Chapter III – Desert City Morroc
"I still don't get it why can't we just ask the Kafras to teleport us." complained Hinata, as she delivered the final blow to a magnolia.
"What's so bad about walking anyway?" asked Aiko, cheerfully looting the items the magnolia had dropped and throwing then into her cart, where Kirya was sitted, complaining about the heat. "And I tought you guys were into this for the experience. I know magnolias aren't that much of a challenge, but you gotta admit it's way better than slaying helpless red blogs in Prontera."
"As if the problem was actually the walking." Kyria complained "I'm burning inside these clothes, ya know?"
"You say it like if we never had been to Sograt Desert before." Aiko replied.
"Yeah, but we usually just rush through it and leave the monsters alone." Kirya continued "And I don't remember it being THIS hot!"
Sasuke had been very quiet since they left the Payon Forest and entered the Sograt Desert, but since Hinata said he was always like that, nobody really cared much about it. A huge stone golem passed by the group then, and Hinata rushed into it at the same moment. She was ready to hit it with her sword when she felt Aiko's hand grabbing her arm.
"What the hell are you doing? Let go off me!" Hinata shouted, very annoyed.
"Are you crazy? You REALLY wanna die, don't you?" Aiko replied, with a serious look on her face "You can't kill a golem by yourself! If you keep attacking the first monster you see, you're gonna get yourself killed before we even get to Morroc!"
Hinata pulled her hand as Aiko released it. She kept silent for a moment.
"Yeah, you're right. That was a stupid thing to do." she said, lastly "But what about you? You said I can't kill a golem by myself. It's true, but I tought you came here to help us. Can't you just back me up or something?"
"Not really. Not if you just rush into it like you did. I'm not like your aco brother, I can kill the monster, but I can't keep you alive." Aiko said, with a serious tone "If you get hit, having me cut the bastard in two won't make you stop bleeding, ya know?"
"...That's true..." Hinata said, thinking "I gotta stop doing that."
"That's the spirit!" Aiko said, smiling. "By the way, Susuke--" she continued, turning her face around to face the acolyte boy "--I've got something for you."
"Huh?" Sasuke watched as Aiko took a biretta out of her cart and placed it on his head.
"Looks great on you!" she said, smiling, while she stared at the boy as if he was a painting she had just finished.
"Thankx." Susuke smiled, placing his hand on his new hat.
"I tryed to wear one of those once." Kirya said, looking at Sasuke "Back then, when I was an aco. But I never managed to make it look any good."
"You were an acolyte too?" Sasuke asked.
"Yup. I liked that job. But it kindda lost it's shine to me when I died." the undead girl answered "I mean, what's the use of the heal spell if you're too weak to heal yourself when you actually need it?"
"Well, that's a good point you got there..." Sasuke pondered.
"You got something for me too?" Hinata asked Aiko, staring at her cart with shiny eyes.
"Well, I got a helmet, but I think it's too big for you." answered the mastersmith, searching her cart for the desired item. "Why, here it is!" Aiko handed the headgear to the swordswoman, and watched as she tried to adjust the huge helmet on her head.
"You're right." Hinata said, handing the helmet back to Aiko "It's way too big for me."
"I'll try to find something for you later." Aiko threw the helmet back inside her cart, almost hitting Kirya in the back, although none of then noticed that.
"I never really liked wearing hats." Kirya said, ajusting the big red turban on her head "They made my hair look messy."
"That just shows how lucky you are." Hinata said with sarcarm, staring at the Munak's oversized hat.
"Yup." Kirya agreed, still trying to adjust her hat.
The group walked the whole day through the desert, under the scorching sun. Hinata rushing to kill any monster she tought she could handle, Sasuke healing her after each kill and Aiko looting all the items they dropped and carying her cart through the dunes, while Kirya, still sitting on it, kept complaining about the heat. Only after night came, they reached the east gate of Morroc city.
"Ah, there's the city!" Hinata shouted, running toward the gate "Finally we'll get outta this desert!" she rushed up a dune and tripped on a small orange blog, falling to the ground on a very weird way and covering her face and hair with sand. Sasuke looked away, a bit embarassed, trying hard not to laugh, and Aiko giggled a bit, while Kirya burst with laughter.
"Oh...my...God...you're SO stupid!" she laughed, ingnoring Sasuke's and Aiko's glazes. "That's the smartest thing I see you do the whole day!"
"Ah-hah-hah, very funny..." said a sarcastic Hinata, angryly, while the little drops ran away frightened. In her mind, she was wondering if strangling the undead girl would cause any harm.
"You should do that more often! That was hilarious!" Kirya grinned, as she wiped a tear off the corner of her eye. Hinata didn't felt a bit like laughing. It wasn't hurting a bit, but her ego had just being murdered. Sasuke was right about one thing, most of her confidence came from the fact that her father, Lord Knight Yugi, was one of the strongest and most important soldiers of the Prontera Chilvary. Altough she had just passed the swordsman test, she already tought of herself as the strongest swordswoman of Rune-Midgard.
Hinata stood up and kept walking toward the city gate angryly, turning her back to her companions.
"Kirya...you didn't had to do all that, ya know?" Aiko looked more annoyed and upset than angry.
"Ah, but she's so much fun to tease!" the Munak replied, with a wide smile "She takes it all so seriously!"
"She's always like that." Sasuke sighed "And got even worse after she passed the swordsman test. She's got an ego the size of a baphomet... And I think you just stabbed it, Munak..."
"It's not my falt if she's like that." Kirya answered "It's not like people never laugh when I trip... And that happens pretty damn often if you ask me..."
"Whatever. We can try to make her feel better later, but we gotta catch up with her first." Aiko said, grabbing her cart and taking off after Hinata, followed by Sasuke. The darkness and coldness of the night have already striken the desert of Sograt when they finally crossed the east gate of Desert City Morroc.