Free Wielder's Rising by T.B. Christensen Page A

meal and guzzled down some water.  Traven wanted to advise him to go easy on the water but knew the elderly philosopher needed it.  They put on their head wraps and took down the camp.  Then they set off for the Keeper’s Staff.  It wasn’t long before the late afternoon heat had them dripping with sweat.  Traven was glad that the sun would be setting before too long.  As much as he disliked the cold of the desert nights, the cold was easier to travel in than the heat of the day.
    As they got closer to the tall formation, signs of life began to appear.  Dry looking scrub bushes could be seen here and there along their path.  Traven also noticed a lizard or two scampering behind the bushes as they passed.  By the time the sun set, he was feeling much more optimistic about the journey.  This part of the desert was obviously not completely devoid of moisture.  Hopefully the spring really was nearby.
    With the setting of the sun, darkness began to creep over the desert once again.  As the temperature began to drop, Traven was happy to see that there were plenty of scrub bushes around them.  It would be easy to get a small fire going to warm them up when they stopped for a break.  The darkness eventually took over and thousands of stars began winking in the night.
    They continued in a straight line towards the tall rock formation mostly in silence.  Something about the darkness and the immense dome of stars looking down on their small party made them content to keep their conversations to a minimum.  As they got closer to the formation, it appeared to reach higher and higher into the heavens.  Sometime around the middle of the night, they reached its base.
    Despite how thin it had appeared from far away, the base of the Keeper’s Staff was actually incredibly wide.  It looked as if it was at least fifty arm spans across.  Studell commented on how small he felt with it rising above them, blotting out a large swath of stars.  Traven agreed with him and went to collect enough of the scrub bushes to get a warm firing going.  When he had gathered plenty, he put several together and lit them with the ambience.  They burst into flames, burning much faster than he had anticipated.  He gathered a few more bushes and sat down next to Studell to warm himself by the fire.
    The heat of the fire was welcome and quickly dispelled the chill from the night.  Traven and Studell munched on some of their food and took several sips from the last full water skin.
    “I hope this spring of yours is close,” Traven said.  “If we are careful we might be able to make this water last through another day.”
    “It will be there,” Studell replied.  “Everything else has been right where the map said it would be.”
    Traven didn’t have a problem trusting the map.  After what they had seen so far, he believed that the map was accurate as far as how things used to be.  However, just because a spring existed in ancient times when the map was made didn’t mean that it still existed.  He tossed the last of the dry bushes into the fire and tried to relax.
    The crackling of the fire was distracting and reminded him of his journey to Calyn with Blaize.  How many fires had he shared with the grizzled warrior on their journey to the capitol of Kalia?  He missed the talks they had shared and the stories Blaize had told.  He supposed that now he would have some stories of his own to share with Blaize once they met up again.  Hopefully they really would find some interesting treasures amongst the ancient ruins.  Then he would have even more to talk about when he eventually met back up with the army.
    As the fire began to die down, they remounted their horses and made their way around the base of the Keeper’s Staff.  They continued north towards where the spring should be.  Traven kept a sharp lookout for the spring, but after a couple of hours they still hadn’t found it.  To the east he could see the outlines of the