Gale looked in surprise as a small voice spoke as if from thin air. Peering carefully she saw a tiny person atop the woman's shoulder, previously hidden beneath her hair. It was a strange being, one that had wings of a bat with horns and a tail while the body of a woman. Was it some kind of sprite, or djinn conjured by the mage? When the red-haired woman praised her, she couldn't help but smile. "I am honored to have you come with us, efendi. Though I do not mind if none sing songs or write accounts of me, it is good to travel in company than alone. If you seek stories worthy of scrolls and song, I have many. But we should search for a place to rest our feet. The sun still rises high, but the sands are vast."

"The Walking Spring awaits. Come, follow me." Asha said, taking flight. She hovered in the air, waiting for them to come and Gale turned to Izzey, nodding. "Asha knows the way to almost every spring, but this one is special." They walked through the quartz dunes, over rocks and barren land. The sun beat down upon them, relentless as their pursuits were to their goal. When she determined that the enchanted oasis was nowhere in sight, the phoenix led them to the nearest one from her years of memory. The spot of greenery in the midst of a dry land was like shade from a palm in summer. "Come, cool yourselves by the spring. Fortune does not smile on us today, but this oasis is as good as any other. The Walking Spring is elsewhere." Asha perched herself out in the sun as the shadows grew long. There was a pool with clear water, surrounded by date palms. Grasses and flowers clung to the water's edge as they drank in the life-giving nectar of the gods. In the desert, water was life. No other blessing from heaven was greater.

Unwrapping herself from her shield against the sands, Gale knelt down to scoop a handful of cool, refreshing water to her mouth. Resting beneath one of the trees, she saw the carved trinkets hanging around the trunks of some, the wards that offered all within protection. There were other birds here too, and even lizards were taking respite from the heat. Every creature here seemed to abide by an unspoken mutual understanding. The place was peaceful, even with wild dogs drinking from the same streams as waterfowl.