Chapter 41
T
he company traveled through the vast wetlands before them: full of shallow ponds, winding murky rivers, short red and yellow grass, and the smell of thick dirt all about them. Off in the distance in the north were the Shayli Mountains, masked in a coat of snow at their tips. There were only three peaks, but they were so massive that everybody dreaded the moment when they’d have to cross them. The way was faster than any other as Karceoles pointed out with his maps, and yet the trek it would take to get there would be grim.
They lingered in the village for a day in hopes of finding any draeyks or the necromancer that disappeared, but there was no such luck. Searon, more than anything, wanted to come across the little girl that haunted many of his thoughts. Yet he knew that he dared not remain in the village too long. In order to be effective against the draeyks, they needed to strike soon.
Searon looked up to the sky where a rainbow still spanned the horizon, and he watched as an eagle gracefully glided across the clouds. He smiled at the wonderful bird, admiring its beauty and wondering how peaceful it would be to be an eagle. It was the king of the sky, without worry or fret, no wars to mask its center of peace, and could travel wherever it chose.
The way was rough and hot with gnats and mosquitoes along the way. Everybody became irritable, but most were ready to be across—and prepared to end the war as soon as possible.
Soon, the marshes became dry, and they wandered into the midst of the Teyyuar desert, where water was scarce. This was the way that the wizard had suggested, although he knew it would be hard on the men, many of whom never wandered into the dry heat. It wasn’t as vast as the Aedth Eastern Desert on the other side of the Benora Mountains. Nobody was sure how large that desert was because the mountains went from the northernmost border of Calthoria all the way down to the south, and nobody had ever claimed to cross it. Nobody seemed foolish enough to try. The desert they walked into was only twenty leagues by measure.
Karceoles made sure that they stopped at the last pond of the marshes before they continued on to the desert. The water was murky and questionable, but wet nonetheless, and each man filled his water skins to the rim before continuing on.
By the time they reached the desert, it was morning of the next day. Even Searon had a rough time crossing the terrain, and his poor horse couldn’t carry him for long. Horses were meant for the long meadows and forests but were useless for much more than a place to keep saddlebags throughout the desert. Even as resilient as Stripes was, he, too, was discarded in the midst of the desert for rest. Searon knew that he could probably keep on the horse, but he didn’t want to bring his old friend to exhaustion, and so he willingly began walking the rough path.
At first, there were shrubs and bushes throughout the outskirts of the desert, many of them herbs like sage and thyme, but as soon as they crossed out of the cloud coverage and far enough away from any ponds or rivers there were only cacti as far as the eye could see. Many were spread so far apart that they only appeared close together from afar. The ground was flat with gravely rocks scattered across its surface, making everybody’s feet sore through leather and steel boots. Animals weren’t to be seen in any direction except for the few lizards and snakes that crossed their field of vision before quickly disappearing into nothingness.
The terrain was flat; there was nothing to be seen to the northwest toward which they traveled except for the three Shayli peaks at the end of their perilous journey. Some of the cacti that they passed held beautiful flowers of orange, pink, and blue, but the wizard warned of their poisonous nature, and so many stayed away. Starlyn appeared mesmerized by the beauty of them, and stood for long moments admiring several of the cacti with flowers. Many more had barbs and needles that many of the men found quickly to be more than an inconvenience when tripping on them.
In the distance, a mirage could be seen, black in color, almost appearing like smoke because as they got closer it seemed to disappear. Karceoles called them water mirages, claiming that the mind in such dry air without moisture craves water and creates an image in your mind to remind you of your dire need for the substance. Even as it would disappear as they neared it, the image continued to move farther out, creating a never-ending cycle.
