The crew was noisily taking down some stuff from the ship to the shore, but Ling was still curiously staring at the distant land surrounded by a yellow 'haze'.
According to Mayari, it would still take more than three days of travel for them to reach that land. However, the 'haze' was too big that it could already be seen from this far.
From what Mayari has further told him, that land was a desert that became so because of many deaths. It could be from wars or famine. Then, later, the travellers who ventured through were also killed as their decaying bodies remained trapped in that land.
The 'mists' from all these deaths converged to form this 'haze' for years. It later solidified into grains which was the sand formed around the area. This was what they would be collecting for the Sikat troupe to use for the effects and illusions in their shows.
Unlike the life 'mist' he knew from the forest beside his small village, the 'mist' they would get from this would generate harmful illusions of death and suffering. It was different from the red 'mists' the dying beasts exude though, so maybe the 'mists' here have some slight distinctions from those deaths.
Mayari already warned him that they would not to go deeper into the forest or they might be influenced by the 'haze' too. Rather, they would collect the sand in the land's borders only. It might be weaker than what they could collect deeper in the land, but that was why they would get sacks of it to last for the year.
"Ling! Maga! Can the both of you carry some of these bags of food? We will be catching beasts around the area for food but we still have to carry some packed food."
With a last look at the yellow 'haze', Ling followed Maga as they ran over to the crew.
They spent the first night in the nearby beach. They laid down their blankets to sleep under the stars, with the night breeze cooling their skin.
Ling could smell the sea as he stared at the stars above him. When he closed his eyes, he could only hear the quiet waves and the loud snores of his companions.
It was his first time experiencing this, sleeping at the beach under the stars, not sleeping beside a snoring companion. Before, since the large trees usually block the sky when they hunt in the forest, he was unable to look at the tiny stars illuminating the sky. It was really beautiful, especially without the moonlight subduing them.
However, Ling thought he still preferred to see the leaves above him when he laid on the ground. He was also partial to the darkness in a cave, with the sounds of the small animals scurrying around. What was the best though was sleeping in a soft mat instead of the hard ground.
The movement beside him made Ling open his eyes. "You also can't sleep, Maga?"
Hearing Ling's whisper, Maga lifted its head and pushed its nose near the boy. It let its tongue out to lick the boy's cheek. The action made Ling giggle but he tried to suppress it to not wake up the others. "But we have to wake up early tomorrow since the walk was long and tiring. We really have to rest now."
The dragon's whimper was the only reply Ling got. When he turned his head, he saw that Maga already closed its eyes and a soft air coming from the dragon's nose brushed his face.
___
Ling was woken up by several sounds. There were sounds of stomping footsteps near his head together with hushed voices and clattering sounds farther away.
He was still sleepy but he still rubbed his eyes and sat up. To help him clear his mind, a wet tongue passed from his chin up to his hair. Ling finally opened his eyes just in time to see Maga stomping around him again. It stopped to grin and stare at his bangs now standing up because it was wet.
"Hey, Ling, you're awake." Mayari crouched in front of the boy, but stood up again to avoid the dragon's tongue. "Anyway, I know it's still dark. The sun will probably rise later today but we have to start moving since we still have to go somewhere else after this."
"Yes, uncle." Ling rubbed his eyes again, and also brushed his hair with his hand to tame it down. His hand came out wet after, but he just sighed and followed after Mayari and Maga.
The group travelling to the desert consisted of only Mayari, Ling, Maga, Kana, Kisig and his friends and ten men from the ship's crew. The ship would sail again that morning to go to several nearby towns to trade. After a week, both groups would meet at the beach again.
At noon, the travelling group had to stop to eat their lunch. They found lone tree in this sparse field to get out of the heat. They also caught a few small animals to cook since they still had to travel for a long while. Soon, they also had to travel during the nights to avoid staying under the sun for too long.
Ling missed the cool breeze at the beach during the previous night. Meanwhile, Maga was still active despite the heat. It actively helped in catching the small animals for their food by chasing them to the men.
While Ling was sitting in the shade, sweating because of the heat, he was enviously staring at the running dragon. He could also withstand the heat from the lava back in the volcano in their village. What could be the difference regarding the heat here?
During their travel at night, Ling removed his layer of clothes to feel the cold wind. They had to wear more clothes to cover their skin when the sun was up to avoid getting burned by the sun. Meanwhile, this was not the same for the dragon, so it was another reason for Ling to envy his friend. Was it because it had leathery skin?
Soon, the group reached a more sparse area. There was no vegetation and the ground was cracked in some places. They found large rocks to get out of the sun for a while, but they still had to move after a little rest.
As they continued to move forward, Ling could see the yellow 'haze' almost reaching the sky. Looking at the sides, they could not see where it ended. The hot air coming from it was finally reaching them, hotter than what they encountered for the past days.
However, while staring longer at the 'haze', Ling was able to discern several figures that looked like trees. There was even a blue surface if he focused harder. This was the desert. What could be discovered as one delved deeper?