"What was that?" I asked, trying my hardest not to scream. “It's called a ‘sandworm’ and really fucking dangerous. Luckily for us, it can't see and relies on the vibrations of the sand,” answered Pecta tersely. “We are still near the usual route of the caravans, which is normally free from any major monsters. For one to have their hunting ground here means that we are really unlucky.”
My sigh of resignation was tinged with frustration. “Of course, there's one here. Why wouldn't there be? I have spent little time in this world and have already met enough monsters for a lifetime.”
I was a bit mad at the insanity of it all. Yes, I was happy to be alive, as it beat the raging river of darkness and pain that waited on the other side, but the world didn’t make my life easy. I understood that there were inherent dangers that came with living but this creature wasn't fair. The sandworm had come out of nowhere and would have gobbled up any unsuspecting prey. It slowly dawned on me that life wasn’t fair. Nothing is fair. No matter how hard you try, in the end, everything disappears.
"Well, to be honest, we were lucky, since the deathstalker showed up. They normally appear when a lot of people are about to die, like in a battle. It is said, that they consume the souls of the fallen.” Pecta shrugged. “No idea if that’s true or just a myth made up by drunkards. A bit weird that one would show up for only two souls, but I'm not complaining. I give my thanks to Persa or any other god who showed us mercy with this act.”
I couldn’t argue with his argument and slowly started to let go of my anger as information was fed to me. “Who is this Persa you keep talking about?” I asked, very curious to hear my companion's answer. He rolled his eyes but I could see a small smile forming at the corner of his mouth. “Your curiosity knows no bounds. But sure, let me enlighten you. Persa is a goddess, one of the many we humans worship. And before you ask, gods are divine beings that control the fate of the world. But enough with the distractions, we need to think of some solutions. Remember, we’re on the clock.” I would have loved to ask him more about these gods but realised that now wasn’t the time. “What do you know about sandworms?”
“I wasn't born near the desert, but after taking this job I asked around what kind of shit awaited me in the Scorching Barrens. Sandworms were at the top of that list. So, lucky for us, I know a bit about them. They are very territorial, which means that there is probably only one. Worst case scenario, this one has a female partner. I also know that they have a specific area marked as their territory and they won't leave that area, even if some tasty humans, or whatever you are, are outside it."
That made me hopeful. "So it could be that we’re at the edge of its territory and safe?" My companion shook his head. “Unlikely. Sandworms usually wait until their prey is in the middle of their territory before attacking. If we want to survive, we can't just run and rely on chance.” I contemplated what he said before getting an idea. “How about the gods? Surely they can help us out.” Pecta cringed at my ignorance before explaining that they only guided mortals, not directly helping them. There were people called Chosen who got the god’s blessings but they were rare.“No, what we need is something to distract it with,” he stated. “What do we have that could be thrown?"
We both rummaged through our bags, with limited results. The orbs and the meat wouldn’t work, since they were too light for the sandworm to care about. What we were left with, were the 3 vials, four flasks of water (one was empty), and two books. “Wait, will that work?” I asked as it dawned on me what Pecta was planning. “The monster can’t be that dumb to fall for this.” My companion brushed away my concern. “Don’t worry, it works. I have heard stories from the veteran guards that used this tactic. Sandworms are stupid.” And so it was decided.
The plan was simple. We would start running until the sandworm got close, before throwing something to distract it. We had three throwable objects (Two books and one empty flask) and a rope with which to reel them back in. Reeling duty was given to Pecta, with his job being to move the bait away before the sandworm emerged so that it wasn’t swallowed.
I was nervous. If this went wrong we would both die. My life would have been so short and there would be no one to remember me. Pecta said something with a smile, probably something to encourage me, but I wasn't listening. A couple of moments passed before he gave the signal and we started running.
The ground immediately began to shake and I could feel the deathstalkers eager gaze drilling into my back. I risked a glance backward and almost stopped. The sand behind us had started to bulge like something fast was moving just beneath the surface. We suddenly stopped and Pecta threw the books that had been tied to the rope. I held my breath as the book landed on the ground, splattering sand all around it. We would die if this didn't work.
I was filled with relief as the sandworm changed its course toward the bait. Anything with half a brain cell would have seen through our trick, but this creature was a mindless monster. A pull from Pecta and the book flew out of the sandworm’s path. When the creature emerged, we started running again.
At first, the strategy seemed to work but soon the first problems started to show. When Pecta pulled on the rope, the book ripped off and was consumed by the monster. We shared a worried look before tying the second book to the rope, making sure to do it extra tight. The next mistake happened shortly after.
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Pecta was too slow, which meant that the sandworm ate the book with the rope still attached. He would have been pulled into the creature’s maw if he hadn’t let go. Now, without a rope, we were in big trouble. Everything that we threw would be lost forever. “Let's hope that the end of its territory isn't far away,” Pecta stated while picking up the empty water flask. Soon we would have to use our supply of full flasks. This wasn't good. “Wait," I interrupted. "There has to be another way."
