《Bonfire of Souls》Vol. II - 5 - Meeting Old Chad
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Nothing too outrageous, huh. Why was Benjamin remembering that right now? Oh right, it was because at the very moment he was riding that cool Lizard-like creature used to cross the desert while looking at an outrageously big Mutant that looked and acted like it was quite irritated. How? Why? As he silently recounted in his mind all the bad deeds he'd done in his life, Benjamin tried his best to try and figure out how he got himself in that outrageous situation that might just end with him getting eaten whole or something.
The day had started in a good enough manner. Layla did not even try to seduce him or anything so he had a decent night's sleep, and on top of that was not angry with him this time and woke him in a humane manner. Sure they had woken up really early, slightly before dawn even, and he really hated waking up early. Still, apparently the desert at night could be this pretty dangerous place for people who weren't stronger than your average human. Therefore, even though they would have to face the scorching sun later on in the day, it was decided that they would leave the city shortly after dawn to make sure they reached Palma, the Oasis City, before sundown. Layla had hired the transport the day before, while Benjamin was talking with Duke Prelestia.
They had a pleasant enough breakfast, with plenty of cheese, bread and tea he had never seen before. According to Layla, the hotel alternated breakfasts, having more food from the Empire or the Wildlands in different days. He was really glad to not have taken off yet, he might have plenty of time to sample Wildlands cuisine, but each place probably had its own specialty. Layla told him about Palma's during breakfast, delicious and tasty, even if not that juicy fruits that were hard to come by anywhere else in the desertic regions of the Wilslands. As they put on their clothes and left the hotel, Benjamin was quite excited about what was to come.
They headed to the city's eastern exit, probably the only case of a city's gate being open during most of the day. Showing his proof of friendship with Duke Prelestia to the guards, all of them Mutants, got Benjamin and Layla past the inspection checkpoint quite fast. After that they met with the guide that would help them reach Palma. Surprisingly, he was not a Mutant. Not that he was disappointed or anything, but he had to ask how come a human was in such a profession, as it certainly seemed like it could be quite dangerous. Fortunately, the man was not offended and even smiled as he answered Benjamin's question.
“Well, my family has always been a guide's family. Throughout the generations, this has always been the primary way in which we make money. And even if you ask me about the dangers and such, its exactly because we are weak humans that we can find the least dangerous paths and know when things get too bad. There are people whose legs allows them to cross the desert in quite a short time and whose strength makes then unafraid of almost anything that you can find in the desert. Do you think that someone like that could ever show you the way someone weak like us should tread?”
Benjamin had to concede that this was a good point, but something else in what the guide said caught his attention.
“Are you telling me that there are things in the desert that anyone should be afraid of?”
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It wasn't because he was afraid of anything, not right at that moment, not yet. The happenings of the day before had been somewhat scary, but their conclusion led to an inflated sense of invincibility in Benjamin. He wanted to know what kind of creature could be found in the desert that was a universal threat.
The guide showed an uneasy smile while shaking his head.
“There's just one. Old Chad, the Sand Leviathan, so people like to call him, even though nobody knows if it's actually a male.” Everything in his expression said I hope he doesn't show up. He opened his arms quite apart in order to emphasize what he was going to say next. “He's this huge thing, an amalgamation of who knows how many different animals. Rumor says he is almost as old as the Countess.”
That looked quite dangerous, still, Benjamin's curiosity was not quite sated, so while they packed things on one of the lizard mounts they would use to cross the desert, he continued to question the guide.
“Hmm, this Old Chad really sounds dangerous. How can you be sure that he won't show up or attack us?”
By that point, his excitement might have slightly turned into nervousness, but it wasn't like he was super afraid or anything. He might trust the guide, but, you know, you never know, right?
“Oh, right, Layla did say you were from the Empire. Old Chad is why we are traveling during the day.”
“Ah, he's the kind of creature that only acts during the night, I see.”
With that, he was calmer again.
“Well, not exactly, he seems to be active during most of the day, but he only hunts at night. So, well, even if we do run into him somehow, chances are we won't be in that much danger.”
Won't be in that much danger? What the heck was up with that?
“Won't be in that much danger?”
Oh shit, did he say it with too much disbelief or fear in his voice? Why was Layla looking at him with those cold eyes? Come on! What was wrong with trying to know about the dangers beforehand? For his part, the guide just shrugged.
