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‘You shouldn’t go touching strange materials,’ said Orolix, still wrapped in the echo of privacy. ‘These trees could be dangerous.’

He supposed that was true, but it was a bit late to be fussing over it. He gripped the tree a little harder. Yeah. Definitely felt like there was metal in there. ‘This town could be an even better hiding spot than we hoped for,’ he said, not taking his eyes away from the greenery. ‘All the buildings and trees will conceal us from the enemy.’

‘True,’ said Orolix. ‘But that may also make things much worse for the people here. If our pursuers have proved one thing to us, it is that they are not going to give up. If they truly lose track of us, I have no doubt that they will begin to tear this place apart until they find us again.’

Damn. Couldn’t really argue with that logic. And this group wasn’t exactly in a position to protect the hapless citizenry, either.

As they continued onward, deeper into the city, Taj wrestled with his uncertainty.

Agh. What should they be doing here? Hiding might work for a little while, but it clearly wasn’t a long-term solution. He tried to think. He’d had discussed their objective with Orolix repeatedly on the way here--just as the reapers had discussed it with each other--and it was clear enough that they needed to get topside again, but how were they to accomplish that, precisely?

The reapers knew of various great holes that led back up to the surface, but actually reaching them was another matter. Not to mention, the closest ones were also the most dangerous. There was apparently one that led up to the Swallow’s Nest in Egas, but did they really want to return to Sair, right now? Certainly not. That would be a death sentence, unless they somehow got confirmation that Egas had not been overrun by Abolish.

Furthermore, according to the reapers, the chances of finding a great hole that was not already under someone’s control were virtually nil. And since all of the holes that the Sandlords controlled could not be trusted, it was not going to be a simple matter to secure safe passage through one.

But he supposed that was a starting point, at least. If they were going to have to parley with or beg someone powerful in order to get back up to the surface, then the first task was to find such a person, no?

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As they descended the steps and neared the edge of the city, Taj began to feel a change in the air. And smell it, too.

This familiar freshness. It wasn’t quite the same as being back up on the surface, but it was definitely much more comparable to it. Thus far, the Undercrust’s air had been, at best, stagnant and stale. At worst, it had been filled with deadly fumes that threatened to burn his eyes out of his skull and his lungs out of his chest.

And for a few of the others in their group, those fumes had succeeded in doing both. More than once, even.

But this place. This feeling. It was hard to call it comforting when the temperature was still so damn high, but after everything they’d been through lately, he couldn’t think of a more appropriate word.

If nothing else, it was certainly a welcome surprise. Almost like the city itself was inviting them in.

The first proper street that they found seemed to be empty. No Hun’Kui in sight yet.

That was both good and bad, Taj felt. Good because it meant no one was barring them entry and bad because it meant there were no crowds to hide in. They had to keep pushing. Acacero wouldn’t make for very good cover if they couldn’t find anyone.

Whatever had caused the city look like this, Taj prayed to the Eternal Oasis that it hadn’t made all the inhabitants evacuate.

‘Can you sense anyone in these buildings?’ asked Taj privately.

‘They are infused with ardor, so no,’ said Orolix. ‘And these trees are not helping, either. Everything is so clouded.’

Not what he wanted to hear.

The number of trees only seemed to be increasing as they continued onward. Denser and denser forest. Soon, he could see the root systems taking over the ground. Where before it had been only rock and pavement, now roots covered the ground.

And yet it was not entirely gnarled and uneven. The edges of the road were indeed so, but the middle remained perfectly smooth and flat. Maybe even more than before. Little saplings were sprouting along the edges, too, providing an extra line of illumination for the road.

In spite of himself, Taj slowed his pace a bit in order to inspect the wall of glowing trees more closely. And he saw something peculiar. Or thought he did, at least.

The lights made it hard to tell, but he could’ve sworn the bark had a slight sheen to it. The metallic kind. But there was clearly wood in there, too. He could see that much. And even feel it, upon reaching out and touching it.

Next page on August 3rd

Thanks for reading, everyone.