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“-I’m just saying, even with your rapid healing, I don’t think you should push yourself while we’re in the End Lands, at least for most of the first week.”

“Eh, Nick gave me the all clear; Besides, you packed the usual medical supplies, so I can manage.”

A deadpan tone accompanied the turn of a page.

“Do be careful, Mr. Vaulen. Fate is always within striking distance.”

The days leading up to it had been a bit more...eventful than usual, but the time had come for the Escort job. Others like it were met with more apprehension than most others by the more experienced Abaters, but still: a job was a job. The newer Abaters were usually more enthusiastic, though; after all, it was a chance to travel the world, explore it beyond the Haven you were born in. In this particular instance, it was a trip southeast to Bloom Haven to deliver a shipment of lumber, paper, and a few other goods. Not a terribly drastic change of scenery, going from a coniferous forest to a rainforest (or perhaps jungle was a more apt description), but the various fauna were a welcome sight.

Taking a glance at the sky, Lucas shrugged.

“Eh, the same applies to everyone at some point. Don’t see why I should be singled out.”

Before Walter could make a rebuttal, Vicky gave her butler a disapproving look.

“Come on, Walt, don’t ruin the mood! This’ll be our first time to Bloom Haven! Keep your spirits up!”

“Your wish is my command, Miss Arteriel.”

Making a huff, Vicky gave him a cross look.

“Hph! I thought getting that book you’ve been eyeing would make you a bit more chipper.”

Walter scowled, tightening his grip on the edges, his steps becoming more rigid.

“Oh, it would, but, apparently, personally knowing the husband of an acclaimed author doesn’t net you more than a measly ten percent discount!”

“We’re almost there, guys. Just a heads up.” Lucas remarked, apparently ignoring Walter’s minor grievances.

“Hmm…I take it that Galebard-san hasn’t been able to soften his position?”

“Not even citing his wedding vows was able to convince Galebard’s husband otherwise! I had to pay nearly full price!”

Realizing the implications, Vicky’s eyes widened.

“Wait a tic - Did you have enough Rills for our supplies??”

Grabbing the bag of supplies Walter was carrying, she quickly began rummaging through it in a mild panic, only for Walter to retch it out of her hands with a look of indignation.

“Ragh! Miss Arteriel, I can assure you that, while we were forced to compromise, Miss Keiko and I were able to negotiate fair supplies for our journey to Bloom Haven! And furthermore, we-!”

Coming to an abrupt halt, Walter immediately straightened out, doing his best to regain his composure as he looked dead ahead. Vicky followed suit and subsequently waved cheerfully to their client, a tall, wealthy-looking man with magnificent black sideburns, flanked on both sides by personal guards as he exited a side-door, the massive doors of the loading entrance slowly opening as well.

At last, they had arrived at their destination: the Commuting Lot. With the only things separating them from the outside being the Gates, the three entrances to High Beacon were kept under higher security than most other areas, barring major enterprises or residential districts. Due to the unease of being close to the world beyond, there were comparatively few housing opportunities near the wall, and the few that existed were, at best, temporary relief stations. As such, the most prominent establishments were temporary warehouses for imports and exports, and security checkpoints for visitors. The warehouse the four abaters had arrived at was a merely five blocks away from the clearance point at the gates, and would be one of the last things they saw before they ventured out beyond the safety of the walls. Looking over the building, Keiko raised her eyebrows.

‘I was expecting more moss...looks like they might’ve recently replaced some of the wall - or did they just hire someone to fortify the structure?’

Watching as the massive warehouse door finished opening, she stiffened slightly, unconsciously gripping her crossbow straps a bit tight, as what was pulling the caravans trotted into the dawn’s light.

