There was a clear ringing of a bell.

  Sailors scrambled across the deck with great haste to get their vessel out onto the open desert. Several groups worked to raise the anchors and drop the sails.

  Their efficiency surprised Kihet as the Elusive Warith had less sailors than other ships but were able to leave shore within fifteen minutes. Other ships he previously boarded took at most half an hour to do so. Another half an hour or so, they were sailing out of Navargzan’s territory.

  “Wait, run that by me again.”

  “The creatures you guys fought weren’t Guardians. We lured juveniles and larvae of those with close semblance to Guardians towards the city to cause confusion. Actual Guardians behind the sandstorm are much larger and fearsome.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Salith sighed. “Here I thought they weren’t such a big deal. Are you lying?”

  “I don’t see how I’d benefit from that.” Sazhar grumbled. “The Merchants put a slave crest on me to not cause direct harm onto your group. What about you? Seeing you have a crest, how were you enslaved? Did the Oracle put it on you?”

  “I’ll cut you some slack and tell you shortened version. I was captured by another group, then as soon as they recognized I was a hero, put me with a prick impersonating as the Oracle. I was then able to go my separate ways from them thanks to Kihet. Right now, he’s trying to find a way to remove it.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  Then who was the Oracle rumored to have returned to Easul? As it had nothing to do with his current task at hand, Sazhar did not bother asking. He dutifully kept the vessel riding the wind as he watched the Oracle’s group peruse the Elusive Wraith.

  Suddenly a new pair of footsteps sounded next to them. One sounded of a normal boot stomping with bold strides, the other rattled of metal when climbing up the stairs. Knowing who acquired a brand new foot, Sazhzar spared him a look.

  “In two hours we’ll pass by an Obelisk, Oracle. The monster makes its nest at the boundaries of it after learning Guardians hate being near it.”

  “I see.”

  They were assigned to hunt one of the massive creatures in these parched lands. From the crude drawing in Kihet’s hand, it appeared to be a large eel. It had a long snout much like an alligator. Its dorsal sail and serrated spikes on both sides ran down from its head all the way down to its tail.

  Furthermore, it was estimated to triple the length of the Elusive Wraith. Kihet wondered how they would drag the carcass back to the city.

  “I caught something!”

  Turning around, Kihet spotted Lily with a foot on the railings. She firmly grasped a fishing rod, reeling in her catch. She tugged in several directions and tired out her prize before plucking it into the air.

  “She managed to catch something?!” Sazhar was shocked. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t think anything would bite at the speed we’re sailing at with a pole.”

  “Given enough time, something will eventually bite. I might have sand fishing a go.”

  “That ain’t sand fishing.”

  “That’s not?”

  “You’re supposed to sail out, ride the wind and chase after prey with a harpoon. Your friend over there is regular fishing. So? What’d she pulled up?”

  “It looks like a frog.”

  “Piiiiii-!”

  After carefully removing the hook from the tiny frog’s mouth, its body puffed up into a ball. When Lily gently prodded the frog’s leathery hide, it squeaked at her as an attempt to scare her off. Its cry was laughable, but cute as Lily continued provoking it to listen to its unique noise.

  She scooped it off the deck and ran up to Kihet and presented her trophy. “Kihet look! It’s so cute! Can we keep it?”

  “Piiiii-!”

  “How’d this thing surviving in the desert full of giant monsters?”

  “Wait a minute. Is that…” Sazhar studied the frog. He grumbled to himself for a bit before his eyes widened. “Shit! Throw it overboard now! That thing’s dangerous!”

  “Piiiii-!”

  “What, that?” Salith chuckled. “What’s it going to do? Bite us?”

  “Drop it!” Sazhar quickly slapped the frog out of Lily’s hand and punted the desert frog off the ship. Kihet, Lily and Salith heard its fading squeal while it flew and saw a puff of sand fly up where it landed.

  When their vessel steered very clear of its landing, an elongated and large pink pillar pierced from under the sand, into the air and stopped just below a cloud. A large dome, no-, a creature with a large mouth surfaced from below the sea of sand to swallow everything around the desert frog.

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  In place of the tiny desert frog, a gargantuan toad took its place. Pores over its body began to release the sand ingested while it stilly sat and watched the Elusive Wraith sail away. If Sazhar were any slower, they’d be inside its belly right now.

  “Yeah. It’d bite us. Good one.” Sazhar tapped Salith’s arm and turned back to the helm. “Don’t worry bout that big guy there. It’s eyesight’s terrible. We’re like a grain of sand to it.”

  “It bigger than ship! What that?!” Lily pointed.

  “A Hull Eater. The little harbinger of doom you fished out is its toller.”

  Kihet learned the Toller and Hull Eater worked as a symbiosis pair. Although the Toller creates an adorable yet annoying cry, it was to attract unsuspecting prey for the Hull Eater to swallow up. It was interesting to witness how such a large monster could cooperate with a tiny creature.

  Nature sure worked wonders.

  “Wait a second. Didn’t the Hull Eater eat the frog?” Kihet remembered seeing everything around the Toller devoured by the Hull Eater.

  “The Toller gets eaten in the process, but those squeakers have adapted to swim through even the most potent stomach acid. Eventually, it crawls out of its hosts ass. Which means your friend touched the little critter whose life revolves around bathing in monster dung.”

  “EWW! EW! EW! EW!” Having to hear that, Lily retched. She moved her hands as far away from her body as she could and let her finger dangle.

  “But it was cute, wasn’t it?” Salith asked with a smirk. “It goes to show you can’t let your guard down out anywhere-. Hey, don’t wipe your hands on me!”

