Igneous disembarked the ship. He headed for the city center of Meridian, and looked for Aren the Fletcher. Finally, in a small ally off the main road, a small sign read "Bows & Arrows" He headed in.
"Well, look at you!" A man greeted the Magnorite. On his tanned face grew a neatly trimmed black beard. In the middle of his square face, there sunk two small eyes. They stared firmly in front, as if always locked onto a target. He wore a brown leather jump suit that was slightly patched but clean.
"Where'd they mine you up?" He walked out from behind the counter. "Does this mountain have a name?"
"My name's Igneous," A bit startled, the Magnorite responded. "I'm here for Aren."
The man's face lit up. But he hid it and leaned against the wall. With an indifferent air, he said, "Some people call me Aren, others call me The Fletcher. Those who dislike me find," he paused, stroking his neatly trimmed beard, feeling it prickle his fingertips, "other clever titles." He finished and looked at Igneous.
"What do ye' want?" He gruffed.
"Galleous sent me." Began Igneous, "He…"
"Galleous is still alive?!" Exclaimed the man. "He must be older than the Walls of Time by now!" He crossed his arms again and leaned back against the wall, observing the Magnorite. "But go on, why did Galleous send you all the way down here, huh?"
"I need to get into K'arthen." Igneous replied firmly.
"Oh, that's a good idea." Aren scoffed. He sat down at the counter and started handling his stuff haphazardly. "You should also visit the Nether when you're done." He stopped and stared at Igneous. "What're you trying to do, get yourself killed?"
Aren considered for a bit while Igneous remained motionless in his position. Finally, the fletcher seemed to reach a decision. He walked over to the wall and picked up a long spear, not unlike a halberd.
"Even if I wanted to hike across the endless Dunes of Cydonia and somehow smuggle you into K'arthen," He said slowly, feeling the hardened pole of the weapon and running a finger along its edge. "I'm going to need a lot more than Galleous' words as compensation."
Igneous hid an inward smile. Humans, always so predictable. He took out the gold leftover from his trip and placed them on the table, making sure they clinked audibly. Aren turned his head at the sound, smirked approvingly, and went into the backroom. A moment later, he emerged with a small travel sack hanging on the top of the spear. Slinging his weapon on his back, Aren motioned Igneous to follow. Together they headed for the north gate of the city, and marched into the barren desert towards K'arthen.
For days, they trekked across the endless plains of sand, northward towards K'arthen. One day, as they were setting up camp, Aren asked, "Say, why ye wantta go into K'arthen fur?"
Igneous, who was finding the bookmark in his latest read, set it down. As a Magnorite, he didn't need sleep, but neither could he abandon his guide in this desert. At night, he always read books by the dim light of his markings.
"A war is coming." He replied firmly, "I want to stop the conflict between K'arthen and Cydonia."
"Oh, sure, sure." Drawled Aren, flapping out his sleeping bag. "We are all doomed if that happens." He climbed in. There were always that kind of people, who read too many books and forever had their heads in the clouds. "You should convince the Deathsinger next. Why don't'ya try that?"
Igneous didn't respond.
"We are coming up on K'arthen tommorer." Aren said with a yawn. "Get some rest if ye need ter. G'night."
"Good night." Murmured Igneous.
The morning sun found them trudging the last steps towards K'arthen. By dusk, as the sun cast long shadows over the mountainous dunes, they climbed up one last peak and came upon a huge wall. It occupied their entire horizon, from end to end.
"That there's the K'arthen wall." Said Aren as they reached the top, standing his spear in the ground. "If you want to go in there you must be dumber than a chef who sells mushroom soup, only it ain't mushroom soup cuz they didn't put shroom in the soup, and then they sell it to ya' hoping you won't notice."
Igneous frowned. That example seemed oddly specific. Maybe Aren did encounter such an idiot, but he was thinking of more important matters at the moment.
"How do we pass through?"
"The short answer is we don't. The wall was made as a message telling people like yourself to stay out." Aren picked up his spear and twirled it. "What K'arthen doesn't want you to know is that they don't have the defenses to watch the entire border." He pointed, "Head west along the mountains- you'll find the pass."
"Thank you Aren." Igneous started off the dune towards the wall.
"Good luck, Igneous! You're the bravest Magnorite fool I've ever met! May we meet again." Aren exclaimed. With that, he took a swig from his water pouch and headed back to Meridian.
Igneous kept his distance as he trotted along the wall. The orange sunlight blended perfectly with his markings so that no guard noticed him. Finally, he found a gate with only one guard standing. He looked drowsy as he gazed towards the sand. Igneous decided to try his luck.
"Good day." He waved as he came upon the archway.
The guard blocked him. "Stop. State your business."
"I am a Magnorite." Igneous pointed at his markings. The guard seemed unimpressed. "I was away from K'arthen when, uh, it broke up with Cydonia, and, uh, I always wanted to return to my homeland." Igneous tried his best to sound cheerful and matter-of-fact.
"Hmph." The guard lowered his spear. "Get inside." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
"Thank you, sir." Igneous nodded his thanks and walked through the thick wall into Tartarus, the capital city of K'arthen.