Book 3, chapter 11

Petrie vanished, her passage kicking up a cloud of sand. Their brief conversation left a bitter taste in Zee's mouth. She kicked the tan and grey sand in disgust. Zee really wanted to stab something right now, a stupid, hairy-faced Petrie in particular.

She took several calming breaths, trying to restrain her temper. Zee really hated the fact that she had to go along with that woman's demands.

Dealing with such a blatantly evil person left a sour taste in her mouth. But that is also why she would need to tread carefully. Any mistake at this point might cost her everything.

Petrie had admitted to kidnapping and torturing Dante for fun. Zee doubted that vile woman would have any compunctions about killing her friends. But what could she do about it? Petrie was a D ranker who she had absolutely no chance of killing in a fight.

In fact, it was worse than that. If it ever came to blows, Zee's odd's of escape might as well be Zero.

Dern sent her a calming wave of emotions, ones that let her know she had his support. The thought was reassuring. It helped her focus back on her more current predicament.

Zee let out a frustrated sigh, turning towards the eastern horizon, and shielding her eyes from the sun's glare. At first glance, it looked like the yellow-tinged sun was setting behind the mountains.

Her eyes widen as she realized that those were no mere mountains. A looming shadow darkened the sky, blocking the entirety of the eastern horizon. It was a dark wall of sand and yellow smoke, dozens of kilometers wide.

She froze at the site, her mouth dropping open in awe and fear. The sheer scale of the sandstorm was mindboggling. A wall of sand darken the horizon for as far as she could see.

"Uh. What the hell is that?" Zee asked, dumbly.

"That is a sandstorm," Dern said, casually.

"Thanks, captain obvious, I hadn't noticed, "Zee retorted, her mouth suddenly dry, and not from the heat.

Zee sent her a mental head shake. "You should stop gawking. We need to get to safety before that arrives." Dern said.

Zee nodded in agreement. She turned towards the dune Petrie had indicated and started running up it. Each step felt like running through water, her boots sinking past her ankles into the soft sand.

With each inhale, the air was dry and tasted stale, each breath carrying the faint taste of burned metal.

Zee pushed the impending threat of the poisonous smoke to the back of her mind, right where it belonged. That was a problem for later. All she had to do is take one antidote pill every two days. Should be easy, right?

After a half minute of trudging through the sand, she reached the top of the sandy dune. It was a relatively tall dune in the nearby cluster, giving her a good view of her surroundings. From her vantage, Zee could see several hundred people milling about, getting their barring's.

She did a once-over of her surroundings. There was a series of dunes around them, miles of endless tan and white sand. Other than the dunes, the only visible landmark was towering mountains far in the distance.

Her eyes flicked back to the busting crowd below, some of which, had noticed her up on the dune. Several of the scouts rushed up the dune to confront her.

Zee gave them a casual wave as the three scouts, two Allevark and one human slid to a stop in the soft sand. She gestured over her shoulder and said.

"It looks like we are in trouble," Zee said.

Two of the three scouts took one glance at the distant sandstorm before rushing back down the dune. The two Allevark looked a bit panicked as they fled. The last, who stayed with her was unsurprisingly Greg. The tall, heavily built Armenian stared at the sandstorm like one might watch a curious creature.

"I don't know what their problem is. It doesn't look so bad," Greg said, shouldering his massive horn bow.

Zee shook her head at the absurd statement. "You do know that the sand storms here are strong enough to strip the skin from your bones, right?" Zee asked.

He shrugged. "Yes, it is why we got the protective coverings to hide under," Greg said calmly.

"You know, your calm confidence is disturbing at times," Zee pointed out.

Greg nodded sagely. "Bastion keeps telling me the same thing. I find it more disturbing that everyone is always so anxious all the time." Greg said, far more talkative than usual.

Must be the looming threat. Maybe this was his form of anxiety? Zee shook the thought from her head, as the rest of her squad scrambled up the side of the dune.

The only nonmember was the crown prince, who appeared in a torrent of sand. It looked like he simply stepped up through the dune, a super creepy thing to witness.

