CHAPTER 19: Mutuality

Piles of sand had resulted in dunes encompassing entire houses, with the most extreme of which resulting in a sandbar that stretched all the way up to half of the grand wall’s height. As they delved deeper and deeper into the sandstone confines of the city, past different establishments and homes— one of which being completely surrounded by broken glass; the group eventually came across a desecrated fountain, still seeping fresh water into a half-drained pool. The statue that once adorned its spout was cracked, its figure split down the middle and entirely missing its head. However, this fount’s beauty was of little importance, as what really mattered to Orsel and Jacob right now was the fact that it could help Vino during this parching time. Jake slung Vino, roots-first, into the pool of water in the fountain. His body slung limply over the edge, still unconscious.

“It’s a miracle this thing was here.” Orsel said, relieved. “You’d think a place like this would’ve lost access to running water a long time ago.”

“Yeah, weird place. Dangit, why won’t he wake up?” Jacob dipped his claw into the pool and tasted it. “It seems fresh enough.”

“Maybe he just needs some time. You know, to soak.”

“You’re probably right, “Jake sighed, sitting down. “I mean, I know plants like the back of my hand. They always need time.”

“Is it because you’re made of dirt? Orsel asked.

Jacob lowered his eyelids.

“It’s ‘cause I’m a farmer. I grow spactus back at my ranch.”

“What’s spactus?”

“It’s uh, a kind of plant,” Jacob explained, “It’s tough and prickly, but the fruit’s real sweet if you peel it right. We use it to make a drink called jej.”

“Really? What’s it taste like?”

“Well, it tastes a lot like spactus fruit, but it’s also fermented and spiced, so it’s bubbly and has some kick to it.”

“Hmm.” Orsel contemplated as he looked back over at Vino. “This could take a while. What say we get some sleep?”

“I’ll stand watch,” Jacob announced, surveying the area. “I already got some shuteye on the boat, anywho.”

“Alright.”

Orsel leaned his crookshank up against the edge of the fountain and laid down at where he stood, still captivated by the stars that lay above him. He scooped some sand from the piles that laid haphazardly on the path and placed it behind his head to form a makeshift pillow. Before he could truly drift into the realm of slumber, however, he had something to share.

“Li-Listen, I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve done today. I’d be doomed if it wasn’t for you guys.”

Jake turned his head away from Orsel.

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’m serious,” demanded Orsel, sitting up halfway from his resting position, “Even if I wasn’t arrested, there’d be nothing left for me there.”

“Well, I find that hard to believe.”

“You don’t know what it’s like back there. No matter how hard you work or how well you treat others, you’re still just a nothing to anyone higher up than you.”

“Funny, I thought mindless devotion was rewarded there.”

“It’s not mindless devotion, it’s survival! It’s working, so you can have a place to exist in society! If it were up to devotion, I’d have let my coworker die today. If it were up to devotion, I would have ratted your plan out to Eyve and Ven.”

“You just told me earlier that you looked up to Thead, though. Ain’t that devotion enough?”

“Yeah, well just because I have to do everything he says doesn’t mean I like him- or his laws, or his council, or-”

Orsel cut himself off. He was angry, but he didn’t want to bog himself down thinking about his home. After all, he had finally left that wretched place, wasn’t that enough?

“I’m tired. Good luck on the watch,” He said, pulling his hood over his eyes and turning away from Jake. Jacob looked at Orsel, laying down on the ground in front of him, his cloak speckled with sand. His head was filled with contradictory thoughts about the shayd before him. He was a little odd, sure, but this Orsel was a complex person who had thoughts and feelings just like him. He, too, had ideas of frustration, joy, sorrow, aspirations, and regrets. Although he was still skeptical of him, Jake had at the very least come to the conclusion that he was nothing like the shayd who had wronged him so long ago.

“Hey, Orsel?” Jake asked, jerking Orsel out of his attempted slumber.

“Hmm?”

“You helped us out, too. Thank you for that.”

“You’re very welcome,” Orsel concluded as he turned back around.

Before he could even go to sleep, however, he heard a loud THUD behind him. As he turned back around to investigate, he found a large pile of soil where Jake was— the big guy didn’t even last a minute awake! While he was amused by the thought of Jacob falling back to sleep the second he turned around, he felt a slight stinging on his hands as he saw his shadow cast before him. He recognized it as the tell-tale pain of light exposure. Orsel turned around carefully to find out what the source of it could be, and his attention was brought back to the top of the palace that towered behind them, overlooking the fountain.

