I pulled my dragon scale armor on over a set of fresh clothes, and I raked my hair back with wet hands. Nameless squawked at me from his travel perch, and I scratched the itchy spot under his chin for a moment.
“Keep an eye on the ladies today,” I instructed, and I tried to push my thoughts into his head telepathically.
A purring sound rumbled through my mind, so I was satisfied that my pet dragon had understood my command and would do as I said.
Then I stuck my helmet in the crook of my elbow, grabbed my panabas, and headed out of the tent. The fire mages of the Kanuaki tribe were soon going to learn a thing or two about the God of Time, but I was going to learn even more about their secrets of the flame.
The camp was bustling with people moving about their morning chores, but I paid them no mind as I hurried toward the edge of our army. I was surrounded by the Kanuaki, but they’d insisted on taking defensive positions with their dwellings, so I hadn’t argued with them.
I made a new save point as I trotted between the rows of tents, but a moment later, I spotted the group of black-robed and white-veiled warriors. None of them had weapons visible on their persons, but with their fire magic, they didn’t need any steel. I watched for a few moments, and I was amazed at their skills with flames, but I itched to expand my own skill set.
“Good morning!” I called out in the Gupuana dialect, but I knew I’d soon learn the Kanuaki tongue as well.
“Morrow!” Serini called out from behind me, and I swiveled to see my wife’s cousin trotting to catch up to me.
“What are you doing up so early?” I chuckled.
The warrior woman shrugged, and she didn’t say anything for a long moment as she watched the warriors training.
“They extended the training invitation to both of us,” Serini explained in the Kimaku tongue. “I’m one of the few in my tribe’s warriors who speaks Gupuana.”
“You’re a woman of many tongues, aren’t you?” I arched an eyebrow at the blue-eyed warrior woman, and she smirked in response.
Serini was born in the Kimaku tribe, married into the Trahana, and had somehow acquired knowledge of the Gupuana tongue? She was pretty multifaceted, and I was proud to call her my kin.
“I must adapt, yes?” Serini’s laughter was full of merriment.
We both continued to cross the distance to the shamans practicing in the sand, and I talked to a few people I’d met already, but it was easy enough to learn the names of the rest. Then I introduced my kinswoman to the warriors, and we got started.
I watched in silence for a while as the fire mages summoned balls of flames in the palms of their hands, but it was similar to my own spell, so I threw around a couple of fireballs, and I was amused by the looks of surprise on the warriors’ faces.
They hadn’t seen anything yet.
I spotted Mikino and Akina, but the two didn’t look my way, so I let them be for the moment. Rystuni waved me over, though, so I weaved my way around the practicing shamans to get to his side.
The young warrior beamed a wide smile in my direction, and he puffed out his chest in pride when I took a spot beside him. I had a feeling he had to fight for the privilege of inviting me to the training session, and now he was walking on cloud nine.
Rystuni was a bit shorter than me, but he made up for the size difference with enthusiasm. I guessed him to be around twenty years old, but it was hard to tell his age beneath his turban and veil. His eyes were a similar metallic shade as Akina’s, but there was a brightness in them that showed his zest for life.
“Care to spar?” I asked in Gupuana after I’d juggled fireballs for several moments. “Do you know any defensive spells?”
“There’s the shield spell,” the fire mage said eagerly. “It deflects the blow of the flames, but the fire magic will eat away at the defensive magic quickly, so it’s difficult to maintain.”
“Show me,” I requested.
Rystuni nodded and took a few paces away from me, and then the fire mage waved his hands through the air before bringing his palms outward. A shimmering barrier bloomed into existence between us, and I grinned as I aimed a fireball at the magical shield.
“Ready?” I asked, and Rystuni nodded, but his eyebrows were knitted together in concentration, so I pulled back a little of the magic in my flaming projectile.
Then I released my fireball in the direction of the magical shield, and Rystuni braced himself for the impact. The flames flew
through the air and smashed into the barrier, and the blaze spread out over the glimmering, translucent surface. An instant later, it was over, and both spells were snuffed out.
