When Aki walked through the camp, he saw and recognized the different inner tribes that made up the entire horde. Most didn’t pay him any attention. You couldn’t tell from far away, but each tribe had their own little twist with what they wore. Be it the sort of animal they wore, or the way they styled their hair. He recalled when he learned that each of the elders was the chief of their own tribe, and then they became part of the Elder Council of this horde.

Most of the people ignored him. The only time he received any glances or looks, they were hostile. He could feel animosity and stares from one group. They didn’t have the long hair that most of the horde had. They opted for shorter, shaved heads, with some of them having the sides of their heads shaved with just hair in the middle.

He noticed three or four of them in front of this section of the camp. They were wearing skins that appeared to be made from snakes. They glared at Aki, but they also prevented others from approaching him. Aki frowned and realized these people must have been from Hurit’s tribe. He reached out with his spirit gently. Aki didn’t want to provoke any conflict with these people. He felt they possessed the same power as their elder, but they were nowhere near as powerful as Huritt was.

Aki merely gave them a small nod and continued walking past their section of the camp. They were closer to the water than some others, so Huritt must have held a significant standing in their hierarchy. Perhaps one of those three men would replace her, although they would likely lose standing because they were much weaker. Aki wondered if they dueled to determine who would be the chief of the entire horde. He dismissed the thought; it didn't matter. All he cared about was getting away from these people.

It took Aki only a few more minutes to reach the water. The springs were a short walk down the lake bed to find the hot springs. They were a few large ponds sectioned off from the lake by small rocky hills. Endra was in the first spring he came across. He saw her son playing along the pond's edge, jumping into the shallow water and making it splash. When he saw Aki, he smiled and waved at him.

Aki grinned and reached to ruffle the boy's hair before looking up and spotting Endra. She was shoulder-deep in the water, her long dark hair slicked back behind her head. Endra was focused under the water, washing herself. She looked up when she heard her son laugh and saw Aki standing there with his hand on the boy’s head.

When Aki looked up and looked over, Endra was standing there in the water up to her shoulders. She brought up a hand and waved him into the water to join her. He furrowed his eyebrows and watched her for a moment before looking back at the boy. Aki smiled and ruffled the boy's hair once more, telling him to go play.

When the boy left to go play in the sand once more, Aki stripped out of his outer and inner robes and walked into the water. He waited until the last possible moment to remove his inner clothing in an attempt to maintain some dignity in front of Endra. She was still watching him, standing there in the water. Aki could see her smiling, waiting for him.

The water was hot but not scalding. It felt good against his sweat and dirt-covered body. The loose dirt under his feet caused him to stumble a couple of times on some large boulders at the pond's bottom. He waded out until he was with Endra. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but she lifted a finger to his lips.

“Shh, I’ve already heard about the fight in the head tent. Word travels fast through the camp. These people do nothing but gossip,” Endra laughed a little.

She took a deep breath and then went underwater. A moment later, she came back up holding a small rough rock. Aki did his best to keep his head and eyes above the water as she moved around. Endra went behind him and scrubbed his back with the stone. The roughness felt good against his skin, and she took care not to scrub too hard. With his cultivation, it wouldn’t matter if she scrubbed with all her strength; she wouldn’t be able to break his skin.

“These rocks are all over the place. It’s some sort of soapstone that is here naturally,” Endra explained to him.

Aki took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to enjoy a moment of relaxation after the fight and the many days he had been gone. Endra scrubbed his back and reached around to his shoulders, scrubbing his arms. Aki stayed still, but opened his eyes.

“We’re leaving,” he said after a long moment.

He didn’t see it, but he could feel Endra nod her head behind him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get back in time to help everyone else,” Aki said and sighed.

Endra stopped scrubbing and sighed along with him. “Me and Liam are fine. That’s all that matters to me. I have you to thank for it. You didn’t have to come back to town when they came, let alone come to my inn and fight for me. The townspeople never treated you well, yet you tried to fight for them.”

Aki felt her hands grab his shoulders now and turn him. He moved with her and turned, looking down at her. She was looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “Thank you, Aki,” she told him and then leaned up on her tippy-toes in the sand and kissed his cheek.

Aki just looked down at her with his gray eyes. “How long have I been gone?” he asked her, cocking an eyebrow.

She frowned. “Weeks,” she answered him. A moment later, she continued. “Everyone thought you were all dead or had run off. No one knew what to think. The chief told me the Shifting Sands were a demonic place. Without someone who knows how to navigate them, you can get lost there.”

Aki blinked, and then just stared at her. Weeks? It couldn’t have been. He had been wandering around alone for days, but weeks? That seemed like a stretch. How did the Chens make it through the desert if it was so demonic? He supposed they had instructions from his Elder, but….

Aki sighed and looked down at Endra, who smiled up at him nervously.

“What’s your plan to go?” she asked him, trying to get his mind back to what was happening now.

