The general response seemed to indicate that they 'understood' what she was saying, but Beth had her doubts about just how much had been understood. Especially since it wasn't like she could look into their minds like Charlie could just to make sure that they were all on the same page.
Although, Beth had to admit that Charlie had set some limits on her own abilities. Which she was pretty sure were based on the morals that Charlie held dear to herself more than ones that her family or society might have imposed on her.
Still, it seemed to have resolved the issue for the moment, and Beth hoped that it merely meant that she wouldn't need to deal with it again. It was possible that it would pop up again, but since she was pretty sure that they'd reach the gate the next day, she hoped that it would prevent them from asking any more questions about different worlds. Or at least until they reached the gate.
Although, she also couldn't rule out the fact that with everything that was going on, she was just getting worn out. They had been constantly moving since they left Veloutra, then there was Ralph coming down with that illness, then her late period that she hoped wasn't going to be a pregnancy scare, and lastly this conversation that Beth really wasn't sure how to handle in the first place.
If they found a place that they'd be able to rest at on this world, she was willing to entertain the idea, if only so they could take a break. Which in turn would allow her to rest up. Not to mention that she expected it would be good to wait for Ralph to recover from his illness, if only so they wouldn't need to take turns carrying him.
After all, it wouldn't help them out any if more of them started to come down with an illness. For one thing, it wasn't like any of them knew what plants might be edible around them, since it had always been Charlie who seemed to know how to find plants along heir expedition that they were able to use to supplement some of their supplies.
Only, those times always had been few and far between. Although, largely it was simply because they didn't dedicate any really time to finding out what might have actually been edible and all that. If they'd had to spend time doing that, she wouldn't be surprised if they'd learned about more plants that were safe for them to eat. Though, she couldn't say how much more time that would have added on to their expedition overall.
On the next day, when they did reach the gate, Beth couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. While she hadn't expected any more questions, she'd still had to deal with them, given how long it took for them to reach the gate. Though, Beth was at least able to put the questions posed to her by reassuring them that she'd answer any questions that the gate didn't answer for them.
As it was, they merely reached the gate when the sun was about to set. If they hadn't been so close, Beth was confident that she'd have let them set up camp well before they'd reached the gate. Largely because she felt herself getting ready to drop where she stood already.
However, with the gate that close, she wanted to dispense with having to assure everyone that they'd have at least most of their questions answered by looking at the gate itself rather than having her try to figure out how to answer the questions.
Idly, Beth wondered if maybe she was coming down with something. If nothing else, it would explain why she felt so hot and why she was tired. She'd thought maybe that she was in a semi-tropical environment or maybe there was a good amount of volcanic activity in these mountains that would explain the heat. Yet, if she was sick herself, at least that would explain it.
Although, if her calculations were correct, it would be summer in this world right now. At least assuming that the had the same length of seasons as on Earth. Which in turn would also be another reason why she might feel so hot right then, given she'd been walking most of the day and it was almost over.
Although, as she thought about that part, she suddenly realized just how long they'd been away from Earth. Not only had they missed several of their birthdays, but it was coming up on a full year since they'd left. Beth wasn't sure if Wes or Ralph had realized this at any point, but it still made her wonder just how long this expedition might take overall.
"Beth? You in there?" Wes asked, snapping Beth out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"
"Just that we've all looked through the gate except you," Wes said. "I mean, if you're not interested, that's fine, but I think you might like to take a look yourself."
Beth sighed. She didn't have a reason to distrust Wes, so she figured that she might as well take a look. After all, it wasn't like it was going to take that long. Plus, with the way Wes sounded, she was confident that she'd understand what he was meaning when she saw the other side of the gate herself.
So, she stepped up to the gate, and she had to assume that Wes had been the one to show the others where it was exactly, since they weren't likely to know what to look for with it anyway. Yet, as she stood there in front of it, she couldn't explain why she suddenly got a cold sweat at that moment. If it was a coincidence, she didn't think she'd like what the cause of the cold sweat was, but if it wasn't, she wasn't sure she'd like what she saw either.
Still, standing there not doing anything wouldn't help her. So, she slowly leaned towards the gate, letting her face slowly pass through the gate so she could see the other side.
