Atomu and Chyuuichi exchanged glances.

"I don't have a home to come back to," Rowan uttered, turning back to them. "But, since you do, Atomu, you'll lead the way."

"I-" Atomu spewed out one word, before gulping.

Chyuuichi looked down, tapping his fingers against his side. He remembered the words once uttered.

"Such heartless beasts... pretending to be someone they're not! Ya will never be my son!"

Loudly breathing out, the Mirillian closed his eyes. Despite the promised happiness, the third option, everything looking towards the light, the darkness found a way to crawl in.

Yet, not for too long.

Rowan's neutral expression battled a frown, before they decisively turned forward, spinning on their heel. Strolling through the illuminated darkness, the light moved away, and both Paladian and Mirilian had no other choice than to follow the Tributal.

Treading around thin rocks and brown soils, slowed by the heavy bodies of Bancho and Elton, the three followed through in relative silence, broken by a warm wind flying through the caves, causing Atomu's hair to fly up.

Rowan stopped, before turning up and towards the source of a whistling sound, eagerly making its way down to the Klakunhoi. With a serious expression, they quickly glanced down, crouching.

"Wait," Atomu muttered. "Wind doesn't go through caves."

"Ooh, ya don't know much, Atomu!" Chyuuichi raised a finger. "If the pressure changes it BLOWS into yer face!"

"When pressure changes," Rowan muttered, tracing something along the ground. "The footsteps disappeared five minutes ago."

"W-What?" Atomu shook his head.

"They did?!" Chyuuichi continued.

"Which means." Rowan closed their eyes. "We're nearing an exit." they spat out.

The Tributal's words were followed by a distant humming. With a heavy breath, they stepped to the side, tugging on a rock from where the noise came from, revealing a speck of light intrusively invading the darkness.

Rowan covered their face with their hand, eventually moving down, as one eye peeked through.

The sun crawled in, revealing steep, large stairs and red vines growing into the hole, decorated by the calm waters flowing on the side. Chyuuichi and Atomu ran in, glimpsing at the ray of hope.

"They must've found an exit before us. Cheeky..." Rowan smiled.

"Well!" Chyuuichi crossed his arms. "They did ask about the exits earlier!"

Atomu took a step, quickly stopped by Rowan who peered at Chyuuichi.

"What did you say?" Rowan tilted their head.

"Want me to repeat my words? Ambrosia asked about the exit! You know, they wondered where Lignoria might be!" Chyuuichi recalled, unnecessarily loudly. Rowan's brow twitched.

"Y-You knew about the exit and you never told us?!" Atomu shouted.

"I knew nothing!" Chyuuichi shook his head. "They talked with Bancho about it! Although, I vowed not to listen in." he crossed his arms proudly.

"Mistake number one." Rowan sighed. "When there are mysteries, you're to solve them. When there are whispers, you're to listen to them."

"That's immoral!"

Rowan sighed. "People keep secrets because they scheme something else. Look, I want to deny every possibility of the worst scenario I have in mind for why Ambrosia talked with Bancho of all people about the exits." they closed one eye, groaning. "They could've..." they shook their head, denying a certain possibility.

Atomu inched closer.

"Curse that old man." Rowan glanced at the wrapped-up corpse that Chyuuichi carried.

"W-Why?" Atomu stepped to the side. "What do you mean?"

Rowan fixed their glasses. "Everything. After all," they furrowed their eyebrows. "Bancho's a liar."

The words echoed back into Atomu's mind. The Morian once promised that he'd never lie to the Paladian.

"Argh, whatever! At least we're finally out of those stupid caves!" Chyuuichi screamed, quickly running up a few steps and looking back at the two. "Even I'm sick of them!"

Rowan opened their mouth slightly, Atomu played with a strand of his hair.

"Who cares about what Bancho did?" Chyuuichi asked. "We're not searching for a dead man, are we?"

