Having decided to create Dalios' new weapon first, they followed Hanaan through many different streets, alleyways, and corridors, until they arrived at their destination at last. It was a well-built smithy in the west part of the city, about two times as large as the one Corwyn had owned back in Quorin. Instead of one, it even had three forges, of which one was usable for outsiders as long as they paid a fee. The payment was taken care of by Hanaan, and thereafter, the four of them walked up to the forge now available to them.
Corwyn gave it an inspecting glance. Except for some small details, it was built in a similar way to the forge he had used back then, with all the working tools he needed. On the way here, he had already discussed with Dalios what properties the spear should have. Dalios normally didn't like to talk much, but when it came to his weapon, that guy could probably write you a whole essay about how it should be made.
They bought all the necessary materials already on the way here, so Corwyn didn't dare dawdle and immediately got to work. He shoveled large amounts of coal into the oven to heat it up properly, and once the fire reached the required temperature, he placed the metal into the oven as well.
Slowly but surely, the metal melted down into its hot, raw form. Once it had completely turned into liquid, he took it out of the oven and poured it into the form for the blade he prepared beforehand during the heating process. Soon, the entire form was filled with the blazing hot metal. Corwyn waited until it had finished solidifying itself back into sturdy steel, then took it out and put it on the anvil.
Holding the fresh blade with the pincers in one hand and the hammer in the other, he started to hit the metal in a well-known rhythm. One step at a time, he gradually formed the blade into its desired shape. Once he was satisfied with the result, he let go of the blade and focused his mind on the Arcor surrounding him. Sunahara possessed an Arcor well too, so the concentration was rich and it wasn't difficult to gather a sufficient amount in a short amount of time. Besides, during the recent days, Corwyn got better and better at drawing Arcor into himself quickly. Inside a well, it took him only about 10 seconds to gather enough for his needs.
As soon as he was sure no one was watching him, he formed a long, black stick, made of a different metal than the one he used for the spear blade. As long as he knew the properties of it, Corwyn could create any kind of metal. However, grasping those properties was anything but simple. He had to thoroughly analyze the structure before anything could be done.
Once the stick reached a sufficient length, Corwyn put it in the forge briefly for it to heat up, then placed it on the anvil next to the still hot blade. Carefully, he connected the two pieces together, then hit the connecting point between the two pieces with his hammer, over and over again. Soon, the two pieces of metal started to merge together, and once the process was complete, Corwyn picked the weapon up and put it into a bucket with cold water. Steam was rising from it.
A few minutes later, the red color had finally vanished from the weapon. Corwyn pulled it out of the bucket and took a glance at his creation. The shaft of the spear was a dark color, while the speartip which was formed like the blade of a small saber was a gleaming silver. He couldn't find any faults with the weapon and handed it over to Dalios.
"Try it out!"
Dalios took the spear at Corwyn's request, and also looked at it carefully. Following that, he started to swing the spear in all kinds of moves, before he finally stopped and turned towards Corwyn. He wore the same expression he always carried, but Corwyn thought to have caught a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he voiced one short sentence:
"I'm grateful!"
He ought to be satisfied with that. Hanaan was already laughing again.
"Hahaha, don't worry, he always says what he is truly feeling, so no need to be unsure of his gratitude! Let me thank you too, Corwyn. As far as I can see it, you did a pretty good job there!"
"I'm glad I was able to help!"
Now that Dalios had a new weapon he was satisfied with, they resumed their sight-seeing tour around the city. Sunahara really was gorgeous! It had many old monuments still standing all over the city, and as they expected, the number of foreign wares really was astonishing. But what fascinated Corwyn the most was the large white tower in the center. Who built that absurdly tall tower, and how do you move up and down within it? Wouldn't walking up so many stairs be rather tiring in the long term?
He asked one of the local vendors these questions, and the answers were truly shocking to him. It seems like Sunahara was once the capital of the now long gone Desert Kingdom, and the white tower was like a castle for the royalty. Today, it is being occupied by the mayor and the government. Going up and down was apparently done through an elevating platform in the center of the tower, lifted by mages with object manipulating abilities.
(The world is truly vast, huh...)
Corwyn thought that while staring at the tower. He had a feeling that as he traveled further and further, he could see all kinds of innovations he wouldn't have ever thought existed before. He wanted to discover more of the world. That desire was burning within him stronger than ever.
Like this, three days quickly went by, and the expedition party was about to head out again at last. As they gathered at the southern gate, Corwyn looked at the city behind him. During the last couple of days, they had been all over the city, buying interesting wares, learning about the ancient history of the Desert Kingdom, and having a great time. There were still many things and places to be discovered here, so Corwyn definitely wanted to come here again one day.
