Once the first light crested the horizon, the creatures started packing up their camp. They folded the structures and put them into giant bags, that looked very heavy. At first, I wondered if they would carry them throughout the entire journey but then I noticed a different kind of creature.

There were 16 of them that had been kept on the other side of the camp during the night. These creatures had a stout frame on top of six legs and were used by the two-legs as pack animals. Two-legs was a very spontaneous name and, in the same vein, the other creatures received the name six-legs. Although, Clicks also had six legs. Better not think too hard about that.

I had tried to get an exact count of the two-legs, but their constant movement made it difficult. In the end, I settled at around 20. This movement also made it a lot harder to stay undetected and there were several moments where I had to retreat because one of them got too close. However, once they started moving, security became a lot more relaxed. Happy to finally start traveling again I waited for a bit and followed them once there was a good distance between us.

It turns out that it's very hard to follow someone when the land around them is mostly flat. I had to move from dune to dune and hope that they wouldn't spot me. I consider it a miracle that they didn't. With nothing to break up the monotony, I followed them in this fashion for the entire day.

Nothing exciting happened but I started to notice something. My movement was more sluggish and I tripped more often than I was willing to admit. It also didn't help that my eyes had decided that they had enough of this and did their best to close. Still, I persist until the two-legs stopped and set up their camp. They quickly build up the structures and placed that strange light-device in the middle. One of them fiddled with it until it turned on and bathed the surrounding area in light.

The two-legs gathered around it and sat down. Some of them went to the six-legs, which were tied to some poles, and took something from their bags. They then returned and handed it out to the other two-legs. Quickly everything calmed down and the creatures started to eat and talk amongst themselves. As I observed I started noticing differences amongst them.

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Most of them were garbed in some yellow fabric that protected them from the light-disk and sand. Amongst those, some wore more refined and colourful stuff. They were also the ones usually shouting orders, so I assumed that they were in charge. Last but not least, were the guardians. They also had a yellow garment covering them but under that, there was a more tight-fitting brownish material. In their hands and at their hips they carried various sharp implements that I imagined would hurt to be hit by. However, other than that there wasn’t much else to say about the two-legs.

I watched for a while longer, waiting for something interesting to happen, but after some time decided to stop. Partly because of the risk and partly because it was getting me nowhere. I distanced myself from the camp, making sure I was far enough before sitting down.

I leaned against a small mound and looked up. The sky was filled with shimmering points, that seemed to create patterns in the air. The big white glowing disk wasn't visible, which made me a bit sad. Just laying there felt... nice. All of the weight I had unknowingly carried throughout my journey melted away and transformed into a soft blanket that made me feel comfortable. All of the questions melted away, leaving me with nothing to worry about. A weight settled onto my eyes, but instead of resisting it, I embraced it. I knew that this wasn't good and that I should be aware of my surroundings at all times, but for now, I didn't care. What could happen if I closed my eyes for only a moment?

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The beast pulled and another chain broke. Its bindings had slowly gotten weaker but there were still so many chains. The ground around it was torn up and a thick black mist obscured its surroundings. Still no sound, other than the beast itself. The voice hadn’t returned but the hunger remained. Suddenly, it stopped struggling and looked up. Something was close.

A conciseness drifted by, not quite close enough to enter the mind scape, but still brushing up against it. Hunger. The beast roared and the world trembled. It pulled and the barrier between the mindscape and the rest cracked. Only enough for a part of the conciseness to slip through, but that was enough. The beast licked its lips at the promise of satiating its hunger.