There is neither a single voice of opposition nor one of support from their fellow travelers.
If Bessmert could see their expressions, she might realize that this silent assent had actually been the sound of plotting minds.
Krolik: So, are we on the same page?
Bessmert: I fully understand where you're coming from, and I acknowledge your reasoning.
Krolik: What are you trying to ...
Bessmert: But we still need a vote to decide.
Krolik opens his eyes wide, pure joy flickering within them, and waits for the person in front of him to utter the words he longs to hear.
Yenisei: Wait!!
Yenisei couldn't stop the inevitable. The explorer, with a knack for speeches, always seems to have a strong belief in her own persuasiveness.
Krolik: No problem, of course. It's the civilized way to solve it.
Krolik: But I require we skip the speech. We have no time to waste on your monologue.
Bessmert: Alright.
Yenisei: Madam!
Krolik: Alright, gentlemen. If you agree to go back, please raise your hand.
As these words land on the listeners not far behind him, the people slowly begin to raise their hands to their ears, fingers crossed.
In the end, Krolik has it. He faces both of them, simply raising his hands, as though grandstanding somewhat, and a victorious smile stretches across his face.
Krolik: Four to two. See, we can make decisions in no time, right?
Bessmert: ...
Yenisei: This is their trap, Madam! We can't just ... Are you really fine with going back empty-handed like this?
Krolik: The vote was required by Ms. Bessmert, not me.
Krolik: And you, I'll take it that you're challenging me to a duel if you continue with the slander.
Bessmert: No, good sir, please don't take her the wrong way. We don't have to go physical.
Yenisei: What about Mr. Jurien? He has not voted yet, so the vote is not over!
The girl believes she has reached the heart of the matter, even if her rational mind knows that a single vote would be of no use.
Still, she insists.
Krolik: Oh, he's too tired to show up, but I'm sure he shares the same idea with us, because ...
Krolik: We are all humans. Of course, he's on our side.
Yenisei doesn't intend to say much to the young man, and decides to cross over to the group of people ahead to search for their final voter.
That is until another tall man stands up, seemingly to block her path.
Team Member I: Say no more, Krolik. Pack your things. Let's head back.
Yenisei: ...!
Yenisei: Fine. We'll split up from here, then.
Team Member I: We'll take all the supplies with us, or we can't make our way back. No discussion.
Yenisei: ...
He looks even tougher than the communicators they sent, and after saying his piece, he brushes past Yenisei down through the narrow rock crevice and leads the way toward the supply box behind them.
A moment ago, they were all there, recounting their previous journey together.
Bessmert: Gentlemen, the team was put together in good faith. Perhaps we should negotiate, not ...
Yenisei's solution is to chase after him and plant herself between the man and Bessmert.
Yenisei: The compass doesn't work here. You need me to find the way back.
Yenisei: Leave our supplies, and I'll show you the way.
Team Member I: You have to do this the hard way.
The man shakes his head, clearly unwilling to accept the proposal.
In her shock, Yenisei instinctively protects the person behind her, realizing that confrontation seems inevitable.
COMBAT
???: coughs That, my friends, is not how civilized people solve their problem.
The voice is calm and composed, but its gravity brings a swift end to the playful duel.
Bessmert: Mr. Jurien!
In a makeshift team of this sort, the eldest member is often bestowed a special prestige based on their experience.
Krolik: Mr. Jurien ...
Jurien: Mr. Krolik. I thought you were here to discuss the reallocation of supplies with Madam Bessmert. I didn't expect this ...
Krolik: Well ...
Jurien: It's true that you didn't choose to be here. You are here because you have an important mission given by the governor to complete.
Jurien: We have come this far. Do you really want to give up now?
The man's frame visibly shrinks. Their pretense of "communication" has been exposed, and every word spoken by his elder makes it more and more impossible for him to offer a rebuttal.
Jurien: As for you gentlemen ... Petrov, I'm surprised you're here too.
Jurien: It's a risk that none of us expected, but it shouldn't have broken your will. I remember you showed a great interest in those ancient strata in the South when we were at the speech.
Team Member I: All we need is safety.
Team Member I: There will always be a buffer period after extreme weather. We should seize the chance and head back.
Team Member I: If you persuade Ms. Bessmert to give us a confirmed date, before which we can find the running water and come back, we can stick to the original plan.
Jurien: Madam Bessmert?
Bessmert: Certainly. You see, these are all negotiable.
Yenisei: Wait. About the date, we can only decide after making an inventory.
Upon hearing these words, the man takes out his pocket watch, shakes it twice, and shows Yenisei the current time.
Team Member I: You have 30 minutes.
Yenisei: That's enough.
A brief consensus is reached, and the others scatter back to their former places, gathering supply boxes together and waiting for a response from the two in charge.
