Chapter Eleven: The Planet of Sand

Far from the jubilant splendour of San’s planet, John, Andy and Katrine where wrapped in desert cloaks - skin-tight wraps of cloth to keep the sand away. But, even with the best quality cloaks, the sand still managed to find its way in - which was suited because they were at the planet that was made nearly entirely out of sand. Sandstorms where a regular occurrence here, and oases, while plentiful, where difficult to get to, due to the dangers of traveling. The strange thing about the planet was that it was not overly hot, at least not as hot as one would expect from a desert that covers most of the land mass, it looked as if the sand was not a natural part of the planet, and had been changed to this way by some unnatural being or occurrence. However, it was not just the perpetual threat of sand-storms, quicksand and death-by-thirst that made the planet dangerous. A dozen dangerous other-worldly beings stalked the sands, from the Dune Boars - a massive malformed shape that looked like it once had been a boar, long ago, and had a perpetual taste for flesh, which its razor tusks and several rows of teeth where more than happy to assist with - to the Sand-scythers.

John was not worried about the Dune Boars, while they claimed many thousands of nomadic people that lived on the planet, they were stupid and impulse driven, which made them easy prey for someone that knew what they were doing. He wasn’t even particularly bothered the Sand-Scythers, part of the Scythers family - if family was a word that could be used to describe demonic creatures that wielded the same weapon - and deadly to most whom travelled anybody of sand. Their ability to Shift across the sands allowed them to make sudden and lethal raids on a party that was traveling, and their scythes cleaved through most things native to this planet with little worry. While John knew he could beat anything less than a dozen of the Scythers working together, an extraordinarily rare feat considering how much they distrusted their own kin, he would not come away from a fight against even one of them unhurt. But compared to what was really out there - the rumours of the sand having a mind of its own where not unfounded - they were not the biggest threat.

“Sand, why did it have to be sand? I’m going to be pouring sand out of places I never knew I had for weeks” Katrine grumbled, tugging her cloak tighter, which was quite amazing considering it was skin tight already. John laughed, it must have been nice to have that level of obliviousness, and worry about the sand, and little else.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you a spa when we get back” John replied. ‘If we ever get back’ he finished, in his mind. However, clearly showing her blissful level of obliviousness, Katrine smiled rather broadly.

“That would be lovely” She exclaimed, obviously much happier now. It didn’t matter if they were here for a day or a week; she knew she was going to get a spa eventually and it made her feel better.

As the small group walked, the sand was more of an enemy than the savage natives. It strange that the sun was little more than an autumn heat, since the terrain was sand, as far as the eye could see. And sand beyond that as well. Luckily, the group did not run into any of the blood thirsty creatures that populated the sands, and so it was a simple trudge through the sea of sand. There was no change of scenery, and the dryness of the desert stole the moisture from the group, even without the oppressive heat of the sun. They moved across the unsure footing while keeping an eye for any dangers that could spring up. The sudden sandstorms and sinking quicksand where just as much of a threat as the giant boars and scythe wielding demons, along with a dozen other living creatures, and an equal amount of natural dangers.

After what felt like an eternity, the view on the horizon changed, showing trees and grass, tents and people. The clearly marked Oasis was a wonderful sight, and the singed nerves fixed themselves as the oasis came ever closer, even Andy managed a smile, and he had done nothing but mumble about the sand since he got to the planet. However, their work was less than half done with the oasis in sight. It didn't take them long after spotting the tall trees to enter the oasis' bubble. There where strange looking tents dotted around the place - merely blankets on the ground with strips of cloth above them on poles - and the milling people looked identical in all but height, due to the nature of the clothing they all wore.

Dotted around the semi-village where large, quad-pedal beasts with dozens of sacks on them. Each of the beasts had a thick greyish carapace and long tusk from the same material as their carapace jutting out of their head. The eight foot creature where probably able to defend itself very well, and while looking rather intimidating, it paid no heed to the children that played with its young. The beast was probably a domesticated animal that the nomads used for transport and protection. They eyed the new coming party cautiously, as if ready to spring if commanded, but otherwise simply milled around, keeping a constant watch over their children and the horizon, they were clearly not a new addition to the nomads life style, from the way everyone was so comfortable around them.

