The heat would have been miserable if she didn’t use a cooling stone. They were expensive but they absorbed a lot of the heat in the air allowing her to feel cool even in the desert. She had made sure to have plenty of water and more importantly meat so her animal wouldn’t get aggressive with her though she made sure it had a fully before she started the journey so it shouldn’t need to eat for a long time.
Most bandits and monsters avoided this land because of how hostile it was to live so traveling alone could sometimes be safer than going with a wagon if you were outfitted properly which most who entered the Valley of Fire weren’t. Many foolish souls came this way in search of the treasures rumored to be hidden in the valley which Seras dismissed as no one had returned yet with a hint of treasure from this desert.
Cliffs lined the valley leaving easy escape all but impossible to reach the oasis on top to all but the most skilled climbers. Seras considered herself quite talented at scaling places but she had little interest in going to the top if she didn’t have to because of the many loose rocks along the way. A large shadow crossed her sight and she realized there was a gigantic bird soaring over the valley.
It was a roc, a bird with a legendary appetite and more importantly, their eggs could bring in a fortune. They were partial to horses and cattle but a giant lizard would do if they were hungry enough. She smiled as the creature broke its circling and continued hunting the valley. There was a lot of risk going after the nest of a roc which might be empty to start with but there was also a lot of rewards if she got lucky.
King Emeril didn’t give her any deadline for his task so she could take some personal time for a side trip but rocs lived high up so she would have to climb the cliffs if she wanted to see if there was a chance for a fortune. It landed on the side with the oasis so at least she would have access to water but the creature wasn’t likely to want any eggs stolen from it. She hadn’t brought a wagon with her to transport the eggs which would probably weigh at least sixty pounds apiece but each would be worth more than their weight in gold to alchemists, wizards, and noblemen with more money than sense.
It was probably better to just stick to her journey but it wouldn’t hurt or delay her to move along the cliffs where the roc had landed. If she spotted an easy climb maybe she would go up and have a look around and see what was up there and if there was any danger she could just head out.
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