High in the Grey Tower

Chapter Ten

"The Desert Storm, Yuulkol Nalasar, is our benevolent God, our protector, to which we worship and give our loyalty every day for protecting the Zorashi!"

Cries of agreement came from the rest of the clan, as they raised their arms in praise along with Gilrec. Murmurs resounding Yuulkol Nalasar reverberated through the air. Ruth cast Riftan a brief glance. This was exactly the break they needed if they wanted to find Fei, but they weren't even sure if she had any relation to The Desert Storm, to begin with. The whispers of an otherworldly power in The Below were reason enough for Ruth to believe it was Fei.

"This Desert Storm -- what exactly does it protect you from? And how?" Riftan's eyes were dark with suspicion as he pressed Gilrec for more answers.

"The Desert Storm protects us from wyverns and other dragon-kin when they stray from the nest looking for food," Gilrec responded. "Most importantly, it protects us from raids by the Lizardfolk that inhabit the desert in Jhinnrahn. Or as you have called it 'The Below.' Yuulkol Nalasar has tremendous abilities as you just saw it sever the wyvern down the middle and keep all of your men alive."

Ruth suddenly remembered the halved wyvern corpse that was being swiftly deconstructed by the Zorsashi. They expertly began draining blood from the corpse, removing the skin, and extracting the mana stones from the beast. Ruth looked between Riftan and the corpse and could have sworn it was Riftan who had taken down the beast, but the corpse was cut exactly in half and the wounds were burned clean, making it impossible for it to have been Riftan's hand.

Was that light really Fei?

"It is not safe for us to set up a camp here, so please, take your men with us to our camp for the night. All of this commotion will have certainly alerted any tribes of Lizardfolk in the area," Gilric sighed. Ruth knew he was right. When there was such a large, fresh carcass, it was only a matter of time before all kinds of monsters came to check out of the carnage. Riftan stood himself upright and assessed the rest of the knights. They all seemed perfectly fine as they were milling about, trying to find the remains of any of their gear in the rubble, although unsuccessfully.

"We shall follow you. We are unfortunately out of our food and water supplies, so we cannot offer you much in return for hosting us," Riftan admitted somberly. Gilrec waved his claw dismissively and turned to the rest of the Zorsashi.

"We do not require such things. Our clan has been blessed many times by Yuulkol Nalasar and we will pass on Yuulkol Nalasar's blessing by providing you with what you need to continue your journey."

Ruth stumbled to his feet and hugged his arms around his body. All of their horses had scattered, but Talon seemed to have wandered his way back along with a few other stragglers. The Remdragon knights grabbed whatever they could from the wreckage and followed the Zorsashi through the rest of the ravine.

The deep ravine seemed to go on forever, but eventually, they were able to see the end. It opened up into an alarmingly flat landscape, suddenly devoid of anything that wasn't sand. With nothing on the horizon besides the dark night sky, Ruth shivered in the cold of the night. He was surprised how quickly he could feel his mana returning, but he still felt the lingering coldness from draining his mana so dangerously low.

"That ravine is one of our most traveled routes to avoid traversing the Lexos Mountains," Gilric sighed.

Soon, they arrived at a bustling encampment. There were dozens of tents scattered around a central firepit which was blazing with intense heat that Ruth could feel on his face from so far away. The rest of the Zorsashi clan were gathering blankets and other bedding and also boiling large tubs of water. Gilrec spoke to the clan in a language Ruth couldn't understand and the Zorsashi helped the knights scrub their armor and soiled clothing.

There was an enormous pot of stew on a smaller cooking fire and several of the Zorsashi were dolling out bowls of the stew to the awaiting knights. Ruth felt his stomach let out a loud rumble as he rapidly shoveled the searing hot stew into his mouth. There was no meat in the stew, but it was rich and flavored with spices Ruth had never tasted before and full of hearty vegetables. Ruth sighed as his stomach was full and he felt the last twinges of coldness fleeting from his body. The healing in the South was truly more advanced than the healing herbs they had in Anatol.

If Riftan could establish a trade route to come here-

"Would you like to take a bath?" a Zorsashi asked Ruth, gesturing to the large basins they had ready. It seemed strange that such creatures would need to bathe, but Ruth didn't think much of it and nodded his head. Ruth suppressed a laugh when he realized the basins were full of finely-milled sand. He noticed some of the Zorsashi that had helped them in the ravine rolling around in the basins. They twisted their scaly skin around in the dusty sand and emerged, shaking off the excess.

"I'm sorry I think I'd rather bathe in water," Ruth sighed, sarcastically. The Zorsashi shrugged their massive shoulders and climbed into the basin themselves. "Gilrec -- where do you get all of this water from in the middle of the desert?"

Not only was water required to scrub down everyone's stained clothing and armor, but also to make the stew and fill the canteens that Ruth saw each Zorsashi carry around their belts with them. Gilrec made a gesture towards a large table that stood a ways away from the main encampment. Ruth went over to investigate and noticed an enormous pond of water behind the table. It shimmered gently in the moonlight, reflecting soft light into Ruth's eyes.

"We make an offering to Yuulkol Nalasar every day in exchange for drinking water," Gilrec explained. "Yuulkol Nalasar is almighty and conjures water along with other miracles for us. As we move often, Yuulkol Nalasar has allowed us to move away from watering holes that are more popular with the Lizardfolk and other monsters."

Ruth nodded and stared blankly into his reflection in the water. The water's surface gently glistened and Ruth felt the burning desire to plunge his hands into the water and caress the surface. He felt something inside of him twist as he tore himself away from the pond. He had never felt so close to her and yet so far.

"Wizard, please rest up." Ruth turned his head to the sound of Riftan's orders and nodded his head. The large knight must have been exhausted but was obviously too proud to ever show it. Ruth was ushered into one of the Zorsashi tents as requested by Riftan and almost collapsed from happiness when he saw the large cot propped up in the corner. Although, sleeping on sand might be a little more comfortable than the rocky, root-filled ground of Whedon.

Ruth settled himself in the cot and thought he could catch the smell of a familiar aroma as he brought a light blanket all the way to his chin before drifting off into blissful sleep.