It did not take long for them to be approached by one of the people dotted around the camp. From close up, they could see the age around the person's eyes, marking them as an elder.

"" The elder asked in his native tongue. While John and Katrine could understand it well enough, Andy was more fluent in its speech patterns. John or Katrine would probably end up asking his mother to make them oranges or something, and so it was him that replied.

"" Andy replied, common curtsey was always laid out before the arrivee was questioned. The Elder offered them into his camp, and led the group to his tent. "" The Elder commented, and Andy was surprised at his observance.

"" he informed the Elder. John had taken to staring into space, and Katrine was obsessed with the large pack animals and how such a mighty beast could be tamed.

The Elder clearly to know what structure she was referring to.

"" The Elder asked, sceptically. Sacred sites where always tender topics around most people.

"" Andy revealed, which caused the Elder to laugh.

"" The Elder offered, to which Andy nodded.

"" He started, before it was Andy’s turn to frown.

"" He asked. He thought his grasp of this language was very good, but he was now being proven otherwise. In response the Elder gestured outside.

"" the Elder explained, and it was then Andy's turn to nod. The Elder took it as a sign to continue. "" The Elder told Andy, in a tone that would brook no haggling.

Andy debated for a short while, before holding out his hand.

"" He announced, to which the old man shook his hand.

"" He replied, exiting the tent, followed by Andy. As he exited the tent, Katrine sighed very exaggeratedly and looked at him.

"That sounds like a quest. Did I suddenly fall into an mmo or something?" Katrine asked, clearly listening in on the conversation. Andy sighed at Katrine.

"We need to do this 'quest' so we can find the structure. It’s better than wondering in the desert and hoping to get lucky and find it before we get killed or die of dehydration" Andy retorted. "Now, take John and go find some water skins, I’m going to get Time and have him scout for anything that is really out of place" He commanded. Katrine glared for a second, and then turned away with a sniff, clearly displeased to be ordered around. John had no care about that however, and simply nodded when the order was relayed to him. Andy knew John wouldn't have a problem, so he did not worry about Katrine’s gripes. He instead worried about what could be out there. It wasn't a good train of thought.

It did not take John and Katrine long to find an ample supply of water skins, the oasis was always liberal with the water it had. It was felt to be the upmost disrespect to refuse person water at an oasis, so there was no problem on that front. With the water obtained, the duo found their way back to the way they had come in, and found Andy standing there with another man. This man did not wear the usual desert garb, and the constantly blowing sand gave him a wide berth, going several centimetres around the man. The displaced sand seemed to be buffering Andy twice as much, but he didn't say anything about it.

"We got the water.” Katrine stated, holding up the skins obviously. Andy nodded to Katrine and turned to the man next to him.

“So, Time. You ready to take flight?” he asked, turning to the man beside him. The statement appeared to excite Katrine, she had never seen Time ‘take flight’ and so it was an interesting new experience.

As it turned out, the experience was less than interesting. Time turned into some small newt with wings, it then jumped into the air and slowly few off into the sand-storm. The group lost sight of him in mere moments, and so they simply stood around for a few minutes before the small newt came back and returned to his large, sand-displacing human form.

“I spotted something a few miles to west. It was strange, and definitely something that could cause the devastation that the Elder referred to.” Time told John, Andy and Katrine. Andy rubbed his goatee in a stance that would make Silverfang proud with the imitation.

“Guess we are going a few miles to the west then. Any specifications?” He asked Time, not wanting to go in blind.

“Well, from what I got, it looked like something, not exactly a being emitting the uneasy feeling, and another half dozen creatures in it's surrounding area. ” Time replied, clarifying his report. Andy took a breath, ready to ask more questions, but Katrine interrupted.

“Let’s go kill some evil bastard!” she shouted, storming off and forcing others to follow her. The sands buffered the party, and blew viciously, but they were less bothered by it than before. The prospect of having something to kill at the end made Katrine happy, and the job drawing to a close was making John and Andy pleased. Time didn’t care either way, and simply walked. Probably because the sand wasn’t hitting him, or probably because he hardly cared about anything. The sun tried to be oppressive, but lacked any true amount of heat, and so the only real problem was the arid climate that slowly dried out mouths and eyes. But the water skins they had obtained worked well, and so they arrived at their destination with little trouble.

