The God of Gravity part 2: Olympus

Ra Desert

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It's been hours since the departure, and Hiroki looks like he could faint any second. He covered his head with fabric, dressed with loose clothes, shorts, and simple comfortable shoes. He also wore sunglasses, but the desert sand just reflected too much light and heat, and the wind carried sand as it rises up from the slopy dune, so he squints. He leads the group because he is an expert in navigation.

Behind him, is the other camel that carried their stuff, and behind it is Sayuri wearing her own sunglasses and hat, riding the camel Jasper. The sun is at its peak in the sky, so she used her powers to make an umbrella out of blades and it floated above her. Jack follows behind Sayuri. He looks fine from this heat, considering how much training he had undergone as a soldier. Seems like Hiroki is the one who is in a struggle, just like when he and Sayuri went deeper into the jungle with the tribesmen.

However, he is not ready to give up. "I can do this!" he thought to himself as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. They rode on the summit of the snake-like dune and up to a rocky landscape. The camels had difficulty in climbing up, except Jasper. Then a few minutes later, the slope ended. They rode on a rocky plateau, where some signs of life can be found. Lizards ran away in fear of the giants in their perspective. Into the cracks and under the rocks they retreated.

They went through the maze-like plateau made by towering weathered rocks that looked like buildings in a city, and the sun above is blocked by them. The sides of the towering rocks almost look like creamy coffee as it is striped in caramel and light brown. Hiroki felt at ease, now that the sun is not punishing him anymore. The only thing he has to be busy right now is controlling his camel through the uneven rocky terrain.

Deep in the plateau, there is a small oasis. It is an oasis that cannot sustain a human community but enough for desert wildlife to thrive. There are critters crawling around it. They passed by and they all retreated in fear. Then after a few meters after a turn to the left, there is a cave at the left cliffside. Then there are bones on the ground. Animal bones and skull cracked and pounded that spread throughout the entrance of the cave. The inside of the cave is dark, and Sayuri got off from Jasper and went first.

Hiroki just rode on his camel behind her and asked, "Is there something dangerous, my lady?"

She nodded without turning and unsheathed her sword. Then she stopped at the front of the entrance of the cave. She can sense its hunger for flesh. Then two giant claws bigger than her came jumped out to pin bite her. She deflected both of them with a single swing of her sword. She didn't manage to cut it because its shell is hard as steel. It instead made sparks that lit up the cave, and she clearly saw the giant scorpion. It retreated as soon as it knew that it attacked a goddess. She fearlessly went inside, and the scorpion attacked her with its stinger. She powerfully sliced it with her sword, and it went through the tough scales. The scorpion screeched in pain and fear.

She stopped walking as she lit up her sword in violet flame, and it lit up the whole cave. Then what she saw was not a monster scorpion, but a mother with her babies riding on her back. It screeched trying to scare the goddess away. She didn't even flinch.

Outside, Hiroki is waiting anxiously for her, fearing that the scorpion ate his goddess. Jack and the camel Jasper looked calm. After a minute, she went out of the cave unscathed with her sword sheathed. She looked at them and tilted her head towards where they are headed. It was a signal for them to go, and Hiroki is nervous as he passed by the giant cave that houses the giant scorpion. Sayuri still there at the entrance, waiting for the last of her companion to pass, ensuring that they cross safely. Then she rode Jasper and continued their journey, leaving the mother scorpion with her babies alive. After an hour or so, they finally got out of the plateau. Then they decided to rest on the last patch of the rocky terrain that is overshadowed by the tall rocks. For the sun is now a little bit to the west.

Jasper transformed back into himself and sighed, "An hour or more, I would've become a true camel and unable to transform back."

"Really?!!!" exclaimed Hiroki.

Jasper punched him at the shoulder. "I'm kidding," he laughed.

"Oh," he realized.

Then he saw Sayuri sitting on a rock far from the group as she looked far into the east with deep thought in her mind. He cooked rice for everyone, and it took just half an hour. Jasper and Jack waited for Hiroki to scoop rice on a plate for their lady before getting scoops for themselves. Hiroki went to the supplies and pulled out a canned chicken curry. He went to their goddess and then the other two talked to each other. He opened the can and she immediately smelled the spice so she turned to look at him.

