Chapter 64
The party met up with Aberoft again that night at a tavern called the Boar and Vine. As they had their dinner, the paladin informed them of what he had been tasked to help with. Apparently, the guard already had several suspects and they just needed help with interrogating them. He had a spell available that helped them with that regard and he also assisted with the interrogation. Thanks to him, the guards were able to weed out the murderer. Turns out it was accidental during a very heated argument.
"That truly simplifies things. You must be pleased with a job well done," praised Lamy.
"I am," he said proudly, "It is a good feeling to help out."
"Nice! That means we can go straight to Rivirapolis tomorrow," stated Nene cheerily, much to the rest of the party's agreement.
The next day, they headed straight for the shop. The curtains in front were drawn and a sign said that it was closed for the time being.
"Eh?" sounded Nene in surprise, the first to react, "I thought the shop would be open."
"Strange," muttered Aberoft as he went up to the door and knocked.
The door opened and the wizened old man who owned the store peeked out. Catching sight of them, he scowled.
"We're closed," grumbled the enchanter.
"Why?"
"Because I'm sick," he replied exasperatedly, "Now, leave!"
After the door was slammed in their face, they left the shop.
"What do we do now?" asked Polka, "Do we cross the desert again?"
"Well… I guess we should," mused the lore bard, "Let's talk to the stablemaster and see if anyone needs temp guards."
Unfortunately, there wasn't. The most recent one had just arrived and there wasn't going to be a trade caravan leaving any time soon. So, they decided to go ahead and trek across the desert towards Nikubasa after filling up on some waterskins. The time of day was not too kind to them. A cloudless day with the sun beating down on them? Not so good. So, they tried to reach the ruins in the middle of the way as fast as they could. They made it in good time, but they were quite tired out, especially the paladin who had never traversed the desert before. While they sat on the abandoned stone floor, Nene proceeded to set up the Tiny Hut.
"Maybe… we shouldn't have rushed over here?" wheezed out Coco tiredly.
"But… we might not have made it," replied Botan.
"At least we reached here in time," stated Polka, about the only one who didn't look exhausted yet.
"Can you tone it down a bit?" growled out Aloe after gulping down some water, "Not all of us are not as tired as you right now."
"Ah, sorry..."
Night came and went. Much like the previous time, there was a sand storm whirling around the hut as they woke up in the morning. The earliest of the bleary-eyed risers had to wait patiently for the storm to abate and for the others to get up. This time, nothing was tossed onto the Hut. However, by the time everyone got up, the storm had not dissipated yet.
"Weird. What's taking so long?" muttered Botan.
"Ever been caught in a storm like this?" Polka asked Coco.
"Nope. I always asked that old man to send me to the city," replied the dragon with a shrug, "Other than flying across the first time I visited here, I never stayed here overnight."
"Hey, if you could fly over, why didn't we ask you to bring us?" asked Nene in realization.
"Er… why didn't you suggest it?" she asked back, looking embarrassed.
Suddenly, they heard a deep, throaty chuckle coming from inside the sandstorm, "Well, well, well, it seems I found my entertainment for the morning."
Silence.
"...Coco, is that a relative of yours?" asked Aberoft, breaking the silence.
"I don't know anyone living in the desert," she replied, still looking in the direction of the voice.
Without warning, the sandstorm stopped, revealing an intimidating sight. Frilled ears, a massive ridged horn that topped a trail of two rows of spikes from its bridge to its forehead, and a cluster of spikes under its jaw that gave an appearance of a beard. Sunlight danced on its gleaming azure scales that seemed to thrum with energy.
"Come out and speak," it requested, "I've had my fill earlier and I wish for entertainment."
"Coco, what do we do?" asked the lore bard with a frantic expression.
"Er… speak to it? I don't know!?" the dragon said exasperatedly, "I never met this guy before!"
"Eh, how'd you know it's a guy?" asked Aloe.
"You will come out now. I haven't got all day," the other dragon declared in an annoyed tone, "Delaying is an insult and I turn insults into food."
Nene took a deep breath and stepped outside the protective dome. It disappeared, revealing everyone else. The blue dragon tilted its head to the side in slight surprise but said nothing, instead, waiting for her to say the first word.
"Er, hello," she greeted hesitantly but respectfully, "I'm Nene Momosuzu. Nice to meet you."
He nodded and replied, "I am Ulras, known as the Mystery and the Storm Flyer. Tell me, younglings, where are you going?"
"Uh… we are going to Nikubasa," she replied.
"Ah, that small town at the edge of the desert," he stated with a grin, showing off his dagger-sharp teeth, "I have yet to make a visit. Perhaps I should visit later, hmm?"
The blonde bard took an involuntary step back at those words. Meanwhile, a few others had their hands creep to their weapons. The dragon noticed this and continued to grin, as if to taunt them. Then, he started laughing.
"Truly, younglings are so easy to rile up," he sneered as went full height, "This should please you to know I have no interest in destroying it. Why blow it up when it can provide much more?"
This didn't make them feel any better and Aberoft made it clear, shouting, "What do you have planned for the village, dragon!?"