“We could still get trampled by Old Chad without him ever even realizing we are there. That's how my uncle died.”
Say that earlier damn it! Now, Benjamin was going to get back into the city, be in a safe place and think about how he is going to cross this desert without having the possibility of running into a huge and outrageously dangerous thing like that. Wait, weren't they already mounted and leaving by this point? What was he doing on top of this creature? Even if he was practically tied to it... He was never a good rider of anything. No, no, no. It didn't matter if the guide said the things were gentle as hell and that their instinct was to follow the alpha, which the guide was mounted on.
“I'm going to leave you behind if you turn around. Geez, never thought I'd ever see someone who would risk getting executed to have adventures be so cowardly when the adventures are right there.”
Layla had a point. But! Even then! Still! He couldn't turn back... it wasn't about his pride or not wanting to left behind! He had just decided that there probably wasn't a way to cross the desert with a 100% chance of not seeing Old Chad.
“Don't worry too much, the desert is big and Old Chad is only one. Most trips that I make I don't even get to lay eyes on the bastard, good thing too.”
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Oh, so the odds of running into him were low? Good!
A few hours later Benjamin cursed the idea of low odds. Low odds? What a joke. He should have known since this journey started that it didn't matter how low the odds were, they were going to be beat. It was just his luck, really. Gets to a town he doesn't know, enters the first brothel he sees and it's a huge embarrassment, goes to talk with Duke Prelestia, and not only did he get to see the one in a million scene of an Imperial Prince getting humiliated, he got deemed “too” interesting and given something that Layla assured him would get them into unnecessary trouble later on. So, really, he should really not have been in any way surprised when a low rumbling could be heard coming from the earth and Old Chad could be seen emerging from the sand. Yes, it was really far away, but that really didn't help with how nervous he felt.
Old Chad, the Sand Leviathan. To say he was an awe-inspiring creature was to severely undersell how outrageous he was. To describe him was both easy and difficult at the same time, but that was because one could take the lazy route simply call him this humongous sand-based whale, but of course that just didn't do justice to him. The moniker Sand Leviathan wasn't just for show. Of course Benjamin had never seen one, but as far as he knew, whales weren't supposed to be that huge in the first place, they also didn't have such elongated mouths or huge and sharp, blade-like things protruding from its back in two different lines. Also, as far as he knew, whales didn't have four pairs of eye. Watching that gigantic creature glide effortlessly through the sand, even if at a very far distance made Benjamin not only terrified, but incredibly curious as to what it did hide of its form beneath the sand, allowing it to glide so gracefully. He had to admit that, provided he came out of this alive, this was a creature that just had to be seen.
The guide, however, did not seem amused in the slightest manner. Benjamin could understand his situation, after the novelty of seeing it once, probably most people would see old Chad as a huge danger as opposed to anything else.
“Well, fuck me in the ass with a spiked baton, there's the bastard. Nothing to do for it but keep moving and hope it doesn't come in our direction before eleven.”
Before noon, eh? There was probably something about Old Chad that Benjamin didn't but probably should know. Before he could ask the guide, Layla approached him on her lizard and answered the question he had on his mind.
“Apparently, those eyes on Old Chad are pretty sensitive, you might not see it because we are very far, but it seems he keeps them closed during the day. He sees at night perfectly, or so we think, which is why he only hunts at night. When the sun is too intense, he burrows himself in the sand to protect himself from the light, so roughly from eleven to one in the afternoon we should be completely safe.”
Should be... Why was Benjamin getting weary of that phrase? Maybe because as of late a lot of things that should be just aren't?
As the hours passed by and the lizards they rode steadily crossed the desert, Benjamin couldn't tear his eyes away from the creature called Old Chad. Was it out of fear or fascination? Probably a mix that contained a lot of both. He just looked so powerful, did he even have any worries. It might be nice living like Old Chad: A powerful gargantuan behemoth with no worries about predators to speak of, complete freedom to go pretty much anywhere he would like, although he had no idea how mobile Old Chad would be outside the sea of sand that formed the desert. Still, he wouldn't have to worry about stifling parents or an oppressive autocracy for a government that loved to claim its justice and duty towards the people of the Empire while doing little more than an absurd exploitation of people's lives.
