'You're not coming, are you?'
'Sorry, Jake. The people here need me,' Falcrest admitted. 'Though I sure would have loved to catch that game.'
'I understand. I'll tell you all about it one day.'
'You as well?' I ask Lockwood.
He nodded. 'You know me enough by now to realise; I go where the Captain goes.'
'Part of me wants to stay behind with you.'
Falcrest shook her head at me before reaching out for a high five. 'What? I don't do hugs.'
I smiled back. 'You guys take care, alright?'
'Promise,' Lockwood sniggered.
'Anyone else?' I hesitate to ask; I couldn't help but fear that more of our new allies were about to bail on us.
'Sorry, Jake. My family need me here.' Baltar admitted.
'I understand.'
'You're leaving Titan's Reach after the game?' Molly queried next with a calculating expression.
'Yes, that's the plan. We need to make sure Jasper and his family are safe before that, though.'
'Then I'll stay with you, but only until you leave,' she smiled grimly. 'I have to find my family too.'
'We're coming along,' Alistair answered for himself and Sameth. 'I never imagined being able to travel to another world.'
Butland smacked his hand against the side of his horse-drawn carriage. 'Are you lot finished chattering on! We have almost twenty miles to travel on foot.'
'But you're in a carriage.' Alistair pointed out.
'Oh, my mistake. I meant to say you'll all have to follow behind on foot,' Butland grinned guiltily. 'I'm sorry. There's not enough room.'
Alistair shouted at Butland. 'Should we not change out of these outfits before we leave? We kind of stand out, don't you think?'
'You'll be fine; trust me, even fans wear their favourite player's jerseys. Now, are you coming, or not?'
'Sure, but why don't you own a vehicle like everyone else out there?' Sameth asked, drawing a frown from the man.
'Why don't you shave off that stupid haircut, Elf? Seriously, did your mother use the same bowl for hers?'
I stepped back, waiting for the inevitable fireworks to come as the bellicose Elf fumed with anger, but shockingly, he just laughed instead. 'Good one, fat man. Good one. Lead on already.'
Before setting the horses away at pulling, he quickly shifted a few boxes and bags off of the seat next to him. 'Violet, care to join me?' He asked, with another grin at the Elf. It was as though he couldn't resist rubbing salt into an already stinging wound.
'Jake, I swear, if he-'
'Don't. Do you know where we're going? Because I have no clue?'
Sameth tried to air out his frustration by punching a tree, but it only made him groan even more. Meanwhile, the carriage set off, forcing us to chase after it, and I could already tell we were in for a long walk.
I waved farewell to Falcrest, Baltar and Lockwood, as they waved back, with Butland's huskies running around them like they were playing some game.
'They aren't coming with us?'
Butland leaned out the side of the moving carriage, yelling back at me with one hand still holding onto the reigns. 'They don't tend to allow pets into a stadium filled with people, you know?'
I felt stupid for asking the question; of course, they wouldn't allow them inside.
The road we were following was well-trodden, with patches of dried-out soil and pebbles scattered all over it. Yet there didn't seem to be anyone around; it was surprisingly quiet, especially considering I could still see the elevated motorways filled with speeding cars and buildings that were looming large over the woodland.
Alistair sighed dramatically. 'Twenty miles.'
'Only another nineteen to go.' Butland announced cheerily.
As I looked around, I couldn't help but notice we were missing someone. 'Where's Asher?'
Sameth pointed. He was standing on a sturdy tree branch that hung above the winding road, until he opened another portal and vanished into it, appearing on top of the carriage instead.
'Hey!' Butland shouted. Asher was spooking the horses, and I doubted Violet would want to be anywhere near them when they tried to break free.
'When did you learn how to teleport anyway?' I ask.
Asher swung down off the carriage roof to walk beside me. 'It started when I was locked up. After the first game.'
When he didn't say anything else, I tried to follow his gaze. 'What are you looking at?'
He smiled back at me. 'I was remembering. A lot of people died back there, Jake. Most of them during that first match.'
'You think that because your abilities didn't manifest until afterwards, those deaths are on you?'
Asher nodded solemnly.
'Well, you're wrong. There's nothing you could have done,'
'Then why do I feel otherwise?' Asher demanded, rubbing his hands through his hair.
'Because you're human, and you have a conscience,' I grinned. 'Mind you; I wasn't sure what was going to happen to you after Brockwing Vale. You must have emptied the whole damn river!'
Asher laughed.
'It was a stupid thing to do.' He agreed. Something else must have happened out there because the Asher I knew wouldn't have admitted to being in the wrong. I wasn't going to pry though; he'd tell me when he was ready.
I stopped still as a thought came to me. 'Why are we walking, can't you just teleport us all there, Asher?'
He didn't reply though; instead, Butland called out again. 'He can't! There's a ten-mile wide dampening field surrounding the stadium.'
'Ten miles?' Sameth asked.
'That's right, Elf. Ten, can you count that high?'
'Butland, please!' I yell. 'Why does it cover such a large area?'
'When you see what's in there, you'll know.' He chuckled.
We heard them long before reaching the ten-mile mark.
'What was that?' Alistair shrieked.
'Here, there be monsters boy.' Butland laughed again.
'Don't worry. I'll protect you.' Violet said quietly, earning a flat look from the Giant.
A few hours later; seemingly endless rows of trees eventually gave way to a vast complex. A structure, unlike anything I'd ever seen.
'Hotdogs, get your hotdogs!' One merchant called out.
'Ales and beers, all you need to erase those fears!' Another yelled, looking squarely at Alistair.
Sameth leaned closer to the giant with a wicked grin on his face. 'We'd better get you a keg, my friend.'
'Halt!' A stadium guard ordered; they didn't appear to be mindless like all the others I'd met.
'Six Runeball players, and one... whatever you are. None of you should be here!'
Butland reached into a bag, pulling out a runestone. The writing on it was already glowing orange as he quickly read out the passage, and pointed it at the guard.
Violet stood up. 'What?!'
'Sit back down. Nothing happened here. Understand?' He was glaring around at us all, daring us to ask another question. Then we passed through the massive stadium gates, with the five of us staying as close to the carriage as we could get.
I tried hard not to look but failed, and I almost felt bad as I saw it staring at us with a blank expression as we strolled past. The guard was now nothing more than an overgrown sheep; blending in with the other cattle nearby.
'I saw that!' Another guard roared, chasing after us. Merchants and fans alike seemed to stop what they were doing to assist in our capture, as they began to form a blockade in the middle of the road.
Butland whipped the reigns as hard as he could, sending the horses into a frenzy. 'All of you, Run!'