I waited outside for Noctis to wake up, writing in my journal. I overheard people talking about the imperial base nearby being attacked. I didn't say a word, just smiling slightly. They seemed to be quite impressed. It felt strange, in a way, hearing whispers and being praised by Lucians for attacking an imperial base. Even if it wasn't a victory in the way we wanted, we still succeeded in taking out another base.
It wasn't long before Noctis woke up and walked over to me. "Hey, you alright with riding behind us for just a bit more, or do you want to kick Prompto out of his spot?"
"What?" I asked. "No, I'm fine. I just have to make sure I don't lose you guys."
Prompto walked over as if on cue. "Hey, are we almost ready?" He asked. "I have a good idea."
"What's the idea?" Noctis asked.
"Since Gaia isn't able to ride in the Regalia, she wouldn't be able to know when exactly we plan on taking a break or something. Maybe one of us could give her our phone so that we can talk to her?"
"Not a bad idea," I nodded. "Plus, then I can talk to you guys. I should probably get my own phone now that I think about it."
Soon, we were out on the road again, Prompto's phone sitting in the pocket of my jacket. Before we took off, Prompto made sure to call Noctis, so I was just listening to their conversation in the Regalia.
"I could have gone another round," Gladio said after a moment.
"Given her prowess, you should be glad you didn't," Ignis responded. They were talking about that woman from the imperial base.
"Yeah, that Loqi guy was nothing compared to her," Prompto added.
"Loqi? Loqi Tummelt?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's the guy," Noctis responded.
"We may not have faired so well without the marshal," Ignis added.
"Think things would have gone differently if he were here now?" Prompto asked.
"She offered to play again. Maybe we'll get the chance to find out," Gladio chuckled.
"How far are we from Caem, do you think?" I asked.
"I would estimate we're only a few miles away. Shouldn't be too long," Ignis said after a moment.
"I hope so," I laughed. "I would rather not be left to the daemons if it gets dark."
I continued riding, waiting for a sign that we were slowing down.
"Is it just me, or is this place begging to be explored?" Prompto asked. There it is, I thought with a laugh.
"Guess we're taking a bit of a break?" I added.
"Never been one to turn down an invitation," Noctis responded. I caught up to the Regalia and looked over at the others.
"If what they say about the Malmalam thicket is true," Ignis seemed to be pondering the idea.
"Then we might just find what we're looking for here," Gladio looked over at Iris. "You coming along?"
"Of course!" She chimed.
"Sweet, a party of six," I laughed, letting Ignis pull the Regalia off to the dirt path that led into the woods, following soon after.
Prompto's tone quickly turned from curiosity to nervousness as we continued to a parking spot. "I don't like the woods, too many monsters."
Gladio snorted, "You kidding? What could be better than roughing it out here?"
"A million other things could be better," Prompto responded quickly.
"I had my share of sleeping in monster-infested areas for the next few weeks," I huffed, getting off my chocobo once we reached the parking spot. "Guess it's time for us to look for another royal tomb?"
"You bet," Noctis chuckled as we made our way further down the path and deeper into the woods.
"So Noct, what are you going to do when we get to Caem?" Iris asked, looking up at him.
"Me? Get ready to go to Altissia, I guess," Noctis shrugged.
"Right. Can't keep Lady Luna waiting." I picked up on a hint of sadness in her voice.
A few seadevils stood in our path, Noctis quickly warping to attack one.
"Alright, no plan of attack?" I asked with a laugh, summoning my axe and charging at another one.
"Don't get hurt, that's the plan," Noctis responded.
I jumped out of the way of one of the seadevils trying to snap at me. "Easier said than done when that's all we have to work with!"
The battle wrapped up without injury, luckily.
"You guys kick ass!" Iris praised.
"You mean it?" Prompto asked.
"Yeah! And you look cool doing it, too!"
Prompto chuckled. "Yeah, we get that a lot."
"Don't take it to heart," Gladio responded as we continued further down the path, sneaking past any wildlife that could attack. Soon we arrived at the entrance to the thicket.
"Are you up for it?" Gladio asked, looking over at Noctis.
"I'm down," Noctis responded. We made our way through, quickly encountering our first enemy. A single Mandrake. Should be easy enough, I thought as the others got ready to attack. Easy felt like an understatement, the mandrake barely getting the chance to retaliate.
"Wouldn't want to squish some slimy bug and ruin my nice kicks," Prompto said as we moved forward.
"Then watch where you're walking," I laughed.
"That isn't helpful," Prompto rolled his eyes. As we continued, I looked around the area we were in. The sun was blocked out by the sheer amount of trees. I could only assume we would be facing more mandrakes further in. We rounded a corner, so to speak, and Prompto continued speaking.
