Drawing water from the village well was tedious, and each villager had a quota so the well wouldn’t run dry. Flushing water for a bath twice a week was out of the question.
Riyan’s place had a solution to that. There was some sort of water source deep underground that fed the entire abode, and from what Vir had seen, there was no chance of ever running it dry. And Riyan had D Grade Magic Heat orbs aplenty, which even Maiya could use.
“So, you wanna check out the area like Riyan suggested? Or do you just want to soak today?” Maiya asked.
“I think we should check out the area, in case we ever need to escape. Or if we get lost. It’s a good thing to know.”
“Yeah, I think so too. Let’s shower off and see how far we can get. I saw something like an oasis in the distance when I went searching for you that day. I think we should go back and check that place out.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Vir said as he stepped into the bathing room. The very thought of an oasis got his blood pumping. There was something about ponds in the middle of deserts that was just plain seric.
The bathing facilities were in the deepest part of Riyan’s home and differed from every other room in one crucial way. It was carved into the bedrock of the hill into which the abode had been built.
Small alcoves in the walls contained Magic Candle orbs, which dyed the space with a cozy red hue. The humidity here was far higher than every other room in the home, causing moss, vines, and other plant life to grow abundantly within. Vir always felt like he was walking into another world when he entered.
Its key feature was the dominating, spring-fed soaking grotto in the very center. Steam vapor rose from its surface, and the shallow waves it cast reflected onto the black rock, painting a scene of serenity and peace.
Vir gave it a longing look before turning aside. As much as he’d have loved to soak in the grotto, they simply didn’t have the time.
Vir went left while Maiya went right, to their respective stalls several paces away from the pool. Riyan had a way of flowing hot water through a pipe where it dumped out on top of one’s head. Vir had never heard of anything like this until he arrived. It was like being drenched in hot rain.
That sounded uncomfortable, but was in fact pure bliss. The feeling of the hot water droplets tingled Vir’s scalp in a way that both soothed and energized him. Riyan had to limit his usage of the shower after he’d spent an hour standing under it.
To Vir’s delight, their instructor had installed a regular tap for his convenience.
He opened the tap… and let all of his problems melt away.
19DESERT CARTOGRAPHERS
Vir rummaged through the bedroom for supplies.
“Riyan’s not even giving us ink, so we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way,” said Maiya, casting a grim gaze at the small clay fireplace built into the far wall of the room.
The abode was well-insulated, but they both appreciated the coziness of a fire, especially when staying up late into the night, chatting. A rarity these days, given how exhausted they usually were after a hard day of training.
“Probably because he expects us to mess it up and waste it,” Vir replied. He rolled up his sleeves and rummaged around the coals, making his fingertips black with ash. He selected a few suitable pieces of charcoal and dropped them into his rucksack. “At least he gave us parchment to write on.”
“Let’s see…” Maiya said, looking around the room. “Water. We’ll want plenty of water if we’re venturing out into the desert. I’ll fill up our waterskins in the kitchen. D’you think we need blankets?”
“We’re taking Bumpy, right, in case we get lost?” Vir asked. Bumpy was the name Maiya had bestowed upon one of Riyan’s two Ash’va, due to its terrible ride. Despite that, Bumpy was the one she always picked if she had a choice, though she’d pout all the same. She’d dubbed the other one ‘Grumpy.’ Grumpy didn’t like her very much.
As far as either of them knew, Riyan never bothered to name the poor beasts.
“But uh, let’s tell Riyan exactly where we’re going? I really don’t want a repeat of last time,” Vir said with a shiver, recalling how much pain he’d caused them both when he’d snuck away.
Maiya nodded vigorously.
With their bags packed and loaded onto Bumpy, they signed out on Riyan’s roster, leaving Neel behind to guard the abode.
“If you are looking for the oasis, you will want to head due south,” their instructor said as they left.
“Do we at least get a compass?” Maiya asked.
Riyan’s shrug said it alclass="underline" you’re on your own.
“It’s like he wants us to get lost,” Maiya whispered.
Vir thanked Janak that the man failed to hear her.
Maiya yielded the reins to Vir—who was more familiar with Ash’va riding than she was—and sat behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist for stability.
Vir already had a general lay of the land, so he at least knew which direction led west to the coast. From there, he calculated approximately where south was by cross-referencing the position of the sun in the sky.
Bearing set, they headed out.
Minutes after they left, they came across their first landmark—a series of caves embedded into the hills. Vir brought Bumpy closer for a better look. Some caves were tiny, only a few paces deep. Others looked as if they stretched on forever.
“Wanna go explore some?” Maiya asked with excitement.
“We’d better not,” Vir said. “Riyan warned us about them, remember? Said it was easy to get lost in there.”
“Mmm, but still! I wanna find that secret supply stash he keeps in there,” Maiya said, staring into the darkness of the cave. “Not like there’s much else to do around here… Would it have killed him to live a bit closer to a big city?”
“It’s off the beaten path, that’s for sure. I’m guessing that’s why he picked it in the first place. Wonder how long he’s lived here?”
Maiya tapped her chin. “Maybe a few years? Everything feels new-ish, but not brand new, if you know what I mean?”
“Right. Like it feels lived in, but not old. Really wonder who he is, to have access to so much wealth. And that training dome? No normal person has something like that in their house.”
“I know, right? I bet he’s someone super famous,” Maiya said. “Definitely a Sawai noble of some sort.”
Vir urged the Ash’va onward, leaving the caves behind and continuing south. A half hour’s ride had the sand dunes giving way to the endless plains he’d visited on his solo outing weeks ago.
“Let’s stop here,” he said, dismounting and retrieving a piece of charcoal from the pannier on Bumpy’s rump.
“Let’s put Riyan’s home at the very center of the map,” he said, placing the map on the ground and drawing a small dome to represent the house. “It’s surrounded by a desert on all sides, so we can add that. And then we have the caves and the transition to the plains to the south.”
Maiya watched as he worked. “You’re actually pretty good at this.” She sounded both irked and impressed at the same time. “Ah! Let’s add the coast to the west. Riyan said the coastline runs north-south, and that you’d run into the port city of Saran if you kept going north.”
“Okay. I think the coast was about a half hour’s ride to the west? So… about the same distance as the plains, then.”
That came as a bit of a surprise to Vir. The ride to the coast had felt like it had been far longer. But everything was new to him back then, and he hadn’t really paid much attention to his surroundings.