I straightening, spinning my blade by my side to splattered blood onto the ground as I stared up at the floating figures above. They still rode on their machine mounts, weapons in one hand as they surveyed for threats. Now that there was a moment of reprieve, I stretched out my senses as far as possible, carefully scanning the ground beneath us, but detected nothing. Of course, I nearly missed the creatures that just attacked us, so it remained plausible that my skills were less refined than I thought.

Apparently satisfied with what they saw, the three lowered to the ground, a gust of wind blowing up sand as they landed. There was a slight burst of gravity mana, and I debated trying to take a closer look. Before I could decide, I heard a rush of steps, and a body collided with my side, almost knocking me to the ground. Julia briefly hugged me before stepping back, glaring up at me.

"What were you thinking?! You can't just charge off against monsters like that! You could've been killed!" she shouted, drawing looks from nearby people.

"I am sorry, Julia, but that is exactly my job. I am a guard, and that means that those risks are mine to take." I replied in a firm tone, meeting her eyes.

She looked ready to protest further, but her father walked up to the two of us, leading her away with an apologetic nod. Jacob and I rarely spoke unless necessary, but we had a decent working relationship. I stayed out of his way, and he respected that I was a competent guard.

Turning, I saw Prin push his way forward, greeting the Tinkerers with a smile and outstretched arms. Compared to the rest of our group, who looked tense with eyes still darting into the darkness, he was all easy smiles and a relaxed posture. It was a sudden change, but I had to remind myself this was a man with decades of experience setting others at ease. If he looked panicked and scared, it would only drive the others to follow suit.

The strangers met him, shaking hands with a nod. All three stood tall with impeccable posture, apparently unbothered by the battle that just occurred. Their leader seemed to speak with Prin, while the other two stood several feet back, heads still turning as they continued watching for threats.

Darius' shout broke me from my thoughts as he yelled, "Able-bodied guards, set up a perimeter and keep your eyes and ears open! Anyone with injures, meet with me, and we'll get you cleaned up."

I met Darius' eyes, nodding once before walking further from the camp, towards Jacob's cart. The corpse of the beast I killed still lay on the sands, and as luck would have it, it was near the edge of our caravan. That meant I could cut it open and see if I could learn anything useful while still keeping an eye out for unwelcome guests.

During our battle, I had theorized it was a drake breed, though not one familiar to me. In Ferris, we had three subspecies, known as common, mountain, and forest drakes. All shared some traits but also differed in ways, primarily build and color. For instance, forest drakes tended to be muted greens or browns and were small enough to weave through dense undergrowth. Mountain drakes, meanwhile, were larger and gray, with thicker scales built not only to defend rivals but insulate against the frigid winds at high altitudes.

My theory was confirmed up close, though I could not decide on a name in the absence of an official one. Settling on 'sand drake' for now, I padded around, examining the placement of scales. From what I remembered, their weak points were their underbelly and joints, where the plates separated. It's thickened body should slow it, but the mana inside its flesh had increased its speed and strength enough to compensate.

Prying open its mouth with the end of my staff, I lifted the tongue, spotting several ducts in the gums. They were built to release a sort of digestive acid used to break down food, particularly other drakes. Most draconic species were cannibalistic, the strongest weeding out the weaker ones, and despite their pack tactics, these seemed no different in that regard.

Before I could look further, hoping to jog my admittedly muddled memories from classes, there was a crunch behind me. Turning, I found the lead Tinkerer standing several feet away, watching me work with arms crossed. Up close, his armor appeared reflective, and I saw my face staring back at me in his mirror-like mask.

For a moment, I debated what to do before deciding on gratitude as I stood and bowed my head low.

"I owe you a debt, sir. Without your assistance, that battle could have gone much worse for us. Even if we won, there would have been enough injuries and damage that we would have been hard-pressed to continue."

"No matter. We expected your caravan two days prior, and when you did not arrive, we assumed the worst. It was good fortune we were already searching and came upon you when we did. The beasts of the dunes are dangerous, and sand serpents particularly so."

Based upon the deep, booming tone and his height, I suspected the figure was male. He stood well over six feet tall and over a head above me. Something about his voice sounded strange, though I could not place what it was, and I felt a peculiar, constrained sensation of mana hanging around his body.

"Yes, I certainly learned that the hard way. I have faced off against some nasty creatures before, but none quite as dangerous as those." I lied, gesturing towards the corpse. Drakes were dangerous, but if I had to rank threats, the oasis abomination still held the highest spot.

"Yet you managed to slay one, and with one a blade in hand. Few could accomplish a feat like that, and fewer at such a young age. How did you know to aim for the neck?"

