Artist unknown
Chapter One
Tundras, Lily thought, certainly didn’t look right covered in sand. Just a month ago, her caravan had passed through here bundled in layers of clothing and huddling around bonfires at night. Now the snow had dissipated, leaving only a rocky desert, with evergreens left barren from sandstorms.
A greater oddity than the sudden desert was the stone structures jutting from the earth, half buried in the reddish dunes. Lily supposed that it was that the ruin had been buried under ice or snow, to be revealed when it melted. Or perhaps that it had been here all along and she simply didn’t see it. The history of the place mattered little, however. She shook her head of the thoughts as she dragged a large wagon behind her, placing the handles on her shoulders and pulling the wagon by herself, as the others were pulled by beasts of burden.
Wherever they had been, the ruins were solid enough to use as shelter. At this point, that was all that truly mattered.
Lily was awake long before the others, still lost in thought about what this place could have been. Who lived there? How long ago was this place abandoned? She became so distracted that she almost tripped over a sleeping clanmate as she made her way to the entrance of the building. She hastily tied her blonde hair hair back into a messy braid as she tiptoed between the sleeping bodies.
Emerging into the light and heat, she took a step back. Shielding her eyes from the unforgiving desert sun, she slowly made her way down the street, slowly adjusting to the sunlight. Once she could see, she noticed that a few of the others were already awake, readying their pack animals or preparing a morning meal for their families. When it came to the Dredja, early risers were a minority.
Though Lily had lived with this clan of Dredja for a particularly long time, they were far different from her. Where she had tanned skin, they had long grey fur. Where she had fingers they had long claws. Where she had a flat face, they had a long, whiskered snout ending in a pink nose. Nevertheless, these people had been her family for all her life, and she had adapted well to their ways. Thanks to her strength, it was easy for her to grow into a life where one carried most, if not all of their possessions with them. Like the Dredja, Lily possessed a large bag, covered in a series of asymmetric buckles and pouches. Though it was almost as big as her body and no doubt weighed much more, she had managed it well since it had been granted to her.
She found what must have been the town square, where wagons had been placed into a circular formation, with one space open for others to come and go. Those within the circle were far more active than the others in town, trading amongst each other or discussing where to travel next. Within a large gathering of apparent merchants, Lily spotted a particular Dredja, who stood slightly below those around him. He wore a light beige hood, adorned with small metal rings and decorations. He wore a pair of goggles, the lids of which seemed to be inscribed with a variety of small etchings, some sort of glyph or rune perhaps, it was hard to tell.
As if expecting her, the shorter Dredja turned to Lily and smiled. It was clear he had been expecting her.
“Mornin’, Lily. You’re up early.” He drawled.
Lily smirked back, giving him a light punch to his shoulder.
“How’s it going, Pa?”
The bespectacled Dreda hefted his travel pack, slowly standing despite its immense size.
“Another fine day as always, Lillian.” He seemed ready to continue, but was interrupted by another Dredja calling his name.
“Gnovvat!” She shouted, causing both him and Lily to turn their heads. This was Ithri, a taller Dredja with a set of three horizontal scars across the top of her snout. Unlike the others, her travel pack seemed best suited for a huntress, with a few stone tipped spears poking out from the top.
She approached the pair, releasing her pack with a loud thud.
“Any luck today, Ithri?” Lily asked. The Dredja shook her head, revealing the contents of her bag to be little more than a few small lizards.
“No. There’s even less to hunt here than there was last time.” She sighed as she looked at her meager quarry.
“What about water?” Gnovvat spoke up, setting down his pack as well before leaning on it.
“Not a drop. I tried tracking these down to a source, but no luck.” She handed each of them a lizard, leaving only one for herself.
“We need to start moving. Most of the others are saying to head north, maybe we’ll have better luck if the forests are still there.” Ithri commented.
“If they’re still there.” Gnovvat emphasized.
“It’s better than staying here and waiting for the snow to come back.”
“I could go hunting.” Lily suggested. “At least find enough for us to not worry about food as we travel.”
Ithri looked out into the dunes beyond the ruins, the wind carrying the sands and shifting the landscape ever so slowly.
“You should do it soon. The others are going to want to leave fairly soon.”
Gnovvat went into his pack, handing Lily a leather sling and a few small, spherical stones.
“Find what you need and come straight back. Don’t get yourself lost out there, Lillian.” Gnovvat placed a hand on Lily’s as she accepted the items. The woman nodded, placing the stones in a pouch on her side.
“I promise, Pa.” Lily ensured him. She turned and began to walk towards the outskirts, but stopped when Gnovvat called out for her.
“Before you go, some of the others found a tunnel in one of the mountains, but it’s blocked off by some rubble. Could you help them clear it?” He asked as he once again picked up his bags, his name being called over by another Dredja in the crowds in the town square.
“Sure thing!” Lily smiled, heading towards the aforementioned mountain on the other side of the ruins. As she walked, she noticed that the others were slowly becoming more active, heading to the town square or joining the other Dredja that had already awoken.
When she made it to the mountain, she saw a few Dredja busy clearing out the tunnel Gnovvat spoke of, working with worn metal picks and carrying stones by hand.
“Hey Lily!” One of the workers called out.
“You mind giving us a hand with this?”
“Not at all.” She looked at the large stone they had been working on, a large block that the workers had only managed to chip away. She took a deep breath, and braced her legs against the ground. The Dredja began to move to the outside of the tunnel.
With a yell, she dug both of her hands into the stone, breaking into it with a single move. Grabbing onto the rubble, she began to pull, grunting as the stone finally began to move. The working Dredja cheered as she dragged the stone out, hefting it just above her body before tossing it down the side of the mountain, where it hit the side and broke into a multitude of fragments, tumbling into the sands below.
When one is blessed with strength, Lily thought, one is almost obligated to show off now and again.
Air seemed to rush into the tunnel after Lily had cleared it. It was dark, but from what they could make out, it appeared to be an old mine, with dusty wooden supports just barely visible from the entrance. The working Dredja profusely thanked the woman, preparing torches and entering the mines themselves.
Lily made her way back toward the town square, then out toward the desert, sling in hand. She had also made sure to bring her weapon of choice, a one handed steel mace. The thing had seen its fair share of use, but it had proven invaluable time and time again.
In a world like Gaius, even a Demigoddess can never be too careful.