Midnight in Galive’s Desert Town

Stumbling out of the only bar in the small desert town, the burning heat of the sun is replaced with the frigid desert evenings. After receiving the 2 gold Oyes I promptly invested some of it in my liver and fed Sai an extravagant meal as thanks. I don’t know where Sai is right now, she took the meat and ran. Now I just need to wander to my room and get some good rest for a job well done.

Stumbling around the cold night makes me shiver, I was currently in short sleeves and shorts so I wasn’t really prepared for the cold at all. The town was on the smaller side having no more than 20 buildings in total. They were small, made from wood and sandstone, surprisingly nice looking however. The bar wasn’t far from the inn, just down the street a little ways past the guild.

Walking into the building, the quiet of night lays over the building like a blanket. In a small town like this I doubt many stay up as late as other towns. Walking up the stairs towards my room, I hear the quietest mice-like whisper come from one of the rooms. I’m normally not one to snoop but I heard a rather interesting word that always garnishes my attention.

“The treasure is so close, brother we can’t give up now.” Says a girl through the door

“We’ve been at it for so long, I’m not saying we stop here but if this doesn’t pan out we go back to my way of things.” A harsh voice says.

“I understand, but if this relic is all it’s cracked up to be than just think of how our lives will change. We could live like kings and be seen as heroes, and what if it is some kind of weapon! We could be the best hunters around, and when we go back to being regular hunters, doing things your way, we’d be unparalleled.”

“God Sis you can be so convincing when you want to, but either way if the treasure isn’t here we need to go back to doing missions financially we are on our last legs, relic hunting is for the rich not us.”

“Yea things are getting pretty tight, I guess you are right. If this doesn’t pan out we head back to Alcon and do some regular old hunts.”

“Alright go to bed, we’ll leave in the afternoon.”

The fogginess I was experiencing cleared up with the mention of treasure. This was a golden opportunity to strike it rich and I’d be damned if I missed it.

….

I woke up early the next morning, trying to get a jump on the competition. I still had a minor headache from last night’s escapade. But treasure is on the line so no time for that, I need to push on. I started gearing up for the day. Tossing on my tan jacket, black undershirt. Sliding into my black pants and boots I’m ready for the day.

While I don’t know what those two look like I do know when they are leaving and what they sound like. With that in mind most people who come to an inn take advantage of the breakfast they serve, it comes with the room so why wouldn’t they. I’m sure I can find them considering how few adventurers are in this tiny little town.

I think for 30 minutes I sat downstairs at a table pushing my food around waiting to hear the familiar pair. I was so excited I couldn’t really eat, my stomach was filled to the brim with butterflies. Eventually a pair came downstairs, man and woman.

The guy was just gigantic, maybe a head taller than me, he had blonde hair and green eyes. His armor was rather intimidating, wrought iron and chipped and scratched to all hell, despite this he looked incredibly calm, near monk-like. It covered everything but his face. His muscles had to be the size of watermelons to fit that gear, not to mention to hold the huge axe he had. The girl looked similar with her blonde hair and blue eyes, they had to be siblings. She was much less intimidating than her brother, she was much smaller and daintier, having a playful goofy expression on her face. Instead of armor she had a green cape and pretty much regular clothes underneath unlike her brother. What did stand out was her odd sword she carried, I could only see it because of its odder sheath. The blade’s edges were covered but not it’s middle, instead the middle had holes in it like a flute. It is a weird weapon for sure.

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Eventually the pair sat down to eat, talking and relaxing for a while. I had confirmed what I needed so all that was left was to prepare. I left a small tip for the waitress and headed outside. I had rented a stable for Sai to stay in since she couldn’t just come inside and stay with me. I yelled for Sai, and waited a moment before she came stomping over.

Sai seemed rather cheerful after cleaning and a good night’s rest. Her golden mane was fluffy and pristine, and the coat was whiter than snow. Her two tails swished around lazily as she came to me and laid at my feet. We sat a little ways away from the inn with in eyesight but not close enough that Sai would snap at people leaving. We chilled for a moment as I gave Sai some well deserved scratches and pats, her gentle purring always relaxed me.

