28. II:11: Over the Distant Sands (1/2)

act ii: adolescencechapter 11: over the distant sandsparty: ryu, nina, trinil

not only were they outside the forest, they were also lying in the gap of the mountains that led down to the southern desert. it made for an odd image, as the mountains

oke to rough terrain that had sand spread among the rocks and gave way to sand on the south side. the wall of trees that blocked the north side was the thing most out of place, and at that point, the party certainly agreed that the forest was out as a place they wanted to go.

the three rose, dusting themselves off from the fall before taking a look around. there didn't seem to be much in the way of a choice as to where to go, however, as the mountains looked pretty foreboding when looking for a place to start climbing. the fact that climbing them was unnecessary notwithstanding.

"well, at least we found our way to the gap," ryu said, wiping his

ow.

"that may have been why the voices were so nasty at the end," nina said. "they knew that we were heading directly toward the exit."

"that raises the question as to why they would want to keep us in the forest," trinil pointed out.

"i don't want to know," ryu replied. he took a step forward onto the rocky ground that separated the trees from the dunes. "we made it, and our destination is somewhere ahead."

"how are you going to find the central oasis?" trinil asked. this piqued nina's interest, as she hadn't discussed the next step with ryu since the trip into the tower. "it's kind of dangerous to wander around the desert without directions. we'd run out of water really quickly."

"i know where the nearest town is supposed to be," nina said, gaining the attention of the boys. "we may be able to get some clue as to the best way to find the central oasis of the desert… why are we looking for it?"

"the next shrine," ryu answered, "lies beneath the sands. ladon told me that the people who lived at the central oasis knew where the shrine is. so that's where we have to go. then, i imagine it will be finding our way to the port town that lance was talking about that's run by manillo ascents. that's where we'll likely be able to meet up with any of the agents who remained behind." he looked out at the expanse of sand. "i don't exactly blame them for not waiting here."

"nor do i," nina said. "it would be hard to camp here. and that's the only place that was mentioned as a place we're definitely going to go from here."

"and i need to hit up all the shrines, and we are not separating," ryu said firmly. he didn't see that nina grinned at this. "we should head toward the town you were talking about, nina." by the time he turned around, she had schooled her face. "lead the way."

"of course."

it took the rest of the day and a little bit into the night to reach the town, though calling it a town was giving it a little too much credit. the monsters that inhabited the sands between the two places were scavengers and sand-movers. thankfully, they met nothing bigger than them, and trinil was able to notice when a mover was trying to sneak up on them. the most annoying thing they met were the scorpions, though a single blast from any of their magical spells was generally enough to take one down.

the 'town' was more of a gathering place of tents around a small oasis, which all three were glad to see given their thirst had started to nag at them. they hadn't quite run out of water but ryu had made sure to ration it well just in case. even when they were reasonably sure that they knew where they were going, they had to be careful about supplies in the less forgiving environment of arad. even in the forest they had been able to forage for food and there had been occasional streams to help with water. not here; the pool beneath a pair of palms was a welcome sight.

the party was greeted as they approached the grouping of tents. "hail, travelers!" there were three in the welcoming committee, and the center was the one that spoke. "did you come through the forest?"

"we did," ryu confirmed.

"then i imagine some rest is most of what you need here, right now. you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, as long as one of your party takes part of the night shift each night you're here."

"that seems fair," ryu agreed, and the party was ushered into the perimeter of the settlement. trinil remained with the watch to give the party's contribution to the watch for the nocturnal desert monsters. nina and ryu were shown to their tent, though they stopped by way of the water to drink first. once inside, neither spoke. bedrolls were unlimbered and climbed into. at some point trinil joined them, but neither of the others noticed his entrance, being dead to the world.

it was late morning by the time that they all had awakened. it was about noon by the time that all of them had prepared for the day. not that they were going to be doing anything much that day; they were going to wait until nightfall before departing. nina made to sit by the oasis underneath one of the palms. trinil seemed interested in finding a couple buddies that he had made overnight. ryu went around seeking information about the central oasis.

he finally found it in an old man who functioned as the de facto leader of the town, though he had no title to speak of. "yes, we occasionally get visitors from there as well as people seeking to go there. it's not terribly hard, though any three night journey across the desert could be defined as 'hard'.

"the easiest way to get there is to head due south for two nights, and then as close to southwest as you can on the third. shortly after sunrise you should spot the oasis. it's up to you as to whether you want to rest then, or press on to the oasis at that point. since the journey is so long, you really can't afford to travel in the day more than an hour or so; it'll eat up your water supply like nothing else."

ryu thanked him for his help and headed to the center of the oasis to sit by nina. she smiled at him as he sat down. "find what we needed?"

"yeah," he replied, "it's not going to be an easy trip, though." he told her the way there. "it's not going to be all that much fun, rationing all of that water. not to mention when we have to look for that port. since it's obviously on the ocean, i doubt it'll be terribly hard to find, but…"