[Thunder]

At first he couldn't put a finger on what was going on, but Zears came to realize that there was something like quicksand underneath him. He proceeded even more cautiously, trying to avoid the holes while still keeping an eye on that moving, raised sand in the distance. At some point he caught sight of the spines, confirming his thought that it was probably some kind of beast. He wanted to avoid confronting whatever it was if possible, but perhaps he would have to do so as part of Selkat'aris's task.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Zears, Ridge had ended up in the desert too. The Serraptor had gone looking for Zears at Keirn, so Selkat'aris had taken him here as well. The two, however, seemed to be in very different places.

Ridge had been shocked when he saw the statue of the demi-goddess come to life, and he was even more at a loss for words now that he was suddenly in what appeared to be a dark, musty chamber. He supposed that Selkat'aris had somehow heard his unspoken concern for Zears and had brought him here, which hopefully meant that he would find Zears here too. He took a moment to recover from his surprise and examined his surroundings. He really couldn't see much at all, though the temperature and smell seemed like that of an old tomb. The only thing his eyes could detect without difficulty was the form of the demi-goddess beside him.

"Selkat'aris," he gasped, "is my friend Zears around here?"

[Kyrit]

While the sands didn't shift at a high speed they were relentless, seeming as if they would not stop trying to draw him in any time soon. With caution though, Zears seemed to be able to avoid them for the most part, probably scared of where they might lead to, if they led anywhere but to his certain death. Within the next few moments he would have much more to worry about as the sand directly below him, or rather all around him, started to vibrate rather than sink, as if something were surfacing. Seconds later grains of sand flew upward, followed by the spines he'd seen off in the distance. If he looked close enough before they disappeared, probably readying an attack since it seemed to miss the first time, he would have seen the head and neck of a Sandshark Paragon, or well. The uppermost parts of it at least. It looked like it really was after him, so it would come down to being ready to fight or running.



While Ridge began to talk, the orbs lining her body began to give off a faint glow, making at least her form more visible to him, as well as maybe a bit of the rest of the room. Her eyes closed and with a large grin she gave a nod of her head in response to his question. Sadly, he would have to figure out a lot for himself with her inability to speak to him.

[Thunder]

To his relief, Zears got past the sinkholes safely. But now he had that mysterious creature under the sand to contend with. As he stood at the bottom of the slope, he saw the sand rise up again, and this time more of the beast was revealed. It seemed reptilian, and strangely, it didn't appear to have eyes, based on what little he caught of it. He knew only of one blind, desert creature that hunted prey from under the sand, and that was a Sandshark Paragon.

The dragon would be dangerous in a confrontation, so trying to escape was a reasonable course of action. At the same time, though, Zears had no idea how long this Sandshark could pursue him; he knew some predators could follow prey for days with enough despeartion. Going on the run for a while could be just as tiring as a battle. On the other hand, if he chose to stand his ground, he could possibly send the Sandshark packing if he managed to best it, and that had the potential to save his strength for later. Of course, the downside was that he could get hurt badly.

He decided to stick around for now and see if he could somehow scare the dragon off. If things looked like they would go horribly, then he'd try to escape.

----------

Ridge was grateful for the light the demi-goddess gave him. It was much nicer to talk to her now that he could see her better, and she truly was a beautiful being. If anything, her silence made her seem more elegant, somehow.

He was relieved when Selkat'aris confirmed that Zears was somewhere nearby. Now Ridge could attempt to find the Albie. But first, he had to figure out where he was right now. Gazing around some more, he thought up some other questions to ask the goddess. "Is this...some sort of crypt? Would I have to find my way out in order to get to Zears?"