Ava opened her eyes, dawn of sunlight on her face. This was the fourth time she tried to sleep or what seemed like one. As a transcendent being, the Post-Human had no concept of fatigue or limits of mortals yet she faked it anyway, lest anyone figured out her true identity.

She silently donned her cloak and shoes, careful not to wake Kas up. The Post Human exited the hut and moved toward the water’s edge. The central fire pit had more or less turned into ash, with some embers left. Some chill of the night still remained, curtain of fog around.

Splash!

A refreshing dash of water, as clear as colourless glass. Shoals of fishes can be seen, swimming about in the lake. Ava wiped off her face, feeling the coldness of the scene. She could hear some snoring from Husan’s hut and Muzaid’s mumbles. Makya’s place was barely audible.

Next to arise were the Sand Komodos, ever vigilant of their surroundings. They glanced at Ava before doing their own things. Ava refreshed her senses again, there were still someone nearby. Hadn’t they saw enough of her abilities and actions? She ignored them again, for now.

The Post Human walked softly some tens of paces, randomly near the camp site. Her senses extended far underground, to get a feel of the soil in this place. Minerals, metals etcetera. She threw a soft sigh, there were nothing notable here except the underground water vein.

While this oasis had abundance of plants, she deemed them to be largely useless. From her prior experience, these plants required substantial refinements before they can be used. The Post Human needed metals and minerals the most, not biomatter which she had plenty of.

Was it a mistake coming here, to the Sa’maat Barchans instead of the ore-rich Sulaymun Formation? Ava put the matter aside and instead focused in another task. She produced the dao crossbow she got from Janak, trying to figure out on how she could use or improve it.

Clank! Fwip!

The crossbow was comfortable to use, as if it was tailor-made for someone with stature like Ava. The Post Human toyed with it, flipping it around her small palms. Akeila mentioned this thing used dao cores as ammunition and Ava now had plenty of them. Should she splurge?

She shifted her attention on figuring out the weird contraption. It didn’t contain any complex mechanisms, only simple latches there and there. The weapon however had some kind of symbols or rather several engraved patterns throughout its crude structure. What were they?

The Post Human produced a dao core and put it inside the metal box on top of it. She clicked the trigger but nothing happened. She clicked it again and again until its muzzle, shaped like a dragon head glowed blue. Multiple bluish energy bolts erupted from its muzzle.

Shew, shew, shew!

The target, a relatively large boulder had five deep holes in it. Ava clicked again but there was no response, only bit of dust dropping from its top-mounted box. The dao core had been entirely spent, completely consumed. Said target boulder then cracked into pieces, loudly.

The Post Human saw logic in Akeila’s words. For ordinary wanderers, this weapon was a literal money sink; considering how hard it was to kill a desert monster with a dao core, any sane wanderer wouldn’t use this weapon. A junk in other words, created by an insane mind, Janak.

Her experiment was interrupted by panicked voice of Muzaid, “Guys?! Are we under attack?!”

“What?! Where?!” Next was Husan, his hut exploded into pieces.

Ava ran back to the campsite, waving the crossbow, “Please at ease. Ava was just testing this dao weapon crossbow.”

“OH!” Both guys were relieved, it wasn’t an attack but just the young girl doing something. They did think Ava had used some Fire Talismans last time so it wouldn’t be strange for her to have something of similar caliber.

At this point Makya had fully awakened from all the noise, “A dao crossbow?”

“Let me guess, Janak’s was it?” Muzaid took a deep breath, it seemed Ava was fine and proper.

Husan propped his chin, staring at the odd item on Ava’s hands, “This old man heard of it before too. So Janak’s still at it? Didn’t he have better things to do?”

“Ava bought it and Ava liked it.” The young girl refuted their negative implications. After all, she wasn’t actually the same as these people, her sense of values was different.

Makya carefully arranged her words, as to not offend Ava, “This sister would give a similar advice. Better to think it as a curious souvenir, Young Miss.”

“Ava acknowledges. When will Ava get black rock?” The Post Human dodged the issue, not wishing to discuss it any longer.

Muzaid had a troubled expression, “About the black rock, uhh…”

“Huh, you’re not delicate at all, Muzaid.” Makya snorted at him but adopted a gentler tone with Ava, “Well Young Miss, earlier on, we can’t exactly say how we get it.”

“Wanderers, haah. Cutthroat competition, especially Kazar’s. Saying it came from an unknown desert monster keep people with funny ideas away.” Husan sighed as he had guessed why.

Muzaid talked a little bit carefully, “Yeah. Wanderers come in various shapes and intentions. But in the boundless desert? Who knows?”

“Ava is very strong. Ava have no problem to deal with any of them, Brother Muzaid.” The young girl fisted the empty air. Her face however was blank as usual.

The four-armed elder put two of his hands on his waist, “Gahahaha! That’s the spirit! Come devil, slay devil! Come god, slay god!”

“Okay, we’ll be going for your black rock after this breakfast.” The warrior got to work, dismantling the huts along with Makya.

