Ariel, Amy and Peter froze in their place, exchanging looks.
After a second Amy spoke.
"Yes, but don't worry. We will be back soon." She pet her head.
"I don't want to be alone..." The little kid said, looking up to her.
"I have a... friend that will take care of you in the meantime. Okay?"
"Okay..." The kid's eyes slowly closed, embraced by the sweetness of sleep.
"I didn't know you made friends." Peter whispered.
Amy slowly got up, careful to not wake her up.
"Of course I don't have friends here, I said it to calm her down."
She looked around.
Who can I trust here?
A half-human man with scars caught her attention.
He seems violent.
Elderly woman caught her attention, caring for a small kid beside her.
I guess I can trust her.
"Ariel, give me the copper."
He pulled up his pouch and handed the last copper coin they had. Amy lifted the kid from her place. Walking towards the elderly woman she spotted, Amy handed the coin.
"Madam, I need you to care for this kid for a while."
Looking up to Amy, the elderly woman's lips formed a small smile.
"Is she yours?"
The question echoed in Amy's mind.
"I.. Um... No." She muttered.
She placed the little kid beside the elderly woman and marched back to the group. Hiding her flushed face from public. Suddenly she stopped, and turned to glance at the kid.
So innocent.
Then Amy went back to the group.
"Let's go," she said.
"We still don't know how to get out of this place," Peter said.
Ariel suddenly rose from his place.
"We should check out where we came from. If it's still open I have a plan."
They slowly walked amongst the citizens of Aethelburg, some crying, some already gave up. Ariel looked at each and every half-human in their path. Their face etched in his mind. Ten minutes later they reached the place where they once fallen. The Glorious fake-sun on top of the ceiling was slowly dying out, that caught no attention.
Amy looked up, where the canyon was suppose to be.
"It's gone," she said.
Turning to Ariel she said, "What was the plan?"
"With your sphere I was going to raise the ground using our mana." Ariel said with a sigh.
"That complicates things."
Amy looked around, just moss and plants. Her eyes lit up.
"Peter give me the fire-stones."
Peter handed out the fire stones.
"What are you going to do with it?"
"You will see."
Moving closer to a plant she arranged the fire stones to make a circle that has four rhomboid shapes stretched from the center to the edge inside.
"Peter lend your mana to the sphere. Ariel be ready to move the earth above."
"This better work." Peter said. He moved closer and sat beside Amy and put his hands over the sphere. His amber mana supporting the orb.
Ariel moved in as well, looking at the ceiling with his halberd on hand.
Reaching for the sigil, Amy counted down.
"Three... two... one."
Suddenly the plant expanded and stretched upwards with growing at an uncontrollable speed.
"You didn't say it would be like this!" Peter screamed, the flow of mana destabilized.
The plant shook from side to side.
"Focus!" Amy countered.
The ceiling got closer by the second. Ariel raised his halberd. Running his emerald-colored magic through his weapon, he slashed the stone ceiling. It opened like a bread.
They got ejected from the ground and crashed down to earth.
"Ugh..." Ariel grabbed his head then looked up.
His eyes searched for the sun, but he was unable to find it.
"Twilight," he said quietly. "Good."
Standing his place, he enjoyed the serenity of the night and the roars of the beasts. His eyes swept across the tall trees of the Crimson Forest. The burs of the flowers scratched his armor creating a low metallic sound. The low winds caressed his hairs. Then he suddenly got up.
"Get up, we don't have time to spare."
Peter and Amy slowly rose from their place.
"My head hurts..." Peter said.
Ariel turned to Amy. "Where will the city land?"
She pulled a map from her backpack.
"It is Azael 30 so... they should land at the Southern Plains. We should go north east."
"How much time we have?" Ariel asked.
"About four days." Amy put her map back.
Without saying anything else Ariel turned and started walking.
"It takes a week to go there on a good day." He added. "We can't waste a second."
Peter and Amy followed him.
"I swear the air here was much warmer." Peter rubbed his shoulders.
"Continue walking." Amy said.
"Ugh." Peter did as he's told to.
Time passed, the sun hovered over the horizon. Between the towering trees golden lights hit their tired skin.
Peter snapped. "When are we going to rest Ariel!? We've been walking for gods know how much!"
"Like I said." Ariel talked between deep breaths. "We don't have time."
"I get that! But what are you going to do when a beast pops up?" He took a deep breath "Are you gonna fight like this?"
The scared faces of the half-humans flashed in his mind. He gripped his halberd harder.
"We are going to rest at the Redroot Village."
Amy's eyes were drawn to Ariel's hands. She kept her silence and continued walking.
Peter sighed. "You're impossible."
They marched in a deafening silence.
The trees far away flickered, their lower crowns shook slowly and gracefully. Suddenly a large fox leg stepped out of the trees. Ariel froze in place. A fox, towering over six meters, with two heads, that had one horn and two antlers each closed in.
"The Great Fox..." Ariel muttered.
With a nearly divine grace, the fox bothered to look at them, with one head. Its orange fur moved with the wind as it took one step forward.
Ariel flinched, Peter and Amy drew their weapons.
"What do we do!?" Peter whispered, his hand tremoring.
"We can't outrun that, especially in this state. I can barely walk!"
Ariel gripped his halberd.
"We fight. That's what we do."