Chapter 12: Bird
The journey inland was as blindingly hot and bright as their arrival. The direction they received was less of a path and more of a general direction. They came to the foot of a mountain enshrined valley. Flowing through it was a rapid torrid of water. This river, they were instructed, would lead them to the Lonrach Desert.
The flow of water eventually became more and more constricted. Eventually, at the point where it stopped, the canyon opened up into a body of sandy dunes. This was the most perilous part of their journey. For, although the directions had proved useful so far, becoming lost in the desert meant certain death.
Luckily, they hadn't gone far when they saw the low dip of a body of water come into view. The water shimmered tantalizingly across the heat-blurred desert plain. As directed, at the foot of this desert basin, a ramshackle structure appeared.