Exiting the warehouse were two titanic Lurid Horses, the Incarnations of Equinophobia (The fear of horses), their pale, sickly green complexion almost blending in with the tree. Although she relaxed slightly at seeing the numerous restraints keeping them in check, she had to remind herself not to stare directly at their faces; from the holes on either side exposing the teeth, to the eerie white glow of their eyes, sometimes she felt as if they were staring into her very soul. And that was without taking into account their MASSIVE size, or how their long manes, pigmented like deadwood, seemed to flow in the air unaided, like a creeping fire.

“Morning, Mister Saerin!”

As Keiko continued to wearily eye the restrained Incarnations, Walter facepalmed at Vicky’s cheerful statement. Saerin’s eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise, before he resumed a sophisticated, and almost condescending, composure, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly into a smirk.

“Ah, Victoria Arteriel; I see the tales of your new occupation were not exaggerated.”

Before she could reply, Walter grabbed her by the collar of her armor, and smiled apologetically, visibly strained.

“I do apologize, but I need to have a word with Miss Arteriel, Mister Saerin, sir.”

Watching with bemusement as Walter dragged her off somewhere more private, Keiko swiftly tried to make herself seem more professional as Lucas began conversing.

“It’s nice to see you, Mr. Saerin, and I hope that things are going well, but I’m surprised that you decided to meet us here in person; I’d think this sort of thing would only merit sending a lac-a representative?”

“I’m doing quite well, Mr. Vaulen, and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you and your partner.

Lucas and Keiko tilted their heads in confusion.

“I have it on good authority that you two were the ones who put an end to that monstrosity that was hunting the children of our fair Haven.” Smiling lightly in gratitude, he bowed his head slightly at both of them.

“And as a proud father, I felt that I simply must thank you both in person for likely saving my children’s lives.”

Just as they were about to respond, he held up a hand for silence.

“There’s no need to say anything; just know that I have the utmost faith in your abilities to protect both my daughter, and my investment.”

“W-we’ll-!”

“Don’t worry about it; with the four of us, it’s all in good hands.” Lucas stated for Keiko, flashing a confident grin.

“Good to hear. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s...something I must discuss with Miss Arteriel and her servant.”

Waving him off, Lucas realized something as Saerin disappeared around the corner of the building.

“So, where’s his kid?”

“YOU-HOO~!”

Whipping around, Lucas and Keiko saw a barely-adolescent girl with an ash-brown tone step out from behind the caravan, a few guards by her side.

“...I think that’s her...Uh, Lucas? Is it just me, or does she look familiar?”

Hunching slightly, Lucas squinted as the girl got closer, something slowly dawning on him.

“You might be onto something...Wait a minute! The pigtails, the pricey-looking bow on her back...Yeah, I remember! It was about half a year ago, when you and I were doing that guarding job for Saerin!”

Searching her memories, Keiko’s eyebrows arched up in recognition. It had been a relatively straight-forward job: Saerin’s daughter, Cindy, a pre-teen at the time, had been attacked while they were defending his property from a swarm of Grave-Stingers, Incarnations of the Fear of Bees.

Roughly the size of a thumb, vertical stripes of yellow and black made them seem more like the claws of a ravenous beast as they viciously assaulted the establishment, intend on turning it into new hive, armed with several curved stingers lining their non-existent spines.

Keiko had been preoccupied with a swarm surrounding her (Shock recrafting or not, their ability to fire their stingers had forced her to be careful with her how much she used), and Lucas, thanks to Millie’s weapon recommendation, had fared a bit better, a fire-based veil on his blade warding off the swarm as Cincy cowered behind him, shakily clutching a bow. Thankfully, Keiko had been able to eliminate the rest of them with a well placed shock rune, though a few of the groundsmen had laid down their lives to buy her some time.

“Heh, wonder what she wants.”

Roughly fifteen minutes after saying this, Lucas found himself scowling in exasperation.

