While on his way to partake in another job, one of an altogether different caliber off on some odd island he had never heard of before, Solmar had taken it upon himself to move on ahead and travel on his own. In so doing, he had stumbled upon a village he had never really heard of before, having a very low population due to its placement and the fact that most who grew up there would likely live out their days in the city. Either that, or they did not do well with the heat, seeking their fortunes in a more tempered environment. In a way, Solmar could understand why this was, the sun burning down upon his black hair as if drawn to it. Luckily, as a fire slayer, he did not really care much for the hot weather as it barely affected him at all. One thing it did do to him was make him somewhat tired, hungry and thirsty, though most of those were things he experienced quite frequently on a day to day basis. Hell, some of those were things he felt just about every hour.
It was for that reason that he had decided to make a stop here in the Desert village before he would make his way towards the island early the next morning. Having made his way into the local tavern before doing a bit of scouting, he ordered whatever was on the menu today. Usually eating something along the lines of ribs or a chicken leg, he felt it rather odd that they served cooked Iguana over here. Likely being because Iguana could get very slow and sluggish due to the weather and the ocean being quite close to where they were, Solmar decided on at the very least trying the local cuisine. Because of his way of life, he could honestly say that it wasn't the worst sounding thing he had ever eaten. As a child without a family or a home, he had been forced to resort to eating things like rats, fish that were already dead before he fished them out of the stream and even partially rotten fruits. Regardless of how it sounded, the fact that he was still alive today proved that there was at least some nourishment to be gained from it.
Ordering a round of Iguana and a pitcher of water, he handed the barkeep a few extra coins in exchange for information. Feeling like places such as these had troubles that most of the guilds might not even know about because of how distant and poorly located the village was, he figured that he might as well see to some of their troubles while he was here. Though initially not getting a whole lot of substantial stuff, they eventually made it to the topic of some kind of creature, or rather creatures that lived beneath the sand and swallowed up entirely animals in one go. Though they did not seem to particularly like humans, the fact that these beasts had no eyes and responded to vibrations traveling through the sand meant that they did in fact kill some from time to time. Claiming that these were once rather contained events that happened incredibly rarely, it seemed that there was something hiding in the sand that took a liking to humans over other animals. Doing his best to get some more information, it was at that point that a man accompanied by a snake pulled the attention towards him.
Apparently being some kind of victim to the beast, he told of how he and a few of his mates were out in the desert, hauling merchandize from the southern shore towards the village. It was at that point that they got attacked, the creature coming up from time to time to hurt one of them and frighten the rest of them. Making it look like it was hunting them for sport, he did not kill them but rather injured them progressively more until they just passed out or died from blood loss or from getting struck in a vital spot. Surviving only because he managed to climb up on a stone plateau, the man described how the strange beast waited around for almost an hour before it came up again. Seemingly waiting for the last of the men to make his move, it only came up to drag the bodies down into the sands once it seemed certain that the last man was gone. Telling the story in a way that made Solmar feel like he had actually been there, he could imagine how it might have been an incredibly harrowing encounter and that it had to be stopped before it claimed more people.
Being the person that he was, he rarely intervened with nature, and in nature, sometimes people got hurt or killed. When people ventured into a forest and got eaten by one of the predators that roamed there, in Solmar's opinion, they had brought it upon themselves for leaving their fancy cities unprepared. This however was different. This creature was hunting people for the fun of it, not because it was going hungry or had a litter of young to feed. The way the young black haired mage saw it, this was the kind of behavior that came with those animals that had achieved some sort of sentience, as most animals did not play with their food as violently as these things. That, and those creatures that did could not target humans because they were cats. Upon bringing his cooked Iguana and pitcher of water to his seat, Solmar told the Barkeep that he would do his best to take care of this problem, especially if there were to be some kind of price tag attached to returning the head of the beast. Replying only by saying that he would do his best, the mage believed he had heard enough to take part in this job as he bit down into his food. Interestingly enough, it tasted pretty good.
(1009)
It was for that reason that he had decided to make a stop here in the Desert village before he would make his way towards the island early the next morning. Having made his way into the local tavern before doing a bit of scouting, he ordered whatever was on the menu today. Usually eating something along the lines of ribs or a chicken leg, he felt it rather odd that they served cooked Iguana over here. Likely being because Iguana could get very slow and sluggish due to the weather and the ocean being quite close to where they were, Solmar decided on at the very least trying the local cuisine. Because of his way of life, he could honestly say that it wasn't the worst sounding thing he had ever eaten. As a child without a family or a home, he had been forced to resort to eating things like rats, fish that were already dead before he fished them out of the stream and even partially rotten fruits. Regardless of how it sounded, the fact that he was still alive today proved that there was at least some nourishment to be gained from it.
Ordering a round of Iguana and a pitcher of water, he handed the barkeep a few extra coins in exchange for information. Feeling like places such as these had troubles that most of the guilds might not even know about because of how distant and poorly located the village was, he figured that he might as well see to some of their troubles while he was here. Though initially not getting a whole lot of substantial stuff, they eventually made it to the topic of some kind of creature, or rather creatures that lived beneath the sand and swallowed up entirely animals in one go. Though they did not seem to particularly like humans, the fact that these beasts had no eyes and responded to vibrations traveling through the sand meant that they did in fact kill some from time to time. Claiming that these were once rather contained events that happened incredibly rarely, it seemed that there was something hiding in the sand that took a liking to humans over other animals. Doing his best to get some more information, it was at that point that a man accompanied by a snake pulled the attention towards him.
Apparently being some kind of victim to the beast, he told of how he and a few of his mates were out in the desert, hauling merchandize from the southern shore towards the village. It was at that point that they got attacked, the creature coming up from time to time to hurt one of them and frighten the rest of them. Making it look like it was hunting them for sport, he did not kill them but rather injured them progressively more until they just passed out or died from blood loss or from getting struck in a vital spot. Surviving only because he managed to climb up on a stone plateau, the man described how the strange beast waited around for almost an hour before it came up again. Seemingly waiting for the last of the men to make his move, it only came up to drag the bodies down into the sands once it seemed certain that the last man was gone. Telling the story in a way that made Solmar feel like he had actually been there, he could imagine how it might have been an incredibly harrowing encounter and that it had to be stopped before it claimed more people.
Being the person that he was, he rarely intervened with nature, and in nature, sometimes people got hurt or killed. When people ventured into a forest and got eaten by one of the predators that roamed there, in Solmar's opinion, they had brought it upon themselves for leaving their fancy cities unprepared. This however was different. This creature was hunting people for the fun of it, not because it was going hungry or had a litter of young to feed. The way the young black haired mage saw it, this was the kind of behavior that came with those animals that had achieved some sort of sentience, as most animals did not play with their food as violently as these things. That, and those creatures that did could not target humans because they were cats. Upon bringing his cooked Iguana and pitcher of water to his seat, Solmar told the Barkeep that he would do his best to take care of this problem, especially if there were to be some kind of price tag attached to returning the head of the beast. Replying only by saying that he would do his best, the mage believed he had heard enough to take part in this job as he bit down into his food. Interestingly enough, it tasted pretty good.
(1009)
