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the oasis
Signed-off-by: Xe Iaso <me@christine.website>
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blog/the-oasis.markdown
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blog/the-oasis.markdown
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---
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title: The Oasis
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date: 2022-06-03
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series: malto
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tags:
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- furry
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---
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Tosen did a final check of his backpack. It was a very hot day in Tashei, but
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the river radiated an aura of cool air that protected everyone from the heat of
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the harsh sun. He had his backup cloak, a hydroflask and some fish jerkey, not
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to mention the package for the client. *Not exactly the best equipment but this
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will work. Riltash is a half day away at worst,* Tosen thought to himself. He
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squatted down and fit his arms into the pack's straps. The pack easily weighed a
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quarter of what he did, but as he regained his catlike balance he secured the
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waistband and got ready to head out.
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The oracle predicted that there would be a sandstorm late in the evening, but it
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wasn't even noon yet. He pulled out his compass, let it settle and then set out
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to the southeast.
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Walking in the desert always has its own unique rhythm to it. With the
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unrelenting heat of the sun pounding down on the sand, the ground itself can
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feel like a million angry daggers with every step. Tosen thought ahead of this
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issue. He got himself a pair of sandshoes from the fancy magic item store. The
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only downside was that his main connection to the earth was significantly
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weakened. Chee paws are some of the most finely tuned sensory organs on Malto
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(second only to Snep paws), and they were his main warning about sandstorms.
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*The oracle isn't wrong most of the time. I'm fine, I'm fine. I can't feel the
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desert but I'm fine.*
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He kept walking past all different kinds of cacti. His favorite ones were the
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ones that were made up of a bunch of spiky ovals built on top of eachother. He'd
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never want to get stung by one and risk the wrath of the serrated needles, but
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he'd always thought that they had such a unique look. *If I had a house of my
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own, I'd grow one of them.*
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As he continued walking he started to focus on the patterns of walking. Every
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step was taken one after the other. With every step, his foot slid to the side
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ever so slightly. The sand wrapped around his shoes and warmed his feet. The
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worst part of the sandshoes was when sand trickled into the back of them. This
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required him to stop every so often to purge the sand out of his shoes, because
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otherwise it would hurt a lot.
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This continued for what felt like hours. He checked his compass every so often
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and made sure he was on the right path. It started to move a bit weird compared
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to normal. It was taking longer to find north. Normally this would be concerning
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to him, but the desert had entranced him. Left, right, left, right, left, right.
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Each step bringing him closer to his destination.
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Then the sky changed color. The brilliant blue started to get stained with a
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light brown that worked its way across what Tosen could see. Tosen instantly
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noticed this change and pulled over his face veil. The sandstorm had started
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early. The oracle was wrong.
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Tosen looked around for some kind of shelter but all he could see was the
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remains of a broken wagon that looked like its better days had seen better days.
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It was barely enough protection. With his spare robe to patch over the biggest
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holes just enough to ride out the storm. He took the leap and hunkered down.
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*It's only a level 2 storm. It'll be over in an hour. I'll make it to Riltash
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today. Everything will work out.*
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As he sat down he reached for his compass and couldn't find it. He reached into
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the pocket that his compass normally lives in and felt it conspicuously empty.
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He looked up towards the path he walked in on and saw a golden glint in the
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sand. It was so close. If he could get to it, he'd know where to go. He'd find
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his way to Riltash.
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But the sandstorm started to kick up. The sky started fading towards darker and
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darker shades of brown and he could feel the sand beat against his makeshift
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shelter. The hot sand was whipped up and he could hear it pitter and patter the
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wooden and cloth walls.
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After an hour, the sandstorm started showing signs of slowing down. *This is
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nothing close to a level 2*, Tosen thought to himself. His spare robe was
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totally ruined, but he survived. As things died down, he remembered his compass
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and tore down enough of his shelter to be able to find it. It wasn't where it
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was before. *Okay, it's made of gold, it can't have gone that far*. He grabbed
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his pack, almost fell over from the sudden weight and started to scan around him
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in 360 degrees. He saw the familiar glint of its knob and walked over to its
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resting site. The looking glass was cracked. Rotating it did nothing. The
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compass was broken.