A large number of the men came close to exhaustion and nearly passed out as they traveled. Men surrounding them helped them out by giving them physical support, water from their skins, and attempts to cool them off by fanning them. Starlyn seemed the only one who handled the heat well. She’d only taken one sip of her water skin throughout the journey; being a kheshlar she was better built for weather conditions than humans. Exhaustion didn’t take her as it did the men, but from her appearance it could be deciphered that she was wearing out. The heat even tore at Karceoles and Sh’on, not as quickly as the humans, but not nearly as slowly as it tormented Starlyn.
Once they passed the center point of the desert, most of the men had emptied their water skins. Karceoles bid them to stop as he and Sh’on walked ahead alone. The wizard swirled his zylek at the ground, and after a few minutes water appeared to come to the surface. Sh’on channeled his own green magic to steady the floating water and duplicate it. Men came rushing forward, overjoyed, as they filled their water skins. Both the mage and the wizard appeared drained, and so Searon bid Etherond take charge and lead the men as he stayed back with Karceoles and Sh’on.
“Thank you,” Searon said.
They only nodded back to him, most of their energy seemingly drained from them. Searon withdrew his water skin and gave them each a sip before getting between them and helping them forward and back into the ranks of men.
Many grew anxious as they saw dozens of wandering scorpions crawling around and hiding behind rocks as they passed. Starlyn seemed the most uneasy at their appearance, still with the nacropis fresh on her mind. For many, it wasn’t the scorpions that made them uneasy, but the constant circle of vultures that soared in the sky above them. It seemed they were expecting a meal, a meal that they most likely were always sure to have.
Without Searon’s confidence and leadership, they wouldn’t have continued through the desert at such a consistent speed. Breaks were seldom as they traveled through the desert, as he knew that if they stopped for too long, nobody would be able to get back up to their feet. They weren’t fast as they traveled, but they were consistent in pacing themselves. So long as they moved they created a false breeze across their face that would not be there had they remained motionless. Nothing helped their dehydration much, but so long as they rationed their water properly, and took small sips only every once in a while, they could survive.
They took a break as the sun began to set. Searon kept everybody moving during the day because the heat was too much if they stayed still, and without shade they were better off moving than staying still. They couldn’t move fast, but neither could they stay and bake in the sun. The half moon was by far more welcoming to the men than the scorching rays of the sun. However, the atmosphere didn’t cool down as much as they desired, and while the night air felt crisp compared to the daylight, it was still dry and hot. The heat seemed to continue to rise from the ground where the sun had baked it into the dirt. They no longer felt the heat from above, and for that they were grateful. However, they weren’t grateful for long because soon all the heat left the rocks and the desert became bone-numbingly cold.
Searon only let the men rest for less than half of the night with most of them taking turns on watch. Many were upset with him because they needed rest but quickly stifled themselves when Searon showed his authority and asked them if they’d rather travel longer in the sun or get closer by continuing through some of the night.
As dawn approached, they were nearing the edge of the desert, and cacti became less prevalent and were replaced with sagebrush and palm trees. The weather was still dry and hot, but it wasn’t nearly as terrible as the center of the desert. Clouds scattered the sky instead of the brilliant blue brightness that the desert held. Still, most were bright white and fluffy without much precipitation. Most of the men were out of water and barely dragged on, but the sight was more welcoming than where they had just been, and so they pressed on with new motivation.
As they continued on, the sun rose higher in the sky and hid behind clouds of gray rather than white. The sight was welcoming, and many prayed to the creator for rain. No longer was the desert flat terrain, but it now held a vast variety of rock formations. Some simple scattered rocks from large to small, but others appeared as arches and small mountains. Everybody’s feet began to ache from the rough ground, but it didn’t slow them much, as determination was their focus. On their right they noticed a small canyon that fell leagues into the ground. It was by far the most beautiful sight in the desert, but they dared not approach it, despite knowing that a river created it, because it was too far a climb for such a little pleasure.
