"Hurry! Get those two to the village!" Baset begged. Damon and Ablerto had been hauled onto the backs of two of the steeds of the tribal warriors. The third one that Baset called Geryo had dismounted his steed and was standing with the rest of our group looking back at the warriors.
"Head back with speed! I'll be close behind with this group." Geryo ordered then in Torapos. I arched a brow when I heard it. I've never heard anyone speak Torapos besides my grandmother and my mom.
"With all haste Warden Geryo." One of the warriors replied. With that the two of then took off with Damon and Alberto. We all watched them ride off until the light from their torches faded off into the distance. Baset groaned and ran her hands through her hair then looked over at Geryo.
"What the hell did you get me in to?!" She snapped in Torapos.
"I wasn't expecting their numbers to swell so quickly." Geryo replied again in Torapos. "They went from a few thousand hundreds of thousands in a few days."
"That wasn't hundreds of thousands Geryo!" Baset snapped pushing Geryo chest. "There were millions of them! If I knew it was this bad I wouldn't have brought my students!"
"Lady Baset respectfully whatever you two are talking about can wait until we are out of this desert and safe!" Jane interrupted. Baset let out a huff then looked at Jane and the rest of us.
"You're right!" Baset said switching back to universal standard. She turned back to Geryo. "Geryo, I have already had two students injured tonight. I'd rather not have anymore. Can you please show us to the village."
"Of course." Geryo replied in universal standard. His words were halted and spoken hesitantly like he was unsure if he was using the right words. Universal standard wasn't a language he was used to or comfortable with yet.
He climbed up on his steed then looked back at the rest of us.
"My steed carry three but no more." He said.
"Bone-lasher can handle three." I said. Jane and Iris shook their heads.
"No offense to Bone-lasher but it would probably be better to use Jingles for this." Iris said. "He's a lot bugger than Bone-lasher and plus Jingles can fly."
"No flying evos!" Baset warned. If "If you're not keeping pace with us the village's protections will prevent you from entering."
"We can ride Jingles if that makes you two feel better but I want Bone-lasher out. He warned me that those Dr'idi'saiyo were above us. Plus he doesn't he uses electromagnetic fields to navigate. He can sense a lot farther than any of our evos can see or hear."
"Fine." Iris said relented.
"Jingles."
"Bone-lasher."
Jane and I summoned our evos and the moment Bone-lasher saw Jingles it growled slapped some sand at the Lyon with its tail. Jingles snarled back at Bone and flapped his wings kicking up a large bust cloud that made Bone sneeze.
"No fighting you two!" Jane exclaimed then walked over to pet Jingles. I moved to Bone and patted him on the tip of his nose.
"Bone, I need you to act as the look out for us while we get someplace safe. Thank you for the warning earlier, without that I would have been toast."
I was flooded with images of Jingles and feelings of loathing and resentment filled my head. I shook my head then knelt closer to Bone-lasher and whispered so only he could hear.
"Listen, you're the only one that can do this. If I trust anyone else we all might die. I'm literally putting my life in your hands Bone."
Bone-lasher let out a soft growl then nudged me with his head. I smiled and patted him some more.
"Thanks Bone." I said.
Iris and Jane had already climbed onto the back of Jingles. Iris helped me climb onto Jingles back and then Jane nodded to Baset.
"Don't fall behind. We're not safe here." Geryo said then spurted his steed onward heading north. Jingles and Bone-lasher chased after it managing to keep pace. I felt another slight twinge in my right hand and looked down to see that my crystal was glowing a little brighter. I felt a hug in my heart again, like something familiar in the distance.
"Chase are you okay?" Jane asked softly. I looked up at Jane and frowned.
"Something has felt weird ever since we got to Niger." I replied. Jane and Iris looked concerned.
"Weird how?" Jane asked. I showed them my farm crystal, it was now just bright enough to see in the low light. Jane grabbed my hand with her free hand and frowned.
"Are you channeling mana?" Jane asked.
"No. What's more every time I look at my crystal I feel a tug in my chest. Like there is something familiar nearby. The longer we follow that guy the stronger that feeling gets." I replied.
"That doesn't make sense." Iris said.
"Well want to hear something weirder?" I asked. Jane and Iris nodded. "Both Baset and that Geryo guy were speaking Torapos."
"Wait you mean you could understand them?" Iris hissed. I nodded then looked ahead at their steed. They were a good distance ahead of us so they couldn't hear what we were saying. The inverse was also true about us.
"What were they talking about?" Jane asked.
"Baset was pissed because she didn't expect thos Dr'idi'saiyos numbers to be that high. Apparently those are the reason we are here too. And Geryo said their numbers have been booming over the last few days." I replied.
