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Report from Arione Popwindale - Grade-4 Mage
113 A.S, Month of the Crow
Day 104 in the Samak Desert
This is my report about the Samak Horde situation in the Samak Desert:
I will start with the desert itself as understanding it is pivotal to our plans.
From what I can see of the Samak Desert, it is a place unsuitable for the growth of advanced civilizations. There is no natural food and scarcely any reliable sources of water. This is due to the three monsters that rule over the wasteland like Kings. These monsters rule over their vast territories either alone or by commanding their troops which could be a sub-species or direct family members. I’ve outlined the monsters I’ve seen below.
[Gargantuan Death Worm] - Grade 4
Probably the only one among the three that is not a named-variant or boss-class. But that makes it all the more impressive that this grade-4 creature has managed to carve out a territory for itself among the other two, which are above normal monsters. I believe it may be the weakest of the three, but definitely the biggest. Rather than ruling over its territory, it is more correct to say that it has devoured everything within that part of the desert. Most Gargantuan Death Worms I've seen travel together in packs, burrowing together and slithering against one another in a mating frenzy at night. This Death Worm seems to have eaten its pack and then some, because it's at least 10 times the size of any other Gargantuan Death Worm I've come across.
[Suri] - Grade 3 (Named Variant of Grade 6: Skeletal Vulture)
For this monster, I’m only estimating its grading base upon my initial sighting. It was my 53rd day in this desert and I managed to find refuge at a large oasis. The moon was bright and I sat around a campfire with my party members, confident in our strength at fighting off any monster that might decide to disturb us. When Suri came upon our camp, I had thought it to be a regular Skeletal Vulture. However, its bones and eyes had all been colored black. If it had been a moonless night, we would never have seen the creature approach. It stayed awhile watching us.
The creature has a skeletal body but only its head resembles that of a living bird. It flies silently and only at night. It drank from the oasis and left us alone. We followed it for a few days, making observations but turned back when it got into a battle with a Guhgoogi (거구귀), a grade 4 monster. Suri defeated the Guhgoogi easily and ripped off strips of flesh as the creature continued to scream. It has no stomach to speak of, so it wasn't feeding. I had a disturbing feeling that it enjoyed the screams.
[Enla Enla] (煙々羅) - Grade 3 (Boss-class)
Probably the most passive of the three creatures. I’ve only seen it once. The creature is the desert storm itself, with a face of the most attractive woman you could think of. I saw it rip apart three orc base camps, just by going through it. I can’t speak much about it as it seems mostly ephemeral. However if you find a sandstorm coming towards you with the cries of a woman accompanying it, run.
I have no idea how the Samak Horde has managed to survive out here. However I know this. The Slave Trade is their main source of income and without it, they’d have to sell their services to the best seller, i.e turn into mercenaries. If the Turina Empire is truly hoping to create a position of power in this region, the first thing to do would be to strangle the Samak Horde’s slave trade. I recommend putting one of the Three Great Houses of Turina in charge of this. If my estimation is correct, the Samak Horde should be no stronger than them. Just beware of the monster territories.
Arione Popwindale
Explorer Extraordinaire
No Lands Unseen, No Rock Unturned
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From Church Documents vandalized by Arione Popwindale
The emperor commands that the Great House of Akka Xalud wipe out all traces of orc presence in the Samak Desert.
The Church requires you to eliminate a certain adventurer-mage by the name of Arione Popwindale. His descriptions are provided below.
He has been suspected of being a [Player]. In Light, Shield and Flame, let the Emperor’s will be done.
Cecilia Lightridge
High Inquisititor of Light
Try and catch me, you backstabbing cult asshole fucks.
Fuck the Church, fuck your gods and fuck your Great Houses too.
I’ll wipe the floor with you noobs.
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“About time you got here. I knew you weren't scared of traps, you were scared of getting wet.” Abay Munet cackled at his own jibe, leaning back against the blue marble door.
He had been sitting here since he lost those three rats earlier. He was still seething inside, but fought hard not to show it. If the assassin showed that he was bothered by his failure, the others would pick on this weakness right away. The assassin cradled his hand with the missing fingers.
“You’re the one who rushed in without knowing what you were getting yourself into. I warned against this.” A blonde man floated out of the waters. His hair was tied in a ponytail and reached his waist, yet not a single droplet of water could be seen on him. As a matter of fact, his whole body was dry.
