Empire of Sand

For the longest time, deserts had been avoided by human beings and most animals alike due to the fact that they were incredibly inhospitable for a plethora of reasons. The heat of the sun beating down, the lack of moisture and places to escape from the harmful rays, creatures adjusted to the terrain and temperature being incredibly dangerous and the large quantities of sand that got everywhere. The coarse and rough stuff got inside of one’s clothing and shoes and just made the entire experience that much more unpleasant on all involved parties. Had it not been for the village located inside of the desert, it seemed entirely unlikely that anyone would ever venture too far into it for whatever reason. The same could be said about Carver, who was only here for a few incredibly specific reasons, none of which were related to how much he enjoyed sand and wanted to be out in the blistering heat of the sun.

Roughly one year ago, monsters moving underneath the sand between the shore and the village had become more and more active. For the locals, the creatures popping up had been something new as neither their parents nor their grandparents had ever had to deal with these things before. Doing his research on the matter, it turned out that there had also been another poster on the quest board back in Crocus. A group of archaeologists had supposedly gone missing in the area as well, and while everyone was aware that people were usually not gone for an entire year only to pop back up alive, least of all in a desert, the parchment stated clearly that proof of their fate had to be presented along with any of the work they had done and things they had managed to unearth. While not being one for jumping to conclusions, Carver was not the kind of person who couldn’t put things together when they were this clear.

Whatever these men and women had uncovered, it was quite likely linked to the monsters living beneath the sands that devoured entire groups of people in mere seconds. As many of the sightings reported different factors about these monsters, Carver had been doing his best to put things together into what would be the most likely. Survivors claimed that the creature had been long, possessed a thick chitin or scales, had horns or tusks, had massive nostrils or burning red eyes, the truly outlandish claims stated they also had wings, spat fire and lightning and could paralyze a person just by looking at them. Not knowing of any creatures that possessed all of the above features, he figured that it was likely that this creature was either of insectoid or reptilian origin and hunted in packs while maneuvering out of sight and hunting based on vibrations in the sand.

During his stay in the village, the research he had been doing had given him at least that much insight, though there was still more to it. People claimed that an old tomb was hidden out in the sands, a place untouched by grave robbers as it had never been found. While no one seemed to know who the tomb belonged to or why it was out in the desert, most believed that it was put out there so no one would ever get around to disturbing the final resting place of some rich man or woman from up north, maybe even someone from the royal family. Putting things together in his head, there was a chance that this was in fact that place that he was looking for, the place these monsters had turned into a den, as well as the place the scholars and archaeologists had been searching for. Having nothing but a vague sense as to where he was going to need to go, the bearded individual was leaning against a wooden beam in the shade.

Looking out into the vast desert, the shore was so far away that one could not even begin to see it from the village, meaning it was likely going to take several hours before one would get to the place where the monsters attacked. Wearing black slacks and a black shirt, a pair of leather gloves and boots finished off his attire as a belt tied it all together. Complete with a scabbard holding a large hunting knife, Carver was not just your average hunter that knew how to handle an oversized dagger. He possessed a great sense of hearing, smell and sight, as well as controlling earth based magic that had helped him claim the teeth that were hanging from his necklace. Because of the amount of money one could claim for killing a single of these monsters, he planned on killing several of them while also returning with news and proof of the fate of the archaeologist.

Believing this alone would provide him with enough money to last for a few years, it was not just the money he went through all of this trouble for. It was the fact that he wanted to prove that no prey was outside of his scope, not to others, but to himself. With the sun getting lower and lower as it neared the horizon, it would not be long before he would venture out there. Due to the amount of money there was to be made, as well as the riches one might uncover if one managed to find the tomb, Carver assumed that he would not be the only person trying their luck out there. With so many things being at stake, he deemed it best to assess the situation carefully and see just what kind of people might be going out there. Maybe they would be of use to him, maybe they would consider him to be useful to them. For now, he’d need to wait and see.


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appearance:

The time he had spent waiting seemed to be met with some interesting sights, which told Carver all he needed to know about what these people were. Up until now, every single person he had encountered and questioned within this place had seemed like they belonged here. They were the kind of people that had been hardened by spending their entire lives in a place that was as hot as hell itself, with the added discomforts of sands being blown into every nook and cranny while the nights themselves were cold enough to freeze someone to death overnight. Those that lived here had learned to adapt to their surroundings, the Desert village being a result of that adaptation so that every new generation might learn to do the same. To that extent, he himself already stood out quite a bit from those that lived here, even though he himself had been formed by a lot of hardships and trials as well.

Having spent the better part of his life learning how to hunt and kill creatures that were arguably ten times more dangerous than he was, he had to learn to be more cunning, thus becoming more dangerous than they were. Because through it all, he had one thing the often simpleminded creatures did not, the human mind along with all of its contraptions. Without that to aid him, he would likely have ended up as food for a lion or a monster. With that same human mind and cunning, as well as a mixture of heightened senses and a means of locating magical signatures, telling the new arrivals apart from the locals here was incredibly easy. For instance, one of them that had been wandering about the outskirts of town was wearing an attire belonging to the policing guild of Fiore, the Rune Knights. He had a strange air about him, which might have been due to the blue hair and the horns making him stand out, or maybe it was just the attire that did not really fit with the hot climate here.

“Hello there, horned fella, ya wouldn’t happen to be here for reasons that have anything to do with dune monsters and missing folk? I took on a similar job here, among other things, and I could for sure use the help. I’m rather new to the dunes myself ya see.”

Even though he had been doing a bit of recon and asking around the village to gain whatever information was available there, more hands on deck meant that it would be easier to deal with the monsters. More importantly, more people meant more eyes and more feet, so they could likely cover more ground at a safer rate while spotting twice as much along the way. Even if the guy insisted on going alone, Carver starting up this conversation meant that the guy who was also headed out here with his entourage would have to pass by their location. Figuring most of what he had said was well within earshot of the guy with the bright blond hair, he turned his attention towards him as well. After all, it was a standing invitation that did not go out just to the blue haired man with the horns. No no, it went out to the both of them, as they would clearly benefit from having a few more mages around. Regardless of what they were all after, if Carver’s information was correct, they were all at the very least after something from the same place. A place they would first need to find.

“I heard one of ya mentioning the tomb, meaning we’re all after the same place, albeit different things, or so I would imagine. If we all head out there together, we’ll be far more likely to do so alive. I mean, at least some of us will get there alive, so I don’t know about the rest of ya, but I find that to be more reassuring.”


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