As Teshak feared, Melkia had risen early with the sun barely out, intending to leave quietly to hunt down Dashki. However, Arguk noticed her gathering her supplies as he kept watch alongside Trax. He patted the hyena on the back of the neck and made his way over to Zalerian's bedroll, waking the monk up with a gentle nudge. Zalerian sat up with a yawn, catching a glimpse of Melkia leaving the ruins to realize what was going on. He stood up to take over watch for Arguk, who followed after Melkia. He whistled sharply for Trax to walk alongside him as the two quickly caught up with Melkia, who didn't even look back as she started to speak.
"I don't need your help," Melkia snapped harshly. "Turn back now before I make you."
"Be that as it may, I am coming with you," Arguk told Melkia calmly. "If that is a problem, I would suggest that you turn back and work with the others."
Melkia grunted and picked up her pace, walking faster. Arguk and Trax gave the huntress her distance while ensuring that they could keep up with her if she tried anything. While he was worried that Melkia would try to stop him with violence, she didn't reach for one of her weapons. It could be that she realized that the others wouldn't let her back if she harmed him or it might be that she wasn't sure she could take him in a fight. For a moment, Arguk wondered if Melkia was starting to move past her hatred of gnolls before shaking his head. As much as he hoped for that to be the case, he knew it was too soon for such a change to happen.
Arguk knew that there were many in Katapesh that didn't care much for gnolls and he couldn't deny their reasoning for it. The gnolls occupying Kelmarane were hardly the exception to what his kind were like. They were raiders, slavers, and sometimes, worshipped Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters. Many gnoll tribes attacked merchant caravans traveling across Sandpoint and viciously struck down any that stood in their way. Arguk was raised a slave and never took part in the brutal ways of the gnoll tribes. There was a part of him that feared he would always be an outsider and was glad to have found some friends.
Despite Melkia's hatred of gnolls, Arguk hoped that she would see him for a friend one day. He wondered what drove her to hate gnolls as much as she did but knew better than to question her. Melkia would have only dismissed his questions without any care.
Melkia had found Dashki's tracks and led the way west toward the river separating the Refuge of Nethys from Kelmarane. The river had washed Dashki's tracks away, but after crossing the river, Melkia was able to pick up where he had gone. Melkia continued to follow Dashki's tracks with Arguk and Trax trailing close behind her. Although Arguk had been concerned that Dashki was fleeing to Kelmarane, his trail went southwest, circling carefully around the town until he came to the other side to run north toward the mountains. There were many places that a gnoll tribe could hide in the mountain but Arguk was confident in Melkia's tracking ability.
After an hour of following Dashki's tracks, the adventurers came across a pesh field. While pesh was a major resource in the nation given its alchemical and narcotic properties, the gnolls didn't care for trading or using pesh. As a result, the pesh cacti that once grew in the field had withered away. Arguk and Melkia carefully made their way through the field, avoiding the cacti as best as they could. The ground was dusty and sandy but Arguk could make out the faint tracks Dashki left behind. He had spent a lot of time going around Kelmarane in an attempt to avoid the Kulldis Tribe while putting distance between himself and his adventurers.
"I should have gone after him last night," Melkia said with a groan. "Why did I have to listen and rest?"
"It could have been dangerous," Arguk suggested. "At least now we have daylight to see in case of an attack."
"The tracks are still fresh, but if Dashki kept running, it could take hours to catch up with him," Melkia shook her head. "We wouldn't have this problem if I had gone after him and killed him while he was close."
"Wouldn't it be a better idea to capture him?" Arguk asked. "Surely Lady Almah would want to ensure that he is given a trial so that justice can be served."
"He's working with the gnolls," Melkia countered. "That's a death sentence as far as I'm concerned. If Almah objects, it's not my problem since Dashki will be dead."
"And aren't you the least bit curious as to why he's working with Three Jaws Pack? Gnoll tribes aren't known to work with humans."
"Honestly, I don't care," Melkia said with a shrug. "Arguk, try to change my mind all you like, but I didn't set out to track down Dashki to drag him back to stand trial or to listen to his explanation. I'm going to put an arrow through his skull. If you're going to insist on following-"
Melika let out a scream as the ground beneath her broke apart and she fell downward.
