Map Reading

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. 'Of course I'm sad, we're in the midd