Why did he say this would be wonderful? This was certainly not wonderful! It was so hot and there was so much sand, it was all throughout his fur and itching terribly! Beist thought to himself as he lumbered through the White Sand Sea. The sand was blazing hot, his usually bare feet had to be wrapped in leather sacks to not burn his paw pads off. The occasional gust of wind blew sand into his face, so he had to wear a cloth around his neck, ready to pull over his mouth and wrapped around his head like a turban. His cloak and makeshift robe were wrapped around his waist, it was far too hot for them to remain on his fur-covered, horribly, horribly warm torso. At least the fur would protect him from the sun.

Even Pretzels, the cold-blooded reptile, hung limply over Beist's shoulder. "Why is it so hot? Why are we in such a horrible place? Take me somewhere else, I can't take this. I deserve respect..." they mumbled to Beist. Beist didn't respond, but he honestly felt the same way. He'd been so excited to go see an interesting plant with Kamille that he hadn't even thought how horrendously ill-suited he was to such an environment. At least Ned, Awd, and Bull were comfortably being looked after at Kamille's house in Moonglade and Dora was cozy in her little pocket space, a creation of a spell that Beist had acquired recently. Now he could comfortably bring her anywhere with him.

"Kamille..." Beist panted. The beast man, like any fluffy animal, didn't sweat. The only way he could try to cool down was by panting. "Are you quite sure we're headed in the right direction...?"

---

Bringing Pet
Griffon (Sleigh Bell)
Pet Pocket

Kamille suffered for Beist, and she blamed herself for being so short-sighted and not having foreseen that Beist would have such difficulty in the desert. The Witch herself didn't look like she was suffering as much as Beist, hardly breaking a sweat, but that she knew to be an effect of her fire magic. For their travel to the desert her attire changed a bit, as she traded her hood and cloak for a scarf of pure zeinavians silk to cover the bottom half of her face and protect her from the whiplashing wind and sand.

The Witch had already made that travel a few times before, with no difficulties. Even if the dunes were ever changing, the sun and moon and stars kept on their course religiously, without fail.

"I'm....... Yeah! Last time I came, I saw a bunch of these melons around the northeast face of the oasis... We should be there in a few days.... Maybe we'd rather travel during the night? And rest during the day? What do you think?"

Kamille often used the route with the most traffic, in hopes there would be a passing caravan that would swoop them by and allow them to join their - for a small fee, as always, of course. Though some caravans could be wild and more trouble than they might've called for, it was still worth trying.

"Zeinavians are a strange people, to our customs, but I grew to like them... Some of them are very loud and boisterous. I've come to love their silks and jewels. There are always merchant caravans around here.... Maybe they are being a bit more careful lately, as I've heard about these sandworms and pouchers..."

As it would seem, Zeinav was not without its problems, just like Moonglade.

"That... might be a good... idea...." Beist panted, holding a hand up above his eyes to block out the sun. The sun wouldn't be setting for a while, it was still high in the sky. It was much colder at night in the desert, and the big, fluffy beast man was certainly far more comfortable in the cold. But, he looked at Kamille in concern. Would she be alright walking in such cold temperatures? She looked like she had prepared herself for the desert heat from her change of clothing. Beist felt a bit guilty. He was just proving to be a burden on this trip. "Will you be alright travelling at night?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Oh, I'd like to see a sandworm! They sound fascinating, don't they? I've heard they're very dangerous though, so I'm not sure I'd actually like to get that close, but seeing one from a distance would be wonderful, don't you think? I've read a bit about them, but never seen one in person. I read that they have armor-like chiton rather than soft bodies like normal worms. They're more like centipedes than worms, really. And they can sense creatures on the surface above them through vibrations in the ground!" Beist replied excitedly, a bit of energy returned to them from their sluggish state just moments ago at the mention of an interesting creature. Beist wasn't particularly interested in silks or jewels, unlike Kamille, but a fascinating creature could get him talking for hours. He almost forgot about hot it was, he was so distracted by thoughts of sand worms.

