Traveling long distances in the Barrens required a lot more than what I thought at first.
We would usually walk three to five days between one oasis and the next and then make a stop at that oasis for a couple of months.
Obviously, we had to restock the supply for the next leg of the walk, but it was more than that.
The tribe had their share of adults, old people, and sick people who couldn't be made to keep going on and on like healthy adults would. And the mental toll of the dangers of the wilds was something that could shake even adults.
Also, the tribe also had duties to attend to. Most oases only survived because of the tending the people keep doing there.
Thinning the taller palms so they wouldn't overshadow the medium-sized ones, which are most of the fruit-bearing ones. Digging wells to bring more water to the surface, planting seedlings, harvesting the grains planted by the last visitors, and planting new grains for the next ones.
And that's without counting the ceremonies for the spirits of the oasis and other religious rituals.
So, that's why it took ages to reach this place.
:::
Along the way, I've learned a lot about the beastkin way of life and also got lots of useful everyday-life abilities.
Those are not skills listed on the System, but are useful nonetheless, like sewing and making small crafts from branches, twigs, and vines.
The skills on the System are almost all tied to combat. There's only one non-combat skill, and it's cooking. Mostly for the use of adventurers inside dungeons, as it mostly deals with using monster food.
I also took the time to train every morning and evening. I trained in swordplay and spear combat with Yaci and the others and then practiced magic alone.
The knowledge of the old language is already on my mind, but I'm the one who has to create the spells myself from that language.
The tribe has some spellbooks, which they lent to me for study, which were useful for learning more intricate syntax for arias.
Another thing I did was to pick up some new skills in the System. To understand better what exactly each one of them did, I never picked more than one per day and always did a lot of QA testing with them.
For QA testing, I mean testing every thinkable and unthinkable way of using them and then comparing the results.
Which meant I was quickly beating a whole patrol squad all by myself, without using magic.
One thing I noticed is that the sword- and spear-related skills are so powerful that one would get reliant on them to the point of forgetting to learn how to actually wield them.
I mean, getting those skills doesn't mean that I now know how to wield them properly. It only means that now I can activate the skill and let it do the work for me.
A true swordmaster who also happens to know how the skills work could easily predict my movements and counter them in advance, because the skill movements were set in stone.
So I decided that I would cease to use them during my training and mock combats so I could learn the real thing.
:::
Eight months have passed, and we finally met the wolf tribe.
They explained to me that in normal times, they would meet other tribes more often while traveling, but we switched from the normal seasonal routes to a weird one that went straight west.
The wolf tribe had also wandered off their usual route, just to meet us here.
The place we met is a bit colder than the heart of the barrens, where we were before. Further southwest we can see a forest. To our east and north, there's the Barren Wilds. And directly to our west, the huge wall of the Dragon Mountains.
Those mountains are overwhelming. Lately, the sun has been setting earlier and earlier because of the mountains, creating an eerie dusk-like late afternoon that lasts a couple of hours.
I half-understand the tribe coming all the way to bring me here. But I honestly don't understand why the wolf tribe was mobilized as well.
In any case, today we'll throw a party with both tribes. And I'm told that I'll be a guest of honor in it.
Oh boy... How I love to be the guest of honor at parties (ironic).
:::
At least this time I don't need to wear a ceremonial dress, so I don't feel that I'm standing out.
There are two lines of chairs facing each other. The central chair is the bigger one in both lines and is being occupied by the respective head elders of both tribes.
I'm at the right side of Yara, relieved that I'm not in the bigger chair like the other day. On my other side is Yaci, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
The head elder of the other tribe is much younger than our own head elder. She's a wolf woman that's probably around her thirties, with long silver hair and cute wolf ears. Her tail wasn't visible from my point of view, which only got me more curious.
Everyone on their side would cast glances at me every now and then. I guess they were trying to not make me uncomfortable, but the curiosity was getting the better of them.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Aurea. I'm Kwarah, the head elder of the wolf tribe."
"I'm pleased to meet you."
I was a bit nervous with all that. Why am I in this spot anyway?
I'm just a little girl; let me stay in my tent!
I know, I know... I'm not a little girl inside, but still... I don't want the spotlight!
"You see, of all the tribes of beastkin, we are the ones who usually dwell further west on our roamings and often interact with the dragonkin of the mountains."
I listen to her talk attentively. Maybe she will explain the reason why they were called to help us in this.
"The Loa spoke to us. I'm told you are going to delve into Her old lair, hm."
Wait, what?
I heard nothing about delving anywhere.
"The Loa only told me to come west and that I would find a power that I need. They didn't tell me anything else about it."
"Is that true? Then, let me explain..."