With the subject of their research successfully rebelling against them, the once populated town with no name was once again abandoned. After making sure that the test subjects were doing fine and were capable of walking, they returned to the surface via a different stairwell. Like the stairwell from the desert, this access to the surface was man-made and molded by magic, a very convenient skill to set up a secret lair in short notice.
Following the stairwell led them to the trapdoor which they promptly opened to find themselves in a cellar. They continued upwards, eventually reaching the ground floor, and a familiar sight once they exited the room. They were back at the desert town, now deserted like the rest of the Wasteland. None of the people who lived there stayed, either unnerved by Herb’s threat, or knowing that they no longer had any purposes and preferred to escape the wrath of the creatures they created, not that they could be called creatures in the first place.
Despite their reluctance, Connie requested Raine to free the failed subjects. He thought it was a bad idea, but she gave him a good reason; it was better than letting them starve in the cages. Raine, not wanting to be known as a cruel man, freed the creatures. They were still as wild as they were when they confronted Raine, but a simple growl from a Crocodilian turned them away. Soon, they either disappeared into the caves or stayed around eating whatever they could find, including the remains of those killed. Not wishing to stay, everyone who wished to leave went to the surface.
Herb looked around the now deserted town with a sad expression. He wondered if his life was ever real to begin with. Would pursuing his past be worth it? He wanted to know who he was before he became Herb. At the same time, he was also reluctant to. There was only two outcomes to his journey of self-discovery: either he was a kind person with people waiting for him, or he was a cruel man feared and detested by many in the desert. Those thoughts were enough to convince himself that it would be better to learn about himself later. He decided to properly begin his new life as a Loup, for better or worse.
For this reason, he returned to his office, which was also his home for at least one year. His room was modest and small, with nothing more than a straw bed to sleep in. Raine, who accompanied him, noticed deep scratches and gashes on the wooden bed and the wall.
“The first couple of days were terrifyin’,” said Herb when he noticed Raine checking on the claw marks. “Imagine wakin’ up one day to learn that you got claws sharp enough to create a mark like that. Then, the nightmares came, and ya thrashed around thinkin’ some monster’s comin’ to get ya.” He then looked at his long fingers and sharp, talon-like claws. “Y’know, lookin’ back, nobody bothered to help me in the slightest. I thought they were scared of some strange-lookin’ Loup with almost no hair coverin’ his skin. Now I know why.”
He turned around, facing Raine, who was listening intently.
“Hope you know what you’re askin’, fella,” said Herb. “Y’sure ya ain’t gonna regret it?”
“I won’t,” replied Raine. “But don’t expect the others not to turn and look at you. Compared to what I’ve seen, you’re hardly that peculiar.”
Herb let out a chuckle. “Yeah. I can tell. When Jonas came by to ask for some water, I caught him starin’ at me longer than he should. I told him off, and he looked away. Good thing he didn’t pull out his knife or point at me crying 'monster'. You fellas are more polite.”
“If you have traveled much, nothing fazes you anymore,” said Raine. “Honestly, compared to the seaside, this isn’t that bad.”
“When you realize you are still an experiment after being led to believe that you’ve escaped, I think livin’ in a dangerous, maybe deadly place would be better. At least I know it’s real.”
“You got a point there, bud. So. Ready to go?”
Herb took the other automatic pistol he had in the building, along with a rifle he kept on display behind his desk. He did not bother to check if there were enough bullets left; clearly the scoped rifle was only for display and was only cleaned rudimentarily. It needed better maintenance to restore it, or even a replacement.
“Yeah,” said Herb, slinging the rifle on his back. “Let’s go, Raine.”
Raine nodded. Herb was ready to leave a past he never had behind and step into the unknown future. All the humans could do was promise him a better life in the Valley, possibly even fulfill that promise. Herb and the others earned it, and the vast, vacant town could be less vacant with the addition of the nomads and the group they saved.
And so, with a growing group full of unusual, though relatively normal, characters, Raine, Karkas, along with Herb, Connie, and the other former test subjects, trekked towards the city ruins, where they promised to meet with Sil and the nomads led by Jonas.
The town was thankfully close to the ruins. It had been a whole full day from the start of Raine and Karkas’s journey from the camp to the rescue of the test subjects and their journey towards the city ruins. Even from the town, the abandoned, paved road was still barely visible from a thin layer of sand that blew over it. At some parts of the road, there were remains of metallic poles that could either be lamp posts or road marks. The road was cracked in places, some of which had completely eroded and joined the sand of the desert. It was not surprising, considering that the road could easily be a thousand years old, maybe even older.
