In the darkness, Clara sat on the warm sand, overlooking the huge walled city below. There was a grunt beside her. Looking around, she realised that The Prophet of Oria was still fast asleep.

After their narrow escape crossing the border by boat, they hurried to reach Osium, the city at the other end of The Narrow Road. Not wanting to run the risk of the border guards finding them, they gathered supplies from the shops at first light before heading out into the desert. Since then, it had been just the two of them, the hot sun on their backs, and sand for as far as the eye could see.

The Prophet of Oria had been right about his power having the ability to guide him to Oria. No matter where they decided to stop for the night, he only had to get up the next morning, look around for a second, and then he was off, striding across the desert before she had a chance to brush the sand from her clothes.

How far away were they now? Perhaps two miles, Clara thought as she looked down at the faint lights from the city. Looming out of the starry backdrop was an enormous pyramid, dwarfing everything around it. According to The Prophet of Oria, if you wanted to protect or hide anything, this was the place to bring it. The Vault of Oria was the most secure location in all the Kingdoms.

What could her mother possibly have had to hide in the vaults? All her life, they had never owned much, let alone anything worth any sort of money. As she had done frequently since she learned what it was, Clara twiddled the necklace between her fingers.

It couldn’t take that long to get to the city gates, could it? she wondered, glancing at The Prophet of Oria as he slept. If she slipped away in the night, she could get to the city before he awoke.

Ever since he had helped her get across the border, she had been wary of him, even more so since she had witnessed his powers. He claimed that all he wanted was to go home, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he had some ulterior motive. Her mother had told her not to trust anyone.

She made up her mind as the moon came out from behind a cloud, its silver light illuminating the desert. Getting to her feet, she picked up the bag, which had her share of the supplies in it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

‘It’s farther than you think,’ a voice said quietly. Clara hadn’t even taken half a dozen steps towards Oria.

‘I thought you were sleeping,’ she said, turning back to find him sitting up, eyes focused intently on her.

‘You might make it to the city gates by the time the sun rises, but you won’t be able to get into the vaults,’ he said. ‘Oria is not the sort of place for a young girl like yourself to be wandering the streets alone.’

‘They might be a proud people, the people of Oria, but any man’s pride can be bought by the chance of a little gold,’ The Prophet of Oria said.

‘But I don’t have any gold,’ Clara reminded him. On numerous occasions, he had made sure to keep her appraised of the amount she owed him for the food and drinks in Morlock.

‘That’s the problem. If you had gold, they might leave you alone if you handed it over.’

‘What if I don’t have gold?’

The Prophet of Oria considered her for a long, silent moment. ‘You don’t want to know,’ he muttered. She didn’t know if he was just trying to spare her the mental images or if he was just trying to convince her to stay with him.

‘You think they would kill me?’ she demanded.

‘They would do worse than just kill you.’

‘How can anything be worse than death?

‘Your little village on the hillside might have been a friendly place, but the rest of the world isn’t like that. You saw what the world did to your neighbours when it decided to pay them a visit,’ The Prophet of Oria said darkly as he got to his feet. ‘This world will rip you limb from limb and leave your corpse on the nearest dune if you don’t start thinking before you make decisions.’

‘I did think,’ she said defensively. ‘What are you doing?’

‘What did you think, girl? That you would be safer amongst a city of gold-obsessed murderers and rapists?’ he said shortly.

‘Well, how was I supposed to know they were...like that?’ she asked, unable to bring herself to use his words.

‘You weren’t. That is why you shouldn’t run off on your own before considering what you might be getting yourself into,’ he said as he picked up his bag. ‘Come on, we might as well start walking, seeing as you’re so eager.’

‘But you haven’t been to Oria in years; maybe it’s changed since you left,’ she said optimistically as she hurried to catch up with him.

‘People don’t change, especially when there is gold involved,’ he laughed.

‘How do you know? There are good people in this world too!’ Clara said.

‘You put too much faith in people,’ he said. ‘Your optimism will get you killed if you aren’t careful.’