The lieutenant groaned hearing his bold remark.

“Teach the slave his place please!” he ordered, shooing him away.

The men quickly rushed in, ganging up together, overcoming and beating Klossi to a pulp.

They hit him with their sheathed swords, sticks and kicked him relentlessly.

Punching his face till it run red.

Frinist made a way, pushing the soldiers away. Then he ran and kicked Klossi face in, chipping his tooth. Klossi wailed out in pain. That sent Chainik into a sprawl of worry.

Trying to get to him she was held down by Tannol who attempted to grope her.

This caused Klossi to rise in fury, lifting the men off him one by one. Hitting them back, in one instance he defended and punched a man so hard his jaw broke. The snap could be heard all over the tent.

With Lieutenant Nalnick spurring and applauding the performance. He gloated seeing the man being broken down.

After the stunt the men got back on him, pounding him down, hitting his head. His head wounded and bleeding and sore.

Chainik broke free of Tannol’s grasp, throwing herself at him.

“The Mighty Caciccaci has fallen!” the men jested.

She lifted his bearish arms, hugging him tightly. Grasping his head, whipping his bloody nose.

The men laughed seeing the pitiful couple willow away.

Nalnick looked confused at the two, as Klossi arm was wrapped around her. He noticed something strange that piqued his interest.

“It’s okay Klossi, I’ll be fine…. Don’t worry for me!” she pleaded.

“Stop fighting them, save your strength! They won’t kill me, I promise!” she whispered eerily at him.

She feigned her confidence. Her face delighted, beaming bright and her eyes sealed shut, hiding her tears.

Klossi ran his hands through her long hair. Stroking her soft head.

“I promise you this! I Klossi Kil’ai, son of …” he coughed out, spitting out blood before he could finish his sentence.

The men howled and snickered at each other.

They spat at him, in disgust. Kicking him once more, which brought a smile to the Lieutenant.

Chainik shouted and yelled at them but it was to no avail as they couldn’t understand her. Even though her intent was clear they didn’t respect her. Or them both at all.

Instead, they gloated and mocked the two.

Klossi raised his head once again.

Gathering his breath as his energy returned.

The tattoos on Chainik’s back pinched deep into her skin as he spoke. They sparked up, stabbing her in. She had become accustomed to the pain slightly so it didn’t hurt or hurl her into a frenzy. Not like before.

“I will return! Us, both free. Will live to see our lands. Don’t forget me, neither will I forget you. We shall meet! In Caciccaci we shall. Remember my friend Isho! Don’t forget that name, nor mine!”

Chainik weeped out, hugging him as she heard his triumphant speech.

Resting her head on his chest. Squeezing his arms.

He wept too at the situation.

“I’ll return for you” he announced.

“You don’t have to!” she begged.

“Your my reason to live…after all this time…you rekindled the life, I thought I could never have. The love that I thought died….” He replied weakly.

Chainik raised her head, eyes suspended in shock.

Her emotions flustered, her face lit red. Cheeks flooded with tears.

“I’ve grown, I’ve grown to lov…..” he stuttered as his ribs pained him.

Chainik cut him off wrapping her lips around him.

The two kissed passionately, eloping together.

The audience was at a loss.

The two finally had confessed to each other, their bond over these last few days had peaked.

The lieutenant fell in his seat. Chuckling and wondering about the connection between the two.

The two stared deeply into the eyes of each other.

“I’ve waited for you to say that. I have too” she answered him.

“How do you know what I was going to say?” he teasingly mocked.

Chainik rolled her eyes, looking away with a cheeky sly smirk.

“I knew…you liked, even loved me…”

“I loved…..your company!!” he responded wittingly, defusing her conclusion.

She punched his arm, jeering at him.

Klossi grinned at her, chuckling at her dirty looks.

Chainik knew he was joking, cracking up as well.

Tannol hyperventilated as his anger erupted. He kicked the man to the floor.

Ruining the moment between the two.

“KLOSSI!”

Frinist pulled her out of the way.

The others readied to join him.

Nalnick raised his hand, warding the men to a stop.

He saw Klossi tattoo and wondered in his mind, where he had seen it before.

“Let them go! This has been entertaining at the least” he uttered out, bitting down on some peanuts he consumed.

“I will kill you! IF this girl is hurt, that’s a promise to you!” Klossi proclaimed in their bastard tongue.

“Hmph”

Klossi broke free of the men holding him.

“Desert Slave!” one of the men, spat.

“I walk out, as a free man!” he announced in their tongue.

Twisting over to Chainik.

He saw her silky silver hair and her bright eyes.

Sharing once more a smile at her, he nodded at her.

Cooling down her temper and concern.

Tapping the dorsal of his hand, Chainik dotted it.

Repeating the action, while pouting her lips. Doing her best to stay strong. Her head fell in sorrow as he left.

He marched out of the tent confidently, shoving the men gilded in chainmail and heavy armour past him.

Nalnick was still puzzled by all he had seen.

That Caciccaci man, I can’t let him go. He knows more than he lets on! Surely he will tell us all we need before his released. Including the source of his strength and that ominous tattoo. Anyway, the audacity of these slaves nowadays ehh. Least he will do as i say now that i know he has a link with this girl.

Nalnick pondered, laughing to himself. Taking a wholesome swig of his wine.

His laugher arose, scaring everyone. The guards and soldiers. Chainik, Tannol and Frinist stared blankly too.

Back in the desert, it was approaching mid-day fast.

The sun's blast had grown more intense.

But allowed the swift cool wind to breeze past the group.

The sights and wonders of the desert were just waking up.

Aya saw in the corner of her eye, a glimmering spark at her from within the sand.

