As Tom had predicted, by the time the sun retreated and the moon took its place, they had just exited the difficult mountain pass and emerged into Monterayne's northwestern possession of Aroria. A wonderland of vast fields of lush grass and grain, the land was a paradise for any who took pleasure in agricultural pursuits. In recent years, it had been ravaged by the war with Innutuk, but if Keely had informed Tom accurately, the main thrust of the expanding Empire's onslaught had been refocused on Antapeño to the north. 

The four swordsmen spent the next day skirting Aroria's southern border. About an hour after lunch, they crested a luscious hill, and finding themselves on a higher elevation, they all snapped attention on Tom when he gasped. His eye focused in on a handsome house ahead of them, constructed from dark wood, and surrounded by an expansive field that appeared barely attended to. 

"What is it, Tom?" James asked with a concerned voice. 

Tom shook his head. "Excuse my dramaticism. But that house belonged to my grandfather many years ago, in the days before he took up knighthood. I was born there, believe it or not." 

"Wow. Who lives there now? Surely not him." 

"Yes, the last I knew, his brother watches over the property." 

"And a mighty fine job he's doing at that." Trevor remarked, attention on a particularly overgrown corner of the field, "I'd assume he's slowing down in his old age?" 

"Likely so. Perhaps I'll have to take it off his hands someday." Tom remarked absentmindedly, "It'd be a lovely place to settle down for." 

"I agree. Do you think Keely would appreciate it?" 

"Oh, definitely." Tom grinned. "She loves sitting out in nature and writing. I can see her adoring the prospect." 

Jay nodded. "But what of your academy?" 

"Well, I see room for expansion. And the house is rather large to begin with." 

Trevor raised an eyebrow. "It seems to me there's more to what you just said than meets the eye. Excuse me, ear." 

"Well, how would you three feel about being part of this academy?" 

Jay smiled. "I like your thinking. You'd easily have yourself teachers for Raskan, Halotinian, and Torlenian, all three." 

"And as another plus," Trevor said, "we actually get along. Usually, anyways." 

James shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't have much to bring to the table, though. Just another Halotinian swordsman." 

Tom grinned at the younger man. "Don't speak foolishly, my friend. It's almost certain Halotinian would be in high demand, and I couldn't give everybody all the attention they deserve by myself." 

"That's true." 

"So, how is that for a retirement plan?" 

Trevor snickered. "It sounds more like a renewed bout of activity in a new direction than retirement. But nonetheless, I love the prospect. I can't imagine parting from you distinguished men for too long." 

"You flatter us, Trevor." James remarked before turning to Tom, "If you'll have me, I'll gladly be had." 

"What a thoroughly James-esque statement to make." Trevor jested. 

After they had laughed at Trevor's remark, Jay sat up straighter in his saddle. "I think it's a wonderful idea. With the corruption of the knightly order undoubtably growing worse with the passage of time, it would be beneficial to have an alternate route of learning the Monteraynian martial arts." 

Tom grinned. "I agree whole-heartedly. Let's hope this plan comes to fruition, because the prospect excites me greatly." 

**** 

The next two days passed rather uneventfully, though Tom found himself gripping his reins tighter with the passing of the hours. They'd already used up about two weeks of their time so far, leaving only two more to reach Rostacia presumably before Innutuk's forces did. It appeared their timing would be close, if they made it in time at all. 

Nonetheless, those two days' travel took the four swordsmen to the border of the unclaimed wildlands to the west of Aroria. The grass under their horses' hooves had slowly transformed from a lush, vibrant carpet full of vitality to drab brown stalks, dry and rasping against the horses' legs. And the ground itself gradually gave way to barren plates of hard-packed dirt, more dust than soil. For the last hour of their travel under the setting sun, the vegetation began spacing itself out in clusters, growing only where they could eke out some moisture while leaving the rest of the ground to its dryness. 

Finally, they came to a stop just before a line of dusty hills marking Aroria's southwestern border with the wildlands, an expansive mass of desert torment unclaimed by any nation. Rumors of demonic entities lurking in skeleton-lined ravines kept most people from venturing even a thought of traveling the land. 

"Perhaps this is an untimely inquiry," Jay began as he dismounted, "but is this truly any better than heading north and traveling through Innutuk herself?" 

Tom sighed. "Who knows? This land is uncharted, so I could be mistaken, but given the bearings of surrounding countries, I do believe these wildlands would be a shortcut." 

"How many days do you estimate for a crossing?" 

"Only one, I believe." 

Jay's forehead wrinkled and his lips twitched up a little. "I sure hope you're right about that." 

"When have I ever led you astray?" Tom asked as he stooped down to begin gathering firewood. 

