When the morning of the fourth day came, the riders finally reached their destination hidden in a valley.
First there were small tawny-brown rocks sticking out of the sand, and then the rocks became larger and larger and more numerous. The sandy area gradually dwindled and was gradually replaced by a rocky surface. Finally, a rocky hill with a height of 100 meters and craggy rocks appeared in the middle of the desert. From the leader below, many elves cheered.
Due to the almost never-ending high winds and sandstorms in the desert, there are many rocks on the surface of the hills that have been cut into abstract statues. The windward side is smooth as a mirror, while the leeward side is jagged. The team detoured into a mountain trail, led through several detours by the leader, and finally passed through a giant naturally formed rock arch that led to a slightly flat rock.
Hundreds of tents sit on this flat ground surrounded by rock hills. There are a few tents that are extraordinarily large, seemingly capable of holding at least a hundred people. There are some vendors who set up stalls in the center of the flat, and many people linger there. Powerful horses, huge shell beetles, enlarged ostrich-like gray-scaled birds, and even many grotesque lizards scattered all over the flat ground. Shell beetles often carry goods on their backs or pull carts for merchants, lizards and greyscale birds serve as mounts for people, and most horses are concentrated in several pens and appear to be the property of the tribe.
There are also some buildings on the surrounding rock hills, most of them are gray, and some have onion-shaped roofs. People went in and out of buildings and tents, and some children stopped chasing and scrambling when they saw someone approaching, and ran close to the riders.
The little ghosts came together and shouted, "Gifts! Gifts!" Muhadi looked at these elf children carefully, and found that most of them were dirty, with curly curly hair and some tattered clothes. Some of the little devils had mud on their faces, even mixed with snot and sweat.
"Go away!" Many people in the team impatiently drove these little things away. Hassan pulled out his whip and made a loud volley in the air, "Get out!" He shouted angrily, so frightened the little ghosts surrounding him immediately ran away.
Everyone else had their own reactions. Chief Stitch walked at the forefront, but no child dared to run over and pester him. Fatuma laughed and threw out a few pottery coins at random, winning a group of little devils to snatch them frantically. Fahd took out a gold coin in one hand and swayed it, and threw it out, but he actually hid the gold coin back in his hand like a trick. He was not embarrassed when he found out that he was seen by Muhadi, he just explained, "If you really give them money, they will definitely come to haunt you next time."
"Fatuma doesn't seem to care."
"That's because she is like this, always doing whatever she wants. When she is in a good mood, she is willing to throw a lot of coins. When she is in a bad mood, she even draws a knife and slashes people. Even children are no exception." Fahd looked at With his sister, explained to Muhadi.
"Who are these children? Why is no one caring?" Muhadi pressed.
Fahd gave Mohadi a strange look. "Every family has them, and some are orphans. They make a living doing odd jobs in bazaars (markets in the Middle East and Central Asia). As for why no one cares, I wonder what others can care about them? They are too young, Before the age of samurai, forcing them to exercise too early is harmful to the body."
"Maybe they should go to school?"
Fahd observed Muhadi for a while with the eyes of the monster, and said helplessly, "You are either a master of cold humor, Muhadi, or a born fool."
Approaching some, all kinds of odors blowing in the face. Merchants and travelers came and went with all kinds of goods and all kinds of garbage. There are many rotten vegetable leaves and rotten minced meat on the market and roads, attracting strange insects as large as hooligans hovering and flying. Like much of the Middle Ages on Earth, there are no sanitation systems or sewers, and dry stools can be seen in many places.
From the stench and the hustle and bustle, four riders came on horseback, one in the lead and three behind. The elf at the head had a gloomy face and rode a white horse. He carried a large bone bow that was 4 feet long, and wore a carved wooden crown on a black and white checkered turban.
The three entourages rode big red, black and grey horses each, with swords attached to their waists, and followed closely by the reins.
Fatuma snorted, "My father is here." Then he rode to the leading elf. The latter looked at her coldly, "Sneak out again, your memory is worse than I thought, and it seems that it's time to teach you a lesson."
"It's ironic to say this from an old man who was away from home most of the time." Fatuma replied, "Where did you disappear some time ago?"
Fatuma's father's stern face also showed a smile, "Do something serious. Speaking of which, I saw a strange human being in the team. Is it the man you picked up again?"
"This man's name is Muhadi," Fatuma glanced at Muhadi, smiled lightly, and said to his father. "He's no ordinary slave, he's a psyker.
Fatuma's father showed a look of interest, "Psyker... Interesting, the tribe will be useful to him. Don't play him bad, Fatuma."
"I'm not willing to..." Fatuma smiled like a poisonous snake, "but you came out to meet the old man in person, definitely not to see your little daughter earlier. Do you have something to do with Stitch?"
"Red Hand" Stitch heard his name and rode ahead, "Chief." He stroked his chest and saluted.
"I want to talk about this work..." The chief looked grim, "It's a big deal, let's go to the council hall to talk."
After the chief, Stitch and three of his followers left, the returning riders also went home one after another. Before leaving, Fahd invited Mohadi to sit in his tent when he had time, and Hassan was leaving behind a " You dare to act alone, I will find a chance to kill you", then strode towards a large tent decorated with colorful flags.
Fatuma led Muhadi to a house on a rocky hill, and to the latter's surprise, from the outside, the building was weathered and disfigured, dilapidated and old. But it was surprisingly expansive, with many spacious rooms excavated inside the hills, and the stairs extended further down, which seemed to have penetrated deep into the ground.
"Is this your house?" Muhadi asked aloud while looking at the decorations and murals inside the building.
"Nonsense. Of course it's mine now. In the past, this was a grand palace."
It can be seen that the furnishings in the room are very simple, which is simply out of proportion to the grand hall. Muhadi then asked, "Palace?"
"If what the song says is true, then this used to be the holy mountain of the elf empire. Those ancient elves are set to be here. They built magnificent palaces and temples around the mountain." Fatuma used a tone of disdain. "In ancient mythology, the shrine of the elves was so majestic, when the aliens entered its hall, they would be surprised to find white clouds floating above their heads, because the ceiling of the shrine was above the clouds."
Seeing Muhadi's surprised expression, Fatuma said fiercely. "It's all stories about coaxing children to sleep. Now this so-called holy mountain has long been buried by wind and sand, and only the peaks of the past are exposed. The legendary palaces and temples were also buried by wind and sand, and the rest is what we are now. As for the false gods worshipped by the ancient elves..." Fatuma spat, "...they have long since left Attas and have the same virtue as the gods of other races, and now 80% are dead."
The two walked to a small room that was simply furnished. There was a tapestry on the wall, some simple wooden furniture was placed on the wall, a low bed was placed on one side of the room, and a small window was opened on the other side, and the light streamed in. , illuminating the room.
Fatuma threw off his boots, and the two did it cross-legged on the mosaic-patterned rug. He didn't speak for a while.
"You can just find a room in this ruins to live in." Finally, Fatuma spoke first, "Then you have to do psionic training, help me with errands, and make money to support yourself by the way. Understand, this is accepting Scorpio. Tribal protection, give us what it takes to be slaves."
She brought her face closer, "Do it well, you will be rewarded, extra."