Arguk had to fight back his immediate instinct to rush after Melkia as he noticed the ground continuing to shift and break apart. They had walked right into a sinkhole, and if he didn't move fast, he would fall down as well. Arguk ran backwards a few feet before turning around and jumping away from the sinkhole. Trax jumped after him but the hyena fell short of escaping the sinkhole. When Trax landed, the ground continued to sink with Trax trying to dig his way back up. Arguk tried to reach for his hyena companion but was too slow as Trax fell down into the sinkhole after Melkia.
The ground stopped shifting and Arguk let out a quick sigh of relief to have not fallen in after the others. He looked over the edge of the sinkhole and gasped in shock. The sinkhole wasn't caused by natural means but rather was made by a vicious desert predator. The monster was a dust digger, a large star-like creature with a sand-colored carapace to blend into the desert environment. There were barbed tendrils at the end of each of the points on its body, capable of wrapping around prey with ease. It had a single mouth at the center of its body with sharp teeth to eat whatever it caught. Arguk had heard about how dust diggers would lie in wait beneath the sand until prey walked over it before the dust digger struck.
Trax had recovered from the fall, barking and biting at the tendrils that tried to grab it. Melkia wasn't as fortunate as the hyena and Arguk's eyes went wide in horror to see that she had been caught in the dust digger's mouth. Her legs were in its mouth and the huntress tried to force the monster's jaws apart with her hands as she struggled to escape. The dust digger threatened to close its sharp fangs on Melkia, and with a final gasp, she was swallowed whole by the creature.
"Melkia!" Arguk called out.
Arguk slid down on the sinkhole's edge, rushing to save his companion. He drew his scimitars as his feet touched the bottom of the sinkhole and charged at the dust digger. Trax had bitten one of the tendrils and Arguk moved to strike at the same tendril, slashing his scimitar. He had sliced off several of the barbs and the dust digger pulled the injured tendril away.
The dust digger let out a painful screech as a blade poked out of its side. The sharp edge cut across the carapace from within, giving a slit large enough for Melkia to pull out of. The half-elf was covered in brown ooze and dark blood as she fell down on the ground, taking deep breaths. Arguk took notice of the katar that she held tightly in her fist, her arm ravaged from the effects of its magically-inflicted viciousness. Arguk was glad to see Melkia able to escape from becoming the dust digger's next meal and hoped that they would be able to defeat the monster together.
Melkia's escape had distracted Arguk from the dust digger, which lashed out at him with one of its tendrils. Arguk got the wind knocked out of him as the tendril slammed into his chest with enough force to knock him onto the ground. Before he could get up, the same tendril that struck him had wrapped around his legs and lifted him off of the ground. The gnoll grimaced in pain as the barbs cut through his armor and into his pelt. Hanging upside down, Arguk could see Melkia roll away from two of the dust digger's tendrils only for a third to slam her back into its reach. The tendril had wrapped around her chest although she pulled her katar-wielding arm free from the tentacle. Trax had tried to advance toward the dust digger only for the final tendril to slam into his side, throwing the hyena aside. Arguk felt rage hearing the pained yelp from Trax.
With one arm freed, Melkia stabbed the tendril that restrained her with her enchanted katar. The energy had the cut across the tendril grow but the magic spread up Melkia's arm, cutting into her as well. Melkia gritted her teeth in pain, and much to Arguk's horror, her eyes rolled back and she fell limp. The cursed katar may have killed the huntress and Arguk realized it was up to him to defeat the dust digger.
The dust digger shifted its tendrils, moving the one holding Arguk so that the gnoll was placed above its open jaw. The monster intended to make him his next meal and he only had seconds to act. Arguk pulled himself up as a sit up toward the tendril that restrained his legs and slashed at it with his scimitar with all his might. His blade cut completely through, severing the tendril from the dust digger, which screeched loudly in pain. Arguk was in free fall and he spun around to face the dust digger's body. He shifted his body to avoid falling into its mouth and to escape its sharp teeth. When he landed, he brought both of his scimitars down on the dust digger, slashing at the monster with a flurry of rapid strikes. With one last screech, the dust digger's jaw was left agape as its tendrils fell down to the ground.
