Everyone was up early the next morning, and they were heading out of the house prior to the sun fully cresting the horizon. They were met at the town gate by two soldiers and the stable master. Five horses had been outfitted and were standing just outside the town walls. Four of the horses were of typical size with one horse being the equivalent of a clydesdale. Sanders immediately moved over and started to climb up on the larger horse while giving an incredulous look at Azuriel. The group chuckled before he hopped back off and chose a different one. As the rest of the group chose their mounts, concern marred Sam’s face. For all the preparation they had been doing, no one had told them they would be riding horses on their journey, and he hadn’t thought to ask. Lucas saw his concerned look.
“Everything alright, Sam?” Lucas asked.
“I just don’t know how to ride a horse.” Sam said sheepishly.
“And now is the time you decide to tell us?” Bard asked with no small amount of condescension in his voice. Sam just shrugged at the group.
“It’s easy. Just hop up there and you’ll learn as we go.” Lucas said, showing Sam where to grip his horse and how to climb onto its back. He followed Lucas’ directions and mounted the horse. After a few more minutes of instruction, he had the horse turning to the sides, starting, and stopping to his commands. The group moved out shortly after at a slow canter down the road. Sam did pick up the technique relatively quickly. He could only assume it was easier with his increased stats to guide the horse where he wanted it to go. They moved along the well-worn road heading south and east toward the heart of the country and their destination of New Alexandria. The environment slowly reverted back to the sand covered desert with scattered rock formations dotting the landscape. The first day passed without issue and they camped in a small cave similar to the one Sam had been previously tied up in on his first day with the group.
Sam awoke early the next morning, replacing Sanders on watch. He had become the shoe in for the early morning watch since he was usually up at that time anyway. He sat at the entrance to the small cave watching the wind-swept desert in front of him through his night vision. The cave they were staying in was part of a thirty-foot rocky plateau. It was on the edge of the rock fields and opened onto a wide desert that stretched in front of him as far as the horizon. Useless facts from his old life told him that was close to three miles. An occasional shrub dotted the landscape, but no larger structures jutted from the flat sandy horizon. From talking with the others, he knew they had a half a day’s ride through the harsh environment before it would give way to grassy plains. When he had first arrived at the camp weeks before, he had assumed that they were near the center of the continent because of the battle between the two armies. When they reviewed the maps to plan their route to New Alexandria, he learned that they were on the far west edge of the continent. The inhabited lands were shaped almost like a six-sided star. The northern three points of the star were inhabited by the benevolent forces of each race. The southern three were the territory of the dark forces. The area he had ended up on was close to where the points came together for the territory of Heaven and Hell. Battles were common in this area due to the proximity. Due to the inhospitable nature of the environment, there were no major cities or forces in the area. Fort Gideon was considered more of an outpost at the edge of Heaven’s territory to ward off any attacks from the South. It was interesting that even amongst the benevolent half of the continent, they were separated by their difference in race. He guessed it was more than just human nature to distrust someone different than you. This thought saddened him as he considered the implications.
Sam’s thoughts were interrupted by a stirring to his right. He glanced to the side and saw the horses that had been tied to a large rock just to the side of the cave entrance. They had been sleeping when he exited the cave but now three of them had gotten to their feet. They seemed to be shifting uncomfortably like a dog before a big storm. They weren’t making much noise but just kept shuffling from side to side. Then Sam started to feel a small tremor in the ground below him. It was faint at first but continued to grow until he was sure it was actual shaking. He noticed the pebbles on the ground next to him were vibrating across the earth. He stood at this point scanning the desert in front of him but not seeing anything of note. He glanced up the rock face and couldn’t see anything at the top either. He laid his hands on the rock formation and the tremors were less noticeable. He waited a few more minutes wondering if they had earthquakes on Eternity’s Gate. The tremors continued to increase, and the horses were all on their feet, some pulling against their reins. He couldn’t wait any longer and he leaned into the cave and called to the team.
“Guys. Something’s happening here.” Sam called out as he brandished both weapons in his hands. The team stirred and Azuriel was the first to make it next to Sam. He didn’t have to ask what was wrong because now the tremors were obvious and small rocks were breaking off the walls of the plateau behind them. The horses had given up on being nervous and were outright terrified neighing and straining against their tethers. The world exploded in a moment just as recognition dawned on Azuriel.
