Discovery of the Dragon Temples

Malakath lay unconscious in the sand at the bottom of the dune, his dragon Purpurapilum was well aware of the calling human and barrelled off in the direction of the noise, being a shade runner she excelled at the long distance even though she hated gettin sand in her coat she ran on to the camp and made sure she had retraceable steps behind her, she arrived shortly after setting off and looked at the crowd unsure of wether they were friendly to dragons, she exclaimed "Please, my master, needs help, water, dying" Through huffed breaths and fearful glances before turning back and seeing about bringing her unconscious master back to the camp straddled across her back, as she re-arrived he fell from her back and tumbled down another dune to finish his journey at the edge of the camp, covered in clothes that in turn were coated in dust, his hood being pulled from his head revealing his waist length white hair and his eyes closed over as if he fainted from dehydration. His dragon sat atop the dune asking people the same question "Please help him?, I beg you"

The dragon was bewildered by this woman's tone and she was lapping her water thirstily whilst registering and making a note of where the tents went and what should. She looked up at the woman when she said the word condition "My master is different, he doesnt have any sort of condition that makes him less of a person than you. Besides, i dont tell him where to go, i only follow, he was the one who wanted to come out here, hell if i know".

She was still looking around and making mental notes of the people at the camp, the reaper, the woman who had spoken to her angrily and the sandy woman laying there took her interest as most of the others looked simply boring. She grew concerned with the commotion around her Master which then subsided as they moved away and had him under a tent, out of the sun. She lay there after not quite finishing her water but she managed to grip the bowl with her teeth and lob the remaining water over her fur to dampen and cool her down.
She wandered foreward her damp feet padding leaving footprints in the sand and stuck one of her tails in the tent, then proceeded to shake it, coating Malakath in flecks of water.

He bolted awake straight upright, catching a mouthful of his dragon's fur, which was damp, instead of spluttering like a normal person he sucked at the tail until it was pulled away, he then took a while to register his dragon barking "That insufferable imbecile ..."

It then trailed off unable to hear through the ruffling of the tent and the wind, he looked around inside and found the bowl of water which he proceeded to guzzle thirstily before letting out a sigh of relief.
He was relieved simply because he wasn't dead. After replacing his scarf and hood he poked his head out to find his dragon, wondering how and where she got a tent from. Only to be greeted by a bustling caravan with some different looking people, a man carrying a scythe, a dusty looking woman and another woman, he yelped and hid back inside the tent.

He sighed and sat by the fire, avoiding many of the people. Drinking from his bowl where his dragon went and sat next to him, he smiled under his scarf at the sight of her steaming fur but then said "Thanks Purr" and sat staring into the fire.He then got up and approached this woman rather nervously, tapping the ends of his fingers together like a child and said raspily "Umm th-thank you for your service and y'know, not leaving me to die in the desert". Still twiddling his thumbs he looked around at the caravan of men, the ones that looked back gasped when they saw his now open eyes and he looked down muttering to himself "Always the same". But felt rudeness toward the woman who saved his life would be a little inconsiderate, so he turned away from them and looked directly at her through the narrow slit his eyes can be seen.

The woman seemed a bit dazed, preoccupied with her own thoughts and unquestionable echaustion. He could see that Soneya, as well, was being pushed past her limit, but she was hard at work keeping the new arrivals from keeling over themselves. Her stumble, however, was the last straw, leading him to stand up and offer a steadying hand, keeping her in place.

"Perhaps now is the time that you
Take your rest, as others do.
You've done your part, now don't make a peep,
Leave the rest to me, and go to sleep."

With his lines said, in a calm voice, he guided the seated mage to stand, gesturing for Soneya to follow as he set the woman into a spare tent. She fell asleep quickly, though a bit fitfully, but it was well enough sleep that they should have no need to worry about her. With her done with, Veces motioned for Soneya to come near, muttering to her in hushed tones.

"what do you think of these new additions,
Are you worried that they may hurt our mission?
Spare hands are useful, to be sure,
But some of these souls need more than simple cures.
Our band may have no need for such a large load
Of dragons mages, and... questionable rogues."

That isn't to say that all rogues are questionable. In fact, he could think of one Rogue in particular who was very admirable. And powerful. And her band of followers were no pushovers, either. He would hate being under her command, though, that was certain. Now the Elder, that was the person he wanted to follow.

