The hot sun beat down on Musashi.
The straw hat that covered the traveler's head in shade did little to avoid the Sheer heat of the desert. And none of what he had done to prepare had truly readied the Akashiman for the sweltering challange that had built since entering the outlands. He had been here for only a few days, And water he had was gone. Emptied moments ago by the sheer demand of his thirst. There was a small town ahead. Civilisation meant water. That was going to be the perfect stopping point.
Partly because stopping anywhere else was going to mean the end for the samurai. Sweat dripped down his brow, His hakama let what little breeze there was to flow against his skin, But was still heavy enough to trap heat.
Foolishly Musashi had assumed that a hot country would be simply like his own, only stuck in a perpetual summer. A foolish assumption to make. The only thought here, in the desert. There were no boats. A surprisingly effective silver lining to his outlook on the situation he had arrived in. His feet stomped the compacted sand of the road ahead of him. Following it as religiously as a monk would follow the signs from any being greater than himself. The town was getting closer, bringing relief and strength back into his being. His pace sped. and soon he was walking in the shade of wooden buildings, His wooden sandals tapping loudly against the dried wood of the side-walk.
He still needed water.
Turning, Musashi pushed his way through a pair of swinging chest high doors. The hakama clad figure, two samurai swords on his waist entered. A piano player played a quiet tune in the corner. Round tables were populated by men in strange hats and large moustaches. Behind the bar, an older woman polished a glass in front of shelves of the same, like a quiet warning.
As the saloon doors swung shut, soon coming to a stop behind the samurai he made his way to the bar, ordered a tall glass of water and examined the room for anyone who stood out. He was going to need someone for the journey towards the land they call oasis and the travelling people who lived there.