They opened the holds of the Quagmire. A stale scent of fish overpowered them. Packed inside were the parts of an unassembled supply cart along with a hammer and nails. Josh and Darrell removed the pieces one by one and began hammering them together. The wheels slid onto the axles, which were tied onto the cart. Metal braces nailed into the wood for further support. Darrell took the lead, Josh carried pieces. Dew watched over them with Vestor clinging to his back as all four wheels were fitted properly and the handles sturdily fastened. He loaded every bit of water, all two-hundred and fifty remaining liters contained in three big skins next to the cart as it was being assembled.

Inside the cabin, wet clothes slapped against the floor. Nadia hid behind a big towel as she dried off, “I kind of needed a bath anyway.”

“Well, next time you decide to clean off, don’t risk getting crushed.”

Along with fresh undergarments, Nadia decided to wear long cargo shorts with sleeveless shirt and a light red windbreaker jacket of thin material.

“I’ll try to be less risky,” she sighed as she put on some socks and then sandals because her sneakers were soaked, “I can’t move right in these.”

Awlena blinked, “You’re growing hair on your legs. Let’s get that taken care of.”

“Ah, what? Oh that!? My legs became hairless after I changed. Maybe I’m changing back!”

Awlena pulled a straight razor and a small bottle of lotion from one of the drawers and held them up with a sly smile.

“Awlena, stay back. NO! I said no!”

The sound of feet could be heard thumping as Nadia yelled. 

Josh snickered, “Sounds like they are having a little too much fun in there.”

Dew rubbed his face, “No doubt my sister is being overly assertive. I wish she would learn from my example and stop being so annoyingly persistent.”

Dew continued. With the cart finished, he loaded the water with Joshes help. What remained of the food went in next, five pounds of dried legumes, five pounds of rice, ten pounds of dried corn, five pounds of raisins, two pounds of peanuts, a pound of dates, and a few wrapped loaves of hardened bread. The beef jerky, gone. Three tents of white burlap landed over the food, along with five cotton blankets, five feather pillows. The door to the cabin opened, and the smoothed lower legs glimmered slightly from the ointment. A bag of personal articles hung from her hand, and was promptly tossed into the cart.

“I’m going to put my bike in the ruins in case there is high tide. I don’t see how it’s going to be much help with so many of you.”

“You can still fly it, can’t you?”

Nadia pursed her lips before answering, “Yeah, but if my powers run low, I don’t want to abandon it. And I don’t want to get separated from everyone.”

Nadia hid her bike in the ruins. Josh brought a box with the fishing net. The remaining boat implements were stacked by Darrell in front of the bike. Vestor carried the herbs, salts, and spices for fish. Sun still poured down over the base of the stairway, so they set up a small fire even though there was no wood to be found anywhere. Instead, they burned the remains of the oars and the paddle handle to cook some lentil stew. Dew returned from the ship with robes of white, cotton cloaks with a big hood.

“I had these made for the trek in the desert. The sun at the heights of this continent is unforgiving and the nights are a near freezing chill.”

He passed one to every member of the party. They didn’t hesitate to wear them over their clothes. Vestor looked tearful.

“You don’t have one for me.”

“You’re not supposed to be here, so how was I to know?”

Nadia reached over and gave him a head pat, “You can use one of my spare shirts for a hood.”

Vestor smiled. They slurped down their soup together. The canyon remained peaceful, not so much as a wind.

“Pulling the cart up these stairs s going to be fun. And I can’t imagine the desert will be even ground,” Darrell said.

Having devoured her portion, Nadia stood up, “We’re all exhausted, so let’s rest until morning. And Darrell, I’m sorry for kicking you. You didn’t deserve it. I won’t-”

Darrell stood and put a hand on her shoulder, “It’s not fine. But, just this once, I’m calling it a mistake and giving it a pass. Don’t let it happen again.”

“It won’t happen again. It would be too awkward for me if you died before I got home.”

“Good enough.”

Dew entered one of the structures and came out with a ceramic pot full of ancient torches, “These are dry, not sure for how long they’ll burn, but we can use them for our camp. If they prove useful, perhaps we can take one or two along.”

The moon rose over the shadowy canyon, three quarters of it shone. Though it was still daylight, dusk approached. The air already chilled far beyond what a small dying fire could do to warm it. Torches lit the shallow interiors of two caves. Dew swept the floors so the sleeping mats could be rolled out. He found a counter on which to spread his maps and lit two torches nearby. Cool winds blew through the unblocked openings. Nadia passed Dew and Josh, who were already sleeping. In the second room to the back Dew stood over his maps. Torchlight flickered against his cheeks.

“What were you up to?” Nadia asked.

“I was determining the best course to follow,” Dew said.

He knelt over the counter as he flattened maps of the continent with his palm. Nadia stood by his side to peer at the maps. He pointed at a location in the interior of the continent before marking their position on the eastern coast. According to the scale of the map, it was only eighty-seven kilometers to their destination.

“This marks the location of the ancient temple of the Tramen Fohar, where they sacrificed Ambrosia, the fertility goddess that deemed most of their children be woman. The temple was rededicated to a holy ground for Lodos, the god of war and masculinity. He was the chief deity of the Sparlons, a barbaric tribe that fought constantly with the Tramen civilization. However; before the Tramen Fohar people died completely, they rededicated the temple to Ambrosia.”

"Looks like all we have to do is trek across this desert, only a little more than fifty miles.”

Dew’s finger traced a longer route, “I say we follow the path of the goblin nomads; they can supply us as well and they keep the paths straight. We should go north first, then west, and approach the temple from the north. It’s a safer route. The desert along the straightest path is cursed. I recommend we take this path instead.”

“That’s three hundred miles out of the way! I know what you’re thinking. I won’t have it. You want this quest to fail.”

“I know of this continent,” Dew narrowed his eyes, “You should trust my advice.”

Vestor peeked inside, he rubbed his eyes before making his presence known with a wave. He ran inside and climbed at the counter only to be ignored except for Dew making sure he didn’t touch the maps and Nadia giving him head pats. His head kept bouncing above the high stone counter as he tried to look at the maps.

"I have seven days to get back to Earth! That’s it, seven days, or I’m stuck like this for possibly forever. We can make it across the desert in three or four if we work hard, but there is no way we can get there before school starts if we travel three hundred miles more than we have to.”

“It’s too dangerous. The longer way is the shortest route. We’re taking the nomad paths.”

Nadia pounded the stone with her fist, “You want this to fail!? Or is it because you think I’m a nit-wit!?”

“Fine,” Dew sighed as he checked the compass, “The desert it is then. A word of warning, it’s known as the sleepless desert for good reason. Anyone who enters finds no rest until they leave. I hope you are prepared for this. What is your plan?”

“Then we’ll stay put tonight, move the cart to the end of the stairs in the morning, get extra sleep in the day tomorrow, and head into the desert at dusk. We’ll push nonstop until we’re across the desert, resting only during the hottest part of the day. We should be able to get across in three days without a problem.”

Dew folded his maps, “It’s your call, I’m going to get some sleep. If for any reason this decision puts any of us at risk of death we will turn around and regroup here. You'll simpy have to accept the extra month. Well, seems I’ll be needing as much sleep as I can get. You too fox child.”

Dew lifted Vestor and held him in his arm.

Nadia poked at Vestor, “You’re really short, are you sure you’re ten!”

“Our growth spurts come late.”