Hmmm.
Morning came and Ares was sitting atop his bed, filtering through the various treasures he'd found tucked away in the caravan. He'd already given Aejaz the Stacked Deck, and he seemed particularly happy with it, but none of the other treasures in the pile really suited himself or Aejaz at all. The rest of them, or whatever was left of them after Ares conducted a neighbourhood wide fire sale back at the sect, were probably just going to end up in Fate's hands as she seemed to be able to use just about any and every treasure in one way or another. Ares was getting everyone else souvenirs so he might as well pick some up for his cute little sister too! Aside from the three main treasures, though, this haul was not particularly fantastic, unfortunately, but all that meant was that Ares would just have to go back to the east and try, try, try again!
Once he was done sorting through the treasures he felt around on his head to check if the horns were still there, even double checking with divine sense, but it seemed like they'd retreated back into his skull. How they had the ability to hide like that Ares didn't know, maybe it was thanks to having a tiny brain or something, but they were definitely not there right now and Ares couldn't bring them back out at will. Perhaps when he reached bloodline awakening, or at least got closer, would he be able to freely control it, like a cat's claws, but for now only when he tapped into his draconic bloodline and exerted himself like yesterday would they come out. This hadn't happened before but it was a signal he was drawing ever nearer bloodline awakening... Although the real issue here was that once Enyo saw these memories down the line she was going to bother Ares to resummon the horns so she could ride him like a bull... There were some things about Enyo that were just too obvious to not expect by now about her character and this was absolutely one of them. Well whatever, Ares' cultivation ought to be sufficient to control his horns by the time he returned so she could play around with them to her heart's desire if she so fancied.
Speaking of cultivation, Ares wasn't going to have time to do any today. He spoke with Aejaz about this yesterday but he was thinking about spending all of tomorrow cultivating ahead of his black market brawl with the stepper. Or at least he would cultivate until he went up a stage. Every little helped, after all. He wasn't going to cultivate today, though, as he had the meeting with the fellahins to attend to. There wouldn't likely be any new information from the captured scavengers, that Ares didn't already know now after all his own personal snooping, but it was still for the best to meet up with them and discuss Sandy leaving as well as the monsters they wanted dealt with before they felt comfortable letting their protector go. They were probably going to be a little unreasonable but it was understandable given the talent of the person Ares was poaching here. Plus it likely wouldn't end up being just her alone, as others would want to tag along, so Ares was going to have to work for the right to steal them away.
Ares got up and went to go search for Aejaz as he had an important duty to fulfill today. Him and Rox. Ares was going to sneak out of the palace again today, like he did yesterday morning, and it was all related to what he'd told the scavenger trio about Diggers being more useful to him here in the sect than imprisoned somewhere or dead. Anyway, point being that Aejaz was going to have a chance to put his money where his mouth is and stay behind to take care of some business on Ares' behalf. Ares would deal with the fellahins while Aejaz dealt with a different problem with the help of Rox and some slight trickery on Ares' end. As such, Ares went to his brothers' room, explained the plan, and then made breakfast after Aejaz agreed with a fervent nod. Thanks to Ares' clearly laid out plan Aejaz would actually have a rather easy time; plus it was humans he was dealing with so this was not likely to be a hard ask in the slightest for him.
Ares then turned to Rox, who was currently wearing the likeness of Ares himself, and double checked he knew what his role was too. He also promised Rox a surprise present later but didn't clarify what it was because he was keeping it a secret for now. Rox had been a good boy as of late so, other than food, it was high time he got a reward!... Though it was a bit of a weird one... Still, Rox would... Probably appreciate it? Whatever, Ares didn't care! He had elsewhere to be so he left through a window and travelled through the void instead of out in the open, only reappearing once he was a decent distance away from the palace. His goal was complete and now the rest was up to the other two. As for his own plans... He was going to drive through the desert with his caravan! He'd gotten up early to make sure he would get there in time if he took this option because he really enjoyed cruising through the sand! Alas, fate had other things in store for Ares. He was sauntering through the core area of the sect when he noticed a familiar face open the door of a building and wave at him. The building in question was the home with all the flower pots and carefully trimmed greenery that Ares first spotted all the way back when he arrived here originally. The two houses that stood out to him at the time were the gold one, that belonged to Diggers, and the well maintained floral paradise that appeared to belong to... Sandy! Ares was surprised to see her but she must have been a disciple at one point and was allowed to keep this building even after leaving. It was understandable a person of her talents would be treated as a honorary member of the sect so that building would probably remain untouched for years on end even if she never came back to it. Still, she was here today likely to meet up with Ares and show him the way to their base just in case he got lost in the vast dessert without a guide. Ares appreciated the thought but now the caravan was wishful thinking as he would just be slowing down Sandy, who could fly, and he didn't want to be rude by making such a selfish demand after she'd gone to this much effort to escort him. Curses! Foiled!
