The raging wind abated, leaving an unworldly silence, the vibration ceasing, and the world outside their tomb now beckoning them back outside. SJ wasn't sure she wanted to leave their refuge, taking the time to relax in the newfound peace. Her display was showing it was almost dusk as they slowly climbed the broken steps towards the building that had offered them a lifeline in the desert's bleakness.
On climbing the steps, Fas carefully replaced the stone back across the entrance, again enclosing the chamber for what may be more millennia before or if it were ever discovered again. The building they had found by the roof was not the same as the one they had entered; the inside was now packed with even more sand than before. A newly fallen wall, with broken sandstone, crumbled under the storm's ferocity.
SJ was just glad that the stairs and chamber had been away from the prevailing storm; otherwise, they might have been buried inside the tomb. The world outside was scoured clean and reshaped. Dunes had migrated and combined into new formations, the ever-shifting tide of sand under the influence of the wind. The sun was slowly fading on the horizon as they appeared, and the staunch dryness of the air immediately made SJ go for a waterskin.
The images from the tomb below were now etched in SJ's mind. Gila Beasts working in peace alongside this unknown race reshaped her understanding of the world. They weren't just beasts to be found but were a remnant of a long-lost past and a pact that had existed. Creatures of immense power were once harnessed for the good of others.
The conditions of the desert felt even harsher as they continued their journey further south, although their newfound hope somewhat alleviated some of SJ's fears. Its intricate ecosystem still provided nothing but fear.
"The final oasis. It lies further southeast," Fas said as he rerolled the map again. SJ opened her display and tried again to confirm their position on her map. It was virtually impossible apart from the shown route; everything was guesswork, and it was only hope over the maps' accuracy that gave them any feeling of security.
"The final one, you say?" SJ said.
"Yes. Before the salt plains. Those carvings showed water sources. Perhaps the oasis was theirs, too? That is where we will have to start looking for... the Gila Beasts."
The flight was tense, the air still thick with the heavy dust from the recent passing storm. It felt as though they were flying through a fine mist. The dunes gradually flattened; it was a sudden shift, but it appeared more like ripples lessening as they receded from a stone thrown into a pond. The sand slowly gave way to a bleached earth, before the first signs of glinting crusts of salt came into view. As they neared, the air grew even drier, if that was even possible, and it carried an acrid tang. As they crested a salt-rimmed ridge, they saw it.
The final oasis was a brilliant grasp at life against the encroaching emptiness of the white waste that grew before them. The distant terrain, masked in crystalline structures. The palms stood like staunch troopers guarding against its bleakness and clung to patches of darker sand. At its heart, like the others, lay a pool; its surface shimmered with an unnatural oiliness. Its surface was thick with a sickly crystalline scum. This pool had no invite or draw; it was a warning of what lay ahead.
"We rest here. Then we can start on the salt plains. The surface is broken, and a structure resembling a riverbed or one that once existed appears to follow the flow. The carvings depicted its path. I think if we follow the path to its source, we may find the beasts," Fas said as he lowered to land, his wings making the palm fronds thrash violently in protest.
The silence at the oasis was profound, the air even thicker than usual, a result of the dryness of the salt plains. SJ would never have imagined that a dryness worse than the desert existed until now.
Kibble sniffed the air cautiously, his nose wrinkling and sparks caressing his jawline. He let out a low growl.
"Kibble doesn't like it," Dave said.
Kibbles' body vibrated, a shudder crossing his surface, and SJ picked him up, holding him in her arms.
"It will be okay," SJ said soothingly as she stroked her companion's head gently. Kibble purred in response and pushed against her hand.
The salt plains, only a short distance away, drew her gaze. The promise that the gila beasts may dwell within, filling her with fear and excitement in equal parts. The tablet that SJ now carried in her inventory felt heavy, even though she knew it couldn't be affected. She called it to her hand before sitting, leaning against a palm. The glyphs appeared to shimmer in the fading light, and nighttime approached. She sat staring at it for several moments before her thoughts were interrupted again.
