We stayed in Tantan for about three days, during which Jane and I frequented the eatery every single day. We tried out various dishes, including raw fish. She was really hesitant eating raw tuna at first but absolutely adored it once she put one in her mouth. She told me that she expected the texture of raw red meat, which I had no idea how she knew what that tasted like. I had never eaten raw red meat. Of course, consuming any flesh raw was unsettling. To ease emotions up, they were using some sort of black sauce that was really salty with a strange flavor. The thing was that the black sauce went really, really, well with the fish flesh. It went so well that the black sauce was being used to consume raw fish almost exclusively. I managed to purchase a jar of it to bring it back home. Jane was really saddened to leave Tantan behind. She was becoming a gourmet of some sort. It was she who wanted the black sauce to study because the locals wouldn’t tell us how it was made. I wasn’t sure how she was going to figure out the ingredients, but whatever.

  Anyway, I suggested going over to the labyrinth of Ceres. Winning over Duman and Roseline was easy since the latter wanted to go there anyway. We weren’t really sure what to expect from the site. The Ceres guild had constructed a makeshift tavern by the dungeon. Originally, I believe a settlement was supposed to be built around to support adventurers exploring the dungeon. Unfortunately, it never really worked out due to the Age of Darkness, and the tavern was abandoned. I heard that some random adventurers continued to live there regardless. The thing about the place was that its surrounding land was not suitable for farming just like Tantan. With no trees around, either, it was just a nearly impossible place to start a settlement. Tantan had the sea at least to get food from. It would need to import virtually everything to make it work, and nobody was willing to invest the vast amount of money required to support growth of a settlement without a reward. The only reason Brian the guildmaster started this with his own money was that he had a long-term vision which he eventually abandoned due to the Age of Darkness. Besides, the dungeon was swiftly cleared by the Duke, now the king. All in all, no one had any reason to stick around - or so I thought.

  “The hell?” I blurted.

  The makeshift tavern was crudely constructed. It wasn’t meant to last long and should have collapsed or at least partially did. I mean, it’s been years since. It shouldn’t have survived the weather. But it did and there was something else.

  “Are those people I see?”

  There were quite a lot of people around it. It was … as if people were living there.

  “How, though?” I wondered aloud. “Duman! Duman! We’ve got something!”

  He dashed in to check out what was going on because my voice carried some urgency.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  “Wasn’t the makeshift tavern supposed to be abandoned?”

  “It was abandoned.”

  “I think not. Look.”

  I pointed forward, and he walked toward the wide, but narrow, window to look down. The makeshift tavern was still standing. In addition to that, I could see numerous huts around it.

  “The fuck?” he blurted. “What’s going on down there?”

  He had no idea as well.

  “It was not abandoned. That’s for sure,” I said.

  “Could they be … from Atra?” he wondered aloud.

  “Atra? Wasn’t that kingdom wiped out during the Age of Darkness?”

  “Yes, but some could have made out and settled down there. The dungeon was technically within their territory. If they are indeed from Atra, they do have the right to be there.”

  It sounded very plausible.

  “Should we even land down there?”

  I asked because it could be dangerous. They could forcefully take our airship. Having an airship would be a Godsend to them right now because it’d make importing stuff much easier.

  “No, no way in hell. We ain’t gonna do that.”

  “What now then?”

  “Circle around a bit. Let’s take a closer look.”

  So, I did just that. Lowering the altitude a bit, we took a closer look at the developing settlement. The makeshift tavern had been reinforced with whatever wooden scrap they could find, and the huts were really crudely constructed. I could tell, as a carpenter, that they lacked the material to make anything properly. They still somehow managed to bring in some lumbers.

  “I will get down and see what the hell is going on.”

  “I wish we had a wind mage. It would have been very convenient.”

  “No kidding.”

  A wind mage could fly around. It would have made this much easier indeed. Duman eventually climbed down a rope ladder. People had noticed us and gathered around already at that point. From what I could tell, they surrounded him at once and looked to have bombarded him with questions. It was too far for me to be able to listen. At least, they didn’t attack him. I wouldn’t be able to get him out if they did. He eventually climbed back up.

