Unbearable heat, headache, dizziness. Making your way through the endless desert, where there was not a single silhouette of a person or plant, the scorching sun burned out your last strength.

At some point, everything in front of you swam, your breathing became unsteady. And then it was completely dark.

You didn’t know how long you stayed in this state before you opened your eyes with a painful, muffled groan, feeling the cold water running down your lips and chin.

You saw a man in front of you who towered in front of you like a fox above his prey. Half of his face was hidden by cloth. His bright amber eyes narrowed in amusement and mischief as he saw you had finally come to your senses.

"Well well! Are you really awake? You've been unconscious for a long time, buddy!"

He said with a chuckle, but then quickly added:

"Of course, I understand that this is not a very polite thing to say to a person who almost died, but still. You do realize that saving your skin was not an act of selfless kindness, hmm?"

You are lucky that a traveling merchant decided to save you. It's bad that he turned out to be a mercantile swindler.