Preparation for being in a desert when you’ve never been in a desert is a struggle. Even Oryath never dealt with a desert before, having lived in the fantasy version of the Mediterranean. Leonith however, was well prepared. Picking things out based on his knowledge and experience.
“Was Clovis also in a desert?” Keith asked, watching as Leonith pulled out a white cloth and measured it against him.
Leonith nodded, glancing over their packs with a critical eye.“Indeed, Clovis is a small town, but it’s somewhat close to the capital of the Abramic Territory.”
Silon sighed behind them, juggling her multiple glass bottles filled with potions of some sort. “Remind me to catch you up on current world geography, Keith. Leonith’s downplaying Clovis’. It’s well known for being a trade city because it’s sitting right at the edge of the Khemetic and the Abramic Territory.”
Keith laughed. “Wow, Leonith, small town, huh?”
Leonith flushed, throwing the cloth at him. “Put that on! I’ll help Hyacinth with the food and water supply.”
Nodding, he did as told, hiding off in the tavern’s bathroom to change in private. The cloth turned out to just be an incredibly white tunic and pants. He had to maneuver a bit to make it so that his tail could be out but he managed. Honestly, he’s just surprised by how much Leonith managed to get from a village like this.
Stepping out, he listened as Hyacinth listed down every supply they have and the calculations.
“Great,” Leonith beamed. “That should be enough, I asked around the village about the distance from here to Ebsun, and they said it should be about one week’s worth of travel on foot.”
“Does this village often trade with Ebsun?” Hyacinth hummed, “If so we can stick to the trading route or better yet, get a ride with one of the merchants.”
Silon shook her head. “If they were trading, they aren’t anymore. I don’t see many merchants passing through.”
Keith blinked. “Oh, uh I think that might be related to something I overheard.”
The chatter stopped. They all looked at him. Silon took a deep breath while Hyacinth walked closer to him, his face carefully blank. Leonith had a face of exasperation as he walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You could have mentioned that sooner, Keith.”
He tilted his head. “What do you mean? We’re still going to Ebsun, so I didn’t think you’d need to know about some gossip I overheard.”
“Keith,” Silon said as she walked up to him. “Keith, Keith, next time, tell us what you overheard.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He shrugged, looking away as his tail waved back and forth.“Okay, uh, it was just gossip, something about how Ebsun is in a drought. I thought you guys knew, so I didn’t say it?”
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Hyacinth nodded in agreement. “Seizing control of the economy in the mainland in order to fracture it, while also using it to obtain supplies for herself and the army.”
“In essence: From nothing, something.” He sighed. “We have to work quickly then. We can’t exactly solve economic disputes but we can at least head to Ebsun and prevent her from strangling them. We can probably warn them about Tiamat, too.”
Silon hummed. “With a drought, the Khemetic Territory would be lacking in crops and most importantly, drinking water. But I think I can devise a solution for that, I’ll do it once we’re there though.”
Leonith looked at them all and shrugged. “I did not understand a single word any of you said, but if it helps, then go ahead.”
Keith placed a hand on Leonith’s shoulder. “Leave it to us! For now, let’s go to Ebsun while it’s still night time.”
“Right!”
If Keith was honest, he didn’t think he’d be more knowledgeable than Leonith about stratagem. After all, he’s pretty sure he hadn’t fully graduated from College though his specialty was definitely going to be the Ancient World. Silon was able to keep up and so was Hyacinth, in fact Hyacinth seemed to know a lot about economics since he’s been the one taking care of their supplies. Silon also seems to know a lot more about the politics of the world.
Now that he thought about it, those are knowledge and skills they probably gained from this life since Oryath definitely didn’t remember anyone knowing that kind of stuff. Or maybe that’s because the Heroes of Lore book was supposed to be marketed for a younger audience, so having it be full of economics and politics would have been too much? He shook his head. Okay, now he’s definitely overthinking it.
Right?
There’s one thing that many books and films skip over, the boring traveling bits. Since their supplies are calculated by Hyacinth, and rationed well, there wasn’t even the ‘excitement’ of nearly dying via heat, starvation, or dehydration. Leonith guided the way and they really weren’t doing much.
They traveled during the colder nights and rested when it was day. Keith probably should have expected this instead of the idea of traveling in the hot desert day knowing they’ll be sweating and probably losing water. Still, Silon had eye bags from lack of proper rest because the heat was terrible, even with the cooling spell she had casted on them. Leonith had passed over the cooling spell but Keith was all for it.
After all, they may rest during the day but it’s still painfully hot.