We sat for a while until the pair came out, a focused look on their faces.They took off out of the town, trekking deep into the desert. I gave them a moment to get ahead before I began following their sandy tracks. I could tell they did not plan on being here for long as they didn’t have much in the way of supplies it seemed. Hopefully I won’t have to stalk them for long.

….

The desert heat was unbearable as usual, as I followed the two dots in the distance. Lucky for me the sun was making it difficult to see me so I could tread without worry of detection. Sai and I crept for quite some time behind them, waiting for our moment. Eventually they simply stopped, nothing in site right next to some dune. I’m sure they are lost or something, they probably were using some map and realized how useless it is in this blank canvas of a desert. Still I waited

For quite some time I stood there watching the two in the distance just stand there and do nothing. It was a little later where I heard some odd melody, bizarre and unworldly. The notes seemed disconnected and spaced out yet flowed smoothly. This melody was cut short when a third figure raised above them. The dust seemed to turn and stir all around them widely. This turned into a sand tornado that spun around the two concealing them from view. The tornado was huge, towering high into the sky. For a moment and only a moment I doubted if I should try these guys, despite that my urge for treasure pushes me forward.

When the wind finally settled and the dust calmed the two were no longer standing in front of a sand dune but some sort of cave. The two seemed to jump up and down for a moment in celebration before entering. Now was my time to strike, hopping on to Sai’s back we made a mad dash towards the cave. As we get closer the cave looks less like a cave and more like a tunnel, with clean cut stone bricks and solid walls.

I begin to creep into the tunnel Sai close behind as we descended down deeper into the earth. The tunnel is so well kept I’m shocked, despite seeming so ancient. Eventually we get to a three way split in the cave, I’m not sure why but the center path seems to be calling my name. Picking that path I head down deeper into the tunnel, hopefully I can either meet and beat the other group or beat them to the treasure out right.

The path continued for quite some time, the walls featureless, and tunnels dark. Eventually I had to pull a Lantern out of my bag to light the way. This is the worst part of being a hunter, long boring walks. Either your walking to the mission or limping away to the town. It’s a never ending cycle and I have no idea why I love it.

The tunnel was eventually opened up into a huge room. Oddly it was well lit, a red hue hanging over the room. The walls were covered in holes, people shaped holes. I felt a shiver down my spine, this room was off.Even Sai seemed unhappy, her normally wagging tails low between her legs Not planning to find out what the problem is I quickly ran to the other side of the room. A large stone door sat between me and the outside of this creepy room. Despite freedom being so near I couldn’t figure a way to get out.

Stumped I walk towards the wall at the side of the room, inspecting the holes. They go very deep within the walls, far enough that I can’t see the end. On the flipside these holes seem responsible for red light. I’ve already had enough of this room, I'm not here for a mystery, just treasure, anything else is a waste of time.

Growing impatient I set my bad down in the middle of the room. Reaching inside it, I pull out to two gauntlets. These things cost me quite a bit, as they were solid metal that reached to my elbows and allowed my fingers to move smoothly. The palms were covered in cloth and chain mail to assist in sword catching. Overall these gauntlets are perfect for me because I only know how to fight with my fist.

I begin to dash at the stone wall before throwing a huge punch into it. The walls of the room seem to shake with the strength of my punch. The door itself seemed fine except for a single crack where I punched. This was enough for me to get fired up.

Walking back to the center of the room I get ready for another big punch. Before I could get in another punch, the red hue in the room seemed to darken. Slowly the light became dimmer and dimmer until before leaving completely, leaving me and Sai alone lit only by lantern light. We sat in the darkness, tense and scared before the red hue returned brighter than ever. Unlike before it was not a gentle glow but a searing burning red, near blinding. This happened for only a moment before returning to dark.

For a moment I was scared, it took a second of listening to the calm controlled breaths of Sai to bring myself down. As I was listening to her breathing, I heard something else, a scraping sound. It sounded like stone on stone, a discomforting and ugly sound. The growling of Sai told me that she heard it too. Slowly the scraping sound spread all around us, several scrapes and bangs came from the dark all around us and closed in. Lifting my lantern to spread its light what I see turns my blood cold. A sea of stone men, half a head taller than me, limb long and spindly. Danger all around me as far as the eye can see.