Going through the portal tingled a bit. When I got to the alternate world, I knew that I could not just wait around. People could still come here and try to arrest or kill me. I needed to keep moving. Since I was a phantom thief, it was not that hard to continue forward. There was a town that look like it was from the 1500's in my world. There were still some guards of this side of the portal. I was able to give them a simple bribe. A bar of gold each was all I needed to give them. I then left the town without much hassle. There was very little on the security side of this town. With no real direction in mind, I was going to have to go on my own way. The town on my end was just a big score to me. I had no clue what world it was connect to. I asked the guards I bribed where the closest town was and they said it was north from here. They warned me to be careful. Apparently, there were wild tribes of centaurs in that direction. They were not too friendly with humans that they met. I was confident that I could handle myself in a fight. If worse came to worse, I could bribe them. The sooner I left here, the better.
However, there was a town on the edge of the desert about a day's further journey southeast. I decided that going to the desert without large creatures hunting me would be better after all. After an hour of walking, I was practically stumbling forward. It was simply too tiresome to keep up the pace that I had before. It was still a few hours from morning, so there would be trouble for anyone from the other side if they still were trying to pursue me. There was no electricity after all. With that being the case, there was no light pollution to obscure the light from the stars and moon in the sky. Shining brightly, I thought that it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life. "This world is so awesome." I said to myself. Stargazing was not a productive use of my time. I could not continue lugging the loot on my back though. That told me that it was time to rest before I broke something. I looked around for something to rest by and take shelter. There was a large rock off in the distance. Using the last of my waning strength, I reached the large, gray boulder. I was seriously tired now.
Looking around it before letting my guard down was important. You could never be too careful with these types of things. Venomous snakes were the last thing I wanted to wake up to in the morning. If I woke up at all, that is. I set my duffel bag down and used it as a pillow. My back was against the rock for protection. If anything, I should at least be able to see danger approaching. I fell asleep and several brief nightmares filled with my death at the hands of some enemy or another kept me from getting too comfortable. Every hour or so, I jolted awake before falling into the next one. When the sun began to rise, I was not rested in the slightest. It was still better than nothing in my opinion. I got up and stretched before picking up the bag. Yawning, my day was already set for me. I would continue southeast until got to the next town. I would then get some new clothes and a place to stay to let things die down. After the heat dies down, I could go back. It was not like anyone saw my face. As long as I ditched my outfit and got some appropriate clothes to blend in, no one would know me.
Alternatively, I could use all the loot to buy myself a mansion or something and live like a king here in this world. Either way, I would be staying here for a while. I started walking again after a long stretch. I was a real fugitive on the run now. I made my way down the road that was paved. While I was a wanted criminal, there was no true authority on this side of the portal that was after me. After the second full day of walking, I knew that things were much farther than I initially thought. It was not good. You needed water more than you needed food to live. I had neither. I was caught in a deadly trap thanks to those asshole guards. I had already gone too far to go back. With the way I was feeling, I would not make it before dehydration set in and I was fucked. That left only one choice. I had to search for water in my immediate area. If there was none, I would surely die. Real Rhombus could not go out like that. Not after everything my friends and I had went through. I had not seen any bodies of water, but the grass was still lush green. There had to be something nearby. I needed it to be true.
