Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail or Dungeon & Dragons.

A/N: Holy Shit, can't believe I finally got around to update this story. By the way, All of my stories will be getting updating here soon. Yes, I mean all 19 of them.

The Marruspawn

When Romeo and Juliet walked back into the tent, Professor Jean and the rest of the society were already making plans for their expedition deeper into the pyramid as the four of them were discussing possible routes to take through the different tunnels.

Romeo noticed that there was some food off to the side of the tent and decided to help himself due to the fact that all his Phoenix abilities tax his energy.

"If we take the eastern corridor it should take us right to the main chamber", Professor Russel said as he traces his finger along the map, "While it isn't the fastest way to the chamber, we have discovered that it's the least dangerous."

Professor Jean study the map detail and nodded, "So it would seem. Usually, the most direct route is the one with the most dangers."

"Right now Habi should be finishing preparation for our trip into the ruins", Professor Alexander stated, "Ever since be chosen by the rest of the workers as their camp boss, efficiency has gone up."

"It would seem that we were right in having a local be the liaison between us and the workers", Professor Edward said.

Suddenly a loud commotion from outside the tent catches everyone's attention as the sounds of screaming and cries for help fill the air along with the heavy trampling of feet.

"What the blazes is going on out there?", Professor Jean asks right before a burly native with sweat pouring down his face came bursting into the tent.

"Professors!", the man screamed out in a heavy Desierto accent, "We just received a message from the capital via lacrima, death and destruction is coming our way!"

"What is it, Habi?", Professor Edward asks, "What's causing all this ruckus?"

"A matter of grave urgency!", the man known as Habi screamed, "A Marruspawn Legion has entered the country and all evidence point that they are coming our way!"

"The Maru-what?", Romeo asks only to the notice the fear that was etched into the faces of almost everyone in the room beside him, "Did I miss something here?"

…

….

…

The room was silence for a good ten seconds before all hell broke loose.

"That cannot be!", Professor Jean suddenly yelled, "How can the Marruspawn be here of all places?"

"Professor? Mind filling me in on this?", Romeo asks but was completely ignored.

"What could have compelled the Shadow Vizier to send his forces way out here?!", Professor Edward fret, "We did not foresee this at all!"

"Would really help if someone told me what was going on here.", Romeo added but no one paid heed to him.

"The mere mention of the Marruspawn gives people nightmares", Professor Russel panic "They are an unforgiving tide of destruction that cannot be stopped!"

Romeo at this point just let out a huff of annoyance as he turns toward Juliet who was having a nervous breakdown.

"Oh gods, I'm going to die out here! I'm really going to die! I'll never get to see mommy or daddy again!", she cried.

"You need to take charge", Jura instructed from inside Romeo's inner thoughts, "Or at least calm them down."

"And how am I suppose to do that?", Romeo wondered.

"Sometimes a show of force is necessary in order to get people back on track", Ameslan suggested.

"Can someone PLEASE. TELL. ME. WHAT. IS. GOING. ON?!", Romeo roar while engulfing both his arms in orange flames in hopes of getting everyone's attention and it was safe to say that it worked, if the expression of the professors, Edwin, and Sraidi were anything to go off of.

"Okay, I'll admit that I have no idea what's going on here or who the Marru...spawn are", Romeo started to say, "I'm pretty sure the smarter members of my guild probably would have research up on all the things happening in Desierto before coming here but unfortunately I'm not one of them, so all I know is what I learn in school. But what I do know is that if everyone calms down, we may be able to come up with something."

A silent calm comes down over the tent as everyone shoots glances at one another.

"The Marru were a ancient race of men that were the first known civilization to inhabit Desierto", Juliet began to explain, "They carve a massive empire that encompass all of Minstrel, Midi, Desierto, Bellum, Joya, Sin, and the southern regions of the Pergrande Kingdom, through conquest by creating a breed of jackal-looking monsters known as the marruspawn. But over time their empire fell apart with a series of civil war and the last emperor death died over six thousand years ago."

