It was well into the next morning when they found a town that seemed off the main roads and far enough to have no idea what had happened. While the idea of finding a room in an inn sounded excellent to Hyi and Pin, Illyxa and Fuan insisted it was a risk they couldn’t accept. There would likely be messengers showing up sooner or later warning the locals about a party that would seem rather familiar. 

Not wanting any trouble while running so close to empty for their magical reserves, they left N’ratha to watch those two nap in a tavern while Illyxa, Fuan, and Gragya negotiated the purchase of supplies. Illyxa and Fuan did most of the actual haggling while Gragya stood there and glared silently at the merchants or farmers. She had some skill in negotiations, but was too tired at that point and so better at looking scary.

The combo worked delightfully. Supplies were soon gathered. Heading back to the tavern they woke Pin and Gragya tossed a still sleeping Hyi over her shoulder. Then the group set off. 

It was dry and dusty countryside this far from the river. Scattered piles of stones served as property markers for shepherds and other herders, but none of the scattered herdsmen crossed their paths.

Around mid afternoon they found a small ravine that seemed reasonably well sheltered. Illyxa checked for bugs, oozes, and other beasties before agreeing to set up camp. The others could call her paranoid all they wanted, they didn’t know what it was like to grow up without divine protection from the monsters of the world.

---

It was dark when Illyxa awoke. Unfortunately figuring out the time of night from the moon was one skill she’d never quite mastered, and so she wasn’t sure how inconvenient of a time it was to be awake.

Realising a few moments later that Fuan was the only other person up, and that he was glaring at her in the darkness, told her it was a very inconvenient time to be awake.

“We should head for the coast,” he said. “There will be settlements there. Ports. It should also be far enough from the battle lines to be free of destruction.”

“Nearly every town along the coast for at least fifty leagues is loyal to the Principality of Mezora. And most of the ones that aren’t will probably still be happy to sell our necks back to the Principality for the cash and other benefits.”

“It is the coast or the uncharted depths of the Waste,” the Elf said in a tired voice.

“Uncharted to Alliance folks, maybe,” Illyxa replied.

“You have a map?” Fuan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not a physical map, but… I’ve seen a few. I have a decent idea of what's out there. As long as we don’t travel too far south we’ll be fine,” she replied.

“What is down ‘too far’ south?”

“Des Worms,” Illyxa muttered, making a face. 

“What are ‘des worms’?”

“You don’t want to know. And I want to try to get some more sleep in. Good night.”

He sneered, but it seemed Fuan didn’t like talking to her much more than she liked talking to him.

---

Despite getting quite a bit of sleep, they were all rather tired when they set out towards the south east that morning. 

“So,” N’ratha said, about an hour into their hiking for the day, “are we going to talk about what happened?”

“You messing everything up for us?” Fuan asked.

She narrowed her eyes to glare at him. “No. The solar magic explosion.”

“Either the Red Dragon mage did it or something in the royal treasure collection was full of solar magic and blew up,” Illyxa replied quickly and sharply. “It was too chaotic for me to tell.”

“How would a Dragon learn solar magic?” Fuan asked.

To that, Illyxa shrugged. “I dunno. Dragons have lots of secrets and no respect for the gods and their laws.”

“It must have been an artifact exploding,” Hyi said, nodding to herself. “Even lying in state as he is, I do not believe Nariph’m magic could be called upon by a Dragon. The Gods cut them off from all divine gifts. And no one has ever managed to cast solar magic arcanely.”

That got a few nods and generally ended the conversation. A priestess would know, surely?

Well, where Illyxa’s genius wasn’t involved.

As they walked the grass slowly got dryer and sparser. Still, it wasn’t until the next day’s hike that the grass began to grow sparse enough that the word ‘desert’ felt truly applicable.

At least they were near enough to the Great Inlet that there would be rain there sometimes. And rivers from time to time. Barring that, there would also be wells to be found.

