Jabari and a strange figure covered from head to toe in black clothing, wearing a straw hat, stepped out of a shop.
“This stuff is incredible! It’s so breathable! I mean, it’s nothing compared to what Sepequ made for me, but still, I didn’t expect everything to be so comfortable. It’s almost like I’m not wearing anything!” Kandy exclaimed.
Seeing that Jabari and some of the strangers that were in earshot were staring at him with disgusted looks, Kandy awkwardly shrugged. “Not like that… I just mean it feels comfortable.”
“Well, that's why I wanted to bring you here. The master tailor here is one of the best on all of Emberos.”
“I appreciate it. Still, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let me sell the sword or armor.”
“You need to return them to the one you stole them from. And I will keep them for now, until you pay me back for the money I just spent.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s not like I was going to use them anyway. But why didn’t we just sell some of the worm’s blood? You said it sells for a lot, right?”
“It will be used. The result will be worth more than money.”
“Right… whatever that means. So where to now? The Ambassador Center?”
“The Ambassador Center.” Jabari began to walk his way down the street with Kandy in tow.
“You know, I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know if I should get the Crow’s Mark.”
Jabari abruptly stopped in his tracks. “Why not?”
“I know that Karasu, er, the Crow God, is the god of this planet, but he’s not my god. I don’t really want to brand myself with his mark.”
Jabari stared into Kandy’s eyes, peering deep into his soul. “Are you sure? Without a Crow’s Mark, life will be very difficult for you on Emberos. You will be a second-class citizen, deemed a weak, incapable man.
“And even if you show off your strength to prove them wrong, many, including the god’s children, will then deem you a traitor and hunt you down. I know you are strong, my friend, but you cannot stand against the might of the world alone.”
“God’s children? You mean those dudes with the bird heads and wings?”
“Precisely.”
“Yeah, those guys don’t seem friendly.”
“They are not. Only the most devoted of our people choose to interact with them, and even then it is quite dangerous to do so.”
“Dangerous?”
“Over the centuries they’ve developed a… taste. For traitors. It leads them to accuse and bring swift justice upon those who might not be conventionally branded as the sort.”
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Kandy frowned. “Are there no other options?”
Jabari remained silent for several moments, long enough that Kandy’s hand creeped closer to his hairband, ready to pull out his dagger-spear at the slightest hint of danger.
Time trickled by as the two stood in silence—now, thankfully, without any of the passerby even giving Kandy a second glance.
Eventually, Jabari spoke, “In that case, we will avoid the Ambassador Center for now. I have a solution, but it is outside of the city. It will take a few days of travel.”
“Got it.”
***
Three days later, Kandy and Jabari slowed to a halt in what seemed to be the middle of the desert.
“Are we stopping ‘cause you’re tired or what?” Kandy smirked. “You lost the last three times, so—”
“I did not lose. The three times we stopped, it was to set up camp for the day.”
“Right…so what’s the excuse this time?”
“We have reached our destination.”
“What?” Kandy looked around. “There’s nothing here. I mean, I see the skull of one of those sandworms there, but that’s the only… Uh, why are you heading towards it?”
Jabari stopped only when he was next to the worm’s gaping maw. “This is the entrance. Hop in.”
“No. WAY!” Kandy stomped his way through the sand toward the maw. “You put the entrance to your secret lair in the mouth of a sandworm?!”
“Yep.”
“That’s AWESOME!” Kandy ran towards the maw, and upon seeing that there was a tunnel beyond the “doorway”, ran in at top speed.
The tunnel turned out to be a slide that descended swiftly—Kandy dove in headfirst. After thirty seconds of adrenaline-fueled exuberance, Kandy flew out the bottom of the slide straight into a thick, soft cushion.
“Jabari? It’s really dark in here, where are the lights?”
Kandy paused, but the only response was the sound of air and thuds coursing through the tunnel slide as Jabari slid through it.
He dodged to the side, just in time for Jabari’s massive form to fly out the bottom of the tunnel slide and crash right into the mattress, just as he’d done moments ago.
Kandy could hear Jabari fiddling around in the darkness. After a few moments, a series of yellow patterns lit up on the wall, illuminating the cavern just barely enough for them to see.
As the patterns continued along the wall, they began to expand and widen—the far end of the cavern was lit bright enough for the two of them to see comfortably.
“Woah! This place is huge!” Kandy exclaimed.
Indeed, the oval-shaped cavern was at least a hundred feet long and maybe fifty wide. And judging from how long the slide ride was, it was probably several hundred feet beneath the desert.
Which made sense. After all, it had to be far enough below all of the sand for the cavern to not collapse in on itself.
“How did you make this space so big? Just removing all the dirt and rubble must have taken a village.” Kandy wondered.
“I didn’t. I just happened to find it and moved my equipment in.” Jabari motioned toward four distinct groupings of tables spread about the cavern, each covered with strange equipment.
“Each section is for a separate hobby of mine. Come, take a closer look.”
The first set of tables was the largest. Each was covered in glass equipment, vials and beakers and whatnot. There were also several shelves that lined the cavern wall behind the tables, each packed to the brim with giant jars of differently colored liquids.
“What is all of this? Making drinks?” Kandy asked.
“No. Potions.”
“Ah, so that’s what you wanted to keep the worm’s blood so bad. You were gonna use it here?” Kandy ran his fingers over some of the glass equipment.
Jabari’s eyelid twitched as he watched. “Yes. And I will give you half, as a gift. Now, kindly remove your hand from my equipment. You are contaminating it.”
“Oh, my bad.” Kandy awkwardly rubbed his neck. “So what else you got?”
Jabari motioned him over to the next cluster of tables. “Here.”
“...What’s this supposed to be?”
Kandy’s sense of déjà vu was overwhelming. Much of the equipment from the previous set of tables was also on this one, only the jars on the shelves behind this group were all filled with a dark brown liquid.
That, and the glassware had been combined with all sorts of tubes.
“Coffee. I’ve been experimenting with different acidity levels, cook levels, and aging.”
“The hell is coffee?”
Jabari’s eyes widened. “You’ve never had coffee before?”
“No?”
Jabari reached for a sack that had been stored underneath the table and scooped out a small cup’s worth of a dark, gravel-like substance.
“Well, my friend. Take a seat and I will brew you a fresh cup. It will give us time to speak of the solution for your Crow’s Mark.”