Maybe it was his disdain for escort jobs. After all, when traveling the End Lands, paranoia settled in your mind within the first week; looking around your shoulder, never knowing what might pop up out of thin air and maul you until you’re unrecognizable - the uncertainty of it all was more than enough to make most people avoid going out here unless strictly necessary

Maybe it was because he’d be leaving his home for a little while, not able to see Millie’s smile, or finish that stone skipping contest with Vicky...

...Or maybe it was the thirteen-year old girl sitting next to him, gawking at him with FAR too many hearts in her eyes for comfort.

...No, no, it was definitely the last option..

‘You save a girl ONCE, and suddenly, you’re her knight in shining armor. That ‘specifically requested’ bit really should have tipped me off.’ His eyes slowly drifting in her direction, Lucas’ right eyebrow twitched.

“Haah~...the two of us traveling together for weeks on end. It’s so romantic~!”

“...Yeah, two things: you DO know I’m not the only one guarding the shipment, right? There’re gonna be three other people (Thank Gireld).”

“Exactly! That’s plenty of people to keep Papa’s cargo safe! You’re practically my personal bodyguard!”

“Which brings me to point number two: Why are YOU coming in the first place? Traveling from one Haven to another’s not exactly a luxury vacation. Even with the four of us, you could wind up actually, you know, DYING.”

“I was able to convince Papa that if I’m gonna take over the family business someday, I need to be prepared to travel between Havens for meetings with important clients! My archery trainer’s also coming along, so I’ll be getting some practice in for when I join up with the Patrol!” Looking as if she had been rehearsing this, she held up a finger, and adopted a stern look.

“And with you watching over me, I’ll be perfectly safe!” At that, she promptly grabbed Lucas’ arm, snuggling it.

“...I don’t suppose you have anything better to do right now, like maybe practicing that archery?”

“Nope! My teacher’s not here yet, so I’ve got nothing else to do!”

Lucas swiftly began trying to pry his arm from the smitten girl’s grasp.

“Guh! L-look, not that I don’t...appreciate the gesture, but I’m already sorta, kinda, seeing someone at the m...MOMENT!” He rasped, finally wrenching his limb free.

“Have you gone on a date with her?” Cindy asked without a second thought, unflinching.

“Uh…”

“You two kissed? Held hands? Said “I love you?”

“Eh, technically-”

“Have you gotten to first base?”

Taken aback, Lucas looked at her in mild bewilderment.

“How do you even -?”

“Just answer the question: Yes or no?”

Lucas continued gaping in bewilderment, unable to form a single word.

“Then you’re still available!” she happily declared, all too cheerfully. “Maybe while we’re on the road, I can personally give you a little reward for your services?”

To Lucas’ horror, she immediately posed in a manner entirely inappropriate for someone barely in their teens.

“...excuse me.” Lucas stated, his face turning a shade of green. Swiftly getting up, he made his way to the back of the caravan.

The sound of dry heaving was heard moments later.

Said retching continued for approximately six minutes before Lucas returned returned to the caravan and sat back down, the sickly green on his face now pale. Before Cindy could utter a word, Lucas shot up a hand to silence her.

“Please...do me a favor, and NEVER do THAT again.”

Cindy nodded, then grabbed Lucas’ arm again, happily snuggling against it once more. Desperate now, Lucas swiftly turned to Walter, who had his face buried on a book.

“Gimme a hand here, Walt, PLEASE!”

Slowly, the book lowered to reveal Walter’s uncovered eye. Staring blankly at the scene, Walter simply returned the book to its original position.

“No, no, that’s all you, Mister Vaulen.”

Lucas’ left eye twitched.

Poking his head out of the caravan, he spotted Vicky, face still set in militant-concentration, marching the length of the transportation.

“VICK! You can help me with this, can’t ya?!”

Taking a good look at the situation, Vicky...swiftly turned around mid step, pretending that she hadn’t seen anything.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU TRAITOR!” Lucas ineffectively shouted after her in utter hysteria.

Out of options, he turned his attention to Keiko, seated at the other end of the caravan, and began to plead.

