“I will try it,” she declared. “I will hang up my ways and deal with my past honestly now. When the sun shows itself in the morning, a new Mistake will dawn.”
“Good,” smiled Brontos. “You will want to head north from here. The land between here and the Meliban River is parched and desolate, so I will give you what food and water I can spare before you leave. Ration it. You will see the trees along the Meliban long before you reach it. Once you are into the trees, be wary. Everything in this part of the country needs water, so everyone visits the river, including bandit tribes. Follow the river upstream and it will bring you to the Giaming Mountains. It will be a long and arduous journey, but there should be enough villages along the way for you to buy food. Do not cheat the villagers, but pay them a fair price for the food. You may pass that way again and need their help.”
Mistake nodded and looked up to see Rejji returning to the campsite. Brontos followed her gaze and stood up. He walked over to the wagon and grabbed an empty pouch and proceeded to fill it with gold coins from his own pouch. He walked over to Rejji and handed it to him.
“This squares us for the fossils,” the merchant stated. “In the morning we part company and both of us have a long journey ahead of us. I would suggest that we turn in now.”
Rejji nodded as he tied the pouch to his belt. Brontos crawled up into his wagon and Rejji and Mistake crawled under it. Rejji curled up into a ball to ward off the chill and let his mind wander to images of what his father must have been like. His thoughts soon took a turn to the events of the day and his eyes dampened when he pictured the remains of the villagers that he had known all of his life. He had trouble imagining people so cruel as to destroy a village for no reason and a rage started to build inside him. Just as his mind turned to ways to seek revenge upon the Jiadin, Mistake gently touched him on the shoulder.
“Don’t dwell upon it,” she whispered. “The past is behind us now. Let us focus on the future. Our journey tomorrow will be hard and you will need your strength. Go to sleep.”
“Where are we going?” Rejji asked, but the only reply was the sound of Brontos snoring loudly. Rejji concentrated on the snoring and was soon asleep.
***
Movement of the wagon wakened Mistake and she managed to crawl out just before Brontos exited the wagon.
“Should I make us a meal?” questioned Mistake.
“No,” replied the merchant. “Our journeys are long today and we should use the time to get started on them.”
Brontos slapped the side of the wagon with his large hand and Rejji jumped and hit his head on the floor of the wagon. Mistake stifled a laugh as Rejji’s eyes darted around seeking the source of the noise. Eventually it dawned on him where he was and he sheepishly crawled out from under the wagon. Brontos grabbed two small sacks from the rear of the wagon and handed one to each of the Fakarans.
“This is all I can spare,” frowned Brontos. “Ration it well. It will take me a few minutes to get the horses hitched, but that should not delay your departure. A little north of here is a ford where you can cross this stream. Do so. Try to keep your track due north or you will end up walking in circles.”
Rejji’s head was spinning as he tried to figure out what was happening when Brontos stepped closer and embraced him. The old merchant turned and embraced Mistake and whispered in her ear and she nodded. Brontos broke the embrace and turned around and marched off towards the horses.
“Let’s go,” prompted Mistake. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Rejji shook his head and stared at her. “Where are we going? What did he say to you?”
Mistake picked up the sack that Rejji had dropped and shoved it into his hands. “We are going to the Giaming Mountains to find the Sage,” she declared.
Without further word, she turned and strode northward out of the campsite. Rejji turned and looked at Brontos as the merchant was hitching his horses to the wagon and then he scampered after Mistake. As he caught up to Mistake he reached out to grab her to get her to stop and explain what was going on. His hand felt her muscular arm, but as it did, she leaped sideways so quickly that Rejji’s eyes could not follow her movements. She stood several paces away and faced him with her hands on her hips.
“Brontos is not good at farewells,” explained Mistake. “It is easier on him if we just go quickly. Besides, we have a long trek ahead of us.”
“What did he whisper to you?” questioned Rejji.
“He said to take care of you,” smiled the thief. “I believe he is quite fond of you. In fact, I would wager he loses a fair amount of gold on those teeth you sold him.”
Rejji shook his head and turned to look back towards the campsite. The merchant’s wagon was gone. Mistake turned and started northward again and Rejji put the merchant out of mind and caught up to her.
They crossed the ford as the first rays of sunshine sprayed over the land. As they continued north away from the stream, the short scraggly trees and small brush began to disappear. Within a few hours, the landscape was barren. There was not a plant or weed in sight. The soil was like baked clay occasionally broken by gullies caused by torrents of water that had existed at sometime in the past.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the temperature rose significantly and soon they both were drenched with perspiration. As the sun reached its zenith, Mistake halted. She raised a hand to her eyes and looked in each direction before sitting down on the baked soil.
“A little shade would have been nice,” she grumbled. “We should take a bite to eat though or our bodies will suffer for it.”
Rejji said nothing but pawed through his sack and grabbed the small flask with water in it. He raised it to his lips and started drinking.
“Stop,” ordered Mistake. “That is all the water we have. Save it for later.”
Rejji licked his lips and looked at her. “How long is this trip?” he asked.
“I am not really sure,” she admitted, “but Brontos stressed rationing our supplies several times. He knows Fakara fairly well although I doubt he has ever come this way. We have to act cautiously if we are to survive.”
Rejji nodded and placed the flask back into the sack. He nibbled on a loaf of stale bread and then tied the sack back up.
“Do you really expect to find this Sage?” he questioned.
“I don’t know,” admitted Mistake, “but I will not stop looking.”
Mistake rose and started walking. Rejji hurried after her and they walked in silence for the rest of the day. As the sun went down the heat abated and their bodies felt a tinge of regeneration as the surface of the desert cooled. They continued walking for several more hours until Mistake called a halt again.
“I thought it would be pleasant to walk in the cool of the night,” began Mistake, “but it is getting downright cold now. We should eat some more and maybe catch some sleep.”
Again they sat on the baked soil and nibbled on stale bread and drank sparingly from their flasks. They lay down on the ground and curled into balls in an attempt to stay warm, but the cold persisted and they ended up with their arms intertwined sharing what warmth they had with each other and drifted off to sleep.
Rejji woke first and rolled onto his back as the sun was showing its first threatening rays over the land. He sat up and gazed at the barren landscape. He turned to reach for his sack and couldn’t find it. Frantically, he leaped to his feet and looked all around for his sack.
“What is it?” murmured Mistake as she struggled into a sitting position.
“Our food sacks are gone,” sighed Rejji.
“What?” shouted Mistake as she leaped to her feet.
The two of them walked around in circles looking for the sacks, but the sacks were nowhere to be found. Rejji reached to his belt for the small pouch of gold and was happy to find it still there.
“Whoever robbed us last night missed the gold,” Rejji announced.