Ares wandered over as he waved back before giving a proper greeting when he was close enough. "Hey. you really took good care of these flowers, huh? A hobby of yours, maybe?"
Sandy nodded and looked back at the house. "The desert is good for many things but, even if there are some exceptions, plant life is not typically one of them. I've been outside Xasca few times and I'll admit I miss the greenery and lush colours of nature more than anything else. That and food, I guess. I had this really nice stew one time in Dwarvingdom and I don't think I'll ever forget it. It was at a pub with an open air garden in the back and the place was really pretty. This house was an attempt at recreating that place to the best of my abilities and, though it didn't come out perfectly, it's still cosy enough for me to reminisce about my travels back when I was able to leave this place more frequently. I haven't been a disciple in this sect for years now but, well, who dares come and bulldoze my house, right? I'll be leaving to go to Red Sun permanently with you later, though, so I figured I would at least pay this place another visit or two before that time came and I couldn't see it again."
"I could just cut up this area of land and bring it along, if you really want? I'm already bringing along a few other people's shops and homes due to various agreements here and there so its really not a problem."
"... Well crap. Now it feels like I was getting all sentimental for nothing... Gee thanks Ares! Idiot! Hmph!" Sandy started walking away, leaving Ares to scratch his head and chase after the big bundle of stomping across the sand with a particularly pouty air surrounding it. Ares would return to this place at some point and fulfill his promise, of cutting up the area around the house and storing it, but for now he decided to catch up with Sandy lest she leave him behind entirely. Ares ran after her and caught up but she was still mumbling away about wasted feelings and whatnot. This carried on all the way until near the sect entrance but what changed wasn't her obsession over the matter but the fact that somebody was looking for trouble! Truly a brave soul but somebody had indeed come looking to quarrel with Ares no less despite him having been here for long enough for everyone to know who he was by now. Rather, if anything, it was probably Ares' status that had emboldened this weirdo to pick a fight in the first place. He was a beefy person with more muscles than common sense, apparently, and there were any number of reasons he could be after Ares. Because of his performance at the international, the desert nuke he fired off the other day, his cooperative efforts with juggernaut, his rumoured position as sect master. Honestly it could have been anything but what was apparent was that he was looking to instantly propel himself to stardom by defeating Ares who was looking at this guy like he was an anomalous oddball.
Ares had initially expected a lot more people like this during his journeys but maybe the lower domains were just more subdued overall when it came to stuff like this due to their long-standing separation and isolation from the worse world outside it. People like this were a dime a dozen outside the barrier but somewhat rarer in a place like Sheryashka due to cultivation culture not having spread quite so fast. In the outside world, getting bullied by someone temporarily visiting a lower domain wasn't uncommon so all domains everywhere were very familiar with the attitude this disciple was showcasing. in contrast, nobody from Vraizon ever really seemed to care about visiting Sheryashka because there was nothing here they stood to gain, seemingly. Combine that with the fact That it was rare for people to challenge those stronger than themselves and that all meant what this disciple was doing was technically not uncommon, just rare in Sheryashka specifically. Stronger people did not come down, and weaker people did not challenge upwards of their rank so someone like Ares, who was at the top of society right now, was not expecting to get challenged by anyone who wasn't looking to steal the Blade. That was the only real reason anybody should ever have to throw their life away fighting him and even then it was stupid. Of course Ares had met the chens, that Isasz young master in the restaurant that one time, and a few other exceptions here and there but that was because Ares wasn't well known at the time so this disciple was just strange!
