the oasis

Signed-off-by: Xe Iaso <me@christine.website>

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+---
+title: The Oasis
+date: 2022-06-03
+series: malto
+tags:
+ - furry
+---
+
+Tosen did a final check of his backpack. It was a very hot day in Tashei, but
+the river radiated an aura of cool air that protected everyone from the heat of
+the harsh sun. He had his backup cloak, a hydroflask and some fish jerkey, not
+to mention the package for the client. *Not exactly the best equipment but this
+will work. Riltash is a half day away at worst,* Tosen thought to himself. He
+squatted down and fit his arms into the pack's straps. The pack easily weighed a
+quarter of what he did, but as he regained his catlike balance he secured the
+waistband and got ready to head out.
+
+The oracle predicted that there would be a sandstorm late in the evening, but it
+wasn't even noon yet. He pulled out his compass, let it settle and then set out
+to the southeast.
+
+Walking in the desert always has its own unique rhythm to it. With the
+unrelenting heat of the sun pounding down on the sand, the ground itself can
+feel like a million angry daggers with every step. Tosen thought ahead of this
+issue. He got himself a pair of sandshoes from the fancy magic item store. The
+only downside was that his main connection to the earth was significantly
+weakened. Chee paws are some of the most finely tuned sensory organs on Malto
+(second only to Snep paws), and they were his main warning about sandstorms.
+*The oracle isn't wrong most of the time. I'm fine, I'm fine. I can't feel the
+desert but I'm fine.*
+
+He kept walking past all different kinds of cacti. His favorite ones were the
+ones that were made up of a bunch of spiky ovals built on top of eachother. He'd
+never want to get stung by one and risk the wrath of the serrated needles, but
+he'd always thought that they had such a unique look. *If I had a house of my
+own, I'd grow one of them.*
+
+As he continued walking he started to focus on the patterns of walking. Every
+step was taken one after the other. With every step, his foot slid to the side
+ever so slightly. The sand wrapped around his shoes and warmed his feet. The
+worst part of the sandshoes was when sand trickled into the back of them. This
+required him to stop every so often to purge the sand out of his shoes, because
+otherwise it would hurt a lot.
+
+This continued for what felt like hours. He checked his compass every so often
+and made sure he was on the right path. It started to move a bit weird compared
+to normal. It was taking longer to find north. Normally this would be concerning
+to him, but the desert had entranced him. Left, right, left, right, left, right.
+Each step bringing him closer to his destination.
+
+Then the sky changed color. The brilliant blue started to get stained with a
+light brown that worked its way across what Tosen could see. Tosen instantly
+noticed this change and pulled over his face veil. The sandstorm had started
+early. The oracle was wrong.
+
+Tosen looked around for some kind of shelter but all he could see was the
+remains of a broken wagon that looked like its better days had seen better days.
+It was barely enough protection. With his spare robe to patch over the biggest
+holes just enough to ride out the storm. He took the leap and hunkered down.
+*It's only a level 2 storm. It'll be over in an hour. I'll make it to Riltash
+today. Everything will work out.*
+
+As he sat down he reached for his compass and couldn't find it. He reached into
+the pocket that his compass normally lives in and felt it conspicuously empty.
+He looked up towards the path he walked in on and saw a golden glint in the
+sand. It was so close. If he could get to it, he'd know where to go. He'd find
+his way to Riltash.
+
+But the sandstorm started to kick up. The sky started fading towards darker and
+darker shades of brown and he could feel the sand beat against his makeshift
+shelter. The hot sand was whipped up and he could hear it pitter and patter the
+wooden and cloth walls.
+
+After an hour, the sandstorm started showing signs of slowing down. *This is
+nothing close to a level 2*, Tosen thought to himself. His spare robe was
+totally ruined, but he survived. As things died down, he remembered his compass
+and tore down enough of his shelter to be able to find it. It wasn't where it
+was before. *Okay, it's made of gold, it can't have gone that far*. He grabbed
+his pack, almost fell over from the sudden weight and started to scan around him
+in 360 degrees. He saw the familiar glint of its knob and walked over to its
+resting site. The looking glass was cracked. Rotating it did nothing. The
+compass was broken.
