God Rising: Battle of Atela 65 Part II

Just like she said, he couldn't handle it. He couldn't carry rocks for a long period of time, he couldn't swim two hundred laps, he was unable to accomplish so much exercises in a day, and he was terrible at sword fighting.

"Shit!" He cussed. His face was doused in sweat, and he hadn't done half of what Artemis did. He retaliated his tears, bit his lip in dissatisfaction "Why do I have to suffer like this?!" 

To make things worse for him, they weren't allowed to rest over five hours, Zircon was more strict about their sleep time, and would twofold their work out if they sleep a second extra.

The red gem set out seven days for preparing before they can advance to the Elf domain to get the Diamond of Aurora. With the gem, they could learn light magic, and summon any source of light with their finger tips. With that, they'd find it easier to navigate their way at night.

"Artemis your stats increased immensely. Nice work!" 

HP: 224/300 

Enchantment 270/350 points

Strength: 600 points

She additionally noticed her new expertise, recuperating that had an evaluation D. 

"Don't worry about your healing skill Artemis. The more you heal, the more the grade increases."

Those were words she needed to be positive. Everything was going right for her, but not for Darren. After the week of training, they left for the dark elves domain. They traversed to an alternate biome. They had to let the horses go. They didn't have enough water for the horses and themselves. 

They first had to walk the scorched sand shimmering in the intense rays of the sun.

Not even a wisp of cloud could soften the harsh rays as the cruel sun beat down.

Heat licked at their sunburned faces and coiled around their limbs like a great hot-blooded serpent. As the time passed, the heat became far less bearable. The small lizards took cover in the shadows of the rocks where the sand was not hot enough to roast them, but there was no shade large enough for Darren and Artemis.

 Zircon didn't want to take responsibility for leaving important details like they'd travel to the desert, and Darren was guilty as well. He expected to see the man that sold camels, but it had been years since he'd visited the Dark elves. The old merchant must've died. 

Their feet sunk into the searing sand, and they squinted their eyes as the hardened, dry desert breeze blew sand over their face. Their lips felt chapped and dry. Their tongues long for crystal, cold water yet they dreaded drinking the little they had. 

Lucky enough, they met travellers like themselves, and a camel was free. The pair paid for it, and joined them on the journey because they were all heading to the same direction. The travelers were kind enough to offer water to the Prince since they had full barrels of it and food. 

They journeyed through the mighty desert once the huge golden sun rose over the edge of the world, and its rays fell on the camel train that was already on the move. Even at night, they continued to peer their way because the time of the snow storms were drawing near. Despite wanting to sleep, they had to move at night, stop a little, and move again.

Zircon said five weeks, but it stretched to two-and-half months. The gem stayed quiet about the matter and said he'd only open up once they get to the dark elves territory.

Their arrival at the city completely overwhelmed them with joy. Artemis and Darren entered the maze of rectangular white buildings protruding proudly from the desert sands. 

Their eyes surveyed the clustered area as they rode on their chestnut camel. The people had their distinct shades of dark and Artemis related them to her friend, Keith. They passed a lot of playing children and stumbled across a food stall.

The woman in charge greeted them with a dazzling smile, but it was flawed by her missing front tooth. She permitted them to enter, and they headed to a free table in the crowded store. 

Artemis lowered her head the whole time, still wearing her torn cape. She ordered Darren to get her a new one because she had to keep a low profile to avoid problems. Darren looked at everything on the list, and he wasn't used to the dishes "Let's see here...roasted hedgehogs...smoked goat meat and sauce… ostrich?" He was surprised to see something related to ostrich meat and eggs, and he definitely didn't want to try any of that.

"Broiled duck...honey-cooked gazelle… mallow sap and nuts… " he sighed in defeat "You know what? I'll just take beef and onion sauce. Please add rice to it. Servings for two."

"okay, would you like palm vino or water?" She asked.

"Just water," She left and Artemis slammed the table "I don't recollect requesting that you pick what I'll eat." 

"I read the menu out on purpose." That ended the conversation. They both waited for the food and glanced at everyone and thing in that popular food joint. 

Darren felt uneasy because of the number of people, and their intimidating size. While he was suffocating in the air of a mixture of sweat, smoke pipe, and food, the woman dropped off his order. His hand shook as he picked up the spoon to taste the soup. A smile crossed his face. He missed when his mom used to make soup for him whenever he caught a cold and the reason would always be the older kids forcing him to play the drown game.

The last on their list for that day was to get a place to stay and find the tower. But first, Darren had to pay respect to the Queen to announce his presence and request help to get the diamond. The main issue they night confront was the Queen's emotional episodes and bipolar state.

Chapter end