Chronicles of Zigrora : Wings of The Desert : Epic Fantasy Romance Shifter

6

The sound of crows echoed from the evening sky that covered the Mar'tack settlement. Al' Kaar slowly led his camel into the village. He passed some female argons. All of them wore colorful robes to cover their bodies, with their heads visible, carrying baskets filled with boiled cactus fruits and swaying their hips as they walked.

Three earring-less girls turned towards the man and smiled kindly. "Al' Kaar... just returned from a far journey, huh?"

"Yeah, you are right," Al' Kaar answered. He smiled at them. He hopped down from the camel's hump, tying Kamal to a post designated for animals.

The girls approached as Al' Kaar collected his belongings. He plucked a cactus fruit from one of their baskets and took a bite while Kamal snorted in disdain. The female camel ignored those girls and observed the clouds in the sky.

"This is delicious," Al' Kaar praised. He grinned broadly. "May I have some more?"

The female argon giggled, then scooped some with her left hand, handing it to Al' Kaar's upturned palm. "If you give me one of your earrings, you can take them all..."

Suddenly, the memory of a wild female argon dashing into his tent came flooding back to Al' Kaar. He spontaneously choked on the half-chewed fruit and coughed.

"Are you alright?" a girl asked, trying to help by patting Al' Kaar's back while another handed him a water container made from camel leather.

Al' Kaar quickly gulped down the water. He coughed a few times before returning the now-empty container and rasped, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," they said in turn. "Are you feeling better?"

"I'm..." Al' Kaar coughed a few times before he finished his sentence. "... okay."

"Al' Kaar!" Someone's call made him turn.

A male argon with short hair and a larger build than Al' Kaar stood with a stern expression.

"Sye't Jibra!" Al' Kaar replied with a wide smile. "How have you been?"

Sye't Jibra gave a cold glance towards those female argons, causing them to step back and leave the two.

Al' Kaar looked at the departing girls while he nibbled on the cactus fruit still in his hand. Sye't Jibra approached and patted his left shoulder. "How are you? Did you find them?"

Al' Kaar sighed before he shook his head. "The area was empty, without a single sign of ashes from the argon remains.

Sye't Jibra frowned as he showed an anxious expression. He turned away slightly while saying, "We were too slow... Too many argons have died due to our delay in gathering them."

Suddenly, Al' Kaar's mouth opened in surprise as he remembered something. "I met a female argon..."

His companion quickly turned his head, and their gazes met. "A wild argon? Where is she? Did you bring her?"

"She ran away." Al' Kaar scratched his non-itchy neck, then answered uncertainly. "I think she thought I was crazy..."

"Crazy? Why did she think you're crazy?" Sye't Jibra asked incredulously.

"Um... maybe because of this robe..." Al' Kaar tugged on his robe gently. "The girl... she doesn't understand civilization. I found her trying to open a chest..."

"She doesn't know how to dress, and you just let her go like that?" Sye't Jibra inhaled sharply. The long earrings hanging from his ears swayed slightly.

"Hey, I tried to give her my robe. But she flew away." Al' Kaar defended himself.

Sye't Jibra furrowed his brow. However, he quickly shook his head and snorted. "Come on, meet Ikh Da'af. He's probably eager to hear those news from you."

Al' Kaar sighed and smiled faintly. His friend was always serious about his responsibilities. He hadn't even had the chance to put away his dirty clothes in his room before being summoned to see their leader.

"Give me a moment. I'll join you after tidying up my things," Al' Kaar said while pointing to his bag and mat near Kamal.

Sye't Jibra's eyes widened in surprise as if realizing his friend's condition. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you just returned. I have other matters to attend to. You can see him when you're ready."

"Alright," Al' Kaar replied. "I'll need to put these things in my room first."

Sye't Jibra departed, heading towards a bustling area, while Al' Kaar decided to take another bite of the cactus fruit he held as he made his way to his room.

*****

The warm air of the evening breeze carried a few golden grains of sand. Having rested earlier, Al' Kaar walked along the main road towards the large building used for discussions. He opened the door and entered the hall when a scream rang out.

"I swear that creature was a griffin!"

Al' Kaar's movement halted immediately. He saw an argon male, one of the civilized argon warriors, standing before Ikh Da'af, trembling heavily and pale-faced.

"What's going on?" Al' Kaar quickly closed the door and approached them.

Three other male argons sat on either side of Ikh Da'af. Their attention shifted to Al' Kaar. One of them tilted his head and greeted, "You're back?"

Al' Kaar walked towards their leader, causing the trembling warrior to step aside. He saluted by resting his bent right arm on his left shoulder. "Greetings, Ikh Da'af."

"The guards at the outskirts claimed they encountered a griffin," another male argon responded.

Al' Kaar straightened his back before looking at the quivering man. "A griffin?"

"N-not an ordinary griffin... The cr-creature more resembled a griffin's corpse."

"A corpse?" Al' Kaar furrowed his brow. Lately, many non-argon species have chosen to die in the desert.

"It sm-smelled rotten... Some parts of its flesh were gone, replaced by bones, but it moved," the warrior replied, shivering. "It's utterly repulsive."

Al' Kaar's face involuntarily scrunched up, feeling nauseated. Argons had sensitive senses of smell and taste, and the thought of a moving corpse emitting a foul odor was something he wanted to avoid imagining.

"Perhaps it's the influence of alcohol," another argon interjected. "You crossed paths with a griffin that hasn't bathed in ages and assumed it was the smell of decay."

"Since when does that creature know how to bathe?" Al' Kaar asked. He felt dizzy from the conversation. "Griffins never bathe, but they've never smelled foul."

"I swear! That creature was a griffin's corpse!" the warrior cried out.

Ikh Da'af sighed, the lines on his face becoming more pronounced. "We'll discuss this later... for now, Al' Kaar has returned. Let him report the results of his journey."

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Copyright Luna S.Winterheart