Chapter 49: Fragments of a Life

After stumbling in despair for a while, Kai eventually pulled himself together. Not because he had hope. Simply because moving forward was the only thing he knew how to do.

In a sense, he had been doomed ever since the moment he received his Laborer Class. If a simple life in the city was unacceptable to him - and he'd rejected it at every turn - then he really didn't have any option. He was going to end up in the wasteland one way or another.

That wasn't necessarily a death sentence. He had more experience in the wastelands than most hunters his age and he'd developed considerable power. In a sense, that power was what had gotten him in trouble, since he might have made it through if he'd lost the fight. Or just ran, or surrendered and let them beat him...

But no. Perhaps this was for the best, if he had been running up against his limits in Monskon City.

With that thin comfort, Kai tried to take a step back and evaluate just how bad his current situation was.

Since sending someone into the wastelands unarmed usually meant death, they hadn't taken away his weapons. He still had his bow, minus two arrows. His gauntlets had served him well through the entire fight. Though it wasn't much compared to those, he did still have an ordinary sword from the Granfian household. Perhaps most importantly, he still had the third weapon sphere, since he'd carried it on him at all times recently.

Things didn't look so good when it came to other resources. He'd been carrying only experimental potions and he'd used those anyway. His precious healing potions, carefully kept in his quarters for times of need, were useless to him. Worst of all, the special flask Juray had made for him was still at her house.

Thinking about her hurt, so Kai forced himself to stay practical. His biggest problem might actually be a lack of practical supplies: no tent, no bedroll, no food. Being sent into the wastelands without a weapon was considered unfair, but going out without food or water was just fine apparently. If he found a source of water he could cleanse it... no, that would require a pan, flint, and other supplies he no longer had.

Kai was willing to take on any monster in the wastelands, but he couldn't survive without food. He turned back around and stared back at Monskon City. Clearly there was no future for him there. That didn't mean that he couldn't go back in. They would be looking for him, but the city's security had always been focused on monsters, not people.

Still, it wouldn't be easy. Instead of rushing in blind, Kai made sure to break line of sight with the city walls, then found a dry riverbed that would let him cut east. From there, he could creep through some low shrubbery to get close to the city and wait for his best opportunity.

Unfortunately, by that evening he was beginning to think it would be more of a challenge than he expected. The hunters guarding the city, formerly a source of pride, would make it nearly impossible for him to sneak in. It might be easier to sneak in with visitors, which led to a whole host of new problems he'd need to solve.

Briefly Kai considered just fighting his way in, brawling with anyone who got near until he could grab his things and then run out. It made him laugh, very briefly.

Before he could try anything desperate, Kai noticed someone unusual emerging from the city. So far away, they were just a speck, but something about their movement immediately drew his attention. He stood up and shielded his eyes to get a better look... it was definitely Juray. Wearing one of her auburn robes that he'd always thought she looked lovely in.

She walked some distance away from the city and then waited. Kai crept close enough to get her attention, then gestured for her to join him. At first she half-ran in his direction, but as she drew near she slowed down and her expression fell.

"Kai..." It sounded as though she'd been crying. "I wish I could... hope you understand..."

"I'd never ask you to come with me." He still grabbed her in a tight hug. "My life has been ruined, but yours doesn't have to be. Unless... did they go after you too?"

"No, and I don't think they will. Most of the clans know that the decision was unfair, they're just not willing to stand up for you. Even I can only..." She extricated herself from his grip and lifted a satchel that he'd barely noticed. "I brought you the recovery flask and... and a little extra. I know it's not much, but it's everything I could manage."

"So no one is going to argue about the banishment? It's just over?"

"Your clan m... your former clan made clear that they wouldn't say anything. Inafay showed up and wanted to storm the Guild, but I convinced her that she'd just be throwing her future away. She wanted me to apologize to you, but obviously she can't come and risk any blame falling on her."

Kai stayed close, rubbing her shoulders since he knew what was coming. "That's fine, tell her I don't blame her at all. She's more likely to be able to change Monskon City than I am."

"There are some other things in here too. I know it's not much, but if anyone can survive out here..." Juray grimaced and wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand. "I didn't want it to end like this, Kai. I thought we'd be together until we started to drift toward someone else. But this..."

There was absolutely nothing he could say, so he pulled her into a kiss. This time she didn't pull away, instead wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing herself against him desperately. He tasted salt where their lips pressed together, nothing like their quiet affection, and felt starved for more. It couldn't last forever, but it lasted as long as it could.

When she finally stepped away, Juray summoned her composure with a deep breath. "There's one more thing you need to know. Hannagan thinks the matter is over, but Fhazi isn't satisfied. He's sending out messages to outposts and towns associated with the city. If you try to go to any of them, it will give him an excuse to retaliate."

"I assumed as much." Kai started to stare out at the wastelands again, but that was his problem, not hers. "Thank you, Juray. For everything. I don't have the words to say how grateful I am, I just..."

"I know." She wiped her eyes again and then turned swiftly. He watched her the entire way back to the city, but she only looked back once and that was nearly too much for them both.

Seeing her left him feeling simultaneously stronger and emptier. He forced himself to look at the satchel's contents more carefully. The enhanced restorative flask was safe in a special hardened pouch, and he would need it now that he was locked off from healing. She'd thrown in more than a few extras, various potions he'd need to sort through later. There were also a few random items that must have been raided from his room, like his reserve money bag and a few tools.

Perhaps most immediately useful, the satchel included a large canteen of water and some food. She'd definitely chosen practically, as it was all dried jerky and fruit. It wouldn't feed him for very long, but it was about as much as someone could pack into a satchel.

So he had a few resources... but what the hell was he going to do with them?

There were several immediate problems he needed to solve, but he was equally likely to solve them in any direction. That meant that his path should be decided by longer term goals. If only those goals hadn't been his main problem for half a year.

Eventually he decided to travel northwest, toward the Krysal City States. Journeying deeper south into Goralia would only lead to more problems from his banishment and he wasn't sure he could make the long journey to Irun. There were a few mercantile paths leading northwest, and even if he couldn't use the waystations along the roads, he could follow them and be safer than average.

Kai walked for most of a day, then slept a difficult night in a pile of rocks. At least there had been few signs of monsters so far, which in a sense he had himself to thank for: these had been the very lands he'd been hunting during his prior training.

The next day he headed out with more strength, though he was extremely careful not to use up his food and water too fast. Traveling north would only make water more and more scarce, at least until he got away from the central wastes and into Krysal. From the maps he dimly remembered, there was at least one road arcing northwest around the wastes, but it felt a lot further away when traveling on foot.

Before he discovered the road, Kai spotted a ramshackle town. It was quite a ways outside Monskon, but he couldn't ignore the possibility that it was officially allied with them. In fact, when he observed carefully, he saw several official hunters patrolling. No, that place was one of the traps that Fhazi hoped he would stumble onto.

Though Kai braced himself for a long walk to the next sign of civilization, he spotted a fire in a matter of hours. Not only that, it seemed to be based in a set of ruins even more devastated than the forgotten outlying towns. Yet it was almost within sight of the official settlement... Kai had a feeling that the people there might be keeping their distance for the exact same reason he was.

The closer he got, the larger he realized the column of smoke loomed. It seemed to be emerging from an enormous pit that ejected foul smoke without a clear cause. He could see some of the people living in the ruin now: they were rough men and women who glowered back at him and walked faster.

He didn't know who they were or what they were burning, but Kai headed to find out.