“That's because the Yuan Ti will let us pass without incident.” Obviously Jack knew of the the Yuan Ti and dealt with them before on a positive level or at least a n indifference. The trip through the forest had been uneventful.

Stretching before them was the barren deserts of Sirocco but not far from the wooded area where the the forest they had just traveled through was upon a mountain, the other side barren though there was one village here within an easy ride.

“Night or day, when should we try to cross the desert?” Naramis asked as Jack lead them to the village where they could get camels and the provisions needed. While they may not have had any currency Jack had a fair number of trinkets that he “collected” from Urik foreseeing this problem ahead of time.

He regarded the pair then rode off towards the village.

She looked up at the sun bright sky and frowned. "I want to say that we should head out now so we can get back sooner but it does not seem wise to travel under this scorching sun." She looked to the other men uncertainly. Jack had the most experience with the area. He looked thoughtful for a moment then headed towards the town. She exchanged a look with her guardian then shrugged and spurred her horse to catch up.

"How long does it take to cross the desert?" She asked when she finally caught up with the thief. "Do we have time to wait until later in the day at least, when it will be cooler?"

Jack considered the question for a moment. “About two weeks. The crossing is easier during the night and traveling is a little easier but no less deadly. We should have the time provided we don't delay more than a day.” He took the pair about to get those things that they would need.

Cooler clothing, gourds for water, rations, maps and the like. He used the items he had collected to barter and trade with. The horses swapped for some fine cigars and their steeds.

They would possibly gain a little time due to the Yuan Ti so a brief delay shouldn't cost them much. The barren desert stretched before them and looked in hospitable though for the time being he stayed close. He could translate enough of the language and it was a simple case of them killing time in shops and taverns until the sun began to sink beneath the horizon.

“Offer up whatever prayers you have to any Gods governing safe passage.” Jack considered for a second. “Efreeti and scorpions will be our biggest adversaries though not only.”

Two weeks was far longer than Victoria had anticipated. It gave them a very small window to reach her sister before it was too late. She was starting to regret not taking the sea route. "I should think scorpions would be the more difficult to avoid given their discreet size. Efreeti are quite large though, aren't they? And I imagine there is not much to hide them out here so they can hardly sneak up on us like the Yuan Ti. I'm more concerned about running out of water and provisions. Are we sure we have enough for two weeks?"

“We should have enough and the hazards ...” Jack trailed off, perhaps they would be lucky after all and there was no sense in worrying her, especially on the third day when they came across a dried up husk of an arachnid about four times the size of their steads. There seemed as if there were no way that something this size was going to sneak up on them or was there? For as they were examining the carcass two of these creatures appeared on the horizon, threatening them, pischers in the air as they came steadily forth, Naramis instinctively drew his blade despite being so much smaller than either creature, green poison dripping from the stingers of the black scorpions as the vermin approached them.

“Too bad we could just lure them into the forest and into the ranks of the snake like Yuan Ti.”

They still had time before the monstrous creatures arrived bu given their incredible pace it would not be long.

Victoria gave Jack an incredulous look after seeing the enormous carcass of the dead scorpion. "Jack, I believe you you failed to mention something when I asked you about the dangers we were facing out here." She didn't have time to berate him further because just then two similar but very lively versions of the creature before them appeared over a distant sand dune and loomed menacingly there before starting towards them. "Oh spite..." The princess muttered before quickly turning her mount in the opposite direction and urging it into a gallop. "Come on, boys! We need to move now!!" She raced on head, knowing that the two men would be able to keep pace with her. She called to them as she rode. "We need a plan and fast. Do you think if we split up one of you two might be able to circle behind and take out one of those tails? We'll still have the pitchers to worry about but if prefer that to poison any day."

“No, I did say scorpions.” Of course he forgot that she wasn't as well traveled as he, nor did she consider the colossal scorpions either. They spun around and retreated though there was some hesitance on Naramis' part.

It was as if he were debating on what he was going to do but this was no tine to play hero now; If something happened to him then the Princess was stuck here with the thief of all people.

The arcanids were catching up, their strides far greater as the scurried forth.

“The exoskeletons make them vulnerable only at the eyes. Circling around to hit the stingers would do little -”

Jack was cut off by an explosion, then another as a man appeared or was he just always there? He was tall, deeper skin coloration, a white turban and sleeves tan vest with tan pants, shoes that were curled up towards the heavens at one end while he was tall, perhaps closer to Naramis height his intense brown eyes focused on the earth and the creatures beyond them, the ground simply rupturing in explosions sending sand and earth to the heavens.

A curved sword rested at his side as he drove away the creatures seemingly with ease then waved in their direction.