"So they may have created the Desert Titan and the other guys just found it?", Romeo asks.

"That has yet to be determined, but it was the marruspawn that were the pinnacle of their creations. Never tiring, never feeling hunger or sickness, they were the perfect conquerors, bred for war, and the Marru created them by the thousands", Professor Jean took over, "Each imperial governor and general of the Marru empire was given a army of Marruspawn to command and soon enough personal ambition and greed cause conflicts to flare up all over its lands. When the last emperor died, the armies of the Marruspawn, with no masters to follow, fled to the place of their birth, a secret massive magical refinery which is now located in the southernmost region of the Pergrande Kingdom on the Sin/Pergrande border."

"There they put themselves in a deep sleep, awaiting the return of their master in hopes one day they will lead them once more into battle", Professor Edward picked up, "The place was forgotten for millenniums until a young dark mage named Gurato, stumbled upon it around X721. Using the artifacts left behind that were used to command the Marruspawn he awaken the army and crowned himself their new leader, taking the name the "Shadow Vizier". He then took up residence in the old refinery, basically turning it into his stronghold."

"How come I never heard about this before?", Romeo wondered, "I mean I never even heard Levy mention them before."

"Fiore is too far away to be directly affect by the Shadow Vizier; he's more of a threat to the countries surrounding the region he occupies", Professor Russel explained, " Anyway, once he gain control of the marruspawn, he launch a massive assault of some fifty-thousand marruspawn against the country of Sin with himself at the head of the horde. His armies laid waste to much of the land and were at the gates of the capital themselves within a month before a coalition army compromising of troops from Sin, Enca, Bellum, Midi, Desierto, Joya, and the Pergrande Kingdom arrived and broke the siege. They then pursue Gurato all the way back to his stronghold with sporadic battles popping up here and there. Many believed that they would launch an assault on the fortress itself, but after detail reconnaissance was perform on its layout, it was deem too risky thus the army departed."

"Even though they were winning?", Romeo wondered causing Professor Russel to throw him a strange look before chuckling.

"I forget that the schools of Fiore don't cover this war due to how far away it occur from their borders. At the height of the coalition army, it numbered over a million in fighting men, but by the time they dissolve they numbered just under ninety thousand", the professor explained causing Romeo's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.

"Reinforcements were constantly send to them", Professor Alexander added, "Marruspawn are skilled in warfare and eventually the coalition army just started outlasting them. That is why an attack on the stronghold was called off."

"This "Dark War" as it was called, lasted five years and was the first time in Ishgar history that more than half the continent has ever united against a common enemy and thus was the main factor of the founding of the Marru Pact, a alliance between the nations that fought in the Dark Wars to come to one another aid should the Marruspawn ever march again", Professor Jean concluded.

"Have the Marruspawn ever marched again?", Romeo asked.

"No, despite the fact that as of now he has little over a hundred thousand marruspawn at his command, he sits quietly inside his fortress", Professor Jean said.

"Why?"

"Because it turned out that he couldn't make anymore Marruspawn due to the magic required to fully activate the refinery died out when the Marru Empire crumbled. While he has more than enough forces to take on any single nation, the truth is that should he launch an massive invasion, Half the continent of Ishgar will rally against him and he wouldn't be able to replace the losses, thus he would be defeated", Edwin interjected.

"He seems to know a lot about this", Romeo thought to himself, but decided to focus on more important things, "So the fact they send….?"

"A entire legion, five thousand soldiers, undetected all the way to Desierto is frightening. The leaders of alliance must be going crazy right now", Professor Jean deduce, "This could shift the entire "cold war" they been having for the last seven decades into a entirely new direction."

"Indeed, I have heard that he has launched small incursions into the Sin, Bellum, the Pergrande Kingdom and even eastern Desierto in years past, sending a hundred Marruspawn here and there, but only to raid villages and trade routes and they have never venture this far before. Local military are usually able to deal with them", Sraidi explained as he traces his fingers across his face, "My tribe and our allies have cross blades with the Marruspawn before in the past and it's not a pleasant experience."

