Chapter 4: Pilgrimage to Xian
"So, Isaac, where exactly are we going again?" asked a forgetful Garet.
"Garet, we're going..." Isaac began.
"...to the Lamakan Desert!" Jenna finished. "Yay!"
"No..." Isaac began again.
"...we're going to Xian." Ivan finished for Isaac.
"But we're going to..." Isaac began again.
"...cross the Lamakan, is that it?" Mia asked.
"ARG!!" Isaac, finally exasperated, shouted. "What's with people finishing my sentences today?"
"It's actually quite funny..." Sheba put in.
"SHUT UP!" Isaac screamed.
"It is, isn't it, Ivan-poo?" Sheba cooed.
"Err...hehe..." Ivan began before Isaac shot him the Glare of Death™. "I didn't agree with her!!" Ivan shout-whispered.
"Wait a minute..." Mia said. "You and Sheba are together?"
"Err...not really...mmph!" was all Ivan got out before Sheba clapped her hand over his mouth. "He means we are totally in love!"
"NO, WE AREN'T! Don't listen to her, Mia, we've yet to go out on a..." Sheba, once again, clapped her hand over Ivan's mouth.
Silence.
"Err...guys? Are we anywhere near the Lamakan yet?" Isaac inquired.
"Err...let me see..." Garet mumbled. "...Ack! We're headed towards Vault, not Xian!"
"Garet, you're holding the map upside-down!" Mia scolded.
"Actually...he's right. We ARE going towards Vault." Ivan put in.
The whole group (Isaac, Ivan, Jenna, Garet, Sheba, Mia) immediately turned and ran...somewhere else.
"Whew! Well, at least we're back at Kalay!" Sheba panted.
"Let's see...the desert should be...that way!" Garet pointed towards a far-off cave.
"Okay then...let's go already!" Jenna shouted.
And off they went.
"Hey, the desert isn't as hot as before!" Ivan said.
"This is a hot desert. Suhalla Desert was windy, so it wasn't very hot." Sheba remarked.
"Well, I'm still sweating my skin off!" Mia complained.
"It's not so bad, isn't it Garet?" Jenna added.
"Err...well, we're Mars Adepts, so the heat supposedly doesn't affect us too much..." Garet said.
"I must have sweated enough to form an ocean!" Isaac complained.
"Oh, hush!" Sheba scolded.
And on they went.
"It's really hard to see here. It's still hot enough here to make mirages." Isaac remarked after a while.
"Well, that's where our 'Reveal' spell comes in handy!" Ivan replied.
"Reveal can get rid of all this...distortion of vision?" Sheba inquired.
"Yes, Sheba, it can. Just try it." Ivan told her.
"Wow! You're right, Ivan." Sheba conceded as the black and white of Reveal gave way to the mirages and endless sand of normal vision.
"I told you!" Ivan smiled.
"Where's an oasis? I am positively steaming here!" Mia shouted.
"I have an idea. Why don't you cast Douse and cool off for a bit?" suggested Jenna.
"I tried. Water turned to steam."
"Liar!" Ivan accused. "Let's see you cast it now!"
"Err...umm...fine! I will!" So saying, Mia formed the familiar little cloud, which then started pouring water.
"Eee! Shower!" shouted Isaac as he threw off his luggage and clothes and proceeded to bathe in the (still-falling) water.
Mia, grossed out by this act of indecency, immediately lost concentration, thus depriving the naked Venus Adept of a shower. He frowned.
"You did that out of spite, didn't you?" Isaac fumed.
"No, I did it because I lost concentration when you decided to strip. Not everyone is comfortable seeing your genitals, you know!" Mia shot back.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Isaac apologized as he got back into his clothes.
"Good." Mia responded. "Now, let's go. I don't want to have to wait all day."
"Alright...hey! Wait for me!!" Isaac shouted as the rest of the group left him.
The Lamakan Desert was no less confusing than it was a year and a half ago. As such...
"We're lost, aren't we?" Sheba asked.
"I guess; I remember passing this rock." Ivan responded.
"This is just wonderful, isn't it? Just grand. We're stuck in the middle of a desert and we're lost." Mia fumed.
"Aw, come on Mia! It could be worse!" Jenna told her. "We might be stuck in a sandstorm."
Maybe it was fate, maybe it was Jenna, maybe it was pure coincidence. At any rate, the Lamakan suddenly felt a lot cooler. Well, maybe not a lot. But...there was wind. The desert trekkers breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately for them, the wind picked up. That wasn't the only thing being picked up, though; sand started flying.
"SANDSTORM!!!" Jenna yelled. Needlessly. Everyone sat behind the nearest cliff (conveniently located seven metres away) and tried to wait out the show of Venus acting in harmony with Jupiter (that's a first).
"You spoke too soon, Jenna." Mia scolded as the volume of sand blowing past the group increased.
"I was just trying to make you feel better! You don't have to beat me up for it!" Jenna protested indignantly.
"How about you both shut up! First off, Mia, you were complaining too much. Secondly, Jenna is not a Jupiter Adept. She had no idea of knowing this would happen. Thirdly, you are disturbing my sleep!" Sheba yelled.
"Ha! You were whimpering in my lap, not sleeping!" Ivan accused.
"Grr..." Sheba intoned as she prepared a Spark Plasma attack. She never did finish, as Isaac smacked her on the head. "Don't. I've had enough of Jupiter for a day."
The sandstorm blew, and blew, and blew the house down. The house being, of course, elsewhere. Not in the Lamakan Desert.
Ivan looked around. "Isaac?" he asked. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am! It was just a sandstorm! Now let's go!" he replied energetically.
Sheba got off of Ivan and interrogated Isaac. "Why are you so hyper all of a sudden?"
"Oasis! Washed up! Feel great!" he yelled as Mia and Jenna came into view.
"Whew! I never thought I'd be more happy to see water in my life!" Jenna exclaimed. "Wash up, Ivan! You're positively soaked in sweat! You too, Sheba!"
"Hey guys..." Garet started. "Guys?"
By now, everyone was splashing in the nearby oasis.
"Guess they don't care that there's people down there by the cliff." Garet sighed.