Vermis Harenae, the common sandworm, most often found in the deserts of Suon Kiin. Legends often characterize sandworms as massive worms bent solely on eating man (or caravan). There has only been one known case where a sandworm has ever attacked a caravan. This was due to several reasons including a severe drought, being driven out of its own territory, and idiotic provocation on part of the caravan. Rather than caravans, the main diet of sandworms are rocs from the Milana Mountains, which come down to eat cicada foxes of the desert. Sandworms and cicada foxes have a unique, symbiotic relationship. Cicada foxes have a distinctive call they sound when attacked by rocs. It vibrates at a distinct frequency allowing it to penetrate deep into the sand. Sandworms will pick up that sound and come to eat the rocs, often rescuing the cicada foxes in the process. Sandworms themselves are solitary creatures. It is rare to see more than one at once except for annual mating migration, a three-month long process which redefines their territories. As such, sandworms do not raise their own young, leaving them out in the desert soon after birth. Cicada foxes will often take it upon themselves to raise the sandworm larvae (often called cicadas) to adulthood.

– Compendium of Monsters, 778

South Pass? That mean big wall? We take long to walk across much grass to it. It big, strange. Long wall packed hard sand. Tall as Home tree. Wide as many, many Home tree. Air dry. Not like. Make scales rough and thirsty. Group walk up to wall. Something make ring sound from inside wall.

“Who goes?” Man at top of wall shout.

“Members of the King’s Guard of Seven Cities,” Shiny say. Small door opens in big, big gate in side of wall. One. Two shiny men rush out and push group inside.

“Better hurry,” one man say. “Storm’s coming. Nothing good happens if you’re outside when it hits. We’ll check your documents inside.”

Group walk inside wall. More shiny men inside. Too many shiny men now. Can’t tell apart! How will I know my shiny men from new shiny men? Fish Tail! Help! Too much shiny. Make I dizzy! I slip from Fish Tail head, but he catch so I alright.

“Hey, what’s wrong, little guy? Excuse me, could I ask for a cup of water?” Fish Tail ask.

“What is that?” Big shiny man say. More shiny men follow him. He wave man to poor water into weird bowl and hand to Fish Tail.

“I believe it is an evolved sliver fish.” Fish Tail slide I into bowl. Water feel nice. Skin much too dry, but it soak water now. I feel better. Thanks, Fish Tail.

“A sliver fish? This far south?” Big Man say. He lead group down hall and to door.

“Yes. Strange things do happen from time to time.” Big Man laugh.

“Here, you can have your men rest here. If the leader of this group would follow me. Yen, you too.” Much of group go into room. We not follow them? No, look like Fish Tail and old friend Shiny follow Big Shiny Man into different room.

“I see you haven’t changed at all. How long has it been since you’ve been here, Yen?” Big Man sit behind weird box thing. He wave Fish Tail and Shiny to sit, too.

“Hm. Five years or so?” Fish Tail say as they sit. I look around room. A weird square with much color hang on wall behind Big Man. It show wall, no, it called South Pass, right Fish Tail. Big scary thing rise above South Pass in square. It scaly and long much like naitaka, but scales wrong. Not for water. Men on South Pass fire sparkly light at Big Scaly Thing. I not like square. Big Scale look like he want to eat I. I glare at it. No eat I.

“And who is this with you?” Big Man ask as I look at square.

“Ah, that’s right. You haven’t met him yet. This is Prince Everand Alcyone of the King’s guard in the Seven Cities. Everand, this is Lieutenant Allen Strange. His last name isn’t the only thing strange about him,” Fish Tail grins.

“Prince?” Man behind box say. He stand and bend forward at waist toward old friend Shiny? What that mean? Old friend Shiny name Pinsy? Okay Shiny is Pinsy. “It’s an honor for you to visit personally. It means much.”

“There’s no such need to bow. It’s an honor to be here. Our Seven Cities and the Guards of South Pass have always had friendly relations with each other. It’s better to get on with more important matters than to stand on ceremony,” Shiny Pinsy say. “Lieutenant, what can you tell me about the situation here? The recent reports we’ve been receiving were considerably vague.”

“It would be better for Wall Commander Tolman to update you. If I could see your documents, we can get right to processing you and then I can take up the wall. Commander hasn’t left the top for days now. He’s been saying his chest itches.”

