Darkness retreated as the sun crept over the dunes. Appo, Gizzal, and Isbibarra had traveled for two hours now. Their camels proved adept at shifting through sand, though they were slowed by the trudging of Appo’s elephant. As swift as she was, she had no chance of climbing the dunes, forcing the group to loop around them. Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to for much longer.

Appo’s come around to Isbibarra’s plan required little thought. For one, he was in no condition to go anywhere by himself, let alone in an area as dangerous as the Rust Waves. But he also realized there was nothing else he could investigate. Isbibarra admitted to releasing the plague, it having come from the faraway city of Zabukama. Appo had come to track the source, and the blind man was willing to take him to it.

Appo had no idea what to make of his story though, or his conclusion. To return a necklace and neutralize the plague was more than a leap of faith, but Appo had to believe it was something he could do. The city of Ash was lost and the desert was overrun, that much was true. But the screamers were making their way wherever they could. How long before they made their way down the Thorne, spreading to Beyshran or Olapeen or Loam or even Jyväsk itself? Surely Appo had a duty to prevent devastation in all of Ostior if he could.

With Appo’s commitment to the journey, there was little else to do. Gizzal and Isbibarra had mapped out the route and had collected all supplies the camels could carry. Isbibarra slaughtered the remaining yak, saving them from the slow pain of starvation. When it came to the elephant, however, Appo refused to allow harm to come to her. She had been a good companion and saved his life. After some convincing, Isbibarra admitted there was a single tributary ahead that would allow the elephant to return to the Thorne. It would add a few hours to their traveling, but it also led them closer to a potential raider hideout that would provide refuge.

Isbibarra claimed he spent ten moons in the desert when he traveled with Mikal. He hid in hideouts, conversed with raiders, and interrogated desertfolk before finding the lost city. When Mikal was attacked and Isbibarra was forced to flee, however, it only required two moons of nonstop traveling. Factoring in necessary sleep and their planned detours, Isbibarra predicted they would reasonably reach Zabukama in three moons.

“Three moons.” Appo thought about that amount of time for much of his early riding. Sixteen had already passed. The city of Ash was already decimated. But how many more lives would be lost in due time? How far would the plague spread before it was too late? What if it already was? He couldn’t help it: with every step, he imagined another family joining the horde. Another addition to a chorus of screams.

The heat was creeping back. The group had more than enough water, and their clothes were lined with figweed to withstand the heat, but the next few days would take their toll. They would travel straight through the night until tomorrow morning.

With the sunrise, the group caught a glimpse of their surroundings. They were in luck: to the south of them, creeping upward around a bend, was a small river slithered through a flattening of the dunes. According to the maps of the raiders, it was a little more than twenty leagues from the Thorne. Once there, it would be a quick journey back to Lockwood. Appo pitched it as a chance to refill on water one last time, but everyone knew the real reason they traveled there. If the elephant could make it past the raiders, it would be a fifty-fifty chance of running into a Jyväsk patrol. It was low odds, especially with screamers running amok, but the elephant at least had a chance of survival this way. Appo owed it that much for saving its life.

“Say your goodbye,” said Isbibarra, who was riding alongside Appo. “She will understand that she must leave us now.”

Appo dismounted his camel. He struggled for a moment, for he was still getting used to navigating the world with one hand. The elephant was a few meters behind them, picking up her pace at the sight of the tributary. She stopped at the bank of the river, within a trunk’s distance. Appo came forward, slowly guiding her trunk towards the water. She gulped furiously. She was already so tired. Appo felt sorry she had come this far.

As the elephant drank, Isbibarra rode his camel behind her flank, placing his hand over her rough hide. “You are well versed with the lefantti. She respects you very much.”

“She has been a remarkable companion,” replied Appo. “Shame we must part here.”

“They are tough creatures, you would be surprised.” Isbibarra ran his hand across her back, feeling over the many etchings scratched into her skin. “Do you know what she is called? She will go if you command her by name.”

“I do not. It was something in steppe.”

