Appo awoke for the second time, this time at the firepit. The combination of the tea, the haze of drawstring, and the soothing crackles of the fire had lulled him to sleep. It was still dark, so he hadn’t been out for long, but he already felt more refreshed. He looked around; Isbibarra was in a deep slumber brought on by smoking the Drawstring. He was snoring so loud Appo wondered whether it was him who woke him up. Gizzal was nowhere to be seen, Appo figured he went downstairs to sleep in peace.
As Appo stretched, he was struck with a repulsive stench. At the base of the stairs was the unmistakeable clumping of camel dung. Appo covered his nose, annoyed and shocked that no one had noticed the stench until now.
“Wait,” Appo thought. “I couldn’t have missed this before. Gizzal must have led one outside to relieve itself.” Appo climbed up the window slit, peering over the edge. He couldn’t see anything now. The torches in the distance were gone, and Gizzal and his camel was nowhere to be seen.
Appo traced the footsteps in the room. Fresh hoove prints led up the slope and out into the plains with none returning. Appo peered into the darkness for just a little longer, letting his vision adjust to the plains. After a few seconds, Appo saw the faint outline of a camel trotting in the distance. It was about half a league away. He wasn’t exactly sure, but it looked as if the camel was being ridden.
Maybe Gizzal could have taken the camel out on a walk, but to be so far away? It was cause for concern. Appo returned to Isbibarra, still snoring near the embers of their fire. Appo grabbed his shoulders and shook them.
“Wake up! Gizzal is leaving! He took one of the camels!” Appo was hesitant to shout, but Isbibarra appeared lost in a trance. It was no use. He must had smoked more than his fair share, because he was nearly comatose. After a moment of shaking, Appo gave up.
“Agh!” Appo yelled. This was bad. If Gizzal was leaving with one of their camels, he could have taken all of their supplies. If that was the case, Appo and Isbibarra would be stranded.
Appo ran down the spiral staircase. The downstairs was still lit, and Appo could see that the other camels were awake but undisturbed. Both of them were still loaded with supplies. Gizzal hadn’t fleeced them. But why would he want to leave? Why would he abandon the two in the middle of the desert?
“The desertfolk.” Appo said out loud. He recalled how Gizzal wondered about them, and how he suggested they reach out to them. It seemed as if he was going after them now. But why not tell them? Why would he risk going into the desert?
Appo didn’t have time to ponder Gizzal’s motivations. Right now, he was still relatively close. Appo could catch him if he acted fast. Appo hopped onto his camel and yipped.
The camel climbed the spiral staircase with haste. Isbibarra was still passed out. Appo couldn’t believe how unresponsive the blind man was. But Appo couldn’t do anything about it now. He had to catch Gizzal before he got too far. It would mean leaving Isbibarra alone, in the middle of a desert where he could do little to defend himself. If Appo didn’t return, Isbibarra was doomed.
Appo led the camel out into the desert and mounted it, throwing the loop of the reigns around his bad arm. After an entire day of travelling, Appo had well adjusted to camel riding one handed, but as he yipped he struggled to hold onto the saddle. The camel wasn’t used to being told to sprint, and Appo nearly fell off as the beast accelerated. He was able to regain control, but nearly lost the trail of Gizzal’s camel. After a moment of looping, Appo was able to find it, the hoove prints making their way down into the valley.
Appo rode as fast as he could alongside the trail. It was difficult to make out, but the moonlit sky guided him along the way. The dunes flattened as he rode towards the valley. Looking out into the distance, he could see that he was at the edge of the Rust Waves. He occasionally looked back, keeping the buried tower in sight, worried that if he travelled too far he would be completely lost. The last thing he needed was to be stranded in the dunes. But the tower was well obscured. It would be difficult to return.
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Appo pondered why Gizzal would be making such a drastic move. To trek through a desert to find a group of strangers was foolhardy. He was risking not only their lives, but the lives of everyone at the mercy of the screamers. There had to be some other motive. Appo couldn’t quite figure it out.
