Chapter 165: Chapter 148 – Serpents of the Desert

"El-Maroof, Massad-al-Hadur, Gurunpetaka, Udrainvæliß, Tødesørkēn, all were names given by the people surrounding the region to the sandy desert wastes that dominated central Ur-Teros, with the Hassid Caliphate to its north, the Fifth Elmaiya Empire to its west, the Lichdom of Ptolodecca to its south, and the Jarldoms of Jötunberg to its east.

 

What everyone agreed on, was that to cross the desert itself was an ordeal that few can compare to. Guides were mandatory, lest one's life be put at risk. Even despite the dangers, many adventurers went into the desert on a regular basis, in search of rare materials only found there.

 

Tourists often also flocked to the desert in autumn and winter seasons, where the most popular destination by far were the dunes of Navata, a range of majestic sand dunes that surrounded a large, salty inland sea. It was said that the waters of the Navata sea was so salty that one could throw in a dwarf in full armor, and they would float on the water." - Dolos bin Zaeed, veteran desert guide operating out of the Hassid Caliphate.

After the one sided slaughter of the Orgryns, and getting Dan to snap out of his awe, the party had a peaceful dinner - though everyone insisted on taking a bath first - before they retired to their tents for an uneventful, peaceful night of sleep.

 

Orgryns were quite inedible, as not even goblins would have eaten one, though their fangs and claws had some value as middle tier materials. Chemicals their body produced naturally made their bodies - and their blood - stink to high heaven, which was a major drawback to fighting them, yet at the same time, there are few things more effective than Orgryn blood to ward off an area in the desert, as other animals actively avoided the scent.

 

They set off very early at dawn the next day, traveling until it approached noon, before they hunkered down to rest a bit and thus avoid the worst of the midday heat inside comfortable enchanted tents.

 

After a simple lunch of cold food, an afternoon nap, and playing card and board games to while away the time, it approached the evening, and they carried on with their trip, following Dan's suggestion when he had learned that most everyone in the party had no issue traveling in the night.

 

Goblins see in the dark of the night as clearly as in the day, while elves also have amongst the best night vision out of the races. Kino similarly had no issues traveling at night, and out of the party, Ying Xiao was the only one who actually had no way to see clearly in the night.

 

Instead, Cal made their night time travel into part of her training, as she had Ying Xiao travel while blindfolded, thus forcing the girl to rely on her other senses. She herself had been blinded in a battle before, so training for such an eventuality was practically a must.

 

The thought reminded her of her other students, most of whom would likely also need a similar training, though Willa was likely to do better, since she had a far sharper sense of hearing and smell to most.

 

Dan's travel schedule allowed the party to avoid the very worst of the temperatures of the desert. Most travelers would normally refrain from traveling after the sun had set, since it was in those times that Vampyrs became active, but after Dan saw how the party easily butchered a whole tribe of Orgryns, and an affirmation from Cal that she would not have minded more opportunities to let the girls get some "exercise", he was confident enough to suggest their current schedule.

 

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Two whole days passed without incident, and shortly before they would have rested for the noon of the day, Cal spotted what looked like trees on the horizon, which Dan confirmed as the first oasis on their route.

 

As they approached closer it was obvious that the oasis was inhabited, as there were many tents erected around it, and people could be seen climbing date trees and harvesting their fruits as well.

 

Dan explained that these people were the desert nomads, people who usually lived their entire lives in the desert, who survived by migrating from oasis to oasis, avoiding the migration patterns of predators and the worst of the weather patterns. His own father had descended from these people.

 

Cal saw that the nomads were predominantly either goblins, or serpent therians. They were quite unlike most other therians, which generally had an upright build with two arms and two legs. Instead, the serpent had no legs, just a long sinuous tail like a snake, and four arms on their more humanoid upper torso region. Their two lower arms were larger and more muscular, with three thick fingers on each hand, while the upper two were daintier and better suited for fine control, with seven fingers each.

 

One of these serpents saw the party approach their oasis, and waved in a friendly manner with its upper arms, while its lower arms were crossed before its torso. Dan replied with a similar gesture, his right arm crossed over his chest, while he displayed his empty left hand palm upwards, a gesture he explained meant that they had come in peace.

 

The desert nomads, he explained, were very hospitable people to strangers, and his words soon proved true as the serpent therian slithered towards the tents and invited them over, which attracted the attention of many other nomads.

 

Before an hour had even passed, Cal and her party was hosted on low tables set in the shades of the trees, by the shores of the oasis, where the breeze was cool and refreshing, fruits, pastries, and dried meats served in abundance before them, along with strong fruity alcohol.

 

It was simple foods, but considering how the nomads seemed to live with minimal luxury, also a veritable feast, so they partake in it with gratitude, while chatting with some nomads who were fluent in the common tongue.

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