“His chest?” Pinsy pulls out weird crinkly rolled-up white thing. He hand it to man behind box.

“It’s an old battle wound from a few years ago,” man say as he take white thing and opened it up. He look at it for a bit, then spread dust over it. Dust make white thing glow. He nod and hand back white thing. “He says it itches when trouble is coming.”

“You believe him?” Pinsy ask as he take white thing and put it away.

“He’s yet to be wrong,” Man say.

“For how long has it been going on?” Fish Tail ask.

“His intuition has been going off since about a three and a half months ago.”

“Was that about when we got the first report?” Pinsy ask. “The one that said ‘Trouble Brewing?'”

“Ah, yes. That one Commander personally sent. It right after he first said his chest itched if I remember.”

“You said he hasn’t left the top of the wall?” Fish Tail say.

“Yes. He hasn’t budged from that spot for four days. I know he has an [endurance] skill, and high endurance in general, but if he doesn’t get any sleep soon, we’re all scared he’s going to keel over. He just keeps looking out over Suon Kiin.”

“This doesn’t bode well,” Fish Tail whisper.

“We’d better go and see him then,” Pinsy say.

“Yes, I’ll take you there now.” Everyone stand. We go? Where? Big Man lead way out of room. Down many dark halls. It remind I of hiding places in rock. Caves that twist and turn, though flickering red light sticks on walls make it not same. We come to stairs and go up and up and up. Go through door at top of stairs, and we now at top of wall. Can see far and far and far. Much, much sand stretch out.

I not like scene. Sky is weird color. Much like color of sand. Air feel wrong in more than just too dry. Above birds circle high. I not like birds. Birds eat fish. One swoops low. I hide lower in bow and see bird. It big, big, big bird. It almost half big as creepy tree back in lots of tree. Where I met Fish Tail and group. Bigger than one, two. Two men. It scream loud. I cringe. Men cover ears. Sparkle bubble appear around wall. Bird run into bubble and screech in pain. It fall for bit, but then fly back up into the sky.

“A roc?” Pinsy ask.

“There’ve been many more sightings of them as of late. Usually they just circle around. It’s not often they come this low. There’s the Commander there.” Big Man point at man stand at edge of wall. Fluffy! So fluffy! Look Fish Tail. It fluffy man. I splash in water.

We walk over to Fluffy Man. Fluffy Man is truely fluffy. He have flat face. Like otter but not. More like Long Neck face, but pale and much fluff around head and neck. Maybe like sea-lion face. More fur. Much, much red fluff fur around face. Shachihoko catfish? Or Orobon waterpanther? Hm. I not decide what he most like.

“Commander Tolman!” Fluffy Man turn. Big Man straighten and put fist on chest.

“Lieutenant Strange.”

“Yen Tao is here along with Prince Everand Alcyone of the King’s Guard of Seven Cities.”

“Prince.” Fluffy nod head. Oh, he say Pinsy’s name! So also Big Man. I understand! It hard to listen everyone talk. I not understand lot. But I understand some. I getting better! Hehe. “Yen Tao.” He nod to Fish Tail. Yenta? That Fish Tail name? I so good. I learn Fish Tail name. Fish Tail nod. Big Man move away toward different group of shiny men on wall.

“Captain is fine,” Pinsy say. “What can you tell us about the recent situation?” Hm. Yenta. Which use? I like Fish Tail, but I like Yenta, too. Fish Tail, Yenta, Fish Tail, Yenta.

Fluffy grunt. “Not much,” he say. “We’ve had more sand storms in the past couple of months than in the last year.”

“Do you know the reason?” Yenta ask. Or it Fish Tail ask? I still not decide.

“Sandworm migration according to the weather sage. There’s one coming now, in fact.” He point out across sand. Light flash in distance. Storm rolling. I smell it. Air tingly. Rumbling sound come after while. Not like normal storm, though. Normal storm smell wet. This one dry. Much dry. I eye storm and frown.

“What’s so strange about that? Don’t sandworms migrate this time of year?” Pinsy shuffle on feet.

“Yes, but the amount of times they’ve migrated just this month alone is already more than the last three years combined. They’re not staying in one spot. They keep moving. Everyday they get a little closer to the wall. It’s got the rocs all agitated as well.” Fluffy point to the sky. “They can’t hunt with the sandworms moving about as much as they are. Something is out there, and it’s spooking the sandworms. I don’t like it.”

