Chapter 4
Nik’s team leaned into the wind, trudging along into the wilderness of Iosa. Nik led the three other men, who couldn’t help but keep their distance from him. It had been a day and a half since they left the green hills of Pramentori, and morale was already low. Sfen and Ellandio took turns complaining to their captain, like spoiled children looking to unnerve a parent.
“I know we haven’t reached a stopping point yet, but we really need to stop for a break, your Majesty,” said Ellandio.
“Please stop calling me that.”
"Our pace is too fast! My legs are exponentially shorter than yours!”
“Isn’t that a bit over dramatic?” asked Nik. “We need to keep our pace while it’s still somewhat bright out.” A thick layer of clouds shielded the team from the sun, but light still made it’s way through scarcely. The clouds didn’t dissipate come dusk, which made navigating at night nearly impossible to foreigners unfamiliar with the terrain.
Ellandio shrugged and dropped his complaint. A few minutes of silence passed before Sfen piped up. “This is so boring.” Nik chose not to respond. Sfen continued, “Fighting that Sand Monitor yesterday was fantastic, but today has been a real drag. And we haven’t seen any insurgents yet! Not a single curvey!”
“The Sand Monitor was fun,” Kleon agreed, “but the point of our mission isn’t to fight curveys.” He loved Sfen and Ellandio like brothers, though he often found their antics tiresome. “Your lust for grandeur will be the death of you,” he suggested.
“Dying in the search of glory is the best way to go,” Sfen rebutted with a devilish grin. Kleon snorted with amusement.
Nik furled his brow. When will these idiots get it through their head? They can’t be that stupid, can they? They’re just doing this to piss me off.
“Shall we place a wager on who will slay the most curveys?” asked Sfen.
Yup. This jackass is trying to get me to overreact. “That’s enough, Sfen. We’re not on a damn hunting mission,” Nik said.
“Well if you’re afraid to bet on curvey heads, how about we see who can slay the most Iosan women?” Ellandio giggled at the proposition. Sfen continued, “I hear you were somewhat popular at the Academy, your Highness, but I can’t lie to you. I did pretty well for myself the last time we were in Iosa… those ladies were quite fond of me.”
“If I recall, Sfen, they were more fond of your money,” Kleon remarked.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Sfen figured the chances of running into any excitement were slim. The weather would probably be their biggest obstacle. And personally, for the mage, boredom would also be an issue.
The troop continued at a healthy pace, and they appeared to be on course. Ellandio was navigating, but it’s difficult to keep a heading in the Iosan desert. Sand dunes rose and fell, creating new landscapes every few days. Even local Iosans, who had fled to caves or refugee colonies, experienced difficulty finding the way to and from their old homes. Rock formations and abandoned structures (or, what few remained) served as reference markers. On any given day, the landmark you were aiming for might be buried in sand, so making it through the desert was an endeavor that relied heavily on luck. Ellandio believed it would still be a number of hours before they came across a reference point. It could be quite nerve racking waiting to stumble upon a landmark. Men have been driven to madness searching for specific markers that never revealed themselves.
It could also be jarring to stumble upon a landmark you weren’t expecting. “Hey Captain, take a look up ahead. Do those look like buildings to you?”
“Hm. Yeah. That looks like an alley town. Do you know which one it is?”
“I don’t. Honestly, we must be way off course if we’re hitting a settlement.” Ellandio was annoyed. “I told you we should slow down. If we veered of course early on, it will be that much harder to get back on track.”
“Calm down,” Nik said. “We’ll get a little closer, figure out where we are, and come up with a plan.” He was worried as well, but it was too soon to tell if the doubt was justified. Besides the possibility of being lost or far off course, another issue might be the current state of the town. Nik would much prefer a totally abandoned alley to one with potentially hostile residents. Even a civilized camp would prove challenging for their mission.
It didn’t become evident as they drew closer. There were no signs to lend hints as to the town’s name, and the street appeared to be void of life. However, the foul weather mostly kept people indoors, so the men couldn’t be sure what to expect.
A wind-beaten fence greeted them. The town was made up of two rows of buildings, accompanied by some ancillary structures and a large water tower. Everything was falling apart. A good sign, thought Nik. No water left in that tank and no signs of business. He approached a simple post that marked the edge of the town. “Looks quiet. We’ll take a look around but let’s stick close for a while.”
“I don’t see any markings anywhere,” Ellandio remarked. “I’ll have to look at the charts in one of these buildings.”
“Gotta make sure the buildings are empty first,” added Sfen. The four men entered the ghost town, walking wearily down what was once the main boulevard. Sfen spotted the local tavern and immediately veered off to explore it.
Nik knew that protocol called for them to stick together, but it would take far too long to inspect the entire town as a single unit. “Hey Ellandio, it’s time to establish a Sync.”
“Can do,” the small mage replied. He closed his eyes and brought two fingers to his head, lightly resting them on his temple. With deep focus, he sought out Nik, Kleon, and Sfen (who had wandered away). After locating all them and latching on to their auras, Ellandio strung their minds together telepathically. “Sync established. Sound off! Captain?”
