Brando quickly tied on Fin’s other sandal. When he was finished, he walked further down the false trail and set the jar on the ground. It was past time to move behind the hills. Without hesitation, he turned and began jogging.

Fin felt like it was harder to run with the improvised sandals, but he was happy to not be tearing up his feet any more than he already had. He wondered if he could have bled out if he never noticed his feet. The pain tolerance was good, but it could also prove to be a dangerous talent. He would have to ensure he didn’t accidentally cut himself and bleed out before noticing.

Reaching the base of the hill, they had to catch their breath before moving forward.

“Still better than eating sog-squares,” Brando admitted, clutching his chest through the missing leather in his jerkin.

Fin nodded while he sucked in gasps of air. He was getting thirsty but had to put the feeling away to concentrate on catching his breath.

“I’m going to climb up and see if they’re following,” Brando made a circular motion with two fingers and began climbing the slope.

When Fin got his heartbeat under control, he followed after. Each step sunk gently into the earth, knocking pebbles and dirt free. Giant, toothy boulders poked out from all around. Following Brando’s footprints made Fin wonder how easily they would be tracked if goblins came this way. When he reached the top, he found Brando lying beside a boulder, unmoving.

“How does it look?” Fin asked, crouching next to the boulder.

“See for yourself.” Brando’s voice was low and serious, “I think the goblins are reaching the end of our false trail now.”

Fin quickly got down to his stomach and crawled on his elbows until he was next to Brando. He could see a group of goblins in the distance. There must have been forty or more of them. It looked like they were stationary, but he couldn’t determine what they were doing. The residual sounds of loud voices rose to an audible level in scarce intervals.

“I think it’s important for them to find us. If we escape, we will be able to inform the king of their operation and have the whole thing shut down,” Brando pondered out loud as he watched. “Come to think about it, the goblins might be unable to return without us.”

“Damned if they find us, damned if they don’t,” Fin added, a focused determination on his face.

“I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly,” Brando smiled and then frowned. “They’re moving again.”

The group split off into two groups, one traveling towards their location and one continuing forward.

“There’s fifteen to thirty of them. Run or fight?” Brando instinctively put a hand on his crossbow. “At least we have the high ground.”

“I think we should get farther away,” Fin suggested in a hurry. “If the other group doesn’t hear us fighting, we’ll have more time.”

A brief sound reached their vantage point that caused the group of advancing goblins to stop and run back toward the other group of goblins.

“They found the jar,” Brando’s smile was as sincere as it was smug. “And I casually placed the rest of your shirt a little further along. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

They moved North at a brisk walking pace. Both of them were thirsty and needed to conserve their energy in case they ran into another goblin patrol. As Brando put it, ‘There’s no use fighting to the death if you’re too tired to fight back.’ So, they pressed forward at a constant pace, traveling North.

When they cleared the hills, the valley to the east opened up, and they could see the walls they had escaped from. They traveled low, keeping as many bushes and other obstacles between them and the distant slave camp. It was a long way to travel without getting very far.

They both started to feel like all their work was wasted when Fin got a notification.

* Affinity Quest Complete: Earth (4 of 5): Survey the land on foot. +1 Active Ability.

* Passive Ability: Discern Earth – Locked until Earth Affinity is realized. Forfeit all other affinities.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

After reading his notification, he explained what he gained to Brando and read his quest completion out loud.

“Remember how I was complaining about how we just walked in a massive circle?” Brando asked, finding it troublesome to talk with such a dry mouth. “That notification proves it. Anyway, I hate to admit it, but it is good news. Don’t forget to eat some dirt when we find you water to wash it down with.”

“Do any of these plants have water in them?” Fin gestured towards a cactus.

“They all do,” Brando replied, trying to use as few words as possible. “Might kill you, though.”

They walked in silence as the sun slowly drifted overhead. Looking up at the sky, Brando voiced his concerns about finding shelter. There wouldn’t be much of a moon, so they scanned the terrain as they continued.

Finally, almost too dark to see, they settled next to a knee-high rock and hoped it would be good enough to hide them. They cleared the ground the best they could and hoped for the best. Then laid on the dirt listening for danger but only heard the slow churn of desert nature.

The next morning, Fin woke up feeling sore and miserable. After voicing his discomfort, Brando cheerfully led him through a series of movements and brief stretches. They scanned the area and collected their items, setting out North through the dry and desolate land.

A jolt of delight washed over Fin when a notification popped up, breaking up the monotony. He read his notifications out loud. As he read, his smile slowly dropped into a look of concern.

* Path Quest Complete: At least -1 to all stats due to hunger and thirst. +2 Quests Revealed.

* Strength Quest: Consume your body weight in food and drink. +2 basic stat points. Forfeit all Power Quests.

* Power Quest: Exceed your abilities in a reduced state. +2 golden stat points. Forfeit all Strength Quests.

“I still have that food if you’re about to die on me,” Brando offered, pointing at the sack he was wearing.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I would be able to swallow it.” Fin declined, forcing each movement that brought him further away from danger.

They continued walking North, keeping an eye out for animals, green plants, or anything else that would signify that water was near.

They hadn’t found any water by the time the sun set again. Instead of wasting their energy looking for shelter, they simply laid down and went to sleep.

Fin felt like he had just fallen asleep when he was woken up with a hand over his mouth. Brando whispered quietly in his ear, “Grab your sword, and don’t make noise.” Bleary-eyed from hunger, dehydration, and exhaustion, he drew his sword and drew himself up to a sitting position. Brando gripped his shoulder and pointed. There, in the distance, he saw a campfire.

“If they’re goblins, we kill them in their sleep,” Brando’s disembodied voice sounded strange and husky in the dark. “If they’re human, we give them one of our gems for water. We take our time. No noise.”

Fin walked slowly and silently. The moon was light enough to make out vague shapes up close but not much else. Several times he had to step slightly further than he intended to dodge something in his way, if anything at all. He kept his eyes off of the nearing fire to maintain his eyesight in the dark.

It seemed to take forever, but the promise of a cool drink of water kept him moving indelibly forward. The sound of a horse snorting and blowing out air snapped him out of his trancelike state. Relief eased through his muscles as it occurred to him that he wouldn’t be fighting goblins this evening. The goblins chasing them were not riding horses.

Brando caught his attention and motioned him to stay. He glanced at the area around the fire and noticed a person sleeping next to it. He was close enough to see a cooking pot with a wooden spoon sitting on top of it sitting next to the fire. It must be someone traveling alone. That was a relief.

He allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark while he waited. He could make out individual rocks on the ground by the time Brando returned.

Brando pointed to the left of the campsite and whispered two words that sent a wave of fear through his body, “It’s them.”