  “They are indeed from Atra. In fact, they are led by an Atra noble.”

  “So, some did survive.”

  “Hard to wipe out an entire country anyway. Perhaps we should have expected this outcome.”

  “How did they manage to end up here?”

  “It looks like a deal was in place for Atra to start a settlement here. Obviously, it didn’t start due to you-know-what. But some preparations were made. Those who knew about the plan chose to hasten it and departed here along with whatever supplies they could carry.”

  I nodded along. It made sense now. They had to flee and the only place they could think of was here without being refused. Tantan would have not accepted them. Food was a very limited resource. Because storing food wasn’t an easy task, we didn’t produce more than we consumed. Wheat was probably the only exception where it could be stored for years in the form of flour. Meat jerky lasted a long time as well, but those were meats, a precious resource on its own.

  “So, can we land the airship?”

  He looked down, looking concerned. “No, I don’t feel it’s safe. They told me it’d be alright, but would you trust them?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Precisely.”

  Roseline, who was listening to us quietly in a corner with Jane, looked utterly disappointed in the fact that we might not stay at the site but she did not voice her displeasure. She probably knew that it was for the best. Duman glanced back at her.

  “Roseline, don’t worry. We will check out the labyrinth,” he said.

  She blinked her eyes a few times as if she didn’t expect that. “What?” She eventually said.

  “We will park the airship back in Tantan and walk.”

  I narrowed my eyes. That wasn’t a bad idea. Someone should still stay in the airship, though… Jane?

  “Jane will stay,” Duman declared as if he read my mind. She was the only person who wasn’t a combatant, so it made sense. She was aware of this as well, thus she didn’t make a fuss.

  “Okay,” she replied softly. Once settled, I was back in the pilot’s room and was driving the ship away from the site. Some people down there seemed surprised that we were leaving and looked to urge us to come back. It didn’t take a genius to figure that they were probably short on everything, especially food and water.

  “Water…,” I mumbled. There was something we could do about that. Stopping the airship, I told Roseline my idea. Water mages were able to create water out of thin air with the most basic spell available to them, called simply “water”. If she were to cast the spell and aim at a barrel or something, they’d get water. Given her high affinity to water elemental, she’d be able to conjure a lot with little effort.

  “Yeah, that will work,” she replied nonchalantly. I had a feeling that she couldn’t care less about the people down there. The woman was weird in many ways, one of it being selective empathy. She cared greatly for those she cared for but was apathetic to strangers.

  “So.., could you do that?”

  “Well, if you ask me, I will.”

  I sighed internally. She should be volunteering to do it.

  “Yes, please.”

  Opening the door, I descended the airship close enough to the ground so that they could hear my voice.

  “BRING EMPTY BARRELS OF SOME SORT! ANYTHING TO KEEP WATER!”

  Duman was watching me from a distance, letting me do what I wanted. He also couldn’t care less about the people here. I am sure that they had their reasons. The people down there looked confused for a moment before realizing what I was trying to accomplish. A man who looked to be in charge barked out orders. Soon enough, they had brought five empty barrels.

  “Roseline, please.”

  She lazily moved toward the exit and merely said, “Water.” The moment she said that, numerous water elementals that resembled eels appeared midair. The people wowed as they saw the magical moment. Unfortunately for them, they were about to get showered. A huge chunk of water appeared out of thin air and dropped down. The amount she summoned was rather unbelievable. It felt like it was enough to fill a large pond. Some people were swept away by the free flowing water, but the barrels did get full.

  “Well, you do what you want to do. In my opinion, though, they were getting by okayish. They may not have needed the water,” Duman commented at last. Ignoring his remark, I wondered aloud.

  “I wonder whether they have contacted Tantan?”

