The four of them sat in Karina's room gathered around the table. Karina stared at the log, seeing her Lyn's small little docket. 'She's been alive this whole time?' Karina shook her head, her eyes red and puffy. "She's asking, if Lyn has been alive this whole time." "From what, I've heard. They found Lyn on the outskirts of Artaraxus and took her in." Jacara said. 'Why didn't she come find me?' "The same reason I couldn't find you. Kumo is constantly moving, she probably lost hope in finding you." Ul'lanna said, patting Karina's back. 'I have to go to her.' She stumbled out of her seat, unable to stand. "Yeah, you never get use that feeling." Ul'lanna said. "Karina, they said they would come and help the Citadel. You'll see her soon." Yamada said. 'I need to go see her now. I need to be there for her.'
"From what I saw in the war room, we're still a ways off." "If I showed you a map, could you tell us where we are?" Karina nodded, pointing towards a scroll in the corner of her room. Yamada quickly took the map sprawling it on the table, filled with various crosses. Parts of the map were wrinkled from water droplets. Tears from searching for Lyn. She pointed at a spot north west of Artaraxus, over the grey mountain zone, sliding her finger upwards. Ul'lanna cupped her chin. "Hmm, it's possible. It's risky, but possible." "What are you thinking?" Jacara asked. Ul'lanna pointed at the Fork up ahead on Kumo's path. "How long till we get to here?" 'Two months.' Karina wrote. "This is the Fork that connects to Artaraxus. If we had our supplies at the ready, we could leave early here, and have them focus on getting to the Citadel faster." "Great, let's do that." Yamada said.
"If." Ul'lanna said "In case you forgot, we can barely get through a day here." "I may have a solution to that." Jacara said. "What would that be?" Ul'lanna scoffed. "I'm having sex with the princess." Karina let out a yelp. "Does that count as me making her talk as well?" "YOU DID WHAT!?" Ul'lanna shouted. "I made myself the prince to three kingdoms is what I did." He raised his hand to Yamada, awaiting a high five. He shook his head. Ul'lanna lunged to grab Jacara, only to be beaten by Karina, tackling him to the ground. She shook him violently, knocking the air out of him, and his sense of balance. "Alright, that's not a good sign." Yamada said. "YOU THINK?" Ul'lanna rushed to the door, making sure no one was around. Karina mouthed angrily at him. "Yamada, what is she saying?" She struck him across the face with a slap, repeatedly hitting him on the head. "OW!OW!OW!" Jacara screamed trying to defend himself. "I'm guessing she's mad." "YOU THINK!? GET HER OFF!"
"Ha! Think he already did that." Ul'lanna snorted. Yamada chuckled with her. "WILL YOU TWO HELP!?" Karina stood up gesturing angrily at him. Jacara and Ul'lanna looked to Yamada. He shook his head shrugging. "Something about cock, and crazy. That's all I got." She threw her hands up into the air, writing it down on paper. "Ooooooh." Jacara and Ul'lanna said reading her writing. They glanced up at Yamada. "You can't read it can you?" Jacara asked. "I can read it! Just...just give me a bit." "it says don't fuck a crazy person."Ul'lanna said, glaring at Jacara. "How are you people reading that?" Yamada muttered to himself, looking at the swirls. "Well, what's the plan?" Jacara asked.
Ul'lanna sat down looking at the map, stroking her chin, with the others joining her. "If we do land here, it's still going to be at least several months, before we reach Artaraxus. We'll need rations, and proper clothing." Yamada and Karina looked down at their Kāṣāyas. "What's wrong these?" Yamada asked, with Karina nodding along. "For one, this path might have Kal'Nar soldiers. We'll need to disguise ourselves as merchants to travel safely. Can't really do that wearing these...bathrobes." Yamada pouted. He enjoyed wearing a Kāṣāya again, it made him feel like he was at home. "Next is our food problem." "Are you forgetting that I have a connection with the Princess?" "Don't remind us." Ul'lanna snapped. Karina glared at him. 'You mustn't let anyone know you did that!' "She said, don't tell anyone else, you're sleeping with the princess." "Why? They would treat me as their new and upcoming king, emperor, monarch, ruler, whatever you want to call it." Karina shook her head.
