It's a Long Way to Go
As it turned out, getting released and cleared of the charges was two days of arguing. This was to say nothing about the world randomly changing either. Some events would happen within the span of minutes while others occurred hours apart from one another. As far as Amber was concerned, the fact they grew less frequent as time went on and that she had nothing to do with them was good enough.
Even so, it had been disorienting to have everything change suddenly only to snap right back to normal. One minute everything was normal, the next it was pixelated and flat. The next moment everyone had their clothes changed and they were speaking with funny accents and seemingly different languages. And then there was the case of everything truly going flat and rubbery with everyone moving as if they were ragdoll puppets. Amber had made her displeasure about these events quite vocal, especially when she was in the middle of a conversation with the police to get her supplies back.
The fact she had also been fired from her job without being allowed to explain herself because of the entire affair just made things even worse.
"Not like I have much to come back to here," she muttered as she stuffed her clothes into her bag, trying to banish her disgruntled thoughts.
"Well you're always welcome to stay. Provided you pay for your stay of course," Hammond said from the doorway.
"Like anyone is going to hire me, the bringer of doom," Amber closed the bag and threw it over her shoulder.
"I've had more bizarre patrons than you Amber. Believe it or not, one of them had been on the run from three different nations and they ended up becoming a general to outwit all of them. The Wanderer's Inn has seen plenty of people who have changed the course of history, both on a small scale and a grand one."
Amber rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Walking down the hallway, the usual noise of the Wanderer's Inn was missing. The floor still needed to be cleaned, the damages repaired, and Hammond still had to hassle out the insurance money for all of it. Despite his foul mood about the insurance, his lack of malice to Amber was appreciated if a bit strange to her. After all, she was responsible for this mess.
Downstairs, Susan and Wraith were waiting for her.
"You ready to go?" Wraith asked.
"All packed and ready to get rid of that damn tablet," Amber rolled her shoulder to show her bag.
"It'll be a three week journey on foot. I had hoped we could arrange for a carriage but we've wasted enough time in this city," Susan said as she turned on her heel.
"Three weeks of walking… Hopefully no desserts or I'm going to find the long way around," Amber muttered as she walked out the door behind her new companions.
"Still complaining about that?" a familiar sounding Europan asked.
Amber stopped and turned her head to find Edward, Sil, and Toth waiting just off to the side. They had bags of their own packed and appeared ready to travel as well.
"What are you three doing here?" she asked.
"They stopped by earlier to join you," Hammond said as he floated out carrying canteens, "Cider for the road?"
"They insisted," Susan shrugged as she grabbed a canteen, "Thanks. Is this cinnamon cider by chance?"
"You don't have to do this," Amber sighed, Susan and Hammond fading into the background.
"Considering I've been dragged into enough surface confusion with you to be a part of this, I might as well see it through," Edward said as if this were the most obvious fact in the world, "Besides, might as well see the next place that is confusing."
"You lot are interesting, that's good enough for me," Toth said as she cocked her head to listen to...something, "Huh, it's actually waiting for us to get started. That's new," with a shrug she grabbed a canteen.
"Don't you start with that," Amber pinched the brow of her nose before facing Sil, "What's your reason then?"
"None other than this is against my better judgment," he said quickly but without any bite behind his words.
"He's a part of this by association and feels like he is obligated to see it through is what he means," Toth said.
Sil flinched by the comment and gave Toth a frustrated glare. Amber raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. She still had no clue why he had suddenly avoided her a few days ago but held off on asking questions due to the chaos that had ensued. Seeing how he was going to be by her side for the next three weeks, she decided her questioning could wait a little more time.
"Well this journey should be interesting," she said as she grabbed the last canteen and faced Hammond, "You sure that letter will make it to Central Town?"
"As sure as I can be," Hammond replied.
"I guess this is it then. May your travels bring you good fortune Hammond."
"May yours as well, all of you."
"Let's get going," Susan closed her canteen and adjusted her cloak.
"Aha! Now I see why the music was waiting. Come along friends, It's a Long Way to Tipperary! Onwards!" Toth said cheerfully.
"Where's Tipperary?" Edward asked with his patented blunt expression and dry confusion.
I'm starting to question if there really are different versions of hell, Amber internally groaned.
