A gust of wind howled across the dunes, carrying sand that tinkled against the rune-inscribed earth tortoise shell that Tucker now carefully replaced with a fresh one. He ran his fingers over the crystal nuclei brought back by the Shadow Demon Spider Lord, their chaotic essence glimmering faintly in his palm.
Looking skyward, Tucker noted a circling cadre of birds high above, among them three master-level falcon-like predators. These skies were no place for the reckless; the presence of such apex creatures made aerial exploration a perilous endeavor.