"Let's go."
Charine's voice brought him back to reality.
The travelers continued where they had left off. Day had broken through by the time they were leaving.
Isel fumbled with the weapon that Charine had given him while walking beside her. It was heavier than it looked, and if he wasn't careful some of the warped areas of the metal would scrape him, even through the cloth that concealed it.
Isel had thought about the journey that he was taking, and the destination as well. Manichae was two lands away, and Aeshval was only 10 hours away. He wouldn't be in the barren spiked desert anymore after just ten hours of walking. The thought excited him a little, surely anywhere would be better than his place of birth.
"What should I expect once we're in Aeshval?"
Charine responded after a few seconds of thought.
"It's a lot nicer than this place in terms of scenery. And if not for certain circumstances it may have been safe enough for most people to live in."
Isel tried to guess what she meant by circumstances. Natural phenomena like there were in Comeidlan? Or perhaps it was home to many beasts.
"What are those circumstances?"
"I've already told you about it before actually. It's because of the people who live there."
Isel frowned as he noticed the contradiction.
"What? So you're saying that people would be able to live in Aeshval if not for the people who live there?"
She nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much. There are scattered human settlements in Aeshval that choose not to associate with Manichae. They have only allowed Manichae to make two settlements there."
Isel wasn't surprised. Strife was instinctual, innate to humankind and most other life. He would have been shocked if humanity worked and functioned as one.
"But why would they choose not to associate?"
"I'd say it's cause they don't trust the people in charge, if I had to guess. Both people in Manichae and Aeshval will say it's for other reasons, but let me tell you something important."
Isel listened intently. Charine's knowledge was the only thing available to him that could bring him closer to achieving his goal. He wasn't going to miss anything.
"And what's that?"
"When it comes to people, only trust yourself. Both the people in Manichae and those Aeshval settlements will tell you what benefits them most. You can take what they say into consideration, but never fool yourself into believing anything is a definite fact. I know it sounds obvious, but it's harder than you think."
She brought up a good point. Trust was something that he had to become familiar with. He was practically alone except for Charine, but if a time came where he was truly on his own how would he know who and what to trust?
Isel frowned as he realized something off about her advice.
"So how come you gave me a weapon if you can only trust yourself?"
Charine replied immediately.
"I never said I trusted you, I just trust that you won't harm me. I also trust that you wouldn't succeed if you tried."
She stopped and turned to face him. The expression on her face had turned cold and indifferent, and he was reminded of her ability to stay calm.
"Would you try?"
That's when the full idea behind her advice came to him. Yes, he did not have to trust their words, just the fact that they said them. He could trust that there was a reason for them to be said, one that may or may not be of his benefit. And finally, he could trust in his own ability.
With a knew understanding, he hesitated before holding out the wrapped weapon to Charine and responding to her.
"I know I wouldn't."
She stared at the gun that lay flat on his hand for a short moment before returning to her paced walk.
"I guess you understand, then. Keep it, I already know I can trust you."
Isel looked down at the gun before continuing alongside her. Trust. He had someone he could trust. At the very least he could trust her until they reached Aeshval, but that period of trust would bind them together in a way that made him comfortable.
Even if it was foolish to latch onto the feeling, it was a comfort that he lacked since waking in the spiked desert.
Over the course of two days almost all of the distance required was covered. Many breaks were taken to allow the two of them to sleep with one person awake to keep watch at a time, extending a ten hour walk into a multi-day hike.
Charine surveyed the surrounding area. Isel's feet were starting to get sore after days of walking, but at this point he had simply wanted to get out of the spiked desert as soon as possible.
"We're nearing the exit."
"So how do we get out?"
"It's not something that can be explained. Just be ready for it."
He had trouble imagining what the process might be if she hadn't even attempted to describe the process to him yet, but stopped trying to guess what it was. He would see soon enough.
The sky was a familiar shade of dull red, and he hoped they could leave before it turned to dark indigo. He wished with his whole heart that he wouldn't have to use the stone tablet again for a long time. He grimaced at the thought of that damned stone.
He soon started to notice his surroundings change. The spikes that used to tower over him or stand at his height were receding more and more as they continued to walk.
Soon they reached a flat area, with an entire ring about a kilometer wide with no spikes rising from the ground.
Charine stopped. She set the makeshift sack carrying the prints of the creature on the ground as she searched underneath what remained of the cloths she wore. This time, she took out a pitch-black knife. Isel's stomach turned slightly at the sight of it and he wasn't sure why. He wasn't scared of the blade, but it unsettled him deeply.
Charine slid her finger across the dull side of the knife slowly, and took a deep breath. She turned to face Isel.
"I'll have you go first."
She walked towards Isel and placed the black knife in his hand.
"You need to cut your palm."
Isel didn't understand.
"What? What does that have to do with traveling to another land?"
Her lips turned downward before answering.
"Each land demands a price before you can travel to it. All except for Manichae."
She touched the surface of the knife as it lay in his hands.
"This knife is how we get to Aeshval. Right now we're standing at one of the entrances of Comeidlan."
Isel picked up on the words she used.
"Entrances?"
"Yes, there's another, but that's many kilometers away, and opposite the direction we came. That entrance that leads to Hourlal."
She kicked some dust off the ground. Isel hesitated while staring at the blade as his stomach turned many times over. Why did it make him so uncomfortable? Despite the fact that he knew it was irrational, he couldn't shake the feeling away. He felt a familiar fog cloud his thoughts once again, and took it as a sign to not waste time thinking about it further. He would get his answers one day.
"If you're still unsure, let me show you something."
Charine took the knife out of his hand and immediately pulled the sharp side across her arm. Isel flinched and squinted as he saw her slice her arm expecting a horrific sight, but the blade drew no blood. In fact, it hadn't left a single mark on her.
"It can't hurt you, so don't worry."
Knowing this helped calm his internal unrest, but he was still uncomfortable. Isel took deep breaths as he tried to think rationally. Once he slid it across his palm, he would be free of the spiked desert.
"…Alright."
He took the knife back from Charine and whispered under his breath as he put his hand on blade.
"Just once and then it's on to the next… just once, just once."
Isel pressed the black knife against his palm, getting ready to slice.
Before he could slide the blade across his hand he saw Charine turn around in the corner of his eye before suddenly stiffening up. A muted thump came from behind. If not for the eerie silence of the spiked desert, he wouldn't have heard it. He dropped the knife and turned around quickly.
A body was lying on the red sand just a few meters away from where the two stood.
Isel's heart raced as he reached for the weapon now holstered underneath the black straps on this back, but he stopped as soon as he touched it. Charine's previous warning rang in his head. "Only use it if you see something like that again." The body in front of him was clearly human.
Isel shook his head and turned to Charine as he brought his hand back. She had already started to step closer to the body cautiously.
Other than being covered in the reddish sand, the only thing that could be discerned was their dark brown hair.
Startling the two, the stranger lifted their head while gasping heavily for air before turning on their back with haste and coughing up red sand. There were coughs mixed in a scratchy and rough voice, cursing after every breath.
The tenseness of the situation collapsed immediately while they listened to the stranger spout vulgar words in pain.
Isel exhaled as he realized that after three days of living, Isel had finally come across another human.