14th of Vhalar 721
Location: Southern Hotlands
Location: Southern Hotlands
Master Nil and Demda traveled across the increasingly rocky expanse of the southern Hotlands in the open daylight. While the rockier terrain had a way of lessening the impact of the Vhalar wind and whirling sand devils, it made Demda’s camels grumpy, whenever they happened to step upon a particularly sharp rock. Monk, her thorned horse, was well adjusted to all manner of terrain, and also had been shoed in Desnind. So he was easy to guide over the flattening expanses ahead of them.
When dusk approached, they began setting up another camp beside the cliffs of a large plateau of sandstone. There was more vegetation here than otherwise, and so Demda unhitched her camels from Dimza’s lead and brought them over to see what they could forage.
Dimza meanwhile, brewed some tea for himself, using what water he had, and heating it up over a fire fueled by more horse apples and camel dung. It was a flagrant waste, as a good fifth of the water would be lost to evaporation and condensation, so Demda had told him time and again. But the man didn’t listen. ”This glass water kettle is made by the finest tinkers in all of Nashaki. No water loss whatsoever! You look, you see!” But Demda had no intention of spending the time to do either, or to waste her breath on futile protestations.
The green she’d spotted off in the distance appeared promising. She could see tall cactus, a sign perhaps that they’d have prickly pears. And yellow flowers that could have been drylands dandelions. The dandelions would make a good treat for the camels, with their abundant seeds, while the prickly pear would need careful tasting, to tell if it was of a season for eating. There were other plants she kept an eye out for. Anything containing seeds was good, even pitted fruits, minus the pits. But then, Demda wasn’t exactly entering a garden, but she let her imagination run a bit with the sighting of green.
She slowed her approach, staying as much to the shade as the sun began to fall behind the Plateau’s steep cliff. The winds made it difficult to pick out specific movements. Movements that were too rhythmic, or betraying the presence of a predator. Vermin, scorpions, or snakes. Such creatures enjoyed subsisting on animals and people who were drawn to such greenery, as desert mice, rats, cats, and other small animals made their stomping grounds there.
She stopped as often as possible, to pull stems from a promising-looking blossom or plant. The thing that had surprised Demda, upon leaving Nashaki the arc before, was the impression people had of the desert in other lands. Most envisioned a dry, barren waste. Windswept oceans of glass, sand, and rock, where no ordinary creature could live. And while they were correct in some sense of that impression, in that there were places that met that description, the desert could be something else at times. It could be a beautiful canvas, that when nurtured just a little bit, blossomed into a burst of vital green scenery. The Scimitar, to the southwest of Nashaki, was the case in point of that. But then, at the cusp of the desert and the green lands, where the earth was kinder, the men often grew meaner and greedier. It was just so when the lands just beyond that green horizon bore such a ferocity toward anything that had legs to walk upon.
And then, there were creatures lurking underfoot, that bore venom for any who trespassed upon the kindness of the earth's product.
Demda spent the next break busying herself about gathering what seeded plants she could. She didn't take more than she supposed she would need. In truth, her supplies should by all rights have sustained her all the way to the Kankaro Sky Caves, but she wanted to treat her animals and bring up their spirits. Being among the green would help buoy their endurance to the point where they'd make the last leg of that journey easily. By the time she gathered enough in her small flax basket, which by her count amounted to a good few cups full of seeds, she started on her way back.
She looked at the flax-woven container for the seeds and began folding it, wrapping it up so that it'd retain her forage during the travel back. Demda made sure her animals were comfortable following the lead of Akui, her lead camel. Akui tossed his head from one side to the other as she walked up to him. He seemed perturbed by something, which immediately set Demda's nerves on edge. She looked around, trying to gauge what had him so spooked. She looked down first, looking for signs of scorpions or snakes. Then up, for signs of either wild cats or constrictors. Nothing. Shrugging to herself, she only gave a quick glance to the side before climbing Akui's saddle and getting herself comfortable on his hump.
She clicked her tongue, and bounced her heel lightly against his side, urging him forward with a tap of a reed she'd gathered from his saddlebag. He ambled forward, but then stopped, stubbornly causing the pack camel and Monk to loosen the lead as they bunched together. Then, Demda saw what she could've sworn was a man. Standing in the shadows of the cliffs. She shaded her eyes, squinting to try and get a better look. He seemed emaciated, and with darkened skin. Perhaps a Qi'ora? What would a Qi'ora be doing so far from Nashaki, however?
Perhaps a tribesman... She urged the camel forward more forcefully. It fought at first but then relented on feeling the insistence of her reed's tapping against its front. Yet, the closer she got, as she lifted her goggles, she saw that it was not a man, but an oddly shaped cactus. A green little man. She found this amusing but didn't laugh. One didn't spend their energy until they were in a place of abundance, and they had many miles to go before they could rest.
Dimza had already built a fire since, and was boiling his kettle. Remarkably, she didn’t see much steam issuing from the nozzle of the contraption. Perhaps he was correct about water loss, but Demda neither wanted to give him the satisfaction of being right, nor did she desire to lose breath over the concession. So they remained quiet for the next little while.
Dimza poured himself some water into his cup, which was also filled with a tea dropper. He let it steep a few moments, while staring blankly into the distance of the desert.
Several times throughout the early evening, Demda could’ve sworn she saw figures darting in and out of the shadows beyond the cliff side. The woman tried to trace their movement back to their source, but they only turned out to be more cactus or shrubberies, moving in the wind as it was.
Their journey would take them for the next morning, but Demda found the appearance of those figures unsettling, and so Demda attempted to stay awake.
Several times through the night, however, she dozed off. In her more or less lucid moments, coming in and out of a state of sleep, she could’ve sworn she heard Dimza’s voice, carrying on a conversation with someone in Vorkelian. Demda only knew precious few words of the language herself and didn’t know the structure of the language or how to piece together its disparate words and meanings. She had a few phrases, mostly curse words, greetings, and goodbyes, but otherwise it was hard to understand.
She remained still however and didn’t fully awake, but maintained enough awareness to see what or who Dimza was speaking to. A man, covered in what looked like green paint or mud, short and slight, emaciated in form. They pointed to her several times throughout the conversation.
Demda would’ve gotten up, but she was still in a state of sleep. Ultimately, she decided this might’ve been a dream, as she awoke the next morning to Dimza’s snoring, the merchant having failed in keeping his watch. Not that she could blame him. She’d taken for her own the lion’s share of the rest.
Monk began sidling toward her, followed by Akui and the pack camel. It lowered its thorned head to level with her face. Demda smiled at Monk, and reached over into the flax wrap for some seeds to feed the beast.
She held out a handful, which Monk gratefully accepted. While the thorned horse licked her palms empty with a coarse and dry tongue, she cast a look over her shoulder at Dimza, wondering if she’d been imagining the little green man Dimza had been talking to.
