"Ah'la descended upon the battlefield with the brilliance of a second sun.

Her rays of fury froze solid the cruel armaments of Rozengard, seventh of the First Cities. Her walls, her people, her instruments turned into solid rock; twisted and contorted into shapes beyond human. The city itself, turned into a desert. Such was the rage of Ah'la.'

-- "The Descent of the Gods", From inscription fragments in the Temple after Time.

Sleeping in a desert without a tent is a bitch. Add to it the fact that this world is full of magic and magic beasts. So, obviously…there are magic-sucking insects and flies. I woke up with a familiar din beside my ears and I looked up at the ball of buzzing and popping insects that hovered a few centimeters above my head like a bearskin hat. I was well acquainted with these bastards in my days of outdoor camping in Salrest. First time I went out on an overnight monster suppression trip, I had scoffed when a wandering merchant offered insect repelling potions. His amused smile and nods had seemed to me just a seller’s trick. I mean, they never did bother me.

Turns out, they are a big problem for the average suppresor. The writing mass of bugs absorbed a large amount of magic through the human body so fast that the people would get sick due to excessive aurora particles flowing through their bodies. Every day, there would be newbie suppresors groaning and keeled over in the camping grounds as victims of the bugs. I never had that problem. I suspect the magic circuit in my body bestowed by a god had to do something with it.

I stretched my hands beside me…oh damn. My body, frozen and contorted into strange shapes by the chilly desert winds and uncomfortable rocky ground groaned and protested. Every muscle hurt like hell.

Almost gasping for breath, my hands searched frantically on the ground. The effort wrenched a muffled groan from my throat while my fingers grabbed onto the hilt of Thirst. I swung the sword upwards, careful not to jostle my injured arm. I forced a small bit of magic into the blade and slid the tip into the mass of buzzing insects. The magic bug-hat flowed into the sword, covering it thickly as the mass flickered with little pops of blue electricity while they suck up more magic. And then, I covered my face with my free arm and let lose a shockwave from the blade. With a surprisingly crunchy sound, the bugs exploded everywhere.

This morning ritual of mine had been a very unpleasant affair to the suppressors, and had served to give me the distance I so desired.

The bug problem sorted out, I proceeded to painfully stretch the rest of my body. Oh shit shit shit!, I groaned as my frozen joints popped and yesterday’s bruises reminded their existence. Cracking my neck, I propped myself up on my relatively uninjured arm.

All that was left of last night’s fire were some glowing embers and a lot of acrid smoke. Fucking hell, that’s a lot of acrid smoke. Crinkling my nose, I identified the culprit. A few strange looking globes were skewered onto misshapen sticks over the fire, with thick black smoke pouring out from them.

“If your…”, my voice faltered as my eyes fell on Faeve. She sat askew on a rock not very far from the dying fire. Hair the colour of white-gold framed her face in profile as the soft light of dawn played on her face. The rest of her body did nothing to betray the vigorous motion of her arm; her fingers slid over her daggers in a practiced motion, again and again. The wind blew a few wisps of her hair to reveal the moss green of her eyes—with its gaze fixed on the blade and nothing else.

So peaceful...and…so quiet. I realized with a start that the connection between us had fallen completely silent. No…not completely…a steady thrum permeated the sense between us, but it didn’t carry any emotions or thoughts. As the assassin polished her blade with the single minded precision, she shared with me her peace—solitude without loneliness, a state of mind absent from thought, nothingness without emptiness.

As soon as I realized that, Faeve stiffened. Her hands stopped their motion for a few moments. Her eyelashes shook, as if she deeply resented my intrusion in her private space. Of course…Not only was I aware of her emotions but I even encroached upon her little moments of pace as well. But…I have no control; you know that, don’t you?

She went back to tending to her dagger, but the connection between us lost its earlier calm. Little eddies of thought and emotions began to leech into it, along with it…some resentment.

“Sorry”, I said with a sigh.

Faeve turned her face away from her completely.

“If your plan was to keep magic beasts away…”I resumed my earlier line of thinking, “It didn’t work”.

Faeve’s back straightened and her motions stopped. Her head drooped a little as if she resigned herself to something. She turned towards me in a single, fluid motion and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Those…” I pointed at the charred things on the skewers, “those things weren’t to keep beasts away while we slept?” The smoke wasn’t to repel the magic-sucker bugs??

