Venture; Fathom

1. Travels

                   

After hours of walking and hiding in the forest, Joey managed to return to the cave safety. Acer was slowly healing but they need to get him to the nearest village as soon as possible to be properly cared for. He seemed so weak and fragile.

They all were. It had been a really tough couple of days and they needed to replenish themselves, get some food into their system. They deserved it.

They travelled for what seems like days with only the limited resources they had left. With the scorching sun beating down on them, it took about three days before they finally made it to a tiny town in the outskirts. Fortunately, news about them did not spread to this part of the realm yet. They were a good hundred miles away from Evaria.

'We should be safe here', said Axel as the four of them were resting by the town lake which is located at one end of the town, near a big farmhouse.

'This must be the town's main source of clean water.', he added while refilling everyone's canteens.

'Let's split up and gather up some supplies and information about what has been going on in these parts of the realm. Hopefully, we could get a new lead on what our next move should be', suggested Sky.

'Alright, sounds like a plan.', agreed Joey.

'Acer, since you are still recovering, go find us a place at the inn and rest there.', said Joey directly to him while giving him the I-am-dead-serious look.

By habit, Acer immediately wanted to open his mouth to deny otherwise but seeing the serious stares everyone was giving him, he shrugged and sighed, 'Yes, ma'am'.

'I'll go scout around for information while you two go collect supplies.', said Joey to Axel and Sky.

'Okay, we'll meet back at the inn by sunset.', said Axel pointing towards a medium-sized tavern up ahead from were they were standing.

'And Joey, don't wander off alone again.', added Axel sternly with Sky and Acer nodding furiously beside him.

'Yes, sir.', Joey replied half-heartedly, smiling while rolling her eyes at all of them.

'Laters', she waved and began walking by herself towards the other side of town.

She went around trying to gather intell, hoping no one would find her suspicious.

However, she could not stop thinking of what might have happened to Hunter.

'Where is he now? Is he safe?' Damn.
'Why does he do this?!'

Questions kept floating within her conscious mind, totally distracting her from reality for the entire day. She had to stop distractions from reappearing, she might go crazy the longer she worries about the mysterious Hunter.

She does not know what came over her but she finally decided to try and tap into Hunter's dreams. Normally, her 'gift' will only work when she feels a strong connection to the person. It takes up a whole lot of her mana and that is why her  grandma made her promise to refrain herself from using it. She warned her to only use it in dire times.

Well, this is really necessary.

Joey sighed, determined to get the answers she needed this time. Therefore, that night, as she try to fall asleep, she thought back of the times they spent together. As she thought back to the first time they met in the forest, running away from camp, walking by the beach, their time on Iron Lady's ship, Joey was enveloped with deep emotions and she fell into a deep sleep.

Something nudged Joey awake from her sleep. She opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of no where. She was no longer in the inn, she was all by herself surrounded by nothing and the place seemed to stretch on forever. She could hear faint voices coming from everywhere but there was no one around.

This place feels vaguely familiar to Joey.

I have been here before. Yes..
Right, this is the dream realm. It must be.

Joey focused on what she needed to do next. Although, there was nothing but infinite white space in this realm, one could get easily lost and would be forced to dwell in the dream realm for eternity. Joey knows she has one shot. She had done this before but it has never gotten any easier. She has to move towards the right direction.

One misstep and that is it.

Joey thought to herself and took a deep breath. She emptied her mind from every other thought and let her body move with the flow, willing her forward with every step.

"Hunter!", she shouted as she saw him walking by himself in the spacious white dimension.

Hunter froze and turn around wide eyed.

"Joey! What are you doing here?", he said with a glimpse a fear in his eyes.

However, his gaze slowly softened and he smiled when Joey unexpectedly ran and hugged him fiercely.

He hugged her back and she pulled away remembering why she was mad at him.

"You idiot! We were all worried about you! Where are you? Are you okay?".