"So now we have red-robe man and this Gurato fellow, do you think they're working together or maybe the red-robe man is working for Gurato?", Romeo asked.

"No, Gurato only employs his Marruspawn to do his dirty work, he trusts no one else", Professor Jean said, "He has a spy network that spreads all across Ishgar and he probably heard about what we're doing. He probably see the Desert Titan as a mean to augment his own forces, but that still doesn't explain why he would take such a risk sending such a large force so far from his stronghold, surely he knew this would get the alliance's attention."

Romeo stares at Professor Jean for a moment, "I find it strange that a family such as Professor Jean and Edwin know such information."

"It would seem that you're not the only one keeping secret", Ameslan said.

"How did they get here without anyone noticing?", Edwin added before looking at Habi, "Excuse me good chap, did the message say anything else?"

"It did", Habi answered, "We are to cease and desist all operations here at the site and allow the workers to return to their homes for safety as per the command of the Sultan. The Sultan's armies station in this region will do all they can to slow them down but they will most likely avoid direct confrontation with them until their numbers have been boosted by reinforcements."

"It would seem that the workers are already packing up and heading out back to their homes. By nightfall this entire camp will be empty", Sraidi pointed out as he peeks through the flaps of the tents and surveys the grounds, "And no doubt the Sultan's men will arrive to see that we're gone."

Professor Jean closed his eyes and put his hand on his chin while thinking, "It would seem we are short on time, we may have no choice but to-"

Suddenly a spine-shivering howl pierces the air, causing everyone to look eastward from which the sound came from.

"Oh no", Sraidi said before suddenly yelling at a nearby member of his tribe in their native tongue. The man nods and takes off towards the rest of his brethren.

"Juliet, Edwin, Romeo, you all staying here!", Professor Jean order them, "In fact, I want the three of you to get moving to the workers camp since it's the furthest away.

"But-", Romeo started to argue.

"This is not up for debate! You three are to get moving and that's final! Your mom and dad will never forgive me if something happen to you!", Professor Jean yelled as he looks out at the chaos happen within the camp, "I have to keep the camp from erupting into chaos! Alexander, Edward, Russel, Habi you're with me!"

And with that the entire Archaeological Society and Habi took off into the camp, leaving Romeo, Juliet, Edwin, and Sraidi behind. Sraidi spares Romeo a look before turning back toward the horizon from which the howl came.

"Young Romeo, I saw what you did to those two Dunewinders before me and my tribesmen arrived, even at a distance, we saw the thunder spells you used", he said catching everyone's attention.

" In all my years I have never seen such power inside one as young as you", Sraidi said, "And after hearing from Jean about how you protected them, I believe the gods have send you here for a reason."

"You don't know the half of it", Romeo thought as Sraidi continue on.

"That was the howl of the scouting party that travels ahead of the legion. Their job is to spread mayhem and confusion, killed the enemy's leaders, and scattered the forces so the main force will have easy pickings when it arrives.", Sraidi explained, "If they are already here, it means the main force is not far behind."

"So what exactly is coming our way?", Romeo asks knowing full well what Sraidi was implying, this job was way more than what Romeo signed up for but he couldn't cut and run now.

"The rank and file soldier, or Marrusault, are known as giants of death on the battlefield, easily capable of cutting a man in half with a single blow. Then you have the Marrulurks, they are the that lurk in the shadows, so watch out for them and don't let their daggers touch you. But then you have their commanders, the Marrutact, who are capable of using magic, it's best to take them out first if you have the opportunity", Sraidi replied, "But the greatest danger of them all is no doubt the Marruspawn Abomination."

"What makes them so dangerous?", Romeo asks.

