Rage Across the Sands
While the trio dozed, neither of them truly slept. The oppressive heat was only marginally blocked by the airy tent. Coupled with a strong wind having picked up, it was very hard to truly rest, though Alustriea managed it, a full day of travelling and fighting had sucked her personal energy dry so despite the heat and grit blowing in the elf managed to find some true rest for a change. Xing Lei had more focused his mind on meditation, his senses alert while watching over his companions, between regular complications it was also a fact they were walking in essence, into the lions den.
His mind travelled back to when he made his wish and wondered just how much this genie of the south might resent him. In truth, Xing Lei really wasn't too worried. Unless the infernal's last Master was incredibly stupid and wished the thing to have freedom, the genie itself could literally do nothing to them. Rather it was the gathered soldiers and tribes they'd have to watch but even they, without magic, would not really be a major issue.
Letting his mind drift, his attention went to the former hourglass of the last infernal he met, the spatial ring on his finger had been a great boon as it was still rather full of things he'd picked up in his journey. In one corner of the space was still a large heap of coins, in truth he'd used very little from the infernal's treasure vault over the years. The savage lands had been more a batter system of tasks and items rather than paving his way with mortal wealth, thus the coins languished in a heap in his ring. For natives of this world it could well be taken as a dragons hoard, a sum any adventurer could have retired on and lived the rest of their days as a wealthy noble in some kingdom. Yet for Xing Lei, the gold and silver were worthless. No, to him true wealth would have been spirit gems, that was where real wealth was found not those thin little pieces of weak metals.
In truth, Xing Lei's greater wealth would be the neatly arranged weapons and armor he had 'procured' from various foes and factions in the past. While he had no reason to value the shiny coins he did understand their use. Rather than just let the gear he had collected pile up he had spent a piddling amount on various weapon racks and armor mannequins upon which were placed his favored weapons and the various suits of respectable armor taken from the drow. Sadly none of the drowcraft was usable, as he had learned, drow materials rapidly lost their enchantment and integrity when exposed to sunlight. Still, half a dozen suits could be valuable as a bribe for Destorianaxe if she was still feeling pissy about their last parting.
The vast majority of his ring however now stood empty. Various barrels of water now floated where beast blood had been. Some harvested pieces from the few giant scorpions they had come across so far in the desert rested nearby as did some scraps from his earliest kills but nothing he could make immediate use of. Tol-Vatal he hoped, would have many higher rank beasts. The beasts he had wished for originally had long been dealt with here. Smaller villages had suffered but they quickly dealt with the new monsters his tampering had created. Xing Lei felt this truth would extend to the north east continent as well since it house the larger human and demi human kingdoms.
Shifting between his mate and his lover his yellow eyes looked to the roof of the tent. The muted brilliance of the sun shone against the thin yet durable material. Could he have made a better wish? In one sense yes he surmised he could have wished for a set of materials for himself but as he had found, crossing the ninth rank was a vexing tribulation. Who knew how much resources he'd have needed and for a finite amount... once he had run out what would he do then? Forsake perfection? Then there was Osilliaice and Alustriea, he didn't want to abandon them... no the wish he made was the right one in his thoughts, though he should have specified higher ranks to not let the early ranks be hunted to extinction like they had on this land mass.
Laying back wide awake now, Xing Lei listened to his mate and lover breath. Osilliaice he was certain for one, would likely still be awake. Like himself she was a hunter, a survivor. She'd lightly rest but she was ready to get back in action should something occur, unlike Alustriea who was clearly drooling on his shoulder. Sometimes the elf could be rather stunning in her innocence, it was not hard to remember she was still barely an adult in her own culture. In human lands she was an adult but in elven lands she be more in her ending teens, a time of youthful brashness and ideals, he often forgot just how unused to the world she could be.
Lightly hugging the two females he slithered out from between them and carefully stepped out under the sun. The heat fell against his scales like an ocean wave, washing over him, drowning his senses in one sensation: hot. Still for his reptile body this sensation was invigorating, he looked forward to the journey to seeing what lay over the distant dunes, to find the port and leave behind the petty little tyrants he had come to oppose in his own travels. Looking to the horizon he frowned, squinting his eyes. "Osilliaice get Alustriea up and ready to move, we need to break camp now."
Osilliaice was quick to comply shaking the unconcious elf who refused to retreat from the glorious dream she was having. The lizardess poked her head out and frowned in the direction Xing Lei watched, a great wall of sand was being kicked up on the edge of the horizon, "Riders?"
Xing Lei shook his head pointing to the great wall of sand, "Worse my mate, it's a sandstorm." As he spoke he began pulling out the water barrels and rushed to fill canteens, with a storm sweeping in over the dunes he wanted each of them to have water readily on hand. After all, it was very easy to get separated in such storms, if only he had the water, poor Alustriea would likely be dead in a week without stumbling into an oasis.