Malden eyed the approached sandstorm, for a moment before glaring over at Zee, like this was her fault.

"What did you do Viotti?" Malden asked.

"I didn't do anything. You are the so-called sand expert here, why don't you tell me why a sand storm is coming?" Zee countered.

Malden folded his muscular arms across his furry chest, his fluffy black ears twitching in amusement.

"It's a sandstorm. We are in a desert, those happen here." Malden said, dryly.

Zee rolled her eyes. "I know that, I am not an idiot," Zee said.

"So you keep telling me..."Malden drawled. Zee gave him a rude gesture, prompting him to continue. "It looks like we are going to have an eventful first day. I hope this little storm won't inconvenience your team. Who knows, It might make you late for the real tournament in the planar space." Malden said, his tone taunting.

Zee was never one to back down from a challenge, especially when it came from Malden.

"Are you saying you can beat us there?" Zee asked.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, "Malden said, giving her a toothy grin.

Zee glanced around at her team, who were all shaking their heads in varying forms of, I can't believe this.

"And what are the stakes?" Zee probed.

Malden gave them all a predatory smile. "That's easy. The winner gets to pick one of any treasures the other team finds along the way." Malden said.

"Zee. That's not a good idea. We can't outpace Malden and his team." Allison said, butting in.

Zee glanced back to the princess, who was idly watching the distant storm, which was rapidly approaching.

Zee shook a finger at the crown prince. "Correction, we can't outpace Malden. I am much more confident about outpacing his lackeys," Zee said, gesturing to his team slowly scaling the dune to meet them.

The prince hummed softly, his fluffy ears twitching in bemusement, opening his mouth. Allison butted in again before he could speak. "How about this? The first full team who arrives is the winner. If someone doesn't make it, by death, or being to slow, it doesn't count." Allison said.

Malden scowled at that, clearly reconsidering his previous words.

"What? Are you scared of fair competition?" Zee asked.

"Nonsense. I will see you at the planar space. Don't make me wait too long." Malden said, striding down the dune.

"Don't forget to harvest something nice for me to take," Zee shouted after him.

Malden didn't respond, jogging down the steep dune with his lackeys in tow. The princess strode over, nudging her gently on the shoulder.

"Why do you insist on complicating things?" Allison asked.

Zee shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, we are definitely going to win this race, and take something nice from them." Zee said.

Allison glanced around their group, getting their thoughts.

"Sounds exciting," Bastion said with a half smirk.

Greg simply grunted, in agreement.

Yukna had a more complex expression, adjusting the leather bandoliers around her waist, and over her shoulders. She had two heavily etched tube-like weapons strapped across her chest and a big one on her back.

Zee wasn't sure what those did, but by the feeling she got from the small canisters they fired, they were dangerous.

"It's fine by me," Yukna said.

Allison sighed. "Well, I guess let's get going then. We have maybe a half hour before we need to hunker down and prepare for the sandstorm. Let's see how much ground we can cover in the meantime." Allison said.

They rushed down the far side of the dune, headed towards the towering mountain in the distance. Several other groups, like Malden's, were ahead of them. Other, more sane groups were still where they had arrived, setting up shelters to weather the approaching sandstorm.

As it turned out, jogging through the sand was a bit more challenging than Zee had anticipated. Each time her feet fell, her boots sunk into the soft sand, forcing her to use more effort to propel herself forward.

Not to mention the wind that was turning from a gentle gusting breeze to a violent gale. It had gone from a light calm twenty minutes ago to the sand stinging her face, and forcing her to squint.

She adjusted the wet cloth mask covering her mouth and nose. Wearing the mask was a necessary precaution, keeping most of the sand and dust from her lungs.

Allison, who was in the lead raised a hand, clenching it into a fist. "Let's stop and get under cover!" She shouted, glancing worriedly at the storm only a minute away.

They stopped behind a large dune, which hopefully might blunt some of the storm's fury.

