| "The Adventures of Kat and Clara" Part V: The Desert of Mir'Adash "Wake up, Miss Clara!" Salem exclaimed, rushing to her quarters. "It is time to depart! Everyone is preparing!" Clara rolled over in her bed, freshly startled awake by Salem's overenthusiasm. She opened her eyes, allowing them to be pieced by the early morning sunlight. The sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon. "What in the world--" she muttered, sitting up in bed, shielding her eyes from the sun. "What time is it?" "It is sunrise, of course," Salem said, smiling, crouching down by her bedside. "We must be going soon. You should prepare immediately." Clara looked up at Salem and smiled, then looked down at herself, only then realizing that she was almost entirely naked, dressed only in a bra and a pair of panties. "Do you mind, sir?!" she asked, furious, and a little embarrassed. "It's considered good form to give a lady her privacy." "My apologies, Clara," he said, standing to exit the room. "We will be at the dining table." "Thank you, Salem." Clara climbed from her bed, struggling to put on her clothing. I hope that sort of behavior doesn't continue on our trip, she thought, slipping on her gloves and sheathing her sword. Clara gathered her senses and walked with her sack to the table, where everyone else waited. They all sat together, eating a big breakfast. "Good morning," Isengrim said. "You should eat something before we go." He passed her a plate of biscuits. "Here, eat these." Clara, feeling as though she was dying, quickly wolfed down one buttermilk biscuit, then slowly ate a second, drinking peach nectar in between bites. "Goodness," Erma said. "You certainly are hungry." Clara looked sternly at Salem. "Sorry, ma'am," she said. "I was a little rushed this morning." After eating their meal, the group of travelers prayed to S'Allumer and headed outside to watch the sunrise. "This may be our last time here in the Valley of Fate," Erma said, locking the door to her home. "I pray we all return together." "Isengrim," Keilich said, pointing his staff down the road, "lead the way!" "Where are we going, anyway?" Clara asked, as the group began to walk. "We are going to the Desert of Mir'Adash," Isengrim said. "It is the only way we can go; it surrounds the Valley of Fate in three directions -- west, south, and north -- and is one of the most desolate and dry places on the planet. Be sure to ration water well; the temperatures are sometimes unbearably high, especially during summers like this." The five travelers journeyed across the remainder of the Valley of Fate; they walked to the top of the cliff, walking along side the river that led to the waterfall they drifted over a day earlier. After hours of travel, the river began to curve away from the trees and climbed upward to the top of a huge mountain; Isengrim identified the mountain to be the Peak of Mir'Adash. To his knowledge, the river was a product of an enormous lake, hundreds of miles long and hundreds more wide, resting on a lone plateau some 200 miles away and four miles above sea level. The top of the mountain itself was rumored to be seven or eight miles above sea level. All year long atop the perilous peak, there were snow drifts up to 40 feet deep and temperatures were unbearably cold. The lake and miles of river that poured from it were continually frozen. "We shall not go up there," Isengrim said, pointing to the glorious mountain. "Should we even try, we will all surely perish." The group continued on, until the trees were no longer visible; instead, there was no vegetation, not even a simple weed. The ground was practically made of rock and sand and was bone dry. It was clear to the party that they had reached the Desert of Mir'Adash. There was no visible life in the desert, not even a bird; instead, the desert stretched for what seemed like hundreds of miles. The only other feature of the desolate land was that it was dotted with great rock structures that looked like trees; they contained great shafts of rock with bases up dozens of feet wide with large round or egg-shaped masses of rock perched atop them. Such rock structures provided a great deal of shade and stood as high as 400 or 500 feet. "It will surely take us a great while to reach the end of this wasteland," Keilich said. "And the sun will be setting soon. It will be cold out here; we should find shelter." Salem raised his head and looked out in the distance. "I think I see something," he said, pointing to one of the "rock trees," as he called them. "I think that structure out there may be inhabited." "Are you certain?" Isengrim asked, looking with his son. "Let's go look," Salem said. "It is definitely worth the effort." The group collectively agreed, following him to what he believed was a home for someone unrelated. Indeed, they would find him correct. The rock structure he identified, which stood 200 feet high, was carved out to accommodate a large wooden door, and who knows what else behind it. Next page >> |