A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands

Book 2: Chapter 45: Discovery

The most disquieting aspect of a religious zealot lies in their uncanny capacity to deflect any criticism. This near-mystical shield arises from their unwavering conviction in serving a "higher" power. As they navigate the treacherous landscape of dogma, they remain steadfast in their beliefs, immune to external influences that may challenge or question their devotion.

Their unwavering faith and resolute determination make them formidable opponents in any debate or discussion. No rational argument or logical counterpoint can penetrate the impenetrable fortress of their beliefs. Instead, any attempt to criticize or question their views is often perceived as a test of their faith, further bolstering their devotion and sense of righteousness.

This imperviousness to critique presents a unique challenge to those who seek to engage with religious zealots in meaningful discourse. The unwavering nature of their faith and their steadfastness in the face of opposition can create an atmosphere where dialogue is stifled and understanding becomes elusive. As a result, bridging the chasm between the unyielding convictions of the zealot and the perspectives of those who hold differing beliefs can become a seemingly insurmountable task.

- The Question of Religion and Its Purpose by Gideon de Salavia 374 AC.

It was only half-a-day’s ride when we encountered the Sandgorgers. At first, I would range ahead with a lit torch in hand to try and provoke the hidden amphibians into an attack. Once a group, or individual, of the monsters was found, Pakum would hang back with our mounts. There he would stake our animals, set up a temporary camp, and light a fire made from dried vegetation, unearthed a few inches under the sand. It was a rather careless strategy and would need some refinement.

Kidu would then look for any signs of monsters that I missed, find their exact location, and flush them out. At first he was hesitant, as his finely-honed instincts and skills were still adapting to an unfamiliar environment. As time progressed, however, he grew more sure of himself, and led us to where our victim was hidden.

“There, look, on the dry snow,” the wildman observed, pointing to a small rock formation twenty or so paces away from the far bank of the shallow river.

“Sand,” Elwin corrected tartly, which drew a dark look from Kidu.

Squinting my eyes, I could not see it at first, but as my eyes truly focused upon it, I began to see the details that betrayed the Sandgorgers. A small area of the sand was a little different, a little darker, and the nearby vegetation had been subtly disturbed.

You have learned Tracking (lvl.1)

Having learned a new skill, I grinned inanely. Kidu must have taken my expression for one of eagerness, as he smiled wolfishly in return.

“I can flush it out, if I approach from the other direction with fire. Make it run to you!” he offered gleefully.

“It is a good and simple plan. But the Northman will need to reach the other side undetected before lighting his torch. If there are others, his is the most dangerous of tasks,” commented Cordelia, her beautiful lips pursed in thought.

Larynda raised a hand timidly and I gave her a small nod.

“I’ve been learning a lot about the feel for this Water stuff. The old woman told me something about it being in all things. Dunno about that, but to me it just kinda flows different when it’s in living stuff. Anyways, don’t think there’s any of ‘em nearby, at least not in the river. Don’t know about all this sand, though,” piped the small girl.

“I don't think there are any of them,” corrected Cordelia with a saintly smile, which caused the half-elf to roll her eyes.

This small act of disrespect, in turn, prompted the Temple Knight to cuff her lightly about the head, drawing a small ‘ouch’ from the child. I was taken a little aback by how no one commented on the casual use of violence in disciplining children. Different cultures, I supposed.

“That aside for a moment, I believe there might be someone more suitable for the task…” I ventured.

“Fine. I’ll do it. How bad can a bunch of overgrown frogs be anyways?” huffed Elwin, with his usual rascally smile.

“This is for me,” rumbled Kidu countered ominously.

Listening to their exchange, I decided it would be best to refrain from any addition to their discussion. I had a feeling that anything I said would be simply adding oil to the fire.

“Alright, alright, big man. Knock yourself out. Was just thinking you’d be more useful shooting at them with that big bow of yours, right?” the Rogue explained quickly.

“No, you shoot,” Kidu insisted stubbornly.

“I can barely draw that thing…”

Elwin made to go on, but he quickly clammed up on the subject when he saw Kidu’s expression grow dangerous. “Alright, as I said before. I’ll have some fun with it. I needed a bit of practice anyways. Don’t blame me if one of my arrows nicks you, if I can even shoot that thing,” he grumbled, as he accepted the quiver and bow from the Hunter.

