Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Riding the Dune Lizards

When they all returned to the bar the food was done and waiting..and remade again. Vic had eaten by himself when they had run outside to see what was going on.  They were close in his eyes and he was happy to see such young people worrying about each other as well caring for one another. Deep down he knew this group was going to do great things. He sat with them while they ate after pushing the tables together.

Vic watched closely as he saw how close certain members were to each other. Toshiro and Kitanni were obvious to everyone there and they weren’t hiding it. Amane and Kyra on the other hand were in this weird state in between as they tried to figure out their own emotions and relationship with some emotions shining through at random times. He didn’t know enough about Teo to see where his heart was at but the way he carried himself, he seemed like he was the married type.

Kitanni had eaten and focused on Teo’s back with her healing abilities after hearing about his fall in the cavern. She knew he could be in some pain but it wasn’t as bad as she thought it could be which was a big relief to her and Teo both. Toshiro stuffed his face with whatever was available to them as he tried to replenish his energy from freezing the ocean in place. It may not have looked liked much to anyone not able to do it but it was a considerable drain on him not to mention having to focus another person’s energy through his body as fuel wasn’t the easiest thing to do for him. Amane had removed his shirt again and slipped into just the tank top with his fitted armor over it after he and Kyra arrived. The both of them were now sitting next to each other and eating. Kyra was entirely fine besides being a little tired after using the botanokinesis. She had surprised herself with that level of ability.

Amane stopped eating for a moment and looked over to Kyra. “I just realized that with your plant abilities you have an unlimited supply of arrows as long as you have seeds that grow trees.”

“That was really random, Amane.” Kyra replies. “I hadn’t thought about either but you're right. As long as I can manipulate these to grow I can carve arrows from the trees.”

They both got quiet again and returned to eating while they had time to.

Vic excused himself from the table and headed out back to the cellar. Inside the cellar were the dune lizards. He opened the cellar doors entirely and whistled for them. They were trained to come on the sound of a whistle. A continued whistle would lead them to a destination and a short whistle would halt them. Vic whistled and walked to the front of the bar then short whistled twice which was: stay put.

Toshiro looked out the door and saw the dune lizards sitting outside grouped together. There were three of them which meant people were sitting together. “Kitanni, you want to ride with me on the lizards?”

Kitanni blushed as she answered,”I would.”

Amane finished eating and stood up from his chair with everyone being worn down, he took it upon himself, to grab the bags and begin loading up the dune lizards. He started with Teo’s bags and loaded them up on the closest Dune Lizard. Next he grabbed Toshiro’s and Kitanni’s bags which were both relatively light. Most of Toshiro’s things were on his person in his jacket. Finally he loaded up his own and Kyra’s onto the final lizard. Teo had the most bags so he was riding alone. Toshiro with Kitanni and Amane with Kyra.

“Everyone is loaded up on a Dune Lizard.” Amane stated upon re-entering the bar. “Teo, you’re on the biggest one alone because of your bags. Toshiro you and Kitanni are on the same one because I heard what you said. And Kyra, you’re with me because that’s what’s left.” He smirks at her and laughs to himself.

“You just want to be close.” Kyra retorts.

“That’s a possibility.” Amane jokes.

After a couple hours of resting and eating, the group was finally ready to head out. Teo headed to his Dune Lizard first with his bags already loaded he was just carrying himself. Toshiro and Kitanni came out after him and got on their lizard. Kitanni sat in front and Toshiro behind her with the reins in his hands. It was clear enough that they were more than friends to each other even if they didn’t call each other anymore. That left Kyra and Amane together as was planned before.

“Where do you want to sit, Kyra?” Amane asks her to try to make sure she is comfortable.

“Truthfully, I’d rather sit behind you so I can lean on you and nap.” Kyra replied with a short and light chuckle.

“If you want to nap on me, I’m not going to complain.” Amane replies with a slight blush on his face. He got on the Dune Lizard first and offered his hand to Kyra. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Kyra took his hand and climbed up on the Dune Lizard. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself closer to him. “Nice and cozy.”

Amane laughs to himself,”Enjoy the ride.” He knew he was going to, just because he was riding with her.

Vic had come outside to see them off and was standing before them with his hand in front of his face to block the sun. “Quick directions. If you go basically straight up and a little to the right, you’ll arrive in Areno. Along the way, you’ll see more traders on the path. Snake Clan members are easily tell-able by their snake scale armor and flag. I warn you to be careful because they carry poisons and weapons in their caravans. The Illumination Sect is also out there in caravans; they are peaceful monks who deal in light and healing.”

“Appreciate your input.” Teo responds. “Stay safe while we’re away.”

