Five people cautiously approached Rai and company: two gnomes and three cactus people. Four hung back, but one particularly daring cactus person with an especially large flower on top of their head came without conversational distance.

“…Is the Death Worm truly killed?” they asked in an unfamiliar language with a voice that sounded remarkably normal, if raspy.

“Yes,” Rai answered in the same language. “We have slain the Death Worm.”

“I would never believe it if it did not lie there, unmoving,” the cactus person said. “Such power you possess. If not for you, we would all have expired. You have our gratitude, strangers.”

“You’re welcome.”

One of the gnomes stepped forward. “How is it that you speak our tongue? You are clearly not of the desert.”

“Powerful magic,” Rai said simply.

“It’s too bad we can’t process this thing for qi medicine,” Isa said to herself, glancing at the Death Worm. Then she turned to the gnome. “Do you live at an oasis or something?”

“We do. For saving us, we would welcome you – though you must abide by our laws.”

Isa nodded. “Say, we’ve never seen your kind before,” she said to the cactus person. “Are you plant people, like dryads?”

“I know not what ‘dryads’ may be, but we are indeed more akin to plants than beasts,” the cactus person said. “We are called the Sagu People. We live harmoniously with the gnomes of the desert. Unlike the gnomes, we need not rely on oases to survive. Strangers, what are your identities? Why have you come to our desert?”

“I’m Isa, he’s Rai, and they’re the Sun Knight. We’re here looking for ancient ruins.”

“Ancient ruins? What are these ‘ancient ruins’ you speak of?”

“Structures that were not built by either of your peoples.”

“You’d need to ask the Travelers about that,” the gnome said.

“Travelers?” Rai questioned.

“Those who travel between oases. We were visiting one of the Sagu villages; we are not Travelers ourselves.”

“I see. Then, may we come to your oasis, that we might meet them?”

“Yes.”

As Rai’s group followed the others, he filled in the Sun Knight on the details of the conversation. It took about an hour to reach the oasis settlement. It was less a town and more a village; the population couldn’t have been much more than a hundred people. The buildings were made of stones formed of sand, and there were many awnings of animal hide. Unlike in the desert proper, there were plenty of plants and even trees around the waters of the oasis.

“Remember,” the gnome who had spoken to them earlier said, “you must not touch any plants, nor the waters of the oasis, without permission. You must do no violence. And you must pay your respects to the Water Goddess’s Holy Maiden.”

Rai relayed the instructions to the Sun Knight while Isa looked around wide-eyed. How can a place like this exist in the desert? she thought in amazement. I never really understood what an oasis was when Rai explained it to me. This is incredible!

They were taken to a building that sat directly adjacent to the waters of the oasis, curious stares following them all the way.

“O Holy Maiden, we have brought guests from outside the desert!” the gnome announced.

“Bring them in,” a soft voice replied.

Inside, the group was greeted with the sight of an elderly gnome woman with curly orange hair wearing gauzy clothing and small, tightly woven, white undergarments sitting cross=legged on top of a cushion. On either side of her, a short Sagu without a head-flower stood. Isa suspected they were juveniles.

“Welcome,” the elderly woman said in the common tongue, her speech heavily accented. “It has been several years since our last visitors from outside the desert.”

“Holy Maiden, these three killed the Death Worm.”

The holy maiden’s eyes widened. “The Death Worm is slain, and by these people?” she said in the desert tongue. “You have our utmost gratitude for slaying the Death Worm,” she said, switching back to the common tongue. “That creature has been a menace for decades. I am the Holy Maiden of the Water Goddess – or rather, one of them. Each oasis settlement has one of us. We convey the will of the Goddess and assist the people with holy magic. If it is within my power to aid you, I will do so. What brings you to the desert?”

Rai knelt down, and the other two followed suit. “My name is Rai Flamme, the saurian is my partner Isa Bloodscale, and the armored one is the Sun Knight. We have come seeking ancient ruins, structures that have existed since long before memory.”

“Also, I have heard rumors of demons and the undead,” the Sun Knight interjected. “I wish to exterminate them, for I quell evil wherever I go.”

“Rumors? From the desert? How would such rumors reach you?”

“I…” the Sun Knight paused. “Was I deceived?”

“Strangely, no. I have heard from my sisters that the demons of the deep desert have attacked some of the other oases, bringing with them animate corpses. But that word of this should reach outside the desert is highly irregular.” The elderly maiden paused. “Your two quests are aligned, for the demons of the deep desert make their home in structures not built by the hand of either gnome or Sagu.”

“Can you tell us where?” Rai asked.

“I cannot, for I do not know. Some Travelers further into the desert may know, and if they do not, then the Salt Gatherers may, for they hunt deep in the desert for rock salt.”

“Then… a map of the oases, or perhaps a guide to take us to one of the oases deep in the desert?” Rai suggested.

“A guide can be arranged. Can any of you speak the desert tongue?”

“Isa and I can, thanks to powerful magic items we use.”

