Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Stranded in the desert
Jack woke up, drowsy on the wet desert floor. The hot air burnt to breathe, and the bright sunlight blinded him. He stares dumbfounded at the vast desert, surprised to be alive. Jack looks at the scorching sands, and then to the horizon, he can see the silhouette of his small town. He knows that it’s more than a week of travel by horse. And Jack doesn’t see his horse nowhere in sight, without food or shelter, Jack won’t last more than a day.
Tears build-up and he really can’t afford to lose any liquids.
“You are alive,” Jack declares to the desert.
Jack is a moon elf, weaker, less magic sensitive, and graceful than a moon elf should be, so he ran off to find something else to define him. But he wasn’t made for magic, he couldn’t compete in the stupid city, forests were gross, and somehow he ends up on the fucking Calidi-Issimo desert. The growing group of rejects reselling stolen goods and hiding from the law formed a city, a trash city, and Jack called it home. Did he like it? No. It was a temporary stop until he found something better. Of course, that was thirty-four years ago, thirty-five in two weeks, and now he is stuck in the heart of the desert.
“I’m not gonna die here.” Jack looks down while trying to calculate how long before he becomes severely dehydrated. He almost finished collecting enough loot to leave and live the life he deserves. The sand under him is a different color, darker. It should be obvious, but after thirty-three years of working as a scavenger and guide at the Calidi-Issimo desert, Jack saw shade for the first time. Jack turns to see a stone palace.
The palace has been observed many times but covered with sand and degraded with time, people believe it to be mountains. Jack suspected differently, and now he understands it. The stones were sturdy; even after so many years, the structure radiates powerful and ethereal magic.
Enough magic for Jack to steal a bit, and cast a fast travel spell strong enough to get him to traveling distance from his home.
On the floor, Jack saw a golden coin, this one much well preserved than any he has seen before. One side had the profile of a beautiful man with long hair and, on the other side, a snake’s eye. There was writing on the side, an old language few knew how to read anymore.
“King of Calido Divitiae, Chase Young.” Jack looks at the miles of unforgiving sands that sparkle with hidden treasures. “This is one hell of a mausoleum.” Jack chuckles as he walks inside through a crack on the wall.
Inside the building, sand accumulates on the corners of the large room. The walls, paintings, bases, statues, chandeliers, and decorations were oddly intact, yet they felt worn down. The palace was so deep into the desert that it stayed out of the reach of opportunistic thieves. “That’s some strong magic” Jack looks at the tall ceiling and the beautiful tile work, a breeze runs through the hall, and Jack feels a pull deeper inside the palace. Maybe it is strong enough to send him home. “Hello?”
No one answered.
Jack follows the magic hopeful of what he will find, he enters the room after room. He observes the tapestries, statues, and works of art in the palace unbothered for thousands of years. Jack climbs long stairs and stops in front of two massive doors adorned with intricate gold designs.
It was behind the door, Jack could feel it’s call after so many years. Before opening the door, Jack promised himself that if he survives this, he will leave the desert for good.
Jack pushes the door open with all his strength and finds a bedroom. Sand had covered the room but not enough to hide the richness of it. The room was spacious with beautiful marble floors, a bed large enough to accommodate five people comfortably, a crystal chandelier that amplifies the sunlight illuminating the whole room, and the tunics spilling from the closet were of such bright colors. Silk fabric, bleached by the sun, was dropped over the vanity like someone has just chosen them to wear. Jack goes to touch the material that breaks at the slightest of caress. It was the king’s room without a doubt.
Jack follows the magic deeper into another door. The door was smaller but just as nicely decorated. The second one was much harder to pry open. Jack used three old swords that end up snapping from the age. Yet the door remained closed.
Whatever was behind that door was the only thing with enough magic to hopefully cast a spell strong enough to take Jack home.
Jack searched for objects in and out of the room to use, but even if things might look new, time has worn them down, and they break easily.
The magic is fading, and it’s fading fast.
Jack looks at his provisions. He has a change of clothes, food rations for a day or two if he is careful, and a bottle with pure magic. The magic should be enough for three spells. Not enough to take him home or grow something on the sand, just to aid him in a fight if he were to need it.
“Anyone here?” Jack tries one more time and then looks at his bottle. What else would he do with it? Jack pulls the cork from the bottle, and a yellow light floats out “ Dirumpere! ”
The light swirls and twists the doors into splinters, and sand cascades down, covering Jack up to his knees.
Jack closes the bottle and steps in, kicking the sand. He couldn’t tell what it was because the room was covered in sand. Jack puts his belongings on a corner and begins shoveling sand off the floor, feeling for something.
Jack felt something flat and hard like a wall. He trails up with his fingers until he finds the edge, it was tall like a platform.
Jack climbs over it and walks ahead overly confidently like he has solved some sort of puzzle. He takes a wrong step and finds himself sinking rapidly into the sand. Jack tries to crawl out, but he is in a bowl. He panics and tries to reach for something to help him get out, and then he feels between the sand, an arm. In a split second, all of his blood drains from his face as Jack screams in horror. He closes his eyes tightly before telling himself that whoever it is, is long gone.