CHAPTER 20: A Quick Departure

This time, he was absolutely sure of what he saw earlier; He HAD to investigate— a thought he momentarily debated as he looked back over at his two incapacitated allies. He decided his compromise would come with being as quick about it as he possibly could, and rushed over to the palace. As he journeyed through the streets and over the remnants of the odd crumbled building, Orsel noticed that Lum’s architectural practices were very different from those back home. Instead of tall spires and complexes made out of pitch iron, they opted more for flatter, squared designs for their homes and establishments, made from carved and dyed sandstone. The fact that so many of them were still somewhat standing even after the tragedy this city had faced served as a testament to their durability. Eventually, Orsel had made it to the steps of the palace. It was mostly pyramidal in its shape— with three of its sides decorated with massive circular windows of stained-glass, most of which were sadly shattered. One side was adorned with a positively massive staircase facing the archway the group had just entered the city through. At the structure’s top, however, at the end of the staircase, there was a domed building about the same size as the other houses Orsel had seen throughout Lum. The sheer height of the climb almost dissuaded him from ascending, but at this point his curiosity as to what might be at the top was too great to ignore. He pressed on, one step at a time, one tendril over the other.

Back at the fountain, Vino had finally woken up- shocked to see that where he had awoken was not where he had become unconscious. He dragged himself from out of the fountain and immediately noticed a large pile of dirt and burlap next to him. Vino assumed this was Jake, asleep. He must have carried him to Lum while he was out, but there was no sign of Orsel. Assuming something unfortunate may have happened, Vino jostled the pile that once was Jake’s body. He rumbled awake, the burlap that once made up his shirt wrapping around his body, the shards of glass that made up his claws dragging themselves to his hands, and two gleaming, orange eyes hollowing themselves out to finally return a friend back to the realm of the awake.

“Ngh, what is it? “Jake grumbled. “Oh hey, you’re up, Vino! How you feeling? Any better?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just went into torpor due to dehydration. Do you know where Orsel went?” Asked Vino, surveying the surrounding area.

“Orsel?” Said Jake, shocked as he gathered himself and began to join Vino’s search. “ORSEL!” He shouted, trying to recall the shayd to the group.

“Where is he? What’s going on?” Vino asked.

“I-I don’t know! One minute he was here, and I was keeping watch,” Jacob panicked, “Then I must have dozed off.” The two looked around the area for a little while longer. As Vino searched, however, one of his roots bumped into the edge of a triangular bottle. He picked it up and dusted it off, then filled it up with fresh water from the fountain. He supposed any time was the right time for preparation. “Dangit, why’d he run off?” Jake grumbled

“Where do you think he went?” Vino queried, taking a sip of water from his newly-filled bottle.

“I don’t know,” said Jake, scratching his head, “but we’d better find him soon. He’s probably still somewhere in the city, come on.”

Clutching his crookshank and using it to drag his body further up the steps of the palace, Orsel debated why he was doing this in the first place. He sprawled himself across the steps in exhaustion.

“This thing’s taller than I thought.” He said, panting. With this moment of respite, however, Orsel took it upon himself to appreciate the view before him. The stars were still as indescribably beautiful as before, but the blank vistas of sand encompassing the world around him caused a feeling of peace to well within Orsel. He was finally safe- and there was nothing around him that could hurt him anymore. After he thought he had rested enough, he hobbled himself back up and continued climbing. Orsel made it this far, and at this point he was committed to finding out whatever that odd flashing was, no matter what.

“ORSEL!”

“ORSEL!” The voices of Jacob and Vino echoed throughout the decrepit streets of Lum, lost to the whispering sands and husks of long-abandoned buildings.

“Dangit, I just don’t get it.” Complained Jake, whipping a chunk of sandstone across the street with his tail in frustration.

Vino gazed up at a sign hanging from the side of a building, dangling in the gentle wind. 

“You know, there’s something I don’t get, too— why are you so concerned about Orsel all of a sudden?”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Not 5 hours ago, you wanted him dead or gone. Now, you’re leading a search party for him!”

Jacob paused for a moment.

“We talked.”

“Well that’s good. About what?”

“Life… Survival.”

“Is that it?”

“Well, he said a lot… Enough to make me think a bit.”

“Think about what?” Vino queried, tilting his head.

Jacob looked up at the stars. He had seen the same sky for countless nights, but they had never quite looked the same as they did now.

“About how we’re… kinda the same, you know?. He’s a worker, he has morals, and from the looks of it, it seems that people just kick him around.”

“And you… connect with that?”

Jacob took a deep breath and peered into the open archway of an empty Luman home.

“It’s just… The world’s already hard on people like us, so why do we have to be?”

Vino was pleased at Jacob’s change of heart towards Orsel, but the task at hand still required their utmost attention.

“Can you think of any place he might’ve gone?”

“Let’s see, we came into the city through the wall, then he started going on about-” Jacob snapped his claws in realization “-THE TOWER! C’mon!”