“That’s why you’ve been vague in your reports?” Pinsy say.

“It’s only my intuition. There’s not much I can write other than increased amount of sandstorms. They wouldn’t listen to me if I wrote more. The King of Seven Cities may be willing to bet on my intuition but the other city-states in the area won’t. They’ll say I’m being paranoid. Most of those old fools don’t even believe that sandworms can cause sandstorms anyway. Idiots.”

“Any idea what it is?” Fish Tail ask. Yenta? Fish Tail? Yenta…

“This says puca,” Fluffy say touching chest with hand. “It was a puca that gave me this scar. A few inches lower and it would have been through my heart. It…that war.”

“Was it the Wight’s War?” Pinsy ask.

“Hm? Oh, yes it was. It’s been what, thirty years now?” Fluffy pull at red beard.

“Thirty-six. It was back in 964,” Yenta say. Fish Tail? Yenta. Yenta. Yenta is! I decide. It shorter.

“Unpleasant war.” Fluffy frown.

“What was it like? I know that the records say that a very powerful child prodigy was turned into a wight and that it caused all the puca in Carepen to go crazy. Brokeback root wouldn’t work at all,” Pinsy say. I bored. I not know what they talk about.

“Yes, you could say the puca went crazy, but it was more than that. Their movements were coordinated. They became rabid, hate-filled, hungry things, but that doesn’t mean they had lost their minds. They knew what they were doing. It was more like someone had removed their inner restraints and they let loose, but in a way that made it seem like they wanted to bring down the country itself.”

Fluffy get far off look in eyes. I wonder what he talk about. “I was in Fengal at the time. The city was nearly sacked. I spent seven nights atop the wall just trying to keep the incoming puca off. We were doomed when our last wardsmen was taken out by a specter who managed to somehow [teleport] behind the wards. The wards of course didn’t last much longer. When they broke, the puca came swarming. A wendigo came after me and stabbed me through the chest with a claw. I struggled and managed to take off one of his arms and an eye, but he would have killed me if that wasn’t the exact time that Annabella killed the Wight Child.”

He turn back to Yenta. “I’d know a puca anywhere. I can feel it. This wound hasn’t let me sleep in days. Whatever is out there feels like a puca, and not just any puca. That thing out there is on the scale of the Wight’s War.” He point out again while talking to Yenta. What he point at? I look but only see growing storm.

“You, too.” Yenta look serious. What wrong?

“What is it? How serious is it?” Pinsy say.

“Some force is moving in this world.” Yenta look toward storm. “It’s bigger than anything ever before. I’m afraid that what is to come will rock the foundations of the world.”

They quiet now. Not talk for long time. It feel weird. Keep talking. I pay attention more. I wanna learn what you saying. I not like feeling left out, now. Home at least speak feeling. I understand Home. I feel lonely longer I not understand.

“That’s ominous,” Pinsy finally say. “Commander, what do you know of Commander Curo Llid?” Yay more speak! Ko Manda. Name? Word? Maybe mean feeling of bubble tickle stomach when swim too fast. I like feeling ko manda. I blow bubble.

“Llid? What about him? He’s an old comrade of mine from the Wight’s War. Heard he was up in Asterope watching Haruime Ro.” Aitor… and Rumay ro. Stero and Lid. I learn much word. What they mean though?

“Did you know that he’s been missing since the month of Jasad?” Asad? What Asad? Wind start up now. It blow in weird spurt. My water feel gritty now. It uncomfortable.

“Missing? Since two months ago? No, I haven’t heard anything about this.”

“When was the last time that you have heard from him?” Yenta ask.

“We kept up a regular correspondence. Every few weeks I’d get a letter from him. My last letter to him was three months ago. I told him about the sandstorms and the feeling I got. That’s it. I haven’t gotten a letter back from him.”

“So that’s why he was concerned with South Pass,” Pinsy say. South Pass! I know word! Yay!

“Why? What’s happened? Do you know where he is?” Fluffy ask.

“We don’t,” Yenta say, “though he sent his son letters as well, apparently several mentioning his worry about the state of South Pass. We came here to check if he ever came here and to check up on the situation. Also to leave you two packages.”

