At The Heart of Tale Kingdoms (COMPLETED)

11. ING IX - Demon's way

Ing thoughts drifted to Aset and the Darkese girl. He couldn't help but wonder if Nerti thought of his whereabouts or if she liked his parting gift. He tried to remember if she had told him what she liked to eat, to read or her favorite weapon when their traveling path faded and they approached a dessert. The dry winds blew away his day dreams.

"I don't think the water you brought is going to last us." he told The Third.

"Of course, it will. One water skin will last one of us for a month, and I brought three for each of us." The woman responded calmly.

"What about the horses?"

"I also brought some for them." she answered patting her medium sized saddle bag. Ing was doubtful but didn't express it.

A they traveled farther the commander soon found out that The Third and he were both bad with directions. Ing was a skilled fighter and general while The third was a wise resourceful leader of the Ird. But both were clueless of the way west around the rising and moving dunes of sand.

Ing suggested the use of the evening star that shone in the west. He explained that it was visible at night and the first to appear whenever dawn approached. But The Third wasn't convinced.

"Let's use the sun, we should remember where it sets and watch where it rises to make sure we are on the right track." They followed the sun's path for two days before they discovered they were going in circles. After, the colorless woman agreed to use the evening star at night. Yet, it still took them another two days to mark and not confuse it with the other stars.

After only three days in the dessert, the damages of the sun were evident on Ing's skin. His face and skin had started peeling, his whole body had turned red and Ing didn't dare to touch any part of himself. The third was smarter, she had wrapped her whole body in white robes, even her eyes were hidden behind a transparent shawl.

"You need to cover more," she told him as she bent down to inspect his face when they stopped at sunset. She tore a piece of her long shawl that fell to her feet and wrapped it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

The journey didn't improve. For although the horses had also drank the Ird's pond water, they struggled to carry their rider's weight under the harshness of the sun and the frequent sand storms. So Ing and The third frequently travelled on foot.

In the two weeks of roaming through the hot lands, strange things happened. The desert changed from sandy to rocky then three days later was crowded with thorns and shrubs only to return to an ocean of sand. By the fifth day he was already convinced that the dessert was talking to him, repeatedly asking, "Who comes here, who wakes us." To which The third accused him of being demented.

At the end of the two weeks they came across an oasis. They stood for a long while staring at their discovery. They knew the demon's way didn't have a real desert, that it was only a spell and that meant that the oasis they had found wasn't real.

"I think we should go around it. It's probably a trap," Ing advised, his voice came out like a coarse muffled complaint.

"No, there is probably a clue there on how to get out of this dessert." The third didn't wait for a consensus, she walked down the dune heading for the green expanse that looked like a dream, Ing reluctantly followed. Death is coming in high temperatures.

They walked for a while through palm and date trees. There were promising water wells but they didn't dare drink from them. The land was empty with no obvious settlement. They had almost reached half the oasis and where thinking of turning back when they came across a large violet tent, raised at the center of the vegetation spring.

"I truly doubt it's help that waits inside that tent." Ing whispered. He didn't want to look like a coward but he doubted risking one's life for foolish mysteries would be rewarding.

The third kept walking and Ing grunted in frustration. History had made the Yth fearless, thirsty of every discovery and secret that lied behind closed doors.

They tied their horses to the nearest trees then edged to the entrance of the marquee. They came to a sudden standstill forty feet from the fabric dome, both of them had heard something move.

"I think he knows we are here," Ing said.

"It could be a she, she could know we are here or a they."

Ing could hear the loud rush of blood and thundering beats of his heart. Sounds that only came when he was about to go to battle.

"Whoever they are, they know we are here," He answered pulling out his two blades. The third's white sword was glittering under her robe but she didn't reach out for it.