Shriek!
Every one of them abruptly raised their heads towards the unexpected noise. It was already quite dark, as the sun was only minutes away from disappearing, but they were still able to make out the source of the sound quite easily. Far over their heads, a medium-sized bird was flying in a rather straight pattern. It looked like it had a clear destination in mind.
Corwyn had a bitter smile on his face. If only he could be a bird as well. Being able to fly, crossing mile after mile in the blink of an eye, without ever losing sight of its destination. If he could also do things like that, escaping from their predicament would be a piece of cake.
Sighing, Corwyn averted his eyes from the bird and resumed walking in the direction they had decided upon. Teo followed suit not long after, letting his head hang depressed and pursuing Corwyn. Yana, however, stood rooted to the spot, her head still raised high and her eyes fixated on the bird. Watching her expression, one could see that she had knitted her brows tightly and narrowed her eyes.
Taken aback, Corwyn asked in bewilderment.
"What's wrong, Yana? We need to keep going!"
There was no reaction. Yana still focused all of her attention on the small figure of the bird, now flying a good distance away from them. For a moment, Corwyn wasn't sure if she had been somehow mesmerized by the animal and couldn't react, or if the heat and exhaustion had finally paralyzed her mind.
Irritated, Teo turned about and stomped back, probably planning to shake her awake. He was just about to extend his hands towards her, when finally a small whisper escaped Yana's throat.
"...I've seen this before..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Teo seemed to not have grasped what she was trying to say, so he shouted at her in a tone that made his incomprehension clear.
As if that was the trigger to awaken her out of her trance, Yana abruptly brought her face back on eye-to-eye level and looked at the two of them, her eyes now wide open.
"I've seen that bird before! Back when we had been at the oasis for a few days. There were lots of its kind flying from all kind of places towards it, apparently taking a rest at the small lake."
"What? Are you certain?"
"Then doesn't that mean that..."
Teo, as well as Corwyn, blurted out a response as if Yana's words had lit a light inside their heads. Yana nodded at their surprised reactions, a rare smile on her face.
"Yes, that's right. If we follow that bird, there is a good chance it will lead us to the oasis!"
Night had settled on the wide desert at last. Unlike the big cities, where the hustle and bustle were as strong as ever during this time of day, the desert was uncomfortably quiet. The only sound audible was the stomping of their feet and their exhausted breathing, in addition to the occasional shriek from the bird up in the sky.
Once they had decided that following this bird was the best chance for them to find their destination, Corwyn and his companions didn't let the small figure out of their sight while tailing it relentlessly. It was particularly hard to make out its shape now in the darkness, but with a strong focus, they somehow managed to keep it in their sights.
Another big problem was to keep up with the flying animal. Unlike the bird, they didn't possess the ability to fly in a straight line, and had to wander up and down the dunes consequently. Counting in the fact that Yana had to control her large golem simultaneously, it was almost a miracle that they were able to not lose sight of it.
They had been pursuing this bird for over than 30 minutes now, and fatigue began to gradually sink in. Corwyn was unsure of how long they could continue their pursuit, but sadly, they didn't really have any other choice but to grit their teeth and pull through. Fortunately, even if their target managed to move out of sight, from its prior path, they should be able to discern its route. If necessary, they would walk the entire night, because once the sun rose from the horizon again, the heat and their non-availability of water would kill them quickly.
"Huff, huff! Damn this bird, can't it fly a little bit slower? Huff, huff!"
Wheezing heavily, Teo shot the silhouette far away from them an angry glare while complaining. He might be a well-trained warrior, but constantly running at an increased speed in order to not lose their target was taking its toll on his stamina.
"Huff! Stop complaining! Better save your breath for running! If it gets too far away and changes its route, we're done for!"
Corwyn's condition was similar to Teo's, breathing heavily. The one in the worst state though was still Yana. It had already been hard enough to keep her golem moving with them when they were simply walking. Now that their speed had increased remarkably, she appeared to be so exhausted that she couldn't even muster a response. Who knew how long she could keep up with this heavy burden on her body and mind.
Recognising that this was no longer the time for words, the three pushed their bodies to the limit as they continued their pursuit. Minute after minute passed, but it didn't seem like they had gotten into range yet.
Just as they were about to collapse, the bird stopped its advance abruptly and began to descend slowly while flying in circles. Even though it was still quite a bit of distance away, the fact that the rescuing oasis was within reach gave all three of them an irreplaceable boost in morale. With their last strength, they continued their run towards the spot the bird chose to descend upon. By the time they arrived, the bird had long been sitting on the ground, but no one cared about this.