+
+He was lost.
+
+It took every ounce of strength Tosen had to avoid shouting out in anger. He
+needed to conserve the water. Miau was huge. He needs to extend his supplies to
+last as long as possible.
+
+He couldn't resist the urge. He shouted out in anger for an instant before
+realizing what he did and covering his mouth.
+
+It took a while for Tosen to regain his senses. The shock of the event wasn't
+sitting well with him. His mother's compass was destroyed. His rendezvous time
+with the client was surely shot. At least it wasn't the solar apex anymore.
+*Okay, I can deal with this. I should stay put until sunset. The sun sets to the
+east. I can go diagonally into the sunset to get to Riltash*.
+
+He more confidently went back to his makeshift shelter. It was in worse
+condition after the storm, but at least it would give him shade. The sun was on
+its way down, but it was still a deadly laser that he needed to worry about.
+*It's just me and you, buddy.*
+
+Some time passed and the sun very visibly was in the eastern portion of the sky.
+Tosen grabbed for his hydroflask and took a sip. *It was still cold. At least
+that oracle was good for SOMETHING.* He stood up and grabbed his pack. He left a
+bit of red cloth as a flag on the southeast side of his makeshift shelter to
+tell anyone looking for him where he went.
+
+Then it was back to the rhythms of the desert. The desert felt confusing without
+the comforting pulse of nature under his paws. But, he continued taking steps
+and continued walking forwards.
+
+Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Things felt more deliberate this time.
+There was a frustration to his walking. He was so frustrated at the whole
+situation. As he walked, he felt his emotions fuming over this whole debacle.
+
+He walked and walked. The sunset had started to peek out its head and show Tosen
+a display of fantastic colors as he continued to walk. *This isn't right. I
+should have reached Riltash by now. It's only a few miles from Tashei.* He took
+another swig of his hydroflask and felt it notably lighter than it should be. He
+was low on water. This was especially dangerous out here. *This is going to be a
+long night, isn't it.*
+
+The sunset continued and the colors gradually started to fade to the black night
+sky. Starts started to peek out without the sun to hide them. Tosen scanned over
+the constellations and found the North Star. From there he worked out that he
+was going to the southeast like he thought he was. He looked around and found a
+few miserable bushes to use for firewood, but they were in a sea of thorns. He
+had talents in fire magick, but he didn't trust using it with so many dry thorns
+nearby. *You know what, what's the worst that can happen? I get warm? It's going
+to be so cold soon, I need to do something.*
+
+He held out his hand and mentally started to trace out the triangles like he
+learned from school. Each triangle stacked on top of each other and then built
+up into a viable casting circle glowing a brilliant orange in front of his hand.
+The area around him was illuminated from the magickal force, the thorns casting
+long evil shadows against cacti and other miserable little bushes.
+
+"Toor sha!"
+
+A weak puff of flame came out of his hand and tickled one of the thorny vines.
+There wasn't much of a response and it looked like the fire was going to go out
+so he cast a fireball in its place. The triangles shifted into squares and a
+baseball sized orb of energy started to form in his hand.
+
+"Toor shaltel!"
+
+The fireball formed around his fingers and he chucked it right into the pit of
+thorns. They were all set on fire simultaneously. After a brilliant blaze, the
+fire petered out into nothing as fast as it started. He looked over to see if
+the firewood was still there, his spell circle was still active as a flashlight
+but that kindling was nowhere to be seen. It was incinerated with everything
+else.
+
+He had to resist shouting out in anger again. *Okay, okay, calm down. I set off
+a massive signal fire. That should alert someone. I can't keep this spell circle
+up, I'll mind down and then I'll be in worse trouble.* He killed off the spell
+with a flick of the wrist and the darkness crept in. He was alone. I need to
+keep walking. So he started walking, not realizing that he changed direction
+after the incident with the thorns.
+
+Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Each step felt angry and defiant. Tosen
+started to feel legitimate anger at the desert. It was normally his home, he
+grew up in the sands of Miau, but tonight it was his enemy. He defiantly marched
+towards where he thought Riltash was, but got no closer.