Bessmert cautiously touches the wooden boxes. The young girl comes to her side with a pen and paper, making a quiet record of things.
For a moment, the only sound between them is of pen on paper.
Bessmert: You know ...
Yenisei: Hmm?
Bessmert: Mr. Jurien is very interested in arcanum and arcanists. He is the keenest supporter of our journey, besides the governor.
Bessmert: Even if his understanding of Ask and Acquire is significantly different from mine ...
The girl continues her rummaging and recording, while responding gently and deftly to Bessmert's habitual broaching of this parallel topic.
Bessmert: The legend of Ask and Acquire, as told by many merchants, always involves a certain price. The price takes different forms in the stories, but mostly it is a great danger.
Yenisei: I believe that refers to "the highest mountain and deepest canyon" in those stories.
Bessmert: I reckon so. But Mr. Jurien, as a human historian studying the arcane skill, believes it's a form of exchange that arcanists make with nature ...
Yenisei: Mm-hmm. And you think he's wrong?
Bessmert: At this stage, we can't verify anything, so all these assumptions will have to remain assumptions. However, as we are getting closer to that mysterious land, my craving for its knowledge is also becoming stronger.
Between these words, Bessmert walks around to another box and notices that the closer the instrument is placed to it, the more distinctly she can smell the alcohol.
It is obvious that the alcohol prepared for boiling point measurements had been used as an "emergency resource" during the night when the temperature dropped drastically.
We shouldn't ask too much from such a ragtag team.
Bessmert: What do we know about the supplies?
Yenisei: Put aside the water problem, the supplies can feed everyone for eight days, maybe twelve if we economize. We can hold even longer if there are any preys or herders along the way.
Bessmert: Are there any supply stations?
Yenisei: Our supply stations are not on these plains, at least not on the map.
Bessmert: How much drinking water and alcohol do we have left?
Yenisei: Approximately ...
Yenisei: Oh, great. These idiots put water in the alcohol. Now we are short of both.
Bessmert: At least the alcohol has kept them warm.
Yenisei: They could have just drunk the alcohol.
Bessmert: Alright, alright, child. Now we should focus on the direction for the next step, not these bits of trivia.
Bessmert: Regarding which, just to be clear, what I have in mind is only slightly better than nothing.
Yenisei: Better how?
Bessmert: The moist air and the soil. Have you noticed? The soil beneath our feet is way too sticky, even for a land after a thunderstorm.
Bessmert: I'm not entirely sure about this ... But I tend to think that there is groundwater beneath us.
Bessmert: Which means we are close to running water.
Yenisei: Alright. Let me think about how to get us there.
Bessmert: Can't you use your arcane skill?
Yenisei: What?! Just because you don't know what to do doesn't mean you should count on this thing. You are not like them!
Bessmert: I just want to make use of everything we have ...
Yenisei: Fine. I told you how it works. Without new running water, the old samples in the bottles can only show us the way back. That's the best they can do.
To prove this, the girl takes a glass bottle from her person and places it in the waiting, doubtful hand.
Yenisei: This one is from the lower course of the Om River. The arcane energy I can use for divination has almost faded away.
Yenisei: Can it show us the way back? Sure, but that's not what we want. Only Mr. Krolik and his men would be happy to hear that.
Upon hearing this, Bessmert stands up straight. Although she cannot see her eyes, her silent posture alone seems to affect an aura of rapid thought.
Yenisei looks up at her and can almost hear the sound of gears spinning in her skull.
Bessmert: To think on the bright side, we still have a chance to go home.
Yenisei: But I didn't leave my homeland to go back there, Madam.
Bessmert: Yes, yes, I know. I feel the same. I'm not suggesting we turn back immediately. It's just an option.
Bessmert: To the best of my recollection, such moist soil is often found in the mountains and floodplains of the temperate zone, especially in the forest steppes covered with chernozem. The landscape is very different from where we are now.
Bessmert: Before we sheltered from the thunderstorm, you told me about a mountain in the southeast. It blocked the horizon from our sight, right?
The girl's eyes widen upon hearing these words—the expression of a hopeful epiphany.
Bessmert: Based on this, I would assume, the thunderstorm was the result of a stronger convection coming from the other side of the mountain. Now, on the steppe, to form a cloud large enough to bring a thunderstorm would require a large amount of running water ...
Yenisei: And the source of the running water is probably on the other side of the mountain!
Bessmert: Exactly ... We can set off in that general direction.
Bessmert: We might not find any water there. That's the worst result. In that case, we can still return here with the help of your arcane skill.
Bessmert: As long as we have that glass bottle with us.
Yenisei: That's right.
Bessmert: We tell them we need another five days ...
Bessmert grips the glass bottle in her hand as though clinging on to one final trace of hope.
Bessmert: They won't accept more days than that. If they won't even settle for this, I will convince them, like I did when I first got them on the team.