"Find anything rare or exotic yet?"
"Slow down. We just got here," Noctis laughed.
"You know, if rare treasures were easy to find, they wouldn't be rare," Gladio stated. I couldn't tell if he sounded annoyed or not.
"Yeah, if it was like that, then anyone could wander in here and take it, so of course, it would be hidden somewhere further in," I laughed. "Mandrakes don't make good guards for fancy treasures."
"We'll see about that," Prompto smirked.
We reached a small incline, the sound of a river becoming clearer as we made our way up. A shieldshears stood in our way, but behind it a haven was visible.
"Hey! I know those runes!" Prompto exclaimed as he fired a shot at the oversized crab before us.
"It's a sign. We should set up camp," Gladio said as he joined the battle.
"You a fortune teller now?" Noctis asked.
"Gladio? Fortune teller? If he was he'd know a lot more," I quipped. Gladio glared at me in response.
"Like you still being suspicious?" He snapped back.
Ignis shook his head. "Both of you, enough."
Once the shieldshears fell, it was time to continue. "Aw man, we have to go through the river?" I groaned. "Why can't there be a bridge or something with another way around?"
"You sound like Prompto," Noctis teased.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Prompto put a hand to his chest, pretending to be hurt. The others started making their way forward, and I quickly rolled up my jeans.
"Hey, wait up!" I yelled, trudging through the water after them.
Prompto looked back at me. "Whoa, you got a metal leg too?"
"Yeah, wasn't finished, remember?" I laughed, finally catching up to them. We approached a waterfall, a small strip of land that I could only assume was the path running next to it.
Noctis quickly ran ahead, complaining about how cold the water felt.
"Freezing cold!" Prompto whined as he followed.
"You oughta stand under that waterfall and let it toughen you up a little bit," Gladio stated, unphased by the temperature.
"Yeah, no. That's a hard pass from me," I said, running past to avoid the cold water.
"I don't think that would be good for my camera. Or me," Prompto added. We continued through a cramped area but soon reached a clearing.
"Man, am I glad to be out of there," Prompto sighed in relief before we saw what was waiting for us. "Not so glad anymore!"
A large, vaguely lizard-like creature was pacing around the clearing. A bandersnatch. Just great, I thought. Just behind it sat a royal tomb, so it was clear what we had to do. Unlike the creatures we fought on the way here, this one posed an actual threat. We still kept at it though, and it wasn't long before it was knocked on its side and vulnerable. Noctis yet again summoned his armiger, the rest of the guys all taking a weapon. I joined in with my axe, and the bandersnatch was finally defeated.
"Score! It's all about that treasure!" Prompto yelled as we made our way to the royal tomb. Unlike the swords I saw before, the weapon in this tomb seemed to be a scepter.
"So the old kings all had different types of weapons?" I asked, watching Noctis add the weapon to his collection. "Kinda cool! Wonder what else there is in store."
"Who knows?" Noctis chuckled. "Come on, let's get back on the road."
I waited for the others to lead the way in the Regalia, once again having Prompto's phone calling Noctis.
"Are you guys excited to visit Altissia or what?" Iris asked.
"I guess," Noctis responded.
"I'm so jealous!"
"We're not going on vacation," Gladio clarified.
"Oh, yeah. You're right." Her tone sounded somber.
"Iris?" Ignis asked gently.
Prompto seemed concerned as well. "Something wrong?"
"What? No, I'm fine. I'm not jealous," she stuttered, "I just had a lot of fun hanging out with you guys. But that'll all be in the past once we hit Caem."
"What are you talking about?" Gladio scoffed at the idea.
"We can hang out any time! Right?" Prompto reassured.
"Yeah," Noctis agreed.
"I'm down for that. It's nice having another woman to hang out with," I added. I looked around, feeling a jolt of excitement when I noticed the coast. "Damn, are we almost there already?"
"We should get a closer look!" Iris offered.
"The sun is about to set," Ignis voiced a bit of concern about the idea.
"Yeah, we can set up camp by the coast," Gladio responded. "I'm sure there's a haven if we look."
"And if there isn't?" I asked, watching the Regalia come to a stop. I ended the call and had my chocobo sprint over. I dismounted and we walked down to the coast.
"Maybe there's one this way?" Prompto asked, running off.
"Hey, wait up!" I ran after him. He was right, as we soon came across the familiar runes of yet another haven.
"Guess we're sleeping out under the stars," Noctis said as he walked over to us. We set up camp, already preparing to finish the drive to Caem in the morning.
