I was on the road again and having a good time traveling with my friend. What could be better?

  We walked on the side of the road where the hard-packed dirt covered in hoof prints, boot prints, and wagon grooves met the dry grass that dominated this part of the Badlands. Ahead of us, barren landscapes stretched as far as the eye could see. The road curved toward the hills in the distance, and that was where Nell said the next town was. As we traveled, the hills gradually grew larger and more frequent until they met the high red bluffs of the Cardinal Plateau. Part of those bluffs had served as the northern wall of Parroia. Now, they sat off to the north on our right, a league or so away, but I could see how they curved south far ahead and met the hills.

  My eyes kept searching the distant shade of the bluffs for the caves that dotted the cliffside. They were notoriously full of bandits and monsters as well as pitstops for braver travelers. Travelers like Nell. I looked at her and smiled, still in awe and disbelief.

  I couldn’t believe that I was walking along the road, boots kicking up dust, with Nell Newton at my side. After so many years, after thinking it was likely I’d never see her again. Here she was, in the flesh.

  To be honest, the whole fight in the forest with the bandits felt like a dream, and not in the fun way where I was doing something I always wanted to do. Even though it was only hours ago, the memory was rushing from my mind, retreating into the darkness of my brain. Already, it felt like it hadn’t really happened. Surely, all of this was too crazy for my first day on the road, right? And Nell appearing? That couldn’t be real. What were the odds?

  But no, she was there. She whistled a jaunty bar tune. I didn’t know it, but I had heard the similar songs at the saloons of Parroia. Her whistling had gotten degrees better from how out of tune it had once been. She whistled with the expertise of a songbird now.

  The sun blasted us as we walked, and despite my straw hat, my body was scorched, and my nose felt hot. Surely, this was real too. It would be rude of my dreams to make me feel so uncomfortable and so happy at the same time.

  No, no, I knew this was real. I could have some wild, wacky, and vivid dreams, and I had a healthy, vivid imagination too, but even my wildest dreams couldn’t cook this up. So, I knew it had to be true. Nell, alive and in the flesh. Me, on the road to the adventure I’d always dreamed of. Both of us heading west toward my brother and the heart of the Badlands.

  “Stop smiling like that. You’re creeping me out,” Nell said suddenly, wrenching me out of my head with some violence. My face flushed, and it wasn’t from the sun.

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry. I was just thinking how lucky I am.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Lucky how?”

  “Well, I mean . . .” I cleared my throat. “I was robbed blind. They coulda killed me, bled me dry right then and there, but they didn’t, and I ain’t gonna sit here and say that wasn’t some divine serendipity. And even crazier, I just happened to bump into you after all these years. What are the odds? So yeah, I’m feeling lucky.”

  It was her turn to blush a bit. She looked away and pulled her hat a little lower. “I’m happy to have found you too. But this isn’t permanent.”

  “Course not. Just a friendly trip, then we part ways.”

  “And then we part ways,” she echoed.

  I had a feeling that neither of us actually wanted that, but we weren’t about to voice it. I certainly wasn’t, but I did want to stay with her. To find my brother with Nell by my side? He’d flip out. I thought Nell felt the same, but I wasn’t sure. After all, I didn’t know what her life was like now. The years had changed her, and probably more than I could tell from the surface. I was different too.

  When we got to the town, we waited in the tavern while the sheriff and his posse went to the woods to find the bandits. I was worried that somehow the bandits would wake up and find a way to escape, or that a monster would come by and kill them. If they got away, we didn’t get the bounty, and if a monster killed them, we’d get a lesser bounty. Besides, I didn’t want them to die like that.

  “We need to get you another card or two,” she said. “These parts aren’t too dangerous, not like further south and west, but the further you go looking for Gareth, you’ll need more than just a basic [Polearm] card. Never mind going to Valley of the Tears. Without any Epic or higher graded cards, you’ll be toast.”