He looked at me and asked, "Do you have a plan? I'm open to suggestions." I slowly looked over our remaining supplies. "Do you know what the blue orbs are?" He just shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe some kind of weird pearls, although, I don’t know how that would fit with the rest of the items you found.” That was true. All of the other things were meant for survival or killing others. The poison in our bag still made me queasy. Poison…
“How strong is that poison?” I asked, both excited and reviled at my idea. Pecta looked at me strangely before a smile of realisation spread across his face. “Well, the green Heartache poison is strong enough to kill a grown man in a couple of minutes. I don’t have a lot of experience with Wicked Tears but from what I heard, it is way stronger.”
The question of how Pecta knew so much about poisons entered my mind but I disregarded it. Maybe this knowledge was common in human society. But this was good. From what he said, my plan could work. Deftly I pulled out the vials and poured them all into the empty flask. I smelled a whiff of it and crunched up my nose. Truly fitting for something that would take a life. Even if that life was trying to kill us and acted almost mindlessly, I still felt bad. But it had to be done, to preserve my own and Pect’s life.
We started running until the sound of the sandworm pursuing us rose to a deafening roar. A stop, followed by a throw from Pecta. Like all the other times, the sandworm burst through the ground and devoured the flask. The familiar sound of crunching filled the air and it slid back into the sand. "And now we play the waiting game,” Pecta gleefully said. Taking a life didn’t seem to faze him. The time stretched on.
"So... since we have a bit of time to kill, could you tell me more about you humans? You have all this great stuff (food), so how is your life?" A long sigh left him. "So you want to know about our ‘wonderful’ society?” That last part didn't sound sincere. “Well for us humans birth is a game of luck,” he started. “It all depends on where you are born. You could be born as the child of a rich nobleman or a high member of the clergy and your life would be set. But most people don't get that and are born into the middle or lower class of society. And if a miracle doesn't occur you will stay there. You will stay in the shithole you were born in and bite the bucket because you couldn't afford food. Or a monster rips your head off. Depends on what gets you first. Nobles control everything. And what do they do with their power? Do they help us, normal people?"
This was a completely new side to Pecta, one that I hadn’t witnessed before. He spoke with such hate and vitriol that it was tough to believe that this was the same person. “No, they don't do anything!” He continued his rant. “They just laugh and kick you into the dirt. The only real way to live a decent life as a lower class is to join the Creator’s Church, which will promise to solve all your problems for the low low price of your soul. Or you could become a criminal. Look at the bandits that killed my companions. They probably became murderous assholes because the system kicked them one too many times. That is how our goddam society works. And I should probably stop at this point before I start screaming for an hour about this unfairness," Pecta ended with a forced chuckle. “Sorry, for ruining your expectation of human society. We aren’t monsters but sometimes it feels like it.”
In my short time knowing him, I had never seen him talk so passionately about something. Human society had to be very flawed, for him to give an entire speech like that. I was just about to say something when the ground started shaking.
The sandworm burst forth and started violently convulsing, spraying sand everywhere. With its last remaining energy, the monster tried to dig back into the earth but only managed halfway before coming to a rest. "That was a great idea,” Pecta exclaimed before letting out a laugh of relief. “If we had enough time I would suggest skinning it. Sandworm scales sell for a lot. But sadly we need to get moving.”
Before he could take a step the sand started shaking. A sandworm, twice as large as the previous one, stretched its head toward the sky, letting out a primal roar. At the same time, the ground began to broil, seemingly trying to suck us in. Pecta took one look at the sandworm, said nope, and started running. I quickly followed, not very eager to test the monster’s jaw. It roared one final time before disappearing into the ground and giving chase. I didn't dare to look behind me and only concentrated on what was before me.
Pecta was still in front of me but I slowly started gaining on him, before passing him. I could hear the sound of Pecta’s gasping mix with the horrible noise of sand being thrown apart. The sand started sticking to my feet and slowed me down. The sandworm was quickly catching up and our only option was to run faster. In a fight, we would stand no chance, especially since I had dropped my spear in favour of running faster. As I ran, I suddenly noticed that a couple of steps in front of me, the broiling sand transitioned seamlessly into normal sand. That had to be the edge of its territory.
With a final sprint, I threw myself onto the ground and rolled into the normal area. There I stopped moving and just lay there. If I was wrong and this was still the sandworm’s territory then I would be dead. A thud from next to me made me flinch. I waited a moment but nothing happened. I took a cautious look behind me, but there was no sign of the monster. Even the sand was starting to turn dormant again.
Checking next to me showed, that the thud had been Pecta. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that he was alright. Falling back into the sand, I stared up at the sky. It was almost night, with the glowing disc almost disappearing behind a distant sand hill. The deathstalker had disappeared to who knows where. My heart was still beating like crazy and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread on my face. Despite the danger, or because of it, the sprint had felt exhilarating.