It was not the best road, but it helped them find their way. With the nomads already packed and moved, they couldn’t see the camp they set other than the soot and ash from the ever-necessary campfire. Given their equipment, Jonas and the others would have just barely reached the city square, but with no time to unpack. Raine hoped they did not; a long journey awaited them. It’s better for them to always be prepared for travel.
The city ruins were dark and ominous, especially in the early morning hours when the sun had barely risen. The bare minimum of vegetation did not help the chill that was felt as they traversed the ruins. The shades from what were once skyscrapers caused limited sunlight to light their way. The abandoned, ruined city looked so calm, yet so haunting.
“Damn,” said Connie while wrapping her arms around her shivering body. “I could really use a coat right now.”
“Yeah, I get ya,” said Herb. “Kinda weird not havin’ proper fur, bein’ a wolf person. But it is what it is. Too bad we don’t have feathers like that fella over there.”
Herb turned his head towards the feathered Lizan, who noticed him and let out a toothy smile. His teeth were sharp and serrated. They were also evenly distributed. Herb thought that, besides the feather, he looked rather unusual for a Lizan. He possessed sharp talons at the end of each finger. His digitigrade legs ended with similarly sharp talons, but with one of the three digits bent upwards, as if pointing. The talon on that digit was bigger, which reminded Herb of a sickle. Herb had a share of fragmented memories about a wild beast possessing dangerous claws like the feathered Lizan. He wasn’t sure when or why he was facing a beast, but at least he knew what to compare.
In fact, the more Herb looked at the person, the more he felt that, if it wasn’t for the scales, the Lizan looked like a bird. He could ask him, but given the language he spoke and understood, it would take a while before he could have a meaningful conversation with the feathered lizardman, if ever. One glance at him sent shivers down his spines for no reason.
Herb did not need to think much about the peculiar Lizan for long. As soon as he turned his head forward, he saw fire. The others saw it, too. They voiced their elation as they saw it. For them, it symbolized hope for their future, one that they were unsure of after countless years of captivity and experimentation. A true fire, out among the ruins, felt like hope in the middle of everlasting darkness.
Raine stood in front of the group as someone walked into view. Bors the Vulpin saw the human and immediately recognized him and Karkas behind him, but he kept his sword up. Noticing this, Raine said, “Don’t worry. They’re with me.”
Bors relented, but he kept his eyes fixated on the newcomers, wary and a bit confused on their lack of fur and one that looked like a cross between a Lizan and a bird.
The arrival of the newcomers, along with Karkas and Raine, spread throughout the small camp. Jonas walked out of his tent upon hearing the commotion. Sil, who was helping to cut some food, immediately stood and saw the peculiar group of people. Her gaze was quickly fixated on the feathered Lizan.
She gasped, as she knew what race he belonged to. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Immediately, she paced towards Karkas, who greeted her with a nod.
“Don’t you realize who that is?” she said, eyes wide in excitement.
Karkas turned to look at the feathered Lizan. “Someone famous?”
“That’s a Dromerian! I never thought they still existed!”
“Dromerian? So, he’s not a Lizan?” wondered Raine.
“No, he’s not! Lizans can’t grow feathers. In fact, Dromerians are closer to birds than to lizards. I mean, look at those claws! Don’t they remind you of raptors?”
They looked at the Dromerian’s talons. The Dromerian, apparently noticing them looking at him, moved the one talon pointing upwards to tap the hard floor. It let out a resounding knock, but also showed its sharpness when he chipped parts of the stone pavement. He seemed rather amused. Raine thought he was just showing off.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“He's an anomaly,” said Karkas, crossing his arms. “When you said they still existed, I presume they went extinct some time in the past, correct?”
“Over a million years ago,” said Sil. When she said that, she gasped upon realizing what it meant.
“The Dromerian is artificial,” surmised Karkas. “No doubt an attempt to perfect the Anthropos spell. I think they found a preserved part of a real Dromerian, or maybe even more, and tried it on an unfortunate man. He might be a Lizan in the past, but now…I can’t tell if it’s an upgrade or not, but he does look rather interesting.”
“Anthropos?” said Sil. “I heard that word before.”
“Can you tell us how to reverse it, then?”
Sil closed her eyes and kept pondering, before she sighed and said, “No, I don’t. I don’t think I know anything more than learning that word. Maybe later when I return home. For now, I guess I’ll be sticking around with your little settlement project, Kar.”
“This is his idea,” said Karkas, glancing at Raine. The cat-eared human simply grunted in conformation.
“I hope you didn’t unpack while we’re gone,” said Raine. “We better get a move on while the day’s still young. It’s a long journey ahead of us.”
“Of course not. In any case, I might want to check on the Dromerian. God, it feels like a privilege being able to see a living, breathing ancient race, even if he’s artificially made. You can only get so much from artistic interpretations.”