“Packages?” Fluffy frown. Aka jez…. Weird word. “One of them wouldn’t happen to be that puca you brought along with you, would it? I can feel him from here.”

Yenta grin. “It would. We found him eating an arm in Niwl. Thought it’d be better to keep him here for the time being.”

“What makes you think I want a feral puca in my wall?”

“You’re so good at taming them. It’d be a good experience.” Fluffy grunt.

“And the other package you dropping on my lap? Is it another problem child?”

“It is. Dicter Llid’s his name.” Lid! I recognize.

“Curo’s son, then.” Curroson? Coro sonthe? Onthen? How many word is it? Grr. It hard.

“The king sent him here to cool off. You must know that he’s been at odds with his father. He needs something more concrete to fight against than society and the King’s Guard.” Ingsgard. Why much weird word? Language hard.

“He picked a fight with the King’s Guard?” Fluffy raise eyebrow. I heard word again. Ingsgard? What it?

“Yeah, nearly broke the Prince’s nose, then tried to argue with the king. Of course, he pretty much wilted under the king’s stare after that.” Pinsy! They talk about Pinsy? Pinsy look away. He look pouty. Home sometime look like that, too.

“Hahahaah!” Fluffy laugh. “So, he’s got fire. Good, good. I like this package much more than the other one. I’ll make a real soldier out of him.” Yenta smile.

“Any idea where Commander Llid might have gone?” Pinsy say. Fluffy calm down and start think.

“I…don’t. He’s not the type to just leave his post, even if he was worried about something. Something might have happened. My bet would be that the tengu had something to do with it. He’s been getting in their way for years.”

“Hm.” Pinsy pull out white thing and make weird black mark with stick. He have hard time. Wind pick up even more. I look at storm. It much closer now. Another ringing sound from inside wall come. Shiny men move around faster now.

“Storm’s closing in. We best be getting inside,” Fluffy say. We head back to door and down stairs to different room. Cozy room with flickering red light in small stone cave in wall. They sit down and different man bring in food. Yenta feed me pieces. I leave water to get closer to food. It gross now anyway. Too much sand from wind.

“What are your plans now?” Fluffy ask. He watch me eat. I do swirly flip in air. He smile.

“Our plans?” Pinsy say. “We don’t have enough information at this point, honestly. We don’t have any clues as to where Commander Llid has gone. Our best idea now would be to investigate where the tengu have taken him, but we don’t need to do that personally. I’ll have my father send someone to look into it. Since we’re here, it’d be best to see if we can figure out the reason behind the sandworm migration. I’m worried about the amount of sand coming through South Pass. It could lead to desertification in the lands around the mountain range, maybe even into the Niwl Forest. The monsters there are already jittery enough as it is. If Yen Tao is okay with it, I’d like to head into Suon Kiin.” I hear Lid and South Pass again! I not catch much else, though. I distracted. Fluffy hold out hand with food. I want, so I swim over.

“Are you taking your men with you? If so, I’d advise against it. Migrations cause large groups to be dangerous. It’s better to travel with a group of at most five during this time.” Yummy food, it taste good. I eat all food he have. He offer more, but I full now. Look for something fun.

“Then me, Everand, and let’s see, Tael should be good.” Yenta eat piece of fruit. “And maybe a lich or a verian would be good. Someone who knows the desert. I won’t get lost or anything but that doesn’t mean I know my way around. I haven’t crossed the desert very often, and I’m not sure what we’re looking for.”

“I’ll look around to see if I can find someone for you. Shouldn’t be too hard. We have a merchant caravan staying here. They’re waiting for the storm to pass before heading into the desert as well. Those merchants. Sure are a brace lot,” Fluffy say. His beard move as he speak. Look fun. I dive in. He jerk a bit in surprise and laugh as I wiggle around. It like playing in seaweed. Or my silk. I like. I startle when sharp tapping noise sound on door. It open and lady come in. She stand straight and put hand over chest.

“Commander, the gwisin–”

“He did something.” Yenta cut her off as he stand. She glance at Fluffy before speak.

“That’s not it. He hasn’t done anything. He suddenly turned ill. We’ve taken him to the health ward, but his situation hasn’t seemed to have gotten any better. The healer would like to see you, Commander, and you as well.” She turn and face Pinsy. Pinsy frown.

