Both options were terrible. Going through the mountains, that required winter clothes, ropes, and other such equipment, as there was no mountain pass, at least not a scouted one, and that is without bringing the giants into this. The desert is, well, a desert. I don’t know what I feared more, the thirst or the supposed necromancers.

In the end, there was no coin toss. You don’t leave something this big to chance. We voted, and The Desert won 4-1. What? I wanted to see the giants.

Apparently, the desert didn’t even have a name. It was the only one on the continent, and they just called it The Desert. The general idea was to cross the desert and reach the ocean where a big city named Port Haven was located.

“But what about water?” I said. “You do realize water is important, right?” It seemed I was missing something.

“Well, we have a healer,” Alira smirked, clearly enjoying my confusion.

“So what’s she gonna do? Hold our hands and pat us while we die of thirst?”

Thalia was not as cruel as the rest and interjected, “Here, let me show you.” She waved her hand, and some water started to fall to the ground. “The water has healing properties, but the idea is that it’s still water.”

I didn’t want to be that guy, poking holes in other people's plans when I had no alternative, so with water apparently not a problem and with enough rations, we were on our way.

We made great progress and even spotted a herd of antelope-like animals. One lightning bolt later, we were eating steak at dinner.

Viper was telling Thalia some story about him managing to escape a goblin ambush.

“I swear to Otravos, they were throwing dozens of little spears after us, and they must have tipped them in some magical tincture. I was running ahead of Steel so he could shield for me, and all the spears that struck him became lodged. By the end, he had like 50 tiny spears in him. He looked like a porcupine!” Roars of laughter littered the night.

“Otravos?” I asked when the laughter died down a bit.

“God of afflictions,” Viper responded.

“Does he give people afflictions or cure them?” He sounded like a piece of work.

“Yes,” he responded, and they all started laughing again.

“How many gods are on this world?” It seemed like important stuff to know.

“Hundreds, maybe,” Thalia began. “But two dozen or so are what you would call the main ones, the ones people build temples and pray to.”

“And how powerful is a God? I mean, our definition back home of a God was that they could make planets and stars with a snap of their fingers.”

“I see now why you were so astonished that gods were real,” Alira said, then, like thinking of a comparison, she continued eventually. “Here, two gods fighting would sunder a region. At least, that’s what the oldest scrolls say.”

“No offense to any god out there, but they seem like really, really powerful individuals and less godlike.” Maybe it was a mistake to bring up such topics.

“Blasphemy,” Thalia responded and gave me a look that said it all. Even Viper was looking at me like I was crazy.

“From your definition, sure, they are not as powerful, but they can still end you with a thought, so I would be more careful.” At least Alira was more moderate.

“And keep those ideas to yourself in major cities. The Church of Light would imprison you in a second,” Steel was, at least, all about practicality.

“I mean a fight between them would sunder a region? doesn't seem that impressive.” They all looked at me with either shock or contempt.

Clearly having gone too far, it was time for damage control. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Thalia. I’m sure your god is wonderful and all and deserving of all your praise.” The contempt in her look seemed to decrease.

“Tell me more about your god. Maybe if I learn more about them, I won’t be so disrespectful.” Everybody likes talking about their favorite subjects, so that should give me some points back.

“He is the Light, the first ray of the Sun. His touch can give life, heal the sick, and lift us from the darkness of our souls.” Spoken like a true believer, and in a way, she had to be, or her spells wouldn’t have been as powerful. So who was I to judge? She talked more about him and his gifts, but church theology was a dry subject, to say the least.

While Thalia was talking to Viper and Steel, I got closer to Alira.

“What about you? Any subjects I should stay clear of?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“No, usually only religion inflames people like that, and as I mentioned, religion didn’t really stick with me.” She seemed more disappointed than anything.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I liked asking questions, and religion was always about not asking questions.” She thought for a few more seconds and said, almost whispering, “Most gods are not worthy of our praises and prayers, let alone worship.” Her voice then took the normal volume. “That is why faith was never easy for me.”

“Tell me more about you. Do you have family?” Just realizing I didn’t know much about her.

“My father was a general in Shadowmere’s army. He... died when I was 9. I don’t remember him that much, but he was a brave, kind, and fair man,” she shook her head, as if to not let herself fall into a sad memory. “At least that’s what people always said, and of course, I chose to believe that. My mother is alive and well, handling our little estate, while my brother is already an officer in the army.”

“So is a spy a higher rank than an officer?”

“I am not a spy! More like a problem solver,” she said, smiling.

“And did you want to be a problem solver when you were little?”

“No,” she laughed. “If you must know, I wanted to marry a prince and wear the nicest dresses.”

I looked at her with a disbelieving stare. “I don’t believe you.”