Jack takes a few shaky breaths and moves closer to the body because that’s how Jack will get out of the bowl. The elf ignores his cries and tries not to think why the body is a body and not a skeleton, he focuses on moving ahead, and then he feels it. A cold metal between the warm sand through his thick leather gloves. It was electrical, and it begged Jack to take it.
Jack tries to pull it but is unable, he digs for it. It is a delicate, overly-designed small knife held by a hand. Jack makes a ‘tsk’ sound with his tongue. “What a story will this be at the tavern?” Jack has to play to ignore the horrible eerie feeling of sitting over a corpse.
“I hope you don’t mind” Jack lifts the heavy arm and tries to open the palm holding the knife. “Me borrowing your magic knife?” He tries to use a piece of metal salvaged from the door. “You would tell me if it is cursed, right?” Jack stops and nods, “Is cursed. But one problem at a time.” Jack needs the magic, he needs the knife.
“Bitch! You don’t need it anymore!” The fingers were frozen in place. Jack considers trying to look for objects to break the hold, but like the door, only magic will do.
The elf looks outside, the sun planted high in the sky, and it’ll remain there for a week. Jack’s skin was already severely sunburned, his tongue swollen and dried, and his eyes felt heavy.
Jack lets his head hang down and wonders again, why did he, a moon elf, came to the desert? With no satisfying answer, Jack stands and walks to his bag. Jack uncaps the bottle, and carefully measures the magic needed for the spell.
“ Dirumpere! ”
Nothing.
The gravity of the situation and the frustrating reality that it’s his fault, he put himself in this situation.
Jack won’t die here, he refuses.
He takes a deep breath and calls for any residual of magic within, not much at all, and the rest of the magic in his bottle.
Jack aims at his target before betting all of his magic in one last spell.
“ et conteram tenaci! ” The magic rips from his chest, like lighting, is born from the sky. The knife breaks and Jack stares at the pieces.
The moment in which his last hope gets destroyed by his own hands, Jack lets gravity take him as he sinks on the sand. Tears Jack doesn’t bother to control anymore wet the sand, and the ground drinks them like they are the last water drops in the world.
“Shit,” Jack says to no one. The magic in the knife trickles through the grains without a vessel, and in mere seconds it fades into nothing. “Fucking amazing.”
There might be some left, but Jack's senses are dull, and he won’t be able to harness magic without a vessel.
“This! This is gonna be one hell of a story to tell,” Jack looks at the leftover magic in his bottle, and he hears the building crumble.
Without the magic holding the palace together, it will come down, it should have long ago. Jack takes a deep breath and closes his eyes tightly.
One problem at the time.
Jack doesn’t notice something moving under the sand.
The sand in front of him rises as a large man slowly stands, released from the knife’s curse after so long.
Jack holds his bottle tighter and stops breathing.
A bewildered man looks around him, only finding sand where his magnificent palace and riches once where, his eyes stop on Jack. He stands tall, towering over Jack.
He seems almost human from his hips up, but the lower portion of his body is of a giant snake. The tail moves under the sand as he comes closer to Jack.
Jack cowards under him.
Whatever he turns their sand and decay, except for the boy.
“Your highness!” Jack shouts and stops the creature.
The light skin was severely damaged and covered by a thick layer of sand, the long hair matted with sand, and his once lovely face dried by the sun. But Jack could see the king in the monster.
“I destroyed the magic knife that kept you,” Jack lifted his head and found those golden eyes a few centimeters from him. The lamia didn’t make a sound. No, Jack didn’t know what the man was, but he wasn’t a lamia, somehow Jack was sure. “I freed you,” Jack finishes weakly. “Please spare my life. I’m but a young elf!”
The king looks around and then back to Jack.
“What happened here?” Jack relaxes when the naga moves to the window and stares past the long sand paths. “Who rules his land?”
“Uh, which sector?” Jack tries to remember the many self-proclaimed lords, the lamia gang, and faux-leaders of the desert. Even Jack has claimed a route for himself. Before he could better explain the whole floor trembles.
The palace is falling.
Jack picks all his belongings after a particular strong tremble and moves to run out. Jack pulls his goggles down
“This land has been divided. What a shame.” He says in some sort of daze.
“-And I don’t want to die squeezed like a bug. So, sorry for waking you up-”
“No, I have a feeling it was long overdue.” The man moves slowly like it pains him.
Jack stares at the old king for a second, and then he turns to run out of the door just to see the floor in front of him split open. Jack can’t make it. Not alone. “Your highness! Are you planning to die here?” Jack screams, hoping the old king will know what to do.
A clawed hand lifts Jack from the floor up to the golden eyes of the naga.
“Are You threatening me?!” He roars out. And Jack swallows hard at the promise of another quick death.
“No, your highness! I would never! But the palace is coming down!” Small rocks fall from the ceiling and the naga gives them a simple glance of acknowledgement.
