Based on the map key and measurement of distance on the map, it seems the journey to the oasis will take us anywhere between 3-5 days. Upon hearing this, Inca suggested to the others that they should ration what water they had as it would be a long journey ahead of us. While on our travels, we encountered a great deal of small game which many of the participants hunted for meals, many of which they fought over as there were those too poor to have brought their own rations for the journey. Edith had made herself comfortable perched beneath the crane’s shadow atop Gloria, and would occasionally go out to hunt for her own prey when she was hungry. I was happy to see her roaming about, free flying in her natural environment. Her temporary independence would serve to be a nice break from having to tag along with me all time. During the night we would finally have some time to rest, as without light it would be difficult to navigate the desert and defend ourselves from any predatory creatures. It also served as downtime for the engineers on board to provide maintenance for the vehicle. But before long, we were once again back on our feet as soon as morning came.

“Those bastards aboard are lucky, they’re probably being well fed by that Lard guy.” Jaro complained.

“What are you on about, Jaro?” Inca asked.

“Lard, you know the fat guy who wouldn’t let us on board, that’s his name isn’t it?”

“I believe he addressed himself as Lar Desticus Merula, not ‘Lard’.” Inca corrected.

“Alright, I wasn’t far off, I mean disgust is right in his name, and fat is pretty disgusting.”

“Desticus, not disgust.” I also aimed to correct.

“What’s that, you say something?” He taunted. “Anyway, Lard sounds better, I mean either way, look at him, anybody can see the man is as fat as a boar!”

“Why do you talk of such stupid shit?” Pyro called out.

“Hey, I ain’t talking stupid shit, you rustlicker.”

“Watch yourself, if it weren’t for my people, Kindoria wouldn’t have made any progress on restoring Vykin technology. So call me what you want, it is better to be a rustlicker than be called a terrorist of Terminal, to think they might have been involved with the ‘forgotten task’.”

“Hah, yeah okay. But to think you believe that shit, the republic doesn't need no rustlickers to help them out, they just pitied you people.” Jaro rebuked.

“Terminal, forgotten task? What are you guys talking about?” I asked.

“Those heretics and sinners known as Terminal have not only condemned the Fardaughter but have intervened in the many excavations funded by the republic.” Barnabus chimed in.

“They’ve been more aggressive lately too, it seems they’ve even begun disrupting trade in the underground bazaar and other underground markets. I don’t agree with their ideals or them interfering with the salvagers and trade, but seeing them take on the organ trade, that takes guts. Nothing would make me happier than to see those corrupt organ bastards suffer.” Pyro admired.

“It does not change the fact that they are still terrorists, may they receive divine punishment for their sins against the republic.”

“Easy now, talk poorly of them and they might just terminate you, they could have spies among us in the forward advance.” Inca cautioned. “Regardless, you haven’t been in Rinsaad long so you likely haven’t heard of Terminal, Grit. But seeing as Barnabus and Pyro have briefed you on the subject, I imagine you’re still curious about the whole ‘forgotten task’ ordeal.” Inca mentioned.

“Yeah, it would seem I’m a little out of the loop, so what’s this all about?”

“Supposedly, there had been a mission listing posted a couple weeks back. Those who signed up were promised a great deal of wealth. They were supposedly asked to investigate some ruins and see what they could find.”

“Oh yeah, now I remember, the payout was supposed to be huge! Shit, if we had only arrived earlier… might not have to be on this stupid mission.” Jaro called out.

“Indeed. However no one has heard from them since, some say they all perished, never knowing what they might have found.”

“That’s not true, a close friend of mine joined that mission and he returned alive, though not for long…” Pyro recalled.

“Oh, you knew someone from that mission?”

“Yes, his name was Orest and he was a good man…”

“Then perhaps you would like to tell us more about the forgotten task then, if that’s alright with you.” Inca asked.

“I do not mind, it helps me remember him. You see, when Orest had returned, it was only him and a handful of others, they were terribly sick. His skin pale and his eyes a sickly color, I urged him to seek help but he brushed me off. He wished to tell me something, he had seen some terrible thing on the mission but couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. Whatever had stoked this fear in him caused him to go mad, I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying, I urged him to go get some rest if nothing else… but that would be the last time I would speak to him.”

“Wait, what happened to him, was he killed?”

“If he was from Svarogrod, then perhaps the rustlicker deserved it.”

“Fuck you, Orest was a good man, better than you could ever be!” Pyro spat. “Tch, where was I… Ah yes, as for my friend, he was gone the next morning, I do not know what happened to him, but something strange happened that day… I am not one to believe in coincidence but following his disappearance, people in Rinsaad began to get sick. Their skin pale and their eyes a sickly color, it began to spread all over town. Those infected mentioned they began to feel ill when they met with the other members of the mission listing who had returned along with Orest, thus the people began to call it the Gravedigger’s Curse. Before I could find out more about the mission, it was taken down, and the guild pretended not to know anything about this ‘forgotten task’.”

“So is that why you are here, to find out if this mission is related to your friends death?”

“Yes, because you see there was one thing I did find out about the forgotten task, it was led by a wealthy foreigner.”

“Ah, so you believe that the patrician is responsible for what happened to your friend.”

“Not just my friend, but the others that joined as well. And perhaps even this Gravedigger’s curse is of their own doing as well.”

“Hm, so you think this is all a ploy, that they are intentionally making the people sick?”

“I do not know, however whatever it is they may be searching for can’t be worth the lives of the innocent.”

“Seems we all have our reasons for joining.”

“I don’t care what any of your reasons for joining are, as long as it doesn’t stop me from getting paid.”

“Do you not care for the people here, the men who fight beside us, your comrades who may very well lose their lives?”

“Nah, not really. I could care less, because if they die, means more money sent my way! So by all means, it’s fine by me.”

“Bah, selfish bastard, may Hel claim your soul.”

“Hah, that’s a good one! Look here ‘comrade’, I don’t want to hear you preach, we get enough of that from Barnabus.” Jaro mocked, drenched in sweat. “The only thing that matters to me right now is how I feel, and it’s fucking hot, shit!” Jaro whined.

“Come now, try not to get agitated, it will only make it worse.” Inca commented.

“Why don’t you drink some of your water, it will cool you off.” I suggested, pulling a flask out of my bag to drink some myself.

“Let the blistering fool burn, if he does not care for us as comrades then we should not care for his well being either.” Pyro proclaimed.

“I wouldn’t ask for your rusty piss-water anyway , and yeah, I would drink my water, if I had any left! How much further away is this oasis anyway?!”

“Seem’s we still have about a day or so before we even set sights on it, so long as you conserve your energy, you’ll survive until we arrive.” Inca replied.

“Shit, I can’t wait that long. Quick, somebody give me something to drink!” He eyed me drinking from my flask, capping it and placing it back into my bag. “Hey, let me have some of that!” Jaro came close and took my bag, rummaging around until he pulled out my flask.

“Wha- Give me back my stuff!” I shouted.

“Not until I’ve had a little sip…”

This asshole was beginning to piss me off, I wasn’t just about to let him take advantage of me like this. I stepped forward in his direction and attempted to swipe my bag back. Seemingly evading my attack, he stepped backwards and began to drink up the water I had been saving up. Once more, I began to make my move to grab my belongings, perhaps a quick jab might make him change his mind. Pumping some blood into my arm, I aimed at his stomach, I was ready to grab hold of the flask as soon as he dropped it. However upon executing my plan, my vision was obscured by a sudden gust of sand, causing me to miss.

“Woah there! Watch it man, you almost made me spill the rest of it!” He cautioned.

“You’ve already had your fill, it’s only fair you return what’s mine.”

“Fuck no, I ain’t done yet.” He spat.

He wasn’t willing to give it up, fine then, I’ll just wait till he’s done. I shouldn’t be getting angry over his childish actions. “Fine, then hurry up and finish, I want my bag and flask already.”

“You got it, friend.” He smiled. Raising the flask above his head, looking up he poured its contents out onto his face. “Whew! That feels so fucking good!” He grinned.

“What the fuck are you doing! That’s all the water I had, you fucking bastard!“ I cursed furiously.

“What’s that, why are you mad? Look man, don’t blame me, you said I could finish it.” He grinned once more.

“Hey! Don’t be stealing somebody else’s rations just cause you wasted your own. Your decision to drink it all was a fault of your own making, give him back his belongings.” Inca shouted.

