The first few days Shora's journey through the northern reaches, beyond the empire, didn't worry her. There were plenty of dangers on the edge of the desert, but ones the she-orc was familiar with. The packs of brute dogs could be outrun. The lions of the arid reaches were fast in a sprint, but too lazy to chase for long. The chimeras of the desert were always dangerous, but encounters were rare. The hybrid creatures avoided each other, marking out a territory and defending it against everything.

She made camp in high, well defended places. Her dreams each night were vivid. But not of beasts or chimera, but humans. In her dreams, something always went wrong, and she'd always have to run. But in these dreams, it was impossible to outrun the threat.

A wind-worn sign told her when she'd passed into human territory. Shora's heart started beating faster. Despite being individually weak, Uzgar had told her of the danger of the humans. An animal would attack or let you go, and that was the end of it. Any encounter with a human would lead to that person telling their fellows, and soon enough, an entire group would be hunting her.

She wore a hood around her head to cover her most distinctive features. She was young enough to pass as a human. But only if they didn't get too close. Her fears became reality when a fast moving caravan came storming up behind her. They were driving their camels quickly, getting out of the desert as fast as possible. Shora was caught on the road, in full view of them, but wearing her hood. Running off the road would seem suspicious, so she stood to the side, and hoped they'd pass.

“Better get a move on!” One of the bearded men called out. “Sandstorm coming!”

Shora waved her hand in acknowledgement of the advice and faced away from the man. It was a human gesture she'd picked up from Javad. He did it when he'd heard advice, but had no intention of following it.

The rider shrugged, and the camel carried on. As the leader had already spoken to her, the rest of the caravan passed by as well. They were travelling light, with no wagons. Only whatever goods they could pack onto the camels themselves.

The leader of the caravan had been telling the truth. Though she was out of the desert, strong winds pushed a wall of sand towards her. She hunkered down against a large boulder and waited for it to end. She'd expected it would pass quickly, but the barrage of sand hammered against the opposite side of her mediocre shelter for a day. Shora hated the delay and hated having to eat and drink more than necessary. A week's worth of food and water had seemed like plenty, but only without the trip taking too long.

This wasn't the end of her troubles. The sandstorm drove many of the predators of desert into the arid lands. Shora picked her way around these groups, but it slowed her progress to a crawl. She had a close encounter with a desert lion, but convinced it to leave by shaking her spear.

At the end of the day, the she-orc wasn't sure she'd made any progress at all. But she made camp, and hoped for better luck tomorrow. Her journey wasn't going smoothly, but Shora had to admit she enjoyed the challenge. On the next day, trouble wasn't far either. Cresting a hill, she found herself surrounded by a herd of the short desert rhinos. They were only four feet tall to her six, but were stubborn, temperamental beasts. With a long, sharp horn and tough, fur-covered hide, the animals were dangerous, especially in groups.

Shora spooked the one blocking her way and sprinted past it. The rest of the herd took this for aggression and gave chase. The animals weren't agile, but had surprising stamina. She fled into rocky ground to avoid them. Once she found steep enough terrain, they finally gave up the chase. Going through her supplies, Shora was upset at how little food and water she had left. The detour through the northern desert had taken longer than expected. The surprises crossing the northern Qismat border took more time. It was clear she hadn't brought enough food. Maybe her brother hoped for this. Figuring she'd return when she got hungry.

She looked at her map again, seeing a lot of distance to travel and not enough food to get there. Her mood darkened at this revelation. Close by, a stomping sound interrupted her dour mulling. A bluster followed it up. One of the desert rhinos had stuck around. She'd had enough, seized her spear angrily, and leaped off her rocky perch to the flat ground. Throwing off her hood, she bared tusks and fangs, growling at the muscular animal. She brandished the spear and advanced, waving the point towards it.

The short-haired rhino snorted in warning and stomped the earth, but she kept coming. Neither backed down, and the rhino charged. 

Its horn grazed her arm as she leaped aside. Her spear slashed across its eye in retaliation. The animal circled around, keeping its remaining eye on her. Instead of a charge, it circled closer, swinging its long horn. The rhino and its horn and the she-orc and her spear matched strength for strength. The strength of the rhino smashed aside her weapon. The side of the rhino's head clipped her, knocking her down.

She rolled clear of its stomping feet. Finding her spear, she pierced its chest with rapid strikes. The blows didn't penetrate deep enough to bring the rhino down. It rushed forward, and she planted her foot on her spear, bringing the point up towards the rhino's chest. She ducked the slashing horn, but the force of its mass sent her reeling into the rocks beside her. 

Battered and dizzy, she scrambled to her feet. The rhino did not rise, her spear was buried halfway up the haft into its chest as it rumbled its last breaths.

Her relief turned into joy. Her first challenger and the problem of food, both defeated. She had lots of meat to smoke and cure for long-term provisions. The little cluster of rocks became her home for a few more days as she carved the animal into useful sections of meat.

A week passed before she knew it. She resumed her journey towards the Temple of Inferno, this time with a rough sled full of food in tow. Shora kept her eye open for a permanent hideout. She'd prefer one no further than a couple hours from the temple, but a place that wouldn't be discovered by Qismat was most important.

She crossed a small brook, but thinking better of it, followed the brook instead of traveling further. This brook crossed dry rocky land at first, large boulders were dispersed here and there. Soon, a small forest of the short arid trees sprung up along each side, offering concealment. Even better, there was no sign of human civilization anywhere in sight. According to the map, the Temple of Inferno was over the nearest hill, one and a half hours away, walking. But Shora didn't need to take that long. For she could run and run very well.

Several animals made this little forest home, and were spooked as she explored. Several large deer, much larger than the desert deer she was familiar with, ambled out of the woods. Shora wasn't worried until she heard a tree snap. The sound startled her, and she spun around. A gigantic beast stormed out of the forest, smashing a tree down, its roots ripped out of the earth. 

It reminded her a bit of the rhinos, only twelve feet tall instead of four. A stout wrinkly body with four long, thick legs and flat, round feet. A large, sturdy head with massive tusks. But it was the broad ears and trunk that told her what it was. She would have thought it was a monster if she hadn't remembered Javad's tales of the great elephants.

He'd told her wild tales of the elephants taking on even chimeras. She'd considered these stories human nonsense. Chimeras weren't something a mere animal could deal with. Her first glimpse of the bull elephant made it seem more plausible. The beast ambling along the plains was just as sturdy as the short rhino she'd dispatched. Elephants were also beasts that lived in packs, or herds, as humans called it. Even a chimera wouldn't want to take on multiple of the creatures. He raised his trunk and trumpeted at her, his enormous tusks gleamed in the sun. But he made no move towards her, and she wasn't about to pick a fight.

She grinned at the sight. The lone bull was not something to hunt. Not because she feared him, but because he was magnificent. And she had to admit, bringing such a beast down was beyond her current abilities.