"Here's your food, my lady," he said as she grabbed the plate from him and turned her back at him. She ate it quietly, while Hiroki just looked at her for a moment then turned to walk away.

"Thank you," she faintly said.

Hiroki heard it, and sudden happiness rose up from his feet up to his face. "You're welcome, my lady!" he bowed but then she didn't reply. Nonetheless, he still felt glad about it as he returned to join the two. There's still rice left, and enough for him. He scooped the last grains of rice and ate them together with canned sardines.

"As I said," said Jasper while talking to Jack. "my clothes disappear with me while I transform into a creature or a person. I use it to make up the feathers, fur, or anything that are external. I can also change its appearance using my nature control that is why I don't need to change clothes when transforming."

"So, the saddle is now in your clothes?" asked Jack.

"Yeah."

Hiroki thought it was weird, but let them talk to each other while he enjoyed his lunch.

"Is it heavy?" asked Jack.

"No, not at all."

"Oh," reacted Jack.

"So, Hiroki," said Jasper.

"What?" asked Hiroki.

"How much distance did we cover?"

"Thirty kilometers, more or less."

"Eh.... Then how far are we from Ra City?"

"Three thousand, six hundred fifty kilometers, so it will take us eleven weeks to get there."

"So to summarize, it's eleven weeks of being a camel."

"Right, but why did you decide to take on this route? There's a road that runs along the northern coasts of this continent that will eventually lead us to the city."

"I know that, but considering that it is near the sea which surrounds Olympus, the security is very tight, with trinkets that can detect Olympian Strength just like Jack's. I am not a god like my father that takes a gamble whenever he wants. After that incident at South Columba, I'm sure that the Olympus investigators are finding the culprit who killed the God of Pigs and thousands of criminals in one night. And we know well who it was."

Hiroki just sulked, looking at the ground where he sits. Then he looked at Sayuri - who is still eating her food. Then he realized he didn't give her water, so he stood up and pulled out a big gourd and a cup from one of the camels. He brought it to her and poured water on the cup. He realized that she is already done with her food when he gave the water to her. She turned to grab it and drank it all in a second, then she asked for another one. After that, he cleaned the dishes just by wiping them with a damp cloth, so they won't waste any water.

They decided to continue their journey and Jasper already turned into a camel. And just like he said earlier, his clothes turned into a saddle. They went eastward on the sandy, hot, and arid desert, leaving the even ground of the rocky plateau. They went on for hours, and it seems that Hiroki is getting used to the hot climate. The sun is already starting to glow orange above the western horizon. The heat became lesser, and the wind became calmer. Hiroki felt relieved after spotting date palm tree leaves above and behind a mountain of sand dune to the southeast. Beyond it to the south, there is a rocky landscape.

"There could be a settlement in that group of palm trees!" he declared to his comrades following behind him. "Let's stay there for the night." He turned to look at Sayuri and asked, "What do you think, my lady?"

She nodded, he nodded back and turned his camel slightly to the right. Minutes later, they climbed the steep sand dune and above it, they saw dozens of kutcha houses - houses made of mud bricks. There are people running their errands to and fro. They weren't surprised to see travelers.

They went down from the dune, and there's a man approached them. He's middle-aged, his head is covered with fabric, and he wore traditional clothes. He squinted as he looked up to see their faces. He was a little bit surprised to see two youngsters accompanied by only one adult.

"I am Mustafa," he said. "may I ask who you are?"

Hiroki spoke on their behalf. "I'm Ito, she's Sayuri, and..." He took a while trying to come up with a name for Jack. "Jack...son. Jackson," he repeated. "We just need to rest here for the night, if you would allow."

The old man looked at them one by one with his narrowed eyes, looking suspicious of them. Then his gaze is longer at Sayuri - who is the most suspicious of them all with the sheath of her sword shining from the sun as she rides a camel without a leash. "Alright," he said. "Let me show you where we tie our camels."

Then they followed him after they got off from their camels. Jasper can't turn back into a human, or else they will be found out. They arrived where the camels of the villagers are tied up. They tied their camels but except Jasper and Mustafa was confused.

"You won't tie this one?" he asked.

"Uh," stammered Hiroki. "he doesn't like being tied and he won't stray from us."

"If you say so. Well then, we could do you service if you could pay."

"Of course, we will pay for it."

"Alright, follow me."

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