The Witch and the Doll Swear

The solar boat sailed slowly through the sandy land on the banks of the Nile Klein River.

Before dawn, there was still a city that was rediscovered from the long burial through the efforts of people, but after the sun rose, there was only the vast yellow sand like a desert left here.

Letopolesta was reburied, and the dreadful sandstorm ceased.

But for many people, such an ending is not acceptable to them.

The immigrants who came to Letopolesta from all over Sinai may have heard a lot of explanations from the priests during their asylum, but when they really saw the city buried with their own eyes, they did not see the familiar streets again. No, the house I dug out with my own hands and moved in to live in was also buried deep under the yellow sand.

—Will the promises made to recruit immigrants be kept?

they questioned.

——We who left our homes, what shall we do next?

They covered their faces and wept.

——If I knew about this from the beginning, I wouldn’t have come.

they lament.

Some prayed, while others were angry and clashed with the soldiers.

What they have lost is not only the promised bright future, but also the property they brought here from their hometown is now buried under the yellow sand, which is much more than what they could take with them when they took refuge. They want to dig up their house again and take their share.

But Apohefa just let the soldiers who were covered in bruises and even the cloth on the armor was blood-stained to control them one by one, pointing to those who could no longer open their eyes in the wind and sand, and asked them:

——Are you going to set off another disaster?

"...Even a hyena with thick fur is covered in bruises after walking such a short distance. The sandstorm last night may have been the scariest since the third era...or even the second era."

The sand boat was docked by the river. When some priests saw the sand boat, they stopped their work and greeted the girls on the deck.

There were many victims last night.

The last few ships were blown off their masts even though they were connected by iron cables on the way to transport citizens to take refuge, and they were blown out of control to the upper reaches of Nile Clay. There is no news yet. People who sought refuge in the jungle across the river were also killed and injured by blown trees and capsized boats.

The reeds, sedges, dates, and willows by the river were powerless against the sand-laden wind that was death's breath.

The Temple of Geb did not participate in the excavation of Letopolesta, and there were no priests of the God of the Earth. Only the magician apprentices in the Temple of Isis tried their best to open up underground refuge spaces, but their numbers were limited and their magic power was limited. The panicked and chaotic crowd rushed in, and there were many casualties due to the stampede in the chaos.

Sorrow and crying filled the river bank, and Tina was even a little thankful that she didn't see the hellish scenery.

Priests and soldiers did their best to maintain order.

They asked the witch for help, and after thinking about it, Liliana gave them a batch of medicine and dry food, and boiled a large pot of hemostatic ointment for them.

"Are we leaving like this?"

"...what they need is adequate supplies—food, medicine, water, they need ships for the wounded, they need natron and salt, spices, and linen to bury the dead . . . none of which we can provide."

When Tina returned to the deck, Liliana was watching the blood-stained priest walk off the deck and return to the crowd.

To the girl's question, the witch just answered with her usual voice.

"... On the contrary, if we can rush to the next city as soon as possible, let people know what happened in Lietopolesta, and let them send aid as soon as possible, perhaps, these people can survive more... The premise is, Which city doesn't need aid by itself."

"That's true..."

Tina was silent.

After a few seconds, the girl nodded slightly.

There are still many, many things that they have to worry about.

The disposal of the remains of the victims, the organization and relocation of the survivors, the shortage of food and drinking water, I got a batch from Liliana, but even if it is diluted ten times, it is still not enough medicine...

Their sand boats can help transport some wounded, but they are only limited to minor injuries. In the field of healing and saving lives, magicians are no match for specialized doctors, not to mention that they have neither manpower nor complete medical facilities to guarantee Their safety during the transportation process, even if the "eternal ice coffin" is used to fake death magic, those who are seriously injured may not be able to survive until the thawing. ,

After deliberation, only a priest of Amon Ra and a few soldiers followed them to the next city, and took away about thirty people with broken hands and feet.

Their injuries were relatively minor and could easily be permanently disabled if not treated quickly, but not so severe that they might lose their own lives while being transported.

"Is everyone Miss Tina knows safe and sound? Alice saw you talking to that man."

"Oh, Mr. Bowham?"

The wounded were entering the deck of the "Light Seeker". Tina saw the man's back from the deck of the sand boat. This lucky man was the first to enter the underground shelter. It was so powerful that it could break trees, and the priests of the shelter decisively closed the entrance of the cave when they saw the chaos. They were the only few caves that did not have a stampede accident, and they were also the luckiest group of people.

When Tina asked about his future plans, he pressed his chest and shook his head lightly.

"I have earned enough gold coins in this city. Even if I go back, I can use this money to make my wife and children live a better life, although I think I should be able to earn more ..."

Having said that, he looked at the people lined up on the beach who could no longer open their eyes, and changed his words.

"No, may Amon Ra forgive my greed, I'm already lucky enough, I shouldn't ask for more."

Thinking of his expression at that time, Ting Na couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Yeah, he's already one of the luckiest, but what about the less fortunate?

On the other side of Nile Klein, which has been covered in the color of yellow sand, and was originally filled with greenery, there are still many corpses that have not been moved out from under the overwhelmed trees and boats.

"A tragedy..."

Ai sighed, and the girl noticed that some children who liked to go to the "Light Seeker" to find Tina for sweets disappeared, maybe they hadn't come here yet, or they couldn't cross the river anymore. She raised her head to look at Tina, but the girl had already turned around, followed behind the witch and the puppet, and walked towards the cockpit.

The wounded and their family members have all boarded the ship, they should set off, send these people to the city, and after doing what they can do for them as much as possible——

"Mom, Dad is injured, Sera, Sute, and Ramumfa are all gone, what are we going to do in the future?"

An immature voice curled up in her mother's arms with anxiety.

Tina stopped suddenly.

"Let's go home, child... Let's go back to grandpa and grandma, back to our home... Dad will heal his wounds, and we will live a life of duty as before. Although it is hard, we will definitely be happy ,us……"

The mother holding the child stroked her daughter's little head, repeating in that hoarse voice.

go home, go home.

"Miss Tina? What's the matter?"

"Hey, ah, Ai, no, it's nothing. I just thought that after we send them to the next city, Miss Liliana and Alice will start their next journey."

"Is that so..."

Ai raised her head, and from her wine-red pupils, Tingna saw that this girl was only traveling with the witch for the first time, and she didn't understand why she asked such a question. There was longing and shining light in her eyes.

"...No, nothing."

Tina shook her head and watched the mother who was holding her daughter walk up to the deck.

She couldn't help but walked up to the witch who had poured magic power into the rudder, causing the boat to turn slowly, and embraced the petite bodies of Liliana and Alice in her arms.

"...Miss Tina?"

"What's wrong?"

"No... nothing..."

"……Yeah."

"Um……"

The small body remained unmoved, and the beautiful little face was as expressionless as ever. Just like the howling of the desert storm last night, the corpses lined up on the yellow sand of the river beach, or the grief of the survivors, all of these are just one fragment after another in her journey.

After the disaster, the survivors will return to their homes, return to the past life, use time to heal grief, and use daily life to smooth out pain.

And they, after a short rest, will continue to the next journey.

Will the end be a mountain top that can touch the brilliant aurora?

There, will the truth be revealed?

Tina didn't know.

For the first time, she felt that Liliana and Alice might not know either.

"Miss Liliana, Alice... Ai, let's go."

"……Um."

The sand boat sailed, the brilliant aurora was lit up, the magic furnace started to operate, and the eagle on the bow of the boat spread its wings to the blue sky next to the yellow sand in the distance of the flowing river.

They will continue to travel.

The end of the journey is far away, so until then.

They will continue to travel.