Yukna raised a hand, her sleeve falling back to reveal a bracelet with three black topaz glinting on her wrist. Four long metal spikes, each about five feet long appeared in her arms. Each was covered in precise etching along the length, radiating power.

Yukna's metal spikes sunk deeply into the sand in a circle, each letting off a faint glow. Yukna's aura flared for a moment, and a dome of green and yellow energy snapped into place.

Zee followed the others, quickly ducking inside the field of energy. The barrier made her skin tingle, sending chills up her spine. It was an odd feeling, though not exactly unpleasant.

The moment she stepped inside there was instant relief from the biting sand. Yukna was the last to enter, upon which the barrier changed. It became more solid, allowing nothing through. Heart racing, Zee turned to the east, watching as the real storm approached. Until now, all they had experienced was a mere preamble.

With wide-eyed trepidation, she watched with bated breath. The storm devoured hundred-meter-tall dunes in a heartbeat, reaching them with breathtaking speed.

The storm arrived with a screeching howl of whipping wind and biting sand, making Yukna's barrier shimmer and spark.

Mere feet away the wind was like a physical thing shaking her to the bones, turning day into night. Zee simply stood there, overwhelmed by all the hail of distractions entering and leaving the range of her spatial ripple skill.

There was so much movement just outside the barrier that she couldn't see at all, with either her eyes or her skill.

It was utter blackness just outside the barrier, created by a wall of swirling sand all around them.

Zee shook her head, glancing back to the dominative, brown-haired illukna. She was relieved to have the woman here, as without her, they wouldn't have this fancy barrier. Allison's fiancé must have noticed her staring at the barrier as she walked over.

"What do you think?" Yukna asked.

"I think we would be in big trouble if you hadn't come along," Zee said.

"At least someone appreciates my presence," Yukna said, giving Allison, who was standing nearby a dirty look.

"I already said I am sorry a dozen times. How many more times do you want me to say it?" Allison asked.

Yukna folded her wiry arms across the bandoliers strapped across her chest. "Sorry about what? About me finding out, or not telling me until the last day?" Yukna asked.

Allison brushed a lock of white hair from her face, tucking it behind her right ear.

"I may not be happy about it, but I am glad to have your skills on our team," Allison said diplomatically. Allison wisely avoided the question, as there was clearly no winning that argument. Noting Greg and Bastion's visible discomfort, Zee took the lull in the conversation to change the subject.

She clapped her hands together. "So, how long do you think this sandstorm will last?" Zee asked.

Yukna adjusted her glasses thoughtfully, glancing at the storm raging just outside the barrier.

"That's hard to say. Storms like this can rage for minutes, or they can rage for days. Without a map of the area and a weather mage, it's hard to make an accurate guess." Yukna said.

"Weather mage? I didn't even know that was a thing. Sounds like a powerful class." Zee said curiously.

Bastion laughed uproariously, shaking his head in bemusement. "I fought a weather mage once. That asshole tried to throw a bolt of lightning at me." Bastion said.

"Lightning? How did you survive?" Zee asked wide-eyed.

"That's a trade secret," Bastion said giving her a playful wink.

Zee rolled her eyes and looked at Greg who was standing silently to one side.

"Don't listen to Bastion, he didn't do anything. The weather mage didn't realize what forces he was messing with. He killed himself by trying to direct lightning during a thunderstorm." Greg said calmly.

Greg's words were a huge relief. For a minute there she was definitely worried. Thankfully it sounded like she hopefully wouldn't have to deal with people who could throw lightning around.

Still, it sounded like someone had tried, and almost succeeded. She had no doubt there were stronger, more talented weather mages than the one Bastion had met.

Zee shook her head, pushing the very troubling thought of lightning to the back of her mind.

Her eyes flicked back to the glowing barrier protecting them. The way it flickered and sparked made her nervous. Hopefully, there were no problems with Yukna's barrier. If the barrier failed, they were going to be in deep shit.

