The Great Desert

Enru woke up half buried atop a large sand dune with Reban still partially holding her in an embrace. As she began to struggle out of his arms to get a feel for where they were, he also began to wake up. His eyelids flickered a few times and his breathing caught in his throat, before his eyes shot open and he bolted upright in the sand frantically looking around. He looked Enru and himself over for injuries as she got to her feet and began surveying their surroundings. Enru was still a bit dizzy and it took her a moment for her eyes to steady after she stood, but when they did, she was surprised at what she saw. She slowly turned around, and the surprise slowly turned to fear and finally to dread as she finished her circle, with her face paling and hands beginning to shake. Sand, for as far as the eye could see, was in every direction. Even from her vantage point on top of a sand dune she could not see far enough to spot any green marking the plains. The tornado had taken them both deep into the desert, although how deep and in what direction was anyones guess. She could still see the great mountain of course, as you could see it from anywhere in or near the desert, however she had no idea what side of it they were on anymore and had no way of knowing. They were lost.

While Enru dealt internally with her mounting panic Reban got to his feet as well and completed his own survey of the land. His search was a bit different however, as he also noted the large patch of cactus nearby and searched for any animal tracks or movement. Reban did not simply dress like an adventurer, he was trained as one as well. Make no mistake he was also quite scared for the future like Enru clearly was, but he was much better trained to handle unknown situations with terrible odds. He had never tried it, but he knew that the cactus in the desert contained both life saving water as well as bore the occasional cactus pear. While not the most filling or bountiful food, the combination would be critical on their journey out of this hot hell. As he reached for his water skin at his waist, a lance of pain shot through his arm. After inspecting it for a moment he came to the unfortunate conclusion that it had to be broken. This would surely set them back on their trek and make survival all that much harder, but you gotta play the hand you draw. Reban ripped the sleeve off of the injured arm and used the linen to construct a sling, keeping his arm tight against his lower chest, so that he would not injure it further through accidental use.

Enru has finally finished processing and compartmentalizing her current emotions, primarily fear, and was beginning to think normally again. She closed her eyes for a moment and entered that mesmerizing mind scape where she could sense the mana floating all around her and commanded it to keep a steady light breeze blowing on her. It was about the limit of her power on her own but she was grateful for it now. “Reban, do you know which way to go? I have no experience with desert travel.” She asked as she turned to look at Reban who had just finished wrapping up his injured arm and turned to look at her. He simply shook his head no, a grim but determined look on his face. “Oh, you are injured!” Exclaimed Enru worriedly. “Will you be OK?” She asked Reban, but in response he pointed down the dune towards the largest grouping of cactus she could see for miles and mimicked eating an apple. “Can you not speak?” Asked Enru, curious. She had not heard him speak but had assumed he simply did not want to, not that he was unable. He shook his head no again in response and adjusted his cowl so that she could see that his throat had a patch of nasty scars, the injury likely resulting in his inability to speak. “Well, this should prove interesting, then. Since you seem to know more than me out here at least, lead the way please if you would.” Said Enru, and the duo began the walk down the dunes toward the grouping of cactus in the distance.

During the walk the both of them learned all the reasons why traveling in the desert was so hated and dangerous. The sun was high in the sky in its usual place however the heat coming down on them was drastically warmer than they were used to. The heat was taking its toll and the two of them quickly emptied the sole water skin they had between them. Every now and then a strong wind would blow across the sand throwing handfuls of it into their eyes, although thankfully the covering on their leather cowls protected their mouths and noses from the worst of it. Twice they saw small lizards a bit larger than an adult males hand scurry about in the sand. With the speed they displayed however neither Enru or Reban entertained any delusions of being able to catch or kill one of these creatures. After several hours of walking they finally were upon the large grove of cacti.