“Sick? The gwisin?” He ask. He and Fluffy stand.

“Yes. If you could come. She said it was urgent.” We follow her out door. I almost left behind. I swim quick down hall to catch up. It hard. They walk fast. Swim in air harder than swim in water. Swim in air take more endurance to keep afloat. Under water it not take much.

I reach Yenta as they come to different door. I sit on Yenta head as we go in. I much tired from swimming hard. It long way to reach different door from room we eat food in. New room smell bad. Smell sharp and metal and blood and bad liquid flowing through veins. Make I feel sick. Woozy. I droop and slump on head. Fish Tail reach up and pat I on back.

“Healer Gena?” Fluffy say. New lady sit by bed stand and put hand on chest toward Fluffy. New Lady have wing long bird on back and feathers in hair. Much like bird people but no bird face. Bone man stand behind Feather Lady. Not sure I like Feather Lady. Like Bone Man, though. I smell he friendly, though scary look.

I frown. Bad bad lay in bed. Not like. He smell sick now. It make me feel little better. He not look well. Pale. Much, much pale. Can see veins, skin clear.

“Commander, you’re here,” Feather Lady say. Ko Manda again. Say much, maybe mean name? Fluffy name? They talk to him. Ko Manda. I like Fluffy better.

“What’s happened?” Fluffy say.

“I’m not sure. From what I’ve been told he just suddenly keeled over and started puking his guts out, if I were to put it in the terms of one of the officers of the King’s Guard. It’s true that he hasn’t stopped spitting up blood.” Feather Lady say.

Red water dribble down Bad lip. It smell like blood. Not good. Blood not supposed to not be in body. He dying? That good or bad? I look around. Fluffy frown. Feather Lady look worried. Pinsy scratch back of head. Yenta walk over to bed. They so serious. Maybe bad thing then.

“What’s your diagnosis?”

“Severe burns on one of his hands. It looks to be a mixture of burn types, both acid burning and severe heat. Poison as well runs thickly through his veins. It’s causing the mana in his body to run wild. He wouldn’t have been able to utilize it properly for days now. Most like from being inhaled seeing how it’s concentrated in his lungs.” Feather Lady ruffle her feathers.

“Aren’t puca supposed to have high immunity towards poisons?” Pinsy ask.

“Less of high immunity and more that their body acclimates to the poison quickly. Gwisin especially build up resistance at an extremely rapid rate. Normally, a poison should never last as long as it has in his body. And his wound too, it should have healed by now.”

“Is it a new type of poison, then?” Fluffy say. I hope we leave soon. I still feel queasy. Not like being in room. Bad bad not good be around.

“No, I was able to identify it with the help of Jemsen,” Feather Lady say, waving hand at Bone Man. “It’s not all that rare. Often found coming out of thermal vents actually, though not many are stupid enough to breathe in such large quantities. No, it’s something else that’s been causing his heath regeneration to deteriorate. His almost see through skin color, I’d say, is a symptom. He’s slipped into a coma to deal with it. As for what it is, I’m at an impasse. It really seems as if his body is rejecting itself somehow. I can’t explain it any better.”

“What does that mean?” Fluffy say.

She means that his soul is rejecting his body. More specifically, it seems as though his soul is being split between two places. It is trying to return to its other half at the moment, but his body is rejecting that, so he hangs into a strange balance. Bone Man move hand in weird way. Everyone pay attention to his hand. They watch. It mean something? What it mean? He talk with hand? He weird. Not like I able talk with fin. No one understand I. Psh. Everyone know that. Weird man.

“His soul? Is it possible that slipping through a spacial distortion could split a person’s soul?” Yenta ask.

Spacial distortion? I haven’t thought of about it. It is possible, but only in very select cases, most of which involve a space-time distortion rather than just a spacial distortion. Bone Man make weird move with hand again. It distracting. Make people watch and not talk. But it look cool, so I fine, though I wanna learn more language. It hard pay attention when room make I feel sick.

“Is he important to you?” Fluffy ask Pinsy.

“Rather than important, Yen says he’s more problematic.”

“How so?”

“He’s called Yul Yeong, if you’ve ever heard of him.”

