Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 56: The Night

Toren Daen

Alandra was right, even if she nearly tumbled into the welldraw kantamid's trap. Underneath the corpse were tarnished remains of an old culture. I recognized the bones of a few ascenders and what was left of their gear, some unfortunate souls lost to the ages under the sandy body of this insectoid monster.

Anything with more than four legs really did deserve to die.

Accolades were split evenly among us according to battle contribution, but both Darrin and I cut our portions in half so it was an even divide between the four of us. After all, Alandra was the one who found the kantamid, even if by accident. And Jared was the one who caught the sentry after I rather unceremoniously tossed her to him.

It wasn't much loot, but it was a worthy prize for the effort of the battle according to Darrin. Our party had decided to camp on the outskirts of the kantamid trap as the sun began to slowly dip under the horizon.

Darrin had a few tarp tents set up for us all. As the sun lowered, the temperature dropped exponentially. Even though dusk hadn't fully wrapped the world in its grip, it was already pleasantly cool.

The sands didn't provide stable foundations for our tents, but the Unblooded party weathered through with clear experience. Jared conjured long, thin poles of metal, using them to anchor our tents deep down. Alandra used what little fire manipulation she could to fuse the sand together around the metal poles, further solidifying them in place. Even though the two constantly bickered as they did it, they worked flawlessly as a team.

"We'll have to put out the fire once night comes," Darrin was saying. "I don't know what sort of beasts hunt in the night of this zone, but you can be sure they'll see our light as a beacon to swarm us. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be overrun in the desert."

"How are we going to set up night watch?" Jared asked, already looking like he was ready to fall asleep. He was still caked in sand from the tumble he and Alandra had taken, and despite his best efforts, he hadn't managed to get a single grain out of his beard.

I was wondering at what point he would have to cut his losses and simply shave it off. When I asked, he'd simply looked at me like I was insane.

"I'll take the last watch," Darrin offered, "Since I know neither of you two will want it," he said with good humor.

In the end, it turned out that I would take the first watch. Apparently, the other three agreed that it was the easiest watch for a beginner. This was because I essentially only had to stay two hours up past my normal bedtime instead of waking up in the middle of my sleep and being forced to stay attentive.

That was nice of them.

I sat on a small metal cube Jared had conjured for the watch to sit in. Our tents were arranged in a circular formation around the box, and the tents were close enough to the ground that I could see over them with ease.

Alandra and Jared had already settled into their tents, and I could swear I already heard the one-eyed shield snoring. I could definitely hear Alandra complaining about said snoring in low mutters, audible to my enhanced ears.

"If you spot anything you don't feel sure about, don't hesitate to wake us up," Darrin said, taking one last look around the sands. The light was low now, and the temperature was actually somewhat pleasant. "I expect these sands will be a lot more active at night. Keep your eyes peeled."

I nodded wordlessly. Darrin shuffled back to his tent, getting into the small cloth bundle with ease.

And so I settled in to wait. The only sound was the brush of wind as it raced through the air. As was my habit since training in the Clarwood Forest, I looked to the sky.