“Good. Saguina, fetch Saguinto.”

One of the Sagu flanking her responded with a, “Yes, Maiden!” and exited the building.

“I have summoned one of the Travelers currently here at our oasis. He will be your guide, at least until you reach Hahasala.”

“He?” Isa asked.

“Sagu are both male and female, but your language does not have a word to describe that, nor does ours, so the gendered pronoun used is based on the individual’s preference. Usually, this is chosen based on the Sagu’s role in society – those who expose themselves to more danger take on masculine pronouns, while those who provide for the community without leaving it take on feminine pronouns. Though this is not universal.”

For the next few minutes, the Holy Maiden talked about the desert while they waited. Soon, a full-sized Sagu arrived, following behind the young one who had gone to fetch him.

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“Holy Maiden, I have come,” Saguinto said respectfully. “My service to you is available at your will.”

“Saguinto. You shall guide these outsiders to Hahasala.”

“As you say, I shall do.” Saguinto turned to Isa. “You do not bite, do you?”

“Why, do you have juicy insides?” Isa joked.

“Isa! She’s joking. I promise. She won’t bite.”

“Ah, a joke. Ha. Ha. Humor.” The Sagu stared at Isa with his beady black eyes. “I do not comprehend humor. It is not a Sagu thing.”

“…I apologize. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It is not an issue. I am not discomforted.”

“Great! So do you usually have issues with reptiles trying to eat you?”

“Oh, yes. It is a common concern. Reptiles and jakeenas.”

“What are jakeenas?” Isa asked curiously.

“I’d like to know that, too,” Rai said. “I’ve never heard the name.”

“Jakeenas are the third dominant race of the desert, besides gnomes and the Sagu People. Their males appear similar to bipedal hyenas; their females appear similar to bipedal jackals. They are fierce and savage, wandering the desert sands. They kill Sagu to drink of our innards, and they kill gnomes to eat of their flesh.”

“Well, I would never do that,” Isa said after a moment. “I don’t eat people.”

“That is good to know. I look forward to our long journey; you may teach me of life outside the desert.”

“How long is the journey to Hahasala?” Rai asked.

“Long. Depending on the sandstorms, weeks.”

“For now, you should rest,” the Holy Maiden said, “and then depart tomorrow. Saguina, show them to the Traveler House.”

The Traveler House turned out to essentially be an inn with a communal sleeping area, though they were not charged for their stay. They were fed a meal composed mainly of rodent and lizard meat, with a small amount of plant matter, and then they spent the rest of the day resting. The next morning at dawn, they were awoken by Saguinto, ate breakfast, and set out.

Rai found Saguinto to be an interesting companion. Despite his lack of sense of humor and his tendency to take everything literally, he was easy to get along with, possessing a friendly demeanor and a sociable personality. He was willing to answer any question asked of him, and was open about when he didn’t know the answer without shame. According to him, both the Water Goddess and the Sun God were heavily worshiped by both the gnomes and the Sagu, but the Sagu also worshiped the Green Spirit, a being whose description sounded very much like the same sort of “divine spirit” as the snake they had met in the Orochi’s Sacred Tower; the Green Spirit supposedly took the form of a gigantic, translucent plant. Particularly religious Sagu went on pilgrimages to its location.

The group moved from oasis to oasis over the next ten days, some of which were very small, serving as no more than waystations, while others had villages or even full-sized towns. On the eleventh day since leaving the first oasis, they were traveling between sand dunes when sudden whoops coming from both sides alerted them to an attack. A mixture of anthropomorphic hyenas and anthropomorphic jackals (both seven feet tall) – the jakeenas that Saguinto had mentioned – charged down the sand dunes with ease, screaming wordlessly. Rai and Isa equipped their weapons and faced opposite directions, silently activating their first circle defensive spells. The Sun Knight turned to the left, drawing their sword.

“Oh!” Saguinto cried out in fear.

The moment the half-dozen on the right all got within thirty feet, Isa stomped, activating her new second circle spell, Quake Stomp. A rapid tremor shot out in triangular area in front of her, greatly disturbing the sand and sending the jakeenas crashing onto their faces. They quickly scrambled to their feet, but even as they rose, she closed the short distance to the nearest one and slashed, sending it back to the sand to bleed out. The rest closed in around her as her aura flared and her eyes began to glow, surrounding her and attacking with their spears. She swung and stabbed with her halberd, heedless of their thrusts, not even bothering with arts, and in short order they were all lying in pools of blood, while the small scrapes she had taken healed completely in short order.

Rai, for his part, used the third tier art Accelerate and unleashed a flurry of thrusts, heavily wounding three attackers with a single combo. He evaded their spears, then finished the wounded off. As for the Sun Knight, spears bounced off their armor as they cut down foes with X-slashes one at a time. From the first attack, the battle was over in less than half a minute.

“…Astonishing,” Saguinto said. “Just three against a dozen jakeena hunters, and it was a flawless victory. We should keep moving.”