“No”, She said as her lips quirked up in a smile, “that, human, is breakfast”.

Of course. “Faeve, the smoke from these things are burning my nose”, I protested. Though I say that…

“There is not much to eat in this sun-blasted desert, is there?” Faeve spoke out loud what I thought. “Do not be afraid, needleballs are not that harmful”

“Not that harmful? So it IS harmful!” I stared at them hard. The smoke had begun to trickle down. Surprisingly, they looked really familiar.

Faeve didn’t even reply me. She just tucked her dagger into her makeshift belt and pointed at towards the wall. From the desert, it looked even more imposing. A huge wall made of red and grey almost reached the sky. Anything around it was dwarfed in comparison.

Faeve’s finger hovered in air as she announced, “We must make haste through the desert. We cannot travel in the harsh mid day sun, so we must cover as much distance as we can.” Without missing a beat, she started walking towards me.

I sighed and shambled my way towards the now dead fire. Covering my nose and eyes with my hands, I pried the skewers loose, waving it in the air a few times to dissipate the lingering stench. As I did so, I walked over to the edge of the rock we had landed on. Faeve gave me a wide berth as she crossed me, evidently trying not to get into the “splash zone” of the horrid smell.

I peered down the sides. Rock skittered down along the steep cliff and hit the ground below with a dull, barely audible thud. The rock we were on seemed to be a flat table top with very, very steep sides. I had not paid much attention to geography class back on earth, but I knew what we were standing on from the scores of Westerns. A butte. Isn’t it?

Truth be told, the bottom wasn’t very visible. The sun rising behind the wall threw its humongous shadow cross the desert. Around us, only the very tops of the buttes and mesas were reached by the sun. The dark shadow of the wall flowed through the desert and submerged the rest of the formations. In a sea of dark shadows, the flat tops floated like islands of light.

“Stop staring”, I heard Faeve shout.

“Yeah, yeah”, I sighed while jogging to the other side of the table-top. The butte was rather small compared to the other behemoths I could see beside us. Faeve had already fixed a rope to a large boulder on the side of the cliff.

“Follow me after I am down”, Faeve warned, “do not overburden the rope”.

Without waiting for a reply, Faeve rappelled down, As I saw her lithe body grow smaller, I stared at the desert we were about to traverse. A vast vista opened up before me, cloaked in shadows and light. The landscape felt familiar, reminiscent of all the pictures of Grand Canyon I had seen back on earth. Gigantic masses of rock reared up from the earth like whales breaching the surface of a sea. Only the tops glowed a burning amber and gold in the emergent sunlight while the rest was coloured in deep shadows that seemed to have retreated and pooled at their bases.

I could hardly imagine how mighty the ancient river must have been that had etched these deep canyons, these sharp gorges into this harsh landscape. The shadows still obscured much of the landscape but it couldn’t hide the deep, deep twisting pathways that river and its branches had taken thousands of years ago. The desert was not as bereft of life as I had thought before. Smudges and fletches of green and blue could be seen here and there, nestled amongst cliff faces, hidden between outcroppings. Small sand storms blew violently between eerie shaped rocks through wind carved alien sculptures.

Where the shadows stopped, a blazing desert of red and gold began. Rocks and sand shone like starlight in the distance, blinding the eyes. My stomach dropped; as far as the eyes could see, there was no end to this desolate land, and no respite.

I heard a sudden shot directly below me. Faeve cupped her hand on her mouth and shouted again, letting me know it was my turn.

I cracked my neck as I held on to the rough rope. Oh shit. I had forgotten to pass on those horrid roasted things to Faeve. Seeing no other way, I tucked the skewers under my improvised belt. Huh! The looks of it gave me a light chuckle. It was like being as assassin, but instead of poisoned daggers, it was skewers of food! The thought must have annoyed Faeve because her disapproval snapped at me through our connection.

Ugh, my hands felt clammy as I saw the rope I had to entrust my life to. Frayed in places, it was as trustworthy as a Salresian guard saying he doesn’t take bribes. Nothing to do about it…I grasped at the rope and kicked off from the cliff face. With a woosh, last night’s fire disappeared before my eyes. Off we go again.

