The port town of Sandstorm lies atop a massive stone out crop. Its sheer size extends a good mile into sea, forming a natural but sturdy port. Around the massive stone lies smaller outcrops embedded a few feet into the dirt. These sharp stones form a natural protective barrier around the town.

Historically, sandworms would follow prey into these stone field, their leather skin would rip against the stones, causing blood to seep into the dirt. Sandworms are opportunist monsters that will be more than happy to strike any weakened others of their kind. Tasting the blood of another will put the worms into a feeding frenzy. Unfortunately, a frenzy of over twenty worms slithering hungrily in a location filled with sharp rocks does not end well.

The ground begins to turn a crimson red from the sheer number of dead bodies and blood that litter these fields. After generations of continuous killing, a massive forest bloomed in these well fertilized fields. Animals of various kinds currently inhabit its domain.

Since some of the animals can be quite dangerous, guards are placed around the perimeter of Sandstorm. A stone wall of ten feet surrounds the town.

At the entrance to the town, stands two guards. One is a large snake-kin, his upper body is humanoid in origin, but like the scorpion-kin guard next to him, the lower body is that of an animal.

"Have you heard about those dwarfs that came in this morning Lucian," the large scorpion-kin asks, his natural armor and size much thicker than the females of his kind.

The snake-kin looks down from his post, his large long girth is wrapped around the top of the wall, a better view for incoming predators." Everyone has heard about the dwarfs, Carrion." the snake-kin replies."They came in on a goddam raft, apparently they were attacked by orc's, but had to abandon ship from the damage they sustained," Lucian continues, his girth moving along the wall with ease.

"Yea," Carrion starts "those orcs are causing this town to quickly dry up," he explains, his tail swishing carelessly in the wind. "We have over a year's worth of goods saved up from Geralyn, but we can't sell any of it because no ship has docked here for so long. Heck, if the monster population around our town wasn't so large, we would probably have starved to death."

“ Very true,” Lucian answers, his senses feeling vibrations coming from the distance.

"It also helps that we have that amazon girl to hunt for the meat," Carrion continues ", I just wish she would stop dragging the corpses to me. It's annoying having to haul it back to town for her," carrion huffs with displeasure.", I mean really, why can't she just car--,"

"Carrion," Lucian interrupts,"We have company coming," he says, body focussed on the vibrations coming to him. Carrion's tail lifts into the air, a long stinger pops out of its end, ready to strike. As the two turn to the direction Lucian is gazing at, two figures come into being.

"Well, I thought the weirdest thing to happen today would be the dwarfs coming in on a raft," Carrion says, gazing at the two individuals." but I think this takes it’s place."

Lucion nods silently as he watches two figures stroll towards them.

Valen walks with a relaxed gait, his t-shirt exposes his strong muscles, a picture of a cat drinking tea at the center. His hands are inside his shorts, boots crunching the ground, while black shades cover his eyes.

Lin walks adorably next to him, her clear white dress flowing beautifully with the wind. Her hair flows behind her head, a pure white hat shades her eyes. She walks with a happy stride, her new white shoes sparkling with every step. Her tail flows under her dress, a white ribbon firmly attached to the end.

Lucian and Carrion watch the duo come close, their minds deeply in turmoil as they attempt to put logic towards the situation before them.

The Bloody Sand, the inn of Sandstorm, is a large thing made of stone and wood, its large structure a requirement as many of the larger beast-kin would not be able to enter. One such beast-kin would be it’s owner, the Snake-kin Daniela. Her long slender body wrapped firmly around a stand, she extends herself around the main area of the Inn, serving alcohol to a large group of dwarfs.

"Another," Jessica yells, face red from intoxication. Daniela nods and picks up another glass of beer. Extending her body, she places it in front of Jessica, the same table where multiple dwarfs are passed out drooling."Fucking weak shit's," Jessica says as she glares at her drinking buddies. Turning to another table "Captain, want to try to out drink me?" she asks, cradling her new drink in her hand.

"You have been with me since I became captain," David quips, as he shoves meat into his mouth," And never has anyone out drank you," he interjects between mouthfuls.

Jessica nods proudly, taking another swig of her drink.

As the dwarfs drink and eat, Daniela freezes up, her senses notifying her of an approaching vibration. The massive door of the inn slowly opens up, and two uniquely dressed individuals enter. Some weird type of…….species, and a tigress child. The inn continues to yell and banter, most of the dwarfs too drunk to notice the new individuals.