  Folding arms, he leaned his back against a wall. “They have. They have been selling crude iron weapons they acquired from the dungeon. It has been the only source of income for them. In exchange, they have purchased food and water at a premium.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Their lives couldn’t have been easy,” Jane said, indirectly backing me up for what I did.

  “Of course, it wouldn’t have been easy, but they have been getting by. I would agree with helping them if they were outright dying, but they have learned their way of survival. In my book, there is no need to help those who are getting by.”

  Well, agree to disagree, I guess. I felt that I did the right thing. I decided to change the subject, not wanting to argue with him.

  “You said they were led by an Atra noble. Does that mean they want to seek sovereignty?”

  “They may want to. Do they have the power to do so? I highly doubt it. The population over there is a few hundreds at the best. You don’t create a nation with a few hundred, especially when you have to depend on others’ help to survive.”

  “Their best chance of survival is begging to be accepted into our kingdom,” Roseline chimed in.

  “Can’t they move into our kingdom?” Jane asked.

  “They are being led by a noble. He would want to keep his sphere of influence,” Roseline replied with a subtle sneer.

  “In his mind, it’s probably better to be a leader of beggars than becoming nobody,” Duman said with a snicker.

  “Do they have a future here?” I asked.

  “They do,” Roseline replied. “Iron is a precious source. Acquiring monster’s weapons and armors and melting them back to usable iron is a way to get it. The labyrinth is acting like a minor source of iron here.”

  “It’s far more dangerous, but that’s the only way for survival for them,” Duman added.

  “Can you eat monsters?”

  I froze at the question. It was Jane who popped the question.

  “What?” I blurted.

  “What’s in the dungeon?” she asked.

  “Werewolves, orcs, goblins, and such.”

  “Couldn’t they consume them?”

  That was … a distant possibility.

  “I am asking because we didn’t see anyone approaching from the west while we were staying in Tantan.”

  True, we stayed there for four days and never saw anyone visiting the town from the west. Additionally, I didn’t see any group making their journey to the town in the air.

  “Are you saying that they are somehow surviving on their own…?” I mumbled while rubbing the bridge of my nose. Duman and Roseline also looked at each other, looking amused.

  “The land is healing from what I’ve been told,” he said eventually, breaking the awkward silence. “I suppose they could relocate to the North and restart the kingdom.”

  “This is none of our business,” Roseline said. “Are we hitting the dungeon or not?”

  She was correct. This was none of our business although I felt a bit offended that she didn’t take this seriously at all. Well, she never showed much, if any, interests other than her own affairs anyway. I knew that. I knew that… I glanced at Duman. He was the leader after all.

  “We will try at least. Like I said, we will go by foot.”

  Was that a good idea? What if they attack us? No matter how strong we were, we wouldn’t be able to defeat hundreds of people. In the war of attrition, numbers mattered. Besides, I was being a bit petty because Roseline pissed me off a bit.

  “I disagree,” I declared. “I feel it’s too dangerous. What if they attack us? We won’t be able to escape.”

  Besides, my concern was perfectly justified. Duman was silent for a moment, probably thinking about what to do next.

  “He is not wrong,” he agreed. “First of all, let’s go back to Tantan. I am going to ask around to see whether they’ve been in contact with them. If they don’t know about the Atrian refugees, then they have been surviving alone. In that case, we should avoid them.”

  I nodded while Roseline walked downstairs at once. Duman said they had been selling iron to Tantan. It was time to find out whether they were telling truthfully. Jane seemed to have noticed some bad air and approached me while I was piloting the airship toward the town.

  “You were being a bit petty,” she told me. I wasn’t going to deny it.

  “She’s too heartless.”

  She stood right next to me, leaning against my armless side. “I thought that the whole purpose of this journey was to help her out.”

  I froze; she was right. The reason we set out for this was to help her find reasons to live. Coming back to focus, I sighed while sagging my shoulders a bit.

  “You are right. I guess I was being a bit headstrong.”

  “In a twisted way, she was a part of the reasons the refugees survived. I guess the weight of deeds sort of evens out for her by not wanting to help.”