The naga jumps out of the window holding Jack with one arm.
“What are you doing?” Jack whines while holding to the naga’s arm for his dear life.
The tail struggles to grab to the wall to not free fall to the ground, but there was enough friction to break the high jump. Jack screams all the way down.
As soon as they touch the ground, the palace behind them collapses into a pile of dust.
The naga releases his savior and turns to look at what was once his palace
“A shame, really.” The man says, staring at the remains of his life, now it was more sand for the Calidi-Issimo desert.
Jack breathes heavily and falls down. “I survive that,” he then sees a single gold coin with the profile of a beautiful man. A rare moment of sympathy tightens Jack’s heart. He stands and looks at the long way ahead, and then to the pile of rocks next to him.
“I bet it was pretty,” Jack tries to offer some sort of comfort. He didn’t want to think much about the fallen king, because it was sad. But, if that man was a naga, then he could cross the desert.
“It was beautiful, prosperous, and full of riches, and now is dust.” He gave one last longing look before turning around towards the silhouette of the city.
“I know a good place where you can rest these heavy memories, your highness,” Jack says, and the naga stops to look at him.
“Thank you.” He says suspiciously but also like he has just noticed Jack for the first time. “But I’ll travel alone. I thank you for freeing me, I repaid my debt by saving you.”
“Oh, I accept all your thanks humbly, your highness. But traveling alone in the desert is tricky, and you just woke up. Allow me to, um, climb over you and guide us through the fastest path to the city.”
“I don’t need a guide. I can see the city from here.” The naga says and advances, his body aches but he still appreciates stretching his muscles.
“That’s what all think!” The elf runs ahead and stops in front of the naga. “But this desert is especially difficult and without a guide-”
“Listen, mm”
“Jack.”
“Your name is Jack?” That was an odd name for an elf. Of course, ‘Jack’ was also an odd looking elf, pink with red spots, hair and eyes a vibrant red, but he didn’t smell of fire or iron. But then again, time has passed and many things could had changed.
“Yes, Jack. And. Your highness, mighty Chase Young, please allow me to escort you through the deadly sands of the Calidi-Issimo and offer you my own water to replenish you at my humble home.” Jack bows like an expert and the naga recognizes the charms of a thief.
“While water and a meal sound great, I need no guide, Jack. I lived in these sands and I know of their dangers better than anyone. I fear not the sand giants, the tlincallis, the poison fauna or flora,” Chase goes around Jack and adds, “I have many things to think and a traitor to punish, and my patience for conmen is pretty thin. I warmed you because you freed me.” Immediately Jack returns to block Chase’s way. “Do you have a deathwish little elf.”
“Literally nothing of what you said exists in this desert!” Jack says so fast it takes longer to process his words than to listen to them.
“Explain.”
“Nothing grows in this forsaken place, so no animals come to live here. No animals, not bigger creatures. I assure, nothing lives here.”
“Nothing.” Chase repeats and he slips his tongue out. The air smells like heat and metal. And besides himself and Jack, Chase couldn’t hear anything. Not even wind. The elf wasn’t lying, there is no life in the desert. It made the land feel hunted. “It will make it so much easier to cross then.”
The elf tried to run again but he was too tired. Defeated Jack screams as loud as he can.
“You are gonna get lost and die!” Jack prepares to scream ‘Your highness,’ a mocking tone when he feels himself being lifted by the tunic.
“Is that a threat or a warning?” A pink dried forked tongue tasted the air around him.
“Warning!” Jack puts his hands up harmlessly. “I’m a guide. I’m a guide and I see so many people that believe that they can just go on their own but this desert is different. You’ll get lost, your highness, unless you have a guide.”
The silence was filled with suspicion
“I’m but a simple elf, trying to make a living in the desert by digging up jewels and working as a guide. You are a king, you obviously got stuff going on, and I bet that after all that time sleeping -um, trap, you don’t want to waste a few weeks just trying to get out of the desert.”
“I do have things to do.” Chase agrees, feeling oddly soothed by Jack. The little elf must be experienced in that area. “I accept your guidance.”
“Perfect!” Jack moves to climb the large tail, but the naga moves out of the way.
“I’m not a horse!”
“Your highness, if I were to walk on my own then we will take four times, no, five times as long to get to the city. But if we both have the time?” Jack tries again.
“I supposed it can’t be helped.” The naga lowers himself for the elf to climb on.
“Thank you, your highness. It is. An. Honor.” Jack didn’t have time for attitude or a quest. Every minute not traveling was an hour wasted.
He stares at the brown tail and prepares to mount like he would a horse, but the skin was flaky. Jack barely contained his disgust as he continued to climb on top. While the snake skin was peeling like cheap paint, it was thick and oddly soft like leather.
“Go west first, there is a sinkhole that forms on the east,” Jack says as he fixes his layers to cover his skin as best as possible and puts his goggles on. The goggles were made of yellow glass and a red spiral, it gave the elf an even more bizarre look.
The city didn’t appear any closer, but Jack assured his ride that it was a trick of the eye.
