Dai reached for the spatial ring on his finger, the spear should be stored in there. The ring wasn't there anymore, it had been one of his most prized possessions. The practical advantage was beyond imaginable. He'd kept it stocked up with healing pills, panaceas, blood clotters and expensive beast cores with the best spears he could find.

The battle was burned into his mind but certain details had gotten hazy over the years. Did he lose one of his fingers and drop it during the fight? It seemed like a plausible explanation but it just didn't seem to be the case. He scanned his fingers for a mark or anything.

Anyhow, he filed this little mystery away and made his way to the caravan. He did have a little apprehension brewing in his mind. He was nowhere near his peak at the moment, with his magic sealed he only had his physical prowess to rely on.

Strength was the language spoken in these lands. Giant camels, taller than fifteen feet were moving along in a straight line. The creatures thrived in the hot, humid climate of the desert lands. With no water and less plant life down here, these creatures were the ideal for transportation.

Dai's mind started bubbling with possibilities of underground tunnels with railways. The movement of troops, their deployment, the speed and accuracy would be a game-changer. For now though, he had more pressing concerns.

Dai perceived an arrow coming down for him from one of the caravans. He moved out of the way. It wasn't intended to kill him. Somebody leaped down from the camel.

It was a minotaur. It had to be a lesser variant with a diluted blood-line judging from the height of seven feet. He still retained the dark brown hide and the defiant horns of his kind.

"Who are you?"

Dai had no debate in his mind about not using his real name. He'd made a great deal of enemies and not one of them would hesitate to kill him in this weakened state.

"I'm Fulam, a hunter, I've been living off the land. An encounter with a Gul-Demon left me in this state. I'll pay you with work if you let me assist you to the nearest city." The Gul-Demon would be a neat explanation for his injuries, being able to take him on would signify my strength, it was as much of a deterrent as an added value.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The minotaur breed's beady little eyes roamed over his body before closing up like the vaults of an imp. "You can come with us, if we get attacked you go first. We don't have water or food for you. Get it yourself."

The minotaur led him to the second camel in the row. It didn't have any fancy saddle but Dai found more than enough space for himself. There were three other people on it but they were covered in varying degrees of injuries. They must've had a fierce battle a few hours ago.

Dai glanced over them and made a quick note of their strength. The imp with three daggers on his waist-band was the one to lookout for. Dai would put money on more hidden daggers in his hide.

He had two main goals at the moment. One of them was to establish a base, and the other one was to recover his magical abilities. His own physical abilities could take him far but they would falter under what was coming for him.

The dark red buttes of sand gave way to more sand. Each rolling hill was met with more sand until it melted into the horizon like a water painting. He'd craved the solitude and mystery of these lands in his human life.

He got tiny goosebumps and his fine-tuned intuition turned his attention to the ground. The sand was shifting and sinking into itself. These things are going to be a menace to the underground rail. Observation noted, he started running away. He stopped on to the third camel.

He stomped his foot on its face and rushed ahead. He heard a thunk beside him and that imp was following him. He moved over to the fifth camel for safety. He could feel the minotaur's gaze on him but he had no intention of taking on a sand wyrm.

There was a spell of calmness, the sand stopped shifting and a giant worm mouth burst out of the sand. Dai shielded his eyes, and tried to keep himself grounded. It's mouth was an abyss of razor sharp teeth, venemous saliva and essence-sucking tendrils.

It was a baby. Otherwise, all of them would be gone. Two lives and there was still fear thrumming about in his chest.

The imp and Dai found accomodation on the camel. Most caravan holders took wyrm losses as granted, they were built into the margins.

It took three more days before they reached a town. It wasn't big enough to accommodate the caravan. Dai walked through the disgusting streets covered in excrement, blood and intestines. He moved before his mind registered what was happening.

He turned around in a swift motion and grabbed the dagger imp. He was rummaging through his sack of armour, a pickpocket.

Record Movement

[Recording...] Dai was trying to build up a repository of combat situations in his AI. He was hoping to build up a combat assist function or something along those lines.

His fist punched into the imp's abdomen and he grabbed it's spine. He pulled it out and there was an audible crack. The light in its eyes dimmed. Dai took out its money pouch, the daggers and tossed it aside like a broken doll.

He needed a base of operations and this town was good enough for now. It would need some cleaning up but Dai was excited to implement many ideas.