Everglow: The Trials Of Agaron

37 - Catacombs

"God it's freezing out here. . . from a scorching desert to a freezing wasteland, can't any of these places just be nice and tropical?" Quin huffed as they slowly made their way through the empty valleys of the asteroid.

"Missing Xarder already?" Fischer jested in an attempt to keep their spirits up. However Quin's frowned reply was proof enough that maybe he was better off silent.

"Of course I do. I hope Trikka's doing alright."

Fischer bit his lip as thoughts of home began to swirl around in his head. Sitting on the couch with Ko next to him while Quin, Kori and Trikka all made jokes and sang drunkenly. Memories he really wished weren't as far away as they seemed. But he was quite literally solar systems away from any of that. From a proper sense of safety and comfort. It wasn't a nice feeling. His nerves were at least partially put to rest however, knowing that Quin and Ko were right here by his side, even if all he wanted was for them to be safe back on Xarder.

And besides, now that Spatch and Tonner were here, he was beginning to think it might not be so dangerous after all.

"How long do we have to walk for? It's been forever!" Spatch groaned as he trudged along besides Quin.

"It's been forty minutes, Spatch. And I have no clue. I'm assuming if this riddle of yours is true, we'll know it when we see it," Tonner replied.

"Can't see it soon enough," the veranah huffed.

There was still a question burning through Fischer's mind as they walked. It had been there for a little while now, but he'd never gotten the chance to ask. Either that or he was too fearful of what might happen if he did. But right now there wasn't exactly a whole lot going on. Just a group of misfits walking through a barren landscape with no idea what they were searching for. Seemed like now was about as good a time as any to ask though.

"So. . . Spatch, how did you meet Tonner?" He asked.

There was a moment of silence as both Spatch and Tonner turned to him with confusion in their eyes. An uncomfortable tension suddenly filled the silent air.

"We uhh. . ." Spatch stuttered, looking over at the griflock who was eyeing him sternly.

"We used to be partners. That's it really. We drifted apart. Not much to it," he stated cautiously.

Fischer rolled his tongue inside his mouth as he listened. It was clear there was something more to the story than that. But it was also clear that neither of them seemed to be very interested in sharing it.

He briefly opened his mouth to reply but held his words when he caught a glimpse of Quin shaking her head at him. Instead he closed his mouth and nodded slowly.

As they walked, the wind seemed to grow slightly stronger than it had before. It was already cold, but the addition of a strong gushing wind wasn't helping any of them. Ko's cloak started flapping in the breeze, as did Spatch's coat.

"Doesn't look like the weather's happy to see us," Spatch grumbled.

"No. It doesn't. Where the hell are we even going?" Quin shuddered as the wind blew past her. She didn't have any sort of warm weather clothing on either and so the wind was sharp on her skin as it whipped past them.

The group continued pushing through for a few more minutes. Every step was now beginning to feel heavier as the gale grew stronger and stronger.

"What is this, some kind of storm?" Spatch yelled over the roar of the wind.

"If this keeps up I don't like the idea of staying out here any longer! Find a cave! A rock! Anything that we can use as shelter!" Tonner bellowed.

Fischer turned to Ko and was surprised to see her looking right back at him, pointing off towards something in the distance. Her mouth was moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying.