There weren't many left now, Nicolas instructed and relayed his strategies to us and a few others nearby, minimizing the deaths. With our lives on the line, we were better off working together to improve our chances of survival, and through our efforts, the ardow were eventually dispatched. In cooperation with the others, we had somehow managed to survive the ordeal, with very few casualties. The oasis had become nothing but a bloodbath, its waters littered with the corpses of the ardow and lowkin alike. Those of us that were still standing were very sensitive to their surroundings, flinching at every sudden movement or slight sound. But all that remained was the faint scent of blood in the air, yet we were all still cautious of our surroundings, fearing that another attack could happen at any moment.

“I-Is it over?” A man called out.

We examined our surroundings only to find that everything had settled down, the only thing that could be heard now was the calming sound of water flowing through the streams, down from the rockbed. The others began to look at each other, as their expressions slowly began to change and they all began to roar out in tears of raucous laughter and shouting. And in the midst of it all, some of them returned to what they had been doing before the battle. They resumed their efforts in restocking their flasks of water, while others began to shower themselves near the rockbed, washing the blood off, wringing the water out of their clothing. Yet this was no time for celebration, for the guards who had been watching from up above on the cliff tops were now eager to intervene.

“It would appear you’ve managed to clear out the oasis, the magistrate will be pleased. But you lot certainly took your time.” A guard called out.

“You could have helped us!” They shouted. “So many of our friends and group members have lost their lives because of you!”

“We had our orders, and this was not a dire situation that required our assistance. All of you signed up for this mission, it wasn’t going to be easy. But do not fret, the lives of your fellow lowkin will not be forgotten, nor will they go to waste.” The guard gestured over to a group of mysterious figures mixed in with the others.

Descending down into the oasis to join us, they began to spread out and approach the bodies strewn across the area. Their appearance was certainly unique, draped in large loose-fitting robes, their arms and hands wrapped in long and binding cloth accompanied by ringing bells that dangled from their waist. Their faces in particular were hidden behind hooded masks, seemingly stitched together with what looked like a mix of dried animal skin. One of the lowkin stood in the way of one of the masked figures, preventing him from approaching one of the bodies.

“You will not touch him, his body shall be burned, not desecrated with your filthy hands.” He spat. The masked figure stood there expressionless for a moment, only to move in the direction of another corpse.

“Tch, damn scavengers, filthier than those whores at the Orahels. Handling our fallen brethren like nothing more than additional rations.” One man muttered, spitting in the direction of the masked figures.

“Go inform the magistrate that the creatures have been dealt with, we’re awaiting his orders.” A guard called out to one of the milities.

Whilst the guard ran off, I observed a most peculiar sight as I witnessed one of the masked figures begin to unwrap the bindings on one of his hands only to reveal a rather unusual growth hanging from his forearm. It looked to be a lump of flesh bulging from beneath the skin, causing it to sag. Their arms outstretched toward it’s chosen corpse, they began to go through a motion of arm movements and gestures. There was seemingly a change in the air, though I couldn’t quite explain what it was, but what was clear as day was the lump of flesh on the masked figure’s arm seemingly growing larger. However my focus shifted as the magistrate began to disembark from the Lady Gloria, and was surprised to see he was accompanied by the midkin who followed closely behind. The midkin themselves were certainly in a league of their own, equipped with a variety of artifacts and equipment offered to them by kindorian journeyman. They were certainly in a better place financially, considering that they were also accompanied by a plethora of critters and Fylgurs. It was rare for a lowkin to be able afford one, though I was an exception.

“So it seems you’ve managed to secure ourselves water rations for the journey, splendid!” The magistrate was overjoyed. “I applaud your courage and efforts, those of you in the forward advance should be proud. However, seeing as much of the day has gone by, i’m afraid there is no time for a long rest, at least for some of you. Our Lady Gloria has been dehydrated, so I urge those in tune with the waters of Niflheim to help in satiating her thirst. Ensure her tanks are full, once you have accomplished our task, we shall continue our mission and be on our way to the excavation site. So come now, let us work together.” The magistrate grinned. It would seem the other groups and I were able to afford to rest, though it would appear Nicholas had some work cut out for him, how unfortunate.

=====================================================================

Though there were some complications in the incident regarding our battle with the ardow, I felt it was only right that I give thanks to Nicholas for having helped us out. I approached the group of lowkin situated near large pools at the edge of the oasis in hopes of finding him. I managed to spot him out in one area and composed myself in an attempt to converse with him.

“Hey, sorry to bother you. I can see you’re busy, but I wanted to thank you for saving me back there.”

He glanced over to me. “Quit it, we’re here as a group. Nothing more to it.”

“Alright… still, if you hadn’t been there, the end result would have caused some problems for me.”

“What, like dying?”

“Well, there’s that too.”

“This is what I mean, you truly are a hopeless and careless man.”

“There you go using that word again, how is it that I’m the one that’s careless? You accuse me for acting foolishly yet you try to drown my bird!”

“I did you a favor, otherwise that little friend of yours would have faced a far worse fate. Or is that too difficult for you to understand?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it, I don’t understand. If you can’t be open to any of us, how can we begin to work alongside let alone trust you. Are we not friends working together?”

“You don’t. And you seem to have the wrong idea, we may be a team, but that does not mean we are friends. Now leave me be, I’ve got water to pour.”

After that, Nicolas refused to respond to me. I was quite livid and eager to prove him wrong, yet came to the conclusion that he would only continue to dismiss any point I bring to the conversation. I decided to leave it, there were other matters I had to attend to anyway. There was no need to provoke a friend, even if he doesn’t see me as such, we needed to work together after all.

=====================================================================

Having been given some time for some rest, I needed to occupy myself with other matters than having to dwell on the conversation I had with Nicholas. As such, I went on to check how Pyro was doing, I could only hope he was faring better than when I last saw him.

“Get out of the water, you’re tainting it with your filth!” Pyro called out.

“Come on, don’t kill the mood. Besides, there’s plenty of water to go around.” Jaro shouted.

“Oh? Look who’s come out of hiding.”

“Eh, fuck you, I wasn’t hiding. I was helping out, I even helped kill one of those damn creatures, ain’t that right, Inca?”

“Indeed, you certainly served as good bait.”

“Wha- Alright fuck you guys, I ain’t taking any of this shit. Next time you need my abilities, don’t go crying for me, you assholes can die for all I care.” Jaro stormed off.

“Come now Jaro, we were only teasing.” “How nice of you to join us, Grit. Everything well?”

“Ah, yeah. Just came to check up on how everyone’s doing.” I looked over to Pyro. “How are you holding up?”

“Hm? Ah, I’m doing alright…” He glanced over at me. “But there is something that’s been bothering me.”

“Something wrong, you lose something?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s a bit of a private matter…” Pyro glanced over to Inca.

“I know when I’m not wanted, I’ll leave you two be.” Inca smiled, wandering off.

“Want to tell me what this is all about?”

“It’s just that I could've sworn that damn creature that came after us gouged me right in the chest. But having examined myself, I find that there is no wound. It’s the strangest thing, I have a hole in my shirt, but no wound, I just don’t understand…” He relented.

“Ah, so that’s what you were worried about…”

“You wouldn’t happen to know what had happened, would you?”

This was a problem I hadn’t taken into account. “That’s what’s been bothering you, huh… Well no need to be too confused, I was there to see what happened after all. You were wounded, this is true, but it wasn’t as deep as it might have felt. You were knocked unconscious for a while since the creature slammed you to the side with its claws. However, I was able to patch you up by using a stray critter left behind by one of the fallen lowkin. I shook you till you were semi-conscious and had you mutter words of consent so that its life force passed on to you.” I lied.

“Is that right… that would explain my faded wound. You really saved me then, I’m thankful for that. Whatever you need, I’ll be there to help you out, friend.”

“Don’t sweat it, I’m just glad it worked out in the end. ...I’m going to find a spot to rest, been feeling a little tired. I’ll catch up with you later.” I quickly evaded any further conversation, as Pyro waved me off.

Having found a little spot all to myself near the edge of the oasis, I opened my cloak to check up on Edith. She was seemingly in a much better condition than she had been earlier, no thanks to Nicholas’ mistreatment.

“Looks like he was right after all, turns out I really can be careless.” I related, Edith giving me a curious look.