Sadly, it was day right now and even the cooling charms are no help for his ears and tail. The thick fur made for cold winters made him want to douse his head and tail into ice. It also had the unfortunate effect of rendering him basically useless. Leonith had been the one to set up the tent to shield them from the sun while Hyacinth worked on giving everyone food and water. Silon meanwhile was by his side, also melting in the heat.
“Can’t you cast another cooling spell? Layer it maybe?” Keith asked her, his voice slowly pettering out into a low pitched whine like a dog.
“No, that won’t work, You can’t layer it. Layering temperature spells is like topping off someone’s beer in a tavern.” Silon sighed. “No effect.”
“Ah.” Is all he can say. He closed his eyes, panting as he did so. The heat on his ears and tail subsided a bit as he panted.
Seeing him do that, Silon tried to do the same. “… Now I’m just thirsty.”
The two of them paused as cold glasses tapped them on their heads. “Get up you two, and drink your water.”
Keith opened his eyes as he sat up. “Thanks.”
Never has Keith been so grateful for the temperature regulation seal Oryath made. It was originally to keep Oryath cold in the demon camps and the demon realm when he worked under Tiamat but it sure comes in handy for keeping their food and water cool. As for why he isn’t using it on himself, it’s because of temperature fluctuations. It only kept something at a stable cold temperature, meanwhile the body of a person needed to have a regulator that would adjust temperature to keep something cool.
In essence, he made a Ye Olde Refrigerator.
“Stop thinking about seals.” Hyacinth said, poking him on the cheek. “Eat.”
Scowling, Keith took the offered jerky. “How’d you know I was thinking about seals?”
Hyacinth pointed down and Keith followed, grey eyes finding his tail slowly thumping the ground to a slow rhythm. “Your tail slowly sways from side to side.”
“Ah.” He ate his jerky in silence, hoping to pass off the redness blooming on his cheeks on the heat of the desert day.
“How close are we to Ebsun?” Silon asked.
Leonith, who seems to be the only one not melting in this dry desert heat, cheerfully replied. “We’re about 4 days away, give or take a few hours.”
“4 days,” Silon whined, a reluctant look on her face. “Leonith, how come you’re so used to this? Wait, no, right…”
Leonith laughed, long and hearty. “Avalon is quite the opposite of this place isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss the cold mist.” She pouted.
Keith shrugged. “You’re telling me? I somehow miss the snow.”
Hyacinth huffed, amused. Unlike them, he was in a much warmer area, Seipodon was warmer but even he could see Hyacinth flagging. As he squinted at the guy, he reached out to touch the fins. The other blinked, leaning away from his hand.
“What is it?” He scowled.
“Your fins are looking dry, did you drink water?”
Hyacinth stayed silent.
“Drink.” Keith urged, getting water out of the storage. “We’ll be close to Ebsun.”
Hyacinth shook his head, frowning. “It’s fine. I don’t need it.”
Keith frowned, opening his mouth to persuade him only to hear the clatter of metal upon metal. A roar echoed through the desert’s heat, bringing in their attention. Sitting at attention, Keith turned his head towards the direction of the roar. He glanced at Leonith and the rest, waiting for their opinion.
“Let’s go.” Leonith said.
Even with the sweltering heat, he managed to direct them to the sound of a skirmish. His eyes were surprisingly good in the desert, perhaps because of how similarly bright a pure white expanse is alongside a bright desert. His ears heard the most, the sound of roars and clashing steel as well as crackling fire.
In no time they arrived to find a woman with dark skin like coffee wielding a golden sickle like sword. Her hair is messy and unruly, colored a rich caramel with two circle ears on her head. A lion’s tail swayed in tandem with her. With a roar, she sliced through her opponent, two other bodies lying at the ground. Keith covered his nose, repulsed by the scent of burnt meat coming from her opponents.
As the woman turned around, cat-slit eyes glaring down at them and he froze.
Aina.
I tried to write as fast as I could but with irl stuff (school work, exams, elections…) I got swamped. But tada, here it is! We finally get to meet the fifth reincarnation, the reincarnation of Aina! And that means we’ll get a closer look at the dynamic everyone has with each other. I want to show off the dynamic more since right now it’s mostly the gang being mildly okay or friendly with one another, even Hyacinth is loosening up to Keith now. Once everyone’s gathered, I can work on their dynamics to one another too. Ah, I can’t wait! Anyway thank you all so much for your support and for bearing with me. I would have made it without you!
Thank you for the chapter 💕
I’m sooo not jealous of those poor guys waking through the desert. Well at least one is having fun in the heat. 😅