Alex was woken up by a noise in the distance. He had been half-asleep the whole time, so he did have some semblance of attention on the things around him, so he was surprised that something had managed to get so close to him without him noticing it until now.
He opened his eyes and looked in the direction where he heard the noise from and saw two men standing next to each other, one with a spear and another with a bow and arrow nocked in Alex’s direction.
They were darker-skinned men, with clothes that seemed to match their skin. Together, they barely stood out at all against the trees and the ground.
“Are you awake, stranger?” the man with the spear asked, his voice slightly thick. He had no facial hair of any kind, which made his voice feel out of place.
The other man also didn’t have any facial hair either, but he still looked slightly older.
“Greetings,” Alex said in their language. No one yet used the language he grew up with. “May I ask why you are pointing that arrow toward me, friend?”
“You’re a strange man in our woods. You can understand our caution. May I ask what tribe you’re from?” the man with the spear asked.
“I do not have a tribe, but I am coming from the sea and am heading toward the desert. My apologies if I intruded upon your side of the woods. If you can show me which way I can go to get back on my journey to the desert, I will do so.”
The man seemed to not trust Alex’s words, and he showed it clearly on his face. “What about your friends?” he asked.
“What friends?” Alex asked, confused.
The man looked around. “You should have come with other people, right? Where are they?”
“Oh, I’m afraid I am alone,” Alex said.
“Liar!” the man with the bow spoke suddenly. “Who dares roam the forest alone?”
Alex was surprised by their words. He hadn’t expected them to act this way for him just walking through the forest alone. As far as he could tell, there was nothing dangerous in the forest at all.
Had he just gotten lucky, or rather unlucky, and not met any?
“I am alone. As for why I travel alone, it is because I am strong. I do not need any aid on my journey,” Alex said. “Now, can I ask you to show me the way? If not, I would like you to leave me alone.”
“He’s clearly lying. There is no way—”
The man with the spear stopped his companion from continuing. “What business do you have with the desert folks?” he asked.
“I am trying to acquire some sunhearts,” Alex said. “How many more questions will you ask me before putting that bow down? At this point, you might as well shoot and be over with.”
The man sighed and tapped his companion to lower the bow.
As Alex landed below, the man’s eyes widened slightly.
“Ah! Please forgive me for the way I have acted. I did not recognize that you were one of the people from the desert,” the man quickly said.
Alex looked at the man, his eyes similarly wide. The man… had just spoken in his language.
“You can speak this language?” Alex asked, finally being able to speak his native tongue.
“Of course,” the man said. “I happen to be one of the traders for my tribe, so I must learn this language. Had we known you were someone from the desert, we would have never treated you like this.”
The man’s companion looked at him weirdly, not understanding a lick of what was being said.
Alex wondered why the man thought he was someone from the desert. “I am not someone from the desert,” he quickly told the man.
“But…” The man paused before his eyebrows relaxed as a look of understanding came upon his face. “Of course, you are not from the desert.” The man gave a knowing look.
He looked to his companion next and whispered something.
The other man seemed confused by what was being said but finally dropped all hostility toward him.
“I am Tulana, and this is Reval. We are from the Longcreek tribe. If you wish, you can come stay with us for a day. We should be heading to the desert ourselves tomorrow,” the man said.
Alex raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to. I can go on my own.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to go with people?” the man asked. “If you really wish, we won’t stop you.”
Alex thought for a moment and nodded. “I suppose I can do that.”
The man smiled. “Please, come with us.”
Alex went along with the two men, asking them a few questions.
The desert was now two days away from Alex. If he were to go directly, he could reach it in half a day. However, after reaching it, he didn’t know where to go.
After learning that they were going to trade with the desert folks in a day, Alex decided that might be the best approach. After all, he could meet with people from the desert and go along with them.
After just a short walk, he crossed a creek that seemed to be what the tribe was named after. Just after that, he saw a large expanse of open land with crops growing atop them. Beyond that was a gated community with wooden spikes and tall outposts.
Many people worked in the fields already, despite it still being very early in the morning.
The thing that caught Alex’s attention from this group was their tools. Some of these people had metal hoes and spades for their garden. They were few, but even that was many times more than what the Baylords had.
‘The chief did say he got the knife from trading with one of the tribes out here,’ he thought. ‘So maybe metal isn’t that rare in Hell after all.’
“We should head in,” Tulana said. “You should meet the chief.”