Apart from a few minor jerks and twitches of the rope that nearly made my heart give out, there weren’t any problem on the way down. Small lizards and insects scattered away from my heavy footed descent. How is Faeve so silent in everything she does? Oh yes, years of assassin training. I immediately regretted that line of thought. With a flash, I was reminded of eberything she told me last night. The thought must have reached to Faeve too, because there was a sudden tumult between our connection.

Sigh. What do I even do… “Oh fucking hell!” a scream escaped my lips. I hadn’t noticed when I passed from areas lit by the sun to shadows. The difference in temperature was sharp. A rather chilly wind hit me from all sides, making me shiver.

I held on to the rope for dear life as I rappelled down fast. Luckily, the cliff wasn’t nearly as steep as I had expected, and it sloped out nicely towards the bottom.

“About time”, Faeve’s voice was frigid, “you’re slower than an Elvish child”

“Careful”, I retorted, “I hold the breakfast hostage”.

Faeve gave a loud snort.

On the ground, the landscape was much more restricted. The wind flowed in a frigid river through the gargantuan rock outcropping all around us. A silence fell between us as we walked; the crunch on the rocky gravel was unreasonably loud as the sound reverberated between rock-pillars and hollowed out stone. Gargantuan outcroppings dwarfed and blocked opr view, and the only way was to look up. The sun had started rising above the wall, and the last of the stars were fading away. One moon had already set, and another was directly above.

“Is this the right direction?” I inquired.

“No”, Faeve snapped, “I am going this way as a lark”.

“eSorry”, I sighed. This girl…”But, can we determine our way during the day?”

She gave me a look over like she couldn’t believe how ignorant I was. “The more I see you, I more I think you were a pampered cake-boy of the city”.

Among the suppressors, “cake-boy” was a potent insult. In this world of limited mechanization and resources, cake, or what passed for cake was a highly priced commodity available only to the rich people of the city. Therefore, anyone naïve, bratty and not street-smart was…a cake boy. The insult didn’t bother me back at Salrest, because I mean...I did love cake back home…but here, in this accursed desert, it stung. In true suppressor fashion, I glowered at Faeve. “Don’t call me that”.

Faeve just shrugged her shoulders. “I already charted a course by the stars at dawn”, She explained. “Valaren in there too”, She pointed at the black coloured moon high above. We’ll set out course again during Sun-Shadow”.

“We are way off course. Would you even know the star positions at Sunshadow?”

“Not that off course. I know of this desert. The next settlement is just a week’s walk”. She said. “But, with your speed…” she snorted, “might take much more”.

Yeah right. I knew what this was. Last night…she’s retreating back into her shell…

What I thought must have been right, because she clammed up right after that. However, she silently asked for the charred things I held at my waist. I passed them to her gingerly; they seemed liked they’d fall apart with the slightest shake.

How is she gonna eat those? What are those anyway?

I stared at her as she took the blackened lumps and peeled off the carbonized skin to reveal white and pink flesh. She bit at them while cupping her hands beneath it. A greenish liquid trickled out of the bite she had made on it and rolled onto her palms.

My stomach rumbled, letting me know I hadn’t eaten anything for quite a while. Faeve’s mouth broke into a visible smirk at the sound.

I followed Faeve’s steps and…Ouch! Something poked at me hard from the black lump. My hand started bleeding a bit as I took out a small thorn form my finger. Looking carefully, the lump had needles of all sizes arranged on it like an armour. Makes sense, Faeve did call it a needleball. The fire had burned the needles down and made it accessible.

Oh. I realized with a start. It’s a fucking cactus.

Peeling away the charred skin along with the needles, I bit at the white flesh. A pungent, burnt taste filled my mouth. The horrid taste made my fingers tighten, squirting the sickly green fluid inside my mouth.

What the flying fuck!! The fluid burned my throat on its way down with its violent, bitter taste. Worse still, it was so sticky that the taste remained for a long while.

My face must have been a mask of horror and suffering, because Faeve turned her head back at me and silently mouthed, “Cake-boy”.

Ha ha.

We had been walking for quite a while now. The temperature had risen quite a bit as the sun peered down the deep canyon. Each rock formation we encountered was stranger than the rest, twisted into impossible shapes. The wind had turned into a wave of dry heat, carrying with it dust and grime determined to enter into our eyes and mouth. Both Faeve and I covered our mouths with a scrap of cloth, and stopped talking.