Besides directions, the pair didn’t speak to each other, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Jack was careful to track the trail behind them and the time with his pocket watch. The golden machine caught the eye of the naga.
“What is that you hold?”
“A watch. It tells the time.” Jack struggles to show the watch, and he extends it for the other to see.
“Is it magic?” Chase asks, not detecting magic from it. Or from Jack.
“No, it’s not. It’s a group of gears that turn rhythmically every hour. So once they finish their cycle, an hour has passed. It’s powered by a charged stone.” Jack answers automatically since it's a very common question. “Your highness,” Jack adds once he remembers who he is talking to.
“Did you steal it?” Chase felt he already knew the answer.
“No!”
They travel in silence for another hour.
They continue to travel, and the city might be a bit closer.
They stop once the day ends, while the sun is still pasted in place, thirty-two hours have passed since they started.
Jack offers the naga a small piece of dried snake meat. They eat in silence and rest for twenty minutes before moving again.
“Are watches known by high society?”
“Um?” Jack remembers his companion can talk. The heat is messing with his head, but he can see the city and focus on that. They have two more days of travel, maybe less if his ride keeps going at the same speed. Perhaps they will cross the desert in four days instead of the week Jack initially calculated.
“The watch, the machine that tells you how much time has passed.”
“Oh. No, no. There are other ways to tell the time. Like enchanted bells or-”
“Did you make it?”
“Um, the watch?”
“Yes, Jack, the watch.”
“Yes, no. No, the diagram was drawn for a large music box that would sign for a whole day. But I thought that a watch would be more useful.” Jack hides his bitterness under a chuckle, “who would want a music box that goes for that long.”
“It sounds like a mistake. But your innovation is quite a life savior.” Chase likes thinkers, and it appears Jack might be one. They are always so usefulls.
“Thank you,” Jack says, surprised that the other hasn’t insisted it was magic like many do.
Jack tells him a bit of the process of how he made the watch. But of course, he first has to explain a bit of basic mathematics and some advanced concepts. It was a pleasant surprise that Chase understood quite a bit, but more importantly, found it ‘fascinating.’
Jack spoke for hours and Chase asked for clarifications.
“Are all guides this knowledgeable?”
“No, I read a lot. There is much to do.” Jack justified his expertise too quickly.
He tries to stay quiet after, but he can’t.
Jack talks about the laws of physics and how not even magic can oppose them for long until his throat is too dried.
“I hope to continue our conversation.” The naga gives him a too attentive look.
Jack must have lost consciousness because when he lifts his head, he sees the entrance of the city.
“Oh, for the love of all the stars, we made it!” Jack didn’t try to move because he was sure most of his body was asleep or with compromised blood circulation. They crossed the desert. Then he noticed that they were not moving. “Your highness?”
“Jack, where should I go?” The naga kept his voice calm, but that gave him away. He was too relaxed about the situation. Jack would guess that he might be in shock.
“My home is all the way left,” Jack says, and immediately they move.
The elf noticed that the naga made an active effort to avoid being seen. He buried his body on the sand and crept undetected until they made it to the small wood and metal house.
Jack untied himself and stretched his arms before carefully swinging a leg over the other side to get off. Of course, he ends up on the floor. A hand grabs his back and pulls him up.
“Yeah. My legs are asleep.”
“And all my muscles are in agony. Open the door.” Golden eyes glare at him.
“Yes,” Jack hurries to obey, “Your highness.”
The naga stares at the humble home and tries not to think, he slides in, filling every inch of the place.
Jack did not consider his place small, but with a naga cram inside, it looks tiny.
“Please make yourself at home,” Jack says under his breath while squeezing himself in.
He finds and pulls a leather canteen hidden in a fake wardrobe. The elf takes the first drink and the second, but the third one literally snatched out of his hands by the king. Chase drinks desperately until he has drunk the last drop. Jack would be far more furious if it wasn’t the most emotion he has seen the naga express.
“Is there more.”
“Yeah, but believe you must wait before drinking again.”
The king nods, and then he curls tightly around himself. He trusts Jack a bit more. Chase noticed that there is magic in the desert pulling him back, if he hadn't listened to Jack, he would have returned to the ruins over and over again in an attempt to escape the desert.
Jack understands it has been a long trip, and a lot has happened. Jack finds the knitted blankets lying there. The exhaustion of the journey overpowers everything, and the pair lay almost peacefully under the protection of a thin wooden roof.
Chase Young doesn’t sleep, he can’t.
He stays awake, untangling a millennial's worth of sand from his hair and skin, salt crystals grew in his scalp. The state of his scales is a tragedy, and his skin is tight like leather. He stays awake thinking of all he has lost, and how to hold the traitor responsible.
Everything the naga knew has disappeared, and he will deal with whoever is responsible by any means necessary. But tonight, he reads a book using a slimmer of light from a crack wall and enjoys being awake.
Until the peculiar watch rings.
The elf stretches and immediately recoils on his own stench.