Osilliaice appeared from the tent, a half awake elf in her arms. Seeing the world darkening Alustriea was shaken from her rest when sharp particles started to fly around them, Xing Lei hurried to break down the tent, storing it messily into his ring before handing canteens to each of them. "If you get separated, remember to head south,rather than search these wastes fruitlessly better we make our way to the port as best we all can."
The two nodded, Alustriea and Osilliaice coming in close as the three crouched low against the foot of a large dunes that even now was starting to disintegrate. The winds whipping the sand around them into a storm that cut off sight and sound, except for one sound. A deep malicious laugh. Xing Lei lifted his face staring into the storm as the shape of the storm seemed to condense for a moment, a looming face of sand staring down at the kobold with malice and hatred. He didn't need to be told that this was no normal occurrence, rather he could feel the magic in the air as the sandy face opened his mouth wide in a snarl of vengeance before slamming down on the trio blasting them from their huddle to each be swept up in the harsh winds and biting sand.
The roar of the wind encompassed all they could hear, their hands outstretched trying futility to grip their companions as the ensorcelled wave of sand tore them from each other, tossing the three around like dolls in the sandy wastes. Darkness fell as each was swept away, buried in the mystical sandstorm, the laughter of a distant foe carried on the wind mocking Xing Lei in particular. This foe was more interested in he than his companions, thus the greater harshness of the savage storm front fell upon the kobold.
In a distant gully the windswept kobold dug himself out of a dunes. The sands continued to swirl around him like a localized tornado, catching him in its eye. A shadowy figure walked through the twisting slashing winds, stepping into the calm center with Xing Lei. A figure of sand stood proudly before him, yet as he shook sand out of his robes the figure looked to only be a few inches taller than himself. The sand hardened, the shape becoming more defined as a rather short woman stood hastily before the kobold.
His yellow eyes swept across his adversary as that figures gaze locked on him. Her thin lips parted in a snarl as her loose vest and voluminous pants whipped around her lithe frame. "You dare to look upon this Empress with your dog eyes?!"
Xing Lei shrugged as he stood easily before the woman of sand easily guessing she was the genie by the look of her. Little wonder the storm focused on him. His gaze met the anger filled eyes of the infernal before him, her full painted lips pulled back in a grimace of supreme hatred. "You're a little short to be Empress, look to me more like another court jester pumped up on her own hot air."
The slow grinding of sandy teeth could almost be heard from her mouth as her inhuman eyes stared at the kobold before her with a promise of slow torture. "What did you say to me filthy beast?"
Xing Lei crossed his arms looking warily at the raging short infernal, "Short and deaf, really do you have any redeeming qualities?" Inside Xing Lei watched her face go livid in her rage. Unlike the calm collected Master of everything that Hazim had displayed himself as, this infernal was a spitfire. With a few words he could see that the mystical construct before him was breaking down as the distant foe seemingly was ready to tear her own hair out.
Still as suddenly as she seemed ready to leap at him the construct of sand quieted. Standing straight it chuckled dismissively, "So that is how you brought one of us low? That narrows the field considerably." Her ice cold words held none of the earlier hatred, her rage was like a switch flicked, gone was the heated rage to be dropped into a pit of ice. "Which of this Empress' brothers was it that you laid low?"
Xing Lei fell silent, unlike Hazim Al-Duress this genie was far more aloof than he had been, this one seemed to like playing games of a different sort than he did. Hazim had delighted in games of hopeless futility but this woman seemed to like mind games, one second appearing rash and easily influenced by mere words then suddenly discarding all the rage as a mere mask to read into his own thoughts.
Tsking softly the sand woman stepped around Xing Lei slowly, looking him over. "There is no harm in speaking the name of one of my foolish kin, dog. We care little for our family, it is more the insult to our person that we will address upon your hide." Circling him slowly the sand broke and a second then a third waled in circuit around him, soon ten sand women surrounded him with crossed arms and icy expression. "We command you dog, speak his name!"
Their shouts sent waves of magic over him, battering his mind trying to force him to his knees before her. Growling he fought through the compulsion, through the whisper upon the wind that assured him that all he had to do was speak and he would be rewarded as a proper slave should. His eyes focused on her face staring back into her eyes with defiance. "You want his name? Well let me whisper it into your ear as you call out mine."
Sneering at the implication one of the constructs turned walking back into the storm, the eye collapsing on itself rapidly, the other copies swept up in the howl of the renewed sandstorm as it crashed down on the defiant kobold, her whisper on the very wind itself, "Very well, we shall see if a dogs pack are any more talkative, we shall see you soon, slayer of infernals..."