Thinking back it occurs to you that while you've travelled in mountains and forests before, you've never seen the Great Desert. That in itself is enough to make up your mind for you. Soon your packing everything you think you might need to survive in the desert for a few days, making sure to pack extra water.
The road that heads north to the Great Desert is badly maintained, clearly little used, probably due to the ongoing predatations of the desert raiders, who're known to be hostile to all outsiders regardless of race or gender. Caravans going through the desert are always careful to hire plenty of guards. Walking north mile by mile second thoughts begin to occur to you as you remember all the stories of caravans that never came back.
As the sun beats down upon your head you decide to press on. Giving up now wouldn't be worthy of you. So taking a quick drink you decide to at least stay away from the main road, rationalising that the raiders are most likely to keep an eye on the road for caravans to plunder. Marching into the sand dunes on each side of the road is hard going, your feet sinking into the sand with each step, by late afternoon your exhausted, hot and running low on water. Perhaps this wasn't as good an idea afterall. Just before you decide to give up the sounds of a fight come from over the dune to your left. Crawling up it carefully you stick your head over the ridge to see who's fighting.
Down in the valley between the dunes a sand raider youth armed with just a curved dagger is fighting two large sand snakes, snarling and cutting at them each time they try and slash in and bite him. However it's obvious that he's fighting a losing battle, the snakes getting closer and closer with each hissing attack. Without help he's doomed... |