Jack turns to look at his new roommate and immediate freakouts, but within the same second, he regains his composure.
“How did you sleep?” Jack looks at the book the naga appears to be reading.
“I didn’t”
“What? Why? Because you were cursed to sleep for a long time. Yes. That makes sense. So- mm,” Jack stops awkwardly. Jack’s objective was to escape the desert by any means. Now that that was accomplished, what is he supposed to do with a naga king? “Your highness.”
“Jack.” Chase could clearly see what Jack was thinking. Chase understood that Jack didn’t seem qualified or inclined to help him, but for now, Jack was the only person Chase knew. “Did you draw this?”
“Um, yes.” Jack moves closer to see his diagram for a battery. “Is the energized rock I was telling you about.”
“I have never known of metal with these properties.”
“It doesn’t happen naturally. It’s called lithium, but you gotta combine it with other minerals. If you like that-” Jack steps over the old paper, moves books around, and he finds a book about alchemy. “This book really goes into detail.”
“You seem quite knowledgeable.” It was hard to see under the sunburnt skin, but Jack blushed at the compliment.
“Thank you. I experiment with old knowledge, and one day I’ll write a book about my own discoveries and inventions.” Jack wasn’t sure why he was sharing his deepest goals with the naga.
“I still need to catch up with all new advancements, I’m sure it will be quite a read.” Chase picks the book from Jack and opens it in a previously marked page.
Jack smiles to himself, it has been a while since someone said something that was encouraging towards his dream. Instead of, 'no one leaves the desert.’
Suddenly Jack felt much more inclined to be kind to his guest.
“Well, are you ready for that second drink of water.”
“Yes!” Chase couldn’t hide the eagerness in his voice.
This time Jack serves the water in a cup and a bowl, since he only owns a single cup.
They finish their respective containers in one swing, and Jack pours a second one.
“I'm gonna need to go get some water.”
“Where do you get water?”
“There is well.”
Both men took their drinks, and Jack poured the third one.
“It’s far?”
“Not terribly, a day to get there a day to get back. But the real problem is that’s ridiculously pricey.”
“Water is rare here. Any other water sources, less pricey?”
They take a break in their conversation to drink their final water ration.
“The well is actually pretty full, it should be the fullest right now since we just got this huge rainstorm. The problem is the owner of the well. He rises and lowers the price as he pleases.” Jack moves to a drawer and pulls a small pouch with nuts and dried pieces of mouse meat. Chase can’t help to stare hungrily as Jack separates their portions. “There is also the Oasis, cheaper, nicer and with pools of water-”
“Pools?!” Chase felt giddy at the idea of dipping his whole body in water. The correct treatment for a king!
“Pools, like pools of cold crystal water!” Jack smiles at the memories. “But it’s over a week of travel with skin-ripping sandstorms.” Both nod in agreement that the trip would be too much for right now. Jack noticed how fast the naga seemed to be adapting to this life.
“When are you going to the well?”
“I don’t want to go, plus I lost my horse,” Jack remembers the storm he got caught on. “I’m not getting that horse back. And I’m not going on that trip by foot.”
“I assumed we would go together,” Chase says, and Jack’s eyes fill with hope and adoration he hasn’t felt in a long time.
“I don’t have to buy a new horse. Your highness, that’s so kind of you!”
“I’m not a horse.” Chase first clarifies, “I need to drink water too, but I have no money. I’m not sure what money looks like anymore.”
“We do a lot of trading here, but we do use money. Wait, I think you are gonna find this funny.” Jack goes to a corner of the house, turns to Chase, and points his tail covering aboard. He moves his tail, Jack kneels, opens the floorboard and pulls another pouch. Metal against metal clicks loudly inside the pouch.
Chase picks a piece of meat from his plate, enjoying a supplement he hasn’t had in a long time. Jack pulls out some coins and looks for one to give to Chase.
It looks like a simple gold coin until Chase notices the profile on the side of the coin. It was faded, but he saw enough to recognize it. Those were his kingdom's currency, faded out of history. He didn’t find it funny at all.
Chase returns the coin without commenting on it.
“Who is the owner of the well? And what are you planning to give them?” Jack puts the pouch away, feeling guilty for souring their previously lighter mood.
“An ugly tlincalli bastard, Vlad, and he fucking loves it here. And we have an agreement. I translate books for him, and draw maps for him to sell.” Jack takes a few nuts and stuffs his mouth. He noticed the naga not showing any sign of discomfort with the mediocre meal and living conditions. “Last year, he gave me seven books to translate with an order of twenty constellation maps. And at the last minute, he decided to no longer accept two of the books I translated cause he didn’t like them as much as he thought! Fucking idiot, I hope he cuts his dick while jerking off!”
The last part made Chase choke, but Jack didn’t care to notice.
“He sounds utterly despicable.”
“He is! He is always trying to get ‘favor’ for a few cups of water. A few cups of water, at least throw there a full canteen. Bitch thinks I’m cheap.” Jack eats some more and complains a lot more. It was odd, he didn’t notice how much he missed talking to people.