Husan took the clue and started the fire pit again, “Yup! Can’t travel with an empty stomach!”

At the same time, the four-armed elder shelled some of previously collected water chestnuts. Ava offered to help but he politely refused her request, saying she shouldn’t trouble herself with such minor things. The Post Human thus waited patiently by the side of the bonfire.

Crackle!

The flame had stabilized and Husan put a thin stone slab over it. He dispensed the chestnuts along with dash of salt and pepper. The whitish vegetable slowly turned as golden as the sand dunes. A sweet, nutty and fruity smell; Kas the rat had already drooling from its mouth.

Crunch!

It was an unspoken understanding in the party that Ava usually get to taste the first serving. The water chestnuts were in thin slices, crunchy and refreshing to bite. If there was a word for it, it would be potato chips but Ava was unsure whether potatoes existed in this world.

Siss!

Husan added another ingredient, fruits of Pink Pad Cacti. He put them on some sticks, to roast them inside the fire. After a few minutes of grilling, the old man used a knife to cut them into bite-sized pieces. These round fruits were indigo in colour and sweeter than the chestnuts.

“So, as they say, no plan survive contact with real world,” Muzaid the warrior coughed a little, “Simply put, change of plans. Coincidentally, one of Husan’s stuff is close to source of black rock that Ava wants.”

“No problem Muzaid. Bout time this old man sees new stuff.”

“No objection either here, Muzaid.”

“Okay guys. We will be going to Alkharm Wadi, some tens of lis from here.” The warrior took a dry stick and drew something on the ground.

Ava peered at the drawn diagrams, “Is entering Alkharm Wadi difficult, Brother Muzaid? Full of monsters?”

“Difficult in sense of getting there. The Wadi didn’t have much monsters but the terrain. Crevasses and jagged rocks.” Muzaid drew more as he talked.

At this point, Husan had put out the fire and buried the pit, “Ugrh, ravines? This old man’s poor heart isn’t good for such things!”

“Don’t fret, old man. I’m sure to catch you before you fall.” Makya playfully spun some strings, made from fibrous plant matter she got in the oasis.

Muzaid finally finished drawing, a route of sorts, “We’ll be safe as long we follow these routes. Besides, our Sand Komodos can hop through it no problem.”

“Ava asks, is there any mineral vein in Alkharm Wadi?” The Post Human shot a random question, not expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, Muzaid nodded, “Brother Muzaid had come across some of them but they were mostly red sand, iron rust. No one really wants it.”

“Ava is just curious.” The young girl implied it was just her curiosity, cutting the conversation short.

The warrior erased the drawings with his left foot, “Okay. So, let’s go now, guys.”

Shortly before the team departed, Ava produced a small metallic sphere and threw it to the lake when they weren’t looking. She then jumped to her mount, following Muzaid’s lead. Great sand dunes greeted the party again, unmistakable hallmark of Sama’at Barchans.

Whish, whoosh, whish

Dry wind blew over the dunes, rolling up grit and sand in barrel-like manner. Further out, some sand devils formed and died, twisting randomly amongst massive barchans. The team traveled along the shades of said dunes, avoiding direct contact with prevailing winds.

Their mounts perused the terrain with purchase, clearly had adapted to ever shifting nature of the boundless desert. No talk occurred as the winds were quite strong and full of flying sand that would get into any gaps. It was worse for dunes’ sides exposed to the winds.

The Sun had risen to its peak, mid-day. Billowing winds got even drier every second but the party had no choice but to brave it through. The oasis they stayed at was the last one in hundred of lis in this empty quarter of Sama’at Barchans. Life however, was quite tenacious.

Ava detected quite a number of lifeforms during the travel, ranging from occasional sand snakes to flash silver ants and rolling tumbleweeds. No vicious monsters were in her range, as if even they had forsaken this place, unwilling to stay nary longer in such harsh conditions.

As they went their way, Muzaid seemingly made detours at random directions. Each time the warrior did so, Ava had picked up some kind of fuzzy signature. What was he avoiding from? It was unlike clear presences coming from their initial pursuers, from Kazar City.

The Post Human wanted to ask but the surrounding winds made it difficult to talk, let alone opening a mouth. She kept mum and instead waited for the travel to complete. On the other hand, number of pursuers that she tracked steadily decreased with passing time.

Whatever Muzaid did, it clearly worked in the favour of the party, in trade of moving through this blasted place. The pursuers’ count didn’t reach zero however, there were still some left. These might be true experts, that can somehow still lock into the party’s position from afar.

The party passed by increasing number of stony outcrops, littering the place. Tens of minutes later, great sand dunes had all but disappeared and replaced by gargantuan jagged rocks. Muzaid raised his hand, notifying the party that they had arrived, to edge of Alkharm Wadi.

“Guys, let’s rest here.” The warrior led the team to one of more secluded places here since the desert winds were ever present.

Husan shook his robes, laden with sand, “Peh! Too much sand! Settin’ up a camp, Muzaid?”

“Not here, Husan. Just a ten minutes break and then we move again.” The warrior kept his eyes out, ever vigilant.