As they began walking past the cacti at the edge of the large circular grove she managed to get a closer look at a cactus. This was her first time actually seeing it up close so Enru was a bit interested in studying it for the future. The cactus was squat and round, no higher than her waist around the edges but growing taller and taller towards the center of this grove. The tallest towered high above her and must have been ten feet tall! They were a dark shade of green and covered in their famous thorns and with a small grouping of red flowers on top. It was within this grouping of flowers that she spotted a few fruits here and there. “Are these fruits safe to eat you think?” She asked Reban, and got a a thumbs up in response without him even turning around as he walked into the grove. When they reached one about the height of Reban, he unsheathed his sword and carefully cut the cactus in such a way as to retrieve water from within. They drank their fill and made sure the single water skin that Reban has for the both of them was filled as well. “Isn’t it a bit odd that these cactus all group together like this here but are so spread out elsewhere? What makes them group up? The way they get larger the closer you get to the center as well is almost like its intentional…” Enru’s voice faded off at the end as the both of them looked around suspiciously. Of course, they spotted nothing out of the ordinary. It would have been quite obvious on their way here if someone was waiting or if anyone was following them. “Well, let’s collect as many of these fruits as we can reasonably carry. We don’t know when we will ever find so many at once again and they will be very important for us while lost.” Said Enru, and the two of them began stuffing the fist sized pears in any available pockets and pushes they had on their person.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

As they worked their way through the grove clearing it of fruit, Enru had finished stuffing what she could fit and decided to check out the center. “Reban, where are you? I want to check out the center of this grove!” She called out, and afters a moments pause heard the sound of Reban’s scabbard banging on a cactus. Enru headed in his direction and saw that he had finished gathering his share of the fruit as well and so together they headed to the center of the grove. All around them the cactus grew larger and larger the deeper they went. At this point they were clearly above what was natural and the both of them began to walk slower and on guard. As they rounded another massive cactus they came upon an open area in the middle, just a large circle of smooth sand, nothing special. “Well, that was a bit disappointing.” Said Enru as she walked to the center of the clearing. “I was half expecting to actually find someone or something in here, but I guess that would be ridiculous out here in the desert. Why don’t we take a short break and eat?” She suggested as she sat down cross legged and took out one of her pears. Reban nodded in silent agreement and followed suite across from her. As they both took the first bite of fruit, suddenly the ground underneath them opened up and swallowed them whole! A small squeak of surprise was all Enru managed before her and Reban fell down into the earth.

“Aaahhh!” Screamed Enru as she fell but just as suddenly as she fell she slammed into the soft malleable ground. “Wait a second, soft and malleable ground?” She thought to herself as she opened her eyes that she had screwed shut tight in fear. She had fallen on top of Reban who broke her fall, and who thankfully did not look to be in too much extra pain from the new blow to his arm. “Sorry Reban.” Enru apologized, although its not like she could choose where she landed during a fall. “Where are we?” She whispered quietly to herself as she looked around the area they had fallen into. She got no answer of course, but it was reflex to ask. All around them were hard sandstone walls covered in hieroglyphics and drawings, or at least what she could see from the dim light that got in from the fresh hole in the ceiling. It looks like the ceiling had weakened over time and their combined weight was enough to finally cause a collapse. She estimated that they had fallen about fifteen feet and near the center of the room, so there wasn’t exactly as easy way back up. She could not see the entire room due to the darkness but she did spot a large metal brazier along the wall nearby and could make out what looked to be metal torches bolted to the walls at regular intervals. Enru crept over to the brazier and attempted to see if it still had oil remaining. Squinting her eyes in the dim light she struggled to see, and decided to slowly dip her finger in - she didn’t want to soak her hand after all. As she slowly lowered her finger toward the brazier, she felt the cold slimy sensation of oil touch her skin. Smiling brightly, she jovially said “Reban, we have oil here! Do you think we could pry one of these torches off of the wall and use our clothes to light it?” Reban walked over to the nearest torch and inspected it as best as he could in the darkness, gave it some thought, and ripped it clean out of the wall by himself. “Damn your strong!” Exclaimed Enru, as she had thought it would take the both of them some time to pry one off the wall. Little did she know Reban had noticed the wall already beginning to crack and crumble between the ravages of time and the weight of the metal torch.

Reban, whose shirt was already ruined from ripping the sleeve off of one arm, mimed for Enru to do the same to his other sleeve. He might as well he supposed, and they needed a light source if they wanted to escape whatever these ruins were. “If you insist. Thank you, Reban.” Replied Enru as she tore his sleeve off at the shoulder and wrapped it around the wall torch tightly. After dipping it into the brazier full of oil she handed it back to Reban and began lit it with some flint and tinder Reban had supplied. An adventurer is never caught without the basics of survival like a good tinder box. With their torch lit and ready to explore these ruins for another exit, Enru gave the room they had fallen into another look and steeled her resolve for the future.