The caravan finally started to move, and they said goodbye to Sunahara. They had only spent a short time here, but Corwyn and Teo would remember it in their hearts forever.
As they were progressing through the desert, Corwyn thought about their next destination. Would it also be a dazzling metropolis? Or would it be a dusty, aged town? He walked up to Jarrok and posed that very question to him.
"Our next stay will be Konen. As to how it looks like, well, it's not really big 'cause it's one of the few cities with a natural access to water. During the age of the Tehr, there were countless cities like that, but most of 'em had their oasis dry up and had to abandon their homes eventually."
Corwyn had naturally heard that story before. The reason for the decline of humanity's population was the massive sudden shortage of water, which led countless people to die of thirst. In the vast desert, one could find many ruins of former cities which were once brimming with life. Many adventurers sought out those ruins, in hope of some relics or treasures.
Konen was located quite a distance away from the Arcor vein the expedition party was currently following, farther to the southeast. They had to take that detour because on the shortest route straight down south, there weren't any big cities where they could resupply, so this sacrifice of time was sadly necessary. Until then, Corwyn would do his usual routine of marching, training, and sleeping.
It took them four days to reach the point where they had to part with the Arcor vein, and had to continue through a more dangerous territory. The lack of Arcor made the ability users within the group a bit nervous, and Corwyn couldn't help but feel the same way. However, his squad included many capable warriors, so he would probably be fine.
One day, two days passed, but nothing dangerous had befallen the expedition yet. This made everyone's mood much lighter, and some of them already began to chat again among themselves.
Corwyn too was in a conversation with Teo at the moment.
"Hey Teo, what do you think will we see once we have reached Konen?"
"Hmm, I'm not too sure either. I mean, it is a city that has survived throughout a hundred years, so it may very well have one or two old relics from the past. However, since it doesn't lie on the common trading routes, to call it prosperous would probably be an overstatement."
"True, and since it is a city without an Arcor well, it's very likely it doesn't have many mages either, if not none at all!"
"That might not necessarily be correct. Maybe there are people born with abilities, but they remain unnoticed because there is little Arcor to practice their ability!"
"You might be right about that..."
Corwyn became briefly lost in his thoughts, until Jarrok's crude yelling forcefully hammered him out of his trance.
"If ya all are so curious about that city, then ya don't hav' tha wait much longer! Look, it's already in sight!"
Corwyn and Teo both jumped at his sudden yelling, then hastily focused their eyes on the desert in front of them, and sure enough, the sight of high walls appeared before them.
"I see it, I see it! C'mon, let's hurry up and enter!"
Corwyn bubbled with excitement. Jarrok just laughed at his exaggerated reaction and said:
"Tha city won't run away, so calm down! We will probably reach it in two hours or so!"
His words were indeed correct. Just nearly two hours later, the entire display of Konen was visible, and it wouldn't take long until they passed the gate.
But just as everyone relaxed, something unexpected by anyone happened. The ground beneath them suddenly started to shake, only gently at first, but the trembling soon became more violent. The adventurers were panicking.
"What is going on!?"
"An earthquake?"
"How could an earthquake be so tremendous in the middle of the desert!?"
Corwyn too looked around nervously, but then he heard Jarrok yelling, sounding desperate.
"Fuck, this is bad! Run, ya fools, run as fast as ya can!"
Seeing their always calm and composed squad leader suddenly panicking, everyone immediately began to run towards the city. Corwyn ran next to Jarrok and asked the man:
"What is happening?"
"It's a juggernaut, run as fast as you can! If you fall behind, no one can save you!"
Just as he was about to ask what a "juggernaut" is, the tremors intensified even more, making many adventurers lose their balance and falling on the floor.
*Boooooooommmm!*
Like it had exploded, the ground opened up, massive amounts of sand falling in every direction. Through the hole, a large head appeared, the size of multiple houses stacked next to each other. In front was a large snout, blowing sand out of its nostrils. The creature's eyes were yellow, its pupils the form of black slits focused only on its prey. When its mouth opened, two rows of large fangs appeared, each one the size of a small tower.
More and more of the monster's body was revealed as it slowly crawled out of the hole. Its body was like that of a centipede, endlessly long and with, in comparison to its body size, multiple pairs of small legs, while its head gave off the impression of a dragon from ancient fairy tales. Its whole body was coated in carapace so thick one might think it was actual metal. The creature was completely black, giving it the appearance of a gigantic shadow looming over them.
Once the creature had fully emerged, it quickly started to approach its prey. A few moments later, it had already reached one of the wagons pulled by a dromos, left behind by the fleeing men, the juggernaut's head immediately descended onto it, jaw wide open. And just like that, in mere seconds, the whole wagon was devoured by the beast, and it set off for its next target.
Corwyn showed a face of pure horror. What kind of nightmare was this?