NAOMI'S POV

Naomi watched as Kiarha made her way down the steps to greet her. They exchanged a curtsy, and Kiarha invited Naomi inside even though she wasn't a Eunelope.

They sat in the parlor. Kiarha set her head on her palm, placing her elbow on the table for support. Naomi crossed her legs, and they got down to business.

"What brings you here, Lady Naomi?"

Naomi shrugged, hiding her true intentions.

"Can't I visit? Although I wasn't expecting you here. I would have thought you were back home."

She leaned forward.

"Although..."

Kiarha arched an eyebrow, her curiosity and intrigue showing.

"Yes, Lady Naomi?"

Naomi smiled slightly. She knew something important, something that would put Kiarha at risk once again.

"A little birdie told me that Lord Luke has some xerxesium in his possession."

Kiarha almost slammed into the table with how quickly she leaned forward.

"Excuse me? Lord Luke has xerxesium?"

Naomi nodded.

"I assume based on your recent findings that you want it?"

Kiarha nodded, a fire blazing in her eyes.

"Naturally. I'll be able to create a whole new Gem of Fortune! Imagine the powers I could bestow upon it!"

Naomi grinned, clearly expecting her to react this way.

"You're quite enthusiastic, my lady. But, there's a problem. You've already broken into the Schuyler manor. And the manor in question will have increased it's security after your last escapade."

Kiarha was about to reply when she stopped in her tracks.

"Wait a minute. How do you know that?"

Naomi shrugged.

"It's none of your concern, my lady. But, the xerxesium is in his room. I don't know where exactly it is, but it's somewhere there."

"Good enough for me. Thank you, Naomi. You may leave."

Naomi stammered and left, muttering about how rude she was.

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CHIEF NA'ANKHUM'S POV

Na'ankhum was currently working on the favor Hara had asked of him a while ago. It was a big ask, especially for a tribe as primitive as theirs.

But he was a chief of honor, and he made sure that he would see her request through to the very end.

Once more, he sent his best warriors and hunters into the jungle to search for the Gem of the Winds.

Hara had explicitly stated what the Gem looked like, and had even sent a photo of its design in "Legendary Artifacts of the Ancients."

He knew it existed, as without the Traveler's Amber, he and his tribe wouldn't have had a village to stay in, as well as all the food and resources they needed.

He had been looking for a week now, and he knew that if he wanted to find the Gem, he would have to search when it was windy, as Hara had told him that it had a higher chance to manifest itself when it was windy.

While they looked, Na'ankhum focused on taking care of his village. He got up, strode out of his home, and made his way to the market.

At one of the stalls, he found some bison meat that he knew would make his people happy. After all, it was their tradition to eat meat. To them, the symbolism was when it was cooked.

The more it was cooked, the more delicious it was. This was a testament to their strength, that the more challenges and trials they faced, the stronger and wiser they would grow.
After all, experience was the best teacher.

He reached into his pocket and revealed a prestige gold card, which the seller scanned. Hara had given him this card, which was apparently worth half a billion huknahs, and all he had to do was tell the sellers to scan it.

He had used it often from time to time, but never for his own purposes. When he did purchase items in the market, it was food for the people and the occasional materials for a new hut.

He hauled the fifty pounds of bison meat he bought over his shoulder and started trudging back to the village. It was a painful walk, but at least his muscles were doing their work.

Arriving back in the village, he called upon all the villagers and announced that he would be cooking grilled meat for all of them. A loud cheer resounded from the hundred or so people, and he continued hauling the meat back into his home.

But when he arrived, he found a few of the hunters waiting from him with giant grins on their faces.

"Judging from those smiles, you've found something, haven't you?"

The head warrior knelt and bowed before standing back up.

"Indeed, Chief. It wasn't the Gem, but a map to its location. We couldn't travel to the location of the Gem because it was in Venom Valley. And you know what happens to people who end up there, Chief."

Na'ankhum nodded solemnly. He had lost some good men during the War of the Valley, ten years before they had settled in Kalna.

"Aye, K'dro. You did well. I shall inform the Lady of this."

All the hunters thanked him and bowed before returning to their quarters.

Na'ankhum picked up the giant mound of meat once more and hauled it to their "freeze pool", which was a giant pool of icy water that had been taken from the extra gallons of cold water used for the Capital's crystal fountains.

Hara had created the pool using the Traveler's Amber, and they worked day and night to fill the pool with the cold water. She had also used an artifact that would keep the water cool permanently.

When he had asked where he found it, she simply tapped a book called "Legendary Artifacts of the Ancients"
and thanked him before leaving.

Na'ankhum made sure that the whole mound of meat was in the freeze pool before covering the pool in a jungle leaf cover so that the cold air wouldn't escape.

Reentering his home, he looked for some parchment and found a roll of it in one of his cabinets. Taking out a quill, he began to write.

Lady Hara

I have fulfilled the favor you have asked of me. My hunters have found a map of the Gem's whereabouts. If you cannot see the map, then I shall inform you that the Gem is located in Venom Valley. Do be careful, my lady, as you know the horrors of that valley as well as I do. I have told you the story, after all.

Chief Na'ankhum of the A'kun Tribe

He rolled up the letter and made his way to the road and waited for one of the horse-riders to pass by. When one did, he held out the prestige card and the letter, and stated where he wanted the letter to go.

The driver nodded, and she spurred the horse on before she rode away.

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LUKE'S POV

The three of them stared at the friendly sign before looking for somewhere they could camp out for the time being while waiting for King Luke's visit.

"Alright, here's what's gone down so far. Naomi's taken Queen Kiarha's Amarok. King Luke gave us his Amarok, and they're planning to stay in that dimension until they come visit and tell us their plan."

"Pretty good summary," G remarked.

"Alright, then. How can we be useful until those four arrive?"

They put their minds together, and in the end, they decided to try and find out if the Amarok of this world was still safe. But doing so would mean they needed to make a flight to Great Britain.

It was a risk worth taking. They didn't know if the Naomi of this world had already gotten their hands on the Amarok through fusing the four Gems of Fortune, but they had to find out for themselves.

G voiced her worries about whether they would be able to make the flight, as they didn't have Philippine currency at all. And she doubted that the money changers here had huknahs.

Hara told her that they might as well find out, and they started looking for landmarks that they could use to find their way to the nearest airport.

After going north for a bit, Luke found a landmark that he recognized. It was a park, with four statues of men sitting in front of a fountain.

It was General Douglas McArthur, and this was McArthur Park, the memorial commemorating the Leyte Landing. He didn't know any more than that, but he knew now that they were in Palo.

"Alright, you two. I know where to go now, so we'll just have to head straight for a bit until we get to Tacloban."

G's eyes lit up at the mention of the city.

"Tacloban? That's one of the largest cities in Leyte! If I were to go to the Philippines voluntarily, this is the second place I would go to after Manila!"

Luke grinned. "I like your enthusiasm, G."

And on that note, the trio set off.