She stood up signing a long phallic object being shoved up from her behind, and out her mouth. 'Emperor Zhing, had the last man who touched his daughter, impaled from anus to mouth.' Yamada translated for Jacara. His eyes wide open. "Was it a quick death?" Yamada asked. She shook her head. 'Kept him alive for days, with a rotating roster of Blesseds. After a week or so, the man finally died.' "From blood loss?" Jacara asked. She shook her head. 'Starvation.' Jacara gulped, a sweat bead trickle down his forehead. "Still think it was a good idea to have sex with her?" Ul'lanna said. "I may have made a mistake." "That's what happens, when you think with that head." Ul'lanna snapped. "Keep that hidden, we need to get these things in secret for now. We can't trust anyone here right now. They're keeping secrets for a reason, and I don't like it." 'How can you trust me?' "She's asking how we can trust her."
"Because you fucked Yamada voluntarily, hit this idiot for me, and did that magical hand thing to me. Where I saw heaven. Which I will need you to do, to me again." Jacara cocked an eyebrow. "Magical hand thing?" Karina blushed. "Those are enough for me right now. The next part is where you keep our trust." Karina lurched forward with determination. "As it stands right now. Jacara and I are barely making our rounds. You are the only one who can secure us long lasting food. No one would question you here." She nodded, pointing to Yamada. 'What will he do?" "Yamada, you need to keep everyone distracted for the next 2 months, while she gathers our supplies." "What? How?" "Do what you always do. Find the biggest strongest person here, and show them up." "I don't do that." Jacara shot him a death stare. "What?" "Remind us again, who you fought in the first month of being at the Citadel?"
"Well there was Yssac and Fervias." "The Mercenary pair and two of the Grand Knights." "There was also Vexgar and Axilas, but we really didn't fight." "The Black Death and Black Prince. The two denounced princes of the Artaraxus." "And I sparred with Gwyneth a lot. But I didn't show anyone up." Jacara pointed to Karina. Her jaw was on the ground, her eyes wide open and blank. "Karina?" She stood up slamming the table. 'YOU FOUGHT THE GRAND KNIGHTS!? YOU WERE TRAINED BY GWYNETH LOCKHART!?' "Does everyone know her?" "I hate how dumb you are sometimes." Jacara sighed. "Sometimes?" Ul'lanna said. 'What is she like!? I heard so much about her? Is she as graceful and as bea...' Her signs stopped. She looked to Jacara and Ul'lanna. 'Did he?' They nodded. She sat down covering her face, shaking her head. "Uhhh, what just happened?" Yamada asked. 'I have to beg for her forgiveness, when I meet her.' Karina thought.
"Look, just think of it as getting stronger, and-" "I'll do it." Jacara and Ul'lanna shared a look, thinking the same thing. He is way too easy to manipulate. "Alright, we all have our tasks. For the next two months, we need to play along with everything. Karina, get us food." She nodded. "Yamada, fight everyone and make it a spectacle." He nodded. "Jacara." She shuddered. "Just keep having sex with the princess, and keep it a secret." "Oh, trust me I can keep it a secret, and in-" "Don't finish that sentence." "Her." She growled at him. "What are you going to be doing?" "I'll be investigating this place. Ever since we arrived, something has felt off." "You mean how we're on a floating kingdom?" "Will you let that go?" "Never." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him. "Have you all not noticed how strange this place is?"
"There's barely any trees, yet we have wooden furniture and doors. There's not enough land to house farms, yet we have meat and vegetables every day? You have knowledge of the Grand Knights and their battles, but you weren't aware of your own daughter being one of them?" Jacara and Yamada looked at Karina suspiciously. "She's not a part of it, but there's definitely something strange going on here, and I don't like it...Also, we need transport, I'll be working on that." All of them cocked an eyebrow at her. "You know how to make a wagon?" She looked at them confused. "You don't?" All of them shook their heads. "It's just connecting pieces of wood together." "Okay as you said. Where are you gonna get that wood from?" Jacara asked. "The dining hall has plenty of wood. We'll just take a table to ourselves." "And the wheels?" "I'll figure that out." "Okay, one last question, and this should have been my first. But what's gonna pull it?" She pointed to Yamada. "Hey what? I want to ride in the carriage too." "Well that's too bad, because unless we have some horses, you're the only one strong enough to pull the wagon, while it holds our food and Harbinger. Unless...you want to leave it behind?" He pouted crossing his arms. "I want to ride in the carriage too." He mumbled with Karina patting his shoulder. "Alright we have our tasks. You two get to it." She ordered them. "You. Do that lightning magic hand thing again."