The man held a wooden staff with a yellow crystal embedded into a mangled mess of branches which served as the staff head. Even without the staff identifying his class, his whole wardrobe screamed mage. Long beige robes tinted with yellow and accented at the edges and his pale skin told the signs of long days spent in a Mage Tower, studying. Abay wondered how much the man was being paid compared to himself.
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“And it looks like I was right, I'm failing to see any corpses. You failed.” The mage finished saying as his feet softly landed on the platform of the hidden alcove.
“You little-” Abay snarled and made a motion to get up.
“Both of you, that's enough.”
The cold voice cut between them and even the prideful mage dropped his smirk.
The rest of the party had emerged from the water.
Jason Carid Akka Xalud had wild orange hair with black strands that jutted in every angle, combined with orange pupils surrounded by black. If one saw him from far away, they’d almost mistake the pattern of black markings on his hair as additional pairs of eyes. The scion of the great house wore his house’s dark green insectoid armor like a well-fitted suit, the interlocking chitin shifting smoothly with every movement. Like Abay Munet, he was a dagger user. But unlike the assassin, Jason had two handles jutting out from behind his hips instead of one.
Just over his heart was engraved his house emblem: A stylized centipede reaching for the clouds.
“You promised me a big game but failed, Abay.” Jason’s lips curled. “And I see that you lost some of your fingers to a couple of these pigskin slaves.”
Abay quickly hid the hand with the missing fingers behind him.
Jason continued. “Where have they gone?”
“Into the dungeon.” The assassin muttered, looking away.
Sighing, Jason strode towards the door. Abay flinched and moved aside immediately upon which the Mage smirked with delight. The fourth member of their party finally emerged from the water and promptly rolled over to their back. It was a young girl who was dressed in the formal priestess garments of the Church. She wore black robes with a silver sash cinched around her waist. Except in this priestess’ case, the silver sash was tight to the point of almost breaking.
“C-Can’t. Breathe.” The girl gasped, her round cheeks heaving.
“Mage. Pomi. Come look at this.”
The mage, Kyrian Tricilan, had mixed feelings about not being addressed by name like the priestess was. On one hand, he was grateful. He was from the minor noble house of Tricilo, but had been born a bastard. Per Turin Empire custom, he had received the double -an ending marking him as a bastard: Kyrian Tricilan instead of Kyrian Tricilo. Everytime someone said his name, he was forced to face humiliation from his younger years. Perhaps Jason was being thoughtful.
Or… like all the other scions of the Three Great Houses, the mage had simply been beneath his notice.
The priestess heaved herself to her feet and hurried to obey, not even bothering to look at Abay Munet who sulked in the corner like a wounded bird. She could have regrown his fingers but with her talent, she’d be nearly out of mana. She wasn’t willing to take that type of risk. Her mission had been simple: obey Jason Carid Akka Xalud. It wasn’t like the Church was fond of their personnel healing others out of charity either.
“Beastman language… ancient.” Kyrian shrugged. “I can decipher it but I’ll need to go back to the base and gather tools.”
Pomi stayed silent. She couldn’t tell what it was at all.
“How many slaves did you say you saw?” Jason asked. Then he whirled around, taking big threatening steps towards Abay. “Actually, how many slaves left you in this state?”
“...Three.” The sound of Abay grinding his teeth actually echoed inside the alcove.
Jason's gaze was even. "I see. Perhaps they would have been worth something if we sent them to the gladiator pits or the colosseum if you were even a bit stronger. But as it stands, a couple of slaves chopping off your fingers is beneath my notice."
Pomi stifled a laugh.
“Mage.” Jason said, his gaze still fixed on Abay. “Think of a reason why Abay should be punished.”
“He disobeyed direct orders to wait for us and rushed in, getting himself injured.” Kyrian started speaking immediately. “Not only that, he claimed that the Slaves took the dimension ring off of the dead orc when we couldn’t find it. Which was his excuse for running ahead of the group in the first place.”
Truthfully, it hadn’t been Jason’s orders that Abay broke, but Kyrian’s advice that they all act together. Kyrian had an infuriating tendency to play it safe, almost too safe. But it scarcely mattered now. Abay had failed to find the dimension ring that the slaves had, failed to capture the slaves and had lost his own dimension ring not that he would admit that in this situation. He knew better than to speak up in his defense so he stayed silent.