Isbibarra smiled. “Norsusituu.” With that, the elephant groaned, as if she had been patiently waiting to speak. “Lefantti have two names: one from their steppe masters and one for their Merkamensan breeders. Both are carved on the hindquarters at a young age. I imagine she will answer to ‘Norsu.’” As Isbibarra said this, the elephant turned her head briefly, before returning to the river bank to drink.

“Norsu,” Appo repeated. Norsu squeaked, eager to be hearing her name spoken by her rider.

“Speak to her clearly and slowly,” continued Isbibarra. “They say the lefantti are the best listeners. She will go where you tell her.”

“Okay.” Appo scratched Norsu’s ear. “Norsu, finish your drinking. Travel along the river as far as you can. You can go home.” Norsu groaned, rising to her legs before turning south. Her pace had improved already.

“Not how I would say it,” Isbibarra said, “but she hears you. I wish her well.”

Appo watched for a moment before saddling his camel. “I will save at least one life in this desert,” he said, bitterly. He yipped, turning his camel back towards the dunes. Now, his sights were aimed at Zabukama.

Isbibarra followed behind. His camel was pulled by a rope attached to Appo’s hip, giving him enough distance for ten meters. They were typically riding much closer than that, nearly in tandem. Isbibarra flicked his rope, as usual for when he needed something. “Ask the Head if the coast is clear.”

Appo looked past the tributary, spotting Gizzal about half a league away. He was sitting atop his camel under the edge of a large dune. Appo raised his hand, holding it high for a few moments. Appo could barely make it out through the mirage of the desert, but it looked as if Gizzal waved back at him. For the next few hours, Gizzal would lead their way through the desert before trading places with Appo. If they could get away from the tributary now, they would be out of Raider territory for at least a few hours.

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“We’re good to go,” said Appo.

“Splendid. Lead the way.”

Appo still struggled to ride his camel. Staying balanced with one hand proved difficult. He found he could hold his saddle or yip, but not both. Having to guide Isbibarra as well added difficulty. After some frustrated yipping, Appo was able to set a steady traveling pace for both camels. They moved faster now, unburdened by the elephant that trailed them.

“May I make a suggestion?” asked Isibarra. “Tie one rein around your left arm. That way you always have at least some control of your beast.”

“It’s okay. I can manage.” In truth, Appo was struggling. But tying knots with one hand proved impossible. He would embarrass himself trying to pull it together.

“Nonsense. Allow me?” Isbibarra pulled his camel closer to Appo. After taking a moment to find both Appo’s arm and the rein, Isbibarra tied a knot around Appo’s elbow.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“It is no problem.”

The two continued onward. Appo practiced yipping and changing direction. It wasn't perfect, but the camel wouldn't be running in circles. After testing for a moment, Appo looped the slacked reins on his elbow, forming a sort of hook. It was an effective trick.

“So… You’re familiar with elephants?” asked Appo. He wasn’t looking to spend his entire trek in silence.

“Was it obvious?” joked Isbibarra. “I have been around my fair share, though not as much as my brethren. I find the felantti too loud for my liking.”

“I’ve read the Merkamensans used to ride them for war. Their entire army rode them during King Severum’s War.”

“Most know it as the Second Merck War. You do us an honor of calling it by our name… A fine campaign that was. Did little to prevent defeat, though. All was lost after the Fleet was destroyed.”

“True,” agreed Appo. “Many of my colleagues speak of the war with admiration. We mastered the tourniquet from it... as if that makes up for all the dead.”

“It was four hundred years ago. Jyväskian memories are short… In any case, now the lefantti are seldom used for battle. We prefer to use them for fieldwork and travel, though I would be lying if failed to mention how many in my country enjoy a good jousting.”

“Elephant jousting? What was that like?”

Isbibarra laughed. “I never saw one.”

“Oh,” murmured Appo. “I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“An understandable mistake, do not apologize. Sure, I never saw it with eyes, but I felt their energy. The weight of the stomps and the power in their roars… You cannot fathom the sounds of their collisions.”

“Have you always been able to… see the way that you do?” Appo hoped Isbibarra could forgive him for such a pointed question. “I have encountered many blind men and women through my travels, but I have never heard of anyone with your abilities.”

