Stumbling on top of a dune, the running and exhausted humans arrived inside a small valley containing an oasis. The terrain around it protected from being discovered, and only by standing on top of the dunes nearby one could notice the tents of the Synnada Empire. Of course, for the giant birds that were controlling the skies, that was easy to spot. But for the rest, including the djinns, only luck could help them in their search. Fifty or so tents were visible, and most were large enough to let four humans sleep inside them without bothering anyone.

That sight made the out of breath warriors broke into a smile, but they didn't slow down in anyways. Until they arrived truly inside the protective encampment, none dared to even stay on the sand even one additional minute. Because it was a bit more than the middle of the day, not a lot of people were still present, but the few threw perplexed gazes at the strange spectacle they saw. Of course, since they were well trained, they didn't forget to equip themselves and prepare for the worst. It won't be the last forward base being dismantled because of an attack.

They were reassembled in front of the main tent, where the commandant and the magus were currently talking and idling. They were enjoying a very nice drink from the Grey Lands, a little bit fresh thanks to an ice spell casted by the magus. But their leisure time was brutally interrupted when someone barged into the tent, saying that a patrol came back terrified like the Dark Gods were behind them. The two important men laughed at that joke but still left their seat to see what was happening. "The Dark Gods returned, who would believe that joke?" was in their two minds.

But after seeing the truly panicked faces that were appearing closer and closer, especially since the turbans protecting their head were disheveled and weren't covering their mouth anymore, the commandant had to stop smiling. Giving a few orders to get a few magical bombs and mithril arrows they were blatantly overpriced by the White Hands, he tried to see what was the threat. But since nothing was in sight, he turned around to look at the magus.

He was a very handsome man, in his early forties and with a small beard. Unlike the regular robe that the magicians of the Massalia Kingdom wore, that was sober and humble, his clothes were very costly. Numerous golden threads were sewn on his sleeves, golden inscriptions around his neck and the fabric was of the highest quality. It would have been ruined in one day inside the desert, but thanks to his power as a magus, he still maintained it like it was brand new.

Using all of his power, he thought of every spell at his disposal to search for anything unusual, like an important displacement of mana, or a thing that shouldn't be there. But even after the first warrior finally arrived inside the encampment, the magus still found nothing, perplexing him. Shaking his head at the commandant, he confirmed that there was no actual threat against them right now. A few seconds later, the leader arrived with the two warriors carrying their injured friend and presented himself in front of his superior.

"Fuh, Fuh, Fuh, Leader of the, Fuh, ehh, Fuh, we found, fuh .. "It was the first time that they ever ran that fast, and the rest of his team were laying on the ground, not even capable of moving their little finger. To be able to still stand up and even talk was a feat in itself.

"Stop, you won't do anything panting like a stray dog. Someone give this man a gourd." A warrior close to the exhausted leader gave him his gourd, and saw the latter plunging on it and emptying it in one go. A small rale of satisfaction escaped the lips of the now safe man. Taking a few big inspirations to calm his heart, he reported immediately the most important news.

"A snake, a BIG SNAKE! Never saw anything like that. Fuh, it was capable of just eating a Skorpus entirely with its immense maw. It moves inside the sand, at a speed far faster than ours, maybe even the one from a djinn. It killed them also, and .." The report was nearly incomprehensible and just junctions of sentences that weren't making any sense together. Stopping once more the man in front of him, the commandant asked him to start from the beginning.

"Yes, my Lord. We were roaming in an already surveyed area when we stumbled on a group of djinn hunters. They were fighting a Skorpus and were winning, having injured the beast with a spear in its eye. Because we weren't careful enough, a small battle was engaged, and the creature went berserk because it lost its sight. At that moment, anyone approaching the Skorpus would have been killed instantly, without any distinction. And IT appeared, that thing."

Raising his hand, the commandant stopped the report and looked at the magus once more. The latter had no choice but to scout the entire area, even farther than his initial cast. But no matter if it was the first or the second try, he achieved nothing and could only look back at the commandant, shaking his head. Whatever was that creature, it wasn't near them.

"A don't know how, but a hole appeared under the Skorpus, and he shrieked for a second before it turned silent again. Neither we or the djinns knew what happened, and we both asked if it was the result of an action from the other party. They denied it, and it's not us right?"

"A giant snake at our service? What more, you want a Dark God to specially come here and ask if we need something? Cut your crap and keep going!" He couldn't say it loudly, but the possibility wasn't that low. He had heard a few disturbing things from the North of the Empire, where a dark cult was apparently working together with the actual power. Thinking that it could be the results of a shady deal, he still decided to dismiss the idea for the moment.

