Aramora

Chapter 11: The Fragment

Amazing cover image made by Shreya_VA <3

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Naomi keeps her face buried in the map as she and the squad make their way down the long one-way cobblestone road that guides them southeast of Balmoral, where they had left a few days ago to embark on the next phase of their quest: reaching Arkala.

The walk from Ecrin to Balmoral was much shorter than going from Balmoral to Arkala, but the eventual boat ride in the end will be more than worth it as that's the only way to get to the island city off the coast of New Cresthill.

But according to the map, Arkala is also the closest city to the minor continent to the east, Narvadin. Regarding the information Nisha had told Naomi about the current state Narvadin is in, being this close isn't exactly a comforting thought. So long as the Orcs and their enforcement of slavery over the Tus'Felnis remains outside of Aramora, they should have no troubles.

With her nose in the map, Naomi slightly stumbles over a grove in the cobblestone, but Nesosa swiftly grabs her by the collar of her new jacket and straightens her upright again. "Mind ye keep yer eyes on th' road. Don't want tae turn that bonny face tae pulp on th' pavement, dae ye? Ye already had a close call wit' th' werewolves, don't need anymore," the centaur snickers.

Naomi chuckles and nods, awkwardly scratching the back of her head with her left arm as her right one is still in the process of healing. Her chest and shoulder are still bandaged up, but the pain has gone down considerably. Her old t-shirt and jacket had been torn to pieces, so she put some of her numis towards getting a new set of clothes. She now has a pair of black trousers, dark brown leather boots, and a deerskin tunic that is cut at a slight angle around her waist, the material held together by bits of twine looped through tiny silver-lined holes that dot the seams. She has her long black hair tied back in a high ponytail with a green strip of cloth.

She sighs and glances at the map once more before folding it back up and tucking it in her pocket. "Right... sorry." She clears her throat.

Lavern smirks at her and jogs up to walk at her side. "You know you don't need the map, right? This is a one-way road. There is literally only one direction it can take us."

Naomi huffs and crosses her arms. "Well yeah, but... what if we end up getting off the road and lost in the dark? Boom. Map solves everything."

"Oh really?" Nesosa laughs. "If that's the case, just wave the map over yer wounds 'n' then... Boom! Nae more injuries. Map solves everything." She motions to wave an imaginary map over Naomi, earning an irritated glare from the teen.

"Shut up. You know what I mean." She rolls her eyes.

Lavern shrugs and lifts his arms, linking his fingers behind his neck. "But really though, you've been staring at Arkala since we left Balmoral. Any particular reason?" he asks slyly.

Naomi inhales a quick breath and shakes her head. "Nope. I don't know what you're talking about." She defensively turns her gaze away from him.

Nesosa grins. "Missing yer wee pussy cat, are ye?" she teases.

Naomi scoffs and turns her glare back to the centaur. "What? No!"

Lavern chuckles. "I don't know... you do seem far more excited to be going to Arkala than you were for Balmoral. I wouldn't be surprised if you had some kind of... 'Side quest' in mind for when we get there." He winks at her.

Naomi goes to snap her comeback, but only ends up choking over her own words and fails to find a way to defend herself against the onslaught of vicious mockery from two complete assholes.