I looked up. The sky was bright and every star seemed to stand out in stark relief against the black backdrop of the sky. It was an awe-inspiring moment of quiet reflection.
I felt small. The created universe was so huge and here I was stressing about the completion of one assignment. An assignment that I had already been told wouldn't be accomplished for several years. What was I going to do in the meantime?
I looked back to the oasis and the temptation that beckoned there. If El Elyon had done all that I saw in the sky above, then He could help strengthen me in my weaknesses to do something that surely wasn't as major of an event as things that He'd already performed in creation's past.
Movement caught my eye and my head swiveled from its view of the oasis to the fast approaching rider coming towards me with a lowered lance. Alarmed, my mind seized up for a second.
No doubt the rider expected me to run and so I did, only I ran toward him instead of the other way. My actions seemed to jar the rider's confidence and in the dim light I saw the rider's head move side to side in search of what was giving me the confidence to attack instead of run.
I added to the unrest by waving my arms up and down and screaming out a nonsensical garble of sounds. His horse wanted no part of it and started to stutter out of its headlong gallop and turn off to the side.
The rider regained control, but in the moment of lost concentration the lance point dipped out of the way slightly and I seized on the opportunity and stepped off to the side and jerked it hard. The rider came along with the lance.
The rider had only just begun to rise up out of the dust when I crashed a rock down on his head. There were more riders coming and I wasted no time, but vaulted up into the saddle of the fallen bandit's horse and turned tail for the oasis.
I did my best to give out a warning, but something about a rider coming full tilt down a sand dune closely followed by a half-dozen others had a way of galvanizing a restful camp into action more than words alone. I saw guards and camel riders grab for weapons and arrows were soon whistling by my head in the direction of my pursuers.
I streamed into the trees and pulled the horse up sharply. Looking back I saw three pursuers were down and that the other three were retreating. There were shouts of triumph to be heard throughout the oasis. It only lasted for a moment though.