Ball of Nothing

Knowing where to find Axel wasn't the difficult part of preparing for their journey. Truth be told, Zero didn't think that they needed to do many preparations for Derby Desert but Truen begged to differ.

"The harshness of the desert cannot be underestimated," Truen warned.

He talked about the dangers of unknown monsters lying in wait beneath the sand, the harsh sun and heat as well as the lack of water. Zero listened to his best friend talk about stories of people getting starved and shrivelled up in the unforgiving environment.

"The worst is when compasses don't work and when the desert starts creating illusions. Desperate adventurers will follow them when they are out of food and water, only to realise that it was a trick by the sands. The wind changes all the time so sand dunes shift, it is literally a death trap. Even experienced guides of the deserts can die at any moment, the place is full of dangers and you'll never know what happens next."

Zero smiled. His best friend was clearly forgetting who he was travelling with. Shifting sand dunes? High-levelled illusions? Zero could deal with them easily. In fact, if he really wanted to, the desert would be lacking sand. Zero's void inventory can hold a third of Amarania's water, it could easily hold all the sand in Derby Desert if the situation required him to do so. Besides, after getting so many offerings of food from Magnus Hilda, how would they ever run out of food and water? It would be alright even if they feasted every night. Zoe would be more than happy to cook them a special order if Zero told her they were bored of giant cuisine. Besides, why would Truen be worried about the heat? Heat regulating enchantments can easily be put on the cloaks. The Great Gods have placed all sorts of enchantments on Zero's clothes and after learning magic, Zero knew how to add them to other people's clothes too.

They had everything they needed for a comfortable journey and not one fraught with dangers. Mii and Wii can take turns navigating from the comforts of the mindscape and Zero had absolute faith in Truen's abilities to take care of any sand monsters. Bob was on his way to join them on their journey after they'd taken care of Magnus Hilda's request to finish the Freya statue. They had plenty of time.

Listening to Zero explain his point of view, Truen felt foolish. That was right, he was no longer on the old Earth. Even if this world was more dangerous, his partner was a very powerful ancient being that could create gods. For Zero, this would be nothing. Truen didn't even know why he needed a bodyguard at this point. If anything, Truen felt like excess baggage that Zero had to carry along.

Zero noticed his friend's change in mood and frowned. There were moments when Truen suddenly became withdrawn and quiet. Clearly, there was something bothering him but whenever Zero tried to ask, the archer would avoid the topic with a smile. He didn't know when it happened but for some reason, after they started on their adventure together and left Magnus Hilda, Truen had been acting odd.

"The only thing we do need is to find a suitable mount to cross the desert as Dorgon suggested," Zero said and gave Truen a look. "I don't know much about mounts so when we find the Axel person, I'll be counting on you."

Hearing that there was something Zero still didn't know made Truen snap out of brooding and his smile instantly became twice as bright as before.

They had to pass by the town square and look for a building beside a blacksmith somewhere in the outskirts of the main city. Axel was a famous person and the locals knew who the exotic trader was. Sometimes, he was described as the man who sold antiques. Other times, he was known as a collector with a strange fashion sense. All Truen and Zero knew was that Axel wasn't a dwarf. He used to be a traveller and was a spriggan, probably the last of his kind too.

"What's a spriggan?" Zero asked and Truen shrugged.

"According to the locals, he looks like a dwarf but gives off a more elvish charm. Nobody knows for sure because some people say that he can shapeshift."

Zero nodded as they arrived at Axel's shop. Truen went up to knock on the door and Zero was taken aback by the strong smell of grass and earth coming from within. Was this what the locals meant by elvish charm?

"Greetings! It's afternoon and a few hours too early for my regular customers but I suppose both of you didn't come here for tea or chit-chat. Tell me, how may I be of assistance?"

Zero smiled at the cheerful little fellow who wore all green and brown. His sense of fashion was very similar to those in the high society that he saw in the palace. Axel did smell slightly odd. Dwarves normally smelled of coal, earth and metal but this spriggan smelled like the forest. To be more accurate, Zero thought that he smelled like Cleo.

"Hello, Axel. We came here to find a mount for our journey to Derby Desert. Dorgon told us that we might be able to find something here," Zero explained and Truen looked around the cluttered shop.

Axel was a real collector and Truen didn't know if he should be impressed by the variety of things Axel collected or horrified. Zero didn't seem too interested in the magical trinkets and strange artefacts in the shop. Instead, he completely ignored the potions and rare herbs. In the past, Truen had to pull Zero back from running towards anything that was new and interesting. Now, he was slightly unnerved by how calm and collected Zero was being.

Had Zero grown up and matured learning under Merlin? Surely, that curious child was still somewhere in there, right? Truen found it hard to believe that Zero had changed for the better.

Axel nodded and told the elves to make themselves home while he checked on the type of mounts he had. "It's a little bit of a walk from here so allow me to check what I have before I push my recommendations. Would you like some tea or juice?"

"Tea would be lovely," Zero smiled and waited for Axel to pour them a cup and excused himself. Zero didn't move from the chair at all until Axel was out of sight and hearing range. Then, he ditched the tea, startling Truen.

With wide eyes and a high-pitched giggle, Zero wandered in the shop, taking time to admire and play with some of the things Axel put on display. Now, this was more like Zero. Truen sighed in relief when he realised that the adult-like behaviour had all been a show. For a moment, the archer feared that he had to report the bad news to his higher-ups about Zero's maturity but after seeing Zero sniff what looked like a fossil, Truen no longer had doubts. A leopard really doesn't change its spots and Zero won't ever stop being curious.

"Hey, Truen! Check this out. It looks like something the gnomes and Raj would make, it has so many gears! I wonder what it does..."

"Don't touch it, we don't want to wreck anything," Truen warned and Zero snorted.

"You don't have to remind me. I'm not a child anymore."

The archer smiled and joined Zero to look at a collection of flags. Truen recognised the Smargdas Empire's flag and pointed it out. Zero became intrigued so Truen started to talk a little bit more about how the flag designs came about until Axel returned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I have sorted the mounts up. Would you like to follow me so that you can take a look at them?"

Zero grinned and pulled Truen along to follow the spriggan. "It would be our pleasure, Axel."