Jackal Among Snakes

Backpacking was a laborious thing. Argrave was coming to terms with its necessity, but he could not say that he was fond of carrying a pack on his back with the bare essentials while travelling across landscapes of varying types. Without healing magic to ease him of blisters and other things brought about by the journey, he would never have made it across the Burnt Desert. Between its dunes of sand and its rocky hills, it was not an easy place to traverse, even in winter.

Now, though, Argrave found great pleasure in the hike they took. They travelled from Sethia to the distant mountains where the southern tribals made their home. The weather was pleasant, the desert was quite beautiful, and the wildlife, terrifying though it might be at times, invoked a dual sense of nostalgia and wonder.

It helped that he had conned someone into carrying his pack for him.

“It’s going to be dangerous to travel farther,” Yarra warned, who kept pace with Argrave. She seemed to have no trouble with the pack, despite being as skinny as he was while half his size. It was the power of a magical body, he supposed.

“Because of the tribals?” Argrave looked up to the dark mountains towering above. “Meh. We’ll be fine,” he waved dismissively. “Not much farther anyway.”

She adjusted the pack with her ire hardly concealed, casting glances at Garm atop Galamon’s pack. Despite her constant curiosity towards the head, she asked as many questions as a mute. Argrave had intended to find out what she knew, but her stubborn silence made that difficult.

They travelled along a dry riverbed. Though the valley around them evidenced water had once flown through this area, all water had dried, and the clay-like soil beneath their feet was hard and cracked into tiles of varying sizes. Argrave kept his eyes on the mountain as he walked slower, looking for landmarks he recalled from the game to guide him.

After a long delay, Argrave spotted a strangely split rock that was quite familiar to him and smiled. “Folks… let’s set our packs aside. Someplace safe.”

“What for?” Yarra questioned, while Galamon and Anneliese moved to obey immediately. Galamon freed Garm from his position, holding him in his free hand like a torch.

Argrave rubbed his hands together. “Time to get to work, obviously.”

Yarra followed Argrave’s gaze to a large boulder down into a gulch.

Seeing she still wasn’t removing the pack, Argrave chided, “You were so hesitant to put it on, now you can’t bear to take it off? Just listen. Is that hard?”

She begrudgingly took the pack off and sat it alongside Anneliese and Galamon’s. After ensuring that their packs were well-concealed, Argrave proceeded into the gulch, minding his step as it descended slightly. The gulch turned right, driving further into the mountains, but Argrave ignored the turn and walked to the boulder.

Argrave held his hand out and knocked four times, then said loudly, “Gebicca, blood of Burgund, has come to pay respects.”

turned to sand. It fell on him,

of sand ungracefully as the others near him stared beyond into the cave. Once he was done, he straightened and examined his own handiwork, a smile lining his face. Though

the solution to a puzzle, they’d still need to talk to the right person to be able to proceed. That Argrave had been able to overcome this

lead, Yarra?”

said, she showed no hesitation in

cave abounding with glowing blue runes was a wonderfully unnerving sight in person. The faint babbling of rushing water echoed out as they walked deeper. The runes provided light enough to walk forward

descended deeper down into the cave, meeting the smooth, upward-sloped cave floor. At the very top of this slope, there was a small spring, a single trickle travelling down in a straight line. This

cave floor. They were packed closely together as they ascended, like stairs built for giants. The coffins had blue runes along

runes… are incomprehensible,” Anneliese muttered, gazing out in awe. “And this

what I know about this place after we’re done. In fact…” Argrave turned his gaze to the Vessel, Yarra. “You may wish to

He drew his greatsword, too. Argrave held out his hand, a spell matrix forming. Soon enough, four [Electric Eels] bounded from his palm, illuminating the area

atmosphere of the place was decidedly not easing. The dense mist, the

This chiming grew in

“Be ready,” he cautioned.

his words of caution proved to be of perfect timing. The mist within the cave began to condense, solidify—in but a second, Argrave found himself facing a black-skinned warrior with large ears and indiscernible features. A curved sword whistled towards his face. Argrave willed the [Electric Eels] to move, and they struck their target far faster than his newly formed foe’s

and leaking mist. A guttural and phlegmy howl battered against Argrave’s ears at once, echoing in his head and against the cave walls until it was all he heard. The sound was terrifying enough that he felt all his skin crawl against his leather gear, despite that he had been fully expecting it

the first to regain her composure… or perhaps she never lost it, for her hand liquified and thrust forth like a spear towards the warrior’s head as soon as it ceased staggering.

His blow struck home, both the metal blade and the wind blade following it causing another visible impact. With another near identical howl, the mist exploded

It’s like I told you—you can only hit them when they’re trying to hit you. They have to be solid to attack,

“This mist is not true

short. They subsist on the souls of the dead. The little devils are no ordinary animals, and can be held responsible for the warrior we just dealt with. This fog...” Argrave held his hand out. “It’s a magic mist. A brume, I guess. They can

be trying to find a hole in what Argrave said, but it seemed after some

dryly. “They’re very valuable, culturally and otherwise. Though,

how will we

they try and stop us. It’s a game of cat and mouse, chasing these creatures about

continue to fight these

in