The rest of the players watched in shock as their leader crashed to the ground. Hamr guy wasn't moving, just lying in the sand with his eyes rolled back. Twenty fighters had co to take the dallions, and in seconds, most were on their knees, trapped by Vell's mana.
"Anyone else?" He asked, brushing sand from his hands. His voice was calm, which made it even scarier.
The lightning staff woman tried to raise her weapon, fingers shaking against the mana lock. "How... are you this strong?" she gasped.
Vell walked through the fallen players, his steps unhurried. "I'm not here to show off," he said. "I'm here to climb the tower. Get in my way again, and next ti won't be so gentle."
He turned to his team, who stood by the tower entrance, looking more bored than worried. "Let's go. We've got more dallions to find."
Ruby bounced forward, tail swishing with excitent. "That was amazing, Master! You didn't even break a sweat!"
"They weren't worth the effort," he replied, pocketing the three dallions. Their glow pulsed through his clothes – blue, green, and now red, each humming with power.
As they walked away from the tower, leaving the groaning players behind, Regina pulled up her map. "We still need two more dallions," she said, finger tracing lines across the screen. "The ruins seem to form a pattern across the desert – like points of a star with the tower at the center."
"Any guesses where to look next?" Jolly asked, stretching her arms.
"The northeast quadrant," Regina said. "There's a canyon there that matches the symbols from the tower walls. It's about a day's journey."
Wren groaned. "More walking in this heat? Great."
"Stop complaining," Jia said, nudging her. "At least no one will bother us for a while after what Master just did."
They traveled until the twin suns started to dip, setting up camp in the shadow of a large rock formation. The night was cold – desert cold that bit through their clothes and made them huddle close to the small fire Regina conjured.
"Master," Ruby asked as they ate their simple dinner, "what do you think will happen when we get all five dallions?"
Vell stared into the fire, the flas reflecting in his eyes. "Nothing good, probably. Power like this always cos with a price."
"But we're still going after them, right?" Wren asked, grinning.
"Of course we are," he replied. "Better us than the Desert Kings or those other players. At least we know what we're doing."
Regina closed her grimoire, which she'd been studying by firelight. "The carvings suggest the dallions control the desert itself – weather, water, maybe even the monsters. If the machine really works..."
"We could rule the floor," Jolly finished, eyes wide.
"Or clear it," Vell corrected. "That's the goal. Not ruling anything."
They fell silent, watching the stars appear overhead – bright pinpricks in a sky darker than any they'd seen before. The desert was beautiful at night, peaceful in a way it never was during the day.
"Rest up," he said finally. "Tomorrow will be harder."
Morning ca too soon, the twin suns harsh even as they rose. The team packed quickly and started toward the canyon, following Regina's map across ever-changing dunes. The sand shifted under their feet, sotis hiding monsters that burst out to attack – sand worms, scorpions big as dogs, and snake-like creatures that could sink back into the ground in seconds.
They handled them easily, working together like they'd been doing it forever. Ruby's water blasts, Wren's quick claws, Jia's precise strikes – they barely needed to speak, just flowed around each other in a deadly dance.
By midday, the canyon ca into view – a deep slash in the earth, walls rising high on either side. Unlike the rest of the desert, it was dark down there, shadowed and cool.
"Finally," Ruby sighed, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Shade!"
"Don't get too excited," Vell warned. "Shade ans other things can hide there too."
They descended carefully, using a narrow path that wound down the canyon wall. The temperature dropped with each step, a blessed relief after days in the sun. The rocks here were different – not the sandy brown of the desert, but deep red and purple, with strange carvings etched into their surface.
"More symbols," Regina said, running her fingers over them. "Older than the ones in the tower. These talk about... a trial? No, a test."
"Great," Jolly muttered. "Another fight."
"Maybe not," Regina replied. "It ntions wisdom, not strength."
