Chapter 7: Buggy scouting run
Xhemile started to formulate a plan inside her head, she only needed to confirm something with her subjects.
“Hey Nane, are all of you capable of fighting desert dogs outside the barrier?”
“My Lady, if we stick together, we can survive for a certain amount of time.”
“Then would it be okay to form a small scouting and scavenging party with all of you and myself?”: Xhemile asked.
“My Lady, you do not need to come with us, what should we do if you get hurt?”: Nour intervened.
“What for a ruler would I be if I don't step outside the barrier for once. You guys are also there, it's not like I'm going alone outside.”: Xhemile replied.
Nour looked defeated at Nane hoping that she said something to stop her, but she just shook her head also defeated, she couldn't deny her lady's logic.
“Then let's gear up and collect some desert bug water!”: Xhemile excitedly said.
So, a small scouting party formed currently consisting of Xhemile as a leader, Nane, Nanu, Nour as vice leaders and her two newly summoned subjects. She left the Neeth to defend the base and look out for potential visitors. After collecting the spears and temporary bags made of desert dog hide, they stepped, for the first time out of the barrier. After walking and collecting desert beetles they got spotted by a small pack of five desert dogs. The dogs immediately started to run towards the small group to attack.
“Guys! Get your spears ready, enemies incoming!”: Nane said loudly.
“Protect her ladyship!”: Nour commanded.
The dogs ran very fast directly at the small group and then jumped to reach the throats of the tall tribeswomen, but these dogs forgot that these women all had spears which they used to form a makeshift spear wall. The first three dogs impaled themselves on the spears, the others, a bit more smarter dogs didn't jump, but that didn't save them as Xhemile and Nour at the same time attacked both dogs and killed them with stabs to the chest.
[Subjects killed 4 desert dogs Rank 0]
[You killed 1 desert dog Rank 1]
[Lord power gained]
The system informed Xhemile that every dog was dead.
“Guys let's leave the dogs here, they're too heavy to carry all the way home, but first we need to get the crystal from the rank 1 dog”: Xhemile ordered.
Nane took out a small bone knife and cut the chest of the dog open. She then took out the crystal near to the heart of the dog. She gave the bloodied crystal to Xhemile which she hesitantly grabbed it and put it in her bag. After walking for two hours around her castle they collected lots of beetles, but they also found a structure in the distance of the desert.
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As they approached the ruin carefully and weapons ready. The ruin is long abandoned clearly shown by all the sand inside of it. Xhemile guessed from the building type that it once was some type of shrine, because which building doesn't really have walls and a big stone altar in the middle. As they looked around Xhemile stepped on a stone plate in the ground which suddenly shifted a bit down. Everybody froze and looked at her. Nane was the first to realize the danger and tried to reach Xhemile before the ground started to collapse. Nane’s hand tried to grab the hand of her lady but it slipped through her grip.
“MY LADY!!”: Nour and Nanu shouted simultaneously.
Xhemile felt the wind rushing on her back as well as the feeling of floating before she hit the ground.
Contrary to her expectation she didn't hit a spiked ground, impaling her or a deep pit with a hard ground, she hit soft sand which cushioned her fall and protected her from injuries.
“My Lady! Are you alright!?”: Nane shouted worried down the hole.
“Yes! I didn't hurt myself!”: Xhemile shouted back up.
“My Lady! We can't reach you! Please wait for a while we will grab a rope at the castle!”: Nour shouted.
“No! You don't need to. I can see a clearly manmade path ahead, maybe it can help me find a way back up!”: Xhemile shouted hopeful.
“But my lady! What if there are more traps?! You could hurt yourself or get killed because we are not there!”: Nane desperately pleaded.
“You don't need to worry I will find out if I use my spear to defend myself and test the traps with it, it should be long enough to reach traps without myself being put into danger!”: Xhemile determined shouted up.
“Alright, my lady, please take cover as I throw your spear down!”: Nane shouted defeated.
She then grabbed the spear Xhemile lost near the hole and let it fall down the hole. In the hole Xhemile took cover in the corridor she found as her spear fell down impaling the sand cushion on which she fell, standing upright. Her subordinates could only wait now above the ground and worry about her to come back safely. Xhemile took her spear ant started to walk down the corridor, only to stop as she saw nothing but blackness without light. She walked back and found a weird torch on the entrance where she came from, she grabbed it and examined it.
[Fire Crystal Torch
Rank 0
[Description]:
A Torch made with a fire crystal. When injected with mana the fire crystal will start to emit light by burning the torch handle.]
Xhemile concentrated for a moment to feel her mana like in the novels she read. She didn't succeed the first try not even the third, but the twelfth attempt. The crystal started to light up and the handle started to burn and emit enough light for her to see the ground clearer. She then walked the corridor where she encountered multiple traps like, pressure plate traps which would impale her with spears shooting up from the ground, a tripwire trap which would probably shoot arrows at her, but she didn't know for certain as she spotted the tripwire very clearly covered in dust and cobwebs, easily avoiding it. There were also other traps but she spotted them early on, due to her knowledge of traps from games, who would think that traps could show themselves very clearly when there is a very suspicious piece of corridor filled with weird holes in the ground. She only had a close call with a trap which somehow was able to stay hidden and not showing her any signs of being there. She thanked her high (Dex) stat, as she closely evaded this trap. She guessed every trap was once hidden just like this trap, through magic, but it now had no magic left to conceal them anymore. At the end of the corridor, she entered a small room. The room was different from the rest of the temple, its walls were covered in beautiful carvings and images, in the middle stood a golden adorned stone coffin. She approached the coffin and opened it. Why do it? Because this smells like loot! Full of curiosity she pushed the coffin open which worked incredible easily. She thought she would find a mummy in there, but instead she found a weird orb just lying there. She picked it up and analyzed it.
[[? Orb?]
Rank: ???
[Description]:
Currently unknown uses, try to level up to find out its uses.]