“There’s something coming, still some distance away, but it’s heading in our direction. A sandstorm is coming,” she said. “But it’s fine, it’s coming from the west.”
The others in the tent were all woken up. Elsa poked half her head out of her sleeping bag, her hair a mess, her eyes not yet fully open. “What sandstorm?” Reggie was already sitting up. He didn’t say anything, his hand reaching for his jacket resting beside his pillow. Veralis was the first to be fully awake. She had already dressed and was packing her gear.
“Pack up. We need to move out before it’s fully light. The sandstorm covers a huge area, and if we stay here we’ll eventually become sand sculptures.” Sige finished speaking and started rolling up her own sleeping bag without waiting for anyone else to respond.
The five of them packed up inside the tent, no one speaking. Only the rustling of rolled sleeping bags and the sound of backpack straps being pulled tight broke the silence. As Xuan Xi rolled her sleeping bag and stuffed it into her pack, she could feel the sand grains on the ground vibrating from time to time. Faint, but very distinct—a warning from afar.
Reggie had already taken down half the tent, and Elsa took the frame from his hands. The two worked together to fold the tent and stow it into a backpack. Sige stood at the outermost edge, her back to the wind, holding an unfolded map in her hands, gazing at the horizon. The clouds pressing in from the west hung lower than before, their base tinged with a murky dark glow and dusted with swirling yellow sand.
“Let’s move.” Sige shouldered her pack and took the first step. The others followed without asking for directions. The wind was stronger now, and sand grains stung as they struck the face. Xuan Xi turned up her collar, covering the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. Sige set a brisk pace at the front, occasionally pausing to let the others catch up. When she stopped, she would glance back over her shoulder, only turning to continue once she confirmed everyone was still following.
They walked toward the edge of the storm’s path for about half an hour. The sky had brightened somewhat, but the outline of the storm had appeared at the edge of their vision. It looked like an earthen-yellow wall pushing in from the west, wide and tall—so wide its end was out of sight, so tall it stretched from the ground up to the clouds. Everything the sandstorm swept over vanished from view. Mountain ridges, shrubs, exposed rocks—all swallowed by that wall.
“The safe zone marked on the map is downstream along this riverbed. We’ll head there first.” “Move!” Sige’s voice came from ahead, scattered by the wind but still barely audible.
Reggie broke into a run. Even carrying his pack, his strides remained steady, unaffected by the drain on his stamina. Elsa followed behind him, with Veralis protected in the middle. For once, she wasn’t holding that field guide; both hands were free to help her balance. She wasn’t fast, but at least she kept up. Xuan Xi brought up the rear, covering the group’s back.
The terrain underfoot shifted from gravel to sand. The riverbed’s outline emerged—its banks only a couple of feet high on either side, but the bottom wide enough for all five to stand in a single file. Sige was the first to jump down into the riverbed. After confirming the ground was firm enough, she called up to the others from below: “Get down here. When the storm passes overhead, this riverbed will block most of the sand.”
Reggie jumped down second, followed closely by Elsa and Veralis. Xuan Xi was last. As she landed, the sand beneath her feet was harder than expected, and she didn’t sink in.
The sandstorm moved over the riverbed like a yellow mower rolling overhead, blotting out the sky and plunging the entire riverbed into dim shadow.
Countless grains of sand drifted down from above, settling onto the riverbed floor. No one spoke—if they did, Elsa would end up with a mouth full of sand.
The five pressed against the riverbank wall, watching that mower crawl slowly past overhead. Leaning against the bank, Xuan Xi felt a vibration from afar, clearer than before and rhythmic, as if something enormous was moving within the storm.
Sige stood beside her without a word, but it was clear she felt the tremor too. Her gaze stayed fixed downstream along the riverbed. After watching for a while and confirming it was safe, she finally looked away and sat down next to Xuan Xi. The storm overhead continued to move, but it seemed thinner than before, and the sky was gradually brightening. It would still be a while before the sandstorm fully passed. No one spoke. The only sounds were sand falling and that rhythmic vibration in the distance. Xuan Xi closed her eyes. She felt the wind sweep overhead as her breathing slowly steadied. Sige’s arm pressed against hers—warm, and never pulled away.
She opened her eyes. Golden eyes glowed within the sandstorm’s haze.
Xuan Xi looked downstream along the riverbed. That wind-attribute magical beast was still out in the wilds, just beyond the storm, moving along the mountain ridge. It was sheltering from the storm too, just like them.
Once the sandstorm had completely passed, the sky finally returned to its proper color, but the dust in the air hadn’t yet fully settled.
The wind still blew strong, sending sand skittering across the ground. Despite the riverbed’s cover, when Xuan Xi rose from below, her coat was covered in a layer of fine sand. She patted herself down, the grains falling with a soft rustle. The others stood up one by one. Fortunately, no one was hurt, no one fell behind. They were mostly just covered in dust—hair and clothes coated with a pale gray layer of grit.