In front of them was a small lake filled with crystal clear, blue water, surrounded by abundant greenery. In addition to the one they had been following, multiple other birds were gathered throughout the oasis, flying between the lake and trees while chirping happily. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Corwyn had seen something similar before back when they had been trapped in Konen, which was a city built around an oasis, his fatigue and thirstiness gave the scenery in front of him an indescribable feeling of beauty and magnitude. For a second, he thought he was seeing one of the rumored Fata Morganas, which seemed to be illusions appearing to people because of the unbearable heat. But when a moment later, Teo sprinted forward and jumped head first into the lake, he finally believed that this was actually not a mirage, but reality.
Once this realization had kicked in, it only took a moment for Corwyn to follow suit, and plunge into the water. Yana didn't join them, whether because she was too tired to do so or because she found their actions childish, and instead sat down next to the lake to fill her waterskin. She immediately emptied it again though, and dunked it into the water once more.
This moment of tranquility and relaxation continued for a good 20 minutes, until Corwyn and Teo got out of the water at last. Since it was cold at night, the two wet men dedicated their attention towards gathering lumber and making a fire. At the same time, Yana tried to gather fruits from the nearby trees. Only once those tasks had been taken care of was Corwyn able to relax and take in the scenery in peace.
Since it was night, their surroundings were quite dark. However, the moonlight reflected by the lake's surface illuminated the oasis in a gentle light. In combination with the quiet chirping of the birds and crickets, the atmosphere was pleasant and calming. Perhaps it was also due to the realization that they had indeed survived their perilous situation, but Corwyn felt like the tranquil scenery filled his heart with a kind of warmth he had never felt before.
While they sat around the small campfire, eating the rest of their food provisions in addition to the fruit Yana had gathered, they began to chat about various things.
"Still, I can't quite believe that a place like this exists in the middle of nowhere. How did it stay hidden for such a long time? And how did it avoid getting buried in sand over time? There should be nothing to protect it from a sandstorm, right?"
Corwyn voiced this question out. It was indeed a rather mysterious matter. Like he said, there were neither walls built around the oasis to protect it, nor inhabitants who could shovel the place free if necessary. But as if it was untouchable, there was not a single grain of misplaced sand within the vegetation around the small lake.
Yana nodded in acknowledgment at the issue Corwyn had pointed out.
"I know, right? Actually, this place has been the exact same way when we discovered it a while ago. I found it strange myself, but I didn't think too hard about it back then."
The young woman bit into the fruit she was holding after replying to his questions. It looked like a small peach, but its blue color suggested that it was something else entirely.
"Now that you mentioned it though, the oasis didn't change a bit since we had left it. When I look over there, I can still see some remnants of our camp."
"Really? But that would mean that it truly has been left untouched for a long time! How is that possible?"
Corwyn exclaimed in bewilderment. Yana could only shake her head in resignation.
"Sadly, I have no idea either. But this place is unusual in more than one way! For example, Corwyn, have you noticed that there is actually a large amount of Arcor in the air?"
"What?"
Once again, Yana's explanation shocked Corwyn. Quickly, he focused his attention on the Arcor surrounding him, and indeed, it was as she had said. The Arcor density in the air was on a whole other level than the one outside of the oasis. However, this made absolutely no sense at all. This place was many miles away from any Arcor vein. It shouldn't have this amount of energy. Corwyn had to let his gaze wander around, deeply astonished of the oasis mysteries.
"What exactly is this place?"
"No matter what it is, it has to wait until tomorrow! I'm dead tired!"
As someone who wasn't an ability user, Teo was looking at the situation with far less interest than the other two. His words were true though. Corwyn and, especially, Yana felt an extreme amount of fatigue weighing down on their minds. They could investigate this place more closely after a good night's rest.
"I think you're right! In that case, shall I take the first nightshift?"
"Okay!"
"Fine by me."
Once Teo, as well as Yana, had given their consent, they quickly rolled out their sleeping mats and lay on top of them. It didn't even take them five minutes until they fell asleep.
Corwyn gazed at their sleeping figures. His eyelids were heavy as well, but he had to stay awake for a few hours until he would switch with Teo. As he let his gaze wander around, he thought about the many things that had happened on his journey, and what was still about to come. But at least, he was still alive, and had two companions by his side that would accompany him. This filled his heart with happiness, and made him feel warm even in the cold desert night.