What appeared before her was a place that was clearly not a hospitable location. Aside from plenty of magma flowing around her, which might account for the hot air on the side of the gate she had been coming from, there was also a castle in the distance. Not only that, but it looked like there was a village or town by it too.
While it was too far away to make out any specific details, Beth could tell that the magma wasn't heading towards that castle, but rather it looked like structures had been built to act as a kind of levee for the magma.
Aside from the unfriendly scenery before her, Beth also felt like there was a presence there that almost forced the breath out of her. She wasn't sure what it was, but almost like it was completely around her. Like it was a part of every molecule in the rocks and air.
Beth wasn't sure what it was, but she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer if she ever did learn it.
While she wanted to pull out of that world, it felt like her body was refusing to move right then. She couldn't say if it was the presence she felt or if there was some other cause, but it ignited a sense of panic in her that she wasn't ready to face just then.
It wasn't until her eyes came back through the gate that she even realized she was slowly pulling herself out. Beth wasn't sure what happened or what was on the other side of that gate, but she had a feeling that she had encountered something that might be a problem if it learned about that gate being open in the first place.
_
Ralph wasn't sure how long he'd been dreaming. He'd become aware of it off an on for what seemed like weeks, if not moths. However, one day he just woke up.
He felt weirded out to find that they weren't anywhere close to where they had been before. Not to mention that they'd already found the one of the other griffin canyons and had only one more to go. Though, he guessed he should be grateful that they'd carried him along on a stretcher while he was out of it, though he wasn't sure if he should actually tell them about that or not.
It also felt a little difficult to accept that he'd been under the weather for fifteen days. Or at least fifteen days from when they'd found the first griffin canyon. Even during his dreams, or apparently they were times when he woke up delirious from the disease he'd contracted, it hardly felt like they'd been taking that long.
Yet at the same time, he didn't have anything he could use to contradict their assertion. Even Wes told him that it'd been that long. Not that Ralph was happy to be given that confirmation.
Although, while he was more aware of what was going on around him, he couldn't say that he had any real strength to move himself. Which he was pretty sure Beth, and possibly Wes too, wasn't happy that they'd still need to carry him around. Not that Ralph felt very happy with it himself, because while it was nice not having to walk himself, it got even more boring just being carried like that. He couldn't say if it was because he had more time to look around and think, given the others typically weren't in the mood to talk most of the time they were walking, but he had to admit that it didn't take him long before he started to miss walking on his own.
Not that it helped him recover any faster. He was left dealing with only being able to look around. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to move enough to get out of the stretcher, as he'd wear himself out trying before he succeeded if he tried.
All he could do was close his eyes when he started to get bored and try to nap. Though, he still wasn't able to do that very well. Currently, he was laying in the stretcher as it swayed in the arms of Resith and Aerbris. Neither seemed interested in responding to him trying to make idle conversation, though he didn't le that get to him. After all, he doubted that they were very happy having to carry him around for so many days. Though, while he closed his eyes, he felt time going by, but he couldn't get to sleep. He wasn't sure if it was more because of how much rest he'd already gotten, only that he was left with his own thoughts that typically hadn't ever been pleasant experiences for him in his life.
Eventually, they put him down when they were done walking for the day. Part of Ralph had wished to be able to look through the gate when they'd passed it by, but with what Beth and Wes described about it, he couldn't help feel like he'd dodged a bullet by not being able to look, while at the same time, still wanting to see for himself.
Ralph offered to help with the cooking, even though he really didn't expect to be allowed. Not with how he wasn't able to even sit up on his own. Although, he wished he could. At least it would give him something more to do than just lay there.
While he didn't object to talking with others, he wished that he could do more than that. There was little to really talk about that hadn't already been discussed and he was feeling like he might go crazy with nothing to do.
Eventually, he closed his eyes and tried getting some more sleep. Not so much because he wanted to, but more because he couldn't think of anything else to do that was within his ability at the moment. Which turned out to be useful for him given how the next thing he knew, the sounds around him had changed: the fire was still popping every so often, the sounds of birds in the air had disappeared, and he could hear quiet conversation around him.
"…sure when we'll reach it, just that it shouldn't be that much longer," Beth was saying.
"Hey, it took us a week to reach the second canyon, so why shouldn't it have taken us just as long to reach the last one?" Wes asked, though his tone made Ralph wonder how invested in the question he was. "Shouldn't they be more evenly spaced?"