The endless walking brought with it an insane monotony. Bored out of my mind, I started making up stories about the strange rock formations around. A strange shape was dubbed as the tree that got petrified when it offended a god…that’s two hairy dwarves plonking each other…and that’s definitely a man who hung himself because he was annoyed to death by his Elf companion…

I slammed into Faeve while lost in my thoughts. She just looked back at me with annoyance in her face. Evidently, she had signaled with her hands for me to stop, but I hadn’t noticed.

“Come on, that’s just a joke”, I offered. She is annoyed at that?

Faeve put a finger on her lips to signal me to be quiet. She stood absolutely still without the slightest whisper of a movement.

That’s strange. I decided to follow suit and freeze.

Faeve gestured for me to look around. The scenery around us didn’t seem all that different. Strange rock columns and formations twisted and rose around us; wind rushed through deep, shadowy caverns and threw out its cool air…wait, what is that?

Deep white marks criss-crossed the stone pillars and cavern entrances. It was as if someone or something had chipped away at the stone repeatedly. For some strange reason, the marks reminded me of the marks Yuki’s kitten left while sharpening its claws.

I looked up at Faeve. Her face was contorted in alarm and surprise as she stared forward.

What is she…I squinted my eyes to follow her gaze. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the patch of sand she was staring at.

Wait….a patch of sand?

All this while, the ground was mostly compacted gravel. But before us lay a very slightly discoloured patch of yellow sand, like a bit of desert had just bloomed in a canyon.

From the corner of my vision I saw Faeve’s eyes go wide. However, she made no movements. From the connection between us, I could sense apprehension and…fear?

What now?

We waited there with our eyes trained on that patch of sand, unmoving. The sun blazed down without mercy, and the clear blue summer sky had little in way of clouds. In short, it fucking sucked.

How long do we have to…sweat trickled down my temple in small rivulets. What are we even waiting for? My eyes darted towards the small, cramped cavern hollowed out of rocks just a few steps away. Cool air billowed out of it in small intervals. Can’t we just run to it? What the fuck is happening?

Faeve stared at me hard, nodding her head to caution me.

Yeah, yeah. But my legs had started to cramp. But…If she is so wary, it is with good reason.

The wind picked up again, and brought with it that strange wailing cry. As it traveled through the twisted canyon, the cry became even more haunting…its reverberations on the walls magnified into a thousand voices.

Alarmed, Faeve’s fingers slid to her dagger hilts. With a slow motions, she pulled them up…but…she fumbled.

One of her daggers fell to the ground with a dull thwack.

Her eyes went wide in shock and she whipped her head towards me. Her mouth had the time to barely form the words “Run…”

The ground exploded into a geyser of pebbles and sand.

“Somaru curse!” Faeve cussed as a blur shot out of the ground.

Both she and I ran backwards where we came from as sand showered down and pelted where we had stood. Hearing a heavy thud behind us, I turned my head.

Holy shit.

Two claws the size of a small car had emerged out of the sand. The claws crunched the sand as it dug down into the ground.

“Run, run, run”, Faeve shouted, “don’t look back, it is a Soroscope”

A what? Not like I wanted to find out. If the claws were any indication, it won’t be pretty if I stuck around to find out.

Another heavy thud shook the ground, this one causing a small tremor that sent rocks clattering down the canyon walls. I couldn’t help but turn my head.

A yellow and red creature the size of a bus stood where the yellow sand had been. Propped up on its six massive legs, it’s claws…no, pincers opened and closed with the sound of a heavy metal door. A very sharp metal door. With a strange screech, the beast charged towards our running figures. The rest of its body shot out of the sand.

What the…the creature’s jhuge muscular tail swung back and forth. Hung high above the body, the tail had been bifurcated into two, with each side having its own sharp spike the size of a Claymore sword.

A fucking desert scorpion?!

The thing was impossibly fast on its legs, and quickly caught up to us despite our all out run.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, “Faeve! We can’t outrun it!” I shouted.

She nodded and leaped into a nearby boulder, her daggers shining like dual fangs.

I unslung Thirst from my back and retreated behind a rock formation.