“Burrowers,” he yelled to the group. Before anyone could register what he yelled, the ground around Azuriel and Sam erupted in a cascade of sand, rock, and scorpions. Three large creatures had burst from the ground creating a half circle around the pair. Each creature was an enlarged scorpion with an armored carapace coming to Sam’s waist. They had large claws on each side that seemed to be spinning like drills as they exited the ground. The scorpions had the typical stinger that rose behind them and hovered at the level of his head. The barb that aimed at him was the size of a short sword. Their bodies were covered in a chitinous plate that matched the orange, rocky environment helping them blend into their surroundings.
Azuriel had reacted first slicing down across the head of the scorpion that had risen just in front of them. The sword strike cleaved through the left claw and crashed into the plate armored head. The momentum of the blow was slowed by the claw but was still forceful enough to reach the creatures brain ending its life. The scorpion to Sam’s left had exited the ground already thrusting its stinger at his chest. His increased dexterity saved his life and he had just enough time to jump to the left away from all three scorpions and knock the stinger strike to the right with his axe. He pivoted on his left foot as he landed and then phased his body behind the scorpion. It was unaware of his jump as the stinger returned to rest above its body and it started to move toward Azuriel. The plate on the tail was segmented presenting an easier path to the tender flesh underneath. Sam brought his axe around as he finished his phase movement, and a sweeping strike found the crack in the chitin slicing the tail clean off about a foot above the body. A spurt of yellow blood and viscera erupted from the severed stub. The creature let out a chittering screech as it tried to curl in on itself. Sam actually moved through the spurt of blood jumping off the ground onto the creature’s back. His left hand held the sword in a reverse grip so that it pointed downward. He used the momentum of his jump to add to his strike and he sunk the sword into another crevice in the creatures armored skin just below the head. The blade slid between the two plates finishing the creature off. Azuriel’s first strike had been successful, but he had made that move by sacrificing his right side to the incoming third scorpion. The creature had lashed out with its claws upon exiting. The left claw only found Azuriel’s armor and left a gash in the leather but couldn’t penetrate it. It did knock Azuriel forward slightly, but he was pulled back again as another claw found the back of his right upper arm. It clamped down causing part of the skin and muscle to lacerate while trying to crush the bone in his arm. Angels had a stronger constitution than even apprentice level humans and he was able to withstand the initial strike without giving into the pain or even dropping his sword. He tossed the sword up, twirling it slightly, with his right hand and turned to face the creature. This caused the skin of his right arm to tear free from the creature’s grasp causing a gaping wound to start leaking a silvery substance. As he turned, he caught the sword in his left hand and sliced through the extended right claw. The creature let out another chittering shriek but also sent its stinger toward Azuriel’s neck. He dodged left while batting the stinger to the side with his blade. Azuriel took a step back from the scorpion as the stinger retracted again. Sam, having finished off his opponent, looked to the last scorpion. He tried the same maneuver and phased behind the scorpion with an axe swing in motion. The surprise attack worked, severing the creature’s tail. The axe thudded against the inside of the chitinous plate on the other side of the tail unfortunately, trapping his axe momentarily. The scorpion again responded by trying to curl its body in on itself and this pulled Sam, still holding the axe, into the body of the creature. Azuriel had taken advantage of Sam’s distraction and thrust his sword between the eyes of the scorpion. Sam fell into the creature as it shook a few times in death.
The creature stopped shaking but Sam still felt a tremoring sensation as he pushed himself off the body of the dead creature. The entire battle had only taken a few moments and the rest of the team arrived at their side as it finished.
“We’re not done.” Azuriel said in a stern tone as he looked for the next threat. Sam extended his hand toward Azuriel’s arms and started sending healing energy through the air. He watched as the silver blood flow slowed and the wound started to repair itself. Before he could complete the job, the ground started trembling hard enough that he almost lost his footing as his body bumped back into the carcass of the third scorpion. Lucas had activated his aura shining a light around the group. The darkness had not caused a problem since Azuriel had excellent vision and Sam was using his night vision. The team was more prepared for the underground ambush this time as two more scorpions emerged from the ground next to Bard and Sanders. Behind them, five more scorpions started surfacing. Another two appeared on the other side of the horses.
“I’ll take the ones near the horses.” Sam called out as he phased behind the two scorpions employing his sneak attack on their tails. He had deactivated the night vision when Lucas had joined the group but blinked it back on just before phasing.
