Curse Of The Ancients: the Empty Quarter

Chapter 1. The Empty Quarter

 

 

Outside the Arabic village, Herrman hesitated. To the west, the desert stirred. What strange power beckoned him to this vast sea of hostile emptiness?   Why should he forego the comfort of his tent, his‘beit al-sha’r’and compromise the safety he’d worked so hard to achieve?   Again the small, insistent, almost brutal voice urged him on.  With a slight tug on its reins he motioned his humped companion, into the unknown,thereby beginning the perilous journey to the Barach. The remotest part of the Rub al Khali- the empty quarter.

There, Herrman hypothesized, would lie, if not the answers, then at least some clues to the mysteries. Perhaps even the tools to silence the voice. Or an opportunity to confront its originator.

 

For now, the trade winds remained at bay. Herrman took little comfort in this, knowing full well that a gentle breeze could so suddenly escalate, exciting the desert floor into a maelstrom of violent,scorching sand

This in mind, he urged Khabasla on using a series of tongue clicks and an encouraging dig of the heels.

Following a slight grunt of disapproval, the beast upped its pace.