Aki blinked and snapped out of the daze. He was thinking of all that missing time. He smiled, looking down into Endra’s bright eyes. “I have friends. My Elder from back home sent them to find me. They’re waiting just outside of the camp. I was expecting I was going to break you and the rest of the people from the town out..” Aki trailed off then.

Endra frowned and looked down into the water. “Yeah,” was all she said.

“Since I fought one elder and won, we can just leave. They have a carriage, and we can get you somewhere to be safe, you and Liam,” Aki explained to her.

Endra looked back at him and cocked an eyebrow. “What about you?”

“We’re going to get you squared away back home. Then I need to come back to these Shifting Sands. I think I know why that man in red is here, and what he’s after.” Aki paused. “Well, I think I know why they came, kind of. I just need to stop them… or…” Aki trailed off.

He wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to be doing anymore. All he knew was somewhere in that desert was something demonic. He had to stop some random cultivator who seemed strange and off from getting it. Who knew what they’d be able to do, or even what they were trying to do to begin with?

Endra nodded her head, seeing he was drifting off into his thoughts again. She grabbed his shoulders a moment later and shook him, pulling him back.

“That’s it? That’s the plan?”

Aki looked back down at her, his eyebrows raised high, and he shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do, Endra.”

Endra looked up at him and frowned, but she nodded in understanding.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Alright then,” was all she said after a few moments of silence. She turned away from him and started walking toward the shore.

Aki followed her. They both walked in silence until Liam ran up to his mother, laughing and showing her what he had built in the sand, or had tried to. The packed dry earth here left a lot to be desired when it came to sculpting the earth. Endra just smiled and placated her son while she went to the clump of her clothes on the ground and dressed.

While walking up to the shore of the hot spring, Aki had tried to keep his eyes from Endra’s form out of respect for the woman. He sheepishly gathered his clothes and put them over his wet form. With a pulse of his mana, the wind picked up around him and Endra, drying them and their robes. He had tried his best to hide himself from her, as well as Liam. When he turned back toward the pair of them, he smiled nervously.

Endra just looked at him with a knowing smirk. They locked eyes for a moment, and Aki tried to push everything from his mind. The kiss, the two of them naked in the water together, the funny feelings he got when he stared at her. He didn’t have time for this. Still, he smiled at her. There may be more pressing matters, but there was something about her that made him feel like nothing else really mattered.

“Just outside of the camp is our ride. Their carriage is big enough for all of us,” Aki nodded his head.

That’s when he heard someone cough silently to their left. He looked over to where the noise came from, someone obviously trying to get their attention. Aki looked over to the person as he was putting the sword, still in its cane-looking scabbard around his back with the rope.

“You two are leaving already?” came the voice he wasn’t expecting. It was the chief. “You can stay here with us, you know. You can help the horde.”

Aki frowned, and Endra just looked at him, not sure what to say to the chief. Aki moved toward the chief and put a hand on the large man’s shoulder. “Yes, this horde isn’t…”

Aki was cut off. The chief interrupted him. “You could make us better, you know.” The chief wasn’t how he normally was, jovial and full of unabashed, crude humor. He seemed somehow smaller, standing here asking Aki not to leave.

Aki tried to look hard at the chief, his brow furrowed, his face full of anger. Looking at the man now, though, he couldn’t help but feel some sorrow. “They’re going to take over, aren't they? The other elders, the other chiefs.”

The chief sighed and nodded his head. He looked like he was going to say something, but he stopped himself. His eyes scanned Aki, looking him up and down, searching for some hint that Aki would stay and help him fend off these other elders. Would the others kill him? Did Aki really care if they did? Aki scanned the man right back. The chief was much larger than Aki was, and he was powerful in his own right. Still, the chief thought Aki could help fight off the others so he could maintain control over the horde. Aki narrowed his eyes a moment before looking back at Endra and Liam.

The mother and son stood there watching the two men. Liam had wrapped his arms around Endra’s leg, seeking comfort from his mother. The tension in the air between the two men was palpable. Aki could tell the chief was aware of how much he hated what the horde did and how they did it. He could tell him he didn’t care if the other elders killed him and dumped his body. That would be too much, though. He still had to get out of here with these two innocent people in tow.

“Come, we’re leaving,” was all Aki said.

He didn’t move until he watched Endra take Liam by the hand and lead the boy toward Aki. They moved away from him and toward the main part of the camp. Aki just kept his eyes locked with the chief.

"Goodbye," Aki told the other man before turning his back and walking behind the pair.

"You won't find resistance leaving. Live well," he heard the chief say to them as the three walked away. Aki didn't turn back to look at the man, instead just ushered the pair away.

Traveling through the camp was easy enough. There were some confusing glances and determined glares from the same ones as before. Aki supposed they were from the snake clan, whatever they were called. The three went through, though unmolested like the chief had said. He didn't know what would happen to these people once he was gone. As long as they stayed out of his way, he didn't care.

