As the sun had journeyed three-fourths of the way across the sky, King Akdan, accompanied by Vera the Sorceress and his minions, arrived at the location where they had spotted the peculiar boat a few days earlier. To their astonishment, there was no trace of the humans or the boat.
King Akdan, in his half-human, half-scorpion form, paced the area, bewildered by the mysterious disappearance of the strange-looking boat that had appeared in the same spot. "How could it be? I am absolutely sure that this is the place where that strange-looking boat appeared. How could it disappear into thin air?"
"It appears that they have departed, Your Majesty," Vera reported. She then closed her eyes, as if trying to perceive something. "They have headed north. Additionally, I sense a great disruption in the mana here. There seems to be something of immense significance buried beneath the desert sands." She crouched, placed her hand on the sand, and concentrated.
