Finding the Dungeon [publishing]

Chapter 2

The group was sitting under the shade of a whitebeam. Xymeria sighed.

"We should be able to find a fire demon and water pixie pretty easily. We have to get going..."

Boa groaned. "I'm so hungry... Can we get something to eat first?"

"You sure have a huge stomach, don't you?"

"What's it to you?" he grumbled, picking himself up off the floor. He ran a hand through his pale blond hair, and the wind rolled the dry leaves across the dusty street.

Leo dragged his feet across the floor to follow Xymeria, who had gone walking off to a group of young nymphs. "Boa, c'mon!"

"Ah, hello!" Xymeria greeted the nearest nymph. She was short, with silvery hair flowing in the light breeze, and shimmering blue eyes. She wore a simple, blue, classic pixie dress which hung on her voluptuous body like it was tailored especially for her.

The girl nodded. "Hello."

Her friends gave a look of disgust as Leo approached, and stepped away. They gave each other a glance, and left the girl behind with Xymeria.

"My name is Xymeria, what's yours?"

"Hana."

"Mm. Nice to meet you, Hana-san. Would you be up for joining me, and this guy over here, for a mission?" she gestured in Leo's direction. Leo rolled his eyes. "This guy".

She nodded slowly. "Ok. When would I return back?"

Xymeria looked at Leo, who shrugged. "We're not so sure. If that changes your mind, then I'd be happy to find someone else."

"No, really. It's fine."

"Do you want to say goodbye to your friends?"

"They weren't my friends. I have none."

"Oh."

"When are we leaving?"

"As soon as Boa catches up to us," Xymeria pointed out the small figure shuffling closer towards them. Hana nodded.

"Hurry up, Boa!" Leo called up at him. "We're gonna leave without you at this rate."

Boa fractionally picked up his pace, then quickly broke into a run as they turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. His breath had left him by the time he reached the group.

"Guys?" he croaked. "Can someone carry me?"

Leo sighed and crouched down. "I expect you to walk on your own for most of this journey, understand me?"

The young boy nodded meekly.

***

They had been travelling for at least six hours when Hana halted them.

"We should rest here for the night. I'm sure everyone is exhausted."

The rest of the group agreed instantly, and began to set up camp in a clearing that had a cliff overlooking the city. Xymeria and Hana left the boys to talk while they bought sleeping bags and blankets for all of them.

When they returned only half an hour later, Boa was the first to settle down and sleep. He was wrapped up in about four thousand blankets to keep warm in the autumn temperatures, while Xymeria was determined to only sleep with a single thin blanket.

The crescent moon soon rose into the midnight sky, illuminating the leaves on the trees surrounding the clearing. The breeze rustled the leaves around on their branches, and Leo soon found himself sitting up in his sleeping bag. He couldn't sleep, as normal.

He looked towards the cliff edge. Hana was sitting with her legs over the edge, staring out into the vast city, lit up by a thousand lights. He made his way over the the new recruit, sitting down next to her.

Her cleavage was easily visible in her white nightdress, and her hair flew out into the air like it hadn't a care in the world. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and as she blinked, her eyelashes fluttered like that of a butterfly's wings. Leo became suddenly aware that he had been staring rather intently at her.

"Hey, Hana-chan?"

She tilted her head, but made no eye contact with him.

"I'm guessing you couldn't sleep?"

Hana closed her eyes and lifted her head further into the moonlight. "No."

Leo turned to look at the city. The dark towers look beautiful when they were contrasted against the warm light. "I can understand why you would come out to see this view," he said after a pause. "It's beautiful."

She nodded. "I used to come here all the time with my parents."

Leo stayed silent.

"I'm assuming you lost your parents?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Never knew them."

She nodded again, this time almost sympathetically. "Mine aren't dead, but they are both critically ill."

"I'm sorry about them."

"What's there to be sorry about?" she smiled, "It's just one of the many cons of living in poor, rural areas. That particular plague wiped out a lot of the village. My parents were lucky to even survive it once they got the illness."

Leo understood that. He had once had a friend when he was younger that had died due to a spreading illness. But then, he had been too young to understand.

"I'm glad you joined our group."

He lay back, staring up at the sky of stars above them. They twinkled as if they knew him. It was almost comforting.

There was a long silence, but it wasn't the normal awkward silence. This one was consoling and warm, nothing like he had ever experienced before.

"I'm heading to bed now. It's getting a bit chilly," Leo announced, picking himself up off the ground and walking back to his sleeping bag.

Hana simply nodded, and continued to stare at the view. It was as if her mind was in another dimension.

"G'night," Leo called.

"Good night."