At first Ares thought the guy was here to maybe pick a fight for the Blade but if it was just this, the disciple boosting his reputation by smack talking an Ares who was too busy following Sandy to fight him, then killing him seemed a tad overkill. That being said, Ares wasn't going to just let anyone come up to him like this and pick a fight without making them regret it. If he was too soft on people like this, instead of making an example of them, he'd never see the end of the tunnel once they all formed a long queue to try and pick on him. Toeing the line between tyrant and softie was not easy! This guy storming over with clear intent to pick a fight was just some chump not even any stronger than the scavengers Ares kept whipping near the Riddlemyd entrance, though. If this guy though he was hot stuff he was about to learn a harsh lesson! Ares did not have to take considerable time out of his day to shut up a fool like this who was overconfident because of his cultivation base that dwarfed Ares' by an entire realm give or take.
Right as the guy came within reach, Ares wordlessly lifted his hand and flicked the guy in the head with an Echo, sending him skidding through the sand until he hit a metal rail at the edge of a nearby pool and flipped over it onto the water. Ares immediately followed up and pointed at the guy while chanting "Esoteric Compression" and a jet of water enveloped the disciple as he sunk below the waves like a ton of bricks. A small thud could be heard as the disciple banged against the floor and was anchored to the bottom of the pool and this was where he'd be staying for a good while to come as punishment for his actions. Cultivators could breath for a while underwater and Ares had calculated the disciple's entrapment down there to be roughly equivalent to how long they were capable of surviving without drowning. It was cutting it close, and the disciple would have to work hard to get out, but he very well could if he didn't give up. The pool was unusable for now, though, as the pressure lingering over it would drag anyone who went in it down to meet a similar fate. The disciple could not be rescued by anyone other than himself and even Drai would struggle to release the disciple from his pressure chains safely. Being a core disciple meant he would serve as an excellent warning for anyone else looking to pull such a stunt and it was likely none of the other disciples would dare pick a fight with Ares going forward. At least, if nothing else, Ares' stay here would be a lot more peaceful in the future!
Ares and Sandy had already left the sect by the time everyone else was done staring dumbfoundedly at the resounding defeat this disciple suffered, though, as they were uninterested in hanging around any longer. Rather, Sandy was somehow still a little moody about the house incident and groaning something under her breath about how 'Ares could go drown as well'... Women were scary when they were mad! Still, she seemed to get over her bad mood shortly after leaving the city and so the rest of the travel to the fellahin base was filled with friendly chatter about the history of the fellahins as well the kind of monsters Ares was going to have to deal with over in the west of Xasca. He was already roughly aware, thanks to the notebook from Lara, but hearing it directly from someone who had first hand experience fighting the monsters was valuable. Sandy had taken part in a lot of western monster hunts and remembered basically every last detail of the monsters she'd slain or failed to slay either due to the monster running away or Sandy being forced to protect a clan member and dragging them to safety. She was arguably better off fighting alone, depending on how you looked at it, but there were some situations wherein having other members nearby actually mattered. They could bring along various nets and nail guns to try and pin bigger monsters down, as well as contribute to injuring the beast with their weapons and magic, softening them up and locking them down for Sandy to deal a final blow and put the monster down for good. The fellahins sent on these hunts were also usually quite talented so they were a net positive overall even if it resulted in the occasional failure.
The location of the fellahin base was north of the Riddlemyd and a little to the east, about three miles away from the newly built C.O wall and in a relatively remote location. The plain and otherwise empty dessert was sporting a random sandstone sphinx near the tip of a large sandy hill and the maw of the creature was the entrance to an underground base. It was pretty hidden, just due to the sheer randomness of the location as stumbling upon it wasn't likely, because there was no other reason to be here. There was nothing around for miles worth paying a visit to so no one ever had a reason to be here. Still, that didn't mean nobody knew about it. It wasn't supposed to be a secret to begin with and this place was simply here because it had always been here, back before settlements began cropping up across Xasca. The fellahin weren't slaves to tradition but they valued it highly and thus moving the base, for convenience to be nearer to cities, was seen as both a colossal pain in the neck as well as rude to their forebearers who'd painstakingly built this base from scratch with their bare hands. Plus, and this couldn't be stated enough, that first point was extremely true. The base was actually humongous underneath the sand and moving it would be a nightmare task. It was like an iceberg in that what was visible above ground was not even a fraction of a fraction of what went on below. It hosted a large majority of an entire race of people, after all, and was bigger than any city in this entire country. Xasca city could fit inside this thriving underground bunker at least twice over and there was a functioning civilisation down there! Ares wouldn't get to see much of the place, though, because he had no reason to waste time exploring when there were more important things to be doing. He was mainly just going to be following Sandy to the primary headquarters to discuss things with the elders of the clan. According to Sandy, it was just like Xasca city but with a sandy roof over everyone's head and a more open layout so Ares wasn't really missing much anyway.