"There are no shelters here. It's a good thing we only made it at this time of day. We couldn't have stayed here if it were going to be sunup soon," Fas said as he built a fire.
The cold of the night crept forward as the light continued to fade, the flickering flames of the fire casting dancing shadows across the pool's surface. SJ knew she wouldn't sleep after the excitement of the day and the storm they had overcome. Her mind raced with possibilities.
The night passed in silence; nothing disturbed their rest. SJ hadn't slept, although Kibble had eventually succumbed to sleep in her arms, wrapped in his blanket. After eating their rations the next morning, they set off as the first hint of light appeared.
The flight felt different immediately. The flattened dunes and their golden hues leached into the harsh landscape ahead. Looking back, the desert sands almost looked inviting in comparison. Vast flat pans of hardened salt crystals lay ahead of them, stretching to the horizon and broken by jagged crystalline formations. Pillars of salt climbed into the air. There was no sand here at all, only salt, a dedicated mineral sea. The sheer scale of the open salt plains ahead was humbling, yet the heat's intensity, even in the morning light, appeared amplified as the first rays reflected off the brilliant surface with severe intensity.
As they crossed the threshold completely and the desert faded behind them, SJ thought that nothing could survive in this environment. They had been following what appeared to be a winding path, as Fas had stated, possibly a river from an age long since passed. SJ spotted movement as they traversed a high salt ridge, moving between pillars that stood like stalagmites against the bleak tundra.
She focused on them as she watched distant shimmering shapes detach themselves from a blinding backdrop and become visible as they crested the ridge. They moved with a slow, deliberate, and almost mechanical gait, reminding SJ of the first robots created by man.
"What are those?" SJ whispered, pointing.
Fas banked slightly as his eyes narrowed, and he took them in. "I think they are salt golems, although I can't be sure from this distance."
"Salt golems are mindless beasts," Dave interjected. "They pose no threat to you. They can be shattered easily with a good strike, although they have a habit of exploding and can send razor-sharp shards if they do so."
"Are they not controlled if they're golems?" SJ asked.
"No. They are manifestations of the plain. Nothing controls them. They are unlike anything else. They continually reform and travel in whatever strange compulsion directs them. Nobody knows," Fas said, and SJ could imagine him shrugging if he hadn't been in his dragon form.
"I hope we can find somewhere to stay before the sun rises," SJ said.
"If we see nothing in the next hour, we will have to return to the last oasis," Fas replied.
"That won't be pleasant in the daylight," SJ sighed.
"No, but we can at least use the palms for some shade."
They continued to follow the winding, crystalline formation of a long-lost river as it extended into the plains, the terrain becoming more defined as they did, as though the salt crystals had taken on the shape of the land itself. Ridges and peaks flowed beneath them, mapping a world once vibrant with greenery as depicted on the tombs' carvings.
"There, it looks like a cave," SJ said, pointing towards the west to where a dark opening appeared in a wall of salt.
Fas angled towards it, and they approached as the sun continued to creep higher in the sky. They approached the ground to land, and SJ realised how treacherous the ground was. It was like a blanket of pins; salt crystal spikes littered the landscape as they approached the large black hole. Kibble landed carefully, and SJ hopped down. Fas, in his dragon form, had no other option than to land, his monstrous feet crushing the spikes beneath them. If it pained him, he didn't show it.
SJ moved towards the cave entrance, carefully watching her step. She could feel the sharp, crystalline surface under her feet, even without standing on any of the evil-looking spikes. The darkness was inviting as the early morning sun's rays reflected off the bleached crystal surface.
