The girl had dark skin similar to the man they'd found by the rock. Other than that Lyam remembered the leather canteen of water laying next to the man's leg. Then he remembered the state in which they'd found the man. Pale of color, eyes full of agony, green moss blooming over the neck and all he talked about was water. The boy grimaced. It was certainly this girl's father.

Lyam looked at the girl who didn't seem to be expecting any answers from them at the moment. She stood frozen at the sight of the big scorpion laying dead with its insides gouged out, purple blood painting the ground.

That's when another voice called out, “Stay back!” A woman ran up to the little girl and shielded her behind herself. She wore a similar tunic, trousers and scarf as the girl. She also had an ox-horn slung by a strap from her shoulder. The horn was wrapped in what seemed to be a sheet of silk. And on the other side of her hip was a knife in its sheath.

The woman looked at the dead scourge, then at the boy and Aveline. Her eyes grew wary, almost feral at the sight of the shapecrafter. “Stay back. I won't let you take her.” The woman gripped the handle of her knife.

“We are not here to take her,” Lyam said before Aveline could respond, “We don't even know who you are.”

“Wait,” Aveline said. “Why do you think we would want to take the child?”

The woman scowled. “You have quite the audacity to ask that question. Even after your friends took all the children from our village.”

Lyam knew what the woman was talking about. And judging by her look, it was clear to Aveline as well. The boy took a step forward. “This is a misunderstanding, we aren't with the people who invaded your village.”

“You can't fool me,” the woman said, “their arms had the same marks as that witch.” She glared at Aveline.

“Watch your tongue, woman. I'm no witch!”

“Your tone won't really help, Aveline.” Lyam put a hand on her arm. He looked back at the woman. “I'm telling you again, we are not with the invaders. As you can see, I'm still a child and I'm with her as a companion, not a captive. Also, I think we know where that girl’s father is.”

The hostility on the woman's face softened, but only a little. “You do?”

Lyam just gave a hesitant nod.

“Where is he?” the woman asked.

Lyam turned to Aveline. She sighed and reached into her satchel. “I'll teleport us all there.” She pulled out a piece of chalk and drew two concentric circles on the ground. Inside the inner circle she drew a square and diagonal to each corner of the square she drew a smaller circle. Then she joined each small circle to the corners of the square with a single line. “Everyone, step into the small circles. One circle per person,” she said and slid the chalk back into the satchel and placed her crimson amulet at the centre of the inner circle. She made fists of both hands, the tattoos on her arms glowed. Then the red mist appeared.

Lyam could tell that they'd arrived at the spot near the portal. The teleportation shape had arrived with them. And a few feet away from them was where the poisoned man lay, dead still.

The girl looked even more stunned at the sight of her father. She stepped up to the woman and held onto the side of her tunic. “What happened to him, ma?”

The woman clenched her jaw and hid the child's face into her tunic. She looked at Lyam and Aveline. “Who did this to him?” she said.

Aveline shook her head. “No one. He probably did it to himself. That girl said her father came looking for water. Maybe he stumbled upon the mountain scourge's oasis. The scourges like to keep their exoskeletons bathed in poisoned water. Maybe your husband came in when the scourge wasn’t around. He mistook the poisoned pool for drinkable water and filled his canteen with it and eventually took a sip. That's what gave him that green moss on his skin.”

The woman allowed that information to sink in. Her face became taut, as if suppressing an emotion. She clutched her daughter tightly as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. Lyam felt a tightness in his chest at the sight of the grieving family.

Aveline leaned down to his level and whispered. “Shall we get going then?” she asked.

“Of course not.” He looked at her. “Their village was attacked as well. Apparently by the same people who burned Vermeil. We might dig up some information about them.”

Aveline sighed but stood quietly next to him. By that time, the desert woman had wiped her tears and stepped away from her daughter who was still crying. The woman started to unwrap the silk cloth that was wound around the ox horn she carried.

The silk unravelled to a shape large enough to be a blanket. The woman carried it up to her fallen husband and covered him with the sheet of fabric. From a pocket of her tunic, she pulled out a flint and striker. Crouching next to the dead man, she struck a fire and lit the silk aflame. The way the cloth burned, Lyam guessed it was probably doused in oil prematurely.

The thought made him shiver a bit. The woman and her daughter had come prepared. Just in case they found the man dead. A frown creased his features and he looked at the vast rocky desert around him. In the light of the evening sun, the red land seemed more and more like dried blood to him than he liked to think.

The silk burned and the man burned with it. Lyam bowed his head while Aveline put a hand to her chest and muttered a small prayer of her own. By the time the cadaver had turned to bone and ash, it was night. Other than the silent chants of the desert lady, the only voice that spoke was that of the wind, whistling into the darkness.

She filled the ox horn with her husband's ash and turned to look at Aveline. “If you don't mind, can you take us back to that place where we met?” she asked.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Aveline told them to step back into the shape she'd drawn on the ground. When the red mist dissipated, they were near the rock and near the scourge's corpse again.

“Is your village close by?” Lyam asked them.

“An afternoon's walk from here,” the woman said. “I'll get there before dawn.”

The boy frowned in concern. “Is it safe for you to go alone in the middle of the night?”