The Soroscope stopped a few feet away. Its body slung low, its tail brought forward to pounce.

Oh?

It dragged one of its pincers on the ground. The other oozed a bluish-grey liquid. Blood, perhaps?

Deep gashes marked its dull yellow-red carapace. The carapace itself looked as if made out of rocks, albeit rather shiny. It screeched again, loudly. Four beady, red eyes swung around to look at our direction.

I glanced at Faeve. She crouched on the boulder, her eyes scanning the beast.

The red eyes went back and forth between me and her. I don’t know why, but I could sense its impatience. The eyes swung at me once more and…stopped as if coming to a decision.

Oh fuck.

The monster charged at me, its pincers swinging low. However, it wasn’t the pincers that attacked, but the tail.

I crouched down to hide myself behind the rock formation. The tail swung down with the sound of slicing air.

Thwack! One of the spikes hit the rock. Thwack! The other followed.

The beast screeched in frustration. The tail quickly retreated.

I grasped Thirst tightly. My heart pounded in my chest.

The tail swung again with that slicing sound. I braced for impact…but nothing?

I peered from a wind carved hole in the rock. Faeve had engaged the beast. Since the Soroscope had advantage of reach with its long tail, Faeve didn’t use her daggers, but hit at the beast with rocks.

Its tail couldn’t reach behind the boulder to hit Faeve. It crashed against the boulder again and again in a vain attempt to get her.

Thud! A rock the size of a fist hit the creature on its head. The beast reeled back as more missiles came flying. Thud! Thud! More airborne rock missiles hit it with uncanny precision.

The creature shook it head once, twice.

Just a few more, Faeve.

It’s tail jerked up wiuth sudden animation as it redoubled its efforts to hit Faeve. Small cracks ran through the swollen tip of its tail as it hurled it again and again at Faaeve’s hiding place. Faeve’s stopped lobbing the stones in fear of being hit.

Nothing for me to do huh? I relaxed, seeing that Faeve had the situation in control. I was not about to charge in and try to fight the oversized beast with a puny sword.

As if on cue, just as I thought this, the creature gave an ear-piercing scream. The barrage of hits on the boulder slowed to a stop.

What happened? Is it dead?

I poked my head out from the rock formation. A sudden foreboding chill ran down my spine. I immediately jerked my head back without waiting to assess the situation.

Schwing!! Something shot past with barely a hair’s breadth.

Cold sweat ran down my spine as one of the tail spikes the size of a large sword sank deep into the ground. The dry desert soil became wet as the tail spurted some viscous liquid.

The Soroscope gave off a grinding screech as its tail was stuck to the ground. A pungent smell emanated from where the tail met the soil. With a start, I realized what it was.

Poison! And must be really potent too!!

A chill ran down my spine as I realised that a moment’s delay would have cost me my life. An image flashed before my eyes. The Soroscope’s tail hoisted high, with the spike straight through my heart—my body convulsing as the poison leeched into me.

Not today, you little fucker, not today.

As if on instinct, I raised my sword up high . The tail, like rest of its body was covered in chitinious armour divided in segments.

The gaps! Faeve’s senses waded into mine. I need to hit the gaps!

The connection between us thrummed with energy as my minds shared our sensory organs, our thoughts, our emotions. My panic was counteracted by Faeve’s cool, analysis of the situation.

In an instant, I brought down my blade. Shit! I missed by a hair’s breadth. The sharp sword clanged on the chitin and slid away with a dull sound.

The Soroscope made a chittering sound with its pincers, evidently angry at being hit. As Faeve’s mind flowed into mine, I confirmed something. This little sucker is wounded.

Again! I urged myself as I brought down the blade again. This time, the sword sank deep between one of the gaps in armour. With a wet sound, the sword sliced in.

Through the corner of my eye, I saw a flitting motion.

With a loud screech, the beast had managed to jerk its tail spike out of the ground. The force of the pull made the spike sail through the air and hit my side.

I crashed some distance away.

Goddamit it hurts! My first instinct was to look for my sword. Luckily, my fingers still clung strong to its hilt. With a groan, I clambered to my feet.

The sudden development had stunned as all. The Soroscope itself hadn’t anticipated this. Its beady red eyes looked about in confusion. Taking advantage of that, I rolled away before ity could gather its wits and strike at me again.

