The Dragonwalk Highway: The Fellowship of Thirteen

12 - The Desert of Indifference

By the time the Fellowship reached the bottom of the mountain they were running low on water, near starving, and so tired they could barely stand. Their good fortune on top of the mountain did nothing to alleviate any of those problems. They camped next to the mountain out of sheer exhaustion more than anything else and everyone passed out so quickly they forgot to assign someone to watch during the night.

Luckily everyone woke up no worse for the oversight and with their few remaining supplies intact. In the morning light, the path that darkness had hid became clear. The land opened up into a vast desert, a land of sandstorms and prickly ochowa bushes, offering no salvation for their hunger or their thirst. The only oasis in the Desert of Indifference was the town of Lockhaven, the village of the forgotten and morally deceased.

A quick word about Lockhaven. Lockhaven was once a thriving village and a center of trade and commerce along the Dragonwalk Highway. Its location was ideal being at the center of the Eastern Road and directly before or after the Ogre's Back Mountains. That, of course, changed when Grog set up shop at the top of the mountain. The village was essentially cut off from the kingdom and overrun by thieves and cutthroats. The village became a haven for immorality. Its location was the perfect sanctuary for debauchery being bookended by the mountain on one side and the Hundred Year Storm to its north.

A quick word about the Hundred Year Storm. The Hundred Year Storm was a fierce storm that had been raging for close to a hundred years as a result of a spell—but we'll get to that later. Enough quick words. Moving on then...

The Fellowship rested in the shadow of the last few boulders at the base of the mountain, attempting to summon enough motivation to start the long trek through the desert. Zelda knew just how miserable everyone was—how tired, how hungry, how thirsty—because she was all three of those things. She realized that this was the first time in her entire life she had been any of those things. Usually her servants appeared before she even felt a hint of hunger or thirst or exhaustion. It made her sick to her stomach because it was clear there were subjects in her father's kingdom who were those three things all the time. She decided she wasn't a fan of any of them.

Melthiar caught her staring into Lockhaven and limped over. He turned her eyes from the village and forced her to look at him. 'Don't even think about it."

"I don't see much of a choice. We need supplies for the back half of the journey. We need someplace to get a proper rest. We need to regroup."

"It's too dangerous. Not worth the risk. We could tough it out, go around the village. Find merchants traveling along the Highway. If we could make it to the Avox nests..."

"The nests? We'll never make it that far. We're barely treading water as it is. Some of us can barely stand..."

Melthiar recognized it as the veiled shot it was. "If you don't think I can make it you're wrong. I've survived worse."

"Maybe twenty years ago, Sir Melthiar. But it's not just you I'm concerned about. We caught a break with Grog. We can't hope our luck will hold to the nests. We need to risk it."

"I can't allow you to do that, Princess. Your father would never approve such a reckless move."

And there they were. They were at a stalemate. There wasn't much middle ground. Either they risked traveling to Lockhaven or they didn't.

Oron and Mo were standing a few feet away obviously eavesdropping on the conversation. Zelda grabbed Oron's tunic and yanked him to her side. "We'll allow our guide to decide."

"Our guide?!" Melthiar laughed until it caused him too much pain. "This guide nearly got us all killed by Wood Elves and offered no assistance whatsoever in passing through Grog's territory."