A week and two days had passed, and they were already halfway to their destination. During that time, Mikael and Drake had grown closer, learning more about the merchants and their temperaments.
The first person Mikael managed to get information from was Balthazar — a middle-aged man, always serious, a bit grumpy, but competent. He was the manager of the group responsible for transporting exotic animals. The second was Wonan, a retired warrior who, despite no longer being fit for battle, still had enough strength and sense to oversee their security. He was the one who had suggested that Mikael and Drake prove their strength before being accepted as escorts.
Lastly, there was the newest member of the group — the one Drake resented. He was in charge of tending to the animals but was aggressive, rude, and looked at Drake as if he wasn't even worth noticing.
From what Mikael understood, they were traveling to an annual auction where they hoped to sell the remaining animals and deliver an extremely rare specimen: an ice-crystal fox, meant as a birthday gift for the youngest daughter of a duke — a young ice mage. The creature would become her new magical companion.
In that world, every mage formed contracts with at least two beasts, feeding them mana. The more mana a mage had, the more companions they could sustain — usually up to four. For those with low mana, two contracts were the lifelong limit.
The caravan advanced through the dry, neutral lands stretching between the Kingdoms of the Sword and of Alchemy — a place where people seeking freedom made their homes. The wagons rattled along the dusty, uneven road, lifting clouds of sand that stuck to the skin and stung the eyes. The sun was merciless, burning without pause. In that suffocating heat, even Mikael's intact clothes felt like a constant irritation. He had always been extremely hygienic, and even in this new life, he refused to tolerate dirt. Being that dusty made him genuinely frustrated.
Drake, on the other hand, watched the desert landscape in silence. His eyes followed the dunes and the sparse, stubborn plants until he suddenly noticed a plume of dust in the distance and heard the fast, rhythmic pounding of claws against dry ground. Alert, the two of them asked Balthazar about the dangers of the region.
"In these barren lands, groups of sand lizards show up pretty often. Annoying things to deal with — completely adapted to this environment," the merchant explained.
With that information, they warned the caravan: an attack was coming. The atmosphere, already heavy from the heat, grew even more tense.
After several more kilometers, they spotted an oasis and decided to camp there. Since Mikael had already impressed the merchants with his strength, most of them relaxed, leaving only Balthazar and Wonan on guard.
Once everything was set up, Mikael couldn't stand the sweat and dust clinging to his body anymore. Without hesitation, he stripped and dove into the cold water of the oasis, feeling a rush of relief wash over him.
He called out to Drake soon after. The boy looked visibly embarrassed, turning his gaze away while his face grew red — so unexpectedly that Mikael ended up laughing, not out of cruelty but from sheer surprise. Drake huffed, pulled off his clothes quickly, and jumped in after him, attempting (and failing) to catch him. By the end of it, both were laughing, and the desert's bad mood seemed to fade away.
Clean from the dust, Drake looked like a completely different person. His red hair shone under the soft light, his light-brown eyes appeared brighter, and his pale, slightly rosy skin only made him look even more appealing. It was hard to believe that when Mikael first met him, he had looked so weak and malnourished.
The merchants, meanwhile, didn't spare them a glance. They stayed busy eating meat and drinking the water they had drawn from the well by the oasis, unconcerned with anything else.
Not long after everyone had settled down, a scream cut through the night.Drake, who was still awake, ran toward the sound along with the merchants and the three guards — who were almost useless. There, they found Mikael fighting two massive sand lizards, while the huge body of a variant — a creature rarely ever seen — already lay dead nearby. The merchants, stunned at the rarity and danger of the beast, froze for a moment, struggling to process what they were witnessing.
Mikael just took a steady breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.The desert wasn't planning to give them any rest anytime soon.