Chapter 96. Map Readings

RONN

I turn the map around again, this time upside down. The blue lines seem to mock my efforts, remaining prickly, little puzzles. I still can’t place where a village might be, or the waterways, for a quick drink of water at least, or a hand in the right direction.

“Fuck you!” I toss it down the path with a snarl, and Sirgil gives me a look of disapproval.

“Right. You don’t give a hoot anyway.”

I take a look at the road behind us. Taking the main road might have been a bad idea, as it’s just one straight, unstopping stretch of hard sand and gridstones. Now and then, I’d see mirages in the distance, perhaps owing to the heat; at sometime past noon, the sun had taken a brutal turn for worse. A positive prelude to rain. I’d feared the possibility, but that was a long while ago. Now I spot the lining of dark clouds in the horizon, I’m definitely uneasy.

Something brushes past and sits next to me quietly. He growls once, swishing his tail against me.