Rowan looked down for a moment, stuffing their hands into their pockets. "A dead man's still guilty. But, fine. I'll accept your idiotic solutions." Rowan took another step, taking Atomu's hand. "Sooner, perhaps later, we'll find the answers to our questions." they moved up, taking something out of their pocket and stuffing it back into their jacket. "I'll make sure."

***

When asked about Mainland Errarion, the first thing that came to mind, was the nature, traditions and quirks all relating to Lignoria. Sure, sometimes the answer was different. There were obvious mentions of Malikan, the lost land of Asno and sometimes even Shimori got the rare spotlight. However, it was usually the land of Paladians going from one mouth to the other, and no wonder.

Referred to as the heart of the Mainland, it was where both wars began and ended, where the most influential and well-known people came from, and where the sun met the moon from the right angles.

Royalty, the creepy witchtales from Orawood, the grandiose and peculiar city of Saphrith. A country where things start, and perhaps, conclude.

Mentioning all those gripping facts, the place the Klakunhoi found themselves in was nothing of particular interest, at least at first glance. Pushing a few stones from the way, the three stepped out on the hard bedding, now generously covered with all the red and orange leaves falling from the elms and maples that made the thick-wooded forest.

Sometimes, a tint of green shrubs would make its way out of the crimson, but despite being vibrant, the colours were rather monotone, until the sun finally shone into their eyes, blinding them for a good few minutes.

Chyuuichi continuously complained about the sudden change, while Rowan, surprisingly, found it rather refreshing and joyful. Atomu was indifferent, stretching his limbs and sighing as if meeting an old friend.

The three had no time to waste, as the sun was already setting in the distance. That was one rather neat thing about Lignoria, it wasn't as much of a mountainous region as Shimori (despite them finding themselves on the top of a mountain), so it was easy to pinpoint when the sky would change its colours.

Paladians never necessarily struggled with time, as stated earlier, they slept for half a day and then did a lot of nothing when they were awake.

Continuing their journey, the Klakunhoi started walking down the slope towards the visible hills and seemingly flat stretches of terrain, seldom broken by mounts against a cloudy sky. Elms eventually turned into orange-leaved, thin birches, which danced among the green-crowned chestnut barks and yellow pines, heading downwards towards a field filled with the same, vibrant colours.

Atomu breathed out. "I think I know where we might be." he put a hand on one of the birches, smiling lightly.

Chyuuichi glanced at Rowan and then at the Paladian. "Hm!"

"I saw paintings of this exact landscape, back in Prope Portam," he uttered. "Thander's Pass."

"Thander's Pass?" Chyuuichi stepped back. "What a stupid name!" he added (despite living in a place called Soban), before tapping on Rowan's shoulders a few times as if looking for reassurance with his odd sense of humour.

"It's named after Thander." Atomu described. "The first person to discover this place." a small smile tugged on his lips.

"Nice and simple, as expected of Paladians." Rowan nodded.

"Is Soban not a cool name? It comes from the noise we make when mining!"

Thander's Pass was exactly what Atomu described, a set of red hills, with a carved-out passage zipping through the forest, where the scorching hot sun shone down on the three. Mentioning heat, it was really hot. Gorro was in full swing.

Chyuuichi quickly removed his cloak and stuffed it in his backpack to not disrespect Lisa's work. Rowan didn't complain about the heat despite sweating, while Atomu hesitantly removed parts of his jacket, leaving his forearms covered.

The sun was one of the key factors which led to Thander's Pass being what it is, right on the day they trod through. Before the Second War, lots of people moved away from the high expectations of the Osmanian Kingdom to secluded parts of the country, discovering a river creating trees and bushes from the planted seeds.

Over time, the Erans who inhabited the nearby lands moved into tree houses, with their remnants still present. One of the planks that made the construction fell and hit Chyuuichi's head, obviously.