“Here.”
“Kleon here.”
“Loud and clear on Sfen’s end!”
“Okay, the Sync is up. I won’t disconnect us till we’re all outside together, so you better come running if you hear me scream aloud.” Now that all the men could communicate silently at a distance, they dispersed. Kleon went towards what appeared to be a warehouse. Ellandio spotted a multi-story building that still had some decorative trim. He surmised it was probably a town center, and chose to explore it. Nik continued down the street, trying to take in the entire scene as fast as possible.
“Damn! This place is dry as a bone,” Sfen lamented from inside the pub. Only a few bottles remained behind the bar, containing dust and sand instead of brew and wine. The mage scoured the counter for anything valuable, but it was pointless; the whole place had been cleaned out long ago. Sfen noticed a back room. He pulled open the ornate door and found a gaming den. It reeked of spoiled booze and debauchery. He nodded his head in amusement before updating the team. “The tavern is clear, unfortunately.”
The long wooden floorboards creaked loudly as Kleon’s heavy feet pressed down on then. It looked like this warehouse doubled as storage and a market. There were crates all over the place, some in better shape than others. None held contents anymore. Kleon didn’t bother to check them all. It looked like the place was raided all at once, so it’s doubtful anything was missed by the looters. Kleon headed towards the back storeroom when something caught his eye. A few crates were set up to form a small wall near the back. A small pipe was on the floor next to some crumpled paper and ash. “This building is clear too, but I found a Nayku pipe. And it looks like it was recently used,” Kleon informed his team. “I’ll continue on next door.” The large man picked up the smoking device and admired it, briefly. It featured an intricately carved serpent on the side, with some floral accents near the bowl. It’s beautiful, he thought to himself. This looks handmade! Not some cheap magically-conjured trinket. Kleon wanted to keep it, but decided against it as it might jeopardize the mission. He didn’t want officials asking unnecessary questions in the Iosan capital.
Ellandio too found himself in an empty structure that didn’t offer much. His suspicions were correct; the building served as a bureaucratic center for the town and it also provided lodging upstairs. Ellandio took his heavy pack off, happy to get some relief for his back. He pulled out some charts that were wrapped in cloth, spreading them out on a large counter. He gazed at the map. His index finger traced their course as he tried to figure out where they had ended up. “Oh. That makes sense, I guess. I think we are in Minadee. Or… what used to be Minadee.”
“Are you certain about that?” questioned Nik.
“Indeed, Minadee is the only possible town (like this one) we could have gotten to in such a short time.” It was a much better situation than Ellandio had originally feared. It almost annoyed him that they weren’t farther off course, as it deprived him of chastising Nik further. He rolled up his charts and wrapped them in the cloth before tucking them back away in his pack. He couldn’t plot a new course without the Captain, so that would have to wait. Before leaving, curiosity got the better of Ellandio. He opened up some of the storage drawers, hoping to find some clues to the town’s past. A dusty scroll held the building’s guest list for room rentals. It’s dated… this lodge was in operation less than a cycle ago. And it looks like the town was fairly busy. How did it dwindle so quickly? Ellandio didn’t share his findings with his teammates just yet.
Nik was drawn to the water tower. Something seemed off about it.
There was a large hole at the top of the tower, which isn’t where rot would have taken over. Burn marks spotted the support columns as well. It looked as though the structure had been attacked or gotten caught in a crossfire. It’s possible the tower wasn’t in use even when there were still residents present. Desert settlements usually had water stored underground, so it’s likely it was a relic that existed before the Great War. Back when the land wasn’t scarred. Nik took a closer look at one of the burnt spots on the tower’s legs. These are from fire magic. This is recent, he realized. “Team, I think there was a skirmish in this town not too long ago. Everyone regroup outside.”
The four men reconvened in the middle of the street, as the wind howled past them. “I just checked the records in the town center. Minadee had a lot of foot traffic, and only a few moons ago,” Ellandio said.
“I got a lousy feeling about this place,” Sfen admitted.
Nik’s eyes shifted, scanning his periphery for movement. “The possibility that there are still people hiding in this dump is too high. It also appears that they might be hostile. We are at a major disadvantage out here like this, so let’s cut in between one of these buildings and get outside.” Nik turned and walked, his team followed.
“And then what?”
“Then we’ll be very careful leaving the town. Once we get to the opposite edge, we’ll quickly cut back to the road. You’ve adjusted our course, right Ellandio?”
“Are you kidding me? I was only inside for a couple minutes. I need to go back in if you want me to plot our next damn move!”
Nik sighed. “Watch your tone, Ellandio. We’ll find a spot outside of town for Sfen to make a workspace for you. I’d like to avoid going back into town and getting ambushed by bandits.”
The four men walked in a line just behind the row of buildings. Large dunes of fine orange sand rose up beside them. Kleon was in rear, as was standard in their two-mage team. Like Nik’s, his eyes were darting back and forth. He looked forward again, though he was still paranoid about a presence in the town. Then, behind the troop, two heads slowly rose from the sand.