When they arrived, they saw a ring of people that looked like the nomads they had just left, but their eyes where a deep, glaring red, and they had long fingernails. The outfits they were all wearing looked battered from constant sandstorms, but the most interesting was what was in the centre of the ring.

"That ain't good" Andy said, shaking his head, and then cracking his knuckles.

"What is it?" Katrine asked, turning her smooth nails into curved, feline claws, more dangerous than the red-eyed people's nails. Even without knowing what it was, she still knew that this wasn't a friendly situation.

"An avatar of a thing that shouldn't have one" Andy replied, before the glowing red eyes turned to them. Andy took a step forward and, In the space created, Katrine got a better look at what Andy had seen. It looked like a small sand-tornado had picked up a pair of rubies, only they never moved, and just stared at the group of people as a person would stare at an ant. John seemed to vanish from the group as Andy and Katrine took up ready stances, but neither mentioned it at all.

Then came a whistling sound, very much like wind blowing hard, but a voice could be heard within it. However, it didn't speak any language Katrine could understand.

"It's weak now, but it has been consuming the big elephant things to get stronger" Andy explained, with caused Katrine to scowl.

"I do know their proper name you know" she growled, before the red-eyed humanoids moved forward, finding the message Katrine lost. They lurched across the sand, and then suddenly struck, their sharp nails aiming to claw the eyes, or any part of the face. They didn't get very far though, as Andy ducked under the swipe and smashed his large fists into the assailants gut, feeling ribs shattered under the impact. He then brought his second hand up and hit the man - or woman, he couldn't really tell - in the chin and lift him off his - or her - feet. Katrine has similar luck, she darted off to the side as her target moved to rake the claws down her face. Katrine then strightened up and lashed out, slicing open the creature's throat, letting it's blood spill onto the sand.

"John done yet?" Katrine asked, looking around as best she could without taking her eyes off the remaining people.

"Dunno" He replied. "John! You done yet!?" Andy shouted, moving to keep the circling buggers in sight.

"Sand is different to earth but...yes!" He exclaimed, appearing out of the blue, crouched on the floor with his hands on the sand. Suddenly, a large ring started to glow around them, and light sprung from it, drawing an intricate symbol within its confines. He shouted something that the wind snatched away, and then the pattern lifted up from the ground, erasing the avatar as it rose, dispersing when it cleared the thing's top. The whistling voice then died down, and the rest of the red-eyes seemed confused, and then seeing their dead friend, scared. With scattered wails, they all fled the area, leaving John, Andy and Katrine alone.

"Did anyone else think that was...boring?" she asked, digging the blood out of her claws before retracting them into normal nails. John, who had walked over from the edge of the now unglowing circle shrugged.

"Putting down cults before they can spring up is what we do, a boring as it is" He told Katrine, before looking to Andy. "although, the only thing that is cult-worthy here, well. Boring but fruitful" He said, taking a swing from the water skin and grinning. "Now, let's get back and tell the old fart and have someone take us where we need to go" John said, setting off and having Andy and Katrine fall in behind him.

The journey back was just as joyfully boring as the journey there, interrupted only by Katrine chiming in asking how long they had been gone. Andy replied it was about 'an hour or so' which satisfied Katrine, since she didn't question it. When they got back into the camp and spoke with the Elder again, he seemed surprised they had returned in such a short time, but also glad. Andy then spoke with him about who was going to guide them into the desert, and got a smaller desert dweller, the small mounds on her chest marking her as a female. She didn't seem very happy that outsiders where here, and had the same red eyes and clawed fingers as the people they had just fought. Katrine was ready to claw her face off before the situation was explained by the Elder.

"" The elder finished, taking a deep breath, and nodding his head. "" He said, walking off into the camp. The Desert Kin glared at them irritably, but led them into the desert anyway.

After a while, Katrine stared at the woman who was walking into endless desert so confidently, and so turned to John.