"We have similar species up north, though not quite the same. Truthfully, it was more an educated guess than anything else, but I knew I needed to distract it. A stab to the neck is not fun, even for a twenty-foot long lizard."

By this point, I had identified why his voice sounded vaguely grating. Every word, every syllable was too perfect, as if rehearsed from a book rather than spoken by a person. There was no trace of an accent, something that should be impossible. Even in Ferris, there were a dozen variations, caused by location and social class. How did a foreigner, who spoke an entirely different language, managed what natives could not?

"I understand. With some luck, you will not have any reason to defend yourself against such creatures in the future."

With that, he turned away from me and walked back to his allies, leaving me alone. I once more had Espionage class to thank, as his two partners angled their heads, turning to him almost in response to an unspoken signal. Their bodies shifted, and the taller of the two gave the slightest nod. What were they saying that warranted such privacy?

Whatever they discussed, Darius got the caravan ready to move within a half-hour, headed further south. According to him, our new friends had a shelter in that direction. Though they seemed to trust the Tinkerers, I kept one eye out at all times, ready to cast a spell the moment the other shoe dropped.

Several hours passed as we trudged through the desert, the trio flying above us. I kept my senses outstretched, not eager to replicate the near-disaster we had already faced once. Those creatures had been challenging to detect, blending into the sands and hiding their aura. If they could do that, so could other predators.

Thankfully for my somewhat frayed nerves, the leader called a halt to our passage, landing again and speaking several times to Prin. When our caravan leader nodded, the Tinkerer raised an arm, pressing on his forearm a few times before lowering it by his side. I watched, unsure what he was doing when I felt a massive pulse of mana reverberate through the air above.

Looking up, I saw a shadowy form floating above, large enough to block out the moon. It bore a passing resemblance to a ship but far different from any I had seen before. There were no masts or deck, and it was built from metal and glass rather than wood. The object was smooth, almost like a blade cutting through the air, though as it turned, I spotted several glowing platforms on the back. Again there was a brief feeling of gravity mana, similar to the gemstone I owned, but more concentrated.

The ship landed on the sands with a grace belying its size of several hundred feet. I knew it was not one of their cities, which could house millions, but it was still by far the largest vehicle I had seen in my life. Well, the second-largest, after the invader's ships from my visions.

The side facing us, port I remembered after a moment, slid open, a metal platform lowering and forming a ramp. Inside was a brightly lit interior cavity, shining as if it was daylight. Prin paused for only a moment before gesturing for the rest of the caravan to follow as he steered the lead cart into the hold.

I remained near Jacob's cart, briefly debating on fleeing before deciding against it. I had come this far and did not fully trust my ability to survive in the deserts by myself. Besides, my plans did require becoming friendly with someone who knew the area and technology intricately. Better to take advantage of the opportunities laid before me than take unnecessary risks.

The inside was massive, with sectioned off areas labeled in writing that I could only partially read. The three Tinkerer's dismounted their vehicles, and the leader nodded as his armor shifted like liquid. As I watched, their masks slid back into the collars around their necks, though the rest of the armor remained in place.

Not unlike when I arrived in the deserts, it was almost anticlimactic. The stories and legends of the Tinkerers had made me expect them to be monsters, covered in scars, and eager for Ferren blood. But all three of them appeared...normal. Much paler than most, as if they had not seen the sun for months, but still no different than any other person.

The leader was the oldest, a man of around forty, though his features made it difficult to say for sure. His face was smooth, without any wrinkles or scars, and his hair was cut short, though I spotted a few flecks of gray near the temples. Eyes darted back and forth around the room, and I noticed silver studs in both ears.

The other two were younger, only a few years older than me at most. The male was broadly set, with a somewhat flat face and reddish hair in the same style as their leader. His nose looked to have been broken in the past, with a pronounced crook. He glanced around, meeting my eyes once and narrowing them before looking away.

The third Tinkerer was female and similarly met my gaze with a cold, detached expression. Dark brown hair, longer than the other two but not by much, eyes a strange red-brown shade, and several thin scars completed the image. She was pretty but looked almost dangerous, like a well-crafted knife.

I decided, there and then, to avoid the two younger ones as much as possible. It might have been caution coloring my opinion, but they appeared far less friendly than their leader. At the very least, he was willing to engage in conversation, though likely not without ulterior motives.

"You may stay with us for the night and get some rest. In the morning, we can conduct our business and drop you near the border. Though we avoid that area, in the interest of ensuring your safety, we can take the risk." he said, turning to our group with a brief smile and nod.

As he turned and walked away with Prin and Darius in tow, I heard a slight rumbling from behind as the door closed, sealing us in. I had met one of our southern neighbors, and now all that was left was to earn their friendship.