Brooding and Moving

"What a beautiful day" sang Ferdain, he was the only one who thought so, true the wind had stopped, so they didn't have sand blowing in their faces but the sun seemed to be hanging inches above them guessing by the heat. They had been walking in silence for the last hour, each traveler alone with his or her thoughts. Elgard rubbed his bare shoulders, which were already pink with sunburn; he cast envious glances at his companions, Novena was 4 steps ahead of him with Ferdain leading in front of her. They had clothes and he didn't, it wasn't fair! He had saved them from being locked up, and then fought off 2 beast-men with knives! Ok so he had been saved by Novena's magic, so what! Did that mean she had the right to prance around fully dressed while he burned like bacon? However this train of thought led him off tract onto thinking of Novena prancing around partially dressed. As if sensing his shameful thoughts Novena turned to him smiling "Everything okay back here?"

"Huh? Oh yea I'm doin fine, good actually… (ahem). How bout yourself?"

"Your shoulders look pretty burnt, and it's only going to get worse. Is there something I can do to help you?"

"Ah its nothing but a little tan, better to take a tanning in the sun than in the ring I always say." Said Elgard smiling back,

"So you're a boxer I take it?"

"Yea kinda, I'm more of a wrestler though my trainer's always tellin me I'm built better for Boxing, but it's not where my heart is I guess."

"Your trainer, I recall you mentioning him before…"

"Yea, Svolj the Spineless he was…"

Novena began laughing "Wait, wait, you take combat training from someone called the spineless?"

"Heh, yea but ain't a bone of fear in his body! They call him Spineless cause when he was young he could practically wrap his body around someone like rope, he was one of the best in Skyrim, nearly won the Tournament of Shor in Windhelm one year."

Several seconds passed in silence, struggling to find a new topic Elgard decided desperate times called for desperate measures.

"So," the large Nord winced "tell me about yer self Novena."

Novena looked at the ground "Not much to tell really, grew up the in southern Morrowind, joined the mages guild studied Enchantments and the rest is history."

Now Elgard laughed "The rest is history? Where in history did you get locked up?" But he quickly saw she didn't think it was a joking matter,

"I didn't ask what you got in there! How can you just ask me?"

"Sorry, sorry but now that you mention it I don't recall how I got in there…heh doesn't matter now I guess, suppose you could say we got away with murder hu huh he…"

Novena gave him a sharp look that told him he had crossed the line yet again.

The rest of the day the two of them mostly just complained about the oppressive heat, until midday when Ferdain decided it was time to rest in the relative shade of a Jubo-Lu (or so he called it) a "tree" that somehow grew in the desert, they had spotted them every few hundred meters. They were all very fat, looking almost like large stones with extremely thick lichens on them and a few small branches pricking out. "How much further!" moaned Elgard as he collapsed

"Oh it can't be more than 4, maybe 5 hours walk" Ferdain replied ever perky.

They were out of the ravine now; the ground was no longer sand, but a rough surface of flaky rocks. Heat came off the earth making the way ahead appear to vibrate with the heat

Novena sat next to the Bosmer

"You've been quiet all day Ferdain, what's on your mind?"

"Just the caravan last night, I was thinking that it was an Imperial Caravan, with 12 guards, and it was ambushed, soldiers killed…… I don't know, never mind." And so they sat foe a brief time before setting off for Four Points.