"So, how does she know where she is going?" Katrine asked John, who grinned.

"Well, the building gives off a sort of humming that they can feel, hear, and see. It perpetually guides them to itself, but I am unsure what happens when they get there. Most of the time it can be ignored, but right now she is concentrating on it, finding this half buried building should be a cake-walk for her. Not quite sure why it calls out to them as it does, but then there are a lot of things I am not quite sure about" John told Katrine, who was amazed at 'calling' of the building in the desert. She picked up her pace to match the female Desert Kin and began speaking in an awed tone.

"It’s amazing you can find one thing in all of this" she gushed. Without breaking pace, the Desert Kin turned to look at Katrine with a strange look of confusion and disdain.

"'It is easy to find the needle in a haystack if the needle is attached to a thread in your hand'" She quoted, which elected even more awe from Katrine. However, before she could squeal anything else Andy spoke up, talking generally, but directed more to the Desert Kin than anyone else. The water skin was passed around between John and Katrine, not wanting to interrupt Andy’s conversation.

"I feel as if I am being tugged at, but the same time it can't get a grip on me" He announced, before turning his tone to the Desert Kin directly. "Is this you’re doing? The tugging or the lack of grip?" He asked. The clawed woman seemed slightly irritated that so many questions where being asked, but she answered them anyway. If only over her shoulder, while maintaining the gruelling pace.

"Ever There does not like outsiders. It shifts the desert around them, so they lose themselves within it" She intoned. Andy's eyes opened widely in surprise.

"That is...I have heard that the desert had a life of its own at times, but I did not know it actively moved people around" he replied, bobbing his head in new-found respect for the desert.

"Only with people in the vicinity of Ever There. All others are free of the desert's ability to move. But not its ability to kill" She told Andy, a different tone was added to the last few words, and it made an oppressive feeling grow over the party, who moved in silence from then on. Much to the Desert Kin's delight. It was then that they gave the water skin to Andy, who accepted it with silence grace.

After some decent legwork, they arrived at the building they were looking for. It was not as awe-inspiring as Katrine had thought it would have been. Neither was it a magnificent construction, or an intimidating piece of architecture. It was just twelve feet of rock sticking out of the desert 'floor'. There was an arch tall and wide enough to fit one of the Stor Hast through comfortably, and the sand continued into the darkness. Katrine was unsure if it dropped at a certain point, or the whole temple was submerged.

"Here is your goal. leave soon, non-Kin" the female Desert Kin told them - her tone was slightly cracked, as if someone staring at their object of fixation and trying to ignore it - before turning back and heading away with even greater haste than she had led them here with. The sands swallowed her in minutes, leaving John, Andy and Katrine at the mouth of the temple, alone. Andy led the people into the temple, but there was something else around that Andy couldn't put his finger on. A noise just on the edge of hearing. It annoyed him as he progressed into the temple, and the silence of the temple annoyed him further. As they moved on, a good dozen feet into the temple, they came across the wall that they had been told about, with a large crack down the middle, not quite from end to end, but not far off.

"I thought the wall was like, really impenetrable?" Katrine asked, looking at the crack.

"Perception changes how impenetrable something is. One man's steel maybe another man's paper" he explained, moving closer to it.

"Ya know -” Katrine started, before two unmistakable sounds rang out in the silent temple. The first was the sound of a sharp metal blade slicing through skin, and the second was the subtle thud of a person's head hitting the compact sand floor of the desert. John's reaction was nearly instantaneous. He span around, already knowing what was going to greet his eyes before he started. The scream he was building up never came to be, however, since a pitch black blade effortlessly pushed through his back, into his lung, and out the front of his chest. It was then swiftly pulled out and brought it a wide arc, cutting open the throat of Andy as he tried to comprehend what was going on. Mere seconds had passed since Katrine's beheading when Andy collapsed on the floor, blood gushing from his deep and definitely fatal wound.

"Now that" Shadow started, flicking the blood off his sword and replacing it in its scabbard "is how you ambush someone" he finished, nodding to the Sand Scyther that had assisted him. There was no emotion on it's face, causing Shadow to frown. "No? Not into t he whole, post-murder gloating?" Shadow asked. The creature hissed, but did not say anything coherent.