"How about we set camp now, then? We rest a good while, and then keep on traveling while it's still good and chilly in the evening. How about that? "

While she didn't exactly suffered on the cold, she did feel it eat away at her mana pool the longer she got exposed to it. Kamille had spent her fair share around Frost Gale to know how that could end, but even then, she's been feeling like it was becoming less and less of a worry for her.

Mentioning sandworms sent a chill up her spine.

"Uhhh... I... Found one, once. A giant one. Would not recommend... But yes, all that you said is true. They are incredibly resilient, and they can use some sort of echolocation through the vibrations in the ground. And as creatures of the earth, lightning can pierce through their defenses. The one I found was incredibly large and-"

"CAWWWWWWW! CAW CAW CAW! HELP! HELP! I FOUND A MAN! A MAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Most of the day, their walking was silent and uneventful, mostly because Mischief was out somewhere. Kamille's familiar would always come back after spending a few hours flying around, in search of his shinnies. This time, his search wielded something other than shinny things, and he had apparently spotted someone in need of help. Kamille wondered if perhaps it was some poor guy who collapsed under the unforgiving zeinavian sun.

"Let's see what this is about, Beist? Mischief has the penchant for bringint me trouble, but..."

But she would be the last person to deny help to any who crossed her way.

"That would be... appreciated." Beist huffed with a grateful smile. He listened to Kamille's warnings against seeing a sandworm, nodding with understanding. Of course he understood the danger, and understood why she would be against it. They were quite dangerous beasts. Actually, Beist wasn't even certain they could be considered beasts. His ability to speak to animals might not extend to such monsters. It hadn't seemed to work so well on the frog, though he had to admit he hadn't tried that hard to speak with it. It had been too aggressive and offered no time for diplomacy. A sandworm would likely be the same. He wouldn't admit it to Kamille since she had had such an awful experience with the frog chimera, it having swallowed her, but he actually thought it was kind of cute. He also found spiders and oozes and just about any magical animal cute though, so maybe his taste was questionable. Beist mused as he pulled the tiny pumpkin from his pocket, but before he threw it, he was distracted by Mischief's sudden cawing.

"A man? In the middle of the desert?" he muttered in confusion. Mischief had found someone out here? Who would possibly be out here in this godsforsaken heat and sand? Another traveler? It was a bit suspicious, but he had to agree with Kamille's unsaid words. "Yes, they might be in need of some assistance. We should go see." he agreed with a nod and placed the pumpkin back into his pocket with a sigh. He'd just have to bear this torment a little longer.

They set off, following Mischief across the sand toward whoever it was the bird had found out here.

No doubt it was a bit suspicious........

But the setting wasn't unfamiliar. Some people came to the desert without actually being prepared for it, and while the forests were alive with danger as well, the dangers the sands reserved were different; oppressive, eating away at their resilience and will, the unforgiving heat being able to melt away anyone's resolve.

Well, maybe not a Pyromancer's. But for those, the danger presented itself in other shapes.

Kamille immediately set off to follow Mischief, without taking much notice that the path he was taking her was unusual for anyone to take as a route. Either this person was very lost or... something was off. A few minutes of walking led them to what Mischief had actually seen: there was, indeed, a man laying on the burning sands with his face down. Even from the distance they could tell he was an elf, his pointy ears sticking out of his curly hair. The Witch wasted no time in running up to him and turning him face up. He wore typical zeinavian clothing, his shemagh covering half his face. Dark skinned and slender features, he didn't seem to be actually injured in any way, so Kamille assumed he passed out due to the intense heat and dehydration. After putting two fingers to his jugular to make sure he was actually alive, she started trying to wake him up.

"He must have passed out from the heat.... Helloooooo... Wake up... Let me get him some water..."

As Kamille seemed distracted with the man, searching among her stuff for her water as she knelt down by his side, Beist would probably be the one to first notice the sands around them starting to stirr, sliding silently as to uncover what lied beneath. Mischief started to caw frantically, his small eyes getting the shifting sands around them from afar. As for the Witch, it only became clear what it was all about when the man, who was supposed to be fainted, moved his hand as fast as a sandsnake to reveal a blade. Under the scorching sun of the desert, the small blade gleamed as it pressed at her neck from a victim of the sun turned ambusher.

