《A Tribe of Kassia》"If We Survive"
Advertisement
Three days passed. Mohani showed restraint, attacking Orrock only once per day, typically as they stopped each sunset to camp. The second day she came quite close to stimulating his neck and thus prepare him for her to take him, but the monk contorted himself enough to evade her probing fingers.
By the time they reached the forest’s edge, Iona’s arms had returned, covered in those fine greenish leaves that so fascinated Tanin. How such a creature even came to be alive, he couldn’t guess. The wood witch, as if proving her worth, helped the party avoid pitfalls and an unknown number of forest animals that might have otherwise chosen the little band for a meal. Orrock and Mohani’s wounds from the dogrels were not fully healed, and the Agnise kept the monk’s torn robes in wraps around her arms and legs. Tanin was unsure if this choice was to protect the wounds or irritate the Guar.
The group stopped just shy of exiting the protection of the trees late on the third day. Tanin held his hand up to the west. They had three fingers of daylight left before dark.
“Is this the right place?” he couldn’t help asking.
Orrock had climbed trees each night to read the stars, making slight course corrections as they moved through the woods. “Yes . . . or rather, I believe so. We are entering the high desert now. The canyon is this way.” He gestured. “We will encounter it tomorrow for certain. Whether we will find the Charic as well, I cannot say.”
“And if we do,” Mohani said, turning to Tanin. “Then what? Charge the whole group of them with your stick?”
“I don’t know,” Tanin said honestly, unmoved by the Agnise’s sarcasm. She’d deployed it enough the past few days that it bounced harmlessly off him now. “I think we’ll have to see them first before taking action. We’ll figure out the best way forward once we have them in sight. They shouldn’t be expecting an attack of any kind, so we have that in our favor anyway.”
Advertisement
“I agree,” said Orrock. “Rampaging after them is death. We shall have to find another way.”
Mohani rolled her head around on her shoulders. Tanin heard vertebrae crackling. “I am always ready for a straightforward fight.”
“Yes, we know,” Orrock muttered.
“I am giving us options,” the Agnise said.
“Do we stop here?” Tanin said before Orrock could reply. “There’s still some daylight left.”
Orrock scanned the horizon. Once the forest petered out, scrub brush and bristling, spiny cacti took over the landscape, all of them spread out so as not to steal one another’s precious water. The ground was solid and white, sprinkled with gravel.
“This is your environment, Fell. More similar to the Fell lands than any place I have been. I doubt the Agnise or the wood witch has any experience in such land. You must lead us now.”
Tanin felt the mantle falling upon him as if it were a tangible garment. Swallowing, he took two steps forward, repeating Orrock’s scan of the desert. “How long will your water last?”
“Two days,” Orrock said. “If rationed.”
Tanin sniffed the air, lifting his chin to study the sky. It was bright and blue and cloudless, just like back home. Dry, with only the faintest mineral scent eddying in shallow undercurrents.
“If it rains, we can catch it,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s going to, not any time soon. We may be able to harvest some from the cactus, but it will be bitter.” He turned to face them. “This won’t be an easy march.”
“Nor for the Charic’sada, Tanin Fell,” said Iona. “They too must resist the sun and find water.”
“That’s true. But if you three run out of water out here, that’s going to be a problem.”
Advertisement
The Agnise was unfazed, but the Guar nodded.
“As I said, we will ration it. If we survive the Charic, there is a river at the bottom of the canyon.”
Tanin’s heart clenched at the monk’s wording. Orrock’s face was impassive, so Tanin couldn’t tell if he’d meant the phrasing “if we survive” to terrorize him—which it most certainly did. The reality of his mission sprang fresh knots of adrenaline in Tanin’s belly.
If Orrock had led them as well as he’d promised, tomorrow they may encounter the Charic. And if by chance not tomorrow, then certainly not long after.
Memine, he told himself. Forget the Charic’sada, you may see Memine and the others again. That’s your focus.
Tanin adjusted his pack. “We walk. We’ll stop after sunset.”
He stepped out of the forest proper, and his party followed.
Advertisement
- In Serial1363 Chapters
VRMMO: The Unrivaled
Lu Chen used to be a ranker of the most popular VRMMO game, Spirit of Grief. After a car accident turned his dreams into dust, his disability left him incapable of escaping the pit of mediocrity he was thrown into. Helpless and defeated, his story ended.Two years later, the Eternal Moon Corporation launched a new VRMMO called "Heavenblessed", and Lu Chen stumbled into another terrible accident that left him in a complicated situation far beyond his ability to handle. That won't stop him from rising to the top, however. Not again.Come witness the rise of the sword-wielding zombie and the relationships he makes during his journey to the apex! For riches and bi- ahem, for career and love!He wields a demonic sword from Hell, he dons armor shining with Heaven's light. His boots stride across the sky as his helmet devours the souls of his enemies. On his left side sits the Goddess of Death. On the other, the Angel of Beauty.From the land of ice and death, a generation of Asura Kings rises, their roars reverberating throughout the world.Tremble in fear, noobs!
8 8156 - In Serial1353 Chapters
Refining the Mountains and Rivers
A young man's life changes when he stumbles upon a mysterious item. Qin Yu had never been a lucky person. Weak of body, bullied by his peers, and with only his friend as his family, he struggles day-by-day to live. But everything changes when he stumbles upon a little blue lamp. An immortal and demonic cultivating adventure.
8 3344 - In Serial2455 Chapters
Mortal Cultivation Biography
A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, he must successfully traverse the treacherous path of cultivation and avoid the notice of those who may do him harm. This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with devilish demons and ancient celestials in order to find his own path towards immortality.
8 1050 - In Serial1503 Chapters
Dragon Prince Yuan
Destiny stolen at birth, the prince of the once mighty Great Zhou Empire, Zhou Yuan, has been plagued all his life by a fatal poison, forced to suffer powerlessly until one day when fate draws him into a mysterious domain where he meets a beautiful girl in green, a bizarre dog-like creature and an unfathomable old man in black.Join Zhou Yuan as he is thrust into the whirlpool of destiny while he seeks the pinnacle of cultivation.
8 1057 - In Serial677 Chapters
Ranker's Return
In the early days of the virtual reality game, Arena, meleegod was the strongest ranked player! He deleted his character and suddenly left. In order to restore his bankrupt family, he returned to Arena!"Do you want to create a character?"
8 1715 - In Serial1525 Chapters
Monarch of Evernight
Qianye rose from hardship but was felled by betrayal. From then, one man, one gun; he tread the path between Evernight and Daybreak and became a legend. Even if Evernight was destined to be his fate, he still intends to become the ruler who dictates.
8 22861