�Hmm, looks like this is the Sea of Fire that the riddle referred too. Now let�s try to figure out a way to cross without getting killed. Many things live in those sands, sand worms, ant lions, and creatures of all manners,� Knifes said as he glanced at the riddle. He looked up and ushered Hetilous to him. Knifes showed him a part of the riddle and asked him what it meant.
�Hmm, I believe that this is one of those said items,� Hetilous said as he held up an elaborately decorated ring of gold and silver with strange runes, most likely Vampire runes, etched on the underside of the band and around the center stone; a glowing ruby. �There must be items in each area like this. Hmm, I wonder�Ah ha, as I though! Look, if I try to pass into the desert, I am blocked be a force field. Now, let�s see what this does,� he said, explaining his findings to Knifes. And behold! as the ring drew close to the field, a depression appeared. It had the same runes around the outer circle that their ring did. Hetilous pushed the ring into place with a small clicking noise and the barrier faded away. The ring fell to the ground, its gem now unlit.
�Ahh, good work my friend. I was right to bring you with me. Not only are you strong fighter, you are also very intelligent. Well, shall we?� Knifes said as he looked into the shimmering sands. They entered and immediately felt a great weight upon them. It was as if the very air weighed twice as much. On top of that, it was extremely hot and it wondered Knifes that anything could live in such a desolate place. The sand pulled them downward with every step they took; it was as if it was welcoming them into its unknown depths. They had gotten about a third of the way across the desert by night fall. Knifes soon wished that it was day again for the night was as bad as the day but the conditions were reversed. The night was unexplainably cold. Knifes speculated that it was around ten degrees Fahrenheit and there was no wood for a fire. They finally got to sleep after Knifes used a fire Trianchu spell and to his surprise, set the sand on fire. It appeared that the sand was full of Trianchu particles of an unknown attribute, as such to allow it to amplify anything that touched it, which would explain the hot days and very cold nights. It was morning when Knifes awoke with a start. It was already getting hot and he had begun to dehydrate. He searched for the water to find only one bottle left. He drank it viciously but then he wondered what had happened to the rest of it.
�Hetilous, did you drink any water at all?� Knifes asked the mercenary as he awoke. He replied in a groggy voice,
�Of course not. We demons don�t need to drink or eat. You should know that. Why do you ask?�
�Well, most of the water is missing, and I just drank this bottle, the first water I have had since we started this quest. I think we are not alone out here,� said Knifes as he surveyed the land looking for any possible sings of life or that someone had been there. Not after long, he found a set of tracks, but he had never seen ones like these before. They had spiky ridges around the heel and only had three toes, the one in the middle was larger then the rest.
�Found yourself some Kelloff tracks eh?� Hetilous asked Knifes, who had turned around.
�Kelloffs? What the heck are those?� Knifes uttered shivering a little at the thought of what monstrosities these creatures could be. The tracks themselves were about five times the size as Knifes foot.
�Believe it or not, they are gentle, proud creatures who will aid anyone who helps them, for good or ill mind you. It probably needed water and took ours. If we find it, we might be able to persuade it to lead us out of the hellish place,� Hetilous told Knifes as he began to follow the tracks then he stopped suddenly and turned around. �They speak a language you will not understand, but I can help you with that. Hefosis!� Hetilous shouted as a grimy green light surrounded Knifes. Knifes struggled to get away but then realized that the demon was teaching him the language of the strange creature for he could feel that he knew something that he did not know before and could not possibly have known any other way then by a spell. After Knifes fell to the ground, Hetilous resumed his search.
It was around midday in the town that Kynoto and Mirror were staying at, a light breeze was ruffling the leaves on the tree that Kynoto sat under, bringing him the smell of food from the taverns in the city. Kynoto had decided to go have a look around and, feeling drowsy, had found himself a hillock with a nice, big, shady tree to sit under. He had wanted to stay in doors but that was now out of his control. Mirror had kicked him out of the room claming that he would peek while she took a bath, preposterous in his opinion. His thoughts then turned to Knifes. He wondered just how everything went so wrong. How Kynotoishi, quite the evil man himself, had turned Knifes into a creature full of darkness and resentment. Soon he fell asleep from exhaustion; he had pushed himself too hard against Galathrong. When he awoke he found that night had descended upon him