Bodanen: Cobalt War

Chapter 28: New Lands

Twelve days had passed since the travellers had left the small village of Alfsige with little happening. Their new companions spent their days resting up; they were tired and worn from their ordeals in Alfsige. Arthur was mostly healed, with only a few bandages and wraps left on him, and Garele was fully healed, full of energy again and rushing about helping where she could. She proudly displayed her talent with medical and healing arts, following close behind a stubborn Arthur, who refused to listen to the doctor's orders. Siegfried, Boris, and Talib continued to switch between themselves for driving, and Sayen and Blake made themselves useful where they could; Blake, while still complaining quite a bit, was more willing to lend a hand. They had passed through Talon Marsh and over the Seiryu River without incident. Their travel expedited by the highway and a lack of other travellers; the war left few willing to brave the roads any further than a neighbouring city or village. On their thirteenth day, since they left Alfsige, the marshlands gave way to arid plains, with scant life save the heartiest plants and animals. Yet what lay ahead was the even greater hurdle, the great Fajr Desert; a span of land that has nought but sand and stone as far as the eye could see, and then further still. As they left the marsh, the temperature steadily rose as the weight of the humidity lessened, and by noon, the arid plains gave way to the desert proper.

The door connecting the living and driving compartments swung open with Siegfried sticking his head through the opening with a loud slam. "We've made it, folks; we've officially entered the Fajr Desert, the driest place on Bodanen. Should only be a day or two more until we reach Alssahra, and from there, it's onto the next base!" Siegfried yelled through the living compartment their progress to receive cheers from the others; it had been a long road just to reach this point, but now, they were officially on another continent.

After the cheering had died down, Siegfried closed the door again to focus on driving, leaving the others to their own devices. While Blake read in an overstuffed armchair in the living area and Talib napped in another identical armchair across from him, Boris, Sayen, Arthur, and Garele sat around the dining table. Arthur cleaning his spear and maintaining his equipment, Garele tending to an uncooperative Arthur's wounds, Sayen lounging in a chair, staring out a window at the world passing by. Boris poured over various maps of different areas of the Fajr Desert. As Arthur batted away Garele's hand, who was attempting to place a new splint on his arm, he looked to Boris, who hadn't moved from his spot since he had sat there after his initial stint as the driver, which had ended at eight. "Hey, Boris. What's the plan when we reach Alssahra? You guys told me what the mission is and all, but what's the plan when we get to the city, exactly?"

After a moment of silence, Boris finally tore himself away from the maps. "Well, we are not too sure ourselves as to what we shall be doing first. Initially, we were going to head straight to Alyd and confer with his majesty and then move on from there. But we decided it prudent to head to the next closest base instead, so we dropped off a prisoner we captured at the first base at the capital and then headed south. We then stopped in your village for a short time, so we are a bit off schedule from where we initially thought we would be. My best guess is that we will meet up with Fadil and Sarnai and get what information we can about the base in the area, while that pair left the outpost after us, with our delays and detours, it seems that they have reached Alssahra before us. Talib got in contact with them a few days ago, and they told us that they will be meeting us at the entrance when we arrive." Boris stretched out as he stared blankly at the ceiling in thought.

"Will we be meeting them because of me?" Garele, having given up for the time on placing the splint on Arthur's arm, joined the conversation with interest, something the travellers had discovered was common whenever Sarnai was brought up. "You needn't go out of your way for me."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Talib said something about wanting to drop you off with Fadil and Sarnai while we were in Alssahra, if I remember correctly. While that is a part of the reason for meeting up with the pair, at least as far as Talib is concerned, between those two and Talib, they can go through the Tower of Knowledge with relative ease to retrieve any information we may require in the days to come. That is a more important endeavour for us currently. Besides, with you having heard of our mission in detail as well, the offer still stands; you are more than welcome to join us." Boris turned and smiled at Garele as she stood to return her medical equipment to their proper homes.