Sanders was the furthest on the edge as one of the two front wave scorpions emerged. He activated his ability and time seemed to slow to the point that the scorpion was exiting the ground at the speed of a slug. Only the spinning claws and the head had emerged when he stepped forward slamming his axe down between the creature’s eyes. The world sped up again a moment later, but the creature’s body never fully left the underground burrow. Bard and Azuriel were standing on either side of the second scorpion that had surfaced next to the group. It swung a claw at Bard while slinging its stinger at Azuriel. Both attacks were blocked easily leaving the scorpion exposed to the two warriors. Azuriel sliced through part of the left arm leaving the claw dangling by a small stretch of muscle as it retracted the arm back. Bard had deflected the first claw strike wide and slipped inside the creature’s defenses sliding his long sword into a section of armor between the right arm and the body. It didn’t severe the arm completely but did cause the limb to fall limply to the ground. The stinger had time to strike out again but was blocked by Azuriel as Bard sent another sword strike between the armor into the creature’s body. It crumpled to the ground lifeless. While those three battled the front line of scorpions, Lucas and Alannah has started sending arrows at the approaching five. Lucas’ first arrow just bounced off the chitin plates while Alannah’s energy arrows were able to punch into the armor causing a small amount of damage to the creatures. Lucas changed his approach and used his ability to ignite his arrows. He then aimed at the front of the bodies, more specifically the eyes. Three arrows later he had completely blinded one of the scorpions while sinking an arrow into the fleshy face of another killing it. Alannah matched his approach and angled her shots down toward the eyes as well also killing one of the approaching scorpions. She used her other ability to entangle the remained three locking them in place. This provided a temporary relief for the three warriors in front. The scorpions were able to use their claws to drill through the vines and free themselves quickly though. Between the five warriors, they were able to deal with the last three of the scorpions with ease, no one taking any serious injuries.
Sam’s approach continued to be an effective method as he cleaved through the tail of the first scorpion he had phased behind. The other scorpion reacted, half turning its body while sending the stinger at an angle trying to get at him. He was too fast however and had already phased behind the second monster. Another quick swing from his axe made the scorpion lose its tail and Sam backed away from the scene as both scorpions had started scrunching in on themselves with tails spurting a small fountain of yellow blood into the air. He moved back into the fray finishing them off.
Sam rejoined the main group as they ended the threat. There were no more tremors and the battle seemed to be finished. Looting the bodies rewarded no meat but did provide several of the thick chitinous plates, a small vial of poison, and the barb from the stinger. While the other companions looted, Sam moved to Azuriel to look at his arm. He had only managed to stop the bleeding and start the process of closing the wound before he had been interrupted by the second wave. The flesh on the back of the arm was mangled with part of the muscle dangling down from the elbow. Sam went to work on the arm sending his healing energy into it.
“Does your body work the same as ours? Does it hurt as bad as it looks?” Sam asked earnestly not knowing the inner anatomy of an angel’s body.
“Our bodies are like yours but with a stronger constitution. We do not have a gastric system like you and require no food or water to sustain ourselves. We do still require sleep which resupplies our energy levels. Also, we naturally heal at a faster rate than humans.” He said stoically as the wound started to pull back together. Then Azuriel turned to look at Sam and said with a straight face, “And it does pinch a little.”
Sam looked up at Azuriel with a jolt and then around at the others to see if they had heard his comment. They had and were looking around at each other with a bewildered silence. A moment later the entire group, even Bard, had broken down into fits of laughter. Sam enjoyed the scene as he watched his companions’ mirth. It had happened so quickly, but he was already feeling more comfortable with the entire team than he had with anyone during his final months on Earth.
The team broke down camp quickly and after breakfast they were back on the road. The last stretch through the sandy desert passed easily and they had started to move into grassy plains. The change was minimal at first with an increase in shrubs but as they continued to travel the bland orange gave way to a soft green landscape with ankle high grass covering the ground. The road cut straight through this area without curves or any significant branches. They were still two days from Yeofer, a small village where they had decided to stop for a night before continuing to New Alexandria. After an exciting start, the remainder of the second day went by without issue. They rode together in pairs at a medium pace. Sanders had joined Sam at the back of the group halfway through the day.
“You’ve been a blessing for us, lad.” Sanders said.
Sam waved his hand to shrug off the comment.
“I’m serious. Before you joined this group we didn’t act like a team. We were all good enough at being soldiers, but something changed the day we picked you up.” Sanders continued. “Alannah smiles more now than I have ever seen. Lucas has eased into his role behind Azuriel as our team leader. Even Bard has loosened up a little. And before this morning, I don’t think I had ever seen Azuriel smile let alone make a joke and laugh.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but this group has helped me a lot more than I’ve helped it. I was in a dark place before coming here and all of you found a way to start pulling me out of my self-made hole.” Sam said somewhat taken aback by the emotional discussion he was having with the light-hearted Sanders.