Sandy led Ares up the steps, that had been designed to resemble a sphinx's tongue, and began leading him down a torch-lit tunnel which was, positional-wise, the sphinx's throat. Ares inwardly apologised to Tom Tom for entering inside his likeness and giving him indigestion before turning to Sandy and asking her a question. "If there are so many fellahin living down here, isn't it a bit strange we haven't seen anyone using this exit? It's unusually quiet here considering it's the only way in, no?"
"Not really. There are actually multiple 'exits' and 'entrances' all over the place, they're just more suited to fellahin usage than anyone else due to our unique trait. We can turn into sand elementals, remember? It's not impossible for most fellahins to just leave through the ceiling wherever they are underground and whenever they want. We can also enter the base that way too but, well, unless you learn how to shift through the sands like us this entrance is the only one non fellahin can realistically use."
"Ah. is that true of the fellahin who can't transform as well?"
"Yeah... It's a bit of a weird one. Though our clan has gotten marginally better with this kinda stuff there's still a wide spread stigma for fellahin who can't transform. It's why a lot of them end up living outside the base. After all, this entrance is even nicknamed the 'path of shame' just to mess with the fellahin who can't leave any other way. I've tried to get proper lighting installed here but my orders seem to always go unnoticed whenever it has anything to do with this entrance... Just goes to show that no matter how tight knit a community you think you have there will always be people looking to kick up a fuss and make other people's live hard for one silly reason or another... I would know." Sandy mumbled that last part but Ares caught it with his draconic senses.
"But you're incredibly talented for a fellahin, no? Why would they try and mess with you of all people?"
"Ah, you heard that?! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to eavesdrop on women?!"
"No... She'd probably encourage it if anything."
"... Pft, ok. Well, anyway, my situation was... Different. you could say it was the exact opposite of the problems weaker fellahin go through... Ah whatever, I'm getting side-tracked. Stop being nosy or our next sparring session will be a lot sooner than you think!"
"Hint taken and duly noted... Hm? I think there's someone ahead of us in the tunnel?" Ares could tell there were two people ahead somewhat further down the sandy slope leading to the base. After another minute or so of walking the two fellahin hanging around came into view and Ares recognised them as well! "Arla? Lara? That you?" The two fellahin sisters!
"There you are!... Though I guess me being here was kinda pointless in the end..." Arla waved back and gave a wry smile when she saw Sandy travelling alongside Ares. "I was going to wait here and show you around the fellahin base when you arrived to make sure you didn't get lost... Didn't realise Sandy had picked you up." If Ares came by himself then, as he descended through this entrance, he would have met Arla here eventually and she would have shown him around instead. "Do you two know each other?" Arla was looking between Ares and Lara because he'd mentioned her name just now and he had no reason to know it as far as Arla was concerned.
Sigh
"We do..." Lara shrugged. "He's the reason I'm here, actually. Although I hadn't intended to run into you here as well, Arla. Long story short, I'm leaving this place for Red Sun to go work for Ares' sect. 'Sandy' here isn't the only one leaving so I was just on my way to inform the elders as per tradition... Not that they'll give a toss about someone as untalented as me anyhow. Might even spit at my heels and slam the door shut as I'm on my way out knowing them. They can't get rid of people like me soon enough."
"... I can't deny that..." Arla wore a bittersweet smile. "Well at least we won't have to deal with that attitude of theirs later, right?"