However, this event brought a great notion to the Mirillian, as he used the plank to easily slide Bancho's body along the ground, which Atomu criticized before reaching the same conclusion. It was still, only Rowan that didn't break a sweat, despite that being far from the truth.

Whenever Atomu would find a glance at the weight which tremendously slowed him down, he'd be reminded of the words that left Elton's mouth the last time he saw the gleaming spark in his eyes.

It was a weight, a pressure, but also a quest to honour his life. After all, it was home where he wanted his body to be buried.

Elton's home.

Back to the name of this forest, Thander was the man who first discovered these waters and proudly named the surrounding areas: Thander's Rivers. With time passing and people eventually abandoning the wildlife for houses in the open fields or moving back to, now, Prope Portam, the struggles of what once were barren hills quickly arose.

With no one to plant trees, cut bushes or scour for fruits, the crowns from above, as if living a life of their own, bent each year, before the sun finally met the river, gradually drying the soil beneath until the stream disappeared.

Here and there, you can still feel the water flowing below the ground, letting the nearby plants crawl into the passage, but its glory days, at least for humans, were over.

Following the long path for the next hours, Atomu's attention was quickly diverted by a sound making its way through to his ears. A Lignorian squirrel climbed around the thick, brown branches, stuffing Malva nuts hanging off the green bushes that grew in Thander's Pass.

"Huh," Atomu uttered, turning back to the others with a soft frown. "I think I know where we are."

"You should. You're the leader after all." Rowan fixed their sleeves.

"Don't call me that." Atomu mouthed, before shaking his head. "If squirrels are here, then this must mean we're nearing the Epi Forest, right by the Dumdun Lakes."

"Like I know what any of that means," Chyuuichi muttered.

"You don't get it because you're not a Paladian." Atomu smiled. "Lakes always lead to people. People always lead to towns. We might not be that far from Prope Portam." he stated, taking a step back, his expression turning serious.

Chyuuichi gasped for air. "NOW YOU'RE TALKING!" he jumped up, excitedly. "New town, new town, new town! Capinos!"

Rowan breathed in. "How long until we get there?"

Atomu scratched his head. Paladians weren't necessarily travellers, so estimates were either very generous or far off from what the road looked like in their minds. Atomu certainly wasn't different in that aspect.

Either way, he informed the two that even if they were closer than further, it'd take them at least four days, (including this one, as it was already nighttime), so with a generous sigh and groan, Rowan followed the path Atomu trod. Chyuuichi eventually caught up too, snapping out of the excitement into thick disappointment after learning the estimates.

So, with a silent agreement, the three once again set out towards the lakes Atomu spoke of, hoping to find a humble abode they could rest in for the night. Before that, stood a great obstacle in their winding path, namely, the mentioned Epi Forest.

Wandering down the slope and towards more even terrain, the mountains seldom peeked their heads out above the colourful crowns, which predominantly shone a saturated dark green colour, stretching and hiding the vivid bedding from the treacherous sun. Although, here and there, it sneaked through, painting individual paths an orange, or red colour.

Yet, those weren't the suggestions Atomu took into account, fortunately, he knew a thing or two about these woods. Firstly, if one were to look for a way out from the dome of trees and towards open terrain, they'd turn to the bushes growing beneath the birch trees, and watch from where the wind moved, picking the opposite direction.

Chyuuichi was impressed, trying to deduce his methods at first before ending up in a pit, which the two had to help him out of. Later on, he was reminded of the existence of the rope he carried but spoke none.

Talking about pits, they were either empty or filled with rainwater, as the ground below was made of sturdy twigs and rocks. Sometimes, the raindrops mixed with the small rivers gracefully flowing on either side, hiding beneath the thick green bedding which, if it wasn't covered in leaves, made their legs sink.

It was called Epi Forest for a reason, Atomu recalled the tales of the seven earthquakes that once struck Mainland, with the epicentre right where this forest now stood, making the ground uneven and perhaps shaky.