Disclaimer: Don't own, don't shoot!

AN: I'm making the desert-walk longer than Lewis does in his books. The reason for that is that I find it extraordinary that one can travel from Narnia to Calormen in just two days. I realize these are small countries we're dealing with, but still... Plus I gotta get in a "few" male-bonding moments and it seems that whenever they're not traveling, they're fighting. Anyone else noticing that pattern?

Chapter 10: Heat

They had arrived in Hoc, a town located on the border of the Great Desert, and left two days later. Hoc was mostly populated by Calormenes and Telmarines. Very few actual Archenlanders, which was surprising considering it was within their borders. The main trade there was furs and metal. The mines in the mountains to the west were mined for copper and iron which was processed in filthy furnaces outside the town. Everyone they met was covered in soot. Most looked ragged and skinny.

Edmund asked why they were there. What they hoped to sell. Romel answered that they would sell the skins and furs they had brought from the north and trade them for iron, steel and copper to sell further south. Edmund wondered openly how that could sustain them since they could only sell what they were carrying on their backs. Romel just smiled and kept walking.

That was the first time since joining them that Edmund slept inside. It was a strange adjustment.

Three rooms in a lovely inn in the centre of town were paid for. All of them ate very well that night. They only had a little to drink and all went to bed relatively early. Only Hamied left the establishment, looking for company and Stell engaged a group of travelers in a card game. He skinned them for every last penny by cheating. Once they realized the deception, there was a brief moment of tension before they discovered he had nine companions. After that they accepted their losses and left.

Romel only bothered Stell once about cheating locals out of Crescents. Arthur remarked that it was because he was in a good mood. A few hours before midnight all had gone to bed. Edmund shared a room with Arthur and Hale who both snored, much to his annoyance. With no nocturnal sounds to drown out the noise, it was quite difficult for him to sleep. But rest he did. It was later than usual, but eventually the warmth of his bed lulled him to sleep.

The next morning was spent selling what they could and haggling over iron prices. Their furs were sold to two of the many furriers in town. A few unprocessed bars of copper, steel and iron were bought. It turned out the fur went at a much higher rate than the metal. "Supply and demand," Hale remarked when he passed Edmund with a pouch full of coins. Subsequently they pulled a heavy profit which was how they could afford to pay for rooms.

After dinner Romel pulled Edmund aside. Edmund was suspicious at first, but grinned when Romel presented him with a short sword. Barely as long as his arm. He didn't notice the hesitant look he received before he left to show Arthur. If he had, he would've seen the suspicion that still lingered in the traveler's eyes.

But Edmund didn't and so his high spirits remained untarnished. It wasn't until the second morning, the dawn of departure, when Edmund's spirits dampened a little once again. They had left the town a few hours after dawn. Around noon they reached the edge of the desert. Sand for miles in every direction. Edmund looked back when they crossed into the ocean of sand. Blue cliffs rose into the clouds behind them. He wasn't particularly looking forward to a weeklong trek through the wasteland.

And as suspected, the trip was anything but pleasant. By the second night he had sand everywhere. Not to mention that their water skins were decreasing noticeably with each day. Star was carrying most of the water as well as some of their purchases. The little donkey toiled and battled through the night and slept soundly through the day. Edmund noticed that she kept by his side most of the time. It seemed he had won her favor sometime during his stay with the group. "Whilamina was wrong," he sighed into the harsh wind. It was getting warmer already. The sun was only barely beginning its climb over the eastern horizon. It wouldn't be long until it became blistering.

"What?" Lauviah asked curiously. She was walking next to him. Her way of keeping an eye on him. She was still making her horrible teas and fussing over his wounds every chance she got.

"The lady we bought the donkey from, she told us it was stubborn."

Lauviah glanced at Star and sighed. "Well praise the Prophet she was wrong."

Edmund frowned at her unfamiliar oath. "Who's the Prophet?"

She shrugged. "Just something an old man used to tell us. Never did get around to ask who it was." She smirked and stopped Edmund with a hand on his shoulder. "Break." she called.

Everyone stopped and dropped everything in their hands. Sweat was already beginning to pour from some of them. "First thing when I get to Tashbaan I'm getting a shower." Elijah moaned.

Edmund shared his sentiment. He didn't think he had ever been this dirty. "A cool drink," he chimed in. Elijah shot him a smile as he began setting up.

Romel had apparently noticed that they were exhausted. "Alright, set up! We're done for the night." He began unpacking along with everyone else. Edmund moved to set up his tent and was joined by Arthur. The two had been sharing since Hoc.

"Sit down, I'll get it." he said.

Edmund shook his head. "I'll be alright."

Arthur shrugged and noticed shrewdly that Lauviah was making her way over to them after quickly disposing of her own bag. "You should be resting," she told Edmund.

He sighed and looked dejectedly at Arthur. The red-head just smiled and shrugged. "Maybe she wants to give you more tea?"

Edmund growled, but obediently turned to face her.

"Sit," she said.

He sat on a lump in the sand. Star was relieved of her weight by Archer and Hale. And the second she was, she dropped and continued to get a good roll in the sand. A loud eee-aww echoed through the little camp and made them chuckle. She continued making loud and happy noises to the great enjoyment of all.