Several hours of walking later and Sil was still questioning his mental sanity. Crossroad was far behind them and the road they were on had only changed from urban outskirts to rural farmland. Why he was here with a man who seemed to be drier than Gerora in the middle of the summer, a lady who probably was a tad aloof if her constant humming was anything to go by, and a person who (did not) intrigued him for some reason (which did not exist at all), all on some random adventure to another faraway land...he was unsure.
Maybe he should have simply moved to Nibel… Stayed with his cousins in Inkwater Marsh? No, leaving Niwen was still the right choice...right?
What am I doing with my life?, he questioned with a sigh.
"You all right back there?" Edward turned his head to look back.
"I'm fine," Sil answered.
Edward held his gaze for a moment before looking back across the road ahead, "If you say so."
Sil breathed heavily through his nose and held it for a few seconds. The fact that Edward saw right through him was unnerving. That Edward was also being truthful about the other fact of being more patient than Amber was even more so. If Sil had kept his heritage to himself everyone would have passed him off as another Moki and he would have been fine.
And yet you just had to join this group… When will I realize trying to live in two different worlds is impossible?, he asked himself.
But instead, he revealed himself. Everyone around him knew he was a Guardian and expected him to be one. A champion of the Light and the bane of the Decay. Something he so desperately wanted to be and something he so vehemently wanted to avoid becoming. The Light had been nothing but a source of pain in his entire life...and responsible for his most cherished memories.
Maybe...maybe this time I can decide on what I am, he thought as he scratched at his wings under his vest.
Edward had been experiencing a wide range of emotions throughout the journey. He found Toth causing Amber to experience endless exasperation all while humming a cheerful tune to be amusing to watch. Thoughts about his sister's chief nuclear engineer infuriating Amber while everything was pixelated (complete with Amber becoming an angry puffball with steam coming out her ears) almost caused him to chuckle a few times. While not quite to the same level of Nathan and wary of Toth, the mild madness she expressed was familiar to Edward. A particularly gleeful part of him hoped Toth stayed with the group regardless simply to annoy Amber. It would be quite the comeuppance for Amber considering the amount of bizarreness she seems to attract to her.
Then there had been the mixture of confusion and annoyance regarding Sil. Edward frankly was unsure on what to make of the Moki/Guardian hybrid. While he could respect personal secrets, Edward was wary that they could be harmful if left unexposed. The fact that Sil seemingly hated himself was also depressing to witness.
I know I have no right to talk but you're going to have to open up eventually, he thought as he stole another glance behind him towards Sil, You've got to trust yourself before you can trust others or earn their trust after all.
And then there were Susan and Wraith. Edward was unsure on what to make of them specifically. On one hand, they hired him out as a bodyguard. On the other hand, they were targeted by someone because of their line of work. Europa was no stranger to organizations hiring outside help to protect interests or do fieldwork, but there was an unspoken rule about taking jobs associated with dangerous groups: once you get involved, you are always involved.
Taking a look between Amber and his two employers he could not help but wonder just how involved he was.
In the possession of a dangerous artifact, working for an organization that works with dangerous artifacts, and possibly being targeted by a different group that quite literally cutthroat to obtain those artifacts. Now that I think about it, maybe there's a lot more the surface has in common with the Iceshelf, he mused as he rolled his shoulder to adjust his shotgun.
"Anyone want to stop for food?" Susan asked from the front, stopping next to a stone pasture fence.
"I'm good," Amber answered.
"I can keep going," Sil said.
"I could use something to eat actually," Toth admitted.
"You sure we can spare the time?" Wraith asked Susan.
"We're late as is. Might as well take a minute or two to make sure we actually can get to Cherrystone alive," Susan said as she came to a stop.
Toth could agree with the statement. The song, while still looping to no end, did not give any indication that they were in immediate danger and the world thankfully remained normal all day so far. A quick rest to admire the scenery and build bonds with companions was something drilled into her during her brief tenure in the Vaulter Expeditionary Forces.
In the field of battle your comrades are your clanmates, she recalled her sergeant repeating countless times.
"Please tell me you're done humming," Amber groaned as she took out and apple and a knife.