Jason Carid Akka Xalud barely contained the anger that he felt. “This was a waste of my time. We’ll decide on your punishment once we get back. We leave at once.”
Abay felt panic in his heart.
He knew all too well what the Great House of Akka Xalud called ‘punishments’.
Being tied hand and foot by Core-sealing tools, he’d be lowered into a hole full of poisonous insects. They’d force him to ingest a parasite that’d leech off of his mana and vitality for weeks, harvesting it from his stomach using these long metal hooks that they would force down his throat. They would keep him awake for days, forcing him to watch over their insect nests.
“I need a way out of this.” Abay slammed his forehead to the ground.
“Lord Jason! Please! Give me one more chance!”
Jason turned to leave.
“The three slaves have the dimension ring on them! I saw it! They’re trapped in that dungeon and from what I can see there’s no other way out! They have to come out here!”
“I have no time for your whims. Mage, prepare.”
Kyrian walked to the water’s edge and his staff began swirling mana, manipulating the water. Bits of water began to rise out of the surface and it formed a large bubble, just big enough to fit two people. Of course, the two people who would ride in it were decided. Pomi made a face but didn’t complain; Jason was not in the mood and she was smart enough not to test his patience.
Unlike Abay.
“Please! Allow me to remain here! I will wait for them!”
Jason snarled. “And what will I tell my brother when I come back to him without anything to show for my efforts for the entire day? You think I’m like you, Abay Munet? From some backwater nameless family? My brother is the head of this expedition and you want me to go to him empty-handed without the person responsible?”
Kyrian grimaced. It wouldn’t matter whether Abay came back or not. Today had just been an unlucky day for Jason’s party and the Akak Xalud scion would get punished by his the expedition leader, an older and more established Akka Xalu, regardless of his ability to shift the blame on someone else. Their head commander, a distant brother of Jason Carid Akka Xalud was renowned for his cruel nature. Honestly, it was much less of a punishment and more of an excuse to enforce his sickening hobbies on others.
Yet no one could say anything about the inhumane treatments of the Akka Xalud’s sickest scion who hurt even his own family.
Strength was the beginning and the end, the ultimate reason to just do whatever your whim fancied..
Such was the rule of might among the Three Great Houses of the Turina Empire.
“...Please Lord Jason. I saw them. They held a dimension ring.” Abay said, his head still on the ground. “And my dimension ring too.”
He already had a plan. He would have to kill the three, take his own dimension ring and make a run for it. If he could just convince Jason Akka Xalud to leave him here-
“Fine. Mage, You stay here.” Jason turned his orange and black eyes on Abay. “Keep an eye on this vulture. Meanwhile, I'll go out and gather as many as I can.”
Jason clenched his fist. He would not be outdone by the other.
Kyrian struggled to come up with something. That he was a mage, and although minor he was still a claimed member of a noble house. Yet, he was a bastard and he was only a grade-8 mage. Without backing and power, it was his fate to be ordered about.
At least he could delay going back to that oppressive camp for a while longer.
“Yes, Lord Jason.”
Abay breathed as the Akka Xalud scion stepped into the bubble, the priestess named Pomi following eagerly.
Kyrian fought the urge to roll his eyes as the chubby priestess stuck her tongue out at him behind Jason’s back. He finished navigating the spell through the oasis, sending the two out into the desert once more. The mage turned around to see Abay nursing his wounded hand, looking at the now-missing fingers.
“Now what?” Kyrian asked. He had no love for the man, mostly due to his character.
Honestly, the only difference between the Akka Xalud’s brand of cruelty and Abay Munet’s tendencies was that Abay Munet tended to aim at women, children and the elderly. All those whom he knew were weaker. The Akka Xalud family didn’t seem to care about any of those qualities. The only cared about one thing, and it was their victim's ability to feel pain.
“Now we wait.” Abay muttered then met Kyrian’s eyes. “The two women are mine. You can take care of the man.”
Kyrian didn’t bother arguing.
It wasn’t any of his business what happened to these slaves. It was either becoming Abay’s playthings, being sold to a noble or being a gladiator in one of the arenas in the Jayu States. They would be dead either way. He wasn’t being paid to be a hero, he was just a mage.
The Great Houses were moving and now wasn't the time to catch their attention.
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