"The El-Maroof desert was renowned for swallowing some travellers every year, and thus having a guide that knows their way through the area was considered paramount for any traveller intent on crossing it. To date the only known travellers who had crossed it without the aid of local guides have been Unliving ones, and even then they usually spent so long that normal people would have perished over the duration they had taken to cross the desert." - Sadiq el Bahari, Sultan of the Geross Sultanate, to the southern end of the Hassid Caliphate.

After several enjoyable days where the Bone Lord offered the hospitality of his capital city, Cal bid a fond goodbye to the Champion of Death, and continued on to the next leg of her trip. Aideen still remained with the group, for today was when she had arranged for their guide to meet with them, while Éirynn, Mimia, and Drietven waited for her since they would return to Paradise with her.

When they reached the agreed upon meeting place, they saw a tall goblin - Cal suspected that he had elven blood in him considering how tall and lanky he was - with dark brown skin and his platinum blonde hair covered by what looked like a headscarf.

What interested Cal was how he dressed, as the goblin wore a neat long sleeved shirt under a vest, with what looked like a loose long skirt underneath, all of them from fabric that had been painted with intricate patterns, mostly in shades of brown as well. It was the first time Cal saw that type of fabric.

"Dan? What are you doing here? I thought I sent the missive to your dad," Aideen asked when she saw the young, tall goblin waiting for them.

"Ah, lady deVreys, I regret to inform you that my father would be unable to fulfill your request," replied the young goblin with a slight bow. "Father passed away a week ago, and we received your missive just after his funeral."

"Oh- my condolences for your loss," said Aideen at the unexpected news. "Did Giorgio pass on… peacefully at least?"

"That he did," replied Dan with a slight smirk, though with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I believe my father would not have wanted to pass on any other way, unless it involves your ladyship personally."

"Wait wait… don't tell me he…"

"Father passed away from a heart attack after a wild night of partying, on top of a dozen women he just had a wild orgy with, yes," answered Dan with a full blown smile this time. "Exactly how he often said he wanted to pass on."

"Got to give that old lech respect for staying true to himself," Aideen said as she nodded to that. "He died doing what he loved, at the very least."

"That he did," said the young goblin as he nodded as well. "That said, lady deVreys, I came not just to relate the news, but also to answer your missive. I am a qualified guide myself, and am of the Life affinity, which I hope would fulfill your request."

"I'll have to ask first, since I'm not the one making the trip," Aideen said as she turned to where Cal, her nieces, and Ying Xiao waited. "What do you think, Cal?"

"Can I check him to be sure?" Cal asked in return, to which the young goblin nodded and offered his right hand. She grabbed his wrist and did a cursory check, and found that while Dan was quite young, his magic was quite well developed, and thus nodded satisfactorily.

"You'll do," Cal said. "Those are Elaina and Sidonie, my nieces, and that's Leila, my grand-niece. Ying Xiao there is my student, while Kino will be tagging along with us. We'll entrust the desert route to you. I wish to visit the Navata dunes as well, if possible."

"The Navata? Many people ask for that, so I'm pretty familiar with the route, yes," replied Dan after a moment of thought. He then bowed formally to Cal as he introduced himself properly. "Danang Gioputra Avati at your service, milady, though feel free to just call me Dan. How may I address you?"

"Just call me Celeysria," replied Cal with a smile as she shook the young goblin's hand. "Pleasure to have you with us, Dan."

"Okay, since you got your guide, I'll be heading home first, and take Éirynn and Drietven to meet the rest of the family," Aideen said as she bid her goodbye. "Be seeing you again in winter, Cal."

"Same to you, and many thanks!" Replied Cal as Aideen walked away from the group.

They separated for the time being, as Dan needed to gather his gear first, and decided to meet by the city's gate. Cal brought her nieces and Ying Xiao most of the way there on a leisurely walk while they snacked on street food along the way, and waited for Dan by the gates.

He had not taken long, and merely ten minutes after they reached the gate, he arrived as well, now dressed in more normal traveling attire, tunic and trousers, though he had a large, loose, cloak-like upper garment over it. He seemed slightly surprised when he saw that Cal's group was alone by the gate.

"Err, madam Celeysria, do you plan to hire escorts closer to the desert perhaps?" Dan asked with some worry in his voice. "The spring and summer are the more dangerous seasons in the desert, as the Vampyres and Ogryns are far more active during them. I would not recommend travelling through El-Maroof unescorted during that time."

Cal and Kino exchanged looks with each other, then laughed, to the young goblin's confusion. It took a while for their laughter to subside before Cal turned to Dan with a smirk on her face.

"Why would we hire escorts?" She asked with a snicker. "What would the girls train on then?"

"After all," she added. "Part of the reason I let them in on the trip is to get them some training as well."