All the same, Illyxa spent their various breaks copying the enchantment marks on her magical bag onto their waterskins. She knew enough about enchanting to know how to copy an example in front of her, and magically increasing how much water they could carry might be the difference between life and death out in the Waste. Especially when they moved further east and things got even dryer. Especially because it was already getting dryer than she thought it would.

Fuan was complaining about the delay, and about the Goblin marching songs, but otherwise Illyxa was starting to think things were going well.

Until they came to a rather large rock formation. One that matched a map she had seen.

Only it was supposed to be at least ten leagues south of where they were.

“I guess that explains why the streams were getting so sparse,” she muttered, while trying to remember those maps.

“How?” Fuan asked.

“Uh… we’re a bit deeper into the desert than I’d thought,” she admitted in a small voice.

“That would be the Rock of Last Hope then, would it?” Pin asked, swishing his tail in minor annoyance. 

He’d been being more expressive with that thing ever since he’d gotten it back.(Due to the polymorph wearing off a couple days after they’d fled Mazora City.)

“Maybe? That’s not the Orcish name for it,” Illyxa replied.

“Oh! It’s the ‘pointy rock up north’, isn’t it?” Gragya said, her eyes lighting up. 

“That is not a very poetic name,” Pin muttered.

Gragya gestured towards the tall spire of stone before them. “It’s accurate though.”

“Well, um… it is shelter for tonight, at least?” Hyi offered. “Though… I do have to wonder about the name. Um, not the Orcish name. That one is clear. The other name, though…”

“It marks the edge of the Dunes,” Pin replied. “Few people who enter the Dunes ever make it out. Alive or dead. There’s apparently things out there. Dangerous things.”

“Des worms?” Fuan asked, an eyebrow raised.

Illyxa studied the ground for a bit before her shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”

“We can camp out on it and then turn north, though,” Gragya offered with a smile. “Nothing to worry about. Easy peasy.”

Her cousin’s optimism and pragmatism lifted Illyxa’s spirits. “True! We won’t have to deal with any worms that way.”

The group made it a few paces on their restarted journey across the dry sandy soils when a dry geyser erupted a few hundred paces to their right. 

Most of the group froze, turning to stare at the odd natural phenomenon. Illyxa, however, had only given it a momentary glance.

“Run,” she said, breaking into the fastest sprint her small legs could take her on.

“What do you—” Hyi began to ask when another spray of dirt erupted to their left, slightly further.

N’ratha yoinked Pin into the air and raced after Illyxa. Fuan was running a moment later. 

“But it’s just dirt?” Hyi asked, eyes wide with confusion.

“It’s worms!” Gragya shouted, grabbing Hyi’s hand and starting to sprint.

The Elven priestess did her best to keep up, but soon found her feet barely touching the ground as Gragya caught up to and then passed the others. She barely slowed as she caught Illyxa by the cape and continued to run with both Hyi and Illyxa in tow.

“She is very strong,” Hyi noted.

“That’s why I keep her around. Even though she spends too much money on drinks and girls,” Illyxa replied, not even attempting to touch the ground.

It took less than a minute for the three of them to reach the rocky outcrop, Gragya leaping the last few paces and coming to a sudden halt that left her two ‘passengers’ stumbling forwards.

Illyxa scrambled around, standing up to watch the geysers of dirt growing closer and more frequent. She wasn’t sure Fuan or N’ratha were going to make it. The worms were simply too fast, even in that reasonably compacted soil. 

Thankfully they responded to vibrations, and she could make vibrations. 

Lobbing fireballs out across the landscape, she hoped to either confuse the des worms or, at least, disguise the footfalls of the others enough to confuse the worms. 

Meanwhile, Pin seemed to also realise they might not make it and began singing. There was magic to his words, even if the song seemed very basic and repetitive. Illyxa could only suppose it was a song of haste, both from context and the fact the other two were soon running as fast as Gragya had.

Even with the assistance, they made it to the rocky outcrop mere moments before the head of a great and terrifying worm burst from the ground. Its powerful mouth parts clacked in frustration as Gragya helped pull the others up to safety.

“Ugly blighters!” Illyxa shouted. “You’re not supposed to be this far north!”