"Let's not go there." Trevor remarked with a smirk, "Here's my question: It's been difficult enough to get water here, let alone in the heart of the desert. How do we plan to handle that?" 

Tom scratched his beard. "That's a good point. Is there...anywhere near here?" 

Trevor and Jay both shrugged. 

James squinted into the distance and pointed. "That farmhouse over there looks to have a well. We could ask them." 

Tom nodded and unclipped his canteen from his belt. "How about you and Trevor go ask about it? If they're willing, we can fill anything we have and hopefully it will last us." 

With a nod, the two retrieved Tom and Jay's canteens and a few larger skin bottles. While they strolled over to the farmhouse, Tom and Jay kept working at making a fire. 

"I still can't help but wonder if we'd do better to turn north." Jay said with a downturned voice a few minutes later, as the flames began leaping up and warming the nearby air, "Have you ever heard of anybody entering the wildlands and returning?" 

"No, I haven't." Tom admitted, "But to be fair, I've very rarely heard of anybody trying." 

"Perhaps that was wisdom on their part." 

"Have you so little faith in me?" Tom asked with a somewhat forced grin, "Of any of us, I've travelled the most, so believe me when I say I know when it's best to turn back and when it's best to carry on. When it's better to take a shortcut, and when it's better to take a familiar long way around." 

"My doubts reflect nothing on you, Tom. I only mean that the whole area is a big, dangerous mystery. Error could be costly." 

Tom sighed and stepped over to Exuberance, mind racing. He removed the saddle from the horse's back while asking himself how to reconcile Jay's understandable doubts and his own insistence on traveling what he was sure to be a shortcut. 

"Alright, Jay," Tom finally said, "we'll go in as far as we can, and at midday, we'll look for the nearest high point. If from there we can't see the end of the wildlands, we can turn around." 

Jay gave a tight-lipped smile. "That sounds like a good plan." 

**** 

The travelers resumed their journey early in the morning, hoping to get a head start on the sun. They ascended the dry hill separating Aroria from the wildlands at a speedy pace before slowing down once they'd reached level ground. Dust gave way to sand, and even the clustered bushes that had once dotted the path now succumbed to nothing but an occasional scorched tree with no leaves. Tom could only guess whether their leaves had been burnt off or eaten by some fortunate creature who had found its first good meal in a while, but at any rate, they had entered a truly barren land. 

And to Tom's dismay, the sun rose much more swiftly than he'd anticipated, a little over an hour before he'd ever seen. That being so, the day's heat reached its highest point sooner, and it lingered longer than anywhere he'd been. No clouds intervened to offer any respite, and even the shriveled trees abandoned the land before them to become an open expanse of sandy death. 

The horses soon descended into lethargy, so the swordsmen dismounted and gave them a drink from the skins. To their dismay, the thirsty animals drank all the water between the four of them, leaving only the liquid in the canteens to last the rest of the journey. Shouldering several saddlebags themselves, the men walked alongside their horses. Tom could swear the most water they had was the sweat on their brows. 

All too soon, the sun reached its peak in the sky. Tom and Jay glanced about for a high point and soon found one in an imposing formation of reddish stone made up of several strata growing lighter in hue as they reached the top. Exchanging a round of grim smiles, the four men made their way to the tapering path leading to the top. 

The climb proved surprisingly short, and after leaving the horses tied up in a shadier spot, the men clambered to the very top of the stone formation. Tom wiped his slick forehead with the back of his hand and followed Jay to the edge. 

"Well, Tom, it looks like you were right!" Jay exclaimed with unusual enthusiasm, prompting Tom to glance to the far right of his eye's first landing spot straight ahead. 

"My goodness, we're saved." Tom muttered, taking in the sight of an expansive lake in the distance to the northwest. It rippled and gave life to the swaying bushes lining its vitalizing shore. 

Trevor stepped to the edge and smiled. "How far is that?" 

Tom squinted. "Two hours, I think. Maybe three with our present pace." 

Jay swiftly spun on his heel and headed back to where the horses waited. "Well, let's not waste any time. I'm ready to be out of this inferno." 

"On that," Trevor remarked as he turned to follow his brother, "I believe we are all wholeheartedly agreed."

**** 

A/N: Is it just me, or does it feel hot up in here? *glances at window* Right, that'd be why. Wait a moment. 

10 seconds later... 

Alright, that's better. I swear, the weather's so weird this year where I live. It's mid-July, and it barely seems like it's spring yet. We had more summer in March than we do now.  Maybe the weather's compensating for the heated political climate right now. 😂 

ANYWAYS, if you enjoyed that chapter, please remember to vote and comment, and I hope to see you in today's second update that's probably up by the time you read this. 😁