following the raven

The Giagis mountain range is is an an impressive sight that stretch into the heights of the heavens where breathing becomes difficult. Many of it's peaks even towards the south remain ice capped all year long and are the home of many rare creatures. These impressive mountains also split the lands called Myrioth into an approximate set of thirds, with the mountains making one third as they run well beyond the maps to both the north and the south. In previous ages the Giagis Mountians were home to a prosperous kingdom of dwarves who found it easier to traverse the ranges by building a network of tunnels under the mountains rather than along the wildly variant ridges.

The Valtaeigr Kingdom unfortunately met it's end during the Age of Fire and Wing when swarms of dragons invaded from the south and raided the kingdom to the point that the dwarves retreated into the deep ways where the dragons couldn't follow and the peaks became the home to the flying furnaces with notoriously bad dispositions. The presence of these alpha predators means that even to this day most people would rather take the more direct paths under the mountains and deal with the goblins who infest the abandoned dwarven roads than try to trudge through terrain that puts them at a dramatic disadvantage against the flying beasts.

To the east of the mountains is a beautiful coastal region of lush forests dotted by cities and farming communities all enjoying the relatively consistent weather provided by the expanse of the Great Western Waters. And while many adventurous ship captains have boldly set off to navigate this ocean none have ever returned, and so the more sensible people keep close to the shore and don't risk themselves needlessly.

On the west side of the Giagis ranges are a large expanse of more or less flat open lands that stretched on further than most people knew. Even the oldest known histories said that these lands were the home of orc tribes and all attempts to civilize them had failed. So again sensible non-orcs remained closer to the mountains and let the orcs roam the plains freely.

In the north where the weather is cooler and the Heosphoros River waters the land as it slithers eastward there is a rich agricultural human presence in what is called the Sea of Grass. The humans who inhabit these fields slowly expand further and further down the river with each generation, but they are met with resistance from the Orcs who know the lands better and prefer to leave the lands untamed.

On the southern side of the Heosphoros River the land rises to a plateau and remains too dry for pretty much any agriculture. This range is known as the Dru Steeps and out here the Orcs are undoubtedly the dominant folk, with the terrain being well suited to their nomadic lifestyle

Gumen 'Kal is situated near the the southern end of the Dru Steeps, near the point when rocky soil becomes sand for as far as the eye can see. The lands known as the Endless Desert are battered by heavy sunlight and during the mid-day it becomes disorienting as the air fills with mirages and it's almost impossible to recognize anything beyond a dozen or so paces.

Cutting across the desert had two other costs associated with it as well though, nothing really grew among the sands so very few pack animals could make the trip in a single stretch without dying of thirst and/or hunger first. And the intense heat made most water undrinkable and even then careless travelers could easily drink their entire stock of water without ever seeing their destination on the horizon.

For these reasons most merchants follow close to the foot of the Giagis mountains when making the trip to Tutmanu 'Talika until they are close enough that it will stand out over the tops of the midday mirages. Only then will they make out into the deserts, moving during the night when the lights of civilization serve as a glowing beacon and the oppression of the sun is not a natural enemy to all lifeforms.

However, this is so common a practice that bandits haunt the hills in the region forcing merchants to hire exceptional amounts of guards to make bandits wary, or hire a guide who knows their way through the desert. A guide in possession of an exceptional sense of direction and can even locate the hidden waterways of the underground rivers and the places where the caverns open to the sky.

Guides could become very expensive, so they were normally only hired by merchants who were in a hurry. In the case of this merchant who Alex was traveling with the setup with the guide was part machinations of the street. As a result they would have a top tier guide (with some personality issues) for a moderate price and they would save on the number of guards they would need to hire.

Walking ahead of the caravan, out of earshot but still in easy line of sight, Alex said to his new companion, "I admit you have me at a slight disadvantage. You know much about me, but I know next to nothing about you."

"What would you like to know?"

"Well for starters may I know your name? It feels weird to call you 'Raven' for the whole trip."

"Well, that's the irony of the situation isn't it?" The raven laughed, a sharp hysterical sort of laugh that you would expect from the child of a jackass and a hyena, "My name IS Raven. Raven the Nomad is what most people call me these days."

Alex was amused by the irony, it wasn't the strangest thing to have encountered in his life, but apparently Raven the Blood Raven was a hilarious coincidence to Raven himself.

"How'd you end up becoming a guide?" Alex continued.