Nobody thought about the water that could be at the bottom of the canyon for long because soon it began to sprinkle, and everyone was overjoyed with mouths open and tongues sticking out. Cheers erupted through them, and they stopped in their tracks to try and catch some in their water skins. The sprinkle didn’t last long, as it turned into a downpour so ferocious that it pelted blisters underneath many of the men’s armor. Everyone held their water skins tight trying to get as much water as possible inside of them. Searon struggled, pushing them forward to keep pace through the rain when so many were overjoyed with its presence. He claimed that the rain would stretch on for a long while and that it would be better for them to be farther along before the heat came back.
When the rain finally stopped, they were thankful for Searon’s rashness at pushing them forward. The heat amplified through the water when the clouds disappeared and felt even hotter than the central desert.
It wasn’t until dusk of that night that they reached the end of the desert near the peak of the mountains. They rested for the night before beginning the long trek across the Shaylis in the morning. The pass didn’t look as bad as it had from a distance, and although the mountains were large, there seemed to be a pass between them that Karceoles directed them to. There was still a climb, but not as daunting as it was first made out to be. After nearly another half day, they climbed through the mountains and reached the other side that opened up to a valley.
Small hills and mountains surrounded them in the valley on each side, but none as large or daunting as the ones they just crossed. The trip down was fast as gravity hit them with each step, and they welcomed the grass on the other side and the breeze from the rivers and lakes that could be felt with the new humidity. They smelled the scent of fish and wildlife. When the mountains were far behind and the grass had become thicker, they welcomed it under their feet for much-needed padding. A gentle valley breeze swept across them that brought tears of joy to the warriors’ eyes.
They came to rest at the edge of the valley next to a small lake before it ended with a large mountain that they had to climb to be within draeyk territory. Wildlife roamed the valley, and many of the men, deprived and hungry began hunting them, and so Searon took Starlyn out of the camp to the edge of the western hills to find fruit. A tree seemed to call to them, holding golden-yellow apples with such a sweetness to them that they nearly melted in their mouths. Starlyn found a few various vegetables growing through the valley, which they shared as they talked.
“Will you be ready to face the draeyks tomorrow?” Searon asked.
“Yes, though I do not feel right with this sword.”
Searon looked at the new scabbard at her hip and bronze-hilted broadsword. The blade itself was of a fine human make and one of the better swords in his ranks of men, and yet it did look odd on her. He was most accustomed to seeing her with her hammer that had disappeared in the town with the necromancer. Instead, she carried the sword of the fallen Phoenix, whom they had found when they came back to the village with an army.
“I’m sure Phoenix would have wanted you to have it.” He tried to reassure her with a comforting hand.
“I know that…but it’s just wrong.”
“Yes, I know, being with the sword brings back the memories of what happened that day.”
“Yes,” Starlyn admitted, looking down to the half-eaten apple in her hand.
“When you return to Sudegam, have another weapon made for yourself, and bury that one in Phoenix’s memory.”
Starlyn smiled and brushed the hair from her eyes. “Perhaps I will.”
They stayed a while longer, enjoying their meal and pleasant conversation about life, before heading back into the midst of camp. Searon had already bid the wizard to dispose of any bones before they arrived, and while the smell of cooked meat remained, nothing was to be seen. All the men respected Starlyn too much to flaunt about the meat they had enjoyed. Most of it had been packed up in animal hide and cloth in order to take with them, some packed in saddlebags and whatever else they could find. Searon gave Starlyn a hug goodnight, and she kissed him on the cheek before leaving off by herself to sleep away from the men.
He continued to a small orange campfire and sat on a rock next to the wizard who pulled out two large steaks for him. Both were still warm and nearly melted in his mouth as he tore at them with bare hands and teeth. The vegetables and fruit filled him more than he expected, but he still devoured the desired meat.
“Thanks,” Searon said.
“Get some rest; I will take first watch,” Karceoles said.
* * *
When Searon awoke the next morning, everybody was packed and ready to go. His exhaustion was understandable, and everybody decided to let him sleep. Most knew that he continuously woke up through the night because of his nightmares and any sudden movement that he decided to check on, which was one of the disadvantages of being a leader.