_________________________________________________________________________

Valen enters into the huge inn, Lin entering right after, eyes roaming the room with interest. Looking around, he finds every table filled with dwarfs, their loud laughter can be heard outside.

As Valen looks for a possible table, Lin immediately starts running towards one in the back. The table she runs to has a red-skinned women sitting at it, her back against the wall, eyes glaring menacingly at the dwarfs. Her attention is immediately changed to Lin, who runs up to Diva, and grabs her arm."Hi, can we sit here," she asks, a cute smile on her face.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Before she can answer, Valen shows up to the table.”Lin, don't just run towards strangers and touch them without permission. What if she hurts you?” Valen asks, a worried expression on his face.

"It's OK," Lin quips, her hands still resting on Diva's arm." She is an Amazon, and mommy said that Amazon's will never hurt kids," Lin explains, a confident smile on her face.

Valen turns his eyes towards Diva, who slowly nods back towards him, an annoyed expression present on her face." It is forbidden and extremely dishonorable to hurt a child outside of training," she answers Valen's curiosity," Lin immediately lets Diva go, and jumps on the chair to her right, feet dangling midair.

Understanding the situation, Valen takes a seat at the table, a raised eyebrow is Diva’s reaction.

“She isn’t going to leave you, and apparently you can't do much about it,” Valen answers, a smile on his face.

Before Diva can say anything, Daniela interrupts the whole table."Diva," she yells, her slit eyes blinking as she looks at the Amazon."I didn't know you had friends," she blurts out, a teasing smile on her reptilian face.

Diva just glares back at the overly friendly snake-kin.

Turning her head, she looks to the others sitting on the table, a big smile blooms on her face as she looks at Lin." Oh my, you are sooo adorable," she squeals, Lin's tail moving frivolously in her seat from the compliment.

"And you are quite handsome," Daniela exclaims as she looks at Valen." Diva knows how to pick'em, doesn't she," Daniela says, continuing to ignore the glaring Amazon.

“Daniela,” Diva interrupts her musings.

"Oh, your right, I am being such a bad host" Daniela replies, turning to her new customers,"what can I get for the both of you, some alcohol perhaps?"

"We need a few things, the first being some food and water," Valen puts up a finger," the second thing we need is a place to stay," Valen adds another finger," and finally we need information," Valen puts up a third finger.

"Easy enough," Daniela answers," I can bring in the daily special, which is a roasted sand viper. Very tasty, and I made sure to remove the poison sack this time. I have alcohol, as well as water for drinking."

"Now then, your lucky these dwarfs are cheap, and are happy to share rooms together, so I actually have a place available. I charge 2 Nos a night, 1 nos for a meal, and another for a glass of beer." she spews out mechanically, having said it multiple times today.

“Any questions?” she asks.

“This time?” Valen blurts out, referring to the poisoned snake.

Daniela rolls her eyes,” It was an accident. I was trying out the recipe but forgot to remove the poison glands. Nobody died, they just weren't able to move for three days.”

Valen lifts his eyebrow up at the snake-kin, wary of her food.

"Look," she points at the dwarves,"I have been feeding it to then all afternoon, and their completely fine."

Valen’s eyes turn towards the dwarves in question. Half of them are passed out on the tables, a few look as though they can barely stay awake. One of the Dwarfs gets out of his seat, takes a step, and falls flat on his face, completely passed out.

“Ok…….they're probably not the best example, what with them going through my barrels of beer,” Daniela sighs,”I am going to have to get more.”

“Alright,”

"Alright, what?" Daniela asks, confused.

Summoning four coins in his palms, he places them on the table."I will take one room and two meals," he exclaims to the snake-kin" but I still need that information." he quickly exclaims before Daniela can answer.

Slowly she picks up the coins and turns to Valen,”I am unfortunately an innkeeper in a small desert town, so what information I can offer is very limited…..on the other hand we have a bunch of dwarfs who just came this morning,” she gestures to the other tables.

“Do they have a ship?” Valen asks, the reason for coming to the sea in the first place.

"That…..is actually why they are drinking themselves into a stupor," Daniela answers while biting her lip." They lost their ship early this morning. In dwarven culture, that is equivalent to losing a loved one, and this is how they mourn," she explains, her eyes downcast.

Valen stares at the dwarfs, finally noticing their ragged expression's, the drinks merely to numb the pain that they so fervently feel."Who is their captain," he asks.

"That would be the dwarf with the short beard," she replies, Valen immediately pinpointing him in the crowd. His beard is indeed short compared to the other dwarfs, and the fact that he is merely nursing his drink, still fully cognizant, unlike his men.

