The Shapeshifter

Alex quickly moved towards the sword that stood on the side of the throne.

He wasn't able to notice it earlier and was only able to see it when it shone with red light as if it was beckoning him to take it.

Alex, of course, would be shameless and took it.

"This feels quite nice. It's not heavy and it's not light either. Just perfect for me. Though I don't know if I'll be able to use this in the future, as I already wield the power of magic. Now let's see what it looks inside."

He unsheathed the sword and placed the b.u.t.t of the hilt on top of his palm and the tip of the sword on the other. He inspected the sword intently.

It really looked normal. Aside from the red gem that was embedded on the b.u.t.t of the hilt, it didn't look anything special at all.

He sheathed the sword and held it with his hands below the cross guard.

'I really should get going. I don't want to die unknown to the world.' the rumbling of his stomach earlier really scared him. He was really hungry. It was still a wonder for him why he wasn't feeling thirsty.

He did a last round check on the whole throne room before deciding to find the exit of this palace.

When he reached the banner, he lifted it up to see what was behind it. What entered his eyes was a stairway that leads upwards.

'So that's why I wasn't able to find any stairs. It was hidden here!' His eyes lit up as he dashed towards the top.

The top of the stairway was blocked by an unknown object and the air from outside was rushing towards the gaps and entering the palace.

Alex pushed the 'door' open and got out of the tiny hole that leads towards the palace.

As soon as he climbed out, an intense amount of sand assaulted him.

'Sandstorm! Damn it! Why did I even go out?!' he cursed and tried to go back to the hole he had emerged.

'What the fu-? Where'd it go?' Just as he turned around, everything seemed as if it was a mirage. The hole was gone and so was the sandstorm.

Looking around, he found no trace of the sandstorm. Everything was as still as a rock.

He tried digging in the sand, but it was useless. Everytime he dug a handful of sand, it quickly came back, as if filling itself again.

"What the hell was that? And how would I know where I am? I don't even know which direction is which. I should probably stay here for a while."

He gazed at the sun and noticed that it was high up. He won't know what time it was and which direction he should take.

He could only wait for the sun to 'move'.

'Since the desert was to the west of Azta, I should aim for the east. Good thing I have this tattered cape or I would have sweat buckets already.'

The tattered maroon cape that he received was a defensive cloth against fire mages and it was also resistant to heat. So he would probably last for quite some time under the scorching heat of the sun.

After two hours of waiting, he could finally see the 'movement' of the sun. It was already slightly tilted and was easily distinguished.

Alex only thought of walking, he didn't dare to run around the desert, lest he would get exhausted quickly.

His eyes were wandering as he walked. Looking out for an oasis. It was okay for him to be hungry, but not thirsty.

Everything in sight were sand dunes. Sometimes he would see dead trees. Therefore he tried moving towards them hoping he would find water.

He moved ever so slowly that the sand has 'set foot' in his boots.

Everytime his feet touches the sand, it quickly sinks in and stops. The fine grains of sand were so soft, that they parted whenever he takes a step and then surrounds it. That's why he was moving slowly. He wasn't used to be in the sands.

Before dusk devours the whole sky, he was able to find an oasis. He only saw it atop a sand dune and it was quite a walk away from where he stood.

He slowly made his way towards the oasis.

By the time he arrived, the sun has already set and the chilly wind of the night swooshes at the lonely desert.

The oasis was pretty much bleak. There were not many plants or trees. He tried touching the water with his dagger to see if there were any problems with it. Then he scooped handful of water and tasted it.

The water was a bit sweet, unlike any other water he had drank before.

After filling his tummy with water, he walked towards a nearby tree and sat with his back leaning on the tree trunk.

The night in the desert was starting to get cold. Gazing up at the night sky, he saw a bunch of stars lighting up the dark night and he also gxnoticed that there was a fruit blocking his line of sight!

"What the fruit are you doing in there?!" the tranquility of the night was broken by him.

It caused him to stand up. He hasn't been able to eat and was quite hungry. So this fruit would become his meal tonight.

Patting his sand-filled b.u.t.t. Alex tried climbing the tree, but didn't succeed. The trunk was very slippery, before he could even climb for half a meter, he was already sliding downwards.

He didn't want things to go this way; he was eager to take the fruit from the tree.

He removed the dagger from his bracers and unsheathed the sword in his hand. He plunged the dagger into the trunk but an unimaginable scene happened right in front of his eyes.

The dagger that was on the trunk, was being pushed back and after only a second, the dagger fell to the ground.

It was a weird tree, on a weird place, with weird abilities.

Alex can do nothing about it. He picked up the dagger and laid down on the sand.

'Why didn't I use my magic? Yaaaaawwwnnn. Let's do it later.' Covering his body with the cape, he watched the fruit until his vision descended into the land of dreams.