Chapter 163: Chapter 146 – Entering the Desert

"For millennia now, the El-Maroof desert has defied civilization. Between its hostile wildlife, and the frequent sandstorms, every attempt to build outposts within its territory has failed miserably, often with its toll of lives taken. The only successful inhabitants of the desert are the nomadic desert tribes, who timed their migrations from oasis to oasis in order to evade the worst of the weather, and were utterly unpalatable for the wildlife of the desert. To attempt a crossing of the desert without their aid or that of an experienced guide, would be little more than a fancy way to commit suicide. If the Vampyres or Ogryns didn't get you, the lack of water or the sandstorms will." - Dolos bin Zaeed, veteran desert guide operating out of the Hassid Caliphate.

Two weeks after they continued their journey from La Fiachna, the terrain began to shift. The land became drier, and vegetation became sparser as they went, before they eventually reached a vast area that truly deserved to be called a desert. An endless sea of sand, only punctuated with the occasional undulation and sand dunes every now and then.

 

The wildlife also changed, the little birds that often chirped and flew around mostly vanished, and only on occasion did they see local wyverns, as well as vultures flying overhead. Small animals often escaped from their presence, yet more often than not that only sent them into the jaws of a waiting predator that stalked elsewhere. More than a few times Cal watched as a small rodent found itself on the receiving end of a snake's bite or scorpion's sting as it ran, alarmed by the group's footsteps.

 

Even those predators gave Cal's party a wide berth however, so the main obstacle they had to contend with was the horrible shine from the midday sun, which made most everyone sweat horribly, except for Kino, who just put up a very thin circle of void over her head, which kept her comfortably in the shade as she skipped happily.

 

When the evening came, all the women in the party happily dunked themselves in the large portable bath Cal had, in the privacy of her tent, while Dan kept guard for them outside. After they were done Cal told him to take a bath as well, which the young half goblin happily accepted, as much like everyone else he was keen to wash off the sweat and dirt accumulated over the day's journey.

 

They were cooking their dinner, a simple stew of meats and vegetables, in a large pot over the bonfire - the temperature dropped sharply at night in the desert, a drastic transition from the sweltering heat of the day, cold enough to make most people shiver, though Cal and Ying Xiao, having originated from a cold nation, was unaffected - when they felt the sand beneath them tremble from what sounded like footsteps. Large footsteps, in quantity, headed in their direction.

 

"Jancok!" Dan cursed in a local tongue Cal was unfamiliar with. The young half elf half goblin guide pressed his ear against the ground, and listened as the next footsteps echoed around them. "Kutu kupret bangsat anjing kontol peler! Genderuwo! A whole tribe of them by the sound of it. Just our bloody luck!"

 

"Gen- what?" Leila asked after Dan's tirade of curses in his local tongue. None of the girls had understood what he had said, not even Cal, though judging from the way Kino giggled madly she likely understood everything he said.

 

"It's what the locals here call Orgryns," said the bard in explanation before Dan could answer Leila. "Big, fat ugly things, loves to eat people, nomadic yet territorial at the same time. Guess we ran into one of their migrations."

 

"That's besides the point. They're headed right our way, probably the smell of the food attracting them," Dan explained with some panic creeping into his voice. "We should leave while we still have time!"

 

"Leave? Why should we? You mind the stew, make sure it doesn't burn up," Cal said as she handed the wooden spoon she stirred the stew with to a flustered Dan. "Girls! It's time for some exercise, so stop lazing around!"

 

To Dan's surprise the entire group stood up, and other than Kino, each of them brought their weapons of choice out from their storage, as they turned and stared at the direction the footsteps came from, while he watched on with bafflement. People run from Orgryns, not fight them.

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Said Orgryns made themselves known when they crested the peak of a sand dune a short distance away, and Cal got her first eyeful of the creatures. They were humanoid in build, though their legs were reverse jointed, which gave them an odd jumpy gait, and each of them stood easily three meters tall or thereabouts.

 

Each of the Orgryns had skins that ranged from green to red to brownish shades, and they had wicked claws on the three fingers of each of their hands. Despite their humped, pot bellied appearance, the creatures were quite agile, and one look at their faces, where their trunk-like noses lay above their three-sectioned mouths filled with arrays of razor sharp fangs, paired with their manic, reddish eyes, easily inform others of their status as a predator.

 

And to them, people are just prey.

 

"Each of you girls take one. Ying Xiao, take the two to the right," Cal said nonchalantly as she counted eleven Orgryns that were rushing towards them even as they spoke. "Three each for us?"

 

"Deal," replied Kino with a smirk as she cracked her knuckles. "Race you?"

 

"Nah, I don't go for losing bets," Cal declined on the spot. "And any killing competition against a void mage is one by default."

 

"Spoilsport!" Grumbled Kino with mock indignation at Cal's words. Behind them, Dan watched the interplay with bafflement, especially the way they just utterly ignored the Orgryns rushing towards them.

 

He could swear that the younger girls even seemed eager for the beasts to come sooner.

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