  I nodded and pulled out my one card fragment. It glowed faintly. The blazing midday sun dulled the fragment’s light considerably. Made it seem dead and powerless, even though I knew that wasn’t the case. I still needed one more to get another card. I supposed a [Strength] or [Speed] card would pair well with my bludgel, or maybe I could stack another [Polearm] card on it to raise it up to Tier 2. Most skill cards could be stacked to increase their proficiency, usually in tiers of 3, though some had more and some less. [Pugilism] and [Swordsmanship], for example, each went up to 5. I didn’t know how high [Polearm] went. And that was just for [Common] cards. The higher the card grade, the less you could stack them.

  I pocketed the fragment again. “You have quite a few card tattoos,” I said. “Did you get all of them from killing monsters, or did they come from looting bandits and getting bounty rewards?”

  Nell thought about it for a second. “It’s a mix, though most came from monsters and bandits. Not every bounty offers fragments, and very rarely do they offer fully formed cards. At least, not around here. Towns in the south offer more, but those parts of the Badlands are hell.

  “They don’t call them the Blood Plains for nothing.”

  “Right. You won’t last there without at least a healthy dose of [Uncommon] cards and maybe even some [Rares]. I steer clear of that area still.”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  “Do you think Gareth would be there?”

  She wriggled her lips. “I don’t know. But I also haven’t a clue what he left town for or what he’s after.”

  I didn’t either. Not even after all these years.

  I thought back to the day he left. It hadn’t started as any extraordinary day. Nell and I went to the lake behind the town to fish, though that was mostly for fun. Eating the fish from there wasn’t the best idea. It had been a nice fall evening, typical of that time of year, when it was nippy in the morning but warm by noon and then cool again in the evenings.

  At the end of it, when the sun was careening fast to the west, we went home and parted ways. When I got back to Deebo’s house, I heard the yelling long before I even reached the door. I couldn’t make out the words, but anger charged the air, dangerous and scary. Deebo never yelled at us, and neither Gareth nor I ever yelled at him, even if we were mad. We yelled at each other plenty, but never Deebo. So, when I heard them clashing like that, I’d frozen.

  Before long, it was just Gareth yelling. I was afraid to go any closer, afraid to even put my ear to the door or look through the windows and see what they were arguing about, lest they discover me and that wall of rage came slamming down onto me.

  Then, it got so silent. Silent as death, and that terrified me even more. That was when the trance finally broke, and I reached to open the door, but before I could, it swung open.

  Gareth strode out, bags packed and thrown over his shoulder. His sword sat on his hip. It had only been a few months since he’d turned sixteen and got his first card, but he was already well on his way to being one of the town’s best hunters. I could tell that this wasn’t him going on an excursion into the hills for some hunting though. I just knew. He saw me there. He looked at me with such coldness that to this day, I haven’t forgotten it. It wasn’t angry or hateful. It was just uncaring, resigned, dead. It probably wasn’t directed at me, but sometimes, I still feel like maybe it was.

  That look only lasted a heartbeat, but he continued to stride forward. He was so big and strong, so sturdy and stalwart. I didn’t have words. Or tears. He stopped by my side, pulled me against him with one arm. Held me there tight for I don’t know how long.

  Then he let go and left me. Walked right out of my life without a word. I knew he loved me, I did. Still do, but I wished he’d said so. I wish I would have said it too. Wished I would have fought to keep him home. I was just too stunned. The fight didn’t come to the surface until it was far too late.

  That was four years ago. Four long, impossible years ago. All I knew is that they were arguing about my parents.

  I never got any details out of Uncle Deebo. And when I asked him about it, it was the only time he ever showed any real anger my way. So, I never pushed him. And then he died, eliminating any chance I had of getting answers. So, I’ll be damned if I don’t get them answers straight from the horse’s mouth. Gareth was going to tell me everything, or I’d beat his ass. Actually, I planned to kick his ass anyway.

  “I guess he doesn’t know about Deebo,” Nell said. “Or me, for that matter. He probably still thinks my mom and dad are alive and I’ve been living the good life in Parroia all this time.”

  “Yeah, probably. If he thinks of us at all.”

