Xarith teleported Zetto and the two caravans straight to the border between the Demon Kingdom and the Northeastern Deserts.
Zetto looked out at a sea of… sand and dunes. Nothing else surrounded them.
"Here you go," Xarith said with a proud smile. "Find a place for yourselves. Once you do, use this." He held out his hand toward the Messenger. In his palm, amid swirling black-and-purple magical energy, appeared a small stick with a silver bell tied to it. "Just ring it once, and I'll show up. When I prepare your new land, I'll take it back. Consider it a guarantee that you'll survive. Oh, and one more thing…" He held out one hand toward the coaches. The wheels of both vehicles began to pulse with magical energy, and so did the hooves of the quietly neighing horses.
"See you soon," he added with a faint smile, then vanished.
Zetto sighed and sat down next to Alice.
"Zetto, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" she asked, fear in her voice. "He's a demon! You shouldn't be making deals with him."
He answered her bluntly:
"I don't know, Alice. The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to protect you all at any cost. That's it. And that's enough."
Alice smiled hesitantly.
"And besides… we skipped New Keburg. Looks like all our travel planning went out the window because of… that guy."
"Yeah, you're right, but I think that's the least of our worries. Elise herself said the date doesn't really matter, remember?"
"Oh, right," Alice added, laughing.
Alice flicked the reins. Xarith's magic transformed the sand beneath the wheels and hooves into a cobblestone path that slowly faded behind them.
Zetto stepped inside to talk with the others.
Tae and Maghra clearly looked both surprised and a little amazed. Ora, who had moved between the two wagons while Zetto was talking to Xarith, sat pouting with her cheeks puffed up.
"Don't be so mad," Zetto spoke to her as he sat down beside the little girl. "You know I did it to protect you."
"But I wanted to help! With me, you'd protect better!" she snapped, annoyed.
"Come on," he replied, smiling. "Once we build our new homes, I promise we'll play tag as much as you want."
That promise was enough to make Ora look up at him with her golden eyes full of hope and excitement.
"Really, really, really promise?" Ora raised one of her wing-arms and offered her tiniest claw forward. "A promise on my little claw! And if you break it, I'll be very, very mad!"
Zetto laughed and held out his pinky.
"Alright, it's a deal."
"Yayyyyy! I can't wait!" she cheered.
"And I don't get to boss you around like that," Tae joked. "Zetto, I can't believe you did this… we're so close to the goal", she added after a moment.
"I didn't do it alone – we did it. Without all of you, none of this would've been possible"
"Come on, don't make your part sound small.," Maghra spoke up. "I didn't even lift a paw. I watched over Ora a little and tried to strengthen bonds in the pack, but compared to you, it's really not much."
"You're wrong. That's important too. Everyone has their part to play," he replied, then exchanged a look full of feeling and understanding with Tae. The tigress smiled at him.
"Zetto!" a call came from behind.
The Messenger walked to the back of the carriage. Meime, who had taken over driving from Yarick, gestured for him to stop for a moment. Zetto called out to Alice to halt.
The sun blazed down mercilessly. Meime, Zetto, and Alice stood between the vehicles. Alice pulled out a map.
"I feel for you guys," she said, noticing the first drops of sweat forming on both Meime's and Zetto's foreheads. "Honestly, I'm starting to appreciate being undead," she added, laughing at her own joke.
"Ugh, and at my age," Meime said, wiping her forehead, "these kinds of heat waves hit twice as hard."
"Come on, you're not that old," Zetto said with a smile, trying to be nice. Meime grew serious for a moment.
"I could be your mother. I held Tae for a few days after she was born, so I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. "Now, maybe we should stop talking nonsense and figure out exactly where we want to go."
"Does it really matter? Wherever we go, it's just sand and huge dunes," Alice replied.
"You're wrong. We can pick a spot closer or farther from the border with the Demon Kingdom or Vinrea. Plus, some parts of the desert are much… harsher than others. At least, that's what the rumors say – I've never been here. Anyway, why on earth would anyone come here if not for exile?"
Alice studied the map.
"This will do," Zetto said, pointing to the very center of the desert. "Furthest from any borders. Dunes and mountains behind us, and just more sand all around. No one will bother to reach us – unless they're really desperate."
"Huh? But that's the very heart of this cursed place. I hope we don't run into anything nasty along the way," Alice said, worried.
"Don't worry about that. The bigger problem is we haven't stocked up. How long will our food last? The supplies are in your wagon, right?"
"Yes. Keep in mind there are more mouths to feed now. Before, we could manage a month, now maybe a week."
"In that case, we won't be stopping," Zetto said firmly. "At most, you'll have to switch drivers more often. Ask who else can handle the reins."
"Relax, we've got a few people for that," Meime grinned.
"A second undead would help," Alice added quietly, then sighed. "Alright, everything's set. Let's tell the others and move on."
"Yeah," Zetto and Meime said at the same time.
Before continuing the journey, Zetto cast protective barriers over both wagons, enhancing them with a few extra spells. The barrier walls were draped with small sheets of black, negative magic energy that provided shade and blocked the sun.
Ora fell asleep, soothed by the steady clatter of the wagon wheels over the magically fading cobblestones.
Tae sat next to Zetto, taking his arm and snuggling against his shoulder. Maghra sat beside Ora, making sure the girl didn't fall off the seat while sleeping upright. The dog-woman wagged her tail, a mix of excitement and nerves.
Curious about the other wagon, Zetto peeked over. Lobi, who had taken over driving from Meime, smiled at him.
The journey continued peacefully – monotonous and dull, but carefree. Their only worry was reaching the heart of the desert before they ran out of food and water.
Then, Zetto heard a faint, female voice in his head:
Where are you… Zetto… Tiriga… We've been wandering the desert for days… We're about to…
Zetto called out to Alice to change course. Using his compassion skill, he guided her. It cost them a little extra travel time, but eventually, they reached those who had called for help. To everyone's surprise, they found two Tiriga and a young woman lying on the scorching sand, on the verge of death.