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He was lost.
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It took every ounce of strength Tosen had to avoid shouting out in anger. He
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needed to conserve the water. Miau was huge. He needs to extend his supplies to
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last as long as possible.
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He couldn't resist the urge. He shouted out in anger for an instant before
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realizing what he did and covering his mouth.
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It took a while for Tosen to regain his senses. The shock of the event wasn't
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sitting well with him. His mother's compass was destroyed. His rendezvous time
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with the client was surely shot. At least it wasn't the solar apex anymore.
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*Okay, I can deal with this. I should stay put until sunset. The sun sets to the
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east. I can go diagonally into the sunset to get to Riltash*.
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He more confidently went back to his makeshift shelter. It was in worse
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condition after the storm, but at least it would give him shade. The sun was on
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its way down, but it was still a deadly laser that he needed to worry about.
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*It's just me and you, buddy.*
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Some time passed and the sun very visibly was in the eastern portion of the sky.
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Tosen grabbed for his hydroflask and took a sip. *It was still cold. At least
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that oracle was good for SOMETHING.* He stood up and grabbed his pack. He left a
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bit of red cloth as a flag on the southeast side of his makeshift shelter to
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tell anyone looking for him where he went.
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Then it was back to the rhythms of the desert. The desert felt confusing without
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the comforting pulse of nature under his paws. But, he continued taking steps
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and continued walking forwards.
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Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Things felt more deliberate this time.
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There was a frustration to his walking. He was so frustrated at the whole
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situation. As he walked, he felt his emotions fuming over this whole debacle.
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He walked and walked. The sunset had started to peek out its head and show Tosen
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a display of fantastic colors as he continued to walk. *This isn't right. I
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should have reached Riltash by now. It's only a few miles from Tashei.* He took
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another swig of his hydroflask and felt it notably lighter than it should be. He
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was low on water. This was especially dangerous out here. *This is going to be a
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long night, isn't it.*
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The sunset continued and the colors gradually started to fade to the black night
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sky. Starts started to peek out without the sun to hide them. Tosen scanned over
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the constellations and found the North Star. From there he worked out that he
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was going to the southeast like he thought he was. He looked around and found a
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few miserable bushes to use for firewood, but they were in a sea of thorns. He
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had talents in fire magick, but he didn't trust using it with so many dry thorns
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nearby. *You know what, what's the worst that can happen? I get warm? It's going
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to be so cold soon, I need to do something.*
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He held out his hand and mentally started to trace out the triangles like he
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learned from school. Each triangle stacked on top of each other and then built
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up into a viable casting circle glowing a brilliant orange in front of his hand.
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The area around him was illuminated from the magickal force, the thorns casting
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long evil shadows against cacti and other miserable little bushes.
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"Toor sha!"
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A weak puff of flame came out of his hand and tickled one of the thorny vines.
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There wasn't much of a response and it looked like the fire was going to go out
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so he cast a fireball in its place. The triangles shifted into squares and a
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baseball sized orb of energy started to form in his hand.
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"Toor shaltel!"
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The fireball formed around his fingers and he chucked it right into the pit of
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thorns. They were all set on fire simultaneously. After a brilliant blaze, the
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fire petered out into nothing as fast as it started. He looked over to see if
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the firewood was still there, his spell circle was still active as a flashlight
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but that kindling was nowhere to be seen. It was incinerated with everything
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else.
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He had to resist shouting out in anger again. *Okay, okay, calm down. I set off
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a massive signal fire. That should alert someone. I can't keep this spell circle
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up, I'll mind down and then I'll be in worse trouble.* He killed off the spell
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with a flick of the wrist and the darkness crept in. He was alone. I need to
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keep walking. So he started walking, not realizing that he changed direction
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after the incident with the thorns.