"So basically were here to deal with over population. Baset was probably planning to have you and Astrid compete to see who could kill more of those Draddiso thingies." Jane said.
"Dr'idi'saiyo, it means sonic viper in Torapos." I said. Jane nodded.
"This is a little more than a overpopulation problem. There were millions of those things!" Iris hissed.
"That's why Lady Baset was so caught off guard earlier. The problem was a lot bigger than she originally led to believe." Jane said.
"That many evos could devastate local ecosystems, hell wipe out entire villages. We saw several when we were flying over the desert on the terraback." I said.
"Fuck!" Iris groaned.
I felt another tug in my chest. I looked ahead at the horizon, there was nothing but the endless darkness barely illuminated by the head lantern strapped Geryo's steed, but I felt like there was something fast approaching.
"I think we're close." I said.
"How could you possibly know that?" Iris asked.
"I feel…something." I replied. I felt my mana well up inside my farm crystal and tendrils of mana wrap around myself, Iris and Jane.
The endless desert in the horizon shimmered away and a large stone wall lined with crystal searchlights and a massive gate that looked to be made out of gemstone. Jane Iris and I gasped.
"Holy fucking shit!" I screamed. Geryo, Baset and Astrid all turned back to look at us. Iris pointed at the gate.
"That it?!" She shouted at Geryo. He looked puzzled for a brief second then his eyes grew wide.
"You can see the gates?!" He shouted back.
"Yeah!" I shouted back.
"What gates?!" Astrid shouted.
We passed through a transparent field and suddenly blackness of the night was banished. By the light from the crystal searchlights. I could see Astrid visible gasp and Baset smile warmly. Geryo's steed slowed to a stop in front of the gate. Jingles and Bone-lasher both did the same.
"Open the gates! It's me!" Geryo shouted to the guards posted at the top of the gates in Torapos. The massive crystal gates slowly creaked open until there was enough space for us to get through.
Bone-lasher turned and snarled at the black expanse behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw a massive swarm of Dr'idi'saiyo flying low and heading straight for us.
"They're coming!" I shouted. Everyone turned and Baset and the girl's eyes got big.
"Worry not. We are safe behind the veil." Geryo said calmly.
The swarm quickly reached the transparent field and smacked right into it as if flying into a invisible wall. The vast majority of the swarm dispersed flying off into the night. I let out a sigh of relief then looked at Bone-lasher.
"We're safe. You can rest." I said holding out my right hand. Bone-lasher jumped into my crystal and I felt a feeling of relief wash over me from Bone-lasher.
'Bone does care.' Baset said.
"Follow me!" Geryo shouted at us. He maneuvered his steed through the gates and Jane had Jingles followed.
As we passed through the crystal gate I felt another tug in my chest, this one stronger than the ones before.
"By the light of Ra…" Jane gasped.
The 'village' was ginormous. Two story stone buildings stretched as far as the eye could see. Not a trace of the desert sand outside could be found inside the gates, the roads were paved with smoothed colorful cobblestone that looked immaculate and brand new. Intricate lampposts topped with crystal statue on top. The stone wall stretched around the parameter of village.
Four warriors approached Geryo and did a salute. Geryo's steed came to a stop in front of those warriors and Geryo hopped off and Astrid an Baset followed suit. The steed jumped into Geryo's farm crystal on his calf. Jane, Iris and I jumped off Jingles and he jumped into Jane's crystal.
"Warden Geryo, you made it back safe." One of the warriors said in Torapos. "We feared the worst when you detachment returned with those two outsiders without you."
"What happened to then?" Baset asked in Torapos. The warriors all looked surprised but quickly regained composure.
"They were taken to the healers. They should recover." One replied. Baset let out a sigh of relief then turned the girls and me.
"Damon and Alberto were taken to the village healers, they should make a full recovery." Baset said in English. Astrid sighed then shook her head.
"Those fucking idiots…thank the gods…"
I felt another tug and a pull towards something at the center of the village.
'What the hell is that?!' I thought angrily. That damn tug was starting to get annoying.
"Chase are you okay?" Jane asked softly. I blinked and looked down at her.
"Yeah why?" I asked.
"You were staring off into the distance." Iris whispered. "Is it your crystal?"
"Everything okay you three?" Baset asked. All eyes turned to us.
"All fine!" Jane exclaimed.
"Baset, we can arrange to have your student's escorted safely out of the area tomorrow night." Geryo said to her in Torapos.
"They won't have any way of getting back to the collage until next week they're stranded here for now." Baset replied. "I'd rather have them safe close by than worry how they are across the country."
"Okay, we'll give them sanctuary while you help us." Greyo said then looked at the warriors. They lined up and saluted Geryo. He turned to Jane, Iris, Astrid, and me and did bow.
"Student's of Baset welcome to Tolapo Village."