>>6110436>>6110593Leaving the Iconotheurges to their doing and the slower elements behind, Rion beats a steady pace towards the distant village. Civilization has its draws. As you close in on it, an hour or so later, the road you've only been dimly aware of beneath your feet slowly solidifies and the endless craggy landscape and soft sand yields to human hand. Slowly. Very slowly. Some walls are crumbing. Fences are broken. The sand rolls in. The cliffs loom. It is a harsh place out here, beautiful in its way, austere, but not exactly welcoming. Though it may bend to human artifice and will, it will slowly seek to slip free too.
It's been a steady clip. Can't say anyone is running out of water or falling over from heatstroke yet. Maybe all the marching out and the heavy work has done you all some collective good.
Swaying on the soft wind, a few fields of some vegetable sprout. Hardscrabble things. Chewy. It's a wonder they can even coax it from the earth. But to Stalwarts eyes it looks a nice enough feast, if one had inclination towards an agricultural lifestyle . . .
There's usually at least someone tending the fields but today it seems abandoned. Maybe they're all in the village. Edward went on ahead, after all, to make markets. Maybe he drew them in, all curious.