“Do something!!”

Pausing as she inspected her crossbow, Keiko slowly took in the scene in front of her, eyes shifting back and forth gradually.

“...You DO know I’m not very good at this kind of thing, right?”

Feeling his eye begin twitching again, Lucas scooted over to Keiko as fast as he could, forced to drag along his oblivious little ‘admirer’, and grabbed Keiko’s collar, shaking her slightly in desperation, his voice now hushed and frantic

“I know, but Walt and Vicky are being *ssholes, so I’m out of options here!! Gireld’s moon, you’re both archers; maybe she’ll listen to you!!”

“You’re the social expert here, not me!!” Keiko whispered back in panic, nervously glancing at the ward.

“Don’t you know any recrafting for keeping someone at arm’s length?!”

Before Keiko could respond, the caravan came to a halt

“Miss Shaerin, it’s time for your-!”

Their attention snapping to the caravan entrance, Keiko and Lucas saw an unamused, freckled brunette sticking her head into the caravan.

“What, exactly, are you doing, Miss Shaerin?”

Cindy, having frozen the minute she heard the voice, smiled nervously at the newcomer.
“M-Miss Delgado! I-I was just-”

“On second thought, nevermind, Miss Saerin. Release your grip on his arm, por favor; Your studies await in the front carriage.”

Resisting the urge to shout out ‘Hallelujah!’, Lucas settled for a slouch of relief the instant the parasitic life form that was Cindy detached herself from his limb. Giving Delgado a nod of thanks, Lucas was baffled when she gave him a look of mild indifference.

“Stick to your duties, Señor abater.”

Narrowing his eyes as Delgado escorted Cindy to her private wagon, Lucas scowled.

“Great, we got an gnat and a prick joining us….hey, Walt, any tips on how to deal with the headaches those two are gonna cause?”

Walter simply turned a page.

“I think he’s going to be occupied for a while.” Keiko observed, finishing her crossbow inspection. Lucas gave her a deadpan look.

“We’re heading into the Direwoods; He’ll be looking over his shoulder about ten minutes after we lose sight of the gate.”

Keiko glanced at Walter.

“Hmm...Should we calm him and Arteriel-san down before we get to Bloom Haven? Being paranoid while there could cause some problems...”

“Hm? Oh yeah, it’s gonna be their first time at Bloom; forgot about that. Eh, I’ll think of something.” Yawning, Lucas stretched for a bit before eyeing Shouga.

“Speaking of problems, I still think bringing along the fuzzball was a bad idea; guy’s got a killer bite, but a lot of Incarnations can’t exactly be ‘bitten’.”

Keiko gave Shouga a few scratches under his chin, eliciting a soft purr of contentment from him.

“A little extra help can go a long way, Lucas. Besides, it’ll be good for him to see more of the world.”

Eyeing Shouga for a bit longer, Lucas eventually shrugged, and promptly relaxed in his seat.

“Do you think we’ll be back in time?”

Lucas opened an eye, and gave Keiko a puzzled look.

“Hmm?”

“For Treelight Day, I mean.”

Lucas inhaled, and glanced up at the ceiling of the caravan.

“...I freakin’ hope so, Keiko. I really do…Wait! I just remembered; my ma-!”

The caravan had come to a halt. Exchanging a look, both of them climbed the ladder to the top of the wagon, and were greeted with the sight of the Eastern gate, the sun in the middle of the sky, and the lighthouse standing tall and proud miles behind them.

The thing about High Beacon’s namesake wasn’t simply its function as a guiding light to its denizens.

It was a sign of hope to those beyond the walls - the walls that kept High Beacon safe, safe from the lands that separated the Havens themselves.

The End Lands.

Go beyond the western wall, and after a few hours worth of travel, you will hit a cliff-side facing the vast Arimel ocean. Go north, and the forest will start giving way to frozen winds after about three weeks worth of travel. At least part of the southern area of High Beacon extended to grasslands and plains; Go east, however, and there will be nothing but trees for upwards of hundreds of miles, possibly even thousands.