“I was like six,” she laughed. “Life was simpler then.” Then she looked at me with a very serious face. “That’s why I like talking to you. It reminds me of a happier time when the world was more…”

“Full of wonder?” I added.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “You see, you know what I’m talking about.”

“You’re a dreamer. You would have done well in my world.”

She looked at me with an inquisitive look. “What would I have done there?”

“Well, princess is not a job occupation, so you will have to tell me something else that you had a passion for.”

“You will laugh, but while I liked many things, the only thing I truly enjoyed was drawing stuff.”

“Like portraits or landscapes?”

“No, more like dresses. As I said, I wanted to wear the most beautiful dresses.”

"I thought you were 6 at the time?"

"Maybe I was older than six" she smiled and after a pause, she added, “I’m surprised you aren’t laughing.”

“That’s actually a really sought-after job from my earth. It’s called fashion designer. You need a very good imagination, a good artistic eye, and good drawing skills.”

“And people pay you just to draw a dress?” she sounded astounded.

While I explained the intricacies of the fashion industry, the others were getting ready to sleep. The hard part of our journey was just starting.

By the fourth day Thalia was producing less and less water with her spell, and our water needs shot up with the heat of the desert. She even looked very pale, which was concerning since we were all red from the heat, even as the sun was going down as evening was approaching.

“Thalia, I think you should stop with the spell casting. You don’t look good,” Viper put a hand on her to get her to cancel the spell.

“I do feel a little light-headed,” she said, taking a seat beside a rock.

“The problem is we need water, or we die,” Steel stated the honest truth.

“Looks like Spark might have been right,” then laughing, Alira added, “For once.”

“I don’t understand why the spell keeps making less and less water,” Thalia looked discouraged.

“Well, it does kind of make sense. We’re in a desert, after all,” I added.

“Why would that matter? A spell works the same no matter the location,” Viper said.

“The spell made less and less water as we went into the desert, which can only mean it doesn’t make water out of nothing. It just condenses whatever water there is around,” they looked like I lost them halfway.

“So you’re saying in the desert there is less water in the air?” Alira was top of the class yet again.

“Yeah, and also, even though hot air can hold more water, it’s also less dense, meaning even less water per the same volume of air,” even Alira seemed a little lost.

“Basically, Thalia’s spell won’t get better results,” they all looked downcast now.

Steel gained some common sense first. “We need to travel at night and keep in the shade during the day, and we need to decide if we turn back.”

“We won’t make it two days with what water we have, and we know there is no water back there,” Alira countered.

“So we go on and hope we find something in two days?” Viper did not like that plan.

“We can’t split up. Without Thalia, we wouldn’t last even a day,” I reminded them.

A thought occurred to me. “Why is she feeling so sick anyway? Didn’t you say there was no resource for spellcasting?”

“Like any effort, when you reach your limit and you still force it anyway, it starts eating away at you,” Thalia seemed to know better than Alira, at least at spellcasting.

“Does Intelligence help with the limit and how easy it is to reach it?” maybe I was being a little calous, but obviously my first thought was to me.

“I don’t know. Intelligence takes years to grow, too slow to actually measure, and people get naturally better at spells with practice over time, so you can’t really tell,” she looked at me more intently now. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I have an intelligence buff. Maybe it would help.” Touching her, I whispered, “Arcane Intellect.”

“I have 13 Int!” her color had returned a little to her cheeks, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of the buff or her sudden excitement.

“Your buff is 5 Int? I have never heard of a buff that powerful,” she finished with an amazed look.

“But is it helping you?” Amazed was nice and all, but not useful right now.

“I do feel a little better, but maybe it’s the excitement,” she slowly got up and started moving around.

“You aren’t as pale anymore,” Viper noticed.

“Let me try the spell again. It's the only way to tell.” While I wanted to protest, she looked determined, so I kept quiet.

Casting her spell over a water pouch, it had actually produced more water than before.

“Incredible,” she said. “I can feel how much more powerful the spell is now, and the exhaustion is almost gone.”

“Seems Intelligence is more versatile than was previously believed,” Alira said while having a look I couldn’t read.

With this new development, water was no longer a life or death situation anymore, but we were still constantly thirsty, and that forced us to rest often. We progressed slowly but surely, and after three days, we entered a more hospitable zone because there was some vegetation indicating a source of water. The area was filled with rocky hills and valleys, making navigation challenging without a clear path to follow.

“I hear something,” Alira signaled for us to stop and keep quiet. We walked slowly for a few minutes, but soon, a scream pierced the silence.

It sounded like a girl. Maybe some animal was attacking her. With one look at my companions, I realized they thought the same. The chances for an ambush were low, so we went in the direction of the sound with increased determination.