“I’ll do my best now that Jericho is gone, it shouldn’t be too hard to stay out of trouble.” Vic replied with a smile. He was so glad that he didn’t have to deal with Jericho any more but there was always a way of coming back. “Oh wait, one more thing, the Sorcerer’s men may also be out there. They kind of patrol the trade routes due to Areno being occupied by them. They seem to think someone or a group of people are trying to undermine them.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for them and remove them if they get in our way.” Toshiro added.

Looking up, Teo sees the clouds rolling in again. For a place that didn’t get much rain, it had rained twice in the few days they had been here. “We need to get going. It looks like it’s about to pour.”

“Alright, let’s get going.” Kyra says from behind Amane.

“Right.” Amane replies. “Sooner we get going, the sooner we get there.”

“Be safe.” Vic adds. “Will we see you in Riverpass again?”

“Probably.” Amane blurts out. “Home away from home.” For him that was almost sarcastic since he didn’t have a home at this point in his exile. It was the longest he had stayed around people in a while minus the cabin with Kyra.

“We don’t know when we’ll return but we’ll do our best to visit you.” Teo adds.

“Rooms are on the house; when you do.” Vic smiles and waves them off. “Good luck. Be safe guys and gals.”

“We will.” Kyra replies. “See you in the future.”

With that said, the group goes off into the desert on their lizards. Vic heads inside the bar and watches them from behind the counter until they disappear into the dunes of the desert.  He was worried that they could end up in some danger again but was confident that they’d be okay in the long run. They were all strong in their own right and when they worked together they were a major force to be reckoned with.

The group traveled along the path for most caravans. The three dune lizards knew the pathway very well seeing as they just traveled it the day before. The lizards were quick as they slithered across the sand. The storm clouds were rolling in behind them from the direction they had left. It looked like it could be a serious night of rain and storms for them but hopefully it wouldn’t be like the last storm as Amane couldn’t handle losing another person in their group.

Kyra had fallen asleep leaning on Amane with her hands wrapped around his waist. She trusted him to steer them carefully to where they needed to go and wasn’t worried in the slightest. As she slept she dreamed about her quadrant and what was going on there. She hoped everything was well with them, but she left on a negative note: her mother was kidnapped. The man who went by Kurai was in her dream. She stood before him in the same room she fought him last time as sweat dripped down her face. He was faster than her somehow and she couldn’t explain it. Suddenly she was pinned to the wall again with bindings, a glowing chain restricting her movements: Underworld Chains. She sees Kurai’s masked face and wakes up.

“KURAI!” She shouts as she wakes up. “Where are we?”

“Still in the desert, Kyra.” Amane replies. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She paused,”How long has it been?” She asks.

“About an hour or so. You’ve basically been asleep since we left.” Amane added. “Who is Kurai?”

“What?” She paused, shaking her head. “Right, I yelled the name out.” She sighed deeply before answering. “Kurai is a man who helped my other uncle steal a blood dagger from the basement vault. He called it: A dagger that killed queens and kings. Also said he could have it kill princesses too but I couldn’t be harmed.”

Amane listened intently to her as they rode the Dune Lizard. He was interested in this person who caused her so much grief. “What were his abilities?”

“Let’s see. He had a pouch of needles with different side effects. I think they were sleep inducing needles and poison mostly. He also had an ability that he called Underworld Chains. He was very good at hiding in the shadows and could send his own to attack.” Kyra added. “It’s not anything I had ever seen.”

“I’ve never seen it either but I feel like I’ve heard the name before. I just don’t recall where. It may not even be a real name, it may be a title.” Amane replied as he wondered where he had heard that name before. He couldn’t explain why it seemed so familiar to him.

They were just having a small conversation to themselves where no one else heard them. He hadn’t known Kyra long but felt closer to her and wanted to keep her words and thoughts private as best as he could. He didn’t want to break her trust. She was concerned with why she was having a dream about that day. Was something calling to her from that time? Was it being homesick? Was it; the worry she had for her mother?

“Hey, Kyra.” Amane says softly.

“Yeah?” She replied in a questioning manner.

“Maybe mention Kurai to Toshiro. If it’s familiar to me, it may also be familiar to him. His father was in charge of the prison system. It’s possible that someone mentioned it there and we heard it.” Amane added.

“I can try that. Thank you for the suggestion.” Kyra replied, snuggling up against him as she listened to his heart beat through his back.

“You’re welcome.” Amane replied with a blush on his face. “The first caravan stop should be coming up soon. We can ask them to stop there and stretch our legs a bit before moving on again.”

“Can we switch positions when we get there?” Kyra said, looking over at Kitanni and Toshiro.

“If you want to. I just want you to be comfortable.” He replied smiling as he looked forward.

Kyra smiled knowing that he was happy about it as well as his heart beat began getting faster in her ear. She didn’t know what it was about exactly but she really appreciated him and felt like they had a strong connection.