Desert Rain (Preview)

Chapter 3

"My ability is called Syncral. Some call it a kind of magic and others think it is spiritually influenced. While there are people are born with it, some simply are not. It allows for an inherent and complete control over select elements. Mine is water."

For a time, Tula was silent, not sure what to say, but a question soon came to mind.

"If you can control water, why didn't you do it before when we were fighting in the desert near the oasis?"

"I was about to when Kei intervened. I had thought I could defeat you without it beforehand, but you proved me wrong."

"Damn right I did. Still, I wish I had known," she said before standing up. "It's a valuable skill to have in a place like this. We could find every oasis in the area nobody has claimed and help people get what they need."

"We could, but I would still need you to guide me. There's no guarantee I'd find a town if I just walked out into the desert," Kenta explained.

"I'll take care of that," Tula said, "In the meantime I think we should keep you laying low for a while. Otherwise other people will start flocking to you again and who knows what will happen. Speaking of which, can anyone learn to use elements?"

"No, you have to be born with a talent for it, otherwise it won't work."

"Damn, I wanted to see if I had any kind of talent for it." Sighed the auburn haired lady, before she rose and walked towards the door. "I'm starting to get hungry. What do you say you and I get some dinner? It'll be my treat since you lost all the money you raised today."

"It was for an acquaintance. He got what he needed."

"Then I'll buy because you did your good deed for today. Come on."

Following behind Tula, Kenta was eager to eat. They soon found food and after their meal was finished, Kei returned and joined them. Soon after, everyone returned to his or her room for the night and rested.

-

The following days were uneventful with Tula being away and selling her oasis maps, and Kenta exploring the city incognito with Kei accompanying him. It wasn't until three days after Kenta revealed his Water Syncral that Tula had any success in her plans.

"I finally managed it!" she proclaimed one afternoon when she had gone to visit Kenta and Kei, filled with an air of self-satisfaction. "I sold all the oasis maps."

"That is fortunate news. Are you prepared to give away the locations?"

"I already did, and I got my payment right here," Tula said showing a new bag full of Kres, separate from the one with her advance payment for bodyguarding. With a large smile on her face she put it away. "Alright you two, I'm ready to move on if you guys are."

"Kenta? The ultimate decision lies with you," Kei told him plainly. The young black haired man came to his decision rather soon.

"We've done all we need to. It is best for us to leave," Kenta decided. "We should pack up and head out for the next place."

"The next closest place would be Rynnade. It would only take a day or so to get there," Tula said. "From there we could even make it to the Capitol, Sarilar."

"Then we go now. Let's get moving."

After the decision was made, everyone gathered their things and headed out of the city and into the desert once more. With plenty of water and Tula there to guide them, the trip was far less arduous than it had been before. Trudging through the sand was still time consuming, but the trio was able to proceed with better confidence now that they were nearing their destination.