  She looked at me, stopping midstride. I stopped too. Her gaze was sad but serious. “He does, Griff.”

  I wished I could be so sure. “How do you know?”

  “Of course, I don’t know, but we have to believe it, alright? Especially you. You’re his brother. He didn’t leave because of you. I’m sure whatever his reasons were, they were good ones. You’ll find him. He’s alive. He’s thriving, I bet. He’s far too strong even for the Badlands to break.”

  It was hard to swallow just then. My lungs hitched in their breath-taking duties. My lips quirked into a small smile, and I started walking again. Nell followed.

  “I hope you’re right,” I told her as I fingered the brim of my straw hat and pulled it a little lower.

  “I am.”

  A part of me knew she was right. I wasn’t a pessimistic person. I’d always thought Gareth was doing fine out here, that he had some grand purpose and mission that he had to fulfill, and that was why he left and hadn’t come back. Whatever the reason he left, that purpose wasn’t fulfilled yet.

  I thought about the note he had left, the one that Deebo had hidden away and never showed me, the one that I held in my pocket. The one that was my only direction, the only beacon I had in this storm.

  With trembling hands, I pulled it out again and unfolded it, rereading the words for the billionth time. My eyes traced the messy script of Gareth’s hand. He was calm and collected, great in pressure-packed situations. He knew how to handle himself and how to help and protect people. He was a leader. But his handwriting was crap. He never had time for reading and writing, though Deebo had made sure to drill it into him. Our parents would have wanted us to have at least a rudimentary education. It was more than could be said for most in the Badlands.

  To Mushyon Ridge. Where it all began.

  “Let me see that,” Nell had silently sidled up beside me. It wasn’t easy to get a jump on me or approach me without my notice, but Nell always had the gift of being able to penetrate my defenses. It seemed time had only strengthened that, given how completely she overpowered me in the woods before she knew who I was.

  I handed her the note. I’d told her about Mushyon Ridge already, so I doubted she could possibly glean anything from it that I had somehow missed after my thousands and thousands of viewings.

  “Does Mushyon Ridge mean anything to you?” I asked.

  She shook her head. Her eyes remained glued to the parchment as they traced across the uneven scrawl of letters. I doubted she’d admit it, but I bet deep down, that crush on my brother was still there. A low flame, a dying ember, desperate for some tinder to stoke it. And a dried parchment was perfect tinder.

  “I stop there sometimes for bounties and supplies, but it doesn’t hold a special meaning to me. What about you?”

  I shrugged. “Deebo never talked about it, but clearly, something happened there. What, I haven’t a damn clue.

  “Where what began?” she whispered, staring at the note.

  “I’ve been trying to figure that out ever since I found the note after Deebo died. I wish I’d heard what that argument was about when he left. It’s not like the walls or windows of the house were super insulated. I bet I coulda found out if I tried, but I was too stunned.”

  “And no one in town knew?”

  I let out a huff through my nose. “Well, this ain’t exactly something I wanted to make public, ya know? I did ask a few people, but they either didn’t have a clue, or they were lying. I bet if I asked them now, I might be able to sniff out some truth. But I couldn’t read people at all back then. Who knows what type of tells and obvious bluffs I might have missed?”

  Nell snickered. “Yeah, it was so easy to lie to you. Deebo had to ban you from playing cards. Even a child could read you like a book.”

  My cheeks heated. “I’m better now! When we get to the next town, we’ll play a round!”

  She laughed fully then. “You don’t have to prove anything. It means you have an honest heart, and that’s rare out here.”

  “Honest or not, sometimes you need to be able to tell a lie . And you need to be able to determine the truth in a sea of liars and thieves.”

  “True enough.”

  And the lie now was that I had any clue about what I was doing and where I was going, but I wasn’t going to confront the truth of that just yet. I’d let that lie carry me on a little further. At least until Mushyon Ridge. There, I’d get answers, or I wouldn’t, and then it would be time for new lies and new truths.

  https://www.patreon.com/litrpgadventures