At first, Corwyn didn't know what he should be more astonished about. The fact that there was an oasis even unknown to Rogar, who surely had traveled all over the continent, or that the antisocial, outlaw woman with the name Yana had made the offer to take them there. Although she wasn't as cold towards them as when they had just met anymore, Corwyn still believed that she was the kind of person who put their own survival above all else. The last he had expected was her revealing crucial information like this.
"Well, since it would be our greatest chance at survival, I think we will accept your offer. Or do you have any problems with this, Teo?"
Since they were a two-man team, Corwyn wanted to hear Teo's opinion as well, in order to prevent any arguments beforehand. But it seemed like even if he hadn't done so, his friend would have spoken up anyway, as he was still looking down, lost deep in thought. When he raised his head again, he was looking Yana directly in the eyes. Resolve as well as mistrust were visible.
"I, too, think that following you to that oasis would be the safest option. However, there is one thing I need to ask you before I agree to this plan. What exactly is your reason for helping us? You have already repaid the favor of sparing your life by telling us about the cellar. There should be no need for you to take us along with you. Or is it that you're trying to lead us into a camp of your bandit friends, waiting to ambush us?"
His doubts were not completely unfounded. Unlike Corwyn, Teo had not spoken much with Yana yet. In his eyes, she was still a rogue who had only cooperated with them in order to save her own skin. For him, everything she said had to have a hidden meaning behind it.
It was not like Corwyn completely trusted her as well. But even though Yana didn't talk much and he hardly knew anything about her, he was still sure that she wasn't a bandit out of choice. Their brief interactions had made him believe so.
Yana didn't even wince at Teo's inquiry, as if she had expected him to react in that way. Her expression unchanging, she answered in a calm voice.
"I don't really have an ulterior motive behind it. And I don't want to return to the Red Vipers as well, if possible. For them, I was only a tool after all."
She paused for a moment, changing the direction of her gaze from Teo to Corwyn, before she continued.
"But from what your friend here has told me, you two are traveling to all kinds of places, seeing the world and what it has to offer. I have never done much more than hiding in cramped places, occasionally transporting something with my golem or fighting. So I don't know how the world outside of the shadows looks like. I want to see it, but I need you guys to show it to me. That's why I'm telling you this."
It was a very logical explanation, with not much emotion in her voice involved. Just from looking at her face, it was impossible to discern how much of it was the truth. However, it made sense to both Corwyn and Teo in some ways, and they didn't really have any other choice, so they both gave their consent towards traveling together with her.
Yana simply nodded in order to show that she had understood, then turned around and began to walk in a certain direction. She stopped after a few steps though, and turned her head slightly, facing them out of the corner of her right eye.
"Besides, even if I didn't help you, with no other destination to go, you two would just follow me anyway. So this saves both of us time and effort."
Hearing her address this somehow obvious conclusion, both Corwyn and Teo began scratching their heads in embarrassment as they hadn't thought about this detail. Yana didn't even look back, and simply resumed walking again. They had no choice but to follow closely after her.
Only a few minutes had passed however until she abruptly came to a stop again. For a second, Corwyn expected her to say something like before, but she kept her silence for a good minute. He was about to ask what was going on, but Yana acted first, extending her right arm and holding it into the air in front of her. The arm was left suspended in the air like this, and it seemed like she didn't intend to move it any further.
Since her back was towards them, the two young men couldn't see her face, so they had no idea what exactly she was trying to do. Once again, Corwyn felt the urge to ask her what she was doing, when he suddenly felt a change in the Arcor network. The powerful energy was being sucked in by Yana, and then directed into the sand beneath her. He had to marvel at the sheer amount of power she could use, as well as her control over it. Yana was by no means inferior in those aspects to Corwyn, if not even better.
Teo wasn't an ability user, so he had no clue of what was actually going on. After standing around for a good while, he started to grow impatient and apparently wanted to take a step forward while shouting:
"Hey, what exactly are you..."
Before he had the chance to finish his complaint, a massive gush of sand shot out of the ground before them. As he was in the middle of moving his foot, the sudden explosion in front of him made him jump, resulting in him losing his balance and falling onto his back. Corwyn too was startled at this unexpected occurrence, he managed to maintain his footing though. Yana didn't even waver, as if she had expected it to happen.
After the sand had practically sprung forth, a large figure stood in front of Yana, still partly covered in sand. A closer look revealed to Corwyn that it was the golem he and Teo had battled in the fight from some hours ago. Although it had been buried in sand for many hours, there seemed to be no obvious damage to it. That golem had to be sturdy as hell.