“That was amazing!” Rystuni whooped with delight.
“Impressive,” Serini chuckled as she appeared by my side.
“Think I could give it a try?”
“Are you a magic user?” I asked.
“No.” Serini flashed me a broad smile that crinkled her eyes above her veil. “Care to teach me?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “If you think you can do it.”
“Show me what to do,” the blue-eyed warrior woman said, and she took a wide-footed stance.
I spent the next half-hour attempting to teach Serini how to summon a flame in the palm of her hand, but after several tries, the warrior woman was still incapable of producing a blaze. Her forehead was dappled with sweat, and her eyebrows were drawn into a line, but still her palm remained empty and open.
“Damn,” Serini cursed, and she shook out her fingers before she tried again. “Why is this so hard?”
“Magic isn’t something that comes easily,” I explained. “It takes a lot of stamina and willpower to manifest the magic flowing through us. It’s easier for some, harder for others. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll get it if you keep trying.”
“How long did it take you?” Serini arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“Lifetimes,” I chuckled.
The warrior woman tilted her head to the side in confusion, but she didn’t retort, so we went back to our training. I pushed her a little harder, and after several more attempts, a spark erupted from her fingertips.
“Woohoo!” Serini gasped and jumped up and down.
My training of the warrior woman attracted the attention of the fire mages, and a small group had gathered around us by the time we finished the lesson. Several people clapped their hands at Serini’s small success, and the warrior woman smiled at her kinspeople with pride.
“Good job.” I grinned. “We should wait until tomorrow to try more. It’s dangerous to deplete your stamina too much.”
“Yes, Great One.” Serini bowed like a karate student to their sensei. “I look forward to it.”
“That not big impressive,” Mikino snickered in heavily-accented Gupuana. “Watch this.”
The fire mage proceeded to swirl his hands through the air, and he jutted out the heel of his palm like a karate master, but then a large, fiery sword blazed into life in his hand. Mikino waved the sword in a figure eight, and the flames left a trail through the air. I could feel the heat of it against my cheeks, and sweat dappled on my forehead.
“That’s pretty neat.” I nodded a few times as I watched the shaman’s movements. “What’s the word of power?”
“Word of power?” Mikino clenched his fist, and the sword evaporated like it had never existed before, but I could still feel the residual heat in the air.
“How do you summon the sword?” I clarified.
Mikino’s eyes lit up with understanding, and he repeated the swirling hand gesture that ended in the jutted palm heel. A fiery sword erupted in his grasp once more, but he immediately clenched his fist to extinguish the blaze.
“No words needed?” I frowned.
This could be trickier than I thought.
“You need words to do your spell?” Mikino tilted his head to the side and peered at me curiously.
“Show me the movements again,” I requested, and Mikino nodded his assent.
I was going to master this new spell even if it took me a hundred respawns.
I moved alongside the fire mage as he went through the motions yet again, but I didn’t know exactly what else to do in order to summon the flame sword, so I wasn’t surprised when nothing happened.
Mikino smirked like this proved him to be better than me, but I’d wipe that smile right off his face soon enough. He wanted to step up to challenge the God of Time, then so be it.
Chime.
“Good morning!” I called out yet again in the Gupuana dialect, but I turned just in time to see Serini approaching, and I waved to her as well.
“Morrow!” Serini called out with a friendly wave.
“You’re late,” I teased. “I expected you to beat me here.”
“How did you know I was coming to train today?” Serini tilted her head to the side in that confused way she had.
“God of Time,” I reminded her. “I know all things.”
“Impossible,” Serini laughed, but there was no malice to the sound. She simply seemed surprised by my claim.
“You’ll see.” I grinned, but then I turned and led the rest of the way to where the warriors were practicing.
“Hey, man.” I went straight up to Rystuni, and I clapped the young fire mage on the shoulder. “Want to practice some shield spells?”
“Sure!” Rystuni flashed a wide smile at me.