"I was born in Tut 'Tel," Raven explained, "My father was an archive monk and my mother a tavern whore. The monks are supposedly sworn to celibacy, but the technicalities of the oaths are that they won't have a family. So they get pleasure from men or women who make pleasure their business, and then if a child is conceived they hold no responsibilities to assist in the upbringing of their own offspring.

"There isn't much of a future for bastards in the temples of Pyrotheo so I joined a nomad tribe that passed close to the city before I became a man. They taught me the desert and I lived with them for a number of years. Somewhere along the way a member of the family wound up on a hitlist for the **** goddess and a Raven came looking for her. The family tried to protect themselves but Sakhmet doesn't approve of useless tools so the Nomads were no match. Since I was still young I was bound and blindfolded and taken to a temple where the priests told me that I'd be put into training for becoming a Blood Raven myself.

"That's how people get into the program, we inquisitors can tell when someone has fight in them, but no purpose to fight for. If we see a child or youth with a strong spark and willpower we take them to a temple where they undergo training. I've never seen an initiate who didn't embrace the training with absolute certainty, I know I didn't hesitate to join the training.

"Anyways, after my training was complete I wanted an extra source of income besides my inquisition bounties. So I took to being a desert guide. And I turned out to be pretty good at it, so I still do it."

Alex was intrigued, "So they call you nomad because you were one?"

"Quite so, I even have the tattoos to prove it."

"They tattooed a child?"

"They sure do. Every time you do something admirable they mark the event on your skin. I was an outsider so pretty much anything I did that didn't get anyone killed was impressive, to do anything their way was admirable. So I got several tattoos pretty early."

"What was your most impressive accomplishment?"

"I discovered a new source of water. Dumb luck really, but a cave ceiling collapsed under me and I fell into an underground lake. Had fish and everything. Crazy nomads put the tattoo to commemorate it on the leg I broke before they even put the splint on. I'm really proud of that tattoo really, they were all very excited to give it to me."

"I suppose you don't fall through the desert everyday."

"And when you do you don't normally live to tell about it." Raven laughed at his own joke.

Alex decided to ask, "Are we by any chance going to pass by that lake you found on our way to Tut 'Tel?"

Raven shook his head, "Wrong side of the city. But if you ever need a place to hide out the lake makes a good fishing spot." Hand outstretched with a dramatic thumbs-up.

Alex shrugged, "Maybe I'll retire there if people ever run out of reasons to hire a sword with a man who knows which side to stab with."

"Sakhmet loves you and your job," Raven's head was twisted over his shoulder at what looked like an uncomfortable angle, which only made his words even creepier. "She loves all heroes. They always walk forward with so much ****, so many killings. All those sacrifices to the goddess of slaughter and they don't even know it."

To his credit Alex didn't even cringe, "I'm sure the god of chaos finds that entertaining as hell too."

"Oh he does." Raven laughed again, "But he gets more entertainment from the heroes themselves thinking that their actions make the world 'better', as if killing evil is less evil than the killings that the evil did." laughter "Heroes are so ignorant of the effects of their actions. So long as they think their cause is righteous then they're so quick to justify any actions they take."

Alex shrugged again.

"You don't agree? Ex-hero?"

Alex sighed, "I've had enough time to see how foolish I was. But I can't say that everything I did was pointless. For whatever I may have done I refuse to let someone else decide my fate, not man, not demons, not gods."

Raven smiled, not his typical maniac smile, but a genuine smile of pleasure, "We're going to be great friends, I can tell."

Alex changed the topic looking back at the distance they'd come already, "How far do you think we'll make it today?"

Raven returned to his jester persona, "As far as the merchant will go. I can go all night, never heard a lady complain about my stamina."

Alex groaned internally, it was going to be a long walk for him. "It's good to be young."

Raven laughed, "Our first oasis is about ten leagues out, we can probably make it by nightfall if our caravan can keep this pace, we'll camp there and verify all our stocks are good. Tomorrow we'll be in the desert full time, that's when you'll have to trust me.

Alex shrugged again, "You've been paid to take me further than Tut 'Tel, so lead the way."

Raven laughed, "Paid well too. You have reliable friends."

"They're not friends to me, they're family."

Raven grinned, "Statement amendment. You have a wonderful family."

Alex nodded, "The best."

Raven punched Alex lightly in the arm, "I'm going to make sure you see them again, that's what I was paid to do."

"Round trip service?"

"Absolutely."

"Lead on Raven."

Raven pointed dramatically in their direction of travel,