The group then begins to explore around the city a little bit.

Cater notices one of the buildings, "Look, that boat has a roof on it. Gotta capture that hotness for posterity!" and take a photo of it as well.

Malleus looks to see the building itself.

He's rather curious by its shape, "How curious, its roof is triangular. It doesn't appear to be a fishing boat, either."

"That's a traditional Scalding Sands ferry," Jamil says, "People travel up and down the canals on them. Locals use them, of course, but they're also popular for sightseeing. The water vapor from these canals helps to keep things from getting too dry. Desert regions like this with no rivers get extremely hot during the day, while at night temperatures can drop to 0 degrees Celsius."

"Yikes. Deserts are no joke," Cater replies, surprised.

"I was expecting the weather here in Silk City to be scorching hot like out in the desert, but it's relatively pleasant," Trey says.

"All thanks to the canals!" Cater happily says.

Malleus looks around the city and not saying a word.

Briar notices, "Tsunotaro, are you okay?"

"Something wrong, Malleus?" Cater asks.

"No, just... Things are very different from what I learned about the Scalding Sands," Malleus answers, "This area is mostly desert and gets very little rainfall. I was taught in Briar Valley that this meant people here struggled to get enough water to survive."

"That was ages ago," Kalim points out.

"There was a time when that was true, but the Scalding Sands has advanced a lot over the years," Jamil adds.

"How did that come about?" Malleus asks.

"Scalding Sands spices and furnishings are extremely popular abroad. Our exports go for a premium," Jamil answers.

"That's true," Trey says, coming into the conversation, "Saffron, cumin, pepper, and lots of other spices from here are thought to be the best. I use them a lot in my own cooking. They're the perfect seasonings to bring any dish together."

"The colorful folk art from here is pretty famous too. I've seen a lot of those pieces in museums," Cater adds.

"It was my own ancestors who saw the potential in all those things!" Kalim happily says.

And Jamil says, "House Asim is said to be the first family in the Scalding Sands to trade overseas. They did so by ship. They didn't have the nautical charts mapped out back then. It must've been quite dangerous."

"But it was also wildly successful! Neat, huh?" Kalim says.

"The Asims went on to develop the rivers running through the country into a network of man-made canals," Jamil says.

"Ah, like the one Grim fell into," Treys.

Grim angrily shouts, "I don't need the reminder, TREY!"

"The canals then made it easier to set up land routes, which expanded our commerce. The Asims benefitted greatly from all this as well, and have become one of the most prominent families in the Scalding Sands," Jamil explains.

"So Kalim's ancestors had great foresight," Malleus responds.

Then Jamil explains, "A number of merchant families, including the Asims, went to great lengths to establish Silk City as a center of commerce. They adopted cutting-edge technologies to ensure everyone had access to water. With better access to water, the population grew. And so commerce expanded, wealth increased, the city became prosperous, and our tourism industry developed from there."

Then Cater says, "Now it's THE resort spot! People come here from all over the world!"

"Nonetheless, the majority of the country remains an inhospitable desert. We all need water to live, of course," Jamil says, "So wealthy families and commoners alike came to the city by the canals, and eventually it grew into this large metropolis. Its name, Silk City, comes from the fact that silk was an essential item in trade back then."

"It's definitely one of the biggest cities in the Scalding Sands!" Kalim says.

"That's right. It's not the capital, but it's a major political and economic hub," Jamil says.

"Ah, I see. How interesting," Malleus says, interested by the information, "My grandmother told me tales of the Scalding Sands, but we haven't heard much about the country since things became peaceful here. Sometimes human enterprises develop far faster than I imagine. Truly fascinating."