+
+It was a very long night walking towards town. It was a desperate, angry march.
+He stopped a few times to take a bite of jerkey and swig it down with the bare
+minimum of water he could get away with. He thought it would be colder, but it
+turns out all that fur ended up going towards something.
+
+The night continued and was broken by the inklings of a sunrise. Tosen looked up
+in dismay. He had walked all night and he was nowhere closer to his destination.
+An overwhelming feeling of sadness blanketed him and he broke down to start
+crying.
+
+He looked forward and saw something different. He saw what looked like the faint
+outline of Riltash's signal statue. His sadness was instantly transmuted to a
+mixture of relief and joy and his second wind started to hit. He trudged forward
+towards that statue. Towards his salvation. Towards his client. Towards his
+paycheck. Towards the next step to move out to Zhalram with his friends. Towards
+his future.
+
+He kept up his pace and got closer. The statue looked wrong. Riltash has the
+visage of one of the water goddesses in the region. This looked different,
+almost like a Chee. He wasn't aware of any local Chee deities. He looked down
+and saw shimmers. It almost looked like a mirage, but then he remembered
+something. There were rumors of an oasis south of Riltash. Could this be that?
+Could there be water?
+
+His second wind became a third and then a fourth wind. He got close enough to
+take a better look at everything and it was that oasis!
+
+*Water!*
+
+His walk became a sprint and the sand started to be diluted with grass. As he
+walked on the grass he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of calm. It was as if
+all of the anger, all the vitriol, all the hatred towards the desert vanished in
+an instant. He paused for a moment but then continued on. The promise of fresh
+water was too great. He was so thirsty.
+
+He put his pack down, took off his shoes and tested the water with a paw. It was
+cool to the touch, about 10 degrees celsius. It was the real deal. It was water.
+He took off his robe, folded it haphazardly next to his pack and grabbed his
+hydroflask. He opened it and shoved it under so it could be filled. Once he was
+satisfied that it was full, he bent over and started to lap up the water
+greedily.
+
+A figure vaguely resembling the statue was watching from a nearby house. The
+figure chuckled to themselves. They decided they should intervene. They donned a
+white robe and walked out to the weary traveler.
+
+Tosen was enamoured by the water. His exhaustion had finally caught up to him.
+He looked back at his pack and saw a figure walking towards him from some kind
+of house. He instantly jumped to alertness, but didn't feel the fear that
+generally came with being startled like that. The figure felt familiar yet alien
+somehow.
+
+The figure looked at his pack and his visibly broken compass. They looked right
+into Tosen's eyes. "Rough day?"
+
+Tosen stammered a few times and eventually managed to come up with a reply:
+"Y...yeah. I was caught in that sandstorm yesterday. I hid from it in a broken
+wagon."
+
+The figure reached out a hand to him. "Come with me. You need a rest. I'll come
+back to take care of your things. I have a spare bed for travelers like you."
+
+Tosen didn't have enough energy to argue with the stranger's offer of
+hospitality and followed them into their house. They guided Tosen to the guest
+room and sat on one of the chairs. Tosen collapsed on the most comfortable bed
+he had ever felt in his life. All he could get out was a weak "thank....youuuu"
+before his lost sleep caught up and he was out like a light. The figure pulled a
+blanket over him and closed the shades to make the room nice and dark.
+
+Tosen was asleep until the late afternoon. The figure had moved his stuff
+inside, done his laundry, mended a hole in the pack and was lounging in a chair
+for a nap of their own.
+
+Tosen woke up, stretched out and yawned loudly. He looked up at the ceiling and
+realized how unfamiliar it was. That angel in his dream was real. Had he
+actually walked through the night? The figure knocked at the door. "Hey, come
+and have a meal. You must be starving." He was. Tosen stood up and opened the
+door. The figure was wearing a white robe and a golden necklace. They looked
+like the archetypal vision of Chee beauty. Tosen noted that he was unable to
+refer to that figure with any pronoun but "they". *That's weird...*
+
+The figure started to speak: "I am Shal'tash. I saw you hurting and I decided to
+intervene and help you. Come, I have some food almost ready." Shal'tash started
+to walk towards the kitchen and Tosen followed. He made his way to a rather
+ordinary looking wooden table and took a seat. His stuff was near the table and
+he was grateful for his host's gratuity.