He nodded in agreement with Sonya's opinions, offering a quick wave as she moved off before going to a group of workers, gathered around one of the fires. He said a few quick, garbled lines of poetry to them, complimented with copious amounts of hand gestures, in an attempt to tell them his wishes. It took a few tries and multiple different version of the same orders, with much internal deliberation before the group finally understood the reaper's intent. In a flash, the men ushered all of the other people into their respective tents, then threw lots to determine working hours. There were mixed exclamations of joy and annoyance as they self-assigned their patrols. Those not awake would lay by the fires, to be in reach should they be needed, with the one or two men awake keeping an eye out for any sign of danger, and tending to the fires as need be.

Veces, however, had not been there to find his hours. Not that he was shirking duty, far from it, he was just far more content to just stay awake all night, as years of traveling and work had let him cultivate stamina much greater than most other people. A sleepless night was of little worry for him, and he would still have plenty of energy for the following day. So he sat alone, in the dark, ears open and senses alert, his eyes staring deep into the blade of his scythe, the dim light shining from the crystal boring deep into him. Would he find it here?

~~

The night passed uneventfully, with the entire party waking as the sun was still coming up from the horizon, dismantling all of the tents and preparing the beasts for travel. The spare meat, of which there was plenty, was loaded into sealed jars for it to keep. The caravan was ready to go before the sun had even made it a fourth of the way through the sky, and before they knew it they were off.

The pace was slower than it had been when the expidition was first started, the loss of mounts meaning that some people, Veces included, were forced to walk and ride in shifts. But trouble wasn't encountered for the rest of the trip, though dark shadows occasionally blotted out the sky, and worms smaller than the one seen previously could be observed breaching the sand in the distance, presumably as they went after prey that were fewer in number. It would not be long until they reached the temples, their guide assured.

Soneya was right, the ruins were very unsettling, if not majestic. The towers which stretched into the sky were much more impressive than what was seen across most of the continent and, Veces would wager, would have outshone even the most extravagent buildings in Didienne, if not for time taking its toll from the old husk. What must have been extravagant depictions and artistic masterpieces that enveloped the entirety of the temple were now no more than feint grooves riddling the surfaces of the temple, save for those which were lucky enough to be blocked from the wind by the rest of the structure. And though breaking and failing were to be expected, some of it did not look quite so right. Large holes, smashed into the building with no real rhyme or reason, looked as if they had been punched in with brute force, an idea bolstered by the fact that bricks and the broken remnants thereof were still above the sands grip, poking out as if for their last breaths. The sands were already staking their claims on the building, as the open doors allowed sand to accumulate inside, inches deep.

Though he was interested in taking a closer look, as others were, there was work to be done; camp would need to be set before the first trip in, and there was much to do. And this time, it wasn't just sleeping tents; Large, weatherproof canopies were being raised, with solid floors to boot, filled to burst with various stations for examinations and testing. An actual kitchen was being set, as the group grew tired of the same old worm jerky and food needed to be stretched out. A medical ward, small but efficient, was raised as well in case of emergency. Those who wanted them got their own sleeping quarters, and the bonfire for this camp was large and centralized, unlike the small, scattered fire pits they used before. There was a pen for the animals put in place. and large candles lit which could deter pesky flies, though some might argue that the smell wasn't quite worth it.

Despite hours of labour, the camp was finished with many hours of daylight to spare, and the weather had been gracious enough to not blow away any tents while they were being pitched. A large barrel of water was crowded around, at the behest of the expedition's true leaders; the scholars whom had been here before. They did not seem quite accustomed to this weather; though strong enough to pull their own weight, they could do little else, and their magic skills were not suited for most hard labour. Three of the group were rather thin, though the last of them was a rather portly man, whom many of the workers identified as  'The Bottomless Pit.' They were all pale folk, three humans and an elf, all with skin bright red from the heat and sweating up a storm, though cheery and full of energy nonetheless. They spoke with clear diction and buzzing anticipation of their plans;

“Now, I’m sure we’re all very excited to get in the-“ “Very excited, yes.” “Yes, thank you. Now, we must be sure to be careful, you never know what might be important.” “Stones with writing on the bottom, preserved cloth or wood, anything!” “Be very delicate with what you find, and be carful. Though the stonework may seem sturdy, I highly doubt any wood has stood the test of time, and bricks can crumble!” “Try to not spend too much time in there all at once, be sure to rest and record your findings, don’t let anything slip through!”

This, of course, was directed at the whole entourage. Nobody gathered wanted to miss out on seeing for themselves what was inside. And really, who could blame them? Nobody had seen the interior of this building for as long as recorded history had been on the continent.