Beist glanced around in worry as the sands started to move. Before he could react, five more men suddenly unburied themselves from the sand, all wrapped tightly from head to toe in white cloth. Their mouths and noses were protected from the sand by the cloth as well, with their eyes covered by yellowish-glassed goggles. They almost looked like mummies, but they were definitely not dead or rotting. Now, they were all pointing scimitars and crossbows up at the beast man and at Kamille from every side! This had all been a setup for an ambush!

Some of the bandits looked a little startled when they first rose up to see Beist, probably having expected a much less intimidating target, but they kept their weapons aimed. Beist raised his hands into the air, all four of them. His walking stick was tucked into his belt, not being very stable on the loose sand. He hadn't used it since coming to the desert.

"Drop all your valuables and supplies and maybe we'll let you live for as long as the desert allows it!" the bandit holding the knife to Kamille's throat spat aggressively.

"If you're in need of food and water, we'd be happy to provide it without any need for hostilities. We came here because there was someone in need of assistance, after all." Beist spoke calmy and gently, trying to reason with the bandits. Maybe they were just desperate? It was understandable in such a hostile environment, and Beist could sometimes be a little more caring than might be good for him. "Just be calm for a moment, I mean no harm."

Beist lowered one of his arms and pointed it to the sand nearby. Concentrating for a moment, several plants suddenly grew from the ground, like miniature tree, their branches spreading and leaves growing. In quick succession, buds formed and then blossomed into flowers which then dropped their petals and grew into large, round oranges.

Some of the bandits looked at each other in confusion. One slowly backed away from Beist and Kamille and went over to the mini orange trees. He plucked one and cut it in half with his scimitar, inspecting it. He looked at Beist suspiciously.

"They're not poisonous or anything. I can eat one to prove it if you'd like. Toss one to me." Beist held out a hand to catch a fruit, but one didn't come. The bandit apparently accepted the offer as enough proof for him and pulled his mask down to bite into the fruit himself.

The bandit looked a little surprised. He took another bite and then looked to the others. "It's good!" they called and then continued eating the fruit in their hand, their scimitar lowered. The other bandits looked at each other and whispered to each other. One more went over to try a fruit

---

Create Food

Ginma bless Beist for his unlimited compassion and patience - Kamille had once considered herself a patient and understanding woman, but often felt like a raging and angsty teenager when she saw the gentle giant working. Kamille was quick to try and see the good in people who approached her in search for help...

...but wasn’t used to having their good nature being taken advantage of and betrayed.

The Witch had a much harder time trying to swallow her pride in order to defuse the situation, rather than escalate it. So often she found herself slow to anger, but that seemed to touch a sensitive spot in her ego. The harsh sun that bathed the sands of the Zeinav desert made it for an unforgiving heat to rise in waves from the ground... or was that just her? When she realized her magic was flaring up, she took a deep breath to try and keep it contained.

The bandits were talking among themselves, and while she had her time to calm down, the man that held the knife to her throat took a step back, seemingly still a bit suspicious of them. Kamille took a deep breath.

"We came to help someone in need. We are willing to help. It doesn’t seem like good manners to bite the hand that feeds."

She wasn’t able to bite her tongue in time, but as soon as she said so, the man that held the knife to her neck pulled her up from the ground like a ragdoll, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The elf still had a knife on his hand, this time pressing just slightly at her waist.

"Oh? You guys are really willing to help? Maggy! The big guy looks like he knows some magic! Maybe we should take them to the boss!"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

While most of the group looked happy enough to collect and eat from the fruit tree Beist summoned with his magic, there was one among them with a graver, much more thoughtful expression. A greedy expression, even. Animals were simple and straightforward in their wants and needs, but people were plagued by such desires like avarice. That was certainly one of those people. Maggy was the older of the group, a wrinkled and fierce looking zeinavian woman.

"You will not oppose to coming back with us, will ya? This is an interesting trick you can do right here...... Certainly you could repeat it? The children will like it."