Arguk didn't take the time to celebrate his victory. He dropped his scimitars to the ground and rushed over to where Melkia had fallen, hoping that she still drew breath. He knelt down by her and grabbed her by the shoulders, channeling a healing spell. It may have been a surprise for a slave to know magic but Arguk was able to draw his power from the natural world of the desert surrounding him. His magic had saved the lives of himself and Trax on several occasions and he hoped that it would be enough to save Melkia's life.
Melkia gasped out and her eyes shot open when Arguk finished channeling the healing magic. The wounds across her arm and body hadn't closed all the way but they weren't as deadly as before.
"Ugh," Melkia groaned. "Everything…"
"Take it easy," Arguk told Melkia, casting another healing spell that helped close most of her wounds. "Drink some water, clear your head. The dust digger is dead."
A pained whine from Trax drew Arguk's attention away from Melkia. Noticing the hyena limping away from the dust digger, Arguk made his way over to heal Trax. Like with Melkia, Arguk placed a hand on Trax's back and channeled his magic, mending the hyena's injuries. With a nod of his head, Trax placed his full weight on all of his legs without issue. Arguk patted Trax on the back of the neck and turned back to face Melkia.
Melkia sat up on the ground, drinking from her waterskin. She glanced at Arguk's direction and he could see that she wasn't glaring at him. Rather, Melkia was confused and tilted her head toward the gnoll. Arguk had a good feeling about what kind of thoughts the huntress had and kept his distance. It was better for her to reach any conclusion on her own as he recognized that trying to guide her through what happened may turn her against him. After several moments of contemplation, Melkia stood up from the ground, stretching her hands up into the air.
"You saved my life," Melkia noted coldly.
"I supposed I did," Arguk said with a nod."
"You know that if we had swapped places then-"
"-you would have left me to die," Arguk finished with a hyena-like chuckle. "I figured as such."
Melkia scowled. "Don't think that just because you saved my life that I'm going to change my mind about you."
"The thought never crossed my mind."
"No time to waste then," Melkia holstered her qatar and approached the wall of the sinkhole. "Dust diggers are typically found by themselves or in pairs, and seeing as how we haven't been attacked again, I think we killed the only monster in the area."
"So the way out of the field should be safe," Arguk nodded in agreement.
Melkia didn't bother to wait for Arguk and climbed her way out of the sinkhole. Arguk whistled for Trax and the two followed after her after the gnoll retrieved and sheathed his scimitars away. It wasn't too difficult for Arguk to find firm chunks of ground in the wall to climb out of the sinkhole. Although he was worried that Trax couldn't get out, the hyena managed to find a secure enough path to get out of the sinkhole. Arguk and Trax quickly caught up to Melkia, who was making her way north out of the pesh field.
After a few minutes of walking, Melkia broke the silence.
"I was thinking that maybe it might be worth hearing Dashki out," Melkia said. "Not that I care about whatever motive he has to stab us in the back but he might know more about the gnoll tribes in the area."
"That he would," Arguk said, hiding a faint smile. "So, are we capturing him?"
"I wouldn't go that far," Melkia shook her head. "Let's just say that I won't aim for his head or heart. If he doesn't die in the battle, we'll see what happens next."
"A sound plan," Arguk nodded. "I mean no offense when I say this but we may want to take a detour to the river. If Dashki has met up with the Three Jaws Pack and they have hyenas, they may smell the… fluids of the dust digger on you."
"Good thinking," Melkia said with a shrug. "Once we get out of the pesh fields, we'll cut across the northern border of Kelmarane. I'll just step in and out of the river, and by the time we get back to the trail, the sun will have dried off the water."
Silence fell over the group with Arguk sensing that Melkia wasn't interested in idle small talk. Although the huntress said nothing had changed from him saving her life, he started to see cracks in her tough facade. It was a small victory to get Melkia to agree not to outright kill Dashki but it was a victory that Arguk was willing to take as a first step to earning Melkia's trust.
A/N: Not much to say about this chapter other than I had a lot of fun taking notes for the dust digger fight.
Next chapter, we return to Kelmarane for a chapter that I'm very excited to write.
Until next time.