  I didn’t want to think further on the matter and simply reminded myself that I wouldn’t get in the way and agreed to visit the labyrinth. When we arrived back in Tantan, Duman swiftly asked around whether folks from the labyrinth visited by.

  “It looks like what they told us is true. Folks in Tantan have seen them coming here and selling iron bars. Now, the folks here don’t seem to realize that they are currently living by the labyrinth, though.”

  “What? Where do they think that they are living then? There is virtually nothing around here as far as I know,” I retorted.

  “Or why are they hiding that?” Jane chimed in.

  Roseline wasn’t present on the main deck.

  “Whatever the case, what now? If we are not visiting the labyrinth -”

  I interjected, “I think we should visit.”

  Blinking his eyes, Duman looked at me a bit surprised. “You had a change of heart?”

  I nodded.

  “You sure?”

  “I am.”

  “Okay then. Jane, you are staying put, yeah?”

  “Yes. I won’t leave the airship.”

  “Just take it easy. I am going down and getting prepared as well as letting Roseline know,” he said as he went down, leaving me and Jane alone on the main deck.

  “How long will you be gone for, do you know?” she asked with a bit of concerns in her eyes. Come to think of this, this would be the first time for us to be significantly apart for a prolonged period.

  “It’s five days by foot, so ten days at least. I think we will be back in twelve days or so.”

  I couldn’t fathom staying for too long at the labyrinth.

  “That’s half a month by me alone. It’s going to get a bit quiet for sure,” she said with her eyes downcast. In her whole life, a busy environment was something she had always been in. It was probably going to be her first time being all alone. I embraced her warmly in response.

  “Hang in there. You could visit the eatery also.”

  “Nah, it won’t be fun eating alone.”

  She had a point, I felt.

  “You said you wanted to study the black sauce. You could spend time on that.”

  “That’s probably what I will do. Be back safely, hubby.”

  It didn’t take long for Duman to finish the preparation. He brought me a small backpack. He had a medium backpack on him and gave Roseline another small one. Interestingly, we didn't carry much water. He explained to me that we could refill water whenever we needed from Roseline’s magic. Water was the heaviest item, thus being able to exclude it made our load much lighter. Within an hour, I was waving my hand to Jane who was waving back at me from the airship. We were off already. When we were quite a bit away from the town, I told Duman.

  “I need to make some money.”

  He was walking in the front, I was in the middle, and Roseline was in the rear.

  “Don’t you have enough?”

  Perhaps, I did. I mean, objectively, I did have the money. But Jane and I were mostly worried that our income wasn’t keeping up with our expenses. We were spending especially a lot on food, which wasn’t something I wanted to come forth cleanly.

  “Yours was fifty coins. Mine was twenty five with ten having been given to my brothers.”

  “You do know that your parents are filthy rich, right?” Roseline chimed in. “Your brothers will be well-off even without your aid.”

  It was a bit painful to admit that she was indeed correct. In hindsight, perhaps I should have kept all the reward money to myself.

  “Anyway, Duman, are we expecting to earn something from the labyrinth?”

  “No, we are going there because Roseline wanted to go.” He glanced back at her. “Why do you want to go there?”

  “To see how much it changed. I made some notes when we explored the place the last time. The Age of Darkness is over, so I want to see whether there has been any change.”

  In other words, this journey had nothing to do with money. Sighing internally, I spoke no more. I knew that chances would come eventually but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. As we continued our journey toward the labyrinth, I had the chance to see how bad the environment was around here. The grasses were too short to be of any use and half of them were yellow. With no patches of forests like the ones I’ve seen around Ceres, there was no place to hunt wild animals, either. There was absolutely nothing to do for food around here. I could see some trees by the mountains on the East and West, but it felt like it could take days to reach. Trying to settle down on a land like this would be brutal to put it mildly. I didn’t know how the folks over there were surviving to be honest.

