At least there hadn't been any baby monsters sleeping next to him when he had awakened this morning, Nathan thought bitterly to himself.  He supposed that was a good thing.  There also hadn't been any food next to him when he had awakened that morning.  That, Nathan decided, fell nicely into the bad things category.  He hadn't seen any footprints other than his own nearby either, and that had unnerved him more than anything else.  So, after a cursory examination for clues (there weren't any), Nathan had shouldered his now much lighter pack and started walking.
    It was midday now, and he was starving.  Somewhere to the east, what appeared to be a herd of the monster-creatures were visible.  Nathan started wondering if they tasted good... or even edible.  It was too bad that he didn't have a sword.  He wouldn't be hungry for long if he did.  Of course, he'd also make enemies of the rather large animals, and would probably wake up dead one morning.  Maybe going unarmed on a pilgrimage wasn't such a crazy idea.
    Being unarmed was doing little to help his hunger, however.  After a few hours of marching, he stopped and searched his backpack again, hoping to find something that the thief had overlooked.  There was nothing there but some rope, his canteen, and what little money he had remaining.  Not that the money would do him any good now.  Nathan nearly laughed - the theif had taken the food but left the money.
    That night it was hard to sleep, but he had covered a lot of land and had little energy, so he was able to get some rest.  It wasn't that bad, he rationalized.  He'd find some other source of food.  And people could live without food for quite a while.  It was water that they really needed.
    The next morning greeted him with the disappearance of his canteen, and he wasn't happy at all about that particular development.  He spent the rest of the day walking, in an irate mood like none he had experienced before, to the south.  This was insane!  Obviously, someone was trying to stop him.  It wasn't as though he could lose his pouch of food or his canteen - someone had obviously taken them.  But if this person wanted him dead, than why didn't he just slit his throat and be done with it?  Why the trickery?  It irritated him.  He didn't even bother to pay much attention to what was happening.  Besides, not much was.  The scenery was completely unchanged, and the herd of creatures was still to his left.  He wondered how they ate and drank.
    The thought stopped him where he was.  How did they eat and drink?  They had to somehow, right?  A sudden thrill of hope overcame him, and he stepped off of the road, toward the creatures.  Then he stopped.  How did he know these creatures wouldn't tear him apart the moment they saw him?  For all he knew, they subsisted on the bodies of hapless adventurers such as himself.  But if he stayed on the road, he'd probably end up dead in a few days.  He needed substance!  Making up his mind and gathering his courage, he started marching toward the creatures.  There was no nearby scenery to give him a sense of depth.  They could have been a few hundred feet away, or they could be miles away.  They were more than just specks on the horizion, but not much more.  Pushing his worries to the back of his mind, he continued forward.  He'd probably get there by that night.
    As he huddled to the ground that night, weary from lack of food and parched from lack of water, he reflected bitterly back on that thought.

(Tallows Castle)

    Nathan didn't know what to do.  In ten minutes, Whitney would enter this room, and expect him to say something.  And he had no idea what he was going to say.  He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it.  He hated that about himself.
    His plan was simple.  His father had (privately) informed him that he would turn over the crown to anyone who ended the blight, and Nathan knew a way.  Or he thought that he knew.  His book had something to say on the subject.  Apparently, there was one thing which was infallible.  One technique that always worked.  A guaranteed way to get whatever one wanted.  All you had to do was make a journey to the structure that was at the center of their world.
    The Spire.

                East of the Axis Road, laying on the ground, Nathan lets out a low moan in his sleep.  His mind tries to push the memory away, but fails.  The dream continues.

    He had already decided to make the journey.  He hadn't told his father yet.  Or his brothers.  Or even Craig.  No, he had decided resolutely, if he was going to go on a quest that would most likely end in his death, the first person that he was going to tell was going to be Whitney.
    As though his thoughts had caused it, there was a knock on his door.  Taking a deep breath and attempting to draw some bravery together, he opened the door.  Whitney was on the other side.  Her normally exuberant face was cast today in a frown, and Nathan could tell that she had been crying.  It made him want to reach out and comfort her.  Of course, if he did that, his brother would have him executed, family or not.  So instead, he just showed her inside.  She managed a smile at him.
    "Nathan... it's so nice that I could see you on this visit.  I had feared that I would not get to see you."  There was very little emotion in her voice, and she kept looking down toward the floor as she found a place to sit.  Nathan sat in a nearby chair.
    "Are you feeling all right Whitney?" Nathan asked.  It was about as direct as he intended to be.
    Whitney looked up, as though surprised that someone actually cared about how she felt.  "Nathan, I feel... terrible." she confided.  "This wedding, it is not what I desire at all!"  she wrung her hands.  "Nathan, I do not wish to speak ill of your brother.  I am sure that he is a fine man in many ways, but I do not love him!  I think the unification of our kingdoms is a very good thing, but...  it is not what I want.  I want... something more meaningful."  She held Nathan's gaze and then glanced away.
    "But I am royalty!" she cried.  "I have duties I must fufill, obligations to meet.  And if my people will starve if I do not marry, than I will marry.  But I will not like it."  with that, she resumed staring at the floor.
    "Whitney, if there were an answer for this blight, you would not have to marry." Nathan said.
    Whitney nodded.  "I know, I know.  Everyone says that the blight will end soon.  But if that were true... why does my father's kingdom need this marriage?  No, I think this blight will not end.  And so I am condemned."
    "No, you're not!"  Nathan exclaimed with more energy than he had intended.  Whitney, surprised, looked up at him.
    "Whitney, I know of a way to end this blight." he said simply.
    Whitney looked dumbfounded.  "You know how to end the blight?  When did you find this information out?  How?"
    "I have been studying many books about blight in general.  Many are very rare.  I even had to import one from the Scholar's city, all that way to the south.  Few deal with answers, but those that do unanimously agree.  There is one thing that can be done, and I intend to do it.  I can go to the Spire."
    "The Pilgrimage?"  Whitney now looked... afraid?  "But that's so far away!  And nobody's undertaken a voyage like that for generations!  Nathan, you could die!"
    "It's the only chance I have to reverse this blight.  There are too many people suffering.  I have to do something."
    "You're doing this for me, aren't you?"  Whitney asked incredulously.
    Nathan didn't respond, but he didn't need to.  "You are!"  she accused.  "You said 'if there were an answer for this blight, you would not have to marry'.  Is that what this is about?  Are you going to go out there and get killed to spare me from this?!" she was barely able to keep the anger out of her voice.
    "You don't understand!  I'm doing this for many reasons!"  Nathan tried to object.  Whitney stood up and started walking toward the door.
    "Nathan, this is the most foolish thing I have ever heard you say!"  she said.  "You are not going to go on a journey to save people who need it!  You're going on this journey to save poor old me from a fate worse than death.  I don't need it!  I am strong enough to survive this without you."  She threw open the door.
    "Please Whitney, listen to me!" Nathan was practically begging.  Of all the outcomes he had imagined, this had not been one of them.
    Whitney turned around.  "Nathan, don't do this.  I don't need your pity!  I don't need you to go on some heroic quest for me!  And I don't need you to die!" with this, she slammed the door.