Crouching down to a defensive position, I saw Faeve had sneaked in closer to the beast. If it hadn’t been gravely injured beforehand, I doubt it would have let her get so close.

Oh fuck. In the excitement of the battle, I had forgotten to check the damage. Thought the tail had hit me, by a miracle, the spike had missed.

One more inch… I looked at the spike dripping violet venom…and I’d be done for.

Soon enough, the monster recovered. The tail came sailing at me again.

I gritted my teeth as I saw Faeve steal closer and closer to the beast. Can’t let it turn its attention to her.

I used the sword to block the incoming tail. Some venom splattered from its tip.

Need to stay away from the splash zone.

The Soroscope jabbed its tail towards me like a sword. Its two spikes swung through the air with slicing sound s to entrap me and land a solid hit.

With Faeve’s senses as mine, I danced around the tail delicately—blocking, parrying, thrusting.

Each time the blade sliced at the tail with the precision of an assassin, the monster grew more and more frustrated. Its actions became more frenzied, more erratic.

I could hardly believe what I was doing. It was like gliding through air, finding the smallest of safe gaps…Is this what Faeve’s sees when she fights? It’s…it’s beautiful…

The monster gave a sudden yowl. I didn’t even have to turn to know what had happened. Faeve had started slicing away at the gaps in its body. It tried to scamper away as Faeve landed hit after hits on its legs.

It swung its tail to engage the Elven assassin.

Oh no you don’t! I brought he blade down on it hard. Faeve won’t be safe if the Scoroscope could bring its tail to fight her!

Blocked in iots attempt, the beast chittered loudly and suddenly coiled its tail into a small spring.

Huh?

Suddenly, the tail hit out at me like thrown punch, hitting me square in the chest. With a loud crash, I flew backwards while the tail swung away to engage Faeve.

Oh no oh no oh no!

“Faeve!” I screamed.

The force of the hit had me incapacitated. The events of the past few days had left my body a wreck—the force of the Soroscope’s tails had reopened some old wounds. I groaned and whimpered as I tried to get back on my feet.

Oh shit shit shit. Screams threatened to tear through my throat as I sat back up somehow. I could feel that my pain was affecting Faeve as well. Her face contorted with mine as the connection carried my pain over to her.

“Don’t…” I gasped with labored breaths, “don’t die, run you shit assassin”.

The tail jabbed and sliced with lightning speed as Faeve danced between its legs. The creature screeched louder as it hit its own body. I even tried to catch her with its already injured pincers.

Can she evade all that? By breaths now came in ragged gasps.

I popped myself up on Thirst to see Faeve deftly roll under the Soroscope’s carapace as the tail swung down hard.

What is she…?

Almost immediately, the beast let out an ear curdling scream.

She is hitting its underbelly!

The monster tried to scamper away with alarming speed…but failed. The assassin’s earlier hits had damaged its legs. It clambered as it tried to get away as a little figure darted underneath its shell, slicing away at it.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Excitement coursed through me, some of it mine, most of it Faeve’s.

The beasts’ tail swung like a separate living being, it contorted and writhed as intense pain wracked its body.

Suddenly, the daylight faltered. The canyon took on a twilight gleam as a golden glow spread across the land.

My head snapped up to see the sun enter into the twilight before the Sunshadow. The Sun was half hidden behind the ring in the sky, its light dimming down by the second.

A loud screech brought me to my senses. The sun-shadow seemed to give the Soroscope a fresh lease of life as it dashed madly towards me. Faeve’s figure was visible through its legs; she clung on to its undercarriage for dear life.

Her panic flooded the connection as the beast gained power by the second. I weakly brought up my sword to defend against the incoming tail strikes.

The Soroscope howled.

The tail came slicing down.

I swung the sword up to block the strike with both hands. The impact made my hands go numb. Ugh, how is it suddenly so powerful?!

It chittered, as if laughing.

It’s less damaged pincer came hurtling towards me.

Panic and excitement spiked within me, for a moment my body felt like it was floating…and suddenly it was. No…I felt detached from my body, like an Out of body experience…What’s happening?

The pincer was approaching me with super slow speed.