  “It’s disgusting and my nose is itchy!”

  “You admit it’s disgusting! Stop that!”

  “For crying out loud. Ya dere! Majin, catch.”

  A wet rag flew into Lily’s hand. It felt nice to the touch in this arid weather and nicer after her hands were cleaned. “Thanks Rogus!”

  “Tch. It ain’t a picnic out here. If yer worried about da littlest thing, ya shouldn’t be sailing with us.”

  Rogus was the last companion to join them on this hunt.

  Because of the Lycanthrope’s experience and familiarity of operating a vessel, Kihet decided to bring Rogus along. In the event the sailors were short staffed, Rogus could substitute and fill for the sailors or the captain.

  “Sazhar, ya want to take a breather? I can take the helm.”

  “That’d be appreciated. I can trust her in your hands.”

  The Lycanthrope was also acquainted with Sazhar. His presence would ease the crew’s anxiety from a familiar face.

  “Oracle, if you’ll excuse me, I’m due for a nap. Wake me if any problems arise. Rogus, you’re in charge.”

  “Do I have full authority to use yer ship’s specialty if need be?”

  “I’ll trust you to have good judgement for that.”

  “Dat’s why yer my favorite, Sazhar! Radhr and Fang are always whining.”

  Sazhar excused himself with a yawn. Although a slave crest bounded him to assist Kihet’s hunt, he was treated indifferent much like a client and customer. Given the Oracle’s stern reputation and rumors, he’d thought he’d be worked to the bone.

  Rogus handled the steering wheel and checked his instruments to read the same as nature dictated the time, direction of wind and the compass guiding him. The Elusive Wraith’s crew had no qualms taking orders from Sazhar’s appointed substitute and diligently keeping a lookout for anything which needed to maintain their course.

  “Kihet. Salith and I are going to explore the deck.”

  “Got it. Don’t stray too close to the edge.”

  “En! We’ll try not to get ourselves in trouble.”

  With that, Lily and Salith climbed down the stairs to walk around. Kihet continued to stand by the helm curious as to how a vessel was operated from a captain’s perspective. So far it didn’t seem difficult as long as they continued to sail through uninterrupted.

  “So, bout my brother. He alright?”

  “His injuries are life threatening. He’s still alive, just barely getting by.”

  “I see… das why Sazhar and da other captains are obeying dem merchants. Is because dere keeping him alive, right?”

  “You can say that. Are you relieved?”

  “Douglas is da only family I have left. I’m afraid da merchants are gonna parade him and use em for their dirty work. Don’t want dat ta happen.”

  “Neither does Tama. She’ll think of something.”

  “Let’s hope.” Rogus kept his grip tight on the wheel. [Rolling Crown] dangled behind him like a counterweight, steadying him as the ship tilted sideways sailing of the face of a hill of sand. “Hmm. The winds changed.”

  The Lycanthrope commanded the sailors to react to the changing wind propelling them faster through the desert. They managed to catch the powerful tailwinds and cruised at top speeds.

  The parting of sand caught the attention of desert worms laying in wait. Fortunately, the vessel sped through the infested field, ramming past their large numbers and thwarted their ambush. A few had a stroke of luck and landed on the deck in search of prey. Without numbers they were easily cut down by the sailors.

  Sazhar’s trope of Kobolds marched out with carving tools and dismantled the creatures for their meat, fangs and hides. Their stubby arms were surprisingly dexterous and nimble. A team of them separated the defeated worms before Kihet decided if he wanted anything from it.

  Once the Kobolds completed their task, each of them heaved the products below deck for storage. They came through like a dust devil and cleaned after themselves.

  This made Kihet curious about their origin. “I’ve only seen them, but what are they?”

  “Those lil guys? Deyr Kobolds.”

  “I know that much. Are they slaves? I’ve only noticed them take on jobs most people find inconvenient.”

  “Hmm… ya might not believe it, but dey prefer those types of work. Kobolds can’t talk, but they understand Pamarine. I dunno where dey popped out from, but Pamalyrians do recognize them as one of us. Dey’ve been supporting us Lycanthrope and Mixrels as long as I’ve known.”

  “They’re quite handy.”

  “Long as dey get paid fairly, dey won’t revolt. Trust me. Last story I heard of a man who tried scamming those critters, he got beaten within inches of his life. Ya want to hire a team?”

  “I’ll think about it. I don’t know if it’ll be a good idea though.”

  “True. Da Majin might get distracted. I could see er staring at dem Kobolds.”

  Kihet then suddenly felt a tug on his leg.

  There wasn’t a soul in sight when he turned. Only when he looked down, he saw the same group of Kobolds crawled up from a hidden hatch behind him. They were staring at him with sparkly eyes as if they wanted to meet him.

  “Can I help you?”

  One of the Kobold passed a newspaper and a stick of charcoal to Kihet looking at him expectingly. There was a stamped photo of Kihet with the “at long last, the champion has been dethrone! It was none other than the Oracle!”.

  “Dey want yer autograph.”

  “Mine?”

  “See any other Oracle round here? Ya should be glad ya got some adorable fans. It’s making me jealous, but I’ll get my own fans once I get a crest and become one of da heroes!”

  “Is that so? I don’t know how to feel about that.”

  The Kobold’s tiny paws held onto Kihet’s finger and shook with great joy. The others behind the leader also brought out their own papers and formed a line for the unexpected meet and greet.

  Kihet was somewhat overwhelmed, but it was certainly a nice feeling as long as it wasn’t an everyday occurrence.