“Yul Yeong? The Ghost? Him?” Fluffy look at Bad with frown. “Yen, you really think that he’s connected with Abred Meddwl? Isn’t that a stretch even for a rumor?”

“The craziest rumors are bound to be true. Reality is stranger than fiction, they say.” Fluffy grunt.

“Abred? Abred Meddwl, as in head of the Counsel of Plantimenia?” Feather Lady say. She shiver much. Is she cold. I hot. Too hot. Not like. I lean against cool Yenta horn on head. It help little bit. “No matter how much that man is praised, I don’t like him.”

“You’ve met him? What’s he like?” Pinsy say.

“He’s charismatic and handsome. Everyone in Plantimenia loves him. But it’s…not right, the way they seem to worship him. And that city. It’s too perfect. Nothing ever goes wrong. No sick, no broken, no aged, it’s freaky.” Feather Lady shake her head.

“What’s even stranger is the fact that Abred has been head of counsel for more than a three hundred years now, but for some reason, not many seem to notice that irregularity. Tennin live long, but not that long,” Yenta say. He take me down from off head. He look worried. “Healer, could you take a look at him.” He hand me over to Feather Lady. She look me over, but I not care. I really much not feeling good.

“What is he?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going with some kind of evolved sliver fish. I’m pretty sure he is from up north. We found him when we found the gwisin in Niwl. He’s not sick is he? With poison or a split soul?” Feather Lady glance at Bone Man. Bone Man shake head. She look I over more, closer.

“No, he doesn’t seem to have any poison. Jemsen didn’t notice anything wrong with the soul. By the looks of it, it’s heat sickness, especially if he originates from the north. Also dehydration. While he’s a type of fish that can do well on land, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still need water. Make sure to keep him cool and hydrated. He should be fine.” She pour bowl of water and put I in, then give back to Yenta.

“What are we going to do about the gwisin?” Pinsy say.

“As much as I would like to just let him die, in Yen thinks Abred is involved, then I’d rather not risk that man getting involved. As much as it pains me… Gena, do your best to cure him.” Fluffy rub face and sigh.

“I can probably cure the poison with some effort, and graft skin back onto his hand, but I can’t do much about his soul,” Feather Lady say.

“Can you do anything, Jemsen?” Fluffy turn to Bone Man.

I cannot. I am not a healer. Just the priest for the wall. Bone Man shake head.

“You have any life wards?” Yenta ask? He pull out piece of soft metal and beads. Soft metal much soft, like clay, but smell much of metal. Fish Tail work beads into soft metal. I feel him pull mana into soft metal. He twist and twist and twist, making weird circle with soft metal.

“Just a basic one inscribed in the walls,” Feather Lady say. Yenta look at wall. He pack mana in beads and I feel Fish Tail give mana push. Mana begin run like current in ring, swirling around like whirlpool in bead before overflowing and moving on to whirlpool in next bead.

“That’ll do. It’ll at least keep his soul in his body for the next couple of days. If his soul hasn’t stabilized by then, it probably never will.” He line edge of bowl with ring. Water begin to chill. It feel good. Much good. That ward? Home do ward sometime. Much recent thing, though. More do aura. Aura light, fluffy, spread everywhere like water. Ward different. It thin, like stream, only going where current go. Yenta wipe off salt water beading on forehead. He look bit tired. Hard to make ward?

“The problem is that his situation is something we just can’t do anything about at the moment. We’d need the other half of his soul. Jemsen, have any idea where it might be?”

Bone Man reach over to Bad and run finger down forehead and nose and touch both Bad eye, then place hand on Bad chest.

The best I can feel is that it is further north of us, moving, though which direction is hard to make out. Strange. Disembodied souls don’t usually move. Bone Man move hand strange again.

“In that case, I can only make preventative measures.” Yenta reach into bag again take out much thing. I lean over edge of bowl to see what he do.

He pick up thin, hard metal string. It shine pale pearly color. He take out weird tool to pinch metal and twist. He swirl metal much back on itself. Swirl much like ocean current or wave. He take thin cloth and stick to make mark. Make many mark and put much mana in mark, then take out gooey water from little pot and put on cloth. He put metal on cloth, too. Gooey water make it stick. Yenta pick up different pot and brush purple water over metal on cloth. It harden and turn shiny. He smooth out purple water with mana, and make cloth and metal bend to make ring. He connect metal and cloth end together with mana and give mana push. Mana flow through metal, but settle in mark on cloth. It feel like not let anything out. He put on Bad wrist.