“That is because you practice medicine along the river and the cities. I imagine you could write many scrolls if you traveled to Merkamensa. That being said, I have never met another like me. Few of us have been recorded in our annals.”

“Fascinating.” Appo had heard many stories of Merkamensan feats, though what was fact and what was conjecture was difficult to discern. If the stories Gizzal had told them were to be believed, however, Isbibarra was easily the most impressive warrior Appo had ever met in person.

“Do not give me praise when I do not deserve it. My abilities are as sturdy as the ground I stand on. Believe it or not, I was actually quite clumsy in my homeland. Too much dirt and the roots of the bamboo grow deep. A soturi without eyes could never be virtuous.”

“Is that why you come to the desert?”

“One of many reasons. I have lived here for many years. I know the Eivettä better than the forest, now. My eyes are of better use here.”

The two marched on, chewing on figweed and sipping water. The heat had come in full force now, but it did little to affect the camels. Appo looked ahead as they passed over a dune, seeing Gizzal in the distance. They had seen a few screamers, but most had thinned out this far from Ash. They were in no danger if their voices carried.

“I have known only one other Merkamensan,” said Appo. “Her name was Istefa. We both apprenticed under a healer named Parbast. As astute as she was, she had peculiar ideas. She obsessed over fungi, spending many days walking along the shore and scraping mushrooms into buckets. Believed she could dissolve them into herbs, or breed them into some new species. She too acted nothing like what I expected.”

“You praise this woman, yet I sense judgment in your voice. You disagree with her studies?”

“No. I just think she could have spent her time on more important matters. We were healers, she should have been healing.”

“My people are cultivators. It is no surprise she would have such an interest. Nearly all of the discoveries made in my country, including the elixir that cured your blood rot, were discovered by women doing very much the sort of thing she had done.”

Appo laughed. “Few sought her services. If she discovered anything significant I never saw anything from it. ”

“Why do you say that? Was it because she was a woman? Or a foreigner? Not surprised a Merck could not get work?”

Appo was surprised at how pointed Isbibarra became. “No, not anything like that. She just… liked to be alone. I can’t say I disagree. I always learned best on my own. Parbast was just as obstinate; for as good of a surgeon as he was, he believed there wasn’t a single person that couldn’t benefit from bloodletting and leeches. And neither of them understood the value in corpse examination!”

“Hmm. I thought healers cooperated with each other. Perhaps I am wrong, I have encountered so few.”

Appo sighed. “You’re not mistaken. They normally do.”

“Ah.” Isbibarra leaned back into his camel. “I believe I understand now.”

“Understand what?”

Isbibarra clicked his tongue. “You. You don’t work well with others, don’t you?”

Appo laughed. “Ridiculous! The idea of a healer not working with others. How else would we learn?”

“I will do my best to give my interpretation: you hail from the largest city in Ostior, a city I understand to be at the forefront of medical knowledge. Instead of staying there and working with the brightest of your peers, you pressed from city to city before settling in Lockwood, a village barely large enough to host just one healer. You then make your way to Ash, the most desolate city along the Thorne, with the vague promise of curing a plague and earning measly coin.”

“I was called upon by the Heads. I couldn’t say no!”

“As if you had any idea who they were. Face it, Appo: you are running. Heading so far east that you are bound to fall off the map. I want to tell you something honest. Something you may have never been told before.”

Appo was getting annoyed. He hadn’t come on this trip to get lectured.

“You do not know everything. I saw what the blood rot did you your arm and your attempt at curing it. Were it not for my elixir you would have died. No one can brave this world on their own, Appo. No one has accomplished anything of meaning by running away to the desert. Even when I was shunned by my people, I found someone to rely on. Someone I could trust. If we’re going to make it through this desert, we must trust each other. It is the only way will make it. After that, you should find someone to love. Being alone is a miserable way to go through life.”

Appo remained silent and planned on staying so for a while. Times like this reminded Appo why he was alone. He was tired of the lecturing, tired of the assumption that he didn’t know how the world worked. He had done just fine on his own. And once he was done, he was more than happy being alone again.