It was at this wall that Keiko and Lucas found themselves, cargo and ward safe for the moment

They stared at the gate leading outside, solemnly, knowing no matter what, this trip held far more danger than any one Incarnation could ever give.

“Hey, you think we’ll survive this again?”

Studying Lucas for a moment, Keiko scrunched up her nose in thought, her right eyebrow arching upwards.

“Well...we’re about as prepared as can be. I think. Coleman-san and I have already got a schedule set up for the watch, I’ve packed our supplies, including your Changeling, to practice on the road, and Saerin-sama is going to be occupied during the trip, lessening her exposure, so I’d guess we have an…’okay’ chance?”

She smiled nervously

Contemplating the words for a moment, Lucas eventually sighed in acceptance and shrugged.

“Well, alright then. Let’s get this SHOW ON THE ROAD!!”

“HERE, HERE!” Vicky shouted, letting out a whoop of excitement.

Nodding, one of the Patrolmen stationed at the gate turned towards the opening lever.

“ALL PERSONNEL, STAY CLEAR! OPENING THE GATE!”

With a great creak, the towering doors began to open, and a great gale burst through the instant the sliver of light to the End Lands appeared, gradually dying down as the forest surrounding High Beacon was bared before them.

If the massive greenery they were to travel through was known by another name before the Incarnations started to appear, then it had been forgotten long ago. To the Havens that lived within it at present, it had two names: The Dire-Woods, and the Grand Echo. While all part of the End Lands, the Grand Echo in particular was known for it’s eerie calmness, and the feeling that you were always being watched. It was not an unjustified feeling, as the Patrolmen tasked with scavenging from outside High Beacons walls were often faced with disturbing encounters; the skeletal remains of a nomad falling from a tree, and crashing onto the campfire; stumbling upon the half-mad, weathered journal of a wanderer from the Broken Era, a corpse nowhere in sight; One squad leader had reported his units to be missing, only for them to turn up less than four hours later - minus their tongues.

Keiko took one final look at High Beacons landmark, wind gently caressing her silver locks. She knew this could very well be the last time she saw her home before she died, and she always made a point to remember the sight.

“Yo, Keiko?”

Remembering who was by her side, Keiko turned to Lucas.

“Like I said before, I just remembered something. It’s about Treelight Day; provided we get back in time, me and Ma are having a little party; interested in coming this year?”

Keiko’s eyes widened.

“R-really??”

Lucas grinned, and held out his fist.

“Wouldn’t be much of a party without my partner; besides, Millie and the others would probably be disappointed if you didn’t show.”

Casting her eyes downward for an instant in thought, Keiko’s gaze drifted back to the fist in front of her, her hand tensing in hesitation.

Slowly, she smiled, and put the back of her fist against Lucas’.

“Definitely.”

A loud ‘bam’ resonated through the air. Turning their heads, they saw that the gate to High Beacon had been closed..

Lucas sighed at the sound, his grin quickly transforming into a look of apprehension.

“Aaaand just like that, things start to turn chilly. Hey, what’s the schedule you and Walter planned out?”

“...I think I’ve got the first shift with Vicky.”

“Got it. I’ll be down below in the meantime.” Lucas replied, already making his way down the ladder. When only his head was visible, he stopped and gave Keiko a smirk.

“If you need me for anything, just holler.”

At her nod, Lucas finished his descent.

Closing her eyes, Keiko inhaled, then redirected her attention to the front of the caravan, a familiar sense of tension already beginning to rear its ugly head, pleasant thoughts of the Treelight Day party rapidly fading into the back of her mind.

Her grip on her crossbow tightened. Feeling Shouga snuggling itself around her neck, Keiko took a breath, and looked around at the forest around her.

For better or for worse, the End Lands would be her home for a while.