Parthian Ancient Kingdom, Paradise City. Twenty li outside the city.
A scattered group of commoners, clad in robes with cloth wrapped around their heads, trudged laboriously through the desert.
Only two camels accompanied them, both loaded with baggage. This slowed them down considerably.
"Uncle, I'm so tired..."
A filthy, dirt-covered child said wearily in a tender voice, "I want water..."
Neither her appearance nor her voice gave any clue whether she was male or female. Her dark skin and emaciated body made her look as ugly as a little monkey.
"Hang in there a little longer, Kasan!"
The man leading the camels said quietly, "We're almost there..."
He looked around, then cautiously took a black, palm-sized, flat clay flask from one of the camels' saddlebags. Its maximum capacity was roughly a liter, yet when he shook it now, it made a clear, rainlike sound—it was obvious the water inside was almost gone.
Pairs of eyes nearby kept stealing glances at them. The man leading the camels desperately straightened his back, using his body to block those gazes.
The little girl had only taken a small sip when the man snatched the flask away. He could not bear to drink any himself. He merely scraped the moisture around the mouth of the flask across his cracked lips to moisten them, then put the stopper back in.
After getting her water, the girl quieted down as well.
The caravan continued forward in silence through the whirlwind of blowing sand.
In the desert, noon was swelteringly hot, while night was bitterly cold. There was little time when it was comfortable to travel, and early morning was one such period. They had risen from their camp at four in the morning and had been walking until now.
"The oasis is just ahead. What a