  “Well, this place hasn’t changed much,” I remarked upon seeing the place from afar. We were closing in after about four days of walking. We expected five days but apparently we were walking fast enough to have saved a day.

  “Desolate as ever,” Roseline added. And that was an understatement because I actually saw some women trying to forage something from the grasses. They looked like they were trying to dig out roots of some sort. Grass root soup … Fuck, veggie scrap soup would be better, and here I thought that nothing would be worse than that… Several people noticed us approaching and were watching us with sharp eyes. They would have recognized Duman for sure. The dude was huge and his appearance wasn’t easy to forget.

  “Directly to the labyrinth?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but someone will approach us, for sure,” Duman replied. True, a man flanked by about four armed guards approached us as we made our way into the crater.

  “Halt!” He exclaimed, stopping us. “What is your business here?”

  “Let me do the talking,” Duman whispered to us. Clearing throat, he responded, “We are from the Ceres guild. The labyrinth is a property of the guild. We are here to check on it. We do this every year.”

  The man and his guards looked at each other, exchanging glances.

  “The labyrinth is ours,” he claimed, to which Duman let out a laugh.

  “Surely, you jest. The guild found it and conquered it. We defeated several boss monsters within.”

  “But you abandoned it.”

  “We did not. We had to withdraw due to you-know-what.”

  The matter wasn’t straightforward. The land we were on was technically within Atra’s territory. At the same time, it was true that the labyrinth was discovered and conquered by the Ceres guild.

  The men exchanged glances again, trying to come up with a good argument to turn us away.

  “We aren’t going to stay for long. We are simply checking the labyrinth for any changes. We will be gone in two days at the most,” Duman said.

  “What are you going to tell your boss?”

  “My only concern is the labyrinth. I don’t care about the folks who are living here.”

  “We…,” he hesitated. “We are really struggling. At least one person has been dying per day for a while now.”

  “It’s not our problem,” Duman said with a firm voice. “It’s not as if you guys don’t have choices.”

  Yeah, they could go to Tantan. From there, the people would be diverted to numerous places. They are staying together here because they wanted to restart their kingdom or whatever. They once glanced at each other and drew out their swords this time.

  “Drop your backpacks,” he demanded.

  I drew out my sword, and Duman pulled out his crossbow. Then I heard Roseline scoff.

  “Seiche!” she exclaimed. A high water wave, well over ten meters, hit the men before they knew what hit them. The water wave violently carried them away from where they were into the bottom of the crater where they were carried into the labyrinth. It was like watching water exit a bathtub. Her magic inadvertently attracted attention, and people were looking right at us. They saw what happened probably but none of them was making a move against us. Instead, they stood still as if they weren’t sure what to do.

  “Well, time to get the fuck out,” Duman remarked as he turned around and walked away from the little village. Roseline and I followed him promptly. Since it was her who ruined the opportunity, I suppose she couldn’t complain. I sighed a breath of relief as we distanced ourselves from the place.

  “They aren’t following,” I said.

  “Better not. I can cast Seiche all day long. I can wipe out the entire place,” she claimed boldly.

  To be honest, this was a total taste of about ten days. We shouldn’t have even made the trip here if it was going to turn out like this. There was no point in bringing that up, however.

  “Where are we going next?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “Well, lots of places to be… Roseline, you choose.”

  “Me? Well, if I was down to me, let’s explore the North, and I have some experiments to do in the sky.”

  “Faro? Got a place you wanna go?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then off to the North we go, I guess.”

  While I didn’t have any place I wanted to go, I did want a fifth member. To be honest, just the three of us venturing to the labyrinth was a bit of madness. In fact, I felt like we needed two more members. It didn’t feel secure enough to leave Jane alone with the airship for example. But where could we find more people who we could trust? It was certainly easier said than done. Oh, yeah -

  “Duman, are we being paid for the exploration job?”

  “I am unsure,” he replied.

  Dang it, dude. I need money! Sighing deeply, I glanced back for the last time. How they were going to survive was really none of my concern, but they were in for some great pains, I was absolutely certain.