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Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Each step felt angry and defiant. Tosen
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started to feel legitimate anger at the desert. It was normally his home, he
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grew up in the sands of Miau, but tonight it was his enemy. He defiantly marched
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towards where he thought Riltash was, but got no closer.
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It was a very long night walking towards town. It was a desperate, angry march.
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He stopped a few times to take a bite of jerkey and swig it down with the bare
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minimum of water he could get away with. He thought it would be colder, but it
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turns out all that fur ended up going towards something.
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The night continued and was broken by the inklings of a sunrise. Tosen looked up
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in dismay. He had walked all night and he was nowhere closer to his destination.
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An overwhelming feeling of sadness blanketed him and he broke down to start
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crying.
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He looked forward and saw something different. He saw what looked like the faint
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outline of Riltash's signal statue. His sadness was instantly transmuted to a
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mixture of relief and joy and his second wind started to hit. He trudged forward
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towards that statue. Towards his salvation. Towards his client. Towards his
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paycheck. Towards the next step to move out to Zhalram with his friends. Towards
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his future.
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He kept up his pace and got closer. The statue looked wrong. Riltash has the
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visage of one of the water goddesses in the region. This looked different,
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almost like a Chee. He wasn't aware of any local Chee deities. He looked down
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and saw shimmers. It almost looked like a mirage, but then he remembered
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something. There were rumors of an oasis south of Riltash. Could this be that?
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Could there be water?
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His second wind became a third and then a fourth wind. He got close enough to
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take a better look at everything and it was that oasis!
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*Water!*
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His walk became a sprint and the sand started to be diluted with grass. As he
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walked on the grass he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of calm. It was as if
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all of the anger, all the vitriol, all the hatred towards the desert vanished in
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an instant. He paused for a moment but then continued on. The promise of fresh
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water was too great. He was so thirsty.
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He put his pack down, took off his shoes and tested the water with a paw. It was
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cool to the touch, about 10 degrees celsius. It was the real deal. It was water.
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He took off his robe, folded it haphazardly next to his pack and grabbed his
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hydroflask. He opened it and shoved it under so it could be filled. Once he was
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satisfied that it was full, he bent over and started to lap up the water
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greedily.
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A figure vaguely resembling the statue was watching from a nearby house. The
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figure chuckled to themselves. They decided they should intervene. They donned a
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white robe and walked out to the weary traveler.
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Tosen was enamoured by the water. His exhaustion had finally caught up to him.
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He looked back at his pack and saw a figure walking towards him from some kind
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of house. He instantly jumped to alertness, but didn't feel the fear that
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generally came with being startled like that. The figure felt familiar yet alien
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somehow.
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The figure looked at his pack and his visibly broken compass. They looked right
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into Tosen's eyes. "Rough day?"
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Tosen stammered a few times and eventually managed to come up with a reply:
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"Y...yeah. I was caught in that sandstorm yesterday. I hid from it in a broken
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wagon."
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The figure reached out a hand to him. "Come with me. You need a rest. I'll come
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back to take care of your things. I have a spare bed for travelers like you."
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Tosen didn't have enough energy to argue with the stranger's offer of
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hospitality and followed them into their house. They guided Tosen to the guest
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room and sat on one of the chairs. Tosen collapsed on the most comfortable bed
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he had ever felt in his life. All he could get out was a weak "thank....youuuu"
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before his lost sleep caught up and he was out like a light. The figure pulled a
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blanket over him and closed the shades to make the room nice and dark.
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Tosen was asleep until the late afternoon. The figure had moved his stuff
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inside, done his laundry, mended a hole in the pack and was lounging in a chair
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for a nap of their own.
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Tosen woke up, stretched out and yawned loudly. He looked up at the ceiling and
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realized how unfamiliar it was. That angel in his dream was real. Had he
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actually walked through the night? The figure knocked at the door. "Hey, come
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and have a meal. You must be starving." He was. Tosen stood up and opened the
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door. The figure was wearing a white robe and a golden necklace. They looked
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like the archetypal vision of Chee beauty. Tosen noted that he was unable to
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refer to that figure with any pronoun but "they". *That's weird...*
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The figure started to speak: "I am Shal'tash. I saw you hurting and I decided to
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intervene and help you. Come, I have some food almost ready." Shal'tash started
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to walk towards the kitchen and Tosen followed. He made his way to a rather
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ordinary looking wooden table and took a seat. His stuff was near the table and
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he was grateful for his host's gratuity.
