Chapter 154: 154

The news of a possible complete combat guide adds a huge amount of excitement for the trip. Wavering through the scorching desert was originally just a means to an end, but now it's a treasure hunt. 

They will have the Primordial Shamans serve as their transport, as they're well beyond human sized, while the Greater Lamia Scourge Casters can search for portals into the lost empire. The shopkeeper says nothing horrible happened that ended them, the sands just slowly took over everything and people left, leaving behind entire cities full of anything they couldn't carry. In the end, one of their last great Sorcerers cast a barrier to protect what was left and then passed away, leaving the ruins to be buried by the sands.

It sounds a bit fantastical, but what tale from thousands of years ago doesn't? The stories get altered with time to stay interesting, or they get forgotten. 

They're intending to head out late this evening, traveling all through the night while it's cooler and then sleeping during the mid day instead of scorching in the sun. The camel caravans stop at night for safety, since Camels can't see all that well in the dark, but the Primordial Shamans can. In fact, so can Vala, Laura and Nemu, as all three of their species have evolved advanced vision. So it's really just the three transfers that can't see much at night.

They take dinner early and leave just as the sun starts to lower in the sky. It's still hot from the afternoon sun, but the temperature is already dropping. By Cain's estimate the temperature is still in the low twenties Celsius, but Gramps was right, the heat of the forge makes the bones happy. Even this reasonably warm evening feels a bit cool to him after living in Graska. 

All three companions merge with their clones for the journey, so that nobody has to walk. Kone and Su share a Shaman, as do Laura and Nemu, putting the lightest among them in pairs to fit on the five Shamans without needing to call more summons for the night. Once they're away from the city Cain decides he will likely call a larger entourage and maybe tomorrow they will spread out between the Greater Lamia instead. 

The vegetation around the city quickly gives way to endless and dunes with patches of scrub grass and small species of cactus. The Shamans prefer to keep to the bare sands, for the sake of their belly scales, but the group is making incredible time. 

"This brings back memories. The first time I went to a dungeon with you all, I had to be carried through the entire thing. At least there's no flood of notifications this time." Kone laughs as their rides slither through the dunes.

They were heavily warned to be on the lookout for roaming monsters that might attack while you were traveling or sleeping, but so far they haven't seen anything. Sure, they're moving pretty quickly, but to Cain it seems more likely that whatever is out there simply doesn't want to tangle with the Primordial Shamans. 

If they're unlucky, they could see opponents up to level 140 in the desert, enough of a level difference that even with the legendary Summons they would be hard pressed to win against a large group of them. 

As they approach morning Cain sends the Oath Breakers out to scout the area ahead of them, looking for anything out of the ordinary and calls the Greater Lamia Scourge Casters to surround their little convoy. 

The sun is nearly overhead when the Oath Breakers bring good news, they've found a dungeon entrance, and it seems to lead to a ruined city. It's not far, so they alter course to set up camp near the entrance, with plans to enter once they're well rested.

The Companions release their twins from the Merger with some relief, as they've gotten used to the presence of another version of themselves nearby and it's a bit lonely without them. Unlike the demons Cain is merged with, their clones don't seem to talk in their heads. 

Not long after setting up camp they're back outside again, busily adding extra securement to the tent, on the advice of the Oath Breakers who have seen a sand storm coming their way. Their first thought was to hide inside the portal, but none of them knew what would happen if the entrance was buried in sand. Would they be trapped inside until that entrance was exposed again? Would they emerge underground, or even be crushed to death trying to leave? It just didn't seem worth the risk. 

The number of anchor ropes doubled and buried deep in the sand Cain releases the Lamia and brings everyone else back in to the tent, except the Oath Breakers who prefer to lurk about outside, despite the storm. It seems a bit crazy, since these storms are what earned the desert its deadly reputation, but even if they're proven wrong, Cain can just Summon them again. 

The Primordial Shamans use their long, snake like bodies to Reinforce the tent walls as the Wind howls and the sand begins to pile up, layering themselves around the inside edge of the round canvas tent. Their effort also helps deaden the noise and the three transfers eventually manage to get some sleep, waking up to an unnaturally dark room and absolute silence. 

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"I'm pretty sure we've been buried in the sand." Kone says quietly, not sure if anyone else is awake. 

"You are. But we kept the portal clear." Comes the voice of an Oath Breaker from right behind her in the dark, nearly giving her a heart attack.

"You've got to stop doing that. I almost wet myself." The spirit folk girl complains, making the Legendary Demon laugh. 

"Did you clear the chimney as I asked?" One of the Primordial Shamans asks and the Oath Breaker makes an agreeable grunt. 

The Shaman uses a wind spell to blow the remaining sand out of the chimney and lights a small fire in the wood prepared inside the stove, bringing a flickering light to the room. The Primordial Shamans still ring the walls, except one who had partially moved down to light the stove, and a single Oath Breaker is sitting beside Kone's bed, leaned over behind her so he could startle her. 

"It's late afternoon now if you want to visit the ruins. We cleared the sand and rubble from the other side of the portal as well. It almost squished me when I first entered. If I couldn't blink away it would have been painful." The oath breaker informs her. 

"Alright, clear the entrance and let's head out after breakfast. Leave one Oath breaker outside in case of another storm so we don't get trapped." Cain says, getting up and setting a coffee perk on the stove. 

They're all so eager to see what the ruins have in store for them that they've almost finished eating when the coffee is brewed, despite their interrupted sleep. As they're eating the Oath Breakers dig them out from outside, making a tunnel of sand from the doorway. The effect reminds Cain of a snow fort, the sands are level with the top of the tent, and have created a drift effect with the wind, causing an overhang that the tunnel leads out under. 

Collecting the tent will likely ruin the effect and collapse the sand dune, but Cain is prepared, tagging all the contents as one unit to be collected, so nothing is left behind to be buried in the sand. 

The group steps out into the afternoon sun and Cain quickly collects the strained tent, finding that the sand holds more moisture than expected, and a hole remains where they sheltered the storm. 

Only a few meters away the portal stands fully uncovered in a valley between dunes, the surrounding area cleared by the Oath Breakers for safe entry. The portal itself is just a plain black orb about four meters tall, as most of them are, but the base that it stands above is interesting. Dungeon portals form over bare land, but this one has a collection of pillars around it, carved with a language Cain doesn't recognize and made of an almost translucent obsidian. Cain could see they were all shattered and toppled when the group arrived but they're clearly standing tall now, freshly repaired. 

"That your handiwork? Impressive, I didn't know you had architectural skills." Cain says to the pale skinned demons standing guard around the portal. 

"They were built using shadow magic. All we had to do was stack them up and feed the spell. If you want, there was a whole building here that could be repaired." The demons say in unison, indicating the rubble strewn through the sands over the course of centuries. 

"I don't think it's necessary, but we will leave two of you on guard, in case you're attacked by higher level travelers. This might not lead to a dungeon instance but an underground city, so it's best if you've got backup. If you feel bored you can begin to rebuild the building that was here while you watch the area.." They're easily bored, and Cain didn't want them in a bad mood if this turns out to be a dud and the group needs to travel in an hour or two. 

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