"My, my, what a rude little thing you are," he replied condescendingly, "Learn to be silent when not spoken too and perhaps you won't serve as a mid-morning snack."
"Not going to happen," declared Polka as she jumped to the paladin's defense, "We are with the adventurers guild-"
"Not me," quipped Coco.
"-and he's going to join, so we take care of our own," finished the fennec fox girl.
"Ah, you're Aruran's ilk, are you?" stated Ulras rhetorically, suddenly looking a bit serious, "Give him a message from me. An old enemy of his is around and he has been gathering people around him. Be careful."
The party blinked. The paladin looked at the blue dragon warily. Their friendly dragon stroked her chin for a second and said, "I see. No worries, they'll pass on your message."
Ultras chuckled and stated as he stretched out, "This leaves one left for him. One more and my debt to him will be repaid." He then looked over to the dragonborn lookalike and said to her, "And what are you doing here so far from home?"
"Just visiting."
"Hmm, so secretive. I shall leave you to your secrets then," he replied before suddenly flapping his wings. Gusts of air issued forth as he began to hover into the air, the rest covering their faces as the wind buffeted them. At a suitable enough height, he then flew off without even a goodbye.
"Well, that was rude," muttered Lamy as she brushed the sand off her clothes.
"You guys still need to send the message, though," warned the dragon, "If you don't, he might take that as a slight and send people after you."
"Simple. We just bring the message," summed up Botan, "Also, can you bring us to Rivirapolis?"
"Too many people," she replied as she looked around, "Now that I think about it, I, at most, can carry three people with me. The rest have to walk."
"Just great," grumbled Aloe, "Well, let's get on with it and head to Nikubasa."
"However… since the message really sounds important, I might bring one of you ahead with me," she mused thoughtfully, "That message really sounds ominous enough that it might need looking into."
"I'll go then. I highly doubt stuff will get too exciting except maybe a bandit or two," volunteered Aloe.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you, Aloe," replied Nene with a smile.
Arrangements made, it was decided that the two will leave post-haste while the others continue on their way to Nikubasa. Another half a day went by before they reached the edge of the desert and the town. Instead of stopping by the town, they headed straight for the crossroads right outside the town and sat by the roadside to rest. Polka offered to get refills for their waterskins while they waited and so they did just that.
"Is it true then, that the roads are infested with bandits," asked Aberoft.
"Well, sometimes there are," replied Nene.
"Menace at most, truthfully speaking," added Lamy.
"I see..."
"Eh, what we faced is very easy to handle," said Botan, "If anything, it's easier than fighting an owlbear."
"I'm back! What I miss?" exclaimed the fennec fox girl as she rejoined them.
Once they were refreshed, they moved on their way. The cooler atmosphere made the journey feel… better. However, the sun continued to set and night began to fall. They have yet to reach Greenwish and to avoid traveling through the night, they set up camp.
"...I think we should sleep with our armor on," Aberoft said suddenly as the lore bard set up the Tiny Hut. He stood up and peered through the darkness in the forest as he continued, "There is something out there."
"Is there a certain feeling?" asked the half-snow elf cleric with concern.
"It was fleeting, but I get the sense of something evil," he muttered with a frown.
"Good enough," quipped the archer as she walked into the Hut.
"But we will be inside," rebutted Polka, "How can anyone break it?"
"There are spells that can. If the evil that our paladin here sensed has that kind of magic, sucks to be us if we aren't prepared," spoke up Nene as she poked her head out of the dome, "Come on in."
"Oh. Coming."
Night was a calm thing and everyone was fast asleep. Things were a bit uncomfortable for those who heeded the warning and wore their armor to sleep. Still, there was no sign of danger and all was well so far. Yet, a slight snapping of a twig caused Lamy's ears to twitch. Remembering Aberoft's warning, she sat up and looked around. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed something hiding in the trees. And when she looked to the road, she could spot a dark figure chanting with a hand outstretched towards them and probably to the protective dome.
"We are under attack!" she shrieked out loud, waking up everyone in surprise.
With everyone scrambling to take up arms, the Hut winked out of existence. The shadowy figure immediately unsheathed a longsword, pointed it at them, and shouted, "Attack!"
Four enemies burst out of the forest, two of them of a much larger size. Both had features similar to gnolls. The ones that were of similar size to them were on two legs with hunched backs and wore dirty leather armor. Glowing red eyes were accompanied by loud growls and clawed hands colored with dried blood. The larger ones were on all fours, looking like giant hyenas with the exception of a series of bony ridges going down their spine, ending in a wicked stinger on their tails. They had patchy fur, which revealed mottled skin that glowed a phosphorescent yellow light that also came out of their mouths and eyes.
"Fiends!" roared Aberoft in righteous fury.
Nene's voice rose above all that, her song coming clear and Lamy recognized what it was for; to demoralize their enemies. Around the same time, Polka shouted a few words and the area lit up with bright light from her globe. The half snow-elf braced herself as the arrows flew. A large stinger crashed against her shield as the gnoll-like enemies approached. Still standing, she called her spirit weapon to assist in attacking the large shoosuva. Behind her, she heard the paladin yell a battlecry. Glancing behind, she saw him charge at the shadowy figure, which turned out to be an armored person. As their blades clashed, she turned her attention back to their fight, and slammed her mace on the shoosuva's paw.
