The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent

-Sun Tzu

A sea of golden waves in front of them, no roads leading somewhere, no shade, and a nice cold river to cool off. A constant heat in the air, shimmering as if the very earth released warmth.

The grains of sand sparkled like tiny jewels, sunbathing in the hot sun. Green vegetation somehow fighting its way to the surface here and there contrasted with the warm tone of the sand.

As they went deeper into the desert, the temperature rose, making the travels harder for the infantry that followed them on foot. And not only them but also the animals that carried them and all their supplies.

No one missed Beron, a week had passed and it was like he wasn't even with them at any point, totally forgotten. Reyan, Aena, Lysa, and Mengus lead the way ahead, followed by 20 men behind.

"If we continue like this I'll be dead by the time we arrive...How should I fight in these conditions? I hate sand, now I understand Anakin Skywalker..." Mengus complained.

"Who?" Lysa asked.

"A wise man once said: "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." Wise words.." Mengus took off his right boot and turned it upside down, sand fell right out of it. "Never understood him, now I do."

Halfway there, Mengus led Reyan away from the party, asking for help in something private. The sun, high in the sky, followed them.

While they rode away from the group, the horses' hooves made small clouds of dust form behind them, that quickly disappeared into the dry air.

"What do you need me for?" Reyan asked after riding for 15 minutes away from the party in complete silence.

"You'll see. We need to talk."

"About what?"

Reyan met Mengus's gaze, his eyes were cold. "When we get there you'll know."

They continued riding in silence for a while longer, and then Mengus decided to speak up.

"Let's stop here, this should be enough." He said.

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They got off their horses, they could feel the warmth of the sand below them.

"Pull out your sword," Mengus ordered. Reyan, still dumbfounded listened to him. His longsword was shining on the hot sun.

"Give it to me, and you take your mace."

Without a word, Reyan listened again and did as he was told.

"We fight, to the death." the sword and the mace made contact. A loud sound vibrated through the vast desert.

The sun kept following the two warriors, casting long shadows on the golden sand. The clash of steel echoed around them. Each strike took a lot of strength to pull. Mengus, with the long sword, swung fast and precise, each blow aimed with deadly intent. The sun bore witness to their struggle, casting an unforgiving light on the duel.

The sand beneath their feet shifted with each step, reshaping the terrain around them. Reyan Blacktooth couldn't keep up. Not taking his armor off in this heat made him more exhausted than Mengus in his light clothing. Blood mixed with the sand, and wounds on his body that Mengus made told a story about how serious this is. This was no light sparring it was between life or death. Reyan couldn't do much, he was on his last legs.

Mengus ducked and took sand in his left arm, then the next moment he threw it right into Reyan's eyes. He screamed in pain as he lost his vision, then a sharp pain in his right leg, more blood. When he opened his eyes he could see his sword stuck in his leg, when the adrenalin wears off he'll feel this, but not much now.

"You fucker! Why are you doing this?!" He screamed at Mengus, spit from his mouth stretching to his jaw, he looked like a mad dog.

"You maybe don't even remember, I don't even blame you..." Mengus pulled the sword out of Reyan's leg. "There was a woman you killed, 7 or 8 months ago if you can remember, in the arena." With a giant swing of the sword, the head fell right off like it was nothing. Blood gushed out, a lot of blood, and the horse fell into the sand. Reyan looked at the dead horse, scared for his life.

"Can you remember?"

"Y-yes."

"Good." Mengus took Reyan's water container made out of leather, drank some of it, and poured the rest out. The sand absorbed it, thankful to him for this treat.

"I won't kill you, even though you deserve it. I'll give you a chance to live."

"Hah! You killed my horse, drank my water, and injured me in the desert Gods know where and you think it is giving me a chance? This is just like you killed me!"

"Well, when you put it that way...Here let me help you a bit." Mengus lowered his pants and filled the water container to the brim.

"There you go," he dropped it next to him. "You have something to drink now."

Mengus made his way back to the horse, he kept hearing screams for a while, and then, complete silence.

"Where is Reyan?" Lysa asked when she saw Mengus return alone.

"He decided it was time to leave us, a very sad day for us..."

"Wh-" she saw it on his face that asking questions wouldn't bring much so she dropped it.

The town was filled with people, and merchants from all over the world came here for the super-famous spices. Mengus with Lysa walked around the town, looking for something but didn't tell her what until he saw it.

"There it is!" He yelled.

"There is what? You've been dragging me around after the trip, I just want to wash myself and go to sleep. You should do it too, we have a tournament tomorrow."

"A caravan trader."

"w-w-why were you looking for that?"

"To create my caravan of course."

"But you are a fighter, a warrior! How will you create a caravan? You know nothing about that?"

"I don't, but they do." he smiled at her and slowly headed towards the caravan trader.