"Mmm, maybe maybe not," Toth smirked, taking out some crackers and uncapping her canteen from earlier.
"I am going to get you right between the eyes with this," Amber growled and waved her knife menacingly at Toth, "Just you wait."
"No you won't."
"Don't tempt me."
"Ladies, we're all in the same group right now. Infighting will get us nowhere," Edward said with the bluntness of an adamantium mallet.
"Agreed," Susan said holding her own canteen, "And before any of you get any funny ideas about payments you will not be getting a bigger share for killing your comrades."
"Of all the things to say… Why am I the one with common sense? Now you put ideas into their heads," Wraith exclaimed.
"I don't hear any words of wisdom coming from you," Toth said.
Wraith glared at her, resulting in Toth to merely smirk back at him. While her heightened perception was an annoyance most of the time, it did teach her the useful skill of annoying others. Annoyed individuals are more prone to making mistakes, being amusing, and generally easier to trick. Besides, if she played her cards right she could be the "annoying friend" in the group, all but guaranteeing her chance of survival depending on how chaotic this little escapade will turn out and how long she will be a part of it.
Well, I've achieved the annoying part. Now I just need to be friends with this group, she thought as she swallowed her crackers, A drifter with a tongue as sharp as her sword, a Europan coming out of his titanium shell to make friends, a Guardian with self esteem issues equal to his powers, and a Vaulter with music stuck in her head every single moment of her life, she eyed each of her companions before laying her gaze on Susan and Wraith, All under the employment of a Cherrystone mage and a Floran mercenary. Well...the stage is set and we're the actors. Shall we dance?
The others finished their own food and packed their belongings. In a few moments, they again were all walking down the road. As they did so, the music seemed to grow louder as she hummed along with it.
Damn it! Now I want to join in, Amber thought they continued walking.
Toth was certainly getting on her nerves. Something about the woman just annoyed Amber and the feeling was growing stronger. As much as Amber wanted to bury that annoyance for the sake of professionalism, it continued to bubble in the back of her head. Perhaps the most annoying fact was that despite all the chaos over the past few days, Amber could not necessarily find a particular reason to dislike Toth outside of her...peculiarity. Even then, that was more of just an annoyance that Amber knew was an overreaction.
If she keeps humming that song I'm never going to get it out of my head, Amber scowled as her own head started to betray her.
Slowing down, she fell in line with Edward. He gave her a small sympathetic smile before facing the road with the same blunt expression he had since they left Crossroad.
"I'm surprised her throat doesn't bother her with all of that humming," he said after a few moments of walking.
"Now that you mention it, you're right," Amber agreed.
"I'll admit having music stuck in your head under normal circumstances is annoying. I can't imagine what it would be like to have it your entire life."
"Well considering I'm the one who's anatomy is completely different from everyone else, I'd say it's normal if it's all you've known."
"Because having fur and a tail is different than everyone else," Edward smirked.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about you ass," Amber lightly shoved him with a laugh.
Suddenly, the word shifted. Edward looked like a soldier, Amber like a hunter, Toth as if her armor were made of rubber, and at the front Susan as if she were wearing a shawl.
"Well, time for us to sound funny again," Edward said in his accented voice once everyone got over the sudden shift.
"Irgendwie … fühlt sich das angemessen an. Na dann ist es ein langer Weg nach Tipperary! [Somehow...this feels appropriate. Well then, it's a long way to Tipperary!]," Toth said in a full sing-song voice.
Amber let out an annoyed huff as the others joined in. A cacophony of mixed accents and strange words rang out through the countryside. She knew the lyrics quite well after Toth had sung them for several minutes straight upon leaving earlier and they sat on the tip of her tongue.
Oh merde, pourquoi pas ? "Mais mon cœur est là !" [Oh hell, why not? "But my heart's right there!"], Amber joined in with a tired smile etched across her muzzle.
For the next hour, farmers who worked their fields paused to watch a band of travelers passing by. They were singing some kind of song, completely foreign and not entirely making sense. They were out of tune and sounded horrible, especially with the strange phenomena affecting the world changing them, but they appeared happy as they continued onwards. They returned waves of greetings as they passed by, all the while singing their song.
Even after the world had returned to normal, they kept on singing as they walked further down the road.