The large monster howled in pain, which turned into harsh growls as it turned its attention towards her. Suddenly, the stinger darted forward and struck her in the neck. A prick followed by a numbness that quickly spread through her body. Helpless and paralyzed, she could barely move out of the way when the shoosuva clamped its maw on her shoulder. She could barely muster a cry of pain. However, she was still able to direct the spirit sword to attack its flank. It let go to avoid the sword and howled a laugh. Thankfully, the blood flowing out that bite was where most of the poison flowed out. As feeling returned to her body, she was astounded when the other shoosuva stung it in turn.
"Ha, ha, you missed!" she heard Polka jeer.
She then took this chance to heal herself as her sword continued to attack. However, she screamed as she got attacked by one of the Fangs of Yeenoghu. The pain increased as the poisonous saliva in its mouth was drip-fed into her blood. Things became worse when the other shoosuva, seeing that she was being ganged up on, joined in to attack her.
"Get away from her! Your fight is with me!" roared Botan as the archer pried the Fang off her and smashed it into the ground, clawing its throat out. Meanwhile, Polka pummeled the paralyzed monster's head to a pulp and turned on to help out Nene with the other fang, which turned to attack the cleric as well.
Lamy was very thankful that she was capable of healing and she managed to keep herself on her feet while her spirit sword chipped away at their enemies. It also helped that her friends were very capable and took out all the enemies before they rendered her unconscious.
A yell drew her attention to Aberoft. Her eyes went wide when she saw him on the ground, holding on to his shield for dear life, while the blackguard loomed over him. He kicked the paladin in the side, kicked the shield away from the loosened grip, and raised the longsword to deal a finishing blow.
"My goddess, light the way with your beauty that we may follow," she chanted as she aimed her hand at the blackguard. A flash of light leaped from her hand and slammed into the armor, sending him staggering backward a few steps and more importantly, away from the paladin.
The remaining enemy turned his attention to them and growled, "So, it wasn't enough."
"Why are you attacking us?" asked Nene as the party moved to surround the two combatants but still keeping some distance in case of any shenanigans.
The blackguard laughed and stated, "I was tasked with taking out reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? But we are from the guild… did something happen?" she mused aloud. She didn't like the sound of those words and what they implied.
"Who is attacking the guild?" asked Botan. Most straightforward.
"You do not know?" he asked in disbelief. Slowly, but surely, he chuckled which turned to laughter. Then, he said, "You'll see. Very soon."
He suddenly held up something in his hand and shouted, "Return!" A glowing magic circle appeared under him and a second later, he disappeared along with the circle. All this happened before they could do anything.
In spite of that, what was more worrying was that some outside party was targeting the guild. Someone was going out of their way to stop the adventurers from returning to the capital. The big question was who. Lamy hoped that they would get answers when they returned in a few days' time.
AN: Greetings, readers. Welcome back.
We are in the home stretch. We have the journey back to Rivirapolis. Two strange encounters here. Ulras the Mystery. Ulras the Storm Flyer. A more recent addition to the desert. I haven't exactly made up a history for him, but at the moment, moved there after the fall of the black dragon Dorgriaz and decided to mostly seclude himself. His humor is... well, I think I'll get inspiration from Kirei Kotomine for that. But maybe toned down somewhat. Anyway, a warning to pass on to Aruran.
Then later, we get an ambush by a blackguard. For those who don't know, a blackguard is... an evil/fallen paladin. I think the closest to it is like a... Oathbreaker paladin, if not mistaken. Another thing is that I found out that Dispel Magic can remove Tiny Hut, on the basis that the Dispel affects the Hut itself instead of attempting to go through the Hut. Interesting stuff. Also, the appearance of large demonic hyenas called shoosuvas. Given to Fangs of Yeenoghu who did something that pleased their god, hence the inclusion of the Fangs here. As for the item the blackguard held up, its similar to a teleportation stone or a hearthstone. And yes, he is also part of the new faction that Aruran's enemy is building.
Next chapter, we reach Rivirapolis and things get tense. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.
Omake: Ominous
The previous night
"So, he is recalling all his guild members," muttered a smartly dressed figure as he looked out the window. The curtains were drawn and the pale moonlight filtered through, clashing with the candlelight.
"Yes, my lord," replied a bowing half-elf.
"I see... he suspects something," muttered the pale-faced man, "He has always been more perceptive than most of us."
"What should we do?" asked the latter.
"...For now, nothing," he stated as he turned around to face the half-elf, "However, send Viktor. Micheal will be too... lenient."
"Her is merely loyal, my lord."
"As stalwart as he is, he would let them go should they best him in honorable combat, Reyo," he explained as he sat in a comfortable armchair, "I will not let anyone go to his aid. Not even his guild members. By the time my plan is in motion, his allies will be in no position to help him and he will fall."
"Very well. Your orders will be obeyed," declared the half-elf as he rose and left the study room.
The man leaned back and etched a soft smile on his face, muttering, "Soon, Amos. I shall see you soon."