Rushing over to it, she fell.

Digging down into the sand like a wild dog.

Scurrying frantically as she felt a calling.

Shassii chased after her.

“What’s wrong!?”

Shassii pulled her shoulder.

Aya shrugged and swayed her away.

Burrowing deep down into the desert floor.

Then she found the shining red desert gem.

An artifact of old, attached to it was a dusty golden chain. It looked like a necklace of some sort.

She pocketed it before noticing a stone engraving.

Digging once again, till her hands met a hard floor.

It was sandstone, it was flat, and it was long.

Shassii leaned over her shoulder spotting it too.

She knelt beside her and started digging as well.

In a couple of minutes, the two had discovered something.

The group stopped making their way to them.

“What is it now!?”

“I swear by the Śeingtt in the Linniq above. I will leave you here to die, if you don’t stop your games!” Kairui warned.

Quine walked up to them, curious about what they were doing.

“Aya, Shassii what is it? What did you find?”

She was met with dead silence.

Then she reached over them to see what was buried down underneath them.

Ussu stood next to Yannu. Resting and whipping the sweat off her head.

Removing the turban, her skin was faint red. Sweat rolled down her forehead and her face was tired.

“Śiekl watch over us, in this dastardly heat. Please….. guys we don’t have time for this. I agree with Kairui, we should get heading to this Tonneii town. I can’t survive this heat with this little water! Right Yannu?” she proposed to them.

Yannu chuckled.

“Good way to lose weight hun..though..” he joked, stepping away from her.

“What did you….say?” she asked, panting and trying to regain her breath.

Chasing after him, as he ran away. Chuckling as he bumped into Quine and came to a stop.

Ussu got a hold of him, squeezing his cheeks.

“I’ll teach you…. To joke about…..”

“Wait, wait….Ussu I was joking…. Look, look what they’ve found”

Ussu ignored his response.

“I don’t care….what they found…stop making those jokes!”

Yannu chuckled as he turned to her.

Grabbing her face by the cheeks too, he turned her head to the hole in the ground.

Kairui was tapping her feet restlessly, annoyed now.

“You kids, are….really irritating me. What is it!? What did you find!?” she bellowed out.

“The ancients…” replied a tired babbling Ussu.

“WHAT???” remarked Kairui.

Moving them out of the way to see.

Aya dusted them off. Revealing the secrets hidden.

On the sandstone columns were paintings of the old. In the paints were redden carvings depicting men of the old times. With bows and arrows. Weapons of war. Depictions of rhinos and elephants mounted.

Animals and a giant tower were gazing over them.

In the markings was a giant lake in tar paint.

On the other end were figures of another origin. With blackened skin. Dressed in armor and robes. With a fortress towering over them.

Ussu felt the carvings, as her fingers rubbed down on them.

"The Saiyn' Saiyn" answered Quine, cautiously.

"But, but...the Saiyn' never settled here! Sanni Sai' Saiyn' Saiyn" Ussu rejected her notion.

"They did, according to some scribes... For how long, am not sure!" Quine responded, with confirmation from Aya and Yannu.

"But, but we'd never go to war with Saiyn! The Śeinq would never allow, let alone the Quaash elders or the Caicacci"

"She's right. It's not them.... it could be..."

Yannu spoke out “Uun Caciccaci?? Maybe…”

"Uun Eein"

“Why do you question…?” asked Ussu intrigued.

“Well, we aren’t typically that dark. Were more of a chestnut and you guys are a ehhh ginger tone. Hahaha Not to the ancients at least. Maybe it's of another people, you know before we found these lands”.

“That’s impossible…” Ussu replied.

"Chestnut and Ginger! Really??? Yannu stop, messing around" Ussu giggled at his description, tilting her head in disbelief of his words.

Quine and Shassii chortled as well.

"Makes me miss cooking honestly...." Shassii exclaimed thinking of food.

Quine sighed.

"What, it's true!" Shassii commented.

"Me too" Ussu muttered out softly.

"We know you do" Yannu blurted out, ducking as Ussu swung at him.

The two raced off again, falling ontop of the sand as she pinched and scowled at him. Tickling and playing together. Before they came to a sudden rest.

Shassii called out to them after controlling her laugher "Guys, guys stop...".

They marched back over to the group. Peering down to see what was going on.

Aya swiped away some dust and saw some figures with a toned light brownish hue paint. They were all bowing and stood in large separate groups. Each from each side bearing gifts and other what looked like belongings. They were the most decorated and seemingly off compared to the scene. Dressed as if for a celebration, with each group sharing a different tone.

Aya gravitated to it immediatly.

They were surrounded by cattle and grain on all sides. With reeds circling them. In front were two honored figures proudly standing amongst the people.

“No, he's right. This must be us! Ancients foretold we arrived with the Twin Śeingtt in this land. Maybe these people depicted here in a red ruddy tone are the Caciccaci and the darker of another. Then maybe we are the olive, ginger & bittle amber. Like baharat in some instance. Kairui said the worlds bigger than us all” Aya jumped in defending his statement.

“The ruddy ones are possibly of the Quaash descent, the elder sect who are said to have arrived in Eein first. More than likely the Caciccaci are the ones depicted, here though I think”.

Kairui kept silent, choosing to stay out of the conversation.

Quine noticed this and asked her something.

“Who is it? What’s your take?”

“Don’t know, don’t care…”

“Let’s get moving, this is all unimportant!” she dismissed.

“Well, we want to know before we head out!” she replied, standing her ground.

Kairui paused to turn around.

All the group looked over at her. Anticipating an answer they could all accept and understand.