My vision swam; suddenly I was under the Sorocope, slashing at the beast wildly to save my companion…wait what? when did I…?

My mind was thrown into confusion as I saw, felt, heard from two vantage points. The connection completely melded my senses to Faeve’s, but I couldn’t keep up with the extra stream of information

Oh shi…

With a loud thud the pincer picked me up and pressed me against a rock wall. My sword clanged away as the impact drove the air out of my lungs.

The pincers started tightening.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Clang! Something flew out and lodged itself where the pincers joined each other.

The dimming twilight gleamed off a dagger.

Faeve!

She had thrown that dagger to save me!

While the creature couldn’t close its pincers to cut me in half, it was enough to hold my body in place. The Soroscope opened its huge maw; serrated teeth gleamed like a guillotine made of teeth. The stench of the rotting flesh stuck to its gums was overpowering.

No! No!

I struggled to get free. I hit the pincer with my hands, to no avail.

The beast’s tail rose higher and higher and then hurtled towards me like a comet. The Soroscope screeched!

I waited for a certain death, my mind a eerily calm. Arin…

Bang!

The rock wall shuddered. The beast screeched with a frenzy unlike before.

Huh?

I opened my eyes to see the beast had lodged its tail in a hollowed out rock formation.

It…it missed? No…the other dagger in Faeve’s arsenal had lodged itself into one of the gaps between the Sorocope’s tail segments. She had thrown away the last of her weapons to make that tail veer off course.

But…for what? How will I even…

In my wild thrashing, my hands hit the rock wall. Oh fuuuuck! Pain blossomed in my palms with a fierce fury. What now?! My palms came away bloody, with something the size of a fist lodged onto them.

Needleball! A cactus with thorns the size of my palms had been growing into the cliff face which had now stabbed itself into my palm.

The beast dragged itself even closer, its mouth just inches from mine. Even if its tail was stuck, it was determined to make me into its meal. It constantly shifted and scuttled to attempt dislodge its twin-pronged tail.

Its beady red eyes looked at me with vengeance and fury.

It’s over…my fight’s done.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, deep shadows fell all over the canyon. Darkness like night blossomed from the cliffs, the rock faces, from the desert itself. Stars exploded into the sky as if torn into being. The sun had crossed over completely behind the ring in the sky. The Sunshadow had started.

Almost immediately, the beady eyes of the Soroscope expanded like the focus of a camera. To adjust to the night light, the eyes the size of casino chips expanded to the size of dinner plates.

As my hand still burned from the cactus I thought…Maybe, just maybe…

I rammed my hands into one of the four eyes of the monster. The needles sank into its pupils with a gush of viscous liquid and dark coloured blood.

The monster screamed. Mucous and bits of rotting flesh showered my face.

I rammed my hands deep into the eye.

Without Thirst, the effect would be quite low…but…

I sent a shockwave through my palm. The cactus was not a magic object so it didn’t handle it well, but the needles exploded inside the Soroscope.

The monster gave a deathly wail and then fell sideways; its belly exposed. The ground shook as its huge body hit the dust. I fell with a loud crash beside it.

Faeve looked up at me, her body drenched in dark fluids and bits of internal organs of the beast. She panted in exhaustion. The Soroscope was finally dead. We were saved; for now.

I crawled over to her, my heart hammering in my chest. A strained laughter bubbled up both our throats.

I looked up at the sky. Brilliant stars dotted the sky while the ring itself had a gold halo running through it. Ever since coming to this world, I had seen sunshadows every day, but it still felt so alien, so otherworldly. Well, technically, it IS otherworldly for me.

Faeve nudged me with her hands. She pointed at something on the ground. Following her gaze, my eyes fell on little glowing patches on the dark desert floor. Little stains glowed and throbbed with light.

But there hadn’t been anything just a while ago?

“Glows only at…night”, Faeve explained between labored breaths, “Pathfinder mushrooms”.

True, like as if they were following a path, the glowing things bloomed across the desert in small patches in a largely straight line.

I rested my back against a rock, too tired to even turn my head towards Faeve. “Significant?” I asked.

“Yes”, She seemed to have recovered her breath, “Food, water, shelter—sign of oasis”

I smiled in relief.

“Let’s wait till sunset”, Faeve proposed, “when night falls, we follow them”.