+
+They were making pancakes. The batter was being poured into a metal pan in
+little groups. Tosen noticed that the stove seemed to be powered by its own
+magic circle, a non-organic magic emitter was being used to create the fire
+needed for cooking. It was a weak burner, but it was enough for Shal'tash to
+cook with.
+
+Tosen was befuddled. He had never seen such a thing in action. He got up and
+looked at it closely. Shal'tash looked back and smiled, "Never seen a stove
+burner before?"
+
+"Not like that no, it looks like it's casting a weak fire spell, but
+constantly."
+
+"This is a lot more efficient than the coal burning stoves you have. This lets
+you use the energy equivalent of a fireball to get a half hour of cooking heat,
+or an hour or two of torchlight. I'm surprised you didn't know about this."
+
+Tosen looked confused. "You mean you can use the square level spell to
+supercharge the triangle level spell? No, they never taught us this. But how is
+the burner even working?"
+
+Shal'tash laughed. "It's nothing special. I just rooted the circle under the pan
+instead of on my hand. Here, you try it." They flicked their wrist and banished
+the magic circle. "Now cast a fireball but focus on the pan instead of your
+hand, let it simmer a bit, and then kick off create fire."
+
+Tosen was confused but nodded and tried to comply. After a moment Shal'tash
+piped in: "no, don't think about where the pan is relative to your hand. Think
+about where the pan is relative to the pan. You're so close. I know you can do
+it."
+
+Tosen nodded and started over. The circle started to be inscribed below the pan
+and Shal'tash's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Toor sha!"
+
+The burner was lit. The fire was continuously burning and Tosen didn't feel the
+sting of a continuous cast. "Perfect. See how easy this is? Spend the mana on
+the fireball, then use it for the weaker spell. No need to waste any."
+
+Tosen was astounded. It normally took him ages to learn magical skills, but here
+he was on the second try with this person and their vague instruction and he did
+two things he thought was impossible. It was like magic was all new all over
+again. Can I use this to make a bunch of fireballs when casting a firestorm? How
+far does this go?
+
+"Be careful with this, you could really hurt someone if you do displacement
+foolishly. They must have stopped teaching it for a reason." Shal'tash finished
+the stack of pancakes and put the plate in the middle of the table. "Now let's
+eat!"
+
+They shared a meal. It was just what Tosen needed.
+
+The meal was finished. Shal'tash looked over to Tosen. "So where are you headed?
+I can point you in the right direction."
+
+"Riltash, I have a delivery that I'm incredibly late for by now."
+
+Shal'tash chuckled and pointed towards the statue. "The statue points towards
+Riltash. Just go straight north and you'll get there in 20 minutes."
+
+Tosen looked incredulous. "I was really that close?"
+
+"Yeah, though it looked like you needed to get lost. It can be good for you."
+
+He didn't understand what they meant by that, but he didn't think he needed to.
+
+Shal'tash walked with Tosen to the north side of the oasis. Tosen looked towards
+his saviour and was suddenly overcome with emotion. "Thank you so much. You
+saved me."
+
+"You are welcome. I saved you because I was in a situation worse than yours when
+I found this oasis. I don't want anyone to experience the pain that I have felt,
+so I saved you before it could get that bad."
+
+"What can I do to repay you?"
+
+"You don't need to do anything right now. Just save someone else when you can.
+If you want, come back here and give me a visit. It'd be fun to catch up,
+Tosen."
+
+"Thanks again! I'll be back!"
+
+Tosen walked off towards his payday. He looked back every so often and the oasis
+became more distant and then faded completely from sight into the rest of the
+sands. He was alone again, but not in spirit.
+
+He never noticed that they knew his name without him telling them his name.
+
+Shal'tash walked back towards their house and stood by their cactus. They
+watched as Tosen faded into the sands and then headed inside. Their job was
+complete.