I spent the next hour or so repeating my exercises with the young fire mage, and soon he was practically floating on his feet. His smile stretched from ear to ear, and he soaked in the jealous looks of the other warriors like a plant absorbing sunshine.
Then I approached Serini, and I began to teach her the basics of the simplest fire spell I knew. She muttered the word of power under her breath over and over again, but I was able to give her a
couple of pointers, and soon sparks were flying from her fingertips once more.
Once the applause sounded, Mikino approached to show off, but I was ready for him. I bowed like we were about to duel, and then I began to move through the motions of the flame sword spell. I felt a heat in the palm of my hand, and a tiny flame shot up before quickly extinguishing, but it was a start.
I resisted the urge to jump for joy, and judging from the sour expression on his face, Mikino was less than impressed. He looked surprised, sure, but I knew he was ready to show me up.
Sure enough, the fire mage hurried through the motions faster than I’d ever seen him do before, and a massive two-handed blade made entirely of swirling flames appeared in his hands. The fire was filled with orange, yellow, red, and even blue hues, so I could only imagine how hot it was, but I could feel the heat in the air between us.
Then I redid the motions, and a small flame dagger appeared in my hands, but I was getting better. Still, it wasn’t quite good enough to spar with the powerful broad-shouldered mage who’d taken an interest in me. I couldn’t blame him. I was an interesting
god, and I relished in the chance to use my abilities to prove him wrong.
Chime.
I reset half a dozen times, and each time, my fiery blade grew larger and hotter. Mikino’s expression slowly changed to one of shock, then awe, and soon we were comparing our swords side by side while I quoted the infamous “I see your Schwartz is as big as mine” line from Spaceballs in my head.
“Impossible,” Mikino breathed with wide metallic-hued eyes, and words rattled off his tongue in the Gupuana dialect. “This goes against nature.”
“It’s magic,” I said, and I clapped the man on the shoulder. “It doesn’t give a fuck about physics”
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
I didn’t stop until my blade was even bigger than his, and it took both my fists to grasp the flaming hilt. The heat warmed my gauntlets, but they had fire-resistant buffs, so I wasn’t worried about getting burned.
Finally, I was ready to show Mikino up once and for all.
Chime.
I rushed to the edge of the tent rows, but then I ducked behind one of the dwellings to wait for my wife’s cousin. A moment later, the blue-eyed warrior woman appeared, and I slipped up behind her.
“Good morning, Serini,” I said in her ear.
“Oh, Bash, it’s you!” Serini gasped as she jerked away from me, and she pressed a calming hand against her heart. “I didn’t hear you approach.”
“I’ll teach you my fire spell soon,” I whispered, and I winked at my kinswoman. “I know you’re jealous of the shamans.”
“How did you--” Serini started to say.
“God of Time,” I chuckled. “I know a lot about a lot.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” the warrior woman said with a sly smile.
After I practiced the shield spell with Rystuni, I taught Serini the basic fire spell, and then I finally moved on to show off my flame sword to Mikino. I was ready to see the surprise and awe in his eyes one more time, and I puffed out my chest with pride as I approached the broad-shouldered mage.
“Care to spar?” I asked in a friendly tone.
Mikino spun to face me, and a frown tightened his brow.
“You wish… to fight me?” Mikino asked in halting Gupuana. “I am strongest warrior among the Kanuaki Tribe.”
“I know that,” I said with an ever-widening smile. “Why else would I choose you? If I want to be the best, I have to beat the best.”
“Very well.” Mikino bowed stiffly. “Choose your weapon.”
“I’ll pick what you pick,” I said, and I lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug.
Mikino nodded, and he performed the motions to summon the flame sword, but I was only a step behind him. By the time his blade burned in his fist, mine was also flickering into existence.
Now, the fun could start.
The rest of the warriors quickly caught on to what was happening, and they formed a ring around us in the sand. Mikino and I took several paces away from each other before he turned and bowed low again. I mimicked the motion, but that brought my flame sword close to my face, and the heat warmed my skin quickly.
“Ready?” I asked.
Mikino merely nodded and assumed a defensive stance.