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They were making pancakes. The batter was being poured into a metal pan in
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little groups. Tosen noticed that the stove seemed to be powered by its own
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magic circle, a non-organic magic emitter was being used to create the fire
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needed for cooking. It was a weak burner, but it was enough for Shal'tash to
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cook with.
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Tosen was befuddled. He had never seen such a thing in action. He got up and
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looked at it closely. Shal'tash looked back and smiled, "Never seen a stove
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burner before?"
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"Not like that no, it looks like it's casting a weak fire spell, but
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constantly."
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"This is a lot more efficient than the coal burning stoves you have. This lets
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you use the energy equivalent of a fireball to get a half hour of cooking heat,
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or an hour or two of torchlight. I'm surprised you didn't know about this."
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Tosen looked confused. "You mean you can use the square level spell to
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supercharge the triangle level spell? No, they never taught us this. But how is
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the burner even working?"
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Shal'tash laughed. "It's nothing special. I just rooted the circle under the pan
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instead of on my hand. Here, you try it." They flicked their wrist and banished
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the magic circle. "Now cast a fireball but focus on the pan instead of your
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hand, let it simmer a bit, and then kick off create fire."
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Tosen was confused but nodded and tried to comply. After a moment Shal'tash
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piped in: "no, don't think about where the pan is relative to your hand. Think
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about where the pan is relative to the pan. You're so close. I know you can do
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it."
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Tosen nodded and started over. The circle started to be inscribed below the pan
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and Shal'tash's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Toor sha!"
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The burner was lit. The fire was continuously burning and Tosen didn't feel the
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sting of a continuous cast. "Perfect. See how easy this is? Spend the mana on
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the fireball, then use it for the weaker spell. No need to waste any."
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Tosen was astounded. It normally took him ages to learn magical skills, but here
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he was on the second try with this person and their vague instruction and he did
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two things he thought was impossible. It was like magic was all new all over
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again. Can I use this to make a bunch of fireballs when casting a firestorm? How
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far does this go?
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"Be careful with this, you could really hurt someone if you do displacement
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foolishly. They must have stopped teaching it for a reason." Shal'tash finished
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the stack of pancakes and put the plate in the middle of the table. "Now let's
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eat!"
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They shared a meal. It was just what Tosen needed.
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The meal was finished. Shal'tash looked over to Tosen. "So where are you headed?
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I can point you in the right direction."
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"Riltash, I have a delivery that I'm incredibly late for by now."
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Shal'tash chuckled and pointed towards the statue. "The statue points towards
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Riltash. Just go straight north and you'll get there in 20 minutes."
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Tosen looked incredulous. "I was really that close?"
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"Yeah, though it looked like you needed to get lost. It can be good for you."
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He didn't understand what they meant by that, but he didn't think he needed to.
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Shal'tash walked with Tosen to the north side of the oasis. Tosen looked towards
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his saviour and was suddenly overcome with emotion. "Thank you so much. You
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saved me."
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"You are welcome. I saved you because I was in a situation worse than yours when
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I found this oasis. I don't want anyone to experience the pain that I have felt,
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so I saved you before it could get that bad."
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"What can I do to repay you?"
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"You don't need to do anything right now. Just save someone else when you can.
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If you want, come back here and give me a visit. It'd be fun to catch up,
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Tosen."
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"Thanks again! I'll be back!"
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Tosen walked off towards his payday. He looked back every so often and the oasis
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became more distant and then faded completely from sight into the rest of the
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sands. He was alone again, but not in spirit.
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He never noticed that they knew his name without him telling them his name.
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Shal'tash walked back towards their house and stood by their cactus. They
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watched as Tosen faded into the sands and then headed inside. Their job was
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complete.