"What, are you leaving as well? Well I guess it will be nice having some family around in the future so I can't complain. Still, I guess this means the fellahin are doomed to never escape the whole 'mediocrity' judgement thing then? Sandy is the only reason the elders aren't more brutal in their dealings with less pure-bloodline fellahin like me so when she leaves this place is screwed for the weaker folk. You, Arla, would have taken over next but if you're also going the weaker fellahin are going to be pushed around a lot from then on. The elders might even bring back slavery knowing them. Whatever, not my problem! The people too stupid to see the writing on the wall, in this case literally..." Lara looked over at some scratch marks in the wall that combined to read 'loser'. One of the talented fellahin kids must have scribbled it there while he was playing around. "... Honestly the people that stay here get what they deserve. Being treated like this and not escaping? Maybe it's a kink or something. Whatever, I'm rambling. I just want to get this meeting over and done with so I never have to see those old bastards ever again. Actually, this is perfect timing because I can hide behind Ares and let him do the talking. Those elitist assholes won't be able to say much when a bigger fish flops around in their faces so it'll save me some headache at least... Sorry Ares. I didn't expect you to be here but seeing as you are, and seeing as how you're my new employer and what not, I demand protection!"
"..." Ares was blown away by the audacity! This chick had some serious fire in her belly when it came to this fellahin matter and she was a lot more spirited than usual. It clearly went deeper than Ares knew but, despite how terrible it all sounded, he wasn't going to stick his nose into the fellahin way of life. This place could very well become a slavery hell hole after everyone left but Ares could not fix every single problem on the planet. He was not responsible for what happened after he departed from Xasca so long as he did everything in his power while he was here. If the weaker fellahins wanted to come live in Red Sun, that was the only mercy Ares could offer them. He could afford to bring along a few weak civilians, that wasn't an issue, but he couldn't force people to leave if they weren't interested in doing as such which very well may be a real issue considering what Sandy spoke of during the journey here. This all went back fellahin being traditionalists at heart. Even the weak fellahin took pride in their race and some refused to budge from their homeland no matter what manner of oppression lay in store for them... "I would rather not pick pointless fights with your elders but I won't roll over for anyone either. I'm looking to make a fair deal with them and that's all. If they push me, I will push back. If they threaten me, I will threaten them back. If they call me an outsider, I will remind them I am inside their home and very dangerous to the structural integrity of it. That is the most I can do so don't expect me to upend this entire culture to try and single-handedly fix things. You are right, though, Lara. You are my employee form now on and, unlike all the time you were bothered by those men at Transmit, I will make sure no harm befalls you and you aren't pestered in your new line of work or elsewhere as long as I'm around. I understand your frustration over the matter, HOWEVER, I am going to ask you not to rock the boat too much just because I'm offering you protection. It's better to just leave quietly with your head held high knowing you have a brighter future than they do. I'm not saying to be docile, and you're welcome to fight back or even glare at them or whatever, but don't pick unnecessary battles if it can be avoided, please."
...
""Since when were you this mature!?"" Sandy and Arla, who'd seen enough of Ares' antics to have a rough grasp of how childish he could be, were pretty shocked there was a half-decent role model hiding behind that dumb smile Ares so often wore!
"Oi! Rude! I'll have you know I am perfectly capable of handling things like a grown up whenever the need arises! I have my reputation as a sect master to worry about now so causing an international incident with one of the main racial populations of an entire country is obviously a no go!"
"Pft." Sandy chuckled. "So what you're saying is that you would be looking to do a lot more here if your hands weren't tied by your reputation?"
"... Ok, you got me there..." Ares had no response for this accusation! It was a bullseye! "Ah well, whatever. Let's just go meet these old-fogeys and try to reason with them..." Ares shook his head and followed the three ladies further into the bowels of the desert... Although he felt particularly insulted the whole way! The demeaning graffiti on the wall only ramped up the closer they got to the under-city and, though it wasn't aimed at Ares, it was technically relevant to him too as he had to walk down this tunnel all the same! Getting repeatedly called 'loser' by wall paint sprayed on by a bunch of knee-high brats was pretty infuriating and he could kind of understand where Lara was coming from. Having to see this often, maybe even every day if you had frequent business outside the clan, must have gotten on people's nerves real quick! Lara and Sandy's brother definitely seemed like they could be hot headed at times so it was no wonder they left this place as just seeing this crap on the walls would constantly anger them to the point of leaving!... This place was really screwed...