The three left the camp and headed through the open desert. Aki lifted Liam and carried him some of the way until they saw the overly large carriage riding towards them. They kept walking to meet the Chens, and it didn't take long for them to meet.

"We were expecting a little larger of a battle," Mei called down once the couple was upon the three of them.

Aki looked up and smiled, nodding his head. "Sorry to let you down. I was the only one who had to fight someone," Aki informed the Chens.

"No, no, it's okay. We aren't complaining," Jin piped up with a slight laugh. "I probably wouldn't have been much help in a big fight against that entire horde, anyway."

Jin reached down as he spoke when Aki lifted the boy. Jin set Liam right on the driver's bench in between his spot and where Mei was sitting. She had reached down to grab Endra's hand and help her hoist up to the carriage as well.

"Well, the little one can sit up here with us if you can keep you and your friend here safe on the roof in the back?" Mei looked at Aki as she spoke, helping Endra.

Aki nodded his assent, and they all piled on the cart and took off rolling through the desert. The hard-packed earth made for a bumpy ride on top of the carriage. They'd bounce around, and Liam would laugh at some of the bumpier areas and call out for more. Aki looked over at the boy and smiled.

He and Endra spoke a bit about teaching Liam about cultivation and making him a cultivator. Aki was unsure about actually training someone. He wasn't even Jade yet. He wasn't ready to take his own student. Aki sighed and shook his head. That was why he was sent here, though, to train and teach, to add to the ranks of The Beggars. Believers of the Kami and a more expansive cultivation power.

Endra looked over with a questioning glance, asking him what was wrong. He shrugged it off and shook his head. He smiled, told her it was nothing, and held her close to him. She didn't move from him, but allowed herself to get pulled over next to him on the roof of the carriage. He held her there as they bounced along through the desert.

The ride back to the town took days. The Chens took special care to stay out of the Shifting Sands with the map Aki's master, The Old Man, had given them. They stopped and set up camp at night, Jin cooking and feeding everyone what he could. Aki tried to hunt a few times, but it was risky. He didn't want to go out into the sands and get lost once more. So they ate light on travel rations of nuts and dried meat.

On their eighth day after they passed a big ridge line, they saw the ocean. As they rode closer, they could see the ships parked at the docks. They could see the town itself. People were milling about the streets. Working on cleaning them up. Aki pointed down, and they supposed it was the people who could get out on ships during the night of the initial raid. They were cleaning and rebuilding.

The group rode into town, and they could feel the eerie silence. People were there and working on rebuilding, but there was a heavy somberness in the air. Some people stopped and waved, recognizing Endra, but no one said much. Aki directed Jin to drive the wagon to Endra's inn, and they stopped the team of oxen out front.

As everyone was climbing down from the wagon, a man ran up to them, calling Endra's name. Aki turned and looked. It was the physician that operated the small store next to Endra's Inn. The one who helped Aki when he was still knocked out after the battle. Aki cocked an eyebrow.

"How…" but Aki didn't get the whole question out.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything. Come to my shop, all of you, please," the older man waved to the five of them. He didn't stop to wait for them, instead turned and walked briskly into his shop. He waited for them and held the door open, waiting for them to join him.

Aki looked at Endra with a raised brow and then the Chens before putting a hand on Liam's shoulder. They walked cautiously over to the store while the man eagerly waved for them to come. Once inside, he closed the door behind them and turned a hanging sign on the door so it read closed on the outside.

"Things are… different," the doctor said. "You, are especially not welcome in this new town," the doctor continued, looking and pointing to Aki.

Aki looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"That's ridiculous. What do you mean? How are you even here?" Endra asked him. "Jim, you guys were all taken."

The doctor nodded his head and went into his explanation. "Yes, we were taken. The gang, though, they staged a fight. Since they only sent us to the capital with a few guards, the gang could fight back and they won. We got free and made our way back here. We just got back the other day. The people who made it out had already come back and were cleaning."

Endra, Aki, Liam, and the Chens just listened to the man's story, nodding their heads. It all sounded amazing so far. Almost too good to be true.

"Well, Calvera, the leader of the gang. He took over. They were still on a high from defeating the horde guards and getting us out of there. He's saying this is their town now. They've taken up residence in your inn, Endra," he said, looking at her.

"And you, he said he'd kill on sight for all the trouble you've always given them," he continued, looking at Aki.

Aki gave a snort, but Endra just looked concerned. She looked outside of the window on the side of the medical storefront at her inn across the small alley. Aki stepped up behind her and put a hand to her shoulder.

"Don't worry, this is easily taken care of. Some bad guy thinks he runs things," Aki shrugged, speaking to her.

She looked over at him, her eyes watering a little. "Me and my mother built that hotel. That's all I have left of her."

Aki didn't wait for her to say anything else. He turned and headed for the door. The Chens just watched. They were unsure of what else to do. The pair were ready to go back to the Empire. They've had enough of the continent of Mesai. The doctor went to say something, reaching out for Aki, but he was already through the door heading outside.