The bandits exchanged some glances and signals. It felt much more like a command than a question, as the elf that served as bait was once again grabbing Kamille by the arm, without letting go of his knife. They were clearly wary of the big beastman, without taking notice the Witch was possibly using all of her willpower to not do something stupid that probably involved setting people on fire. Beist could hear Kamille's voice in his head, as he was being "gently" nudged to follow them along the desert.

This is not good, Beist. What do you want to do about them?

"Come, without a fuss, and we won't hurt you."

Beist took a step back, looking around nervously. He'd really hoped being kind would help diffuse the situation, but now it felt like he might just have made the situation worse. They'd gone from just wanting their belongings, to wanting to keep Beist captive to keep making food for them. This really wasn't good at all!

He heard Kamille's voice in his head and looked toward her. He had to think for a moment about how to respond. He knew Kamille would probably be willing to fight them in an instant. He could see her breathing deeply, keeping herself under control.

"I'm sorry, we can't come with you. We really must be going! Very busy!" Beist tried to reason with them, still hesitant to resort to violence even in such a situation. He really could be too nice for his own good sometimes.

"Can't be more important than feeding the hungry, can it?" Maggy chimed in with mock concern.

"I'd be happy to give you more food, but then we really must be leaving."

"You're not leaving." the other bandit stepped forward, holding his knife to Kamille's side, an arm around her neck.

Beist's ears and tail drooped sadly. He was terribly disappointed how this situation had devolved so rapidly. He was perfectly willing to help these people, even if they were bandits, but they wouldn't just accept it gratefully. Instead they got greedy, and now he couldn't forgive the way they were treating Kamille. He sighed sadly and looked Kamille in the eyes.

"Alright then, we'll do things your way." He said, his words directed at Kamille rather than the bandits who laughed, thinking they'd won.

Beist gave her the green light to do as she pleased, but she was worried about not getting him hurt too, as much as she knew the giant beast man was strong and could handle himself fairly well. They were at quite a disavantage while they all surrounded Beist like that, and while she could possibly get away from a knife to her back, it would also warn them of how she could cast spells.

Let's........ Carry on for a minute... Be ready to strike on my mark.[1]

Kamille apparently surrendered, and while she was binded, it was a simple rope Beist knew she could burn away easily. The walk was every bit as unpleasant as they promised, even if not as long. They elected to blind them soon enough as to not know exactly where their hideout was - which... was another layer of complication for the two of them. Should she have ended things right then and there? Probably. If they didn't know where they were, how they would get back on track? For that they ordered Beist to bend down so they could blindfold him, several weapons pointed at him. Kamille and Beist were both quickly relieved of their satchels and all personal belongings.

A distant caw kept Kamille at ease for a moment. Mischief could guide them back to the road.

The same way he guided them to the bandits.......... Damn you, Mischief.

Once blinded, it was easy to loose track of space and time. Beist would feel himself kinda patted down from time to time, as if they were trying to see if he was concealing weapons, while still cautious of his bigger size. Kamille was complaining and talking a lot, apparently falling over a couple of times. It was a bit uncharacteristic of her to be behaving like that.

Get ready, Beist... I'm gonna find a way to get the blindfold off....

Once again, like it had happened a few times before, Kamille gasped and tumbled to the ground - except this time she seemed to distance herself from the group, as she tumbled down a dune, it would seem, as all it could be noticed was her voice getting distant. It made for the others to chuckle, while the one responsible for guarding her uttered a curse and ran to fetch her.

In a matter of seconds, the laughter became shouts and screams of surprise. The distance would make it difficult for Beist to feel the heat, but the sudden surge of mana that emanated from her was palpable, disturbing the fabric of reality like the heat of the desert would make mirages [2]. Kamille had chosen to wait for a time when the group would have their guard lowered and, as they walked, more or less assumed the formation of a line, as it was usual to happen.

"It's a mage! The woman is a mage! Get your ass here, Vall!" they could hear the woman named Maggy scream.

