Capítulo 61: Desert (II)
"Ling, pull harder on your side."
The rope was stretched taut, but the pole still wouldn't stand straight.
"Maga, just stand where you are or the force won't be equal!"
The dragon that started pulling too, turned its head to where the voice of the command was coming from. Since the rope was in its mouth, it loosened in its side. "That's too loose now, Maga! Don't move your head around too much and stay in place." The shouting continued.
After the reprimand, Maga turned its head again to pull the rope just right. It sat down in relief when it didn't hear the loud voice again, but it still remained still as it looked at one place. The dragon thought that this adventure was getting boring.
Afterwards, the voice still continued, commanding the others too. "You better move to the other side, Kisig! You and Kana should move back two steps more!"
It was near noon when the group finally reached an area near the yellow 'haze', but far enough for the harmful 'haze' not to affect them. The sun was high, making the atmosphere at its hottest. There were no other high structures or rubbles around for the group to take shade, hence, the heat from the sun added to the scorching air that the yellow 'haze' was sending out. The men felt as if they were being cooked on all sides.
To get out of the strong, scorching wind coming from the yellow 'haze', they had to erect a tent. As they finished, Ling felt like he had swam in a lava pool, his sweat pouring down his body. But when he thought some more, this was worse than swimming in the lava pool. At least he felt refreshed back in the pool at the forest near their village.
Their water was limited. It wouldn't do to use it to just wash his sweaty body to feel refreshed. The group was carrying enough water for only a week to keep them hydrated during this travel. Besides, it would be a little warm by now so using it to wash himself wouldn't change much.
After eating their lunch, Mayari stood up and told the younger men, "Leave our things inside the tent, then follow me, boys! I'll show you how to collect the materials we need here."
Despite the grumbling of the others, Mayari walked towards the yellow 'haze', followed by Ling and Maga. Since this was also a practice for them once they sailed through the Limaw Sea, the two were not afraid even though the 'mist' around the area was far stronger.
Before the six person and one dragon group stepped into the 'haze', Mayari stopped them, "The sand and stones around this area were normal. The 'mist' would only solidify once we go deeper. Of course, the deeper we go, the stronger the stones we'll get. But I won't lead you deeper than you can handle.
"First, make sure you're properly shielded. I don't want any of you getting possessed by the 'haze'." When Mayari saw that the boys properly controlled their 'mist' quickly, he smiled and continued, "Second, I'll have to show you what to collect first before you go find the stones on your own. We'll group you up with two persons each, each of you have to watch your partner."
"Yes, sir." The five boys nodded. Seeing this, the dragon also nodded its head. Ling just grinned at his friend, and Maga grinned back, before they got distracted by Mayari's signal.
"Then, let's go."
The temperature kept rising as they walked on. Ling could smell his sweaty body, thinking that a wash earlier would really have been useless. His long hair was sticking to his scalp, not ruffled by the scorching wind. However, he could also feel a refreshing breeze together with the hot air, and a slightly fishy smell was invading his nostrils.
As they continued walking, the surroundings was getting foggier. The yellow 'haze' blurring the rocks around, as well as the person farther from them, so they had to keep up to avoid losing each other. Or getting lost themselves.
Ling never voiced out his observations while Mayari was still explaining to them. "We will only be here for an hour. I'm afraid you kids still won't be used to the air here. Stick close to each other. While you collect, I'll stand in the middle and light my 'mist', so you would still know where to return in case you explored farther." Mayari paused as he looked back to glare at the rest of the group following him. "That doesn't mean I'm lettting you wander off. Wait for your punishment if you got lost and I had to find you myself."
After a while, Mayari finally stopped walking. He turned around to look at the young men with him again, before crouching down to point at the ground. "If you looked closely here, the 'mist' around was flowing to this spot." He brushed off a few sand grains and the group saw an orange rock the size of a bean, absorbing the 'mist'. Mayari picked it up and raised his hand to show them. "This is what we're looking for."
Mayari stood up while brushing some sand off his pants. "I have an hour glass here. Spread around and look for the rocks. The bigger the better. But, again, down wander too far." He gave another glare before continuing. "I'll give a signal once our hour is up. My voice might get drowned out by the wind later, so look for my 'mist'. I'll have it flare up for about ten minutes once I want you all back."
"Yes, sir." After that, the boys paired up and spread out. Ayuk paired with Ta, while Kisig signaled Wa'al to follow him. Of course, one boy paired up with the dragon.
"Hey, Maga, let's go search too." The boy whispered to the dragon. Earlier, Ling had noticed that Maga was getting a little restless, so he had to remind it. The dragon kept turning its head to several directions, as if it was hearing something.
Ling thought the dragon was just disturbed by the roaring wind, its hearing had always been sharper. But later, he could also hear another familiar roar joining the sound of the wind. It made him stop his search on the ground, as he looked up and observed his surroundings too. A frown marred his face when he heard another familiar roar.
"Do you recognize who that is, Maga?" Ling leaned close to Maga, dropping his voice as if afraid of being overheard. He felt that the atmosphere became even more quiet despite the noise of the wind.
After seeing that a confused expression was also on the dragon's face, Ling decided to go back and ask Mayari. It was better to have more information which they could use when they travelled to the Limaw Sea on their own. Anyway, the two were still close to where the older man was standing at, since Maga hadn't moved much from its previous spot, so they didn't need to walk back far.
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