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Exhausted from healing & the fight, they made a meal, but no one really enjoyed it as they were all on edge due to the attack. Nobody slept, which would be a major problem for the morning.
As the dawn broke they continued their journey across the desert, still aching & slightly bleeding from the fight the day before. Progress was slow, but they were out of the rock valley & back into the desert, the sun beating down on them once more.
As they broke camp in the middle of the day, they quickly discovered a problem: they were running out of water, which was a massive problem, considering they were in the middle of the desert.
'How...much water...do we...have left?' Ronan croaked, panting.
'Not much,' Cormer said sadly.
'We're going to die out here!' Sonia shouted. 'We need a miracle,'
'I can't think of any sources of water that could be nearby,' Baurest said, defeated.
'May Akatosh have mercy on us,' Thoreien whispered.
They trudged on, despite the overwhelming thirst. About half an hour passed, when Zenia spoke up:
'What's that in the distance?'
Maurmon turned around & smiled softly at her. 'It's nothing. It's just a mirage,' he explained.
'No it's not,' Zenia denied. 'Look,'
She pointed at something in the distance. On first glance, it seemed like nothing, but when you looked harder...
'What is that?' Doria asked.
Everyone was silent for a few minutes. Then Cormer broke into a run.
'Cormer! What are you doing? Are you mad?' Sonia demanded.
'Follow me! I know what it is!' Cormer shouted.
They all looked at each other, then bounded after their friend.
It turns out, that thing in the distance was no mirage.
In fact, it was just what they needed.
An Oasis.
Approaching the Oasis, they discovered that there was a small pool of cold water, kept cool by a few trees.
It may not have seen like much, but it was paradise at the moment.
'Well, turns out you were right,' Maurmon said to Zenia.
'Yes,' she breathed.
The remainder of the day was spent refilling their flasks with the cool water & relaxing in the cool shadow of the trees. They made the decision to rest for the night, then continue moving the next day.
Night fell & a fire was lit. They relaxed by the fire, enjoying the feeling of not being thirsty.
'So we move on tomorrow,' Ronan confirmed.
Maurmon nodded. 'We should be there by tomorrow afternoon,'
'And then what?' Doria asked.
'I don't know,' the man replied.
'I reckon we stick together when we get to that...cave,' Thoreien suggested.
'I agree,' Baurest said. 'There have been too many tales of people getting lost in caves in the desert,'
'Not to mention we don't know what's down there,' Sonia said.
'What happens if we do get separated?' Zenia asked.
'Let's worry about that later,' Maurmon said. 'Hopefully we wont have to,'