I shuffled forward and took an experimental swing, but Mikino moved fast as lightning, and he brought his blade up to meet mine with perfect timing. His face barely registered the move, and I had to admit his poker skills would be phenomenal, but I was the God of Time, and I could crack this nut easily enough.
With a side-step, I swiveled and returned another blow in Mikino’s direction, and he had to work a little bit harder to block my attack. The heat radiating from our joined swords caused sweat to pour down my face, and I blinked away the droplets as I pressed the magical weapon against Mikino’s spell.
We went back and forth for a while, but it soon became obvious that Mikino was staying on the defensive. I wanted to elicit some impatience from him, get him to make a mistake, or open his guard, but he was as stoic as a statue.
“You’ve certainly earned the title of strongest warrior among the Kanuaki,” I said in an impressed tone. “I didn’t expect you to give me so much exercise.”
“Training keep me sharp,” Mikino said in his accented Gupuana.
We exchanged a few more blows, and I kept trying to get inside his guard, but the man was an impenetrable wall of defense.
He hardly moved his feet, and yet it seemed like he managed to slide into the perfect position at just the right time. I was beginning to reconsider my desire to spar with him, but in the worst-case scenario, I could always reset back to my save point and try again.
I was the God of Time, and a little sparring was child’s play for me.
I swiveled, spun, jumped, and lunged, but finally, Mikino faltered in one of his steps. It only took me an instant to seize the advantage, and I had the flames of my blade close to his neck a moment later.
Mikino clenched his fist to extinguish his weapon as a sign of surrender, and I pulled my fiery sword away from his throat. His metallic-hued eyes were wide with amazement, and I could only assume it was the first time he’d been beaten at all.
“You are amazing, Great One,” Mikino breathed, and he wiped the sweat from his neck. “I was scared you wouldn’t stop.”
“Your life flashed before your eyes?” I chuckled. “No, man, I would never hurt you. I need you too badly. This fight against the
warlord is going to require every man I can get. Think you can help me with that?”
“Anything to fight by your side, Great One,” Mikino said in a reverent tone.
“What other kinds of magic can you shamans do?” I asked as I scanned over the practice field.
I saw several other warriors with flame swords, but off in the distance and removed from the fire mages were black-robed warriors summoning things out of portals.
Mikino saw where my gaze went, and he snickered.
“Summoners aren’t as strong as we are,” the fire mage said.
“Mainly summon Naga for us to practice against.”
“I still want to learn,” I said, and I clasped Mikino’s forearm in mine. “Thanks for the sparring session. It was fun!”
Then I trotted over to where the summoners were, and I made a new save point as I approached. There was no point in doing the whole morning’s training session over again, but I knew learning how to summon the snake monsters would take more than one attempt.
“Hey, there!” I said with a friendly wave.
The summoner shamans stopped what they were doing and turned toward me, but they seemed slightly less friendly than the fire mages had. Perhaps it had something to do with Mikino’s attitude toward the summoners, like they were lesser mages or something, but that would be easy enough to fix.
I just had to show them how awesome I was.
“I’ve been watching your spellwork,” I said to the group at large in the Gupuana tongue. “Care to show me how to do it?”
“It takes years to learn how to summon a Naga,” an older woman with gray eyebrows said, and her Gupuana was nearly perfect. “We can show you how, but it will be up to you to practice.”
“Fine by me.” I grinned. “I think you’ll be surprised by how fast I can learn.”
The woman nodded stiffly, but then she stepped forward and began to yank my arms into an outstretched position. I let her treat me like a mannequin, but once I was in the correct position, she gave me an approving smile and stepped back to admire her handiwork.
“Hold that pose,” she instructed. “It is the first movement in the spell.”
The magic in the Kotar Desert didn’t seem to need words of power, and I was fascinated by the different ways magic was used around this medieval fantasy world. The people of the Zaborial Isles treated it like an academic study, and the people of Sorreyal saw it as a resource, but the desert dwellers were more spiritual in their approach.