With the blindfold and binds burned away as the flames enveloped her form, as her guard had apparently tried to yank her upright just in the wrong moment, the man shouted painfully, with blisters covering his hands.

There’s one right in front of you, Beist!

As he heard her voice in his head, Beist would feel a hot surge of wind, followed by an explosion and a shout of pain right behind him [3]. Kamille made it a point to first secure Beist's back before turning to the rest of the bandits, as they started to draw their weapons and get ready. As the element of surprise faded, at least one of them was already out.


[1]Message
[2]Inferno form
[3]Fireball

Beist surrendered, going along with whatever Kamille was planning. He trusted her enough to believe she knew what she was doing. She had farm more experience fighting than he did, having been in many more battles than the beast man. He let himself be stripped of his belongings, bound, and blindfolded. He didn't like them having all of his potions and his walking stick, but he silently accepted it. At least they couldn't take away Pretzels. The snake had buried itself in his fur and avoided detection. They also hadn't noticed the small feather-shaped charm attached to his horn that contained Dora. He could summon her from it even if it wasn't on him, but he felt reassured by its presence.

Beist was a bit worried about Kamille as they walked. He couldn't see, but he could hear her falling a lot. Were these bandits that rough on their captives? They weren't being that rough on him, but maybe that was just because of his size? He slowly became less sure of this whole plan, wondering what Kamille might have in mind. But, then he heard Kamille's warning in his head.

Alright! Don't worry about my blindfold, I'll be ready. He thought back to her.

Beist let his feet see for him, sending out a wave of magic that bounced back to him and mapped his surroundings for him. He could sense Kamille at the bottom of the sand dune and all of the bandits around him. The image in his mind was a bit fuzzier than usual, maybe because it was going through sand instead of the usual dirt and stone he was used to, but it was still good enough for him to fight with.

Beist felt the heat of Kamille's magic and sensed the bandit behind him falling. With Kamille's warning on top of his own senses, Beist turned around and slammed the bandit to the side with his heavy tail. His hands had all been tied together in front of him, but the bandits hadn't thought about somehow binding his tail! With a scream, the bandit was send flying and tumbled down the sand to join Kamille at the bottom in a heap.

With the immediate threats taken care of, Beist could try to deal with the ropes binding his hands together. He pulled his hands apart, the rope straining against his strength for a few moments before snapping. He reached a hand up and ripped off his blindfold. The magical senses were helpful, but he preferred being able to see with his own eyes. He could get a much better grasp of the situation around him now.

Two of the bandits were down, but there were still plenty to deal with and now they were all pointing their weapons at the two former captives angrily.

---

Ground Tremors
Prehensile Tail
Bull's Strength

Maybe Kamille should stop worrying too much about Beist... She knew he was a gentle giant, but either way, he was a giant still and could very much take care of himself, even if he seemed hesitant.

The bandit that was with Kamille was quickly recovering from his fright, at the same time the one that Beist had whipped slided down the dune to join them. Kamille wouldn't waste her time dealing with them now, and as the two man were still fumbling to their feet or trying to pull out their weapons, her image shimmered before them...

...and reapeared next to Beist [1]. The Witch's eyes darted around quickly, resting on an specific person. Raising her hand, Kamille made the deliberate effort to raise an earth binding around the man she knew to be carrying their belongings [2], so he couldn't run off with them.

Once again, fire started to gather at her palms as she prepared one of her big fireballs [3], but when she was about to release it upon the two of them that were huddled together, her spell seemed to... fizzle out? Supposedly the man named Vall raised his hands and with a quick gesture, used his Counterspell to avoid Kamille's Massive Fireball, which gave the other two the time to circle Kamille and Beist to try and ambush them again. Weapons drawn, they didn't look like holding back much, as the first shout at them and charged at Kamille with his scimitar in one hand.

[1]Blink
[2]Earth Bind
[3]Massive Fireball (Countered)

Beist jumped in surprise when Kamille suddenly appeared beside him. He always forgot she could do that! He placed a hand to his heart and breathed. Really, all of this excitement was terrible for the old man's heart, and the desert heat that was still beating down on the fluffy giant wasn't helping one bit! He wanted to end this as quickly as possible, preferably peacefully, but it seemed the time for diplomacy had been over for some time now.

