The Legend of Lemur (Book 3) - Rise of The Desert Queen

Chapter 9: The Kingdom of Sand

Meanwhile, with the spy squadron...

A day had passed since the departure of the spy squadron, and they didn't have much luck in locating the mysterious kingdom within the sands of the great desert beyond.

"Do you think we'll ever find it?" Jayden asked.

"It does seem questionable," Polar replied, "We're already deep within the desert, and there's still nothing... It's so uncomfortable in this heat."

General Jackson shook his head and assured, "Don't worry guys, we'll find it, I'm sure. Nobody ever said it would be close to the Forest Kingdom, or any of us for that matter."

"It just feels like we've been wandering in the sand forever," Polar said, unamused.

The group of four continued trekking within the desert when suddenly, they found a body of water within the desert. Unlike the surrounding desert, the water's edges were flourished with plant life, and trees that the group had never seen before.

"Oh woooow!" Jayden exclaimed, "Will you look at that!?"

The group rushed to the water source in awe of it's beauty, and just as Jayden was about to drink the water, Polar had stopped her.

"Polar, why won't you let me drink the water!? I'm thirsty!"

Polar peered at the water and replied, "The water might not be safe to drink. Don't forget, we aren't in our kingdoms anymore, so even something as simple as the water... could be dangerous."

"That sounds like a dumb excuse to get yourself a drink!" Jayden exclaimed.

Jayden pushed aside Polar and ran towards the water until Cedric yelled, "STOP!"

Jayden skidded to a halt in the sand. "Are you going to stop me too?!"

"Jayden, look over there!" Cedric exclaimed as he pointed across the water.

On the other end of the oasis, sat a couple decaying corpses of what appeared to be birds, within the shallow waters as if they died drinking it.

"Oh..." Jayden said, "So this water is really unsafe?"

"Even if the water wasn't what killed them," General Jackson explained, "It would be risky to drink water that have rotting corpses in it."

"Well," Polar started, "It's unsafe... for now."

"For now?" Cedric asked, "What do you mean for now?"

Polar wiped the sweat off his face with his arm and replied, "Hear me out. I'm a waterbender, correct?"

"To our knowledge, yes," Jackson answered.

"So as a waterbender, I should, theoretically, only be able to bend the water in this desert pond, leaving any dangerous threats within it."

"That's genius Polar! Will it work though?" Cedric asked.

"Only one way to find out."

Polar then performed the stances he learned from the bender village he once visited and extracted water from the oasis. Unlike the water that sat in the desert pond, the water he bended did seem to look 'cleaner'. Polar bended the water into his flask and took a sip.

"Polar! That's risky!" Jackson exclaimed.

Polar wiped his mouth and chuckled lightly.

"It... it tastes like water!" Polar said, thrilled.

"Do you... feel alright?" Cedric asked.

Polar stood there silent for a while, and then replied, "The water is safe."

"Please bend us some Polar!" Jayden exclaimed urgently.

Thus, Polar bended more water out of the oasis and into each of their flasks. The group drank the water and took a break from walking to enjoy the change of scenery.

"How do you think... the others are doing back home?" Jayden asked.

Cedric pondered for a bit before replying, "I would be lying if I didn't say I worry for them. Those desert people took down an entire kingdom in a matter of minutes. It's scary to wonder who we won't see again when we return."

"Surely they're giving them a run for their money!" Jackson added, optimistically, "These desert people are tough, but we are the Lapis Union. We fought in the great Ender War against the most infamous villains known to man... and we came out of it victorious."

"That is true," Polar said, "But don't forget about the assist from the End Kingdom. If they didn't show up, all of our rulers may have died that day."

"The point is that we won. The desert people took us by surprise by taking down the Forest Kingdom. Now we're prepared. We have us on infiltration, and the entirety of the Union will be defending our home... and best of all, they're out of surprises."

"Yeah!" Jayden said, "They don't know what's coming to them!"

Suddenly the group heard what sounded like a strong gust of wind, and shifting sand. Jackson gestured to hide within the brush of the desert pond quickly. They watched as a big cloud of sand approached them from the southwest, where the Forest Kingdom stood, and go right past them to the northeast.

"Was that... the enemy?" Jayden asked quietly.

Jackson gestured to the waves of sand on the ground, and the several footprints marked in it, assuring Jayden that it was indeed, the sand wielders.

"See!" Jackson said, "They've retreated!"

"Not only that," Cedric replied, "But they've made us a path to where we have to go."

The group followed the deep carves and footprints in the sand, and after a couple of hours... there it was. Over a large dune of sand, sat a kingdom... entirely made of sandstone and other materials they wouldn't imagine to be made into a kingdom.

"It's... so beautiful... and enormous. It's definitely bigger than even the Lapis Kingdom." Jayden said.

"Indeed it is," Polar said, "This could be bad news."

"What, why?" Jayden asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Polar interjected, "Bigger kingdoms mean larger populations. The forces they sent against us don't even compare to the sheer size of this place."

"There is a chance," Jackson said, "That those forces they sent... were merely to test our defenses. Polar is right... our enemy is much more than we could've imagined."