“Hah, I doubt that, little man. If you should be of such poor aim, then I will simply just catch the needle!” he exclaimed, slapping the smaller man’s back good-naturedly.

*

We were divided essentially into three. Kidu, Cordelia, and I carefully crossed the river, alert for even the smallest signs of the monsters. Elwin and the girl followed a bit after, the bright smile on Larynda’s face at odds with the Rogue’s somewhat dour expression. The general plan was to try and herd the animals downstream, to prevent any of their number from escaping. I had Elwin and Larynda remain a little downstream, to at least ostensibly, be in a position to pick off any monsters that got past us. In reality, I wanted them out of the way and in the safest position.

For me, this was an extermination mission to maximize the amount of experience gained. There was indeed a chance of getting flanked or simply biting off more than we could chew, but I had faith that Kidu’s sharp senses would not lead us astray. There was always a little risk in everything you did.

Checking on our Rogue and Mage, I saw wavy dark green fronds growing from the bone-white sands near where the pair were waiting. At this distance, the plants looked more like wool than vegetation. Looking back, I saw that Elwin had started applying some flammable resin to the arrows. I had been told that such were the creatures’ fear of fire, that this would be enough to dissuade them from entering the river and swimming away.

Pakum had informed us that the creatures could not go that far under the sand and would not be able to escape us by simply ‘digging’ in. This meant that as long as we were able to find them , things would be relatively simple, as we could run them down at our leisure. In short, we would not be needing shovels.

Finishing our crossing, Kidu rushed off ahead to flush out the creature, giving its suspected location a wide berth. I unslung my new crossbow and loaded one of my iron bolts. This new piece of ammunition had small iron fins, instead of feathers, to provide a small measure of stabilization in flight. Undoubtedly, being heavier these bolts would have less range than regular bolts, but would pack more of a punch up close. Also, I had the inkling of an idea that I wanted to test.

Cordelia graced me with a smile that could outshine the sun itself, as she settled a plumed horsehair barbute atop her noble brow. The 'T' shaped visor lent her an air of menace, reminiscent of the classical Spartans. Then she drew her storied longsword with an easy grace.

“You do this to safeguard those who travel behind us,” she began.

“Indeed. We must teach these things to fear man. That we are not prey,” I answered casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Cracking my neck, I dug the tip of my shield into the loose sand, using it as a simple stand to rest my crossbow as I waited.

I saw her mouthing my words, repeating them, and sampling their taste.

“Make ready, Kidu is fast in his duties,” I said a little tersely, wanting to avoid unnecessary conversation before a fight.

“As you will,” she answered

The Temple Knight’s demeanor completely changed; her expression grew taut and she adopted a fighting stance. The woman had entered a short guard stance, with the blade pointing out in front of her, the tip around eye level.

There was a roar, more animal, really, than human. Kidu, far ahead of us and behind the creature, threw his torch and the flaming brand arced its way to where the Sandgorger lay in ambush. Bursting out of the sand, the monsters, for they turned out to be more than one, ran towards us, away from the burning flame and the Hunter’s wild pursuit. Three creatures had sprung out from the sands, light brown with splotches of a dull white across their backs. The damnable wild man had failed to inform us of their number.

All three of these creatures were without horns, so they were probably juveniles or females, but even these smaller specimens still posed a threat. Two of the creatures rushed Cordelia and I, while the remaining Sandgorger darted around us. It ran at a diagonal to the straight line, heading towards Elwin and Larynda’s general direction. Spear in hand, Kidu was running behind the amphibians, shouting like a loon and herding them downriver to us.

Elwin and Larynda would have to fend for themselves, as I could spare them no further thought. I sighted down my crossbow and loosed both a bolt and a spell. Even as the solid iron missile flew through the air, black lightning flowed from me, into it. The bolt grew incandescent like a tracer round before it slammed into the creature’s middle eye, stopping the monster dead in its tracks. I was aiming for its center mass, but this was indeed better.

You have learned Inferno Bolts (lvl.1) You have learned Rust (lvl.4) You have gained 1 Luck.

