Primeval Fire (Scarlet Odyssey, #3)

by C.T. Rwizi

They follow it into the semidesert, a thin strip of cracked paving cutting a line across endless flats of rusty sand and dry vegetation. They advance fairly rapidly along its length, but the sunlight in these parts hits with an intensity that soon becomes unbearable. Niko ends up hiding his face beneath his conical straw hat and covering himself with a light woolen cloak. Addi and the other rangers do the same. As the day wears on, Niko slowly begins to appreciate just how unprepared they were for this part of the journey and how they might have actually saved themselves by taking on the Faraswa caravan. Being used to grassy plains where streams and watering holes are never far away, none of them paused to think about how they’d cross long stretches of land where water would be scarce. How lucky then that the Faraswa brought barrels of water for their own animals and have more than enough to share with the quaggas. They also continue to share their generous provisions of food, which saves Niko and his team the hassle of having to hunt and cook for themselves.