Then the older woman showed me the next position, then the third, until I had the entire process memorized. She nodded approvingly after each motion, but I was getting bored with the basics.
I wanted to summon a Naga.
It was time to show this summoner shaman what it meant to be the God of Time.
Chime.
I approached the summoners once more, and I gave them a friendly wave before I introduced myself. The older woman approached me again, but before she could open her mouth to speak, I began to flow through the positions of the Naga summoning spell. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she watched me closely, but in the end she nodded her approval.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Trystani,” she said, and a smile glimmered in her silver eyes.
“Where did you learn the spell?”
“Twas in another lifetime,” I said in a sing-song voice, but I didn’t expect the Bob Dylan lyrics to register with the desert dwellers.
“I’m Bash. The God of Time.”
“You have a beginner’s knowledge of the right spellwork,”
Trystani admitted in a reluctant tone. “You should practice some more before you attempt the next step.”
“What’s the next step?” I asked, but I tried to mask the impatience from my voice.
Trystani eyed me sharply but didn’t answer, so I contented myself to practice the movements she’d taught me for a while. I quickly grew bored, though, and I approached the older woman once more.
“I’m ready for the next step,” I declared in a confident voice.
The older summoner shaman held my gaze in hers for a long, silent moment, but then she gave her customary nod.
“Next, you will need to sharpen your will,” she explained in the Gupuana dialect. “Focus your intent. Harness your stamina.”
“That’s easy enough.” I shrugged. “I’ve mastered so many spells already, my willpower is like a blade. Sharp and deadly.”
“As you say,” Trystani allowed. “Show me your concentration.”
I wasn’t sure how to do that exactly, but I did my best. I went through the motions for the spell again, but this time I focused intently on the image of a Naga in my head. A blueish-gray aura shimmered in the air before me, but it quickly sputtered out of existence an instance later.
“Good. Good.” Trystani walked around me in a circle as she analyzed my stance. She adjusted one of my feet, moved my wrist ever so slightly, and then nodded for me to try again.
I repeated the process again, and the blue-gray aura grew stronger. It was the beginning of the portal the Naga would slither through, and I was encouraged to keep trying. I’d made enough progress to reset to my save point, though.
Chime.
I approached the summoner shaman yet again, but this time, I walked straight up to Trystani and stuck out my hand.
“Trystani?” I asked with a friendly smile. “I’m Bash, the God of Time.”
“I have heard rumors about you throughout the camp,” Trystani informed me. “They say you already know all things.”
“I know a lot.” I grinned. “I’m still learning some things, though.
Like how to summon a Naga.”
“Show me what you can do.” The summoner stepped back and nodded for me to continue.
“Alright,” I breathed, and I assumed the first position of the spell.
I flowed through the movements like a dance while focusing on the image of a Naga emerging from the blue-gray magic portal. The aura shimmered into existence above the sand, and then it solidified into a mirror-like circle.
“Good! Good!” Trystani’s voice showed her surprise.
Then a snake-man-monster slithered through the portal and stared at me as though awaiting a command. I whooped with joy, and the portal vanished, but the Naga remained.
“Command it!” Trystani shouted. “Seize control before it runs wild.”
I focused my willpower, and I stared into the creature’s snake-like pupils as I mentally commanded it to spin in a circle. The Naga
twitched for a brief instant, and then it slid across the sand in a tight ring, and I laughed with delight.
I’d just summoned a fucking Naga.
The God of Time always accomplished his goals.
“Perfect!” Trystani flashed me a proud smile. “How long have you been practicing summoning?”
“With the Naga?” I arched an eyebrow. “Just today.”
“What?” Trystani’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “That’s impossible!”
I talked with the older woman for a little while longer, and I got to know the rest of the summoner shamans of the Kanuaki Tribe.
They were treated like lesser citizens than the fire mages, and I agreed to help change things for them. My promise earned me their friendship, and by the time I left the practice field for the day, I was confident the entire tribe would agree to join my army.
