Six years after moving to the Capital, Fia, Mikael, Noah and Akira deposited some keepsakes into the lockers of the abandoned post office on the lower floors, sold off most of their belongings, and left the city. It was only possible because Mikael had finally solved their money troubles—the one reason Fia had failed to convince them, or rather Noah, to leave earlier.

“Come, come. Come on inside!” A Sundry Falls local with salt-and-pepper hair waved the four friends inside the eatery. The cozy but dark interior didn’t compare to the scenic views of the outdoor seating, but Rastin—the man they once only knew as the eatery guy—was insistent that they sit inside. He offered them a free warm meal—fresh game meat—that they reluctantly accepted with awkward smiles. They appreciated the kindness but he just made his ulterior motive too obvious. It was okay, of course, because they’d come for the same reason. 

“Wild tea harvesting?” said Rastin, even more animated now. “Piece of cake for Mikael!“

“The rest of us can help with other things,” said Fia. 

“Sure! But, none of the other jobs pay so well.” He grinned and bobbed his eyebrows at Mikael.

Noah nudged Fia’s foot, reminding her to ask the question they’d been debating the whole way over.

She smiled at Rastin. “We were wondering—why you didn’t ask Dara?”

Rastin’s brow furrowed as he thought. “Dara was the man with the crown?” 

“Yes,” said Mikael. 

Rastin nodded with a sneer. “He was a swindler. Asked for fifty percent of the sale price for a few days of labor. We couldn’t afford it. The middlemen get all the profit; we barely make ends meet with a year’s harvest after all the drying, processing, and packing. But he thought we’d agree because we had no other options. We told him we didn’t need his services.” 

Fia shifted. “Dara wasn’t like that. I—I just can’t picture him doing something like that.”

Rastin shrugged. “People are not always what they seem. Different situations, different reactions. But come to think of it, he seemed to dislike nirvana; he never drank it, and he told us not to sell it to anyone at the training. Some people just have a distaste for entheogens. Maybe that’s why he asked for an unreasonable price.”

Fia thought about it and then shrugged. Dara, like her and Mikael, was Muslim. They had observed this in some of his mannerisms and habits. It was believable that he had no tolerance for drugs. She looked at the others, and they all seemed more convinced by this explanation. 

They told Rastin they’d check the cliffs before taking the job. 

---

The hike through the grass and brambles to the base of the cliff was short and fairly easy. The rock face was a smooth grey. The tea grew on ridges, the lowest at least three hundred meters high, others twice or more that distance. Nirvana was a flower tea, and was in full bloom now. If they didn’t pick it soon, the potency would be lost. 

“Do you think you can carry one of us up there?” Akira said, looking up. 

Mikael shook his head and turned to Fia. “Do you think Dara didn’t do it because of his conviction?” 

Fia shrugged. “I would understand if you don’t want to.”

He gave her an as-if look, and Fia pursed her lips. Sadly, neither of them had such forbearance, and they knew it. He turned to Noah, who had moved farther from them to look at the cliff from another angle. “What do you think?” 

“I have no opinion on the ethics of tea picking,” Noah said dully. “The rock’s too brittle for climbing, and the ridges are too high. It would be easier if you pick the flowers yourself.” He crossed his arms.  “Also, Fia knows Dara the best, so I would go with her instinct.”

“I don’t know him the best,” said Fia. 

“You spent the most time with him.”

“Yeah, but her brain wasn’t working then,” said Akira. 

Fia sighed dreamily. “Good times…” 

Mikael frowned. “Come back to Garden, Fia!”   

Akira exchanged a grin with Fia before returning to the topic. “Rastin’s very shady. There’s something he’s not telling us.”

“Maybe he’s underpaying us,” said Fia. “We’ve only seen the farmed tea; the wild one must cost more.”  

“Maybe,” said Mikael, “I still don’t get why Dara wouldn’t just say no.” 

“True.” Fia tapped her fingers on her lips. “Maybe he did say no, and Rastin made up the rest out of spite.” 

“Do you really feel that way,” said Noah, “or do you just want us to take the job?”