Ava also shook her robes, removing handfuls of sand, “Brother Muzaid, this is Alkharm Wadi?”

“One of its many entrances. No one actually knows how big it is.” Muzaid darted his eyes over the yonder, his mind calculating something.

Makya also glanced around, she had never been to this place, “So this is it? There are no Red Scorpions here, right?”

“None that I know so far. We just need to be mindful of our steps. It’s long way down.” Muzaid pointed to a crevasse just a few steps away from them.

Unlike the dunes of Sama’at Barchans, Alkharm Wadi looked like valleys and gulleys of sandstone and gneiss. There was some flowing water but they were largely out of reach, deep inside crisscrossing ravines in the terrain. The winds were chilly instead of dry and full of grit.

The Post Human on other hand focused on entirely different matter; she felt the fuzzy signatures had not only increased but also followed the party here. What were they? Were they humans like Shalim or vicious monsters like Thunder Vipers? Ava had no real clue.

The young girl felt as if her senses were being jammed by an unknown entity. It could also due to her senses being not attuned enough, not that flexible. Ava remained wordless as she distributed boiled water jars as requested by the party. Kas the rat was unusually alert.

Her curiosity prompted her to change her senses from broad to sharp, to a single point. It took some seconds until Ava can catch a glimpse of the fuzzy thing, buried in a nearby sand dune. It didn’t look like a Thunder Viper but instead some kind of weirdly-misshapen fish.

She momentarily glanced at its direction before sweeping her sharpened senses around. There were more than ten of them in vicinity, in form of multiple groups. She assessed the situation; in front of the party were odd lifeforms. Farther out were pursuers from Kazar.

Pshhhh! Bang!

Unwittingly, her prior scan had inevitably triggered the buried creatures in some way; multiple hills of sands started to converge the party from all sides! Ava was first to jolt up, followed by Muzaid and the rest of the party. They adopted fighting stances, immediately.

“Gah! I knew this wouldn’t be easy!” Muzaid exclaimed, pair of dao hammers at the ready.

Husan was next, arming himself with some slabs of rocks he had found lying around, “Thunder Vipers?!”

“No, they didn’t shoot lightning yet!” Makya prepared herself as well, eying some vantage points in the jagged terrain.

Boom!

The first buried creature burst out. It had thick interlocking plates as armour and rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. The fish-like creature opened its mouth wide as it pounced straight at them, at Ava. The Post Human gave a simple reply, she kicked a hard stone to its maw.

Gudong!

The rock hit dead center, demolishing the creature’s mouth, throat and portion of its body. It got nailed to nearby rock wall but it wasn’t completely crushed. The creature twitched a bit before it died later. More of them burst out from the dunes, bringing onslaught on the party!

“Cursed desert, what are they, Muzaid?!” Husan was forced to dodge as he found out the creature had cracked the stone slab he held in one hit.

The warrior shouted on top of his lungs, “Crescent Sharks! Anyway, don’t meet them head on! They’re strong and fast!”

“Muzaid! Why your luck’s bad?!” Makya threw some rocks, deflecting the trajectories of incoming Crescent Sharks.

Muzaid dodged left and right, using his dimmed dao hammers to repel the creatures away, “How would I know?! We’ve just arrived here! Cursed desert!”

Even their mounts were forced to fight as the Crescent Sharks were more than willing to eat anything that moved. The Sand Komodos copied their masters, using their strong legs to either kick approaching Crescent Sharks or throw stone slabs at the creatures’ direction.

Putong! Gabeng!

The team had fought off some tens of these vicious monsters and yet no end was in sight. Even more Crescent Sharks showed up, attracted by the conflict! At one point, a zhang-long Crescent Shark aimed its maw at both Husan and Ava, mouth wide enough for both of them!

Ava pulled the old man and at the same time produced her dao crossbow, “Old man Husan! Avoid!”

Kaboom!

A shoulder-thick energy bolt exploded from the dao weapon and connected to the waiting maw of the Crescent Shark. It obliterated both the creature and the dao weapon as Ava had loaded more than five dao cores inside the crossbow. The backblast pushed the duo aback.

“Ava! Husan!” Muzaid frantically swung his dao hammers, more creatures incoming.

Makya jumped out of the resultant smoke, “Muzaid! We need to withdraw, now!”

“But they! They were gone!” The warrior vented his rage on the Crescent Sharks, taking more risks to collide with them head-on.

The scout female produced a woven rope and lassoed Muzaid out of the way, “We can always look for them later! The dao crossbow isn’t a Fire Talisman! At worst, they are just injured! They must’ve fallen into the ravine!”

“AHHHH!” Muzaid screamed on top of his lungs, unwilling to accept the reality. Whether he liked it or not, he needed to retreat before even more of these Crescent Sharks showed up.

They darted out of the stone ridge with the rest of the Sand Komodos. With Makya’s swiftness and string mastery, they moved among rocky chasms and crevices. The frenzied monsters only fell to their deaths. In her heart, Makya hoped Ava and Husan survived the tribulation.