“Too late, it’s all gone.” He accentuated with his tongue sticking out, the water dripping on his face beginning to dry up in the heat.

“You fucking bastard!” I rushed towards Jaro and began to pump blood throughout my body, I was ready to teach this asshole a lesson.

“Well now, seems like someone is throwing a tantrum!”

I wasn’t about to miss this time, I attempted to tackle Jaro only to find myself tripping over myself. Huh? How the hell did I end up tripping myself? Looking around, it seemed our little scuffle had attracted the attention of the other lowkin who seemed to be watching from afar.

“Wha- What was that?”

“Hm? Are you alright ‘friend’, you seem a little heated yourself, perhaps you need some time to cool yourself off. But I got your back, I know the perfect place.” He grinned, Jaro began to take a deep breath.

As I layed there on the ground, not wishing to look like a fool, I attempted to pick myself back up to no avail. I tried once more to stand only to find myself struggling to get up, it was almost as if something was pulling me down. It seemed as though the sand around me was beginning to shift… no… it was sinking.

“Jaro, stop that right now!” Inca shouted.

“What? We’re just having a little fun, he wanted to play so we’re playing!” Jaro yelled. “Anyhow, as promised, just like you asked, here’s your stuff back.” He tossed over the empty flask and bag at me, only for it to be swallowed into the sand. “You should’ve been more specific and asked me to leave the remaining water in the flask.“ He said slyly with that shit eating grin.

“What the hell is this!?”

“It’s your new home, can’t you tell?”

“Get me out of here, right now!”

“What’s that, you don’t like the home I made for you? Well if that’s how you feel, just leave. Oh, are you having trouble leaving, do you need a hand?” He smiled

“Fuck you.”

“Ahah! C’mon now, just a little further, you’re almost there!” He taunted, as I tried to claw my way out of his sand trap. “Oh man, it looks like you’re having trouble, seeing how much you’re struggling to get out… it brings a smile to my face.”

There was nothing I could do, was I about to die here, buried in the sand? This bastard is actually trying to kill me, and he was refusing to listen to Inca. I could feel the sand coming up to my chest now, I would soon find myself beneath the sand before long. I glared at Jaro, because if I was going to die here, then he would be coming with me. But before I could do anything, a bolt of fire came hurtling toward Jaro.

“What the fu-!?” The bolt of fire hit Jaro head on, lighting his clothing on fire.

“Here, grab my hand!” Pyro intervened, pulling me up from the sand trap.

Jaro was knocked over, rolling on the ground. “You fucking bastard, I’ll fucking kill you for this!” Jaro cried out, standing up he once again began to breathe in. But before he could do anything, Inca came storming in and clasped his hand over Jaro’s mouth.

“That’s enough, or would you like to play a game with me as well.” Inca snapped, staring hard at Jaro.

“Mmph… Mminmka…” Jaro muffled, seemingly wide-eyed and stunned.

“I’m going to remove my hand now, you best behave.” Inca scolded.

“Are you alright, friend?” Pyro asked with concern.

“I thought I was a goner…”

“I deeply apologize, are you alright, Grit?”

“Ah yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s good to hear… however… Jaro, please return what you took, would you?” Inca commanded.

“A-Ah, of course!” Jaro began to dig through the sand to retrieve my buried goods, then proceeded to stumble on over and hand it to me. “Here you go…”

“Now if you would, please apologize to Grit here.”

“I-I’m so-sorry.” He stuttered, staring at the ground, gritting his teeth.

“Yeah, it’s fine… don’t worry about it. If anything, Jaro ended up in worse shape than I did, you might want to check up on him first.”

“Yes… I’ll be sure to look after him. We all have to cooperate as a team, so now that we have made amends, it would be best we get a move on, yes?” He smiled.

“Ah, right…” I hesitated.

“Come now, Jaro. Let me have a look at you…”

“Grit, we need to keep moving.” Pyro encouraged me, as he began to catch up with the others.

The other lowkin that had been watching us had long since moved on, they had no time to waste to idle away and waste energy watching our little dispute. We were far behind now, there was no time to waste now as the sun was beginning to set, and without the protection of the vehicle, we would be left vulnerable in the night. But what’s got me more concerned is how Inca seemed to have some control over Jaro, just what exactly is the relationship between these two.