Scouting by himself was a guilty pleasure for Ade. He absolutely loved the freedom it offered; the ability to travel anywhere and find anything waiting over the next dune. He enjoyed being able to move as quickly as he wanted, loping up and down the dunes without having to tether himself to the mothers and elders of the tribe, without having to worry about only taking paths that a hundred people with different physical capabilities could follow. He disliked the time limit he was given, the ever constant reminder that he would have to turn back sooner than he wanted. He hated the reason he was sent out scouting, that every task had the primary purpose of simply training his Pathfinding ability. All in preparation for the day that he would need to guide the tribe, responsible for safely seeing everyone from one resting spot to the next. He hated his inability to say no, when doing so would mean indirectly killing people he had grown up with even as he felt like a sacrificial lamb, his future tossed aside for the greater good.
Sure, he wasn’t the only young adult being trained. His tribe had been blessed with four people in his generation capable of navigating the Shifting Sands, capable of drawing on instinctual knowledge to turn left, right, and backwards in such a way that a different resting point would appear than the one they set out from. Two Navigators who could find their way back to places they knew, and two Pathfinders who could follow their heart to find their heart’s desire. Already the elders were looking forward to the benefits of visiting the same settlements multiple times; the upsides of having long term trading partners and being able to maintain contact with those who left the tribe for one reason or another. There were nice benefits to having Navigators in a tribe, but it was the Pathfinders who truly determined if the fortunes of a tribe rose or fell.
Pathfinders made sure that the tribe was always coming across resources to harvest, from salt flats to mine to water sources that hadn’t been drained or dirtied beyond usability by a horde of people all going about their lives. From places willing to buy their raw materials or various crafts, to places with medicine needed for a sick child they made sure that every stop had what was needed to reach the next one. Strong Pathfinder, strong tribe was a common saying among those who lived that nomadic lifestyle.
The corollary was that a weak Pathfinder made for a weak tribe was no less true. If a poor Pathfinder tried to guide a group of people beyond his capabilities he would struggle to avoid being pulled deeper and deeper into the Sands. There the far harsher hazards and stronger monsters would solve the problem for the poor navigator. Either everyone would vanish, never to be heard from again, or a much diminished party would struggle to the nearest town, their numbers reduced to the level that the Pathfinder could lead to safety. The best strategy for a rich or powerful tribe with a new Pathfinder was to put as many resources as they could spare into training them, costing them their present wealth or strength in the hopes of preserving their future.
All of which went to say that while Ade understood the importance of his training, he couldn’t help but resent it. His grandfather was the current Pathfinder, and there was an unspoken expectation that Ade would be the one to eventually take his place. The others with talent were given the expected training as well, but Ade felt like the hopes for the future were placed on his shoulders alone. Even if his willingness to head out on scouting trips like this one were seen as more evidence of his suitability, he still took every chance he could get to escape from that pressure, to have some time where his reality could be simplified down to himself and his goal, with no thought given towards the needs of tomorrow.
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Right now that goal was finding a source of water. A group of small water elementals had managed to sneak onto the cart where they stored their barrels of water and had absorbed a good amount of it before they were noticed and the alarm was raised. Fortunately the monsters weren’t much of a threat. Their primary method of attack was suffocation, something deadly to wild animals, less so against a species with hands. The guards had enough experience to keep their calm and put their hands to use, keeping their airways clear while slowly splashing off small bits until the elementals lost cohesion. Once the monsters were defeated the only casualties were half their water supply and a dog that had run away in a panic instead of remaining where its owner could help save it. The dog would be missed, but the loss of water was the real tragedy.
They had enough water for their immediate needs, but Ade’s grandfather had immediately altered course to restock their water before any other accident could put them in a truly dire situation. The two Navigators were put to work to retrace their steps back to the last well they had visited. Ade and Tor were sent out to find a new source of water nearby. There wasn’t much hope of them succeeding. Water sources were rare, and having the additional constraints of finding it quickly and having it be nearby made it even less likely that they would find anything. Ade wasn’t complaining. It was still time spent exploring the Shifting Sands by himself.
The first sign that Ade noticed was the unusual amount of animals that were active. He had grown up in the Sands, and knew just how tenacious and creative nature could be, but most species weren’t active until dusk or night to avoid the heat of the sun. Ade peered closely as a small lizard skittered past. He was sure that it usually came out after the sun was down, but here it was for some reason.
The second sign was the smell. Ade didn’t have a Talent to enhance his nose, or a trained dog capable of letting him know the information the wind carried, but smelling that something about the wind was different was easy enough. Eager to see what lay ahead, Ade quickened his pace.
It was green. The sheer expanse of wild growth was a pleasant surprise. Ade was far more comfortable seeing plants growing in carefully kept and watered gardens, or in the form of potted herbs and vegetables that the medicine woman tended to. This though was nothing more than an expanse of grass, lush and green from what would usually be an extravagant expenditure of water. It wasn’t the spiky, almost brown hardy weeds that struggled to survive in dips and cracks, but was an abundant feast for any grazing animal. And there were animals aplenty. Camels and antelope and smaller beasts that combined would feed the tribe for months. But the real treasure lay in the middle of them, quiet and unmoving.
Water. A clear pool that dwarfed the size of any natural source Ade had ever seen. More water than villages could pull out of their well, more water than his tribe used in a year. Against all odds he had done it. He had found a new source of water for the tribe. He had found an Oasis.