On the twelfth day, when nearing evening, they finally reached the city of Hahasala, located at the largest oasis in the desert. The city, though not surrounded by walls like most cities outside the desert, was comparable in size to such cities. According to Saguinto, Hahasala had a population of around ten thousand people. He assured them that they would be able to pay with precious metals, despite most trade being done through barter or coupon. When Rai asked how the coupon system worked, he was informed that they were several “trade houses” in the city that people could exchange goods at for coupons, then use those coupons at merchants directly for what they actually wanted. Those coupons could then be used to acquire goods from other merchants or from the trade houses.

Sort of a cross between barter and currency, Rai mused. I wonder how well that actually works.

The city was rather impressive, though it was an entirely different style than Rai was accustomed to seeing. The people made good use of the oasis, and the place was absolutely vibrant with life. Sagu and gnomes mingled freely; about a fifth of the people Rai saw were Sagu. The three of them (and horse) drew a lot of attention when people spotted them.

Saguinto brought them to a Traveler House and told theme he would ask around for anyone willing to guide them to ‘demon dwellings.’

That evening, many other Travelers questioned them about who they were and why they were there, and Saguinto’s offer became redundant. One Traveler who was friends with a Salt Gatherer said that his friend knew where the demon dwellings were and would be willing to escort them if they could offer him something interesting enough.

The next morning came quickly, and they met up with the Salt Gatherer in question, a hardy-looking gnomish man with black hair nicknamed Rocky.

“Yeah, I know where the demon dwellings are, at least some of them. It takes about three days to get there from here. I could guide you, but what’s in it for me?”

“Well, what do you want?” Isa asked.

“Hm… something I can’t get from around here. You’re from outside the desert. Whaddya got that’s interesting?”

“Not much that we’re willing to part with, unfortunately,” Rai said regretfully.

“Well then, I guess you won’t be having me guide you.”

“Don’t you have another spicer?” Isa said.

“I do, but…”

“Spicer? Wazzat?”

Rai explained.

“Spices are pretty valuable. Having a substitute for them is really big. Tell you what: give me that and do a few errands for me, and you’ve got a deal.”

“Deal!” Isa said.

Rai grumbled under his breath.

The “few errands” involved a lot of bartering all across the city to gather a specific set of items. Due to their unfamiliarity with the area, it took them several days to take care of it all, but Isa didn’t consider the delay time wasted, as she enjoyed exploring the city – the first time she’d been in a city where her presence didn’t unnerve or frighten people. While they were doing this, they were contacted by the Chancellor, who checked in about once a week to see how they were doing.

“Hahasala’s an interesting place, isn’t it?” the Chancellor said.

“You’ve been here?” Isa replied. Both she and Rai had their own “communication beads,” which they wore on thin bracelets, that allowed them to be contacted by the Chancellor via the reverse-engineered item created from the Conference Pendant.

“Of course. I’ve been a lot of places.”

“Then couldn’t you have teleported us here directly?” Rai said in exasperation.

“Unfortunately not. Many magics don’t work in the deep desert – at least, non-divine magics. Hopefully you won’t have any trouble with your own spells. Also, it’s been a while since I’ve been in the desert, and I don’t have a clear mental image of any of the places there, which is a prerequisite for teleportation. I suppose I could have teleported you near the desert and saved you about a month of travel, but why should I do that when you’re going against my wishes by going there in the first place?”

“Eh, we wouldn’t have met the dryads if you’d done that, so it’s all good,” Isa said with a superfluous wave of her hand, since the communication was sound only.

“So, you’ll be heading to Tower Era ruins soon. I never even made the connection between the ‘demon dwellings’ and the Tower Era when I was there. Of course, I still thought that the Tower Era was a myth then. Good luck to all of you, and check in with me as soon as you find something.”

“We will,” Rai assured her.

Once the errands were complete, Rocky took them out, heading north, the following morning. They had traveled for a little more than two days when the sandstorm came out of nowhere.

“This is no ordinary storm!” Rocky cried fearfully. “This is a magic storm!”

“What?”

“A magic storm! A sandstorm filled with magical energy! There’s no telling what will happen within it!”

“Well there’s no getting away from that!” Isa shouted, pointing at the rapidly advancing wall of sand.

“…I have an idea!” Rai said suddenly, pulling out the magic tent and throwing it on the ground. He activated it, and it instantly set itself up. “Everyone get inside!”

“Are you out of your mind?!” Rocky screamed. “How will that help?!”

Rai and Isa quickly entered, followed by the Sun Knight. The Sun Knight’s horse shimmered, then vanished.

“What’d you do with your horse?” Isa asked.

“Sent him back to the celestial plane. It’s an emergency measure. I won’t be able to summon him back for a month.”

The gnome entered the tent, and Rai immediately zipped it shut.

Then the storm hit. Sand pelted the tent, wind howled, and then the tent – with all of them in it – lifted off the ground.

There was a flash, and then everything went black.