Getting up after sleeping late one day, Ringo began to pack his things.  The heat of this land was starting to irritate him.  Sweating all day and freezing in his bed was not his ideal place to live.  The sun had been drying out his hair, and the sand kept getting in the gears of his line launchers.  Sure, there were some nice little missions that he could do around the village, but the climate and sandy environment was too much for Ringo to handle.  So here he was, packing up his clothes and equipment.  It was just time for him to move on and see more of the ninja world.

Heading downstairs, Ringo brought up some small talk with the innkeeper as he checked out.  News was spreading, or rather rumors, that the Village Hidden in the Mist was under siege and that many ninja from various villages were seen heading that way.  The rumor seemed to have some merit to it, and Ringo had been hearing things similar from passerby while he walked the streets of Suna.  Taking the news from the innkeeper into consideration, Ringo thanked the innkeeper for the room and left the inn.  Life bustled peacefully out in the sandy streets of Sunagakure no Sato, at least this village didn’t have to worry as much about attacks from other villages.  It seemed there was a great time of peace.  He smiled as he walked, knowing full well that peace brings naivety and from his own unfortunate experience that peacefulness and naivety means a lowered guard.  A lowered guard would be sufficient enough for a hidden enemy to make a surprise attack.

Travel WC: 277/600

Ringo walked towards one of the main gates, he would be heading out today under the brutal heat, but Ringo didn’t care. The guards stopped him and had him verify who he was and that he was leaving. The village had made him report in so as to let them know of any new Ronin entering their village. It was a smart procedure, although it made Ringo feel like everyone was keeping tabs on him. He had thought by doing some missions they’d ease up on the security, but apparently not. Waving goodbye, the guards let him walk on through the gates, exiting the village. The sandy expanse before him held a slight bit of road that traders used, although sand constantly made the road erode and crumble. Ringo made sure to stick to the middle of the road as both sides fell off in steep slopes of hard sandstone. As he departed, he took off his coat, wrapping it up in a makeshift hat on his head. This was a trick he learned from his father, although it didn’t help that his coat was all black. He trudged onwards, using the sun and the sky as his guide. His first goal for the journey would be to find some kind of shelter from the sun. Spending too much time exposed to direct contact could prove fatal in the desert. Yet he knew deserts weren’t just sand, he would find shelter soon. He just had to search for it.

Hours went by, walking over hundreds of sand dunes once the road had faded away and Ringo had soon learned it was better to walk on the edges of the sand dunes, crisscrossing several times on his trek to the northeast. He kept his eyes on the horizons all around him, making sure nothing came up to attack him. His father told him that many bandits hid out in the dunes, preying on those who left the safety of the village as well as wolves. He was told to watch out for sandstorms, and how to survive one if he was caught in it. Dust Devils were also something he learned from his father, so Ringo was able to avoid many fields that he came up on along his way.

The desert soon finished and Ringo found himself in a slowly changing environment until finally the sandy lands were long past him and he was well on his way to Kumogakure no Sato.

Travel WC: 277+416=693/600 COMPLETE