It was scary, but at the same time, Benjamin was glad that he got to see Old Chad. He was a giant, a titan that nobody wished to grab the attention of. He probably could care less about the respect that Benjamin felt at that time. Old Chad was probably just as likely to kill Benjamin by accident as he was to simply ignore him and go on with his titanic existence. But in Benjamin's mind, that didn't matter. Old Chad was somewhat of an inspiring existence.
“Huh, it seems like Old Chad just stopped. That's weird, as far I know, he supposedly only stops during the day to burrow.”
Whoa, whoa! Why was Layla saying something that sounded so dangerous. Old Chad as an inspiration was all well and good, but Benjamin really preferred if he would stay as that and not act in any abnormal fashion. Please, don't do weird shit, pretty please! Benjamin would love to bend reality to his will with only words.
“Maybe he's preparing to burrow or something?”
Alas, he was unable to change reality. The guide's answer to Benjamin's hopeful question was less than good. The man himself looked pretty nervous.
“No, it's definitely way too early. There's something weird going on. Father told me that Old Chad acted weird the day that my uncle got trampled. Better be careful.”
Well, that is just absolutely great, isn't it? The sarcasm welled up inside Benjamin, but he managed to suppress it enough to not antagonize the guide who was the only person who knew how to get to Palma. Still, Benjamin could help but remark to himself what a lovely phrase that was. It is certainly quite reassuring to know that when Old Chad acts strange, people die. So great! What a great idea this whole thing had been, Benjamin just loved the Wildlands so much!
Instead of burrowing, Old Chad showed as much of his body as he could outside the sand, showing almost his entire towering form. He was definitely bigger than many buildings in the Empire. It then roared with a strength and fierceness that blanked out Benjamin's mind for a moment. Even the lizard mounts, which up until that moment had been the most docile creatures Benjamin had ever seen, were now slightly skittish. What the fuck was going on? Old Chad had no human features, so why the hell did he look so... pissed off? Was it time to pray? Maybe this time it would work? Benjamin didn't like it one bit, but he had very few options that him a feeling of enhanced safety.
“So... What do we do if Old Chad comes in our direction?”
Please! Give a decent answer, Benjamin really hoped he wouldn't say something like “Get out of the way and pray.”
The guide looked like a man who had already accepted his own mortality and wouldn't bear any grudges once he left this life.
“Pray, and get out of the way.” Haha, very funny. Not. “And don't separate from me.” Thanks captain obvious!
Benjamin took a deep breath. Panicking would get him nowhere.
“Ah, he's moving again.”
Ooooh, shit! The sky is falling! They were all going to die! Panic, panic panic. O h, wait, he wasn't moving in their direction. Well, not exactly. He was moving much faster than before. It would be really nice to know what the hell was Old Chad thinking, safer too. It then stopped released a growl that weirdly enough seemed to reverberate through the whole desert, what the hell was up with that? Did sound propagate that well in sand? Deep breaths, calm down.
“We need to keep moving, Old Chad seems to be looking for something. Don't separate from me, we are heading that way, through a path he has already checked.”
Great. So the biggest, baddest and strongest creature in the desert is looking for something that might be pissing him off and he might just be content with crushing the three of them if he realizes they are there at all.
“Just to be sure, but he isn't looking for us specifically or anything like that, right?”
The guide just shrugged at him.
“Who knows what goes on in Old Chad's head. Nobody even knows exactly what kind of senses he has or how sharp they are. Best I can say is that he absolutely doesn't backtrack, so if we can reach roughly the place that he's just gone through, we should be safe.”
Man, fuck those should bes. Still, it was something, so Benjamin said nothing and let his mount keep following the guide's. Some more time passed and things didn't seem to get any more dangerous, but they didn't get safer either. Old chad would rush in a direction, probably killing anything that was in his path, then stop momentarily, growl or roar, then start off in another direction. The same pattern kept repeating itself, except it became quite noticeable that the time it took for him to decide on another direction was getting shorter and shorter. Was Old Chad getting more and more impatient? Hopefully he wouldn't do any more weird things.
“He's been still for a while now don't you think?” Oh no, Layla just jinxed it now. Why? “Is it opening its eyes?”
What? How was she able to tell? The damn thing was so far away... Still, looking at the four pairs of huge orb-like things that were Old Chad's eyes, Benjamin could tell that there was some kind of movement there. Wow, how many different protective layers were on top of them that he took this long to open his eyes? Old Chad was strange indeed. Wait, are those jet black things his eyes?
