“I’m not sure why you insist on following me. I told you that I don’t need a Fighter,” Simon grumbled, trudging along the grassy trail.
Ren kept pace with the taller Chowling easily. He may be slightly shorter but his boundless energy made it easy for him to stay close behind Simon. “I know what you said but that doesn’t mean anything! Dragons need at least one Fighter… you don’t have any,” Ren countered, fiddling with his knife handle as the two kept marching forward.
Simon rolled his eyes, not that Ren could see it but he could definitely hear the exasperated sigh that Simon let out. “That’s another thing! I said I wasn’t a Dragon either. I’m not going to be paying you for a service I didn’t ask for, just so you’re aware.” Sure… it was a little white lie but it hadn’t deterred Ren at all. It’s not like Simon could really hide his long thumb claws anyway.
“Pfft-!” Ren huffed out half of a laugh. “You’re not a good liar at all, sir.”
Whipping around to glare at Ren, Simon barked out, “Do not call me sir! You’re not my Fighter, get it through your thick skull!” He harshly poked Ren’s forehead, punctuating his statement before quickly turning back around to continue stomping off.
Ren let out a small whine as he rubbed at the spot Simon touched, that poke hurt a little. “Ugh… fine, I’m not your Fighter…” he muttered. Suddenly Ren picked his pace back up and made it to Simon’s side. “So let’s just say your friend!” He grinned up at Simon who just scoffed again.
“That’s almost worse,” Simon replied, looking at their surroundings. The woods were slowly thinning out and giving way to a more plains-like environment. This was good… he was heading in the right direction. Unfortunately due to his curse, he wasn’t able to ask any of the locals from Ren’s town where the direction of the hot springs were. All he was able to do was follow worn-down signs and an old map that was highly outdated to the point where the compass at the bottom had been torn off. Relying on landmarks was rough especially since the landscape had changed so much from the last time he had been through the area…
Ren scoffed right back at him, “Whatever… You can’t even admit that without me, you wouldn’t have known which way the springs are. You’re rather ungrateful for a Dragon.” He was mostly teasing Simon. For some reason, he found it funny how easy it was to annoy the taller, and most certainly older, Chowling.
Rolling his eyes again, Simon looked over at Ren. “Sure… just keep telling yourself that,” he said, sighing once more. “It wouldn’t have been hard to figure out eventually…”
Ren pointed at the map in Simon’s hands. “Really? I found you on the complete opposite end of town this morning. Y’know… the direction where the springs aren’t.” That morning Ren had managed to get Simon to confess what he was trying to find… only for him to point out to him that he was most certainly not going the right way in order to reach the hot springs. “I don’t think you ever told me why you’re going to those springs anyway… You know that’s sacred land right? We aren’t supposed to tread the ground there outside of festivals and ceremonies.”
“You think that’s going to stop me?” Simon asked. “I’m far too old and this mission of mine is far too important for me to wait for your town to host an event big enough to use the springs. I wouldn’t even be able to attend. Remember… my curse?” The two kept heading down the trail… they had been at it for hours now, the sun having reached its peak and it was now starting its slow descent back into the horizon.
Ren nodded, ah right… this supposed curse. “Is the reason why you’re going to the springs related to your curse?” He could tell he struck a nerve with how quickly Simon turned to glare down at him.
“That’s none of your business but… yes. Fine. It is.” Simon rolled up his map and shoved it back into his jacket for safe keeping. “I’ve heard that the waters there have a mystical way of healing wounds and ailments. If that’s true, I want to see if taking a dip could help alleviate the curse or even cure it completely.”
Ren hummed, lost in thought for a little bit as he listened to Simon finally open up about his motives for this adventure. “That’s certainly a good hypothesis… We do have stories and written records of townsfolk being magically healed after a ceremony…” He kept thinking. “Y’know… none of them really talk about it much. There’s no questioning why or wondering how the waters became the way they are now. Which is weird because I remember a time when the waters didn’t heal people.”
Nodding in response, Simon once again looked around, finally spotting the festival gates spanning over the trail the two Chowlings were walking down. Right past those gates were the hot springs. “I definitely remember the same. The last time I was in this area… those weren’t even hot springs. I’m curious as to what caused them to turn into springs now.”
Ren laughed, “I could answer that for you! It wasn’t something that happened overnight.” He glanced over at Simon who was looking at him curiously, obviously wanting to know what Ren knew. “Well, it took a few years but we slowly began realizing that the temperatures of the waters were rising and so was the hill behind the sacred grounds!” Ren pointed forward at a mountain rising up into the sky. “That… used to be a hill.”
Simon stared at it incredulously. How did that just suddenly appear over the course of a few years?? “And no one thought to investigate all of this?” he asked exasperatedly as the two were almost at the festival gate entrance.
Ren shrugged but before he could answer Simon… the two of them noticed the sudden appearance of a blond Chowling, standing directly under the gates, effectively blocking their path and adventure forward.
Simon opened his mouth to ask where this mysterious man had come from but said man beat him to the punch.
“I’m sorry gentlemen… I’m afraid your journey ends here.”