Lauviah opened a jar of disinfectant. The one that smelled like ammonia. Edmund frowned, but sat still as she rubbed it on his back. It stung a little, but not badly. The wounds were finally beginning to heal. Not that the desert helped much. The cuts on his face were healing as well. Much better than his back. The only thing that still bothered him were his ribs and shoulder. And for that there was little could be done. Nothing except the teas Lauviah kept forcing him to drink.

"What's for dinner?" Archer called Elijah.

The self-proclaimed and proud Calormene pulled out two shanks of dried meat. "Jerky and porridge." He smirked and proceeded to make a fire. They had brought dry logs with them from Hoc, but most had been used already.

Edmund was looking at his calloused hands and further up his arms. He had bulked up since joining Romel and the others. Must've been all that dragging and walking. All that fighting. His arms and stomach was still pale though. They had avoided the sharp Calormene sun by only walking at night. They would only make camp once the sun was an inch above the horizon. But in that one hour of sunlight he had gotten a harsh burn on his face that was slowly turning into a faint tan. Contrary to the burn, the freckles were popping up everywhere. He didn't want to know how many was on his face. He also didn't want to know how red his nose had gotten. His face and body was constantly hot and burning. It made sleeping extremely difficult.

Lauviah said it had more to do with his wounds that it had to do with the sun. He stubbornly chose not to believe her. He would openly wonder how anyone could live in a place that was this hot. Most of the time the others smiled. Sometimes he was asked to shut up. When that happened he clamped up like a wounded puppy. As they traveled, the snappy comments doubled. It was around that time he decided to just keep quiet for the rest of the trip.

It was no secret that the heat and drought was wearing down the group. The water was halfway gone and the food now solely consisted of porridge. Edmund hated porridge. It had a mild, slightly sweet taste. One morning, as they were eating their meal, he leaned towards Elijah. "What exactly is this?" He gestured with the spoon at the glop.

"Manna made from sweet-grass seeds." He was eating it gladly.

Edmund nodded and returned his focus to the bowl. Having a name for it didn't make it more appetizing. "Manna porridge." It was slightly off-white and sticky. Graney.

He didn't notice the sly smiles Arthur and Valera was shooting from across the fire.

"Manna porridge," he whispered again to himself and scooped up a bite. He looked up sharply when their chuckles broke through his reverie. "What?"

"Nothing," both said. They turned their eyes away and resumed eating.

Edmund frowned a little before he too resumed eating. He realized later that he had begun thinking out loud. Talking to himself more often than not. No one besides Arthur and Valera seemed to have noticed though. He looked at the smile he was receiving from Lauviah as she checked his ribs and frowned. Well maybe a few besides Arthur and Valera. Lauviah smirked and walked away. Edmund eyed the tea she had left him with distain.

"He's getting weirder," Archer growled across the camp.

Romel just huffed. "It's the desert. It plays tricks on your mind. Just keep it civil." He left Archer to fret alone.

"Don't I always?"

Edmund looked up at Archer's call and noticed the tall man staring at him. The two looked at each other for a long moment. None of them spoke, but Archer finally took two steps back and disappeared into his tent. Edmund frowned and decided to get some rest as well. Perhaps he was just worn out? Arthur was already sleeping. The sun was climbing towards zenith. Edmund left the tent flap open and sank onto his covers.

No matter how long they spent in this hell he would never get used to sleeping during the day. He frowned and flipped over to his side to get away from the sunshine.

He lay awake for almost an hour, pondering what Romel had told him. He hadn't informed the others that Edmund now knew about their history. He was trying to tie the new knowledge into what he knew about them. It was strange that a group as diverse as theirs shared something so. . . life changing wasn't even the word.

He began to wonder about what effects a curse like that could have. He saw it very clearly in Romel, Hale and Valera. They seemed to have moved beyond the things that came naturally to most creatures. Sex. Love. Curiosity. Those two, out of the whole group, seemed to have accepted that their lives would only become more monochrome. With every lifetime they would remember every other lifetime. The memories must have made them realize that life was really only worth living if you only did it once.

With a great sucking sensation Edmund realized how happy he was that he wasn't cursed as they were.

He couldn't imagine anything worse than losing his curiosity. Knowing that everything would just be an endless cycle of repetition. As he pondered about the nature of curiosity, he acknowledged that some of the members had yet to lose theirs. Hamied and Archer in particular. They still seemed to have a strong urge to explore. Edmund figured that some of them were simply further along in their emotional development than others.

Piece by piece it all came together. Their skills; their ideas of the world. The strange assortment of names. How they all seemed to fit together, but still remained highly individual. They were a group of soldiers. Edmund was the odd man out. That would take some getting used to, and yet. . .

The relief of not being one of them, cursed like them, almost made him weep. He couldn't even imagine the pain they must have lived through – died of too, probably. He closed his eyes and let a great exhale expand his chest. It suddenly felt good the way his ribs ached. It let him know he was alive, but more importantly it reminded him that he wasn't used to it. He had only had this life to adjust. They'd had several.

The sun had crept to zenith when he finally fell asleep. His peace of mind, restored.

AN: After this there's a tiny interlude before we start moving forward again. Things are gonne get even more complicated and then they're gonna start happening real fast, so hold on. Thanks for reviewing. You are all little rays of sunshine in my otherwise dull life :*