I grinned to myself, for my little scheme had worked. I had been playing with the idea for a while now, ever since the day I had broken my own chains with the spell. Entropic forces condensed what would have been weeks of oxidization into mere seconds, releasing a huge amount of thermal energy. Exploiting the rapid exothermic reaction of the Rust spell had essentially allowed me to cast a mini-fireball as an ‘Inferno Bolt’ it seemed. This new skill, the upgrade to my Rust spell, and the Luck gain were very much a welcome windfall. Perhaps the Sandgorgers were my lucky animals?

The other amphibian sprang forth and ate up the distance between us, Kidu chasing it from behind. There was scant time to ponder, and I did not have the calm discipline to loose another bolt from my crossbow. I prepared to meet it head-on.

As fast as Kidu was, the monster was faster still. For the first few crucial seconds of this engagement, I could expect no aid from the wild man. Now, it was close enough that I could see the monster’s bulging eyes. Suddenly, the Sandgorger’s powerful legs propelled it forward in a ferocious leap, and in midair, it unleashed its tongue in my direction. Reacting quickly, I lifted my shield to deflect the unwelcome appendage.

Yet, it was the Temple Knight who proved to be swifter, for she rushed towards the monster and swung downwards at it with her magical sword. In defiance of common sense and physics, the blade connected with the side of the Sandgorger’s face, and the large creature crashed to the ground, robbed of its forward momentum. Its three eyes betrayed a wild panic as it attempted to regain its footing, but Cordelia's storied sword descended with a final hammer blow, ending the creature's life in a single, decisive stroke.

Well, I guess I won’t be getting any experience from that one, I thought to myself. I jogged over to the other creature that was on the ground, its limbs spasming weakly, eager to finish it off. However, by the time I reached it, the bolt had worked its way to its brain matter, killing it, and the smell of burning chicken filled the air.

You have slain a Sandgorger 20 experience gained.

“Excellently, done mi… Gilgamesh,” Cordelia commented demurely as she made her way to my side.

“Not half as impressive as your performance… Cordelia,” I returned a little wryly, her name still a little unfamiliar to my tongue.

She glanced down, unable to meet my eyes. “The Goddess guides my hand.”

“I guess so. Anyways, we best help over there,” I responded, feeling uncomfortable, as I always did when she mentioned her goddess.

My other three companions were busy fighting the last monster, and I could see that they had things well in hand. While Elwin shot a few arrows into the creature, Larynda summoned balls of water that flew out from the river and struck the monster’s hide with unfortunately little effect. Kidu was having the time of his life, a large smile on his face as he waved the lit torch that he had picked up off the sand with one hand. Almost playfully, he stabbed at the creature with his spear in the other.

The creature was wavering between the states of flight or fight, attempting to do both, and failing to do either. This allowed the trio to wear it out. Whenever it would try to escape, Kidu would stab at it. This made the monster turn towards the Hunter, which in turn gave Elwin and Larynda the openings they needed to chip away at it. After a few seconds, the slow brain of the creature would focus on Kidu’s torch. Its fear of fire then caused it to try and flee, starting the whole cycle again, and giving the Hunter another opening to savage its flanks and rear.

Cordelia moved to charge at the remaining creature, but I quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking my head to command her to stop. Adding Cordelia to the mix would make things too easy, and I wanted to see the other three companions improve their teamwork. After all, Larynda was still an unknown element.

Still, wanting to expedite things a little and to get a little experience, I walked a little closer to the ongoing struggle and cast Drain on the creature. Unerringly, the tendrils of pitch black found the creature, and delicious energies found their way to me.

Kidu tossed the torch away to use his spear with both hands. Grinning ferally, he saw an opening and stabbed through the roof of the mouth of the Sandgorger, piercing it through to the brain. He pulled his mighty spear out of its mouth with the satisfied expression of a man who had done a good job. The now corpse twitched for a moment before it stilled.

You have slain a Sandgorger 5 experience gained.

Fantastic, I thought to myself as I raised the visor of my helmet and went over to congratulate them. For a moment I thought I could feel the earth move beneath my feet, but attributed the cause of the sensation to my general excitement.

Secure in our victory, I was totally unprepared for the shock and explosion of the white sand and solid flesh that hit me, bowling me off my feet like a ragdoll.