Decision

The seer's question took them by surprise since they were not sure exactly what they wanted. They were obviously lost, but since they weren't trying to reach any particular place, were they truly lost? It was strange for both Royce and Jade to be unable to answer the question. Did they need any help?

"I can see that you are not sure what you want. That is okay. Many who have come to me, to seek advice, shared the same uncertainty. One thing you should know is that there is a difference between what people want and what they need. My job is to guide the lost souls in their quest to find what they truly need even when they think they want something else. " Lejanida said in a calm and soothing voice.

The moment of wisdom was soon suddenly interrupted. The Elv Alp, who got bored with his mother's wise words, decided to try out his magic.

He created a huge ball of green sludge, and send it flying towards Jade. For Elv Alp, it seemed more fun to send it towards a girl, because he knew how much his mom hated mess. So other girls must have felt the same way and would look funny while angry.

It all happened really fast, and no one was able to predict the Elv Alp's actions. No one, except Royce. Focused as he was on Jade, he could see the sludge coming her way before Jade had the chance to notice anything unusual. He was paying more attention to her and her well-being so it was no wonder that he was the first one to act.

Without a second thought, he jumped in front of her and shielded her with his body. The disgusting sludge hit him straight in the face, and it dripped down his whole body in slow droplets. There was more sludge than it seemed at first, and he could feel it's slimy texture on his face, in his eyes and even in his mouth.

The taste was the most repulsive one he had ever felt. It was earthy and rotten at the same time. No matter how much he tried to spit it out, he could still feel the horrible flavor lingering in his mouth.

When he was finally able to remove the sludge from his eyes, he could see that Elv Alp and Andar Sklea were laughing so hard that they were both rolling down on the floor from laughter. Also, they were both crying from laughter and seemed to find his anger additionally amusing.

Lejanida, however, didn't find it amusing in the slightest. "Enough you two!" She said, her voice as cold as ice.

Hearing that tone, both of them managed to calm down significantly. Andar tried to pretend he was angry with his son, but he couldn't hide how proud he was of his son's perfect aim.

"How many times do I have to tell you two to behave when I have visitors who seek wisdom! How can I be wise and give meaningful advice if you two keep ruining it!" She said.

"I am sorry, dear. I will have a serious conversation with our son. This will never happen again." Andar said winking at his son in a conspiratorial way.

"I wasn't actually talking about him. You have misbehaved as much as he has, maybe more. So I am asking you one more time. Could you please play the games on your visitors and not on the poor lost souls who come to me for guidance?" She asked.

"Of course, yes. I apologize." He said addressing Royce and Jade. "Let me help you with that." The moment he said that he waved his hand and the nasty green sludge was all gone.

"It's fine," Royce said. He couldn't help but peak at Jade to see if she was offended or worried by what happened. What he saw was difficult to comprehend, she seemed puzzled.

For Jade, what Royce had done, jumping in front of her was strange. His motivation was totally unclear to her. The moment he threw himself in front of her, he couldn't have known that the sludge wasn't dangerous.

"Did he just risk his life for me? Why would he do that? We barely know each other. What does it all mean?" Jade thought.



"Don't you ever do anything as stupid as that! I can take care of myself!" She said with anger in her voice. Anger, that even she couldn't understand. One part of her knew that he was only trying to help, but she didn't care. She didn't want his help.

"I am sorry?" Royce said unsure of what was the right answer to the unexpected outburst of fury. "It was just a reflex. I didn't even think about it."

"Fine, but remember that I am not some damsel in distress! I am perfectly capable of fighting my own battles." She said.

Even though she felt annoyed that he tried to protect her, one part of her was also happy. In her whole life, no one had done anything as nice as that for her. That was probably the reason she was so suspicious of his motivation.

Jade didn't want history to repeat itself. She trusted people once and that didn't end well. Since that moment, she had always been waiting to be hurt by others as she had been hurt before. In her mind, it seemed inevitable and that was one of the reasons she didn't trust people.

Most importantly, she didn't trust herself. She thought she would make the same mistake again. Trust the wrong people and have her heart broken, again.

"If you two are done bickering like an old married couple, can we go on with the purpose of your visit. From what I can see, you want to find the way that leads to your friends, but that is not what you need. The choice is yours of course, but my advice for you is to follow the path that will lead you to what you need to make your lives better. What you want will come to you eventually." The seer said.

"What is it that we need?" Jade asked taking control of the situation. She was tired of all the beings cryptic answers, but she was also curious.

"I can't tell you that. It is too early. You are not ready to know the whole truth yet. What I can tell you is that what you seek you will find at the top of this mountain. The problem is that you have to climb it without using any magical powers or means of transportation. You need to climb it the way people do in your land, using the climbing gear that I will provide." Lejanida said.

"That sounds difficult." Royce couldn't help but say, worried as he was about Jade's safety.

"It can be a challenge, yes. But I can promise you that it is worth the effort. Of course, the choice is all yours. If you choose not to take this path, I will tell you which way leads to your friends. I must warn you that if you choose to meet them now you will interfere with their destiny as well." the seer said.

"Oh come on Royce. Are you afraid of a tiny little mountain? Don't worry I'll protect you." Jade said mockingly. She knew she was being petty, but she was still mad at him for trying to look like the knight in shining armor.

"I am not worried about myself..." He started saying, but he stopped himself after seeing Jade's face turning red in rage. "Hm, what I mean is I am not worried. Let's go! "He said trying to sound upbeat.

"Very well. You have chosen wisely. Good luck! Until we meet again." Lejanida said with her best all-knowing seer voice.

"Don't fall off the mountain! I will have to clean up the mess!" The warlock shouted from the other room ruining the moment, once again.

As they exited the mountain, where once was a door appeared a huge face of a child making faces and pretending to send sludge at them. In the background, a creepy voice was saying: "Beware of the mountainnnnn!"

"Enough you two! Don't scare them! They have a long way to go, and they don't need your nonsense!" Lejanida's stern voice chastised them.

Finally, the door, the voices, it all faded away and the only thing Royce and Jade could see was a huge mountain they had to climb. The only thing they could hear was the howling of the wind as they prepared to go in quest of what they needed the most.

"Are you ready?" Jade asked.

"As ready as I will ever be," Royce said as they picked up the equipment that Lejanida left for them.

After gathering all the unfamiliar equipment, they set off to conquer the mountain. They weren't sure what they were doing, but they were sure they needed some answers. The answers that waited for them at the top of the mountain.