"Damn!" She swore again when Jack revealed the flaw in her plan. The eyes were an impossible target without any kind of long ranged weapon. Attempting to get close enough to gouge the eyes out of those creature with a sword would be a suicide mission. She was about to start again when a blast drew her head back to the scene behind them. The desert sand near the scorpions exploded upwards, leaving a dust cloud behind them. Another explosion proceeded the first and the scorpions seemed to think better of their pursuit and turned away. She looked straight ahead, confused. Then she saw the strangely dressed man gesturing to them from a nearby hill. She exchanged a look with the others then shrugged and turned her mount in the man's direction and rode towards him.

Jack shrugged. He did not know what or who that was. The man waited as the three of them came forth though he remained where he was as they approached. There were no other creatures nearby and while it was clear that this was a a site that he had been taken for a short rest the darker skinned man waited until they approached. Their fairer skin color told him that they were not natives for they would have been darker skinned beneath that desert sun.

A swordsman, one had that air about him though two of the others he was uncertain of. The woman was some sort of senator or diplomat of some sort he reasoned and guessed that the two men where body guards as best as he could imagine.

He began greetings in the Urikian tongue, one of he men responded though it was clear that he did not speak it well, his accent was atrocious though he was told that they were from Brindel. He switched languages quite readily. He knew several apparently.

“Greetings. I'm afraid if you keep going that way at this time of year that you will run across more of them. You were lucky that those ones were so small. I am Aziz, student one of the students of Flame. And you?”

The princess let out a scoff, "Of course those were the small ones." She sighed heavily, then came forward to answer Aziz's question. "We are travelers on an important mission to Brindel. Who we are exactly will make very little difference if we do not make it back there before the next full moon. Unfortunately, that does mean we must keep traveling in that direction." She nodded in the direction from which the scorpions had come. "Unless you know of a safer route through the desert." She gave him a hopeful look.

Aziz glanced in that direction then looked at the Princess. While he did not know of her status he knew that given the fact that these others were probably her body guards.

“You won't make it this time of year with breeding season. The scorpions are more active and the heat encourages the Efreeti too, they can be a bigger danger.

“Fortunately I know of another way that is twice as quick but ...” he rubbed his chin in thought. “The others will not allow you to take the route, unless you can assist them in some way. Are you interested?”

Victoria was pleased to hear that there might be another way to Brindel aside from the dangerous path through the desert. "Yes, we are very interested." She replied without looking to the other two men for their thoughts. She was certain they would not want to risk facing territorial, mating scorpions and Ereeti when there was a safer alternative. "Who are these 'others' that you speak of and in what way can we assist them. I'm afraid none of us are magically talented if that is the sort of aid they would require."

“Magic didn't seem to be your strong suit but seeing can be misleading at times,” he explained.

“The others are of my clan. We dwell beneath the desert for the most part in a series of caves that catacomb the area beneath the country. I am only on the surface because I have been monitoring the minions of the witch, Tori.

“She is not with her people, mostly goblins, ogres and some trolls but they have something of ours that we would appreciate getting back. The elder knows more on this and while it may take a few days to accomplish you would still be saving time if the tunnels could be used. Fewer dangers beneath the earth than there are above them. Come with me to the tunnels, the elder shall relay more.”

He looked at the three in turn, noted that the swords man stepped up and squeezed the woman's shoulder but the men did not say anything. The smaller was looking at her, the larger standing closer as if there were some hidden danger.

“He is not as he appears your Highness,” Naramis whispered to her though Aziz must have realized that he was saying something as his eyes dashed back to her and the larger man.

Victoria turn towards Naramis to confer with him. "What choice do we have?" She did not see any other solution. If Aziz was telling the truth and the scorpions were more active on the surface right now then they didn't stand a chance. "I don't like having to delay our journey either but you saw those creatures. We have nothing that could truly stand up to those things. We need more allies. This man has done nothing to harm up and if there is even the smallest chance that there is a safer way to Brindel then we need to investigate it.

Naramis flickered his gaze to Aziz again then back. She was right of course, they really had no choice in the matter and had to trust this Soroccan. There was something about him that Naramis found odd, he could not say what though.

“You're right of course,” he sighed a little as if disappointed in the fact that he did not have a good solution to all this. In the end the trio had no choice but to follow Aziz who had a camel of his own. Within fifteen minutes they found themselves arriving at a cave, within five more they had to dismount as the cave wasn't big enough for them to ride. The encountered a few guards which Aziz dealt with in his native dialect. Within five more they were in the tribe in a hunt of a white bearded dark skinned man/ The top of his head was bald but he was well dressed in white and greeted each in turn. Aziz served as a translator.

The man was one of the elders, Hassan and he had bid them good health.