Ren stirred nearby as the sun graced her.
“Sun’s up, let’s go,” she said, nudging Juna awake.
The day was just beginning, giving them a full day of travel. If Silt was a half day away, they should get there before dark.
Assuming nothing went wrong, and they didn’t get lost.
Juna grumbled but didn’t protest. They snuffed out the waning campfire and set out, heading east.
The surrounding area was familiar yet different at the same time. Brushes and scrubs dotted the sandy ground, interspersed with dirt and rocks. He spotted some succulents clinging to life among the rocks.
A small shrub with a thick purple flowering bulb caught Ed’s eye. He walked over and inspected it closely. Desert flowers were a tricky business. Some were delicious, others horribly poisonous. Ed decided to leave this one alone. Still, he was thrilled to see new plant life.
Ed took a deep breath through his nose. Cool air washed into his lungs. He was certain there was water nearby. The air wasn’t so dry, and it smelled fresher. Likely a river, though he wasn’t sure how far they were from the coast. The Eastern Ocean was vast, from the little he knew of it.
Ed had seen the sea before. Telmaris met the water where two seas converged, the Misty Sea and the Whale Sea. For everything he found ugly in that city, it was built in a beautiful place.
Eastern Vaalem was new to Ed, and he looked forward to learning its secrets. That was the nomad in him. New places excited him.
Ren was decidedly less impressed.
“Anything we can eat?” she asked, arms crossed.
“At your own risk, but I wouldn’t advise it,” Ed said.
Ren scoffed. “Well, we’ll keep an eye out for anything we can scavenge as we go. Maybe we’ll find some tasty animal to cook up.”
“I heard a few coyotes howling at night, but they were far away,” Ed said.
Ren scrunched her nose. The notion of hunting and eating a wild coyote bothered her. Ed noticed, and she quickly looked away.
Juna spoke up, sitting in the grass nearby. “So, are you two planning to tell me what the hell you are?”
Ed and Ren turned towards her awkwardly, neither answering.
“Hello?” Juna exclaimed.
“Uhh, it’s hard to explain,” Ed said, looking at Ren.
“Honestly, you’re better off not knowing,” Ren answered. “Just be glad we’re on your side.”
“Well, you’re on my side,” Juna said, referring to Ren. “This guy gagged me and had those stupid skeletons drag me away.”
Ren shot a furious look at Ed.
“You were asleep, Ren. I snuck up on their camp and saw her toss the lumie onto the ground. It cried out, and I got mad. I didn’t want to wake the other two up, so I kidnapped her. I was only going to ask her a few questions.”
“You hurt the lumie?” Ren asked Lila, her tone as sharp as steel.
“The stupid thing was annoying me,” Lila said. “It wouldn’t stop fidgeting and making noise.”
Ed waited with dread for a moment, anticipating what Ren was going to do.
To Ed’s relief, she seemed to calm down. “You shouldn’t hurt defenseless creatures,” Ren said sharply.
“Whatever.”
“So. what do you want to do, Juna?” Ed asked. “We’re heading for Silt. Are you coming with us?”
Juna looked the two of them up and down with a sour look. Ed didn’t like the girl’s attitude, but he had gagged and kidnapped her. But Ren had sniffed out that something was off with the men and saved her. Ren killed the first one. As frustrating as Ren was, Ed was irritated that Juna wasn’t more respectful towards her.
“I’ll go with you for now. I guess I can find a cart ride from Silt to my uncle’s place down south. No way I’m going back to my parents.”
Ed wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He honestly didn’t care that much about what the girl did now. Maybe he was emotionally numb after killing a man. Or perhaps he had a bad gut feeling about Juna.
Given everything that had happened so far, he tried not to think so hard.
“Good,” Ren said. “That’s the right decision. We’ll keep you safe through the desert until we get to Silt, then. Do you know the way?”
“I’d be fine on my own,” Juna snapped. “And no. Silt is a shithole enclave town. All I know is that it’s east of here.”
Ren didn’t react.
Ed gritted his teeth every time Juna spoke. But if Ren weren’t bothered, he would hold his tongue for now.
Ed and Ren packed up camp while Juna sat and watched. They set off eastward towards the rising sun. Ed wasn’t overly impressed by the landscape. No great mountains or spires were dotting the edge of the landscape. It was just a flat, dirty-looking expanse dotted with plants struggling to survive.
Sure, it was new, and Ed appreciated the novelty. But it also made him long for home. Not for Telmaris, but the desert.
The group traveled in silence for a while. Ed led the way, though Ren never trailed behind. She always stayed directly at his side. She wasn’t leading because she didn’t know how to navigate the desert, but she sure wasn’t going to let that be known. Even to a nobody like Juna.
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Ed found it annoying. On top of that, the lumie chose to travel with Ren, which made Ed feel worse.
Some of the least pleasant company I’ve traveled the desert with.
Juna huffed and sighed behind them occasionally, but neither Ed nor Ren indulged her.
Ed was reminded of an old nomad phrase: sands drift lighter on the winds of good company.
A few uneventful hours into their trek had proven the opposite was also true. Ed would have been much happier traveling alone than with the two temperamental women he was with.
He had tried to strike up some casual conversation a few times. Juna would snark at him or not respond. Ren was too pompous to have a light discussion with, apparently. I thought you royals lived for inane conversation; Ed had jibed her. She didn’t appreciate that.
So, Ed kept to himself, trying to restrain his wandering mind. He kept thinking of Lila. Was she dead? If not, was she in pain? What did Somnia want from her?
What would she think of her husband, knowing that he had killed someone?