Shadow could feel the gritty oppressiveness of the desert as soon as he entered it. There was a horrid dryness to the air, and while the sun wasn’t as hot as one would expect in a desert, the sand never ceased to buffer anything in its way. He silently cursed Kyana for not telling him about the desert so he could pack proper clothing, and as it was his skin felt grated and horrible. However, he needed to be here because if he wasn’t here, then Kyana would probably come to kill him, and then when he killed her, something bigger and uglier would come. That hassle outweighed this hassle, and so he coped with the buffering sands. Shadow’s ability to step through shadows was very helpful in finding people he was looking for. In this case, it was a man, part of the native race called Desert Kin. The leader - it was very obvious who the leader was, since he was the only one riding a Dune Boar and being followed by a Sand Scyther - was surprised when Shadow popped out from behind one of the tents. The Desert Kin prided themselves on seeing all that came near their camp, and so there was a certain touch of wariness about them when it came to Shadow, but for the most part they were impressed.

“What brings you here, Outsider of Silence?” the leader asked, his comprehension of the Universal language was rickety, but Shadow was surprised this desert Kin knew it at all. They were a very isolated people, and so outside knowledge was not something Shadow had expected them to have.

“I come to report a travesty that will happen soon.” He told the leader, who was clearly interested. He leant forwards on his boar, and nodded, giving Shadow the go-ahead to carry on. “Soon, two men and a female will be lead into the desert by The False Ones. They seek to debase and desecrate the temple, and steal its caressing touch over the sands. With it, they shall force the Desert Kin, The False Ones and the Sand Scythers to fight in their battles. I do not wish for this to happen, it would be against my moral code, and so I have come to tell you this, and to help you stop them. Brute force would be answered by brute force, and while you appear to be strong, I do not wish to risk that they could kill several of you before you managed to overcome them. So I offer an alternative” Shadow explained, lying expertly, and fooling the leader with ease.

“This would indeed be a travesty of great proportion. We are glad you have brought it to our attention before they could enact their plot. What is this alternative you suggest?” The leader asked Shadow, clearly hanging onto his every word.

“I would require one of the Scythers for this. If I was to tackle all three alone, they would notice me and would swiftly summon reinforcements.” He told the boar leader, who turned to his Scyther besides him.

“For such…” he started, his breath raspy and as gritty as the sand that harrowed everything in this planet “a single Scyther could be arranged with haste” He finished, who made Shadow smile.

“Excellent. Then I suggest allowing the three to reach the temple. Then, when they entered the temple, the Scyther would pick off the person at the back, and I would dispatch the other two.” Shadow told the leader, who nodded in agreement. It was a good plan.

“Very well, we shall arrange it. Contact with the Scythers shall be made. Shall you leave for the temple immediately, or do you wish to wait for the Scyther?” He asked Shadow.

“Well, I would probably get lost if I tried to find the way myself, so I’ll wait for the Scyther.” Shadow told the leader, who nodded and turned to his camp.

“Then you may stay until they arrive. We offer water and shade” The leader announced, before shouting something in what appeared to be the native tongue. Shadow followed the leader into the camp with a wide smirk, he had not known how difficult it would have been to convince these Desert Kin, but they turned out to be true idiots. The leader took Shadow to one of the few flapped tents and opened it, crossing the threshold and then offering Shadow inside. He graciously accepted and stepped in, glad to be out of the sand for a while.

Inside the tent where several ill-clad females with a variety of objects. They mostly appeared to be holding jugs of water and bowls of food. The food looked packed with liquid, and would serve as a refreshment as much as nourishment. Their eyes where a variety of normal colours, and their fingernails where of normal size, so they must have been captured False Ones. Shadow didn’t know whether the leader took pleasure in these girls being nearly naked, or if it was simply because they were so embarrassed by it, but Shadow was pleased to see them. It even made him grin.

