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One of the riders remained behind above a small hill. He turned on his mount and looked toward where the great reptile was marching on south. In spite of its camouflage, maybe because it was moving, the rider seemed to see it. He opened his eyes wide and stared in disbelief. He did not seem convinced that what he was seeing was real. He urged his mount forward and approached the reptile from behind. It looked as if the rider had seen the monster’s enormous tail. Frightened, he sounded the alarm, shouting in the Inon’s tribal language.The other riders heard his shouts and looked back. They stopped following the herd of bison and rode to where the rider was signaling. The reptile realized it had been discovered and stopped. It lay down and once again vanished from sight, becoming a grass-covered mound.The rider was pointing toward the monster and shouting in his own language, obviously upset. Some of the other riders dismounted and searched for the trail. They found it, great reptilia
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Chapter 23Raner had gathered the group in the afternoon for training, outside the city, westward and on horseback, which told them that the day’s practice would have to do with protecting while riding. They had stopped in the middle of the Royal Road before it went through a birch wood. It was a sunny day with few clouds, and it did not look like rain. This cheered everyone, since the last few days it had been raining pretty heavily.In the distance above a hill there was an army watch tower, and they could see soldiers, which did not surprise them. The kingdom was preparing for war, and the Royal Army soldiers had been activated and were in constant motion. They were taking over towers, forts, ports, and other fortresses of strategic value throughout the realm. Two of the King’s main armies, the Snow Army and the Thunder Army, had gone south to the border with Zangria. From the news that arrived from the Rangers on watch missions at the border, the Zangrian army was also mobilizing
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Chapter 24Lasgol, Ona, and Camu arrived at a fishing village on the southern coast. They were in the southernmost part between the kingdom of Rogdon and the forests of the Usik. Ahead of them spread the Central Sea. As far as Lasgol knew, it was a warm, quiet sea. The weather was usually mild, so there were no rough seas and sailing was easy as a rule, but of course with them you could never be sure. For starters, a monstrous crocodile had jumped into the sea.The Central Sea separated the upper part of Tremia from the lower. The kingdoms of Central Tremia, like Erenal or Zangria, were located in the upper part, and in the lower, beyond the sea, were the territories under the control of the Nocean Empire, with the deserts and the scorching sun, which made it difficult to live in certain areas because of the scarcity of water.Go village? Camu messaged to Lasgol.Yeah, I’ll go. You follow me camouflaged but at a safe distance. We need a ship.Dangerous?Lasgol checked the fishing vill
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Chapter 25They reached the Nocean coast of the Central Sea and landed at a small beach with dunes. Lasgol dragged the boat up the beach in case they needed it to go back; he did not want the tide to take it. He looked around. They were alone on a beautiful beach of white sand, with the sea at his back and in front large dunes with some vegetation between them, which foretold what they would likely find beyond.We keep going south, he transmitted to Camu and Ona.Okay.Ona chirped once.They started up the dunes, soon encountering a landscape that was as beautiful as it was desolate. An enormous desert began beyond the first dunes, which still had some vegetation and spread as far as the eye could see. To the southwest they saw the walls and towers of what looked like a large city, the city of Marucose, one of the northernmost cities of the Nocean Empire.Very desert.You can say that again. The worst thing is that the desert spreads for leagues and leagues in every direction.No wate
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Chapter 26The afternoon was warm and the sky was clear, which cheered up everyone before beginning their practice. Nilsa, Egil, Gerd, and Viggo were waiting at the meeting point outside the city toward the south, at the crossing of the Royal Roads. They were beside the wooden sign with the names of the nearest cities. They had left their horses tethered to a pair of ilex oaks east of the road, and they were chatting easily.“What a lovely day,” Nilsa said contentedly, spreading her arms open and turning her face toward the sun for the warm light to bathe her.“A perfect day to be ruined by a war, an attempted regicide, or something of the sort,” Viggo said, chewing on the tip of a blade of grass.“Don’t jinx it,” Gerd chided. “We’re doing well, let’s just enjoy the moment and the beautiful day.”“Raner won’t be long. I’m impatient to know what we’ll learn today.” Egil was rubbing his hands together and had a lively look and smile on his face.“I bet you the lesson will be about helpi
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Chapter 27Ona and Camu jumped up and turned toward the five figures who were watching them calmly from the dune. They were wearing long black and blue robes, which covered their whole bodies except for the face and hands. On the head they wore a scarf, desert style, and they were armed. At their waists they carried knives and scimitars.They’re desert dwellers, Lasgol transmitted to Ona and Camu as he carefully retrieved his bow and quiver from his side.Enemies?I can’t tell. Some are friendly and some are not. No friendly, you see.Yeah, with our luck that would be the case.The desert dwellers continued staring at them without making any movement. Lasgol assumed they were not looking for conflict, although it could also mean that they were taking their time. The truth was that Lasgol had barely any knowledge of the peoples of the desert and their habits. He missed Egil terribly in these kinds of situations…We retreat slowly, he transmitted. It was a defensive maneuver. He wanted
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Chapter 28Lasgol tried to get some more information out of Abudbalis. The desert caravan chief was kind and seemed like a nice person, the kind who helped someone in a tight spot. Being desert dwellers, they were most likely used to encountering people in need of assistance: those lost, thirsty, and scorched by that incessant, unforgiving sun.He managed to find out that there was a mountain range beside the forbidden city of Salansamur. It was called Amsaljibal, and from the explanations of the good man, Lasgol understood they were called the Mountains of the Past, or of Yesterday. Abudbalis also told him it was better not to go to those mountains. It seemed that it was better not to go near anything that was close to Salansamur.He also told him of another oasis south of the Mountains of Yesterday which he called Tanwalha. It was located between the cities of Salansamur and Zenut, west of both. Lasgol was grateful for the information and for the man pointing at everything on the ma
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Chapter 29Astrid, Ingrid, and Molak were waiting for Raner on their horses east of the capital, according to his orders. They were half a league from the Royal Road and were to wait for the First Ranger to join them. Not very far away they could glimpse Beaver Hill, so called because of a rock at the summit that looked very much like the animal.“What do you think the First Ranger has in store for us today?” Molak asked his comrades.“So far, everything he’s had prepared for us has been enlightening and interesting,” Ingrid said in a satisfied tone. “So I hope that whatever he has for us today will be so too.”Astrid stroked her horse’s neck.“I feel the same way. The truth is that training to become Royal Rangers has pleasantly surprised me.”“You weren’t expecting it to be interesting?” Molak asked, surprised.“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to be useful and so I thought I’d be bored. But it’s turning out to be the opposite. I think that in the Assassin Specialty at the Shelte