There were no sounds here. The silence and stillness were absolute. SJ moved to the entrance and allowed her vision to adjust before stepping inside the vast space. It stood almost thirty feet high and appeared to stretch back a long distance. There was no way for her to see all the way to its rear. The temperature shifted as they entered, leaving the sun behind as the cool darkness enveloped them. SJ called a torch to her hand and again lit it, providing them with the ambient light to improve their vision in the dark. She wasn't sure precisely what Fas's or Kibbles' night vision was like, but she knew she couldn't proceed further herself without its added advantage.
The floor of the cave was littered with formed salt crystals, everywhere covered in a layer of white. The torchlight created a myriad of shadowy formations. The air inside was dry and harsh, but the coolness of the cave provided the comfort they sought from the sun as they proceeded further into its depths. They located a space reasonably free from the crystal spikes and settled down. A fire was lit, and they ate their rations quietly. The issues they would have on the salt plains would be finding new water sources, and SJ drank sparingly from her canteen.
SJ was drifting off when her senses tingled. Her focus shifted, and she sat upright, looking across the fire towards where she felt something was. Fas was also looking in the same direction.
"I sense something," SJ said.
"I feel it too," Fas said.
SJ gently lifted Kibble from her lap, where he'd fallen asleep, placing him on the floor; he squeaked slightly before settling back down.
The attack came at a terrifying speed.
The creatures that suddenly sped across the chamber floor towards them looked like malformed lizards. They were only four feet long , but appeared more like armoured porcupines than lizards, because of the number of crystalline spikes that were layered over their skin.
Fas jumped to his feet as the first launched towards him, SJ doing the same, calling her claws immediately to her hands.
Fas's blade swept through the air as it appeared and caught the lizard-like monstrosity across its head. Its open jaws revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, thrown sideways by the blow. The sound of metal striking crystal rang through the air. A second beast jumped at SJ as Kibble stirred from his sleep, squeaking in both fright and annoyance as he leapt into the air, beating his wings.
A third lizard aimed at Kibble, and as he took off, it snapped toward him, not biting him, but clipping him as he lifted. This caused Kibble to stutter, and he dropped, crashing back down on the cavern floor.
SJ screamed in anger at seeing her companion being hit and almost negated defending herself with her urgency to check on him. The lizard that had launched at her received a sweeping kick to its head, sending it off balance and crashing into the ground.
She spun back just in time as a second lizard launched at her. She heard Fas let out a grunt as two further beasts had attacked him, and he vanished from sight as he triggered his shadow step. SJ, in that moment, had forgotten entirely about her skill activations and immediately did the same, appearing by the lizard that had hit Kibble. She drove her claws with a ferocity driven by panic deep into the beast's back. It shrieked in pain as blood coursed from the deep wounds. The red of blood cast an eerie glow in the firelight.
It wasn't enough to finish it, though, and it turned its head toward her, snapping ferociously at her. SJ would not back down and triggered her identification skill as she clawed it. Their slitted reptilian eyes revealed intelligence as they approached the caves' intruders with pure malice.
Salt Dweller
Level: 38
Hit Points: 329
Mana Points: 0
Skills: Absorption
Weaknesses: Blunt damage
SJ was using her claws to attack the Salt Dwellers, but after seeing the weakness to blunt damage, she removed her claws again. Her fists and feet now appeared to be the best option.
"Fas. Use blunt." SJ called to him as he fought off two further beasts.
He grunted in response as the sword vanished from his hand to be replaced by his spiked hammer.
The fight continued in a frenzied manner. SJ stood between her and Kibble, fighting off the beasts with vicious kicks and punches. Her hands were bleeding from catching the crystals that covered the creature's bodies, but it didn't stop her; the pain increased her temper further. Kibble squeaked from where he still lay, and SJ noticed a pool of blood forming under his wing.
A clawed appendage struck SJ's arm, and she cried in frustration as its sharp claws tore into her flesh. Her dress offered little resistance to the attack, and its tattered remains fluttered until the dress repaired itself again.
