"We're gonna march straight into mage territory."
Mage territory? He doesn't mean…
He continues, "That's right, Keyminea".
"What? But why?" I ask.
"It's the only way to save him. The doctors here can't do anything to wake him up; they will never be able to reverse the curse. They don't have the materials, nor the knowledge to create a cure." He answers.
"Well, can I at least get my stuff before we leave?" I ask. I don't care if we go to the moon, if it means Anra lives, I'm ok with it.
"No, do you really think that we will be able to get into Keyminea after what just happened? The king will command the soldiers guarding the wall not to let anyone in or out." The soldier leans back a little. "What we need to do is leave now, or else your brother will never wake up."
I look to the side, "Sorry, it was a stupid question."
"Don't worry about it."
"Hey, Lr. Arav, why are you helping us?" I ask. I keep wondering why these soldiers are helping us; soldiers have never given a crap about anyone else. Which doesn't really make sense, as they were also one of us.
"Well," The Lr. Arav pauses for a couple of seconds. "I used to have a brother, too, a younger one. He, too, was in the army. One day, we were ordered to inspect a house." The soldier looks down; his hair covers his eyes. "The people in that house were bandits, not the ones that steal a loaf of bread or two to get by, but the type of bandits that would kill innocent people in the process of stealing from banks. While another soldier was looking in a drawer, a man shot him in the back." The Loro looks back up towards me. "I was all scared, I didn't know what to do, there were too many of them. As expected, a fight broke out, and many more of my comrades died. While all I did was hide behind a wall and cry. My brother was shot in the head, and he died. He was trying to fight, help the other soldiers, and bring justice to those who died. Meanwhile, I was just a stupid coward. A coward who let his younger brother die along with many of his other comrades."
I don't know what to say.
"You, on the other hand, ran straight toward a Keyminean to save your brother. You're brave, unlike me. I can't let him die the same way mine did; I must redeem myself."
The stagecoach stops, and the door opens. One of the soldiers from before stands outside the stagecoach. He gestures with his left hand to come out.
"We're here."
__________________________
Standing next to a large caravan is a man who gave some greedy vibes. He has really crooked teeth, and his breath smells like a dead animal.
Lr. Arav hands him a small, purple bag tied with a yellow knot. The man then brings the bag up to his forehead in respect and finally drags it into his pocket.
"Have any place for them to hide when the border patrol searches the caravan?" the Loro asks.
The man pauses and thinks before saying, "Tell them to hide inside one of the boxes; border patrol usually doesn't go through every single package."
Lr. Arav nods, "Makes sense, they don't have enough time to do all of that."
Are we going inside his caravan? Also, I just realized, isn't he also coming with us? If so, why did he say "they" like he isn't coming as well?
Another soldier, who is holding Anra, tells me to follow him. The man with the bad breath then opens the door to his caravan, and the soldier walks into the caravan.
"Go inside Eraq." Lr. Arav says.
I nod and follow the soldier into the caravan. It's dark, really dark, even with the door slightly open. The soldier places Anra in the corner, and he then adjusts his helmet.
"Eraq!" A familiar voice calls, and I look around, but I don't see who called out for me.
"Hey, Eraq, I got something to say to you before you leave!" I look behind me. This time, there is actually a real person behind me, Lr. Arav. "Take this!" The Loro holds out a familiar sword. "You're going to need one of these in Keyminea."
"Is this the sword from-"
"The criminal you punished? Yes, it's the only one we have." Lr. Arav explains.
"Oh, and quick question, aren't you coming?" I ask the Loro.
"No, I must stay here."
"Why"
"It's well, complicated."
The Loro places his hand on the door.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Hm?"
"How are we going to come back?" I ask the Loro.
"Oh, about that…" The Loro pauses, "You aren't going to come back."
What? What does he mean by that? I mean, I understand what that's supposed to mean, I just don't understand why.
The door closes, and it feels like the whole caravan shook for a second. I try to reopen the door, but it won't budge. I raise my arm, and I bring my fist quickly to the door. I raise my arm again and hit it even harder on the door. I repeat this process ten more times until Lr. Arav began speaking.
"Stop, we don't have a lot of time, which is why I can't explain it to you. But here's the thing, with the current state of the world right now, Azraba is bound to be invaded and taken over by mage territory whenever it feels like it. It's just that we can't do jack sh*t against them. Keyminea will kill all of us; it's just safer, and in general, you and your brother will have a better life if you stay there instead." The Loro says.
"My brother and I, we wanted to take our family and flee there as well, but we just can't."
"Why?" I ask
"I can't explain right now."
"Stop using that stupid excuse and explain everything to me, please."
There is no reply. I keep smacking the door over and over again, but it's no use. The caravan begins to move, and even though I can't see it, I know that the soldiers are getting farther and farther away from me.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we were all having dinner, a mother, a father, a son, and his brother, were all happy, enjoying a meal together. There was laughter, there was love, and there was even peace. Now, I don't even know what's happening now.