“Hurry up, Kiran!” a stern voice called from atop the gate. “We need to finish before it reaches us.”

“As you command, captain,” Kiran yelled back. He had no intention of lingering outside even a second longer than necessary. His feet sped up as he inspected all the entrances. He had to make sure that nobody would be trapped outside once they closed the gates. Such a fate would be a death sentence.

Kiran gazed eastward, where the horizon met the endless dunes stretching like golden waves under the intense sun. The sky, once a serene blue, took on a muted, hazy hue as swirling particles began to paint the air with fine dust.

Kiran's keen eyes discerned the subtle changes: a distant wall of sand rising like a curtain, the winds whispering warnings through the shifting grains. The temperature dropped abruptly, and the once steady breeze gained strength, sending ripples across the landscape.

As he squinted against the encroaching haze, Kiran felt the static charge in the air, a prelude to the imminent tempest. Nature's cues were unmistakable, and Kiran, attuned to the desert's secrets, knew that an approaching sandstorm demanded swift action and preparedness for the turbulent spectacle about to unfold.

Just when he was about to turn away, he thought he saw a figure moving in the distance. He shook his head and rubbed his tired eyes. Ridiculous. Nobody would travel in this weather. It seemed age was finally catching up with him.

Kiran made his way back to the gate. However, a smidgeon of doubt remained in his mind. It was nothing but a whim that made him glance over his shoulder. At that very moment, the first bolt of lightning crossed the sky.

His feet froze.

This time, he had seen it for sure. There was somebody out there. He had clearly seen their silhouette in the short moment of light.

“CAPTAIN!” Kiran yelled over the noise of the wind.

***

Zeke was senseless, like a blind man trapped in a storm.

He couldn’t see because he had been forced to close his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything but the howling and relentless melody of the wind. He couldn’t feel a thing because his entire body was screaming for rest.

Nonetheless, his feet didn’t stop. Zeke had long since given up on carrying the Chimeroi and was now dragging them like his sled during childhood.

Were anybody here, they would furrow their brow at this strange sight. A one-armed man was dragging two bodies, leaving behind a snake’s trail reaching the edge of one’s vision. It was a sight that towed the line between tragic and comical.

Zeke had no mind to care about how he looked. The past days had been hard on him, and his constant consumption of blood had him teetering on the edge of sanity. Every step was a strenuous chore, and every breath a torturous ordeal.

The only thing that kept him going at this point was the knowledge that surrender meant death. However, it was only a matter of time until even this resolve wouldn’t be enough to overcome the demands of the flesh anymore. Willpower wasn’t endless, and Zeke was getting close to the edge. Every step carved away at it, and now only embers remained.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened — something Zeke had not encountered in a long time. Another living being had entered his sphere of perception. It seemed to be some sort of lizard.

His dried-up, crusted lips twitched, forming a bitter smile. Why couldn’t that thing have arrived days ago? Zeke was under no illusion of being able to fight back anymore, not in his current state. He could barely walk. It was quite ironic that he might be killed by some random lizard when he had a Dragon’s heart.

“Are you ok?”

He was snapped out of his thoughts. Was he hearing things? That sounded like a person.

“Hey! Can you hear me?”

Could it be? For the first time that day, Zeke opened his eyes. Only a fraction, but far enough to see a concerned face staring back at him from atop the sandstrider. For a long moment, he didn’t know what to say or do. He merely stared at the brown, wrinkly face of the middle-aged man wearing a guard uniform.

“Can you hear me?” the man repeated.

Zeke nodded his head. He tried to gather enough moisture to speak, but even after several attempts, his throat remained as dry as the sands surrounding him. He eventually gave up and tried to form words as best as he could.

“Where… is this?” Zeke rasped, his voice as rough as sandpaper.

“You have reached the capital, friend. This is Swarnaloka.”

Zeke pressed his eyes shut. He would have immediately started crying had he had the tears. Instead, he merely lowered his head. He had survived.

“…need help.”A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I can see that. But I won’t be able to let you into the city unless you identify yourself first.”

Instead of answering, Zeke fished out the token of the Nair family. It was one of the only things he had not thrown away yet. “Your… name?”

“My name?” the man asked as he inspected the token. “I am Kiran.”

“Kiran…” Zeke said. “Bring me… to… the Lion’s Den…”

Kiran shook his head with a frown. “I am no servant. And even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it. My shift isn’t over.”

“A year’s salary… If you can get me there… right away.”

Kiran squinted his eyes. He seemed to be considering something. He then looked at the two bodies on the ground. A long moment passed in silence before a deep sigh could be heard.

“Very well. Get on.”

***

Zeke shot up and found himself lying on a comfortable mattress.

He didn’t remember much after his talk with Kiran — fractured images only. He could vaguely recall being loaded on the mount and brought somewhere. However, he was fairly certain that they hadn’t gone to the Lion’s Den. Even the room he was in right now was unfamiliar to him.

[Notice]

There is no need to panic, Host. We are not in danger.