Chase, on the other hand, enjoys listening to Jack, he learns far more by piecing together all the clues than from those books.
“Well, I’ll go with you. If you were to need some help, don’t hesitate to request my help.”
“Aw, sweet. But he mostly talks. I can handle him.”
Chase nods and drops the conversation.
After cleaning the space where they eat, Jack takes out a larger bowl and fills it halfway with water. He lets Chase know that it’s for washings and offers him a rag to dip in the water and clean himself.
The pair began the process.
Chase enjoys tremendously being able to clean himself. It was a small improvement in his situation. The water felt cold and soothing over their sunburnt skin. Chase begins washing his face while Jack strips down. The light brown, and yellow-stained off-white clothes piles between them. Jack hisses at the discovery that he is just as sunburnt under his clothes as above. All his skin was a painful hue of pink.
Chase was surprised by the lack of modesty and cordially avoided staring.
Jack notices and chuckles.
“It used to bother me too.” He confesses, remembering when he first got to the desert. “But water is too scarce, and you gotta take your best shower fast, or others will use the water.”
“You seem used to sharing a … shower.” Chase tries to get rid of the thick layer of fine sand that is glued to his skin.
“When I first got here, I had to use others’ resources. They called it ‘Baby II,’ two years in which people help you get your supplies, they go by fast. I learned to not be shy quickly.” Jack still blushes while washing his private zones and does not return the rag to the water, since Chase is still using it. He suddenly felt embarrassed and wondered how a king's shower looked.
“People seem much more welcoming than I expected for a mock city made out of bandits.” Frustrated with completely dirtying his rag with the sand dust, Chase leans down to wash his hair.
“We gotta stick together!” Jack smiles and stops Chase from touching the water. “But every favor made is a favor owed,” Jack says and waits to see Chase’s reaction. “Your highness.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything for free.” Chase straightens himself, making sure to show how much bigger he is than his elf savior. But Jack didn’t coward at that: he didn't want to appear weak in the presence of a king.
“Good.” Jack picks up the bowl and moves it to the floor. “I use the water to wash my clothes,” Jack explains, feeling a bit guilty, he remembers the first time he understood that he couldn’t wash his hair like he used to. The feeling should be far worse for the naga, who looks like he encountered a dust storm.
“Very resourceful,” Chase adds to show that he isn’t mad.
“I gotta be!” Jack continues the conversation while putting on a new off-white tunic and rolling the long sleeves up. “This is a very unforgiving land.” Jack kneels to wash his clothes.
“I see.” Chase looks at the pink skin screaming in vibrant shades of red. “Harsh place to form a city.”
“No one looks for anyone here, great if you are hiding.” Jack hummed. “Harsh place for a kingdom.”
“It was meant for creatures tailored to this life.”
“More nagas?” Jack is surprised, he didn’t know much about the history of the desert. But then again, no one did.
“No, but that doesn't matter. Nagas are rare, I’m surprised you recognized me for what I am”
Jack met one naga before, it wasn’t a nice experience. He does his best to pretend it didn't happen.
“I read about them in a book, and once I saw you standing, I knew that you were not a lamia.”
“So no one else would know.” Chase states.
“Of course, your highness. Most people will think you are a big. massive really, lamia.” That was the end of their conversation.
Jack finished washing in silence and then picked some shoes to put on. He moves outside and puts his clothes to dry on the roof, which will cool the house down, and returns inside for a bag, a hat, a few items to trade, his pouch with coins, and an empty bottle.
“I’m going to the market. If someone gets on the roof, scare them off.” Jack instructed the naga, who was curled on himself, reading the book Jack recommended. “We are leaving tomorrow to get some water, after that, you can have a whole bowl for yourself. A shower suit for royalty, your highness.”
It still had the desired effect.
“I look forward to it.” The naga gives him an amused smile.
Jack steps out, fixes his hat, and walks to the market.
The absurdity of his situation was still up in the air.
A bit of wind picks up, blowing humid heat inside Jack’s clothes.
The wind was a rare occurrence in the desert, and Jack picked up his pace. The closer Jack gets the noisier it is. Jack welcomes the noise; the desert is quite like a graveyard, while the market is loud like a riot.
“Jack!” A vendor calls him in surprise, and Jack makes it his first stop. “Kid, you are alive. Guppy has been going around, saying that you are dead. She got bids on your watch.”
“Boo, bitch was lying for attention.” Jack looks at the dried food and picks a few things. Would the naga like it? Jack hated the food in his first month in the desert. But hunger is an excellent seasoning that makes dirty water taste like ambrosia and rat stew like the heavens themselves. “Also, I thought she was dead. Didn’t she go mad, start digging that hole in the ground, and get stuck somewhere?”
“The rain flush her out.” The vendor laughs.
“Lucky bastard. Where is she?”
“Crying at the tavern. The idiot thought she could make a well closer to us by digging a big hole.”
“But the sand gave in once it got wet.”
