I narrowly dodged the first arrow by moving sideways and blocked the incoming slash, never seeing the second arrow that flew in its shadow.

I heard the sickening squelch as it pierced through my eyeball, followed by the crack of splintering bones. Another attack swung in from my right side. My arm still moved to intercept this potentially deadly strike, but it moved so sluggish! The vision of my remaining eye turned dark and it felt like I floated in the warm waters of an oasis - or in a pond of quicksand. Wings fluttered in the dark, the sound growing distant as I drowned in the hot sands of the desert.

For someone who was dying, my mind was remarkably lucid, even if I could no longer feel my body or anything else. But I guess that was to be expected. After all, death was the end. If I had known about this, I would've spent my last days differently. By the Dunes, I would've spend my last few months differently. And maybe even avoid my death by doing so. But I digress.

Let's rewind time a little bit, shall we?

====

"Polly loves Drake," whispered the stupid bird on my shoulder with the breathy voice of a love-struck noble woman. And entirely too loud. "Polly loves our lonesome nights together. Sleeping together with only the stars to watch us..."

I remained stoically silent, staring straight ahead and ignoring whatever this feathered menace was saying. I needed this job! Couldn't the lice-ridden beast see that?

While it crooned into my ear, I had a great view of my potential employers disgustingly white nose scrunch up and his blue eyes squint at me. The man had terrible manners, to show his emotions so openly, but could I fault him? He was only a merchant from beyond the Southern Mountains and Polly, the dratted bird, was very good at annoying my potential employers. If I didn't need a job, I would've never sought out a pale merchant.

"Guards, remove this person and his creature from the premises immediately. I will not employ someone with such an abominable pet," the merchant waved his hand in a disparaging gesture. The two guards standing near the door stepped forward.

If I had been an equally rude person, I would've drawn my sword to defend my and Polly's honor. But I had been raised with manners. My face was serene, my hands not even slightly twitching towards the weapon at my side.

"Thank you for your time, sir." I gave the pale merchant the slight bow his rank demanded and left the room before the guards could drag me out of it.

Outside, the empty street radiated heat through my shoes, but the sun beating down from above was even hotter. Wrapping the lead reins of my two patient camels around my left hand, I trudged through the streets.

'That was the last possible employer in this city. Drats. What now?' 

"Polly loves Drake," swooned the stupid bird. With a quick jab, I punted her from my shoulder and walked away as if nothing had ever happened. An angry squawk came from behind me, followed by a thud, as Polly landed on the street. "What's wrong with you!" screeched Polly indignantly.

I rounded a corner and ignored her. Within seconds, she was back, landing on a camel and puffing: "Ungrateful lizard!"

"Lice-ridden feather duster," I shot back, returning to my previous thought.

"I'm a popinjay, not a lowly feather duster!" Polly fluffed her feathers and flapped her wings in outrage.

"You're a dumb parrot who got me kicked out of every possible workplace between here and the Silent Gorge." My voice was as calm as an oasis, infuriating Polly even more. It was the only way to get back at her. If I started to discuss and scream and tell her to stop with her stupid games, she only started cackling and I would never hear the end of it. No, being polite to this rude bird was the best way, the only way, to stay sane.

I stopped the camels and got to work hauling buckets of water from the public cistern for them to drink - and to refill my own bottles and waterskins.

"They don't deserve you as their guard! You should be thankful to me, instead of mopping around," Polly preened her feathers, waiting for me to praise her.

Another bottle was filled and carefully stored in my packs while the animals drank their fill and Polly waited for the praises she would never get. With a soft sigh, I straightened and went over my belongings once more.

'Enough water to last me for two weeks, medicine and bandages are still untouched, food for three days, a small bundle of wood and five water traps. Let's see...'

"You're ignoring me! I'm hurt, you hear me? Hurt!" Polly turned around to pout, leaving me with blessed silence as I unrolled my map.

The nearest city was Rovia, three weeks southeast and apparently near the sea. Or I could go directly south for seven weeks and reach Alan'ey, nestled into the the side of the Southern Mountains. This route should have at least two oases with small villages along the way, while the path to Rovia, though it may be a main route for caravans, had none. West wasn't even an option. Though there were four small oases scattered around, they were too far away and too small to give me any hope to be employed as a family guard - not a city guard. And I had come from the north.

"South or southeast... Guess I'm going to Rovia. I don't have enough money left to get food for seven weeks. Or buy more along the way." I touched my nearly empty pouch before storing the map.

"Good afternoon," I said loudly into the empty store. Empty of people, that is. The wares were neatly arranged on shelves behind the counter. Bread, beans, dates, dried meat, spices, fruits and vegetables. There was more variety than I had seen in the other towns, but with Karvia in the middle of the White Desert and the caravan routes connecting to the other oases, I guess it was to be expected.

Shuffling came from a door between the shelves, before a native emerged. "Good afternoon, dear customer. What can I do for you on this fine day?" He gave my tail a glance, before ignoring it with a polite smile. His twitching eyebrow told me differently. He did not wish for me to stay in his shop for longer than necessary.

"I would like to buy 3 small bags of dates, 2 packages of dried meat and flat bread, 3 bags of mixed fruits, 5 bags of mixed vegetables and 5 large sacks of grains for camels."

The shopkeeper put everything on the counter, did his calculations and said: "That comes to a total of 3 small gold coins."

I looked over the bags. 3 small gold! That's robbery!

"This is worth 2 small gold and not a single silver more," I told him.

"I don't know your origins, young man, but these wares are indeed worth 3 small gold coins. There is no shop in Karvia that will sell this for less, what with the monthly caravan from Rovia behind schedule."

"2 small gold and 10 silver coins, on account of the location your fine city has. Are the caravans often late?"

"It's rare, but when it happens, the prices instantly go up, dear customer. Part of what you see is imported from Rovia or Alan'ey. But I guess I can make do with 2 small gold and 90 silver coins, what do you say?"

"I still think 2 small gold and 10 silver coins is too much. If I bought it over in Larnia, I would pay less than 2 small gold for all this and another bag of mixed fruits. But it must be hard to be dependent on the caravans, so I will pay 2 small gold and 23 silver coins."

"You'll ruin me, young man," said the shopkeeper sternly, but it was obvious that his heart was in the negotiations, not in the reprimand. "2 small and 74 silver coins. I have a wife and two children to feed."

"Your wife must be a beautiful woman and your children well behaved, to have you think of them so dearly. They should be proud to have such a wonderful father and husband to care for them. I will make it 2 small and 35 silver coins. Is there something you can tell me about the route to Rovia? It's my next destination. I could help the caravan, if they are bogged down. Or deliver a letter to the merchants guild in Rovia that you are concerned."

"You would do that? Really?" The shopkeeper perked up, a change in his voice, his smile a bit brighter than before, nothing more. "I think I can settle for 2 small and 40 silver coins, if you are traveling to Rovia. But beware. The last caravan reported monster sightings along the route. I hope the Cursed already took care of them. They are depraved monsters themselves, but you need monsters to hunt down monsters."

I forked over the 2 small gold and 40 silver coins with a mental wince, leaving me with 27 silver coins. I carried my purchases to my camels and tied everything down before going for a final sip of water from the cistern.

The sun was sinking. A soft wind stirring through the slowly filling streets as people went about their business in the cooling evening air.

"It's time to go," I mumbled, tugging on the reins and leading my camels through the streets. Polly preened her feathers whenever a child pointed towards her.

Once outside the city, I walked away from the sinking sun. East and south, towards the ocean I had never seen and a possible job as the personal guard of a noble family.