“I grew up here,” the woman said. Her daughter leaned on her leg and yawned. The woman lifted her into her arms and held her close. “I can handle walking in the desert at night.”

With a bit of hesitation, Lyam said, “Can we come with you?”

The woman cocked her head. “I don't assume you expect shelter. If I'm not wrong you both slayed that scorpion. Also that woman has those markings on her skin. You both are more than capable of surviving the desert.” She narrowed her eyes. “So why do you want to come along?”

“Just seeking some answers,” Lyam said. “You said your village was attacked and the children were taken. We were hoping if you would…let us take a look at your village.”

The woman didn't hesitate to shake her head. “The chieftain is not taking too kindly to visitors after what happened. No one would let you enter the neighborhood. Even if it's lying in a ruin now.”

Lyam was about to say something more when Aveline stopped him. “We helped you lead your man to peace. I think you owe us a favor,” she said.

The woman casted a glare at them. Then in a slow, cautious voice she said, “I can answer some of your questions. That's it.”

“Would that really help?” Lyam whispered to Aveline.

“She is a Kagee woman. They are quite protective of their territory, especially in times of crisis. If you give her a choice between killing her and leading you to her people, she’ll choose death,” Aveline whispered back.

Lyam bit the inside of his cheek nervously. He turned back to the woman. “Alright. That works for us too.”

The woman nodded and settled down on the ground, her daughter on her lap. She sat about five feet away from them. It was close enough to hear each other talk but far enough to make it clear that she still didn't trust them.

Lyam sighed and settled down as well. “Let’s start with your name first.”

“Is it necessary?” The woman frowned.

“It will be easier to talk to you if we know your name. I think it will also make you more comfortable–”

“Blood.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lyam said.

“Call me Blood if you just need to call me something.”

The boy sighed tiredly and exchanged glances with Aveline who just shrugged. He turned back to the Kagee woman. “Well, Blood. When was your village attacked?” he asked.

“Nine days ago.”

Just two days before Vermeil, he thought. “How did it happen?”

“It was one of those sorcerers,” Blood said, “the ones who control the forces of nature.”

“Only one of them?” Lyam narrowed his eyes.

Blood nodded. “One was enough. My village has less than fifty houses. Each house has less than three children in it. He took them all.”

“He seemed to have spared your daughter,” Aveline said.

“My husband, my daughter and I had been away from the village then.”

“Which force of nature was it that this invader controlled?” Lyam asked.

“My neighbor described him as a creature who rode a carpet of sand. He was surrounded by a shield of rocks and stones. And when he spoke, his voice sounded like a storm and he demanded everyone to surrender their children.”

The boy leaned ahead. “And people just did what he told them to?”

“At first they didn’t,” Blood said. “So he hurled the rocks and stones he’d brought with him. He flattened houses and huts without any remorse. He said either he was going to leave with the children or wipe the name of Kagee people off the face of this earth. He kept raining rocks on the houses. That’s when someone sent their son out into the open. Then someone’s daughter appeared. Then a few more children. Until they all were out. By then, half of our village had been destroyed.”

“How did he take so many children away by himself?” Lyam asked.

“My neighbor said he unearthed a piece of land by making a fist in the air. He made the children stand on the rock and rode off on his sandy carpet again.”

There was a moment of silence after this was said. Then Lyam looked at Blood. “What were you and your family doing when this happened?”

“We were given the responsibility of finding water by our chieftain. We didn’t find much before this catastrophe and we are still looking for it.” Blood sighed tiredly.

And that concluded it. They thanked her for answering their questions and bid her farewell. They also wished her good luck in finding enough water for her village. Blood nodded and before she turned to leave, she said, “I thank you as well. For helping me lead my husband to peace.”

Then she walked off into the darkness.

As they watched the woman leave, Lyam said, “Why don't her people just leave the desert and go somewhere safer, even greener perhaps?”

“They are bound to the desert,” Aveline said.

“Bound?”

“During the Great Cleansing, a lot of shapecrafters fled to the neighboring country of Avandra.” She swept her arm across the air, gesturing at the desert. “This is the route they took to leave. But this is also where the wielders tried to stop them.”

“Why did they want to stop them if they were running away?”

“Because they didn't want the crafters to join up in the army of any other country. Brismont wanted to be the only one equipped with an army of magic users. And they fought tooth and nail to keep things that way. Their fight is what created this desert. There used to be a forest here but the destruction they caused left this land full of nothing. The Kagee had been living here for more than a decade. All they could do was watch their homes getting desolated to this ruin. Some crafters still managed to escape. But Brismont didn’t chase them any further. To not cause another war with Avandra, a peace treaty was signed. The chasm was declared ‘Free land’ and both nations vowed not to cross this line of red rock between their territories.”

The information made Lyam pause. “So, all that the Kagee received in return for having their homes destroyed was…the ownership of a desert?”

Aveline nodded. “This is an independent nation that you see, Lyam. Considering the attacks that happened nine days ago, it's on the verge of disappearing in the desert breeze.”

The boy frowned deeply. “The Kagee should just ask one of the two nations to take them in. They are waiting to get picked off by vultures at this point.”

“They won't do that,” said Aveline. “As I said, they are bound to this place with their beliefs. As dismal as a desert can be, to them, it is still their home.”