The sun was beating down, its light reflecting off the desert sand. Zara felt a wave of emotion as he gazed absentmindedly into the rippling air.
If I hadn’t arranged for a guide and a bobo, I probably would have died out here.
He felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward the Divine Blade for his advice and for helping him prepare. He’d had no idea the desert was such a scary place.
According to the map, he was currently on the South Elga Highway. But there was only sand as far as he could see and nothing resembling a road.
“Sir, there’s something coming.”
Zara answered the guide’s words with a simple grunt.
Some monsters emerged from the sand that looked like spiders as big as humans with two whips protruding from their bodies.
They were imotarbas. There were five of them.
The guide tossed some bait as a decoy, then urged his bobo to sprint. Zara also ordered his bobo to run by kicking it in the flank.
One of his bobo’s ears was black. That black ear twitched, and the bobo ran.
It ran at a comfortable speed. His rear was in pain from being jolted around relentlessly on its back, however.
He sensed that the five imotarbas behind them were eating the decoy bait. He and the guide relaxed their pace after they crossed over three hills.
They weren’t enemies he was incapable of defeating, but Zara was following all the guide’s instructions in order to study the etiquette of the desert. There were many dangers in the desert that Zara was unaware of.
The man dismounted from his bobo and gave it some salt as a reward. Zara did the same thing.
Bobos were as tall as horses, but they had only two legs. Their torso was a little short. Their face was not as long as a horse’s, and their muzzle was somewhat thin. They had sleepy-looking eyes, but they seemed friendly and full of charm.
Zara remounted the bobo.
It was hot. And bright. And hot.
He felt listless. And he was hot.
He couldn’t imagine that any human could live here. Could there actually be a town in this kind of place?
Zara bounced up and down on the bobo’s back, feeling weary and fed up with the desert.
✦ ✦ ✦
Conflict was forbidden at oases. It didn’t matter if you ran into a mortal enemy or a rival soldier. That was a law of the desert.
Zara was wary of the approaching group, but because he had been taught that rule, he didn’t make any hostile actions.
“Looks like someone beat us here. Coming through.”
The guide gave a very deep and humbling bow to the approaching group. They must have been of high rank.
The group outnumbered Zara and his guide five to two. Four of them stopped at a distance, and one person approached them.
Zara stood up and spread his arms, then crossed both hands in front of his chest and greeted the person as he had been taught.
“My fire, my soup, and my dried meat are yours as well as mine, O Traveler of the Desert.”
The person made an amused expression and gave the same gesture.
“Thank you, O Friend of the Desert. But we have no need of fire or soup. We will be content to simply rest at this spot for a bit.”
Zara realized she was a woman. And incredibly beautiful, too.
Clothes worn for travel through the desert had no distinction between men and women, and it was dim outside, but she was close enough that he should have been able to tell her sex. However, there was a reason Zara hadn’t noticed she was a woman.
Her gait, the way she carried herself, and her presence were all that of a warrior. She also had an aura that reminded one of a knight with plenty of battle experience. That was why Zara had subconsciously thought she was a man.
He also felt high combat prowess and a strong will from the other four people.
The group moved into the shade halfway around the spring and got to work right away on preparing for their break and their meal.
It had been a week since Zara and the guide entered the desert, but he could still not get used to the heat. Even the slightest bit of warmth still caused him to go into a daze.
Shortly after the group of five finished their dinner, one person walked over to Zara and the guide.
“Would you two like to come join us for a drink?”
It was natural for travelers to want to exchange information, so there was no reason to be suspicious of them. Zara answered that they would be glad to.
It was customary that in this situation, the people who extended the invitation would offer drinks, and the people who were invited would offer food. Zara presented some delicacies that he’d brought with him from Aldana. The group received them enthusiastically, and their gathering grew lively.
“By the way, Zara, where are you headed?” asked the beautiful woman named Laura.
“I am traveling to Bia-Dharla.”
“Hmm. You don’t look like a merchant. I can tell you’re not used to the desert, either. What do you seek in Bia-Dharla?”
There was nothing in Laura’s expression that suggested any ulterior motive. Her beauty was radiant, but he didn’t sense anything flirtatious from her, either.
She had narrow eyes with emerald irises and a thin nose. Her eyebrows were flat. Zara thought she looked like a moon goddess illuminated by a bonfire next to a spring in the desert at night.
“There is someone I want to meet.”
“Oh, how exciting! Did you hear that, everyone? Beautiful people always give beautiful answers. That’s such a romantic trip.”
“Oh-ho-ho, it sure is.”
“You have it made, boy.”
Zara realized they’d gotten the wrong idea from his answer, but he didn’t want to say anything to land him in any more trouble.
People invited to eat at an oasis were supposed to offer treats to go with the alcohol, but Zara felt that he himself was becoming their entertainment for the evening.
Laura seemed to take a liking to him and pulled out an instrument to sing a love song. The group cheered, and it ended up being a fun night.