“This should help some. It’s basically the same as the life ward you have here already, just a little more concentrated.” Sound ring from somewhere. I look around. What it mean? Fluffy look up.

“Looks like the sandstorm is over. When are you wanting to leave.”

“Soon. If we’re investigating, it’s better to get out and back as soon as possible,” Pinsy say.

“Tolman.” Yenta turn to Fluffy. “Did you ever send anyone out?”

“I did. They never found anything. Just that the sandworms are on the move.”

“Sir,” First Lady say. One that lead us to Bad and Feather Lady and Bone Man. She quiet. I forget about her til now. “Private Dewy. You sent him out in a squad more than a week ago, heading southwest. He hasn’t come back yet.” Fluffy frown.

“Why haven’t I been informed?”

“It was in the morning report, Sir. Private presumed MIA due to increased sandstorms. He was the only on in the squad not to make it back.”

“It’s still on my desk. I haven’t had the chance to look through them yet.” Fluffy rub face. “No flare?”

“No flare, Sir. Lieutinant wanted to send out a search party, but there’s been a sandstorm everyday this week.”

“Last known location?”

“Just off Albenheim.”

“Prince Everand, if you could.” Fluffy look much tired.

“Albenheim Plateau is a good a place to start as any.”

“Thank you.” He turn back to First Lady. “Go to the caravan, and find people who know the desert well. See if one of them is willing to brave the sandstorms. If you mention Yen Tao, that should get them more disposed towards the idea. Tell them I’ll pay them 400 aur to go. And get Private Nkisi.”

“I’d willing to add another 400. If we can get another as well, I can do 400 for each,” Pinsy say.

“No, I’ll send one of my own men with you. At most, only pay him 200. He gets paid well enough as a guard anyway, and he’ll be getting an advance for this.”

“Commander.” First Lady straighten and put fist on chest, then turn and leave. Farewell? No, greeting? See it much when entering, too. Maybe it be like Bone Man finger signs. Meaning respect maybe? I glad I feeling much better now. Water feel cool. I not so dizzy anymore.

“We’ll need to get your supplies all set. That will take a bit, at least an hour or so to get a working set of desert gear together for you two and your other man. By then it will be dark. It’s better to leave early morning, so I’ll have put together some rooms for you. Your men that are staying behind will have to be situated as well.”

“What about sandstorms?” Pinsy ask.

“I have yet to see one until at least mid-afternoon. Come, we’ll get that started.” Fluffy started out door. Pinsy follow, but Bad start coughing sudden. It wake Bad up. Feather Lady rush over and help Bad sit up. Blood come up, much blood. It take while for coughing stop.

“Take slow breaths through your nose. Control your breathing. Hold it. And out. Through the nose, through the nose. Cough deep. Get it all out of your lungs. Good. That’s right,” Feather Lady say. Fish Tail turn to leave, but Bad catch arm.

“Don’t–leave–without me.”

“What?” Yenta say.

“You’re–” Bad start cough again. “You’re going into–desert. Don’t leave–without me.”

“Why? Why do you want to go with us. What point? You’ll die.”

“You–because of you. I see it. You have fate–with her. I want her. I need her. She is mine. You can take me back to her–because you’ll meet her one day. Your fate–it’s intertwined.” Bad eyes turn weird. Black part turn pale, look like eye only white. Creepy. Not look like he see anything, but see everything.

“Who is she?”

“She is life. And I must have it.”

Status Menu Name: Niko Race: Greater Flying Silk Gurnard Level: 11 Attribute: Ice Health:170/170 (11/min) Mana:290/290 (17/min) State: Lost, dehydrated, overheated — (Separation from Dungeon reduces health and mana by 15%; movement speed and endurance reduced by 20%)* Heart: 13 Spirit: 19 Luck: 20 [Ξ] Perk Points: 2 Perks: {Boss Monster: (+10 intelligence, endurance, strength, defense, health, mana)} {Unlock Next Perk: (0/10)} Skills: [Razor Scales IV] [Carion Feeder V] [Air Swimming VII] [Swarm V] [Trap III] [Ambush II] [Ice Silk I] [Leading I] [Jet Stream I]