Chapter 42
Desert outside Venito
Muller, Hilgard and Tandor, having missed their opportunity to meet up with the Spirit of Taz in Venito, were resigned to traveling overland across the desert with their camels all the way back to Fernland. Guiding them was Akbar, the opportunist who had managed to wheedle all their money from them at the first oasis.
After three days of desert travel, they had eaten all the food Akbar had packed for them and they were completely out of water. The men cheered when they saw the oasis and clapped Akbar on the back for successfully leading them to it.
Men and camels drank their fill, then the Fernland men lounged by the spring and tried to judge their location.
"We were three weeks traveling from Fernland to Barburee when we accompanied Twenty Quivers to solve the mystery of the exploding arrows," Muller said. "Since we traveled three days to find the white powder and five more days since, I would judge we could reach Fernland in another fortnight." He looked around the small spring-fed oasis and turned to Hilgard, who had accompanied him on their original trek from Fernland to Barburee earlier in the year. "Does this oasis look familiar to you?"
"I don't think it was one we stopped at with Twenty Quivers last spring. We may still be too far south."
"What was the longest you traveled between oases when you traveled to Barburee?" Tandor asked.
"I think four days was the longest," Hilgard guessed. "And that was because we were hunkered down for a full day with a great sand storm. The farther west we go, the more water we'll come to."
Muller searched his pockets for coins and found very few. "I'm glad we have Akbar with us. He has all our money. If we run out we will demand he pay for food."
Akbar said something to Hilgard in another language.
Hilgard nodded and turned to his friends. "He says we should travel only at night to the next oasis. He says there are many bandits between here and there."
Muller and Hilgard remembered their last confrontation with bandits several months earlier on their way to Barburee, and nodded their agreement. They decided to sleep until nightfall.
When the three men woke up hours later, the sun was just going down over a sand dune in a flaming orange ball. They looked around for Akbar, eager to start the next leg of their journey. After a few minutes of searching and calling, the awful truth became apparent. Akbar was gone.
Luckily they had brought their camels in close while they slept. Otherwise Akbar might have taken them as well.
Muller thumped his head with the palm of his hand. He should have known better than to trust such an opportunist. Akbar had all their money. Why would he wait around? After cursing the man thoroughly, Muller turned to his companions.
"We could venture out on our own or we could wait here until someone comes through."
"Someone's bound to come through before long," Tandor said. "There's water here. Of course it could be bandits."
Muller muttered another curse on Akbar. "He probably made that up as a reason to wait while he made his escape."
Hilgard looked out at the desert and shook his head. "I'd feel better waiting for a few days. At least someone who knows the area could tell us which direction to go."
"We may as well go back to sleep," Tandor said, feeling wide awake. "I'll take the first watch in case of bandits."
The three only had to wait one day before the small oasis was inundated with a caravan from the Orient carrying tea, spices, silk and other trade goods.
The caravan consisted of eight roped lines of ten camels each, all loaded with goods to sell or trade. Each line of roped camels was led by a camel driver. In front of this long trail of loaded camels, many men walked or rode additional camels. These were the traders and travelers who accompanied the caravan for the safety that numbers provided. Behind the last string of camels rode armed guards, protecting the caravan from attack from the rear.
The merchants wore colorful robes and round caps. They regarded the Fernland men with suspicion. Hilgard tried a variety of languages before one of the travelers approached him. He spoke halting English and the Fernlanders were relieved to find him.
He said he was a student, traveling with his uncle who was a tea trader. He, like Hilgard, was a student of languages, hoping for a position in the Emperor's court based on his ability as a translator. His name was Dong Hao. He spoke to the Fernland men with great enthusiasm, eager to test his command of English.
"They say maybe you bandits, wait more men come take camels. We see many days bad men follow us, look for chance to steal camel."
Hilgard rushed to reassure him. "We only want to return to Fernland with our, ah, fertilizer. Our guide took all our money and left us here."
Dong Hao translated this information to his uncle and the other merchants.
"They want know—do you want travel with caravan? They not know of Fernland, but we go Ankar."
None of the three Fernland men had ever heard of Ankar, but they readily agreed.
Dong Hao hung his head. "They want know—can you pay for protect and food?"
The young man was obviously embarrassed to ask the question.
Muller thought quickly. "Perhaps at Ankar we could give you one of our camels in payment?"
Dong Hao relayed this to his uncle.
His uncle walked over to where the three camels belonging to the Fernlanders grazed beside the spring. He examined each camel carefully and finally selected the one he liked best.
Dong Hao smiled broadly and clapped his hands. "Yes, he says is good." Dong Hao listened a little longer. "He say is good you have bow and arrows, you walk end of caravan for protect. Is good this?"
"Fine," said Muller, sensing that there were probably reasons that the end of the caravan was not a desirable spot.
"Good, good." Dong Hao clapped his hands. "I walk with you, learn more the English, yes?"
"And I will learn Chinese from you," Hilgard added.
The tinkling of camel bells surrounded them as the caravan's camels swarmed into the oasis. Hilgard and Dong Hao walked off together chatting happily. Muller took their three camels off to the side where he had stored their sacks of white powder and staked the animals around the sacks for protection.
Tandor moved to help him. "Do you think we will be able to carry all of these on two camels from Ankar?"
"One day at a time, lad. We're moving west and we'll have food and water. Let's worry about everything else when we get to Ankar--wherever that is."
Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music Page 42