“The hole collapsed the very same day it rained. We could have all told her if she asked.”
“I might be unlucky, Sire, but at least I’m not stupid.” Jack pulls a few coins, and Sire wraps his food.
“Then what happened to you, Jack, my dear boy? You have been gone for 4 days, one more day and they would have ransacked your house.”
“I got stuck in the rainstorm during a job and then got stuck in the desert.”
“I thought your face looked worse than usual. But why take a job right before the rainstorm?”
“Good pay. No, it wasn’t worth it. And I’m still not as stupid as Guppy.” Jack takes his food and walks away, screaming his last statement before Sire can rebuttal him.
The next stop was jam, it wasn’t right, but it was the closest to not dried food, so it was always in high demand. They were also selling fresh figs and plums. Jack sneaks a few sniffs of the fruits, but he knows better than to buy it. He left with his mouth-water just thinking about the juicy sweet cold plum or the heavy jars of fig jam.
Jack exchanged some of the ‘leather’ the naga shed for an extra aloe vera balm. Lara did mention that the leather looks strange, but it will do just fine. She will let Jack know if she is interested in doing the deal again.
Jack exchanged some of his older books for a blacksmith’s work, he made metal shapes for Jack’s inventions.
“Hey, Pretty?” Jack loves the name of the man, obviously fake but cute nonetheless. The heavily tattooed and scared centaur hums but doesn’t turn from his new book. “Do you have anything about magical creatures in your collection?”
“No, really, or maybe. Snips from stories, what are you looking for?”
“Something about nagas.”
“Nagas? I haven’t seen one. I don’t know of anyone who has seen one. I thought they all died in the Valley war.”
“Mm, I heard Guppy talking about them, though she was pretty drunk.”
“Don’t listen to anything that woman says. The poor soul is dumb as a rock, but she means well.” He smiles at his play in words, “But don’t worry about nagas, they are all gone or hiding under a rock.”
“Sure,” Jack says and looks at the tiny metal gears before thanking the blacksmith one last time.
“Hey, Jack.” He calls and Jack returns. “I never told you when you first asked me, you were still new, and I didn’t trust you. But the mountains you see as you go inside the desert, they used to hold a very powerful naga.”
“What happened?” When Jack just got to the desert, he wanted to reach the legendary palace because of the treasures it might hold. Of course, everyone said that it was a baseless legend from a single mountain in the middle of the desert. The plan was to grab as many jewels as he could and jump to better lands. But he didn't. The elf wondered, what were the naga's plans?
“Same old, same old. His partner killed him and stole his riches. But before dying, he cursed all his possessions, so nothing of his would leave too far from his palace. It’s said that that's why once you pick a jewel from here, you are bound to the Calidi-Issimo desert.”
“Spooky.” Jack tries playfully, but it becomes a bit more sincere. He could ask the king himself, Jack supposed.
“Lighten up, kid. It’s just a tale. If you think that you saw the naga king in the desert, you might just have been delirious.” The centaur puts his hand on Jack's shoulder and gives him a good shake. “Rest and come back later.”
“Word sure travels fast.” Jack laughs.
“There isn’t much to do.”
Jack walks around a bit after. The market is its friendliest after rain.
When it rains, everyone comes naked to shower under the dark sky, all clothes are brought out to wash, and all sorts of containers are filled with water. Sadly Jack missed the best rain in the last century or so, and no one here will trade or sell their water. That's the only thing you won’t find in the market.
Jack kills enough time before going to his last stop, No-name. She made the mistake of saying ‘No-name’ when first asked, and the town will call you whatever you said your name was. No-name, like many who first found themselves in a trash city, believed this was a temporary stop. Now she owns a stand in the center of the market, the area with the most shade. No-name was, unlike Jack, a very powerful forest elf. She extracts her own magic and bottles it up for a price.
She was a bit full of herself like most elves are, but she wasn’t mean. No-name had offered her friendship multiple times, but Jack can’t help but resent her.
No-name sits under the shade reading a book Jack traded her last month, which means she doesn't need a new one yet.
“Jack!” She signals him to come closer.
“No-name, how was the rain?”
“Just wonderful!” She smiles widely, and the freckles over her dark skin become more evident. “I thought you were dead.”
“Got stuck in the storm and then strangled in the desert.”
“Oh, I heard it!” She says, after all, Jack has been in the market for approximately two hours, that’s plenty of time for all market-goers to know.
“Also, I used all of my magic.” Jack pulls out his glass bottle.
“So fast, but when death is near…”
“No-name, do you think you can get me some more.”
“Sure, the rain has revitalized me!” She flexes her arms to showcase her biceps. Jack heard that when No-name first came to the city, she was a skinny little thing, not the muscle-enthusiastic. Jack cannot imagine. He wonders like he hasn't in decades, what was she hoping to find in the desert of all places?
“You think I can buy some more than my usual quota?”
“How much?”
“How much do you have?”
“Um?” No-name looks at her dear friend. “A good amount I could do enough for sixteen spells or more, but that’s a lot.” Most clients just buy two or three at a time.