Karkas chuckled. “Is he as you expected?”
“Nah. He got more color. And beautiful feathers.”
Her eyes were fixated on the Dromerian, who by now noticed her staring and looked away sheepishly. Karkas became concerned; Sil might’ve found a crush. Clearly, she was enamored by his unusual bright red scale color, which was further decorated with yellow-blue streak marks that started from his eyes. It was complemented by a tuft of black feathers, which also unusual in which it had silver tips. His garish, colorful appearance looked so out of place in a bleak Desert Wasteland. None of the Lizans, not even Sil, looked so colorful. From afar, he resembled a scaly parrot.
“Dromerians must’ve appreciated scale colors, it looks like,” said Raine. He then prodded Karkas’s bare side and said, “You’re out of his league, buddy.”
“Hardly,” said Karkas. “What I lack in beauty, I make up with defense.”
“Try and tell yourself that when you got a scaly girl you fancy with. That vow of celibacy won’t work forever when you’re hardly a priest anymore.”
Karkas let out a deep, growling laugh. “Keep trying, Raine. Keep trying.”
Raine replied with a good-hearted laugh and a light elbow on his Crocodilian friend’s side, only to realize it was a bad idea considering the hardness of his ridged scales. Karkas wasn’t kidding about defense, and Raine proved it by getting cuts on his elbow. He promptly asked Sil for some first aid.
Karkas stood around and be on guard as the travelers readied themselves to move by cleaning up their one-day camp and onward towards a new, hopefully stable life, along with Raine. Herb assisted them as, even though his one year of freedom was false, he still had experience as a fighter. He was also a decent shot, though he admitted that he wasn’t that particularly skilled to do ‘trick shots’.
Nevertheless, the ruins were safe and abandoned by anything that could pose a threat. The convoy of carriages continued, this time with a better protection courtesy of Karkas’s barrier, bolstered by several other mages supplying him the necessary amount of mana to sustain it. The relatively small group, with tents packed together in one carriage, kept the area small and easy to maintain. Karkas’s staff also helped make the casting efficient and was very well protected.
While some of the nomads felt that it was excessive, they couldn’t be too careful in the Wasteland. When they felt they were safe, something dangerous would come up to prove them wrong. The Wasteland beyond the walls of a Haven was nothing to be trifled with.
Even so, the region on the way to the Valley was safer due to two factors. Raine, Karkas, and Narati, in their pursuit of monetary goals, actively seek better paying bounties from reliable sources, all of which were dangerous and relatively hard. They almost died a couple of times, but persevered, and as a result, the grassy areas close to the Valley became peaceful. It was too recent for any more bandits to start grouping together, so it was the right opportunity to move.
The second factor was their vicinity to the Emerald Valley region. Even beyond the green meadows and coniferous forests, the Knights belonging to major Havens patrolled the area, which became apparent after Raine reported on his successful dealings with the bandits on the way to Jonas’s camp. He felt that it was still his responsibility, even though he was no longer a Knight. Even if the coverage was low compared to Cavilen, Raine felt more relieved to know that the Knights were still the best law enforcement group in the Valley. It was primarily the reason why he chose the region, and to convince Karkas to drop the barrier he had been sustaining for five days.
The abundance of green and the evergreen trees were something that many who had lived in the bleak black sands of the Seaside Region could only imagine. Even before they entered the Valley proper, the sight of green leaves made many among the nomads, especially the children, excited. Raine noticed the younger ones questioned their parents of the green field in the distance, with their parents eagerly telling them stories about trees and what they do to make people happy. Though not all of them were as eager, they at least understood the need for the children to have hope, and thus they let their friends explain what the green field was. Raine decided to elaborate further; of all the people in the convoy, he was the only one who grew up among the trees.
It felt so natural teaching the children about the Valley. Granted, he had training in the form of Narati, but unlike the young Fa’ar, the children were not as jaded with life and clearly grew up as normal children, whereas Narati…had problems.
It would take a while for the kid to properly move on. Raine hoped that the change of pace and a sense of responsibility could distract him from his thoughts. Hopefully, the women accompanying him would help him.
The thoughts of returning to an empty town after almost two weeks out felt so different and unusual for Raine. If he was returning to his village, that would be a different story altogether. The town was also nameless, and they reclaimed it by defeating and killing a suffering, dying dragon. The only thought that could make Raine felt better was the anticipation of seeing what had changed during his and Karkas’s time away.
He really hoped that Narati would not turn the town into a fortress full of deadly traps. He may be joking, but in Raine’s experience, the Fa’ar’s jokes tend to become real. To his, and Karkas’s, relief, when they arrived at the walled town, nothing changed. Raine sighed in relief when he cautiously opened the gate, expecting something to impale him in the chest or blow up in his face, and nothing happened.
