Nanowrimo 2021 Day 5 - Word Count and Favorite Bit (Patreon)

Today I added 1359 words to Seek the Oasis, bringing the total to 10,478!

Her attention was pulled from the sky above at the sound of approaching strangers. Spotting a small caravan coming the opposite way, Aysel urged Sonnak up onto the grassy lip on the side of the road. She did not want to appear confrontational by getting in the way of the caravan, after all.

The wagon was pulled by a horse, larger and heavier looking than the spry running horses that some tribes used to carry their scouts. An older human man held the reins in the driver’s seat, a small girl in pigtails sitting beside him. Her large, green eyes widened at the sight of Aysel atop her naksa.

“Are you an elf?” the little girl asked, half shouting up at Aysel. The man shushed her, admonishing her for being rude. Aysel noticed that his eyes never left her as he spoke, a hint of fear in his eye.

“I am of the Sa’a,” Aysel called back to the little girl in the common tongue. The humans seemed surprised that she knew it. She wasn’t sure why. The common tongue was common for a reason.

“Granpa, the Sa’a are elves, right? Like the ones from across the sea?” the little girl asked, tugging on the man’s sleeve.

The man stopped his wagon, his look of fear turning into a cautious curiosity. “I ain’t seen a Sa’a outside the trading posts before. What’re you doin’ out here?”

Aysel was fairly certain ‘out here’ meant anywhere other than the desert. “I’m looking for something. A lake with a sunken temple.”

The man scratched his beard, squinting as he thought. “’Fraid I ain’t heard of nothin’ like that. Sorry, darlin’.”

Aysel was unsure what a ‘darlin’ was, but it did not seem to be an insult. “No matter.”

“There’s a river a few days down south. Maybe if you follow it, you’ll find that lake you’re lookin’ for.”

Aysel glanced down the road where the caravan had come from. She turned her gaze back to the old man and his granddaughter, smiling at them. “Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.”

The man seemed mildly flustered by the thanks. “Don’t think nothin’ of it.”

“Hey! What’s the hold up?” someone shouted from a few wagons down.

“Alright, alright! We’re goin’!” the old man shouted back. He gave Aysel a short nod before flicking his reins to get his horse going again.

The little girl leaned over the man’s lap to wave farewell at Aysel. “I hope you find what you’re lookin’ for, Miss Elf!”