Chapter 2

 

 

They hurried down from the high dune and entered the oasis, glad of the shade the palm trees provided. Berrin found a suitable camp site and shedding their packs, they all plunged into the water. Jena and Dom kept to the shallows around the edges, whilst the four larger friends swam out towards the middle of the pool.

 

The water was quite cool, like in most of the oasis pools Jena had seen. She had discovered that the water came from springs bubbling up from deep underground.

 

They spent almost an hour soaking and swimming and then lay down beside it so the sun could dry them out. Dom said it was a good way to not only wash yourself, but your clothes as well. Jena said he was just being lazy and suggested he not tell that to their parents when they got home.

 

They ate some lunch, enjoying some of the flat, nutty bread the desert elves made. There was goat cheese and cherry tomatoes as well, and water from the spring that fed the pool.

 

‘Who’s for a quick walk out into the Dead Sands?’ Nye asked as he packed the uneaten food away in their packs.

 

‘I’d like to see it close up,’ Lore said.

 

‘And me!’ Jena added, keen to see the salt plains herself.

 

‘Maybe tomorrow,’ Dom said. ‘I could do with a nap. It was a hot march today.’

 

‘You didn’t have to walk anywhere, Dom!’ Jena scolded. ‘How could you be tired?’

 

Dom shrugged.

 

‘I like to sleep,’ he said.

 

‘I could do with a nap myself,’ Berrin said.

 

‘And me,’ Nyssa agreed.

 

‘Than it’s settled,’ Nye said. ‘We three will go for another hot walk, with another swim afterwards and you tired old lot can sleep for a bit.’

 

‘Are you going to walk too, Jena?’ Dom asked with a cheeky grin at her.

 

Jena just glared at him.

 

* * *

 

A little later, Lore and Nye, with Jena riding very comfortably on the dwarf’s shoulder, stepped beyond the southern fringe of the oasis. Ahead was a series of very low dunes and beyond the Dead Sands began.

 

It was nearing mid afternoon now and the heat of the desert was stifling. But as they waked over the dunes toward the salt plains, they all could feel the tremendous heat generated off the Dead Sands.

 

‘The heat is almost scalding!’ Lore said. ‘I wouldn’t want to get lost out there.’

 

‘No, you would die very quickly if you didn’t have a good supply of water,’ Nye said. ‘And even then just walking there for any length of time would be a torture.’

 

Jena was silent, her eyes squinting in the glare coming from the salt plains. For someone as small as a gnome, the Dead Sands would be no place to be. They walked on and quickly left the desert behind, Lore and Nye’s boots marching over the first of the crusty salt. It made a crunching sound as the hard crust gave way a little under their weight.

 

Nye led them to the right, keeping the oasis in firm view over their shoulder. Jena could see how very easy it would be to get lost here. Even now the heat haze was twisting the horizon, making it hard to judge distances. Even the oasis was hazy and she knew they would not have to walk far to lose sight of it altogether.

 

It wasn’t long before the heat had them sweating, their mouths drying quickly. Half an hour there was enough to drive them back to the shelter of the oasis.

 

Berrin, Nyssa and Dom were asleep in the shade of their camp, so they went for another swim to cool off. Afterwards Lore and Nye got some fishing lines out and Jena joined them. By the time the others woke up near sunset, they had caught several good sized fish.

 

Nyssa and Berrin got a fire going to cook them and provide warmth for the coming chill of the night. Dinner was served as the sun disappeared, the western sky aflame with a brilliant crimson sunset.

 

‘Will we be heading back tomorrow?’ Dom asked as they ate.

 

‘No, we’ll stay another day to rest and then go,’ Berrin replied.

 

‘We can have a search for a Dragonspike or two,’ Nye suggested. ‘There should be a few here in the oasis.’

 

‘I wish I could take one home with me,’ Dom said. ‘They’d make a great pet.’

 

‘You’ve got two pet mice as it is, Dom,’ Jena reminded him, though she thought it would be interesting to have one. ‘Where would we keep it in the house?’

 

‘I don’t think they’d like your winters, Dom,’ Berrin commented. ‘Too cold and too much rain.’

 

‘They’re a desert animal, Dom,’ Nye agreed. ‘This is where they live.’

 

Dom nodded, a little disappointed, but could see their reasoning.

 

‘Still, it would be nice to see one again before we go,’ Lore said.

 

‘Then that’s what we’ll do tomorrow,’ Nye said.

 

They chatted on as the night grew older, the desert becoming quickly cool as the heat of the day escaped into the clear night sky. Overhead stars winked and twinkled in the thousands and once they saw a shooting star pass overhead. More wood was added to the fire to keep it going through the night and they all turned in.

 

* * *

 

Dom however found it hard to sleep. He wasn’t that tired, his nap in the afternoon enough to keep him awake. He managed to doze as the night crept by, but kept on waking in fits and starts. But when he woke for the fourth time, it was because of a noise coming from somewhere very close by.

 

He sat up frowning, sure he had heard something moving nearby. It was late, the moon having risen and telling him that dawn was not too far away. The fire had died right down, with only glowing embers left. He looked beyond the moonlit camp, peering into the shadows for whatever had woken him.

 

Silence filled the air, broken only by the chirp of an insect or two. A minute went by and he shook his head, figuring he must have been dreamt it. He went to lie down again, then froze as he saw movement only yards away.

 

There was a humped shape lying there. It looked to be crawling, but very slowly and Dom immediately thought of goblins maybe creeping up on them.

 

But that was silly he told himself. There were no goblins in the Scorched Desert. Then a sound reached him, a pitifully low moan that made his blood run cold. He got to his feet slowly and tiptoed over to Nyssa next to him.

 

He tugged at her ear as he stood over her face and watched as her eyes opened in a flash. He put a finger against his lips for silence.

 

‘There’s something out there!’ he whispered as low as he could.

 

Nyssa nodded and slowly rose up on an elbow, following where Dom was pointing. In the moonlight her sharp elven eyes picked out the shape lying in the sand. She froze as she saw it move, then with a fluid motion she was on her feet, her dagger in her hand.

 

She motioned for Dom to stay where he was, but he was having none of that and followed her as she moved over to the shape. Then Nyssa was kneeling beside it, a cry escaping her as Dom reached her.

 

The whole camp was brought awake by her cry and everyone jumped to their feet. They hurried over to them and heard an amazed exclamation from Dom.

 

‘It’s… it’s a human!’ he exclaimed. ‘One of Eldor’s folk!’

 

He was right. Lying there was not an elf or a dwarf, but a male creature that reminded them all of Eldor. In the moonlight they could see he would have been tall like the wizard. He was long limbed and dressed in simple clothing that was ripped and dirtied.

 

‘Water!’ Nyssa urged. ‘Get me some water!’

 

Berrin quickly jumped back to their camp and snatched up a water bottle. She handed it to Nyssa who fed some water into the man’s lips that were badly blistered by the sun.

 

The lips moved and he began to drink the slow dribble Nyssa fed him. Then his eyes opened and he stared at her.

 

‘Help us!’ he wheezed. ‘Help free us!’

 

‘Who?’ Nyssa asked. ‘Who needs help?’

 

‘My… my people! In the jungles to the south,’ the man croaked with a great effort. ‘Beware the Tomb of Racos… beware the boglins… help… help my people!’

 

Then a horrible gasp came from him and he slumped still. Nyssa put a finger against his throat, then her head against his chest. Then she passed a hand over his staring eyes to close them.

 

‘He’s dead,’ she said in dismay.