She did want them to take the job, but she didn’t want them to do it blindly. She wanted them to weigh the pros and cons and then, hopefully, still decide to do it, together as a group. I bet you’d rather we spend another six god damned years in that shit hole of a city, she thought as her face turned cold. “I’m voicing my opinion. I will respect whatever Mikael decides.” 

“That’s a lot of pressure for one person,” said Noah.

Akira shuffled her feet uncomfortably. 

“You’re right,” Fia said. “Let’s decide together. Mikael can still veto since he is the one who actually does the work.”

 Noah eyed her. 

She scoffed. “Just say it already!” 

“I think you’re so invested in that map that you lose objectivity,” he said. 

Fia’s jaw clenched. “Yes! I am! And why shouldn’t I be?” She couldn’t hold it in anymore, the thought that had haunted her for years now. “She promised him grandkids, Noah! What woman in this world can do that? She’d found something, something profound—and those papers aren’t medicine. They’re filled with equations, star charts, satellite paths, sketches of stones that burn hot, and machines we can’t even name. It’s not a treasure map. She was going to send him home!” 

Noah’s mouth fell open.

“Wait,” said Mikael. “You think we can go back?” 

“I do!” said Fia. “I didn’t say it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

“You don’t know that,” said Noah. “It’s speculation.”

“Even a chance is worth the risk. I love you guys, but I can’t spend the rest of my life here. Fourteen of the forty-six new arrivals at our training camp are dead! That’s 30 percent in six years.” 

“New arrivals are more likely to die, Fia,” said Akira. “The longer we stay, the more equipped we are to deal with this world.” 

“You don’t know that!” Fia said. “Nobody cares over here. I have a life back home. I have a family who loves me and who’d want me back. I am tired of constantly fighting for survival.” 

“Ok,” said Noah, glancing at Mikael, who was staring at the ground. “Let’s make the soul map a priority. But let’s first decide what to do about this job.”   

“We’ll take it,” Mikael said. 

“Mikael,” Noah said. “You don’t have to; it’s not the only option.”

“We’ll take it,” Mikael said decisively. 

Noah dropped his crossed hands. “We said we’ll discuss it.” 

“And we agreed that I have veto.”

Fia looked at him, puzzled. She was happy that they were taking the job, but she could see there was something more on Noah’s mind than he said. For a change, his frustration was with Mikael, not her. Because he took her side.

“Let’s go,” Mikael said and turned back towards the village. 

Fia watched him walk away, the wings, neatly folded, adding more substance to his tall, skinny frame. Things had changed. Mikael wasn’t just her friend anymore, Noah was just as important to him, and she wasn’t allowed into their shared world just as Noah wasn’t allowed into her and Mikael’s. It wasn’t what she was used to. She had always been the online friend who would never meet any of his friends and family, so he could vent about just anyone without any repercussions. Now, he seemed so distant. Her ego hadn’t allowed her to pry so far, but somehow this time she felt she should. 

The next morning, Fia found a moment alone with Mikael and asked if he felt the job was risky. She insisted that they shouldn’t take it if he didn’t trust Rastin.

“What risk, Fia?” Mikael said with a smirk, “It’s a simple job that pays well.” 

She couldn’t help but agree. When it was just the two of them, her doubts vanished and for a little while, it felt like old times. The talk put Fia’s mind at ease, and they spent the next week at Sundry Falls picking wild tea and doing other small jobs. Noah looked troubled all the time, but Fia learned to ignore him. If he wanted to be a drama queen, it was his business, not hers. 

They were paid handsomely—enough to buy weapons, ropes, tents, and still have plenty left for whatever adventure came next. As they were leaving, Rastin asked Mikael not to disclose their agreements to anyone since he had been generous in his payments to Mikael and didn’t want word getting out. He also said people knew picking the tea paid well, so it would make them a target for thieves and robbers. He then gave Mikael a small box of the wild nirvana tea as a gift.

They couldn’t leave Skadi without meeting Markus, of course. So, they set off for the lake and then onwards to Grey Peak.