Chapter 48: A hard journey
Maxi and his men didn't rest.
They walked continuously following the directions given by Yoshimitsu, who claimed to remember almost exactly the way to his father's temple.
They didn't even stop to eat, because they did it while walking.
So they only stopped for sleep, and usually no more than six hours.
Maxi, Yoshimitsu and the most expert crew could keep up their pace but the newest could barely resist.
After two weeks, one of them collapsed.
That was the first time they stopped at daytime. The heat was overwhelming. It wasn't strange that that had happened.
Yoshimitsu thought it would be enough to give him some more water, but Maxi decided they needed to rest.
When the sunset was coming, they kept on going.
The journey didn't have any more accidents until they arrived, one month later, at the desert where the temple's ruins were.
The heat was now worse along with the water scarcity. They could barely go on, and a couple of men fell unconscious and never woke up again.
Even Maxi and Yoshimitsu, who were the strongest men among them, were exhausted.
Finally, after three days in the desert, they saw some rubble in the distance.
That was the place where Astaroth and the other monsters had been created, and where Yoshimitsu's father had died.
The travellers smiled in relief when they saw they had arrived at their destination. Maybe the journey had been in vain, but they were sure they would find something useful in there.
They headed to the ruins with determination, ready to give meaning to their journey.