Thankfully it was just a boring wait, while nothing of note happened as the sandstorm raged. Just all-encompassing darkness, a relentless howling, and the barrier flickering chaotically.

It was a relief that the storm passed after only an hour or so. It was dark one moment, the wind howling, then light the next. Zee let out a sigh of relief, her spatial ripple no longer overwhelmed by the relentless blowing sand.

Yukna pulled out the spikes, tucking them away in her spatial storage, and disassembling the barrier. The sight around her was a testament to the power of the storm. Entire dunes had been reshaped, changing the landscape for as far as she could see.

Even the dune they used as a windbreaker was halfway gone, with tons of sand carried away by the storm.

Her eyes locked onto a dune as she caught a moment. A few hundred paces away, there was a puff of sand and dust.

As she watched, another group came up from their own storm shelter. Most of them looked like they had been hiding under cloth coverings. She scanned the dunes around them, noting that more groups were unburying themselves.

Malden's group, who was in front of them clambered from the sand, before taking off to get a lead.

"Come on, let's get going. We cant let our competitors get a further lead." Allison said, gesturing towards the mountains far in the distance.

Zee grinned taking off down the dune in a sliding, half run, the others rushing after her. If they got ahead of the pack then they would get all the best treasures.

Two hours or absolutely nothing but sand and stifling heat later, her enthusiasm was fading. It was hard to remain so excited when the view consisted of boring sand dunes with absolutely no plant life or monsters to be seen.

That all changed when there was a shout of excitement. It came from a dune to her right as another group found something.

It was a group of four humans from Carmanah, having kept pace with their group for the last hour now. The group, composed of two peak F rankers and two mid-F rankers seemed adamant about not letting Zee's group outpace them.

It was probably for the same reason Zee's group was moving at such a punishing pace. They were undoubtedly searching for rare herbs or other treasures.

The shout drew her attention halfway down the far side of another dune. She watched on as one of the group rushed towards a small bush growing from the sand.

The craggy green leaves, thin stalk, and bright red fruit stood out like a lizard in a ball gown on the tan and white sand.

For a moment she contemplated trying to get there first. If she used her wayward skill, she might be able to reach it first and snatch it up.

Something held her back though, an odd sense of wrongness. The feeling made her hesitate. The other cultivator had no such compunctions. He slid to his knees in front of the knee-high plant, reaching out to grasp the fruit.

The next moment there was an explosion of sand and a yelp of surprise. A sharp black pincer burst through the sand, clamping around the cultivator's waist.

Bones cracked and blood flew everywhere as the soldier screamed, his ribs crushed. The giant, lizard-sized scorpion's claws clacked together menacingly, separating the man's torso from his legs. The monster quickly turned to face the other three members of the squad.

It was a six-legged monstrosity, covered head to toe in a thick black carapace. It had two powerful claws that could wrap around an adult's waist, and from its recent display, even cut them in half. The scorpion had a long tail with the odd plant and red bulb on the end.

With a speed that made her hesitant, the scorpion darted forwards. It snapped its bloodied claw forwards, nearly decapitating another of the team.

The woman ducked the swipe and retaliated with a skill-imbued thrust of her spear. Her upwards thrust at its foreclaw made a gouge in the thick carapace that bled green ichor, angering the monster.

It let out a loud, angry screech that echoed across the sand. It lashed out, it's much larger second claw coming down like a hammer right on top of the spear woman. There was a loud crunch of bone and a shower of blood, as the second person was brutally killed.

Zee drew her sword, her heart skipping a beat. Two were already dead in only a few seconds, if she didn't help, the other two would surely die soon.

Greg must have thought the same thing as an arrow crossed between the Dunes and slammed into the creature's thin, delicate tail.

Two more arrows bounced off its hard carapace, as Greg aimed for its delicate eyes. The scorpion screeched in pain and anger turning from its most recent victim. It spotted Zee, standing on the dune nearby and charged.

It came at her with speed, and a savage screech, its bloody claws clacking together loudly. Zee held her ground, bracing to meet its charge.

It raised a claw as large as her and brought it down.