Princess Cari Land Cross Arc Part Two

 Another Sandworm And Quicksand

Night had almost passed when The Observer woke up. He enjoyed the cold air on his skin. He then rose up and he sat up. He had not gotten any better at handling the heat of the sun of the Detert and Same Planes. He then looked to his right, there Cari was sleeping. She looked so much like her, just thinking about his niece brought a treat to his eyes as it burnt his cheek. Yet the more that he observed her the more she reminded her of her.

He went to wipe the tear away when he spotted the small scorpion crawl near her. He quickly took out a small dagger and threw it at the creature. Due to his sunstroke he missed. He pulled out another one and calmed himself down before he threw the dagger again and he was able to hit. He slowly rose to his feet and walked over to the daggers and picked the daggers up and cleaned the one that killed the scorpion before putting them away.

He then looked at the girl. Though she was only thirteen she looked so much like his niece and it was both unnerving and nostalgic. In many ways it was as if she had come back to life. He placed a hand on her head as he stroked her forehead and reality came back in revealing her white eyes. He drew his hand back.

"Observer?"

"There was a scorpion."

"Oh." She said as she almost fell back to sleep but her mind became alert. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I will live." He chuckled bitterly.

"I know but that hardly matters if you're ill!"

He sighed as the painful nostalgia tugged at his heart. Yet he knew that she was right. If his sunstroke became any worse then he would soon become a liability. Even though he was immortal, he could feel pain and become vulnerable.

"Yeah…"

Oh how long will you remind me of her? Honestly, it's almost like you're the same person. On how I wish that was so.

"Who is it?" She asked sternly.

"Wh-what?"

"That person you see instead of me."

He opened his mouth to speak but yet he soon saw waves in the sand.

"Wake up! There's a sand worm coming!"

"What!"

"Ryo! Chronicler, wake up!"

Cari flipped out her crossbow and they all looked up to see the wave of sand rising up

"Ryo, get the sand worm out!" The Observer shouted. "Don't worry I will help!"

He closed his eyes and The Observer did the same. The waves rose higher and higher until the worm rose above the sand. To his dread it was revealed to be larger than the other one. This meant that it would be harder to take the thing down. Yet this meant that he would have to do better this time. Then a patch of fire rose from the underbelly of the thing. It rotated out in pain yet more fire rose. He looked to see that it was The Observer as Cari raised her crossbow and fired at the fire and fired another arrow higher and another higher. Age was about to close her eyes.

"Cari, no! User as little magic as possible."

She nodded. She then looked at Ryo and The Observer. They raised the fire to the arrow. She then fired another and they set it alight. She fired another but higher. She then noticed that it was getting closer and closer and it then flung itself down at then and they all dived out of the way as the sandworm hot the sand putting out the fire. Yet it roared out in pain as the salt mixed in with the free flowing blood following from the breast. It then dived back under the sand. 

They all had to look down with building tension as Ryo had to ignore the pain of his small cut. They could not even let out a single sound as they waited for the worm to show any signs of its location. The Observer watched the sand closer and willed his eyes to be able to see the smallest of details. Then the worm burst out of the sand. It was further than they expected. The Observer and The Chronicler team alongside each other as the two prevented it from falling back in the sand. Cari fired shot after shot and Ryo set it alight and it roared out in pain. 

That was when The Chronicler took out several daggers and threw them at the worm. She then ran and sliced them out of the creature and then collected the arrows which were not harmed by the fire. She then dived back as she took over keeping the worm in place. Then The Observer ran forward and jumped right into the mouth. He soon spotted the remaining fire inside. He then used his magic to will the fire to rise higher and spread wider.

Meanwhile Ryo ran to the under belly and took out his scythe and struck across the left. He then struck to the right, shaping an X shape. He then ran to the right and then repeated the action. He ran on to the middle and repeated the action. He then ran on and repeated the action until there were five Xs in the center. He dived out of the way as the worm fell.

The Observer jumped out of the mouth as fire spouted out from behind him. Yet as he landed, he rolled before he rolled to his feet. He looked up as the worm slapped up and down in the sand like a fish out of water. It then rolled over and over as the flames burst out of the Xs in the underbelly. Then the blood flowed freely and then it confirmed to consume the body of the sandworm.

They attended to their injuries during which it became clear that The Observer was weaker than the day before. In fact he felt like his flesh was on fire. His throat felt dry and regardless of how many times he drank his saliva he could not get any moisture in it. As they walked on he started to stagger and shake. He felt incredibly nauseous to the point that he felt like he was upon the verge of vomiting. Cari gave him some water,  yet it was warm which did not help much, neither did the hunger.

"I think that we need to eat." He said.

"I know."

They soon took a break and soon filled their stomachs, though it did nothing to strengthen him. When they gathered themselves and walked on he had hardly walked several steps before he fell again. He thought this was out of exhaustion only to find that his feet were sinking. Cari looked back and grabbed his hand to stop him from sinking any further. Yet as she did to her own horror she was sinking too! 

She then turned back to see that Ryo and The Chronicler were already sinking too. First they felt the sand, they felt cold and then, to their horror, nothing beneath their feet. They could do nothing to stop themselves from falling further and further. They could swing their feet beneath them and their hearts raced as the sand rose higher and higher. Soon it was above their shoulders and it rose higher dragging them into the pit below. 

They breathed in and out rapidly as they knew that they would have to hold their breath once it reached their chin. When they did they held their breath and closed their eyes to protect them. They continued falling and they had to resist with all their power to breathe in and not let claustrophobia settle in. Then they felt their heads pounding like they were being punched in their temples. They had to raise the urge to scream as they sank further and the moment their heads fell down, they gasped for air and they soon found that they were falling. 

With a flick of his hand The Observer sent out a layer of snow that they hit. They fell further and he did this again and again until they hit the gravel and were soon knocked out.