This, however, did not prepare him for Narati himself. When Raine sighed in relief after opening the partially closed gate, he let his guard down.
“Oh, hey!” exclaimed a familiar voice. “Welcome home, Rai—”
“Ahh!” yelled Raine, surprised by Narati’s voice. This caused the Fa’ar to squeak in surprise and scramble away. He peeked out of a nearby wall to see his friend panting while pressing his hand on his chest.
“Goddamn it, kid!” he said, jerking his head towards Narati. “Don’t scare me like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“But why? I thought we made sure this place is safe from raiders,” wondered Narati. “Did you really think I’d—”
“Yes! I’m very positive you turned the gate into a bomb!”
“Why would I do that?! Raine, I am not that explosive-happy!”
“But…oh, never mind. I’m still wondering why I’m so reasonably scared around you lately. Ever since you made that god-forsaken contraption of yours….”
“I hardly ever use it anymore,” said Narati with a disappointed look on his rodent face. “Besides, I have been working in a farm.”
“Farm?”
“Yeah. A farm. Aranis bought some seeds from the nearby villages and gathered some more from the forest nearby. We even found a spring. She taught me about aqueducts and carving the trees she chose. I’m carving out a trough for the aqueduct after watering the farm. It’s not that bad once you know what you’re doing, and once you have the tools from the workshop.”
“Trees?” wondered Raine. “But isn’t she…?”
“She said we are free to cut some trees down, but only under her discretion. Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you two.” Narati peered behind Raine to see Karkas and Sil, the only two people he personally knew. The rest of them, especially the furless beast people and the feathered Lizan, were strangers.
“Uh…we might need to expand our farm pretty soon,” said Narati.
The Fa’ar proceeded to open the gates so the rest of them could enter. Once they saw the town, Sil, Jonas, and the rest of the nomads became speechless. It was a well-preserved town made from bricks and woods. The ruins were negligible and were not something a little rebuilding couldn’t fix, but it was, in all intent and purposes, much bigger than they thought. Not even the dozen or so new travelers could fill most of the houses.
Narati guided the new arrivals through a wide avenue big enough to fit two reasonably sized carriages side by side. While he walked, he spotted Aranis and waved at her. The elf saw him and waved back, but then became fixated with the big group that were staring at the well-preserved town in awe. She quickly surmised that they were harmless, given that she also spotted Raine and Karkas among the crowd guiding them.
“Welcome to our town, newcomers,” greeted the elf. Her tone was soft and welcoming. “I’m sure you have a tiring journey through the desert.”
“It is an understatement,” said Karkas. “How’s the progress with the town?”
“Given that we are but three people, we have not made much progress other than securing our food supply. Narati and Sakiri have been kind enough to help us hunt and gather some wild berries in the forest. But then, I’m afraid it might not be enough for the people you convinced to join you.”
“That would be alright, good elf,” said Jonas, who heard what Aranis had to say. “We still have supplies from our travel. If it helps, we also have seeds we kept from a better time. Hopefully, they can grow in the Valley.”
“I can help with that,” said Aranis. “But rest, for now. We already have some projects underway. A few additional hands are appreciated in return for your stay here. We will be fine if you don’t cause trouble. Are we clear on that, human?”
“Crystal,” replied Jonas. “And, uh…who should we answer to?”
“I believe you have already met the man.”
Aranis simply glanced at Raine. Jonas cracked a smile.
“Can’t argue with that. He is far more reliable than he looks.”
“So, what do you need?” asked Aranis. “We have plenty of vacant spaces in this town, with a handful of apartments. They need to be cleaned and restored first, of course, but I’m sure we can help with that. I can direct your woodcutters to older trees in a safer spot, so that cutting them down will not affect the rest of the creatures.”
“You, uh…you can do that? Don’t get me wrong, good elf, but I have met elves before. They are experts when it comes to magic and diplomacy, but I have never met anyone who cares so much about the forest.”
Aranis cracked a smile. “I can tell that you do not expect me to have a dark skin, nor bright, yellow eyes reminiscent of a cat. Perhaps you believe I am an elf on the virtue of my ears alone. On that, you are correct. I am a forest elf by discipline. It is my duty to see this world recover from the mistakes of the past, more so for a guardian of the forest.”
Jonas acknowledged the fact with a nod. He started to wonder if her regional differences were one of several tastes of the Emerald Valley waiting for the human and the people he led. The Seaside Region and the Desert Wasteland had their own variance, most of which not good. The fact that they could finally touch something that’s truly alive instead of rotting wood eaten away by Aether-mutated barnacles did a lot for lifting their hopes up.
For once, they did not need to worry about poisonous sand.