The sun beat at the ground fiercely and with its heat somehow stirred up dust in the trail like a stampede of buffalo. We trudged through immense amounts of heat, and even saw a dried up river as our lips were cracked from thirst.

Andrew advised me to save it for an emergency and drink only a little bit at a time, since there was always a drought near the fire miasma stream.

"We're going to the Goblin Wall, and getting the myrrh drop there. Hopefully there is a fire hot spot around here, so we can get on out of this treachery."

I wanted to wail for water, but Mog, who carried the chalice while I merely sat on the wagon never complained, so I shouldn't either. He used his tiny paws to hold the chalice and his wings would flutter so fast they were a blur.

The road grew thinner and thinner, and we stopped for breakfast, but it was more like lunch without the meal before it. The sun was high in the sky, shining as fierce as ever like a dragon preying upon the ones on the road, where we're most vulnerable to heatstroke, fever, colds, and other conditions.

I don't know how the wagon keeps all our things cool, for the fruit I bit into was as juicy and fresh as ever. It was slightly bruised. I felt sorry for Andrew, who had to eat raw meat because if he started a fire, surely we would not fare so well with the heat. The air was already slightly baking the meat for him, but the insides spurted blood when cut open.

Andrew didn't seem too pleased, but Mog didn't mind, he and Andrew ate two big slices, and I ate my fruit.

We set off again, and the road soon became half as thin as it originally did. The sun, after beating us for the whole day, finally set, and we set up camp again under the stars, and rested after an exhausting day.

.:The Next Day:.

We set off again, knowing for sure that we were going to reach Goblin Wall. Travel became easier once the air cooled down a fair amount. It was pleasantly warm now, not dreadfully hot.

Andrew dug into my brown eyes with his pale blue eyes again. When I looked at him directly, he turned his attention to the reins again. When we stopped for lunch, Andrew finally spoke to me again.

"Doesn't seem like the best thing in life, does it?"

I shook my head, and images of my brothers and the hens and the garden formed in my head, and a lumped formed in my throat.

"Last year it was pretty cold because the miasma stream was water. The elements change every year."

I nodded solemnly and tried not to choke on my food. The lump was growing.

His eyes kept my burning brown ones looking into them. I could see him choking up too. The spell broke. He looked away.

We continued eating, then set off, but this time I took one rein, and he took the other, and we sat there steering the strange blue creature together. I could feel my face getting hot and his body getting tense. I could feel the rough rope that had left scars and rope burns on Andrew's delicate hands. Mine were hard and taut from work at home before the journey.

"I'll take the reins. Why don't you, um, sit on the back of the wagon and, er, enjoy the scenery?" I suggested.

Andrew looked at me.

For the first time since I met him, he looked truly happy, and grateful.

.:Later:.

I stopped the wagon in front of a huge deserted house with its grayed windows broken and its door missing. The trees looked like skinny hands, and my heart pounded. A faded sign appeared to say "Tipa Jail." I heard Andrew get off the wagon and stand next to me. And eerie wind blew at us, but we just stared at the huge building as the spirits of the wind whispered. That's how I interpreted the wind's message anyhow.

My first real peril. Fear consumed me as I walked into unknown territory. But I knew, that Andrew would always be there for me. The three of us, Mog, Andrew, and I, ventured into the monster-filled place, ready to fight.