Ralph opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone looked like they were involved in the conversation and he had a feeling that if he spoke up, they might not even realize that it was him who was talking. Or at least what him talking might mean. Not that he was that worried about anything, just that he wouldn't mind it if whatever they had for dinner would be shared with him before everyone went to bed for the night.
"Since when has anything we've encountered made any logical sense on when it appears?" Beth asked dryly. "Besides, part of that 'week' in-between the two canyons involved the three days to reach the gate we found, one of which was part of the day we spent making the stretchers."
"Mistress does have a point," Raeys commented. "Though, we should be getting close to the edge of the mountains anyway, so if the canyon is nearby, we should be reaching it sooner or later."
"Even if we do reach the edge of the mountains," Wes replied, sounding like he might have covered this point before already, "there is not guarantee that we'll reach the canyon. For all we know, the canyon will be further north the mountains than we currently are right now."
"As long as we don't encounter another of those gates, I'll be happy," Resith commented.
"Come on, don't be a twig!" Aerbris snapped. "The feeling on the other side of that one might have been bad, but that's not reason to get all emotional like a twig!"
Ralph couldn't help but wonder what this world thought of men. He already had a few ideas, given how this world had gender roles pretty much switched. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if there might be more than he'd seen, or heard rather, so far in this world about how men were viewed.
"Hey, I don't like what I don't like!" Resith snapped. "I don't care what you say about it, I'll be just as happy to not encounter another of those gates again."
"Not all gates are like that," Ralph said, feeling a small amount of satisfaction when everyone jumped, clearly not having realized that he was awake until that moment. "As far as I know, that's the only one like that, that we've come across."
"What do you know?" Resith asked quietly, a subtle threat clear in her voice. "I don't need a twig telling me anything like that."
"He knows as much as I do about the gates," Beth answered, her voice just as low, which made Resith's eyes bulge like she had seen something scarier than she'd encountered so far, which Ralph could relate to.
From everything he'd experienced, Beth getting angry, really angry, at him was the second scariest thing he'd experienced so far. The worst being when he'd accidentally gotten Beth, Hannah, and Amelia all mad at him at the same time about a month before they met Petals. That was an experience he hope to never encounter again.
"Oh, by the way, Beth," Ralph said, hoping to change the subject so this wouldn't go on for longer than it actually needed to. "I was wondering, would you try to use your magic to help heal me? I mean, I'm dying here having to stay in this stupid stretcher all day."
"I can try, but when I did that before, it seemed to make things worse for you, though I can't say if it was because that disease took so much out of you in the first place or if it merely strengthened it or something. I just thought it'd be safer to let you recover naturally," Beth answered, sounding like she had given it more thought than Ralph was confident that he would have.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I recovered from the disease," Ralph said. "I'm just worn out. That can't be the same thing, right?"
Beth shook her head, though Ralph couldn't be sure if she was thinking from that gesture. "It could be, but it could still be the disease itself. Though, I can at least try, but it's also possible that it'll have you remain in that stretcher for longer."
Ralph sighed. If it was a gamble, he was willing to take that risk. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't taken other risks before. Especially since getting out of that stretcher sooner was worth the risk of having to stay in it that much longer in the first place.
"Do it," Ralph said just as a yawn hit him.
"Uh, I think I'll do that in the morning," Beth replied, looking a little hesitant. "It's not like we'll be going anywhere tonight anyway. So, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?"
In Ralph's mind it was, but he couldn't argue with Beth's logic there. After all, it wasn't like he'd be any worse off. If he couldn't' fall asleep, it was likely because of the same reason he hadn't been able to sleep through the day when he was bored out of his mind. That he'd already gotten so much that his body didn't need any more just then.
Even if Beth healed him and got it so he wasn't confined to the stretcher, he doubted that it would change the fact if he'd be able to get to sleep easily or not tonight. That was just a fact that he couldn't ignore, regardless of anything else.
Sighing, Ralph couldn't help but wonder if the net day would bring out more problems than he'd like, since he doubted he'd experienced enough issues so far between the disease and being stuck in the stretcher. He merely had a feeling something out there wasn't yet done using him for their own entertainment right then.