Chapter 20- Casliton's Boarder
A vast wave of nausea washed over Castor as they reached Casliton's boarder. A twenty foot, solid stone wall encompassed the city. Thin cracks wound their way throughout the rough dark granite barricade.
Castor walked his horse up to the foot of the wall, got off, and just stood there; basking in the cool shade that the wall provided. "Finally," Castor said to himself with a sigh of relief. Together, Castor and Sam had travelled for roughly three days on horseback before they had even seen the city against the horizon.
Together they did nothing but sit, and relish in the shade that the wall provided. After a few hours of doing completely nothing, Castor and Sam decided that it was about time that they got a move on. Getting back on their horses, they left the cool and comforting confinement of the shade, and began the journey through the Cyan Desert.
As they approached, they saw a group of merchants standing in the shade of a hut that they had built out of tree bark. To the left of the hut was a small corral dotted with horses. Castor and Sam stepped up to the Merchants, and traded their current horses for a pair of the better equipped, and acclimatized desert horses. They had rough, sandy coats that blended well with the Sand dunes that wafted around them.
Stopping for a moment to ask the merchant for directions, Sam asked, "Hey, do you know if there are any towns in the northern desert?"
"Ya, jus' one tha' I can think of, I's called Reliculim I think," one of the merchants mumbled. Sam nodded his head, turned his horse, and set off again with Castor closely behind in tow.
* A Few Hours Later*
"What do you think that we might mind in Reliculim?"Sam asked Castor as they continued on their long journey.
"Well, I guess that we can only hope that we might find a clue as to either how to get into the items realm, and as to where we should head next. Reliculim is a fairly large city, and it's bound to have some information to give us,"Castor replied as cheerily as he could muster. The heat was beginning to take it's toll on both him, and on Sam. The suns rays rained down on their uncovered, pale necks, and burned the flesh to a crisp.
"I guess you're right. Oh, that reminds me, how do you suppose that we get into another realm? Like, I know that you don't really know how to, but how do you think that we could?" Sam questioned
"I really don't know," Castor told him, "But however you get in, it must be pretty damn hard."
"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, confused slightly by Castors reply.
"Let me put it this way, how many people do you know that have gotten in and out of another realm without difficulty, let alone at all?" Castor nearly shouted at Sam. Sam didn't say a word, but waited for Castor to continue. "Ya, no one."
It wasn't until a few hours after sunset that the contemptuous rays of heat finally lowered their gaze, and turned away from the cyan desert. Instead the sun directed its heat waves at another realm, for the night warming there instead of here. As soon as the last reminiscence of sunlight vanished from the horizon, a harsh hiemal wind sweeped in, and cloaked the desert in its algid embrace. The temperature plummeted,and left both Castor and Sam wishing that they'd brought something warmer to wear.
Even though night had entirely set in, they continued on with their journey, never resting in the chilly air, for fear of not waking up.
After perilous transitions between extreme heat, and cold, only then did Castor and Sam happen across a small, but flourishing oasis in the middle of the desert. Small, young saplings dotted the long, winding path that led up to a small pool of water. It was cool and fresh, and fed by an underground spring. Splashing his face with the cool water, Castor then shook the droplets from his face and let out a sigh of relief. Yet, they didn't stay long, for they still had many miles left in their journey, and there was still a long way to go.
The many days, and nights carried on, and still there was no sign of Reliculim. On the dawn of the seventh day of travel, the outlines of roof topped buildings loomed in the distance. The closer to them that Castor and Sam drew, the farther away the distant city seemed. Sensing that the end was near, Castor slid from his horses back, and ran on foot toward the city. The moment that his feet made contact with the sandy substrate, the city became blurred, and it flickered a few times before fading from view.
The look of utter shock that crossed Castor's face grew until the seemingly once standing city disappeared from view. It had been a mirage. Nothing more than a mirage- the heat playing tricks on his mind in desperation.
Placing his head in his hands, Castor wiped the sweat from his brow, and returned to where his horse stood vigilant, waiting for him to return. Climbing back into the saddle that was perched on his horses back, Sam and Castor continued onward, shaking the thought of mirages, and trickery from their minds.
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Past the Edge (An Item for Greed Book 1)
FantasíaProtected for thousands of years, but no one knows what it is? It was once said that it could make an army go mad, just at its sight with hopeless greed. After hearing of this tale from a local madman, a boy by the name of Castor has his mind set t...