"Thank you, Daniela," Valen answers, as he gets up to walk towards the captain, Lin quickly following him behind.

____________________________________________________________________________

David Shadowsail sits on his chair, a drink in his hand, as he watches his men pass out from all the alcohol. No fights, but that is to be expected as this is drinking to a former love, not a current one. As the sunlight slowly starts to die down, and half his sailors are on the floor, David gets interrupted by another patron of the Inn.

"Hello, sir, would you be the captain of this unsightly crew," David blinks and looks towards the speaker, then slowly his sight wanders around the Inn, looking at his crew. Jessica continues to drink, Jeeves is on the floor, piss covering his crotch, half his dwarfs are asleep, and Alfred is making out with a stool.

“Yes….this unsightly crew is mine,” he answers the strange man.

“Perfect, I heard that you lost your ship this morning and are in need of a new one,” Valen claps his hands, a big smile on his face.

David just looks at the boy cross-eyed, not sure if the alcohol is making him hear things."Yes….we do need a ship," he replies slowly.

Nodding amicably, Valen throws out his hand." Names Valen Vorstof, and I will have a ship ready to be crewed by morning. We can talk about the specifics then."

"David Shadowsail," He replies, shaking Valen's hand, still confused about his current situation.

" Alright David, I am going to go get the ship---Lin, just wait here, keep David company, he seems like he needs it," Valen quickly leaves the Inn, heading towards the docks, Lin watching him run out.

David looks at Lin, staring at his face, her eyes looking deep into his.

“So….,” Lin starts, sitting on a stool opposite him.” Why is your beard so small,” she asks, an innocent smile on her cute little face.

___________________________________________________________________________

“You are the dockmaster?” Valen asks an old scorpion, his carapace having lost its shine, and cracks are formed in many areas, primarily focused on his claws.

Nodding slowly, the old man uses his tail to lift him off his sitting position, his legs shaking as he slowly stands. Zelorian takes a long look at the young man, a face full of excitement and sweat. Smiling inwardly, the old man slowly walks towards the counter, his carapace squeaking with every step.

Valen merely waits for the Scorpion, using the time to catch his breath, the pier quite far from the Inn.

“Now then young man, what can this old carapace of mine do for you?” he asks, nodding inwardly at the young man’s sense of patience.

Valen steadies his breath “I am looking to rent a pier, for about a weak, how much will that cost?” Valen blurts out, his excitement radiating from his face.

The old scorpion starts to laugh, the vibrations causing his body to ring."Thank you, young man, It has been awhile since I had a good laugh," Zelorian takes another good look at the young man, feeling something unique, something interesting, something…...powerful."It's the middle of the night, a young man runs into my stall, and asks to rent a pier for a week," Zelorian starts, choosing his words wisely," and the logical thing for me to do is to send you back home, but I have a feeling something interesting is going to happen so you can use any dock that you wish, and I will only charge a white nos." the old man explains, claws resting on the stall.

“Wow…...that’s actually pretty convenient,” Valen answers, referring to the unnecessary need for paperwork. Nodding quickly, Valen runs to the docking area,” I left the coin on the stall,” he yells back, disappearing from Zelorian’s sight.

Zelorian looks down next to his claw, a white nos stares back at him, its presence wasn’t there a second ago.”Interesting indeed,” Zelorian whispers, as he turns his head towards the direction of the empty docks.

________________________________________________________________________

Valen arrives at the docks, the floor made primarily of stone, with wood only present further in. Looking around, Valen locates the largest shipping area and runs towards the water, excitement radiating in his form.

Upon making it to the end, Valen looks towards the water, the reflection of the stars stare back at him. Taking a slow deep breath, Valen releases his mana, its power pouring through his skin. The release quickly starts to ramp up, the air thick with energy. Forcing his will, he directs his mana forwards, spreading it out and adding to it continuously. The Mana spreads forward, covering the air above the water. As his mana becomes in sufficient quantity, Valen feels into himself, imagining a massive structure appearing before him. In reply to his will, the invisible particles of mana start to rotate, dancing to Valens will, instinctively moving in complicated geometrical shapes. At the cusp of the reaction, reality bends, and a massive structure instantly forms before him. Gravity quickly takes hold and the ship slams into the water, the pier and Valen completely drenched.

"And he said I wasted my money," Valen whispers, strolling back towards the Inn, a massive ship floats firmly behind him.