“You grin. Do my strova please you?” The leader asked, and Shadow regretted not taking ‘crazy desert language’ lessons before coming here. Shadow’s blank stare must have tipped off the leader, who grinned himself - he had taken his face wraps off, and shown the pale face underneath. The red eyes where even more intimidating with the surrounding skin, making them appear like desert ghosts. “You know not what a strova is, do you?” He asked, to which Shadow shook his head. “A strova is what the False Ones should be. Their ancestors determined this when they invaded is. A strova must be utterly obedient, or be fed to the Dune Boars while her sisters watch.” The leader explained, grinning widely at one of the girls and showing his sharp, malformed teeth.

“What of the male False Ones? What do you do with them?” Shadow asked, curious about the culture of these creatures now.

“That depends on the time we have. If we are rushed, then they are simply stabbed, and left to die. But if we have no limit, then they are cut out, and strangled with their own tubes. The females then don strova robes made from the fallen males. It ensures obedience, through fear” He told Shadow, who had come to like these desert kin in the small time he had been in their company.

“That is very interesting. I like the artistic touch you handle these situations with” he complimented them, approaching one of the girls and gliding his fingers through her hair. “So, are they just ornaments, or do you do more with them?” He asked the leader, hidden implications in his tone.

“Ahh, I see what you say.” He replied, but before he could get any further, one of the Sand Scythers entered the tent.

“As summoned, I come” he rasped. Shadow sighed softly, and then raised his head jubilantly.

“Ahh, Cockious Blockious. Are you ready?” He asked the Scyther, who glared at him from behind the hood.

“I am not this name you give me. I am –“The Scyther then made a noise that - to Shadow at least - sounded like a glottal hiss. Shadow nodded and quickly changed the subject.

“Well, have you been informed as to what is going to happen here? “Shadow asked the Scyther, who nodded.

“Indeed. We shall slay the defilers for thinking of what they are planning” the Scyther announced vigorously.

“Lovely. Let’s get killing interlopers then.” Shadow replied. He was never going to get his release after all, which made him really rather sad. But then, he was about to kill people, so he didn’t mind too much.

The Scyther was eager to get going, and so Shadow could only pick up one water skin before heading off to the temple to set up their ambush. Occasionally, the Scyther would just vanish into the sand, before returning a few feet in front of Shadow. After a while Shadow got used to this, and simply kicked into a run when he reappeared to catch up. There were some points that felt like the desert was trying to move him, but the Scyther kept it at bay. Shadow thought it must be the Temple, and that said temple was more important than he was told. The temple was a fair distance from the camp, and so Shadow got near the bottom of the water skin by the time they arrived at temple.

“Not that impressive” Shadow commented, looking at the buried structure. The Scyther made something that could be a scoff, and rounded on Shadow.

“You use your eyes to see its glory. This is foolish. You do not see the dwelling, you feel it. That is where the impressive is” the Scyther told Shadow, clearly not grasping the finer points of Basic.

“Yea, you do your spiritual thing; I’m going for a nap. Wake me when they get here” He told the Scyther, trying to find some shelter from the sand before giving up and lying down.

Shadow wasn't counting how long he was napping, but eventually Mr. Hiss woke him up from the ground with a shake.

"They are near. We must get ready" The Scyther told him, to which Shadow nodded.

"Right then, let’s go" He said, starting to make a plan on how to set up an ambush. But then the Scyther played a hand on his shoulder, and they vanished to somewhere else. Shadow picked up the technique immediately, because it was the same thing that he used, in essence.

"Sand Shift? Nice, but how will they not notice it?" He asked the Scyther, who stared at him.

"The Sands are hard to see, for those not paying attention" he told him.

"Right. Ill pretend to understand that. You go first, and take out the one at the back, then I’ll come into the middle and take out the other two" He explained, to which the Scyther nodded.

"As you say" he replied, before waiting a few seconds, and then vanishing. Shadow grinned, drew his new sword for inspection - it wasn't the one he was really gunning for, but the solidified shadows would be enough for now - and then stepped into his shadow, and out of John's. He saw Katrine already decapitated, and John had turned to her, which provided Shadow with the perfect opportunity. A quick blade through the lung later, and John was history. He then span around, and sliced Andy's throat open before he could do anything. With that done, he flicked the blood of his sword and sheathed it.

"Now that is how you ambush someone" he announced, nodding to the Sand Scyther that had helped him.