Now that the golem had resurfaced, Yana finally lowered her arm. Her fingers began to move, and the golem started to move simultaneously, obeying its master's commands. The female puppeteer merely let it run around a bit, occasionally swinging its arms, in order to get the remaining sand out of its gearing mechanism. A tiny part of Corwyn still unconsciously feared that she would command the massive machine to kill Teo and him, that she had lied about her intentions. However, once the puppet had finished running all over the place, it simply stopped moving and seemed to wait for further orders on standby.
Having successfully completed the retrieval of her golem, Yana turned around at last, her attitude the same as ever. She moved her right arm up once again, but this time, she extended one of her fingers as well and pointed in a direction not far off the one they had just come from.
"Now that I have gotten what I came here for, we can go. The oasis I told you about lies approximately in this direction. Since I don't have a map where its exact location is marked, we have to hope that we don't get too far off-course and manage to spot it."
"And what if we don't spot it?"
"We die."
"..."
Even though he felt like he knew the answer to that question already, Corwyn couldn't help but ask. Unfortunately, Yana replied exactly like he had expected her to. Instead of a vocal answer, he only gulped and nodded his head slightly. Since nothing more was being said, Yana decided the conversation was over and started to walk in the direction she had pointed a moment ago. The golem tagged along next to her quietly, with heavy steps. With no other choice left, Corwyn and Teo followed them.
And so, as they marched forward in the cold, dark desert night, with nothing but the stars watching over them, their next adventure was beginning.
The sun loomed high above them, its heat burning down on them in high intensity. Sweat was running down their skin like a river, although it dried up just as quickly as it was produced. Their throats had become dry a long time ago, still, the amount of water they drank was the bare minimum required from their bodies.
Nothing about this condition was unusual in the endless desert of Hakata. Corwyn and Teo had been traveling in this environment for a long time now, and Yana was basically living in it. However, Corwyn came to the realization that trekking through the desert was considerably harder on your own than in a large group.
Since they had neither mounts nor pack animals, the amount of supplies they could carry was limited. Their water and food provisions were barely enough for 3-4 days of journeying. Though Yana's golem could shoulder a part of their load, it was still only decent at best.
It had been two days since they had left the now buried village and made their way towards the hidden oasis. Corwyn came to realize how different traveling felt with only the three of them in comparison to being in the expedition party. Back there, they used to chat without a care on the way, as there was plenty of water available for them. They had wood for a fire in the cold desert night, and tents to sleep in as well. Now, their throats were way too dried up for unnecessary chat, and nothing but the clothes they wore on their bodies were warming them.
In order to distract himself from all those uncomfortable circumstances, Corwyn trained his ability basically the whole time while walking. Over the course of a day, he had created more than 40 swords from all kinds of metal, and he got faster at producing them as well. He didn't know if he should be happy about those results, thinking about the environment that had stimulated his growth.
According to Yana, they should reach the oasis on the next day. Corwyn prayed that she was right about the direction and distance, because if not, it would mean the end for all three of them. Such thoughts went through his mind over and over again, until the day was finally over, and night was starting to set in.
There was nothing to prepare for sleep except some mats to lay their bodies on. The three of them were sitting in a circle, each of them either drinking some water or eating their dinner for the day. As one might expect, they couldn't cook anything without fire, so they were eating simple bread together with some dried meat and vegetables. What would Corwyn be willing to give for a plate of the bean soup they had eaten once at the campfire.
"Are you sure this is the right direction?"
The silent dinner was interrupted by Teo, who looked up from his dinner and asked in a low voice. Corwyn could only roll his eyes, while Yana's expression turned from indifferent to annoyed. He could hardly blame her. How often had this question been asked in the last two days?
"As I told you before, Teo, no, I'm not one hundred percent sure that this is the correct path. But since I have no map to consult, and you two have no idea where we are going, you have to trust my intuition! And just for your information, my intuition isn't getting any better by continuously questioning it!"
Yana immediately leashed back at Teo, who could only mutter like a scolded child and look down on his meal again. Corwyn patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"She's right, Teo, no point in asking. In this case, we simply have to trust Yana, whether we like it or not. So finish your dinner now, and then go to bed. You look extremely tired."
At Corwyn's attempt to console him, Teo grumbled, but also nodded his head obediently and resumed eating. Shortly after, he was already lying on his mat and sleeping soundly. Corwyn let out a breath of relief, then returned his attention to his dinner. He only managed to take a few bites though, until Yana's voice reached his ears. She was whispering while looking at Corwyn and Teo in turn.
"The way you speak with him, it feels like he is your little brother..."
"Haha, yeah, you're not the first one to point this out."
Corwyn laughed quietly while replying. His gaze too fell on Teo, a warm smile forming on his face.
"Ever since I have lost my father, he and his parents became like family to me. They watched over me as I grew up, treated me with kindness, with the occasional scolding from time to time. Especially Teo, he has always looked after me, taken me out to play or train, and brought a smile to my face. To me, he's my brother, even if no blood connects us."