After a few minutes of riding and looping around dunes, Appo spotted Gizzal’s camel in the distance at the end of a valley. His pace was steady but he wasn’t moving quickly. Appo’s decision to lower the weight of his camel was a wise one. He yipped the camel, closing the distance between the two. At first, Gizzal appeared to ride faster as well, but as Appo approached Gizzal came to a halt. Appo, keeping his camel at a steady pace, looped in front of Gizzal, coming face to face with him.
“Have you lost your mind?” Appo asked. “Of all the pigheaded things to do-”
“We should have never come,” cut off Gizzal. He held his head high, conveying no regrets. “You and I both know this journey will be the end of us.”
“You truly mean to abandon us, then?”
“I abandoned the Merck. Made sure his tea had more than a fair share of drawstring tonight… if I had asked you to come, you would have stopped me.”
Appo was furious. “You… planned this? I knew you were conniving, but to think you would stoop so low!”
“If adding herbs to a tea makes me such a monster! I took what I needed, nothing more. The supplies I left are more than enough for the two of you to reach Zabukama. But I want no part in your quest.”
“So that’s it? You suppose we give up, take our chances with desertfolk?”
“Do you actually believe him, Appo? I thought you were a man of reason, someone who isn’t fooled by fanastatic tales of lost cities and cursed treasure. The old man can tell a story, despite what he wants you to think.”
“I… I don’t know what to believe!” admitted Appo. “But I have to believe there has be something we can do! I have to believe there was a reason for all this.” Appo couldn’t help but notice his lame arm struggling against the camel reins.
“Shit happens, Appo. People died before the plague, and they’ll keep dying even if you stop it. Have you even asked yourself what you’re trying to save? Ash is a pit good for nothing but collecting souls and coin. The Eivettä is a wasteland. Everyone here is either a killer, an asshole, or both. What sympathy do you expect me to have?”
“Then everything you told me was a lie? All that talk about your family and trying to make things right?”
“The old man dragged me out here, I didn’t choose this! I said what I said because I needed to survive. I’ve been trying to escape this whole time, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t! My some miracle you survived so far, yet you continue to press on toward certain death.”
Appo couldn’t respond. He was trying to think of a convincing reason to have Gizzal stay, but the truth was that he was barely convinced himself. The more he learned, the less things made sense. He was running on desperation, he had been ever since he arrived in Ash. Maybe even before then too. It only made sense to keep going.
“Look, healer,” Gizzal lowered his tone. “Believe me or don’t, but I wish you no ill will. In fact, I’m glad you’ve come. Let's find these desertfolk and let’s get out of the Eivettä. We can even tell them to reacue the old man. Let the plague be his problem. We can find the Thorne and make our way back to Beyshran. From there I can get the rest of my jewels and pay our way to the sea. I think we’ve both had our fair share of the desert.”
Appo held his reins. He was angry at himself for even considering the option. There were as many assumptions with this plan as Isbibarra’s, but here was an out. Appo could leave with coin. He would be rid of this place forever. If he left he could never forgive himself, but surely that was better than death?
“I-” Before Appo could speak, both camels began to groan. The sand underneath them vibrated, causing the camels to trot in disarray.
“What’s going on?” asked Gizzal? “Quake?” Appo had no idea. As the two stood, a rumbling came from the distance. It came fast, and as the sound grew the shaking worsened. In an instant, a wall of sand burst from the ground, colliding with the two. Appo and Gizzal were thrown from their camels. Gizzal landed on his back and Appo, unable to brace the fall, landed face first in the ground. The camels quickly recovered and sprinted away.
Appo got to his feet, trying to make sense of what just happened. He wiped the sand from his eyes. As he did, he saw another wall of sand blast their way towards them. The blast came in quick bursts, and it was gaining speed.
“WORM!” shouted Gizzal.
“Worm?” asked Appo. He could only think of one creature, one that he had mocked others many times for swearing by. “They’re real?!”
The wall of sand was now but meters away.