AWDC Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Desert

The previous Robertson was said to be the current king’s closest confidant, contributing greatly to his accession to the throne.

Therefore, the king elevated Robertson to the rank of baron, seeking to strengthen his own foundation.

However, the problem was the lack of territory suitable for a baron.

He hadn’t seized the throne by force, crushing his opponents.

Although he had won the battle for succession, some still opposed him, even if they grudgingly accepted it, and he couldn’t touch their territories.

Moreover, the young king, newly enthroned, couldn’t afford to favor only his close aides.

Therefore, Robertson was reluctantly given the impoverished Toriholi Village and the Datar Plateau, which no one else wanted.

The area of the territory alone was equivalent to that of a viscount or even an earl, but no one envied him.

The Datar Plateau was that forsaken.

Toriholi Village lies on the gentle slope of the Mulan River’s left bank.

Climbing the slope that extends from the village center leads to the vast expanse of the Datar Plateau.

The plain, stretching 200 kilometers north to south and 60 kilometers east to west, was mostly a barren desert.

It rejected everything except drought-resistant plants like cacti and succulents.

Only small animals like lizards and snakes inhabited the area.

Now, Toma and his companions were taking their first steps to traverse this desert.

Their destination was a water source deep in the mountains to the south.

They had embarked on a survey to determine if water could be drawn from there.

He told Ilse that he was leaving home again, but she didn’t express the same sadness as when he went to the capital.

For Ilse, the capital was a distant place she had never been to.

In contrast, the Datar Plateau was right behind the village. This difference was significant for her.

Even though he would be gone for more than a month this time, her sadness seemed completely different.

Once again, he asked Cathy to look after things in his absence, and he left the village.

“Whoa, this is unbearable,”

Ladapole complained as soon as he stepped into the desert.

He had shown interest in papermaking as soon as he arrived in the village, asking Toma questions, but when he heard that Toma was going on a desert survey, he volunteered to join.

“What’s wrong? You were bragging about adventuring in the desert, and now you’re already whining?”

Jim immediately retorted. The two had become that close.

“If you keep your mouth open too much, sand will get in,”

Kido warned with a laugh.

He was a villager nearing 40 who was the only one in the village who made a living by hunting.

He hunted in the mountains and rivers but also entered the desert to capture snakes and birds.

He had ventured deep into the desert in his younger days, and the lord had ordered him to join this survey team.

Although it was an order, the reward was more than generous, so Kido wasn’t reluctant to participate in the survey.

These four, including himself, made up the survey team.

They also brought along 12 donkeys to carry luggage.

The daily progress was planned at a slow pace of about 20 kilometers, aiming to cross the desert in 10 days.

They could cover about 20 kilometers or more quickly on horseback.

However, horses consume a large amount of feed. There was no grass in the desert to feed them.

Horses would quickly become immobile in the desert.

He judged that it was impossible to cross the desert on horseback.

In comparison, donkeys can walk for a long time with little feed.

They gave up riding horses, loaded food and water on the donkeys, and decided to cross the desert on foot.

Small donkeys couldn’t carry people, but distributing the luggage allowed them to carry more food and water.

They prioritized ensuring a reliable crossing by maximizing food supplies over speed.

The Mulan River flows to the east, largely circumventing the desert.

Toma believed that the source of the Mulan River must be deep within the desert.

However, there were no records of anyone venturing this far into the desert.

He wasn’t sure if they would find a water source as planned.

If they didn’t find a water source and their water and food supplies were nearly halved, he had decided to abandon the survey.

“That plant has a strange shape. But even something like that has beautiful flowers blooming.”

Ladapole, stepping into the desert for the first time, couldn’t hide his surprise at the novelty.

“Birds and other creatures gather to suck the nectar from those flowers. I sometimes come here to catch those birds,”

Kido explained simply.

“Whoa, birds come to suck nectar? The desert is really something else.”

“That plant is called a cactus. It has no leaves to conserve as much moisture as possible.

It’s covered in thorns to prevent lizards and other creatures from gnawing on it.

Only plants like that can grow here,” he added briefly.

He had previously entered this desert to see if any medicinal plants grew there.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find any significant medicinal herbs, but it was then that he came up with the idea of drawing water to this desert.

“As expected, strange places have strange things,”

Ladapole said, seemingly impressed.

A dry mouth couldn’t silence him.

He was looking around at everything with curiosity.

However, his talkativeness only lasted for one day.

The next day, it was a continuous series of sand dunes that they were tired of seeing.

The same scenery went on and on.

Even his inquisitive mind couldn’t find anything mysterious in the desert.

And then, the party was tormented by the sand dunes.

They had loaded plenty of water and food, but the unchanging scenery was something they couldn’t do anything about.

After climbing one sand dune, the same thing awaited them in front of them.

It continued like that day after day.

They could confirm the direction with the compass and the position of the stars, and they were confident in their course, but as the same scenery continued, doubts arose as to whether they had gotten lost.

He wondered if they had returned to the same place.

Each time, he rechecked the compass and gazed at the constellations at night.

He wasn’t sure if they were getting closer to their destination deep in the desert.

Everyone continued to walk in silence.