Sige stood at the riverbed’s edge, pulling the map from her side pocket and unfolding it. Her finger lingered on the paper for a moment as she confirmed their bearing and coordinates, then she folded the map and tucked it away. “The collection point is up ahead. Good thing the sandstorm didn’t destroy it.”
The five climbed out of the riverbed and continued toward the mountain ridge. The ground underfoot was softer than before, as the fresh sand carried in by the storm had covered the previously firm surface, giving each step a slight sinking sensation. After about an hour of walking, the mountain ridge’s outline sharpened again. After the storm, it looked more jagged than yesterday—like a keen blade.
The collection point was easier to find than expected, because at the base of the mountain ridge there was only one inward-curving valley. The ground was covered with low, gray-green plants with thick leaves and a waxy sheen on their surfaces. At the valley’s center stood a protruding rock with a crack across its top, and within that crack grew a dead shrub, its roots exposed above ground.
The sample for the collection task was that shrub’s root, clearly marked on the map—no need for a second confirmation. Reggie crouched down and used his dragon claws to pry the root from the crack, moving slowly to ensure the root system stayed intact. Elsa crouched beside him, holding the crack open so his fingers could reach deeper. Xuan Xi stood nearby directing, while Veralis had already prepared the sample bag, its opening wide. Before the root went in, Veralis wrote a line on the label with her pen: Collection Point One, time recorded.
Sige stood at the valley’s edge with her back to the group, watching the direction across the valley. She didn’t know why, but that area always gave her a sense of danger. She stood there staring for a long time until Xuan Xi and the others had finished collecting all the samples.
“Something’s coming.” Sige issued the warning.
She spoke softly, and no one asked what it was. There was only one type of beast nearby that could attack them—the wind-attribute magical beast mentioned in the intelligence report. Reggie had already finished packing. Veralis had placed the sample bags in her backpack and zipped it shut.
As Xuan Xi stood up, she could clearly feel the vibrations coming through the ground. The frequency was different from what she’d felt at the riverbed—faster, and closer. She turned to follow Sige’s gaze—a dark silhouette at the peak of the ridge was moving rapidly along the mountain ridge. Its motion didn’t look like running; it was closer to gliding. The dark shape moved faster than wind-driven sand. It paused at the edge, then vanished beyond the other side of the ridge.
“The ridge,” Sige said. “We’ll have to go around.”
The five didn’t head directly for the mountain ridge. Instead, they moved along the valley’s edge toward the south, hugging the base of the ridge. This way, the beast couldn’t spot them from above, and they wouldn’t stray too far off course. After about half an hour of walking, Xuan Xi sensed a shift in the vibrations underfoot. A trace of long-missed moisture seeped up through the sand. She stopped, crouched down, and touched the ground. The soil’s color was darker than before, and her fingers came away damp—a water source couldn’t be far now.
“There’s water up ahead,” she said. “The beast’s lair is probably close by.”
Sige glanced ahead but didn’t slow. The group pressed on until the valley began to widen and the rock walls on either side gradually gentled. More gray-green plants appeared here, from low ground-hugging grasses to waist-high shrubs. The variety wasn’t great, but it was far better than that barren wasteland before.
Occasional small tracks dotted the ground—left by smaller animals, completely different from the beast’s footprints. The sandstorm seemed not to have swept through this area. The markings of those tracks remained clear, untouched by wind and sand.
“We’ll camp near here tonight. The water source is close by, and our hunt target should still be around the mountain ridge, but it’s unlikely to show itself again before dawn.” Sige gave the order.
Reggie pulled the tent from his pack again. Elsa found two suitable anchor points nearby and weighed down the corners with stones. Veralis emptied her water flask, ready to refill it at the water source. Xuan Xi stood by the tent waiting for Reggie to assemble the frame, then went over to help brace one of the support poles while Reggie fitted the other in place. The wind blew past them, carrying the scent of sand and the welcome touch of moisture.
The tent was up, and Veralis returned with water. Reggie dropped a purification tablet into the flask. The four of them sat on the ground resting. The wind had died down considerably since midday, and the temperature had dropped too. Xuan Xi sat by the tent’s edge, tightening her collar. Sige pulled a piece of dried ration from her pack, broke it in half, and handed her one piece. Xuan Xi took a bite. The flavor was faint; she chewed a couple of times and swallowed it down with some water.
Night fell. A light came on inside the tent, casting the silhouettes of all five across the tent fabric. Xuan Xi finished the half ration and brushed the crumbs from her palm.
The wind brushed against the tent fabric, making a fine rustling sound. It was the same wind as the night before the sandstorm—and yet, somehow different.