“Yes. I’m thinking of taking a trip soon.”
“Are you gonna get out of here?” She jokes. Many try every so often, but no one leaves. Jack tries every few years.
“No,” Best to not tell anyone yet, “ I’m working on a new invention, and I think I'm gonna need a lot more magic than what I have.”
“Woah! I can’t wait to see it! I always thought that your inventions would work if you just used magic. You really gotta start collecting the moon’s magic when she is here.” The night only came once a week.
“Yeah.” Jack tries to ignore the sting her words leave, she means well. “That's why I'm gonna need more than my usual.”
“How much?” No-name holds a stick that she uses to concentrate her magic and uncaps Jack’s bottle.
“Ten.” Jack says, “Three to replenish my usual ones, two cause I need to go to the well to collect water since I missed the rain,” No-name doesn’t react at all to that sentence, she will not share her water. “And five to enhance my invention,” Jack explains to avoid suspicion.
“Five, a good number. Let me know if you wanna do some chanting or a ritual. It has been a while since I shared a ritual with another elf.” She says while she puts the end of her stick on the mouth of the bottle, a yellow light flows in until the bottle is full. “You know where I live.”
“Thanks, No-name, I’ll let you know,” Jack says and gives her most of his coins.
He will never do a ritual with her or any other elf.
Jack returns to his little home, feeling more shitty than usual.
He never asked anyone what brought them to the desert. If they are here, then it's something they don't want to talk about. Also, there is a rigorous rule in this town, if you ask someone’s reasons to be here, you must be ready to share yours. Jack isn’t ready to share.
He walks a bit faster, holding his supplies, and wonders for how long someone like a king will stay in this sad, cursed town.
Jack enters his home to see that Chase has permitted himself to reorganize the house. However, it was hard to know the difference since Chase’s body occupies most of the space.
“I’m back.” Jack doesn’t bother to mention the changes. He drops his groceries on the table and pulls two jars of aloe vera balm out. Jack moves to the only mirror in the house, small and broken but useful, and puts a generous scoop balm over his face. It is worth everything Jack owns, it immediately relaxes his muscles and hydrates his skin. Jack covers his face, neck, and a bit of his scalp and cleans the rest of the balm on his back and shoulders.
“What is that?” Chase asks.
“Balm.” Jack throws the other jar.
Chase copies Jack and pours the balm over his neglected skin. The relief was immediate.
“This is what I needed.” Chase lets out a long sigh.
“My skin is pretty delicate, and I need lots of aloe vera balm.” Jack turns to look for a space to sit, but the naga has occupied most of the room, so he stands. He wonders if the naga used something similar. “It’s expensive.”
“It feels nice.” The other closes his eyes but he could feel the tension rising from Jack. “Something to say.”
“Nothing in here is forgiving. This land is a fucking tyrant over your life; it demands constant work just to earn your right to live here. Still, you get nothing but existence," The elf wasn't sure why he said that at all. "What I mean to say is that nothing here is free. I freed you, and you saved me.”
“Are you saying that we are even?” Chase thought Jack would try to get something out of him.
“Not quite, I shared my home, resources, and even my precious balm with you.”
“In return, I’ll take you to the well, we agreed on this.” There it was.
“Yes, but then we will share resources once again.” Jack drags out the sentence like he is about to make a proposition.
“What do you want, Jack?” The king didn’t have the patience to draw an overly complicated conversation, he was tired.
Jack stood there uncomfortable. He should know, he had been thinking about it all morning yet he couldn't say it.
He just stood there in silence.
The king wasn’t surprised, he was but a young elf in the wrong place, but he felt disappointed. Jack was smart, resourceful, and daring. Yet, the elf struggled to answer the most primal of questions, what a waste.
“I’ll tell you what I want.” Chase produced a delicate knife, the same one from the palace, it had appeared on the table at Jack's home. While Chase didn't sense magic, it had followed them. It hunts him. “I want someone to suffer. I want to find every book that holds the witch’s name and burn it. I want to track her descendants and drain them of her blood, of her magic until they are but a shell left to rot in the sun as she did to me. I want to tear to pieces everything she loved. I want Wuya, The Heart of Stone, The Heylin Witch, the one who betrayed me, robbed me, but didn't have the decency to kill me like a warrior. I want to travel to her grave called upon her ghostly self so she can see the destruction of her name and never rest again.” The naga breathes out his anger and ignores the tears that sting his eyes. “I want to see her face one last time and laugh.”
Jack saw himself into those golden eyes and felt a chill.
The elf yearns for that determination and power.
“I want to leave this place and slap Mother Ursula in the face.” Jack's much smaller quest burns his mouth and frees his heart. “I want to be an inventor. I want to be famous and powerful.”
The naga hums examine Jack with a curious eye.
“Then, we both want to leave.”
Leaving the desert felt like a huge feat. Even though Jack has been thinking and preparing all morning, he still wonders if he will go.
Both men carefully evaluate their current alliance and how to use the other to their advantage.