Her health was doing fine, only taking the damage to her hands and the one lucky hit so far, but she knew she couldn't keep facing these creatures for long, until her stamina would wane. She triggered her puncture skill, again returning her claws to her hand and thrusting them violently at a dweller's head who came in range. Her claws pierced the beast's head with ease, surprising her, and crystalline flakes erupted from the strike, showering her in fine salt crystals. It didn't stop the beast, though, and it again snapped back at her.
The damage that her claws would have inflicted on other beings of a similar stature was minimal against the dwellers. Using her claws, even if blood was drawn, was a fruitless exercise. She removed them again, returning to her martial arts.
SJ watched the head of a beast explode as Fas brought his hammer down on it, crystalline shards exploding outwards, showering the area with their lethal projectiles. SJ felt several things dig into her even at a distance from it.
Three beasts now stood in front of SJ, watching her warily as Fas fought against at least four more. They didn't attack for a moment, and one of them let out a shrill cry. The sound was ear-piercing; SJ automatically reached up to cover her ears, protecting them. The sound, however wrong it had been, caused all the dwellers to back away.
SJ gasped, catching her breath as the four fighting Fas did the same, backing away.
That was when the sound reached her ears. It was slow and guttural, like a thunderstorm rumbling in the distance before it nears, and the chamber they had taken refuge in started to shake. It wasn't violent, but deep and as though the earth itself had taken on life. The tremor started gently before it increased as the sound of something approaching could be heard. There was no cry, no scream, or howl, just the steady beat of something's footsteps as they thrummed against the ground.
SJ staggered from the violent shaking, and the dwellers all turned as one and started to flee into the cavern's darkness. Fas just turned to SJ and shrugged as they both turned back to look in the sound's direction that came from much deeper within the cave.
A faint glow could be seen, emanating from what must have been the cave's rear, and as it grew in intensity, the thunderous sounds of its feet added to the fear-inducing sight that confronted them.
The Gila Beast stood twenty feet tall. Its massive yet low profile allowed its body to scrape across the cavern floor. Its body gave off an ethereal glow in the cavern's dark, lighting the surrounding area in a hazy yellow, and each step it took was deliberate, a slowness that exuded power and ancient history. Its body was covered in huge, thick scales, fused into natural plate armour. Supported then by layers and layers of encrusted salt, which gave the creature an even more terrifying appearance.
Its head shape was wedge-shaped, with a wide, blunt nose broader than any siege weapon ever constructed. The tiny pinprick of light reflected from deep-set eyes, recessed beneath bony ridges. As it neared, it opened its jaws; they unhinged as though they could swallow the world, and a jet-black tongue forked forward, tasting the air inside the chamber.
Its legs were like thick pillars, short yet powerful, and its claws cut vast swathes in the surface of the chamber as it entered.
This was the most terrifying beast SJ had ever witnessed as she stood shaking in fear in its presence. Even Fas appeared humbled by the beast that came to a stop not thirty feet from them. It turned its head and looked at them.
SJ felt as though her soul was being observed by this beast, as if it were being drawn out of her.
It tilted its head and stepped forward, lowering itself towards them.
SJ stood frozen. It hadn't attacked them, and she was in no position to strike a monstrous being of this size. Nor Fas by his expression.
It snorted, and SJ felt the hot air from its nostrils as her hair cascaded backwards, her eyes protected from the blast by the goggles she wore. It then sniffed and tasted the air again, its head now only fifteen feet from them. SJ focused on a point in the darkness off to the side; if the gila lunged at her, she would shadow step away. Although she didn't want to leave Kibble behind, she may have no choice.
It again tasted the air, its tongue flicking dangerously close, before another snort, and it slowly turned away from them. SJ didn't realise she had been holding her breath, and as it swept its tail around, disappearing into the darkness of the cavern, she let out a heavy breath.
"Of all the things on Amathera. That was one ancient being," Dave said.
'How old?' SJ asked.
"I have no idea, but it was level 116," Dave replied, awestruck.
