59 Por

The entire guild was on deck when Leto came into view the next day. The dock was filled with sailors loading and unloading cargo. It had been decided that they would leave the ship immediately and then head towards the Dunjai desert to find Sierra.

QJ walked side-by-side with Ringo as they made their way, in his pocket was a note from the captain. He opened it and shared its contents with her.

QJ,

I am in favor of joining your cause, however, I can only speak for myself. Let me talk with the other freelancer captains. I will contact you again.

Kai

Ringo glanced at him, "smart move trying to gather more allies. How did you get the captain to talk? She clammed up whenever I tried to speak with her."

"I caught her some flute fish, then she invited Robin and me to her table for dinner."

Ringo laughed, "you really have..."

A figure stood in their way, causing them both to stop suddenly. It was a small woman cloaked in sand-colored clothes. Her face was brown and cute, a dimple appeared on one cheek caused by her wide smile.

[In Sign]

"You are back! I'm so happy." She rushed toward him and hugged her arms around his waist, holding him tightly for a few seconds before stepping back and wiping her wet eyes.

"Dara! I am glad to see you too."

"It is good that you've come. Now everything will be fine."

"Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Dara nodded. "Ra visits the Jesu tribes a few miles to the north of us."

QJ couldn't stop the smile from coming to his face. "She is that close? That's good then."

"A man named Xerxes has taken over the royal faction. His emissaries are on their way to bring her back to the palace."

He glanced at Ringo, her face had a warm smile on it. She raised her hands tentatively [Also in Sign]. "I didn't realize you could sign QJ."

"This is Dara, I taught her to sign last time I was here."

"Nice to meet you, Dara, I am Ringo."

Dara bowed her head slightly. "We will meet you west of town when you are ready." Without signing anything else she moved quickly away, vanishing before they could say speak further...

Ringo stared at her fleeing figure for a moment. "Why did you teach her sign?"

"She's part of a group called Ghosts. They are a rogue class who have been enslaved as scouts and fighters. Their tongues are removed when they are young."

"Oh god... that's horrible QJ."

"Yeah... Hey! Where did you learn to sign?"

"My baby sister was born deaf." Ringo didn't say anything else, from her behavior QJ sensed that she didn't want to discuss it any further.

OP walked slowly through the middle of town. The streets were paved with a crushed white rock while the buildings seemed to be constructed from the same red adobe brick. Most of the traffic through the streets were pedestrian, QJ didn't see anyone with a mount.

The group stopped at a general store near the front gate. Here they stocked up on last-minute supplies. QJ planned on putting up the Red Dome tent he had borrowed Dessi when they were in a separate guild. She had given it back to him shortly before they left. The draw-back was that it couldn't be set up and taken down on the same day. He had instructed everyone to bring personal tents.

"Mount up." QJ and the rest of OP walked through the gate and down the west road for a few minutes before he gave the call to bring out the horses. Scorched pranced on the hot sand and whinnied happily.

He cantered easily between Ringo and Robin. The Songbird rode a beautiful Claybank horse that was a pale yellow color with a black mane and tail. He had never seen it before, mostly because she preferred to ride double with him. "Nice horse Robs."

Ringo nodded in agreement, "that's a pretty filly."

They rode a few miles out of town before Robin suddenly raised a hand, both QJ and Ringo stopped. "Ambush hun, straight ahead."

The sand itself seemed to shift as dozens of people appeared from the sand. Dara was in front of them.

[In Sign]

"These are your scouts, they have all sworn to serve the Water King." She turned back toward her people. "This is the one who taught me to speak and gave us back our voices."

QJ slid off his horse and advanced slowly. "You have used your voice to teach so many Dara. This is good."

Several of them introduced themselves, QJ spent a few minutes talking with them. Ringo joined in the conversations. They learned that this was only a small group of scouts. The main body was with the horses a few miles away.

"We must help Sierra, that bastard from the royal faction things he can claim her as his woman."

QJ scowled, "not likely."

They remounted and continued west. The scouts trotted behind the horses, easily keeping pace despite the stifling heat.

"These people are amazing hun." Robin had been watching them since she had discovered them.

"I only know Dara, but the plight of these ghosts is a sad one. I'm glad she was able to pull so many into our cause."

A few minutes later they paused to get their horses and join up with the main body. QJ stared in shock at the numbers. "Six hundred maybe?"

Robin shook her head. "Just over a thousand. Very nice."

They turned North and rode hard for an hour. The yellow dunes created an endless ocean heat and sand. They stopped just before they crested a large dune. The scouts all dismounted and instantly stealthed. Breeze had been watching them casually, "holy crap... they are all rogues?"

Dara caught QJ's eye and signed. "We will follow your lead."

QJ nodded and summoned Cleo. The pale gold spider hybrid fluttered her wings gently, her pretty face smiling. She moved next to him, her small feet hovering a foot off the ground.

**********************

Ra walked along the river bank, her feet splashing in the water. Already the signs of green life were sprouting up in large patches. She was surrounded by a few hundred of the Jesu villagers. The children were laughing and splashing in the water. This generation would not know the suffering of living without water. An old woman carrying a child on her back caught her attention. She stopped and let her bare feet sink deeper into the sand.

"Honorable Water Wielder, this is my granddaughter Ilene. She fell during a climb last season and has been unable to walk since."

Ra pushed her hood back, her kind smile instantly soothed the old woman. "Let me take a look at her." She waded deeper into the water, stopping when it rose to her knees. "Bring her to me." She stabbed her staff into the river bottom and extended one hand for the child.

The swirling ball of water at the end of her staff enlarged slightly, the river water swirling around Ra and the little girl that had been placed in one of her arms.

The sound of galloping horses could be heard in the distance, Ra ignored the noise and concentrated on the little girl. The crowd gasped as the river water spun around the child, she moaned loudly in pain and coughed as some water entered her mouth. After a few moments, the water fell away and Ra handed her back to the old woman.

"Let her build her strength again before she tries to walk, the water has made her whole again."

The woman's old wrinkled face scrunched up, fighting back tears she bowed as low as her old frame would allow. "Thank you, Honored Healer."

"Should the Honored Water Wielder be wasting her talents on the tiny Jesu Tribe?" A group of twenty men on horseback caused the crowd to part quickly. The man at the front had a bushy black beard that covered most of his face, he was wearing the white desert garb of the Royal Faction.

"Vizier Heffe, where I travel and who I choose to heal is no business of yours." Ra walked slowly back to shore, her staff poking shallow holes in the wet sand as she walked.

"Don't utter such nonsense! This was all made possible through the efforts of Xerxes." Heffe gripped his silver scimitar with one hand, the threat was obvious.

A pleasant laugh from the other side of the river caused the crowd to turn back toward Ra. "Wasn't Xerxes back in the Royal city when Ra and I entered the Ancient city? I have a pretty good memory, there was no one named Xerxes with us."

She turned to face the familiar voice, her full lips trembling. "You've returned."

A tall woman with long dark hair stepped in front of QJ, she carried a hatchet in one hand. "Your facial hair makes you look like an ugly dog's butt."

Without another word she flung her hatchet at the man, knocking him from his horse.

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*Breeze has stunned Vizier Heffe.*

A moment later the weapon reappeared in her grasp, her dark eyes staring at the rest of the mounted men. "You are in the presence of the Water King, dismount immediately."