With a resigned sigh as the bandits began their charge toward him an Kamille, he pulled Pretzels from his mane and held him out. Just as he had before, back in the forest while dealing with the frog, the snake grew and grew until he was over thirty feet long and nearly three feet in girth, the golden wings gleaming dazzlingly in the sunlight.

"HAHAHAHA! YES! FEAR ME!" the serpent's voice cried in triumph as the huge snake struck at one of the surprised bandits that hadn't expected the enormous serpent to appear practically out of nowhere and attack. Beist just tried to ignore the maniacal laughing in his head that was coming from the serpent as he raised his arms to defend him and Kamille from any bandits that came close.

The spellcasting bandit, Vall, stepped back in a panic. Now they not only had to deal with a pyromancer and a giant, they also had to deal with some wild serpent!? They'd thought their numbers would be enough to make up for the difference when they saw the giant, not suspecting the woman to be a spellcaster, but that had been a mistake. Not only was she a powerful enemy, but now the giant had more tricks up their sleeves than they'd expected, and they'd expected him to be a problem already! At this rate, their party was doomed. This whole operation had been a mistake, and it was all Maggy's fault! Damnit!

Vall continued backing away from the mess in front of them, their hands gesturing to cast a spell. The other bandits saw this and thought their ally must be doing something to help them, but their hopeful expressions turned to despair as the spell was cast and Vall simply vanished, abandoning them!

---

Polymorph- Anaconda

Kamille looked ready, bracing herself for Vall's spell, ready to freeze it in space when.... the spellcaster vanished. Well, minus one problem for them, right? She wondered....

The two that had rolled down the dune were halfway towards them when they saw their caster flee the battle. If their caster wouldn’t dare facing those two, despite their numeric advantage, then they weren’t the ones to do it! Not to mention..... Where did the giant snake came from?!? They turned on their heels and fled quickly too!

Pretzels would certainly have fun scaring away the remaining bandits, who had little ways of handling the giant serpent and quickly started to lose heart, Maggy among them. Kamille even went as far as casting a simple spell that made him even faster than usual [1], contributing to Pretzels' nightmare-fuel approach. Half of the band fleeing, the other half handled, Kamille sighed relieved. She could have blasted the remaining bandits, but she had noticed Beist's reservation to abusing of violence, and would allow them to just flee. There was one of them that was locked in a stone coccoon, and could only watch in shock as his companions were quickly dealt with.

Kamille approached the unhappy trapped man, with a tired smile. This was the one with their satchels and personal belongings.

"Since you folk has significantly led us away from our path, I'll make a deal with you. You must know this place better than us. Lead us to where we want and we will set you free and leave you alone. What do you say to that?"

Why is it that everytime they got their minds set on collecting some herbs or melons it sounded so complicated? They just wanted to find some melons.....

[1]Quicken 

Pretzels gleefully smacked bandits aside with their tail, the long body of pure muscle trampling over bandits like they were nothing. With the aid of Kamille's spell, the serpent was far too fast for them to react at all before white scales impacted them with all the force of three-foot thick whip being swung by some titan, except this whip was swinging itself and enjoying doing so greatly.

When the last of the bandits was either fleeing for their lives or a heap on the sand, Pretzels grabbed one either unconscious or dead body, it was hard to tell, in his mouth and began to swallow them whole. Beist saw this and immediately went to intervene.

"Hey, no! Spit that out! Even if they're not still alive, you know you can only stay this big for an hour, and there's no way you can finish digesting them by then!" Beist spoke like a pet owner whose dog had found something in the trash, and he was trying to get them to drop it. He grabbed the bandit by the dangling arms and pulled them back out of the snake's gullet.

While Beist dealt with the rambunctious serpent, the bandit trapped in the stone cocoon stared in fear. He looked back to Kamille and nodded vigorously, eager to not face the same fate as the others. He accepted Kamille's offer without hesitation.