You set off from the top of the pyramid, climbing down stairs carved into the very stones of the building. The sand shifts about your feet when you reach the ground, and even through your shoes you can feel the baking heat. You lick your lips and head out towards the distant forest, believing that to be where Winny landed. Or maybe your sister or Mistress Swift. Strange how they only came to mind now.
Shrugging at the aimless thoughts, you set off towards the east and the forest there.
Your journey is long and hard. Sand dunes rise all around you like windswept mountains. Only your footprints break the endless monotony. If not for them, you’d have begun to wonder if you’ve even made any progress towards your distant goal.
The heat begins to sink in as the hours tick by, and you’re soon panting as you laboriously trek onward. Had you known that it would be like this, you may well have considered waiting for nightfall. Still, the thought of finding one of your companions on the plane spurs you onward towards the forest, that distant beacon for your every step.
You pause abruptly as an image shimmers to your right. Turning, your eyes widen in surprise and gratitude. For, not too far away, is the tantalizing image of an oasis. You pant, squinting against the haze of heat at the low hanging palm trees, shading a bright pool of brilliant and pristine blue water, sunlight sparkling off it like it were a precious gem. It could be a mirage, you realize, come from your feverish mind to send you astray in your quest. But if it is real, it would offer a much needed solace from the desert heat. Of course, if it is a mirage, it would just be an aimless and potentially deadly waste of time.
You lick your lips, but find you haven’t the moisture to spare. You look back to the woods. They did seem closer…perhaps you could make it there as you were.
|