They were questions with no answers and only made Ed feel worse. He picked the System’s brain for a while, gathering definitions for different displays on his status screen. He tried asking more in-depth questions about Mortem and Somnia, but it had no answers.
Ed had hoped to discuss their new powers with Ren as they traveled to Silt. It was obvious Ren had chosen the Reaper class, but he wanted to know the details. Did she speak with the same System as he did? What were her stats like? Was there a sanity cost to summon her scythe? Did she have any other abilities? Did she have any runes or glyphs?
Part of Ed was frustrated that he wasn’t getting to explore his new powers more. His skeletal thralls had been incredible assets, but he couldn’t deny he wanted more.
So many questions, yet they traveled in silence.
His stream of consciousness was shattered by an inhuman howl coming from nearby. Ren conjured her scythe immediately while Ed scanned the surroundings.
“What in the hell was that?” Ren said.
A pack of massive, disfigured coyotes emerged from a dense bush nearby, foaming at the mouth.
Their eyes were bloodshot and glowing purple.
“Oh shit,” Ren muttered.
How do I equip my skeletons with weapons? Ed asked the System.
[You may summon thralls equipped with any item in your possession by focusing on it while casting a spell. Your thralls will sense your intent and act accordingly.]
Ed summoned his skeletons, focusing on the dagger and club they had looted from the drifters. He shivered at the sanity cost but was relieved at the sight of his thralls forming. Bones rattled as they were conjured out thing air and assembled into skeletal forms.
With a subtle, protective gesture, Ren motioned for Juna to stand behind her.
“Wh-what is wrong with them?” Juna said, voice trembling.
Ed stared at the grotesque beasts that surrounded them, four in total. Their fur was matted and patchy, clumps falling away to reveal rotting, sickly skin. Their muscles bulged unnaturally, veins glowing faintly under their skin.
The eyes were the worst part. They were no longer the cunning eyes of a canine but bloodshot and swirling vortices of purple.
Just like Lila had been at dinner.
“Somnia…” Ed muttered in disbelief. “But how?”
“I don’t fucking know, but this is bad,” Ren said.
One of the coyotes was surrounded by some kind of translucent bubble, shimmering like water. Another was impossibly large, far larger than any coyote Ed had ever seen. Its skin rippled with corded muscles. The other two waited in the background, watching intently.
What the hell is this? Ed prompted the System desperately.
[Anomalies detected. Unable to process.]
The response left him even more confused.
The beasts had circled the group, stalking them like prey. The shielded one advanced first towards Ren. The muscle-bound coyote turned its attention to Ed but didn’t move.
Ed was frozen. He didn’t know if it was fear or if he was unsure of how to handle this fight. They were outnumbered, and somehow, these wild animals were channeling the power of a god. It made no sense. Ed’s brain spun as he tried and failed to do something.
Ren cut through his indecision. “Ed, get the big one. I’ll take care of this guy. As soon as you see me move, do the same.”
Ed nodded. His thralls brandished their weapons as he moved them forward, slowly towards the larger one. It stayed still, eyeing the trio closely.
Ed wielded his wooden staff, gripping it so tightly his fingers turned white. He wasn’t sure if he found more comfort in it as a weapon or some kind of shield.
Ren squared her shoulders, arcing her scythe back into a loaded stance. The shielded canine continued its approach. Ren swung suddenly, a devastating attack aimed directly at the neck of the coyote. The scythe came down fiercely, the blade whistling as it cut through the air.
It bounced off the monster’s shield, causing Ren to fly backward from the recoil. She shouted in pain and surprise.
The other coyotes were momentarily distracted, so Ed attacked. His thralls lunged forward, commanded only to kill with no restriction.
The large beast steeled itself, snapping at the skeletons racing towards it. It braced itself for attacks that never came. The skeletons ran past it, throwing themselves at the two beasts waiting in the wings.
Cries and howls filled the air until they subsided seconds later.
[You have defeated an enemy!]
[Name: Dream-touched Coyote
Experienced gained: 15
Loot: None]
[You have defeated an enemy!]
[Name: Dream-touched Coyote
Experienced gained: 15
Loot: None]
Ed quickly checked the status of his thralls.
[Name: Skeleton
Health: 6 / 20
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Resistance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Equipped items: Decrepit dagger]
[Name: Skeleton
Health: 3 / 20
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Resistance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Equipped items: Small wooden club]
Ed assumed that his skeletons had taken a beating, mostly self-inflected damage from their reckless attack. But suddenly, the fight was two versus two.
The large coyote snarled, spit flying from its gnashing teeth. Ed kept his skeletons positioned behind it, keeping it surrounded. Given their health, they would probably only get one more attack each if he was lucky. He had to make it count.
Ren had recovered, slowly getting back to her feet after the shock of the recoiled blow.
“Are you alright?” Ed asked, yelling to try to intimidate the monsters at the same time.
It didn’t work.
“Yeah, this one has some bloody shield around it. My scythe bounced right off.”
The large coyote released a terrifying sound, more like a roar than a howl, and charged at Ren. It launched forward with reckless abandon, head down like a battering ram.
Ren braced herself. Ed saw her ready the scythe, prepping an attack. The shielded coyote circled her at the same time.
And then Ren went flying forward, arms flailing wildly as she dropped her scythe.
Juna had shoved Ren from behind directly towards the stampeding canine. Ed watched in shock as Ren’s body collided with the beast with a sickening crunch. Her body collapsed in a heap, motionless, as her scythe clattered into the dirt.
“Rot in hell, death-bringers!” Juna spat out, cursing Ed and Ren as she turned to flee into the desert.