They reached the canyon floor, where a small stream trickled between rocks – the first natural water they'd seen on this floor. Ahead, the canyon narrowed, leading to what looked like a doorway carved directly into the cliff face.
"There," Vell said, pointing. "That's our next stop."
As they approached, the doorway grew clearer – a perfect arch decorated with spiraling patterns that seed to move if you looked at them too long. In front of it stood a stone pedestal with a flat top, empty except for a single line of text carved around its edge.
Regina leaned close, studying the words. "It says... 'Place what you value most to gain what you seek.'"
"A sacrifice?" Ruby asked, ears flattening with worry.
"Or a trick," Vell said. He circled the pedestal, examining it from all angles. There were no obvious traps, no hidden chanisms. Just the stone and the words.
"What we value most..." Jia mused. "The dallions?"
Vell pulled out the three they'd collected. They glowed in his palm – blue, green, red – pulsing like heartbeats. "Maybe. But that seems too easy."
"Our weapons?" Wren suggested, flexing her claws.
"Or sothing personal," Jolly added. "A test of how badly we want the next dallion."
Vell stared at the doorway, thinking. This wasn't like the other challenges – no guardian to fight, no puzzle to solve. Just a simple request with no clear answer.
"I think," he said slowly, "it's asking for our trust."
He placed all three dallions on the pedestal.
"Master!" Ruby gasped. "What if it takes them?"
"Then we start over," he said simply. "But I don't think that's what will happen."
The dallions began to shine brighter, their light mixing and swirling. The doorway rumbled, and slowly, it started to open. Inside, darkness waited, but at its center, a purple glow erged – the fourth dallion, floating in mid-air.
[Test of Faith passed. Ancient Artifact Found: Twilight dallion. 450 points earned.]
The three dallions on the pedestal remained untouched. Vell collected them, then stepped forward to take the purple one.
"Four down," he said, feeling its cool weight in his hand. "One to go."
Regina was already scanning her map again. "The last one... according to the pattern, it should be in the mountains to the west. The farthest point from town."
"Of course it is," Wren sighed. "Can't make it easy, can they?"
"If it was easy," Vell said, pocketing all four dallions, "everyone would have done it by now."
They climbed out of the canyon as the suns began to set, turning the desert gold and red. Another day, another dallion. But the real challenge – the tower and whatever waited inside – that was still to co.
The team made camp on the canyon's edge, with a view that stretched for miles across the endless desert. The twin moons rose, casting silver light over the dunes that made them look like waves frozen in ti. Everyone was quiet during dinner, tired from the day's journey but also thinking about what waited ahead.
"The mountains," Ruby said finally, breaking the silence. "What do we know about them?"
Regina flipped through her grimoire, the pages glowing softly in the darkness. "Not much. Few players go that far west. The monsters get stronger, the weather turns harsh, and there are rumors of sandstorms that never end."
"Sounds fun," Wren said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She was sharpening her claws with a small stone, each scrape echoing in the night air.
Vell stared into the campfire, the flas dancing in his eyes. "We'll need supplies. Water, mostly. The journey will take two days at least."
"And what about the Desert Kings?" Jia asked, twirling one of her daggers. "Or those other players? They might follow us."
"Let them try," he replied, his voice cool and confident. "They've seen what happens when they get in our way."
They slept in shifts that night, always keeping watch. The desert was never truly safe, especially when you carried treasures that others wanted. But nothing ca for them – just the wind, singing its lonely song through the rocks.
Morning brought another blazing day. They packed quickly and headed west, following Regina's map toward the distant mountains. They looked small from here, just dark bumps on the horizon, but Vell knew better. Distance in the desert was tricky – things that seed close could take days to reach.
The terrain grew harder as they walked. Soft sand gave way to rocky ground that hurt their feet. Small plants appeared – tough, spiny things that clung to life in this harsh place. The air felt different too, drier sohow, pulling the moisture from their skin and making their throats ache.
"Save your water," Vell warned when he saw Ruby taking quick sips too often. "We don't know what's ahead."
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