The moment Benjamin saw them, the huge creature let out a roar of pain, recoiled and closed his eyes once again. Old Chad was looking for something, even going so far as to expose his sensitive eyes to the harsh sunlight, which meant...
“Hey, there's no way he spotted us, right?” This was no time to try and sound brave. He looked at Layla, then at the guide, who was now even more impossibly livid than before. “Can that thing see something as small as us clearly from that far away?”
The guide was completely horrified, but he didn't need to answer. The next roar that Old Chad let out had a completely different tone to it, it sounded unmistakably of triumph and glee. Fuck! What were they going to do?
“To the side of his route! Come on! Come on! We have to get out of here, he's coming!”
More obvious shit. Benjamin could fucking see the giant thing coming in their direction. Would they be fast enough? Old Chad, the Sand Leviathan, he was so fast, he was coming so fast, closer and closer. It was over. So, at the very start, this is where Benjamin's adventures were going to end, huh, slightly pathetic. He stopped even looking at the incoming behemoth that would end their lives, too afraid to look at his would-be killer. Moments passed, what seemed like a long time passed, yet he wasn't crushed yet, strange. Benjamin looked behind, there was nothing. Now that he thought about it... Why did it feel like he was on a hill now? The guide's nervous laughter startled him.
“Haha, incredible... The bastard burrowed before he got to us... He was irritated because he was reaching his limit probably.” Burrowed. Did that mean that they were safe? “He's under us! Stop moving and focus on dodging! Oh, Great Mother and Great Father, keep us safe.”
Dodging? What was he talking about? What could he possibly dodge? If Old Chad decided to come to the surface it's not like they could dodge it or anything... Huh, is that something like a mound forming right next to him? Before Benjamin could take a better look, it exploded, with something flying out of it. A fucking spike? Spikes are flying from the ground now and nobody told him something like that could happen? Screw this! He yanked the lizard's reins, making it move out from a mound that soon exploded. That was no joke... Those were pretty big spikes, Benjamin really didn't feel like getting impaled and becoming Old-Chad-snack-on-a-stick. To his dismay however, the mounds seemed to become more and more numerous.
One here, dodge! Another there, can't go in that direction! It didn't help the fact that, even with a lot of protection, some sand got on his face when a mound exploded nearby. It was getting harder and harder. Then... the worst happened: Hey, I hear you like spikes! So we get more spikes flying from the ground, as well as having some of them end up falling nearby, so you get possibly fatal spike from above and below! Fuuuuuuck! The damn things were all ridged as well, so probably even getting grazed by one might end up being a really serious injury. The situation continued for a few more minutes until, almost miraculously, it stopped. At least the mounds did, it still took a few more seconds before spikes stopped falling from the sky. He was safe. Benjamin raised two fists in triumph and shouted.
“Haha! I live! Fuck you, Old Chad, you asshole!” Yeah! Glorious survival! Except... Looking around, he was alone. Was he lost and probably going to die? “Fuck you! Where are my friends?”
He shouted again, perhaps in hopes being located by someone, for example... Oh! Is that Layla? Great! At least he wasn't going to die alone now. Layla wasn't on her mount, a good part of her clothes were blown off and her face was completely exposed, and full of tears.
“Waaah! I thought I was going to die!”
He was surprised as she leapt onto his mount and started hugging him, almost knocking him off in the process. Still, he understood her distress, his heart was still beating like crazy, even more now. He reciprocated the hug and patted her head.
“There, there, it's alright now, we are both alive... Hopefully the guide is too, we are going to live through this, no problem!”
Being reassuring was well and good, but what were they going to do now? Benjamin had no idea in which direction was Palma. For now, letting go of the reins was a good idea, hopefully the lizard would be able to find its pack leader.
It didn't take long. In a few minutes they found the guide on his mount, miraculously the pack lizard beside that was carrying most of their things was also unharmed. The guide was laughing maniacally, in an almost scary wait.
“Ehehehe, I survived. I didn't, didn't get killed by a spike barrage from Old Chad... A miracle, this is a miracle! Ehehe, I'm awesome, the best, loved by the heavens, there is no other explanation...”
It would take some time until he was completely recovered and they were able to continue their journey.
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