"So, we were both looking at each other, when I decided it was best to run away. We were not prepared to face something like that, and neither were the djinns. The next moment, one was eaten alive by the monster, and we could all saw a giant snake head. It was of the same color as the desert, a pale yellow, like the Skorpus. As we ran, we heard the shouts of the djinns getting smaller and smaller, until no one was screaming anymore. I think the monster ate everyone."

That information shocked everyone that was listening. If the djinns were their enemies, they never underestimated them, especially in the desert. To kill one of those strange elementals, one had to destroy the core located in their chests, but the rest of their limbs were near indestructible. They were also capable of moving in and out of the sand without any issue, so to managed to hit that ever moving core multiple times in a row was extremely rare.

And those hunters weren't rookies, even the human warriors rarely wiped out a group of hunters. It was very frequent to find one or two survivors that ran away and there was nothing they could do against that. The leader looked like he had finished saying everything he had to say, but the commandant was still perplexed by one thing. Why were they that terrified a minute ago and so relieved afterward?

"What happened afterward?" The leader was shocked to still be questioned, and he was very reluctant to say anything. He knew the moment he arrived inside the encampment what will probably happen, and he did try to escape his fate. Omit something was less punishable than straight out lying to the harsh man in front of him.

"We ran and, eh, the creature followed us on a few kilometers. But we didn't see it since a long time, at least a few kilometers away from here." He was reducing his mistake to its maximum, and the rest of his squad were already thinking to stick to that version. Otherwise, they would be sentenced to die at worst.

"Few kilometers? Really?" The commandant unsheathed his saber and pointed at the naked throat of his subordinate. "You take me for a fucking moron? At best, it was one kilometer, and it followed you all the way to this place. FUCK! That man, over there, was he attacked by it or not? AND THE TRUTH!"

"No, no, no, he was attacked by a claw of the Skorpus, he wasn't attacked by that thing." The team leader was panicking and visibly telling the truth, but to be sure, the magus nearby looked at him to see if there were any traces of something else. After a quick examination, it looked like it was only a blunt injury, that could have been caused by a large object like the edge of a claw.

"It looks like it's your lucky day, you will die for the Empire. Everyone that just arrived, hear my words. You have put this entire base at risk, and you will have to protect it. If only one man instead of one of you dies here today, the entire squad will be executed, got it? We are facing something never seen before, so think of that snake or whatever it is as something coming from the Necropolis of Ptolekh. Absolutely don't touch it, and cut any limbs in contact with that creature. Everyone get ready to fight!"

The previously quiet base rumbled with agitation. Everyone tighten their armors, resupply all the crossbows and disposed of the magical bombs at a strategic position. Some small wooden pikes enhanced with magic was planted in the outskirts of the base, in any case. The squads that should have left were staying inside, and one could only hope that those outsides made it alive. Even the commandant entered his tent once again, to truly wore the armor gifted by his father.

The only one that was still calm was the magus, or at least, that was how he appeared to the rest of the warriors. Standing still, with a small smile on his face, like nothing was truly threatening. But if one could get closer to him, that person could have heard the magus murmuring spells and after spells, refreshing them every minute. If something did come after them, he won't miss it.

After the initial confusion and preparation, the silence took its rightful place and not a single thing was moving in the base anymore. Everyone was standing ready, the only one not participating was the injured warrior. For the moment, it was not so desperate that they need half of a man fighting with them. For a few minutes, that peculiar base was void of any movements.

"SAVE ME! SAVE MAGGGGGGGRH!"

On one of the dune, a warrior was fleeing something when two long blades pierced his body and dragged him into the abysses of the desert. None had the time to see the monster that did that, but the leader of the surviving squad immediately recognized the blades. That was those that pierced the Skorpus previously. "It's that monster, my Lord."

The commandant was now clearly angry; a complete team of warriors had been annihilated. And he couldn't do anything against that. Leave the premise of the base? From the looks of it, that monster was a true master in ambushing and moving undetected. Gripping tightly the guard of his saber, he looked at the magus that was extremely pale. Feeling something weird, he asked what was going on.

"I didn't sense it. Even when he has killed that man, I still wasn't able to feel anything. It's like, it's like .. I have no idea. LISTEN TO ME! WARN YOUR SUPERIORS NOW!" The peaceful face crumbled under the threat, and the elegance and bearing of the magus were nowhere visible right now. The commandant was still being held by his shoulder when he was violently pushed by the magus. He didn't understand why it was happening before he heard something.

"[Earth Shield]" The magus casted that spell not near him, but under his very feet. Barely a second after, two blades pierced that protection without injuring the human, and a very wide maw was ensnaring the small island of rock were the magus stood, elevating them both. Standing two meters above the ground, the magus had a very hard time stabilizing himself while the snake head was still ascending.

Everyone could finally see the monster, like a pillar, erupting from the desert and within its maw, a small batch of stones and an unfortunate magus agitating his arms in a desperate attempt at not falling inside the stomach of the monster.