"It's considered immortal, I myself have never seen one before but I have heard tales from fellow tribesmen that have. Every encounter with it ends in the opposing force simply retreating cause the creature could not be stop. If the gods are indeed with us today then one did not come", Sraidi said,

"Your men are going to fight?", Romeo questioned as noticed the rest of Sraidi's tribesmen drawing their swords and charging up their ice staffs.

"The men of the Rusuyaye tribe will never back down when innocent lives are at stake", Sraidi boasted with pride evident in his voice, "The cities and villages from which these workers came from have always treated my people with kindness and generosity, we shall return the favor today."

Another howl echoes through the desert air, this time much louder than before. Sraidi draws his scimitar, gives a small prayer in his native tongue and diverts his attention back toward Juliet and Edwin, "I too feel that you two will be safer at the back of the camp where the workers are leaving from, I suggest you two make your way there."

He then looks at Romeo, "Are you ready for this, young Romeo?"

Romeo response was merely summoning a fireball in his hand, "I hope so."

Sraidi gives a approving nod, "Then come with me, the workers section of camp is further back and my men are setting up more forward in hopes of keeping the Marruspawn away long enough for them to get away."

Both Sraidi and Romeo exit the tent and began moving toward them just as five sandsailers of foreign design zoom over the top of the sand dune that tower over the camp in a V-shape formation.

"Here they come, make ready my brothers!", Sraidi barks as he raises his sword, "The lands of Aljiannat al'abadia await all who die bravely today!"

"I guess that counts as a motivational speech", Romeo thought grimly.

"You should be focusing more on the enemy instead of him", Jura advised.

"She is right", Ameslan agreed, "I have a strong feeling that these guys won't be as easy to deal with as the ones you deal with in Sautulan."

"You know who would be great right now to give me advice?", Romeo asks as he saw the sun bounce off what he assume were giant swords the figures on the sandsailers were holding, "Raziel and Evlan, where are they right now?"

But before Romeo could get a reply his attention was diverted to the lone hooded figure standing like a statue at the bow of the middle sandsailer as the scouting party close in. Though he couldn't yet make out the details of these so call Marruspawn somewhere in the back of his mind just told him that it was a Marrutact he was currently staring at and for good reason.

"Might have something to due with that staff it's holding", Romeo thought and sure enough the figure suddenly raises the golden double helix staff above its head. Suddenly the tip of the staff started to glow and the next thing Romeo knew the sand around the sandsailers starting to rise off the ground and began to move in a circle around them.

The sands started to gradually gain speed and expand and soon it was evident that this being was creating a sandstorm with its magic and was directing it toward the camp.

Romeo barely had time to shield his face with his turban before the storm was upon him and the rest of the Rusuyaye men. The winds were so much more fierce than a natural sandstorm that even if Romeo didn't see it get cast he would have known that it was created by magic. He could feel the sands biting at his skin as well as the wind howling into his ears. He conjure up indigo flames and began to form a dome around him in an effort to protect himself, only to feel something violently crash against the fiery dome from behind him, shattering it in a single blow.

When Romeo spins around the first thing he saw was teeth. Not the seven-foot tall, towering hulk with ebony full-plate armor that clung to it like a second skin, not the dangerously sharp giant falchion blade it griped with both hands, or the predatory gleam in its eyes as its stare at Romeo like he was a slab of meat. The first thing he notice was the row of dagger-like teeth in a long dog-like stout that was diving straight for his neck.

A/N: A new enemy has appear and it could be more dangerous than the red-cloak man. Anyway, Marruspawn can be found in D&D 3.5 Sandstorm. Also check out my other stories if you have a chance like, Balancing the Planes of Existence, Master of the Wild, and Fiery Hurricane of Love. Next chapter hopefully in a few days.

Also, I notice in Fairy Tail that a lot of the story seems to be all about Fiore and never the other countries. Surely these countries must have problems of their own. Like the Alzarez Empire, you think that with a upcoming invasion to conquer all of Ishgar, all the nations would pull together, but they don't. Sure a couple get wipe out, but what about the rest.