midday
Since they had to search for _ krenoj _ as they went it took them the better part of three days to reach their destination . Jason merely started the line in the correct direction , but as soon as he was out of sight of the sea he had only a rough idea of the correct course , however he did not confide his ignorance to the slaves and they marched steadily on , along what was obviously a well-known route to them . Along the way they collected and consumed a good number of _ krenoj _ , found two wells from which they refilled the skin bags , and pointed out a huddled animal sitting by a hole that Jason , to their un-voiced disgust , managed to miss completely with a bolt from the crossbow . On the morning of the third day Jason saw a line of demarcation on the flattened horizon and before the midday meal they came to a sea of billowing , bluish-gray sand . The ending of what he had been accustomed to thinking of as the desert was startling . Beneath their feet were yellow sand and gravel , while occasional shrubs managed a sickly existence as did some grass and the life-giving _ krenoj _ . Animals as well as men lived here and , ruthless though survival was , they were at least alive .