Before I reached my dwelling, however, Nameless swooped out of the sky and landed roughly on my back. The dragon nearly toppled me over, and I cursed under my breath as I struggled to keep my feet under me. Judging from the urgency of his chirps, the little guy was hungry, so I made my way to our food storage instead.
I gave Nameless some strips of raw meat, but I didn’t have the patience to play the catching game with him, so I just set the entire bowl on the ground. The dragon sniffed the bowl experimentally before he snatched up a piece and tossed it into his maw, and I chuckled at his obvious pleasure.
Once he was done eating, I cleaned the blood from his muzzle and settled him back into his normal position on my back. His claws held onto the edges of my breastplate, and his feet gripped my back tightly. Then we crossed the remaining distance to my tent.
The three gorgeous women I got to call mine turned to greet me with wide smiles as soon as I pushed through the tent flap, and I took a moment to give them each long good morning kisses.
“Just in time for breakfast,” Eva said with a twinkle in her smoky-gray eyes.
“You must be hungry after training with the shamans,” Mahini added.
“We traded some of our meat for some flatbread the Kanuaki made.” Zenda held up the basket full of steaming flatbread, and I had to admit it smelled amazing, yeasty, and fresh.
“Good work.” I grinned, and my stomach growled with urgency.
“I think I’m starving.”
“Sounds like it,” Eva laughed.
“Follow us,” Mahini insisted.
Zenda grabbed the bread basket, and the other two scooped up containers with the rest of our breakfast, but then I followed them out of the tent to pillows strewn about one of the many bonfires in our army’s camp.
By the time we got situated with our food, however, Chief Kuaki approached me with a scowl on his face.
What now?
“Great One!” the chief called out as he crossed the distance to me.
“Here we go,” I muttered.
I wasn’t sure what I’d done to piss off the chief of the Naga hunters, but I knew I could fix it soon enough, even if it took more than a few respawns to figure it out.
“What can I do for you, Chief Kuaki?” I gave the chief my most charming smile.
The chief hesitated for a long moment, and he shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the other.
“Out with it,” I pressed.
“You have been talking to my warriors,” the chief accused.
“Yes…?” I tilted my head to the side in confusion.
“Now, they want to follow you into battle against the warlord,”
the chief continued as though this explained everything.
“And you don’t?” I chuckled. “What happened to the people speak for themselves and all that bullshit you said yesterday?”
“I didn’t expect them to agree to follow you,” the chief admitted.
“Hey, I’m a god.” I shrugged. “Can you really blame them?”
The chief huffed, but he didn’t seem to have a retort, so I pushed myself to my feet and towered over him.
“You gave me your word that if your warriors agreed to follow me, then you would submit to my command completely,” I reminded him. “Are you a man who revokes your own words?”
“No, no, I’m not!” the chief sputtered. “But we can’t stay here much longer. We will be spotted if we don’t stay on the move.”
“Let’s head toward the warlord’s stronghold, then,” I suggested in a casual voice. “He won’t know what hit him.”
“We do not have nearly enough people to face the entire strength of the Allied Three.”
“Allied Three?” I pressed.
“The three powerfully strong tribes who have allied themselves with the warlord,” Kuaki explained. “Their scouts will be ranging nearby. I am sure of it.”
“Then let’s go.” I shrugged again. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“Very well,” Chief Kuaki huffed, and he hesitated for a moment like he had something else to say, but instead, he merely turned on his heels and stomped away.
The residents of the Kotar Desert were certainly natural skeptics, but the harshness of their environment created hard-edged individuals who weren’t easily manipulated. I relished the challenge, but I was starting to miss the overwhelming faith of the people of Bastianville.
They’d warm up to me soon enough.
Our army caravan headed out before sunrise the next morning, but it was well after the sun came up when the tail-end of the procession was able to move into line. I had four hundred people,
give or take, traveling with me to the coast, but I wanted more. I hoped we ran into some more tribes along the way, and I sent scouts out in every direction to search for them.
The scouts returned day after day with nothing to report, but then about a week after we encountered the Kanuaki Tribe, the runners returned with news of a caravan passing by up ahead. This was my chance to add some more manpower to my army, so I mounted Goliath and followed the runner back in the direction they’d come from.
I took a small entourage with me to greet the new tribe, but it took me a few respawns to convince them to join my army. By the end of the day, however, I was able to add the Munuak Tribe to my ranks.
We reached the eastern coastline shortly after, and then we began to head south along the shoreline. The ocean created a cool breeze that combated the heat of the desert, but the salt made everything rust overnight.
Nameless loved the ocean, and he swan dived from impossible heights to crash into the waves. I was worried about his safety the first time he did it, but then he emerged from the water
with a happy squawk. After that, I let his invisible leash get longer and longer, and I often went all day without seeing him.
While we traveled, I worked on making a map of the Kotar Desert with the help of Zenda and several other desert dwellers. We interviewed countless people and added the details they described to our notes. It would be the first ever map of the realm, and the Zaborian and I would go down in history as the first cartographers to survive the desert.
Over the course of the next few weeks, six more tribes joined my army, and our procession slowed to a snail’s pace. Supplies began to dwindle, so I sent out hunting parties on a daily basis.
Scouts were also dispersed to locate the warlord’s stronghold, and the map only had a few empty spaces.
A common tongue began to develop among the tribes of my army, and it sounded like a mixture of Gupuana and Kimaku for the most part, with some flavorings of other tribes thrown in the mix for seasoning, but it brought me joy to hear the different tribes interacting with each other for the first time.
A couple of weeks after we reached the coastline, a scout rushed up to me with a red face and gasping for air. I gave him a moment to catch his breath, and I tried to keep a handle on my
impatience, but I was ready to take the fight to the asshole terrorizing the desert.
“An oasis, Great One,” the scout finally gasped out. “Up ahead about a league.”
“Let’s check it out,” I said, but I made a new save point before we continued any further.
I organized a small search party with a mixture of warriors from every tribe and some of my Sorreyalian soldiers, and then we rode across the sands behind the scout. Nameless swooped overhead, and a few of the newest additions to my army gasped in surprise at the sight of the little dragon, but the lizard-like creature ignored them all as he flew up ahead of us.
Trees swam on the distant horizon until they finally solidified in my vision, and I clicked my tongue to urge Goliath onward even faster. I quickly outpaced the rest of the warriors and soldiers, and I didn’t stop until I pulled beneath the tree line.
I spotted some structures up ahead beneath the trees, but I waited until my companions caught up to me before I continued any further. The village could be occupied by warriors loyal to the would-
be warlord. We could never be too careful, but I had a save point ready just in case.
Then we rode forward into the village with our weapons drawn, but the stench of death quickly greeted my nostrils. Rot and decay permeated the air, and I pulled a piece of my turban down to cover my mouth and nose.
“Where is everyone?” Mikino asked as he waved his flame sword from side to side.
“Let’s keep looking,” I said, but I wasn’t holding my breath for good news.
We continued on through the rows of squat clay houses, and I marveled at the permanence of the structures. This was not a nomadic tribe, but Mikino was right.
Where was everyone?
I toured the whole village without seeing a single soul, and then I signaled for everyone to dismount and investigate the houses.
I slid from Goliath’s back and peered inside the first building, but I instantly gagged at the stench of death that assaulted me.
Inside, three people laid dead on the floor, and rotted food was strewn about them. It looked like some animals had scavenged the
space, and broken pottery was scattered everywhere. I stepped closer to the corpses with my turban still held tightly over my face, and I noticed strange blotches across their flesh.
Disease.
The putrid stench clung to every inch of air in the dwelling, and my skin crawled at the thought that I’d already exposed myself to the disease. That was something not even a god could fix, but maybe my healing waters from Arajah would do the trick if it came down to it.
“Fuck,” I cursed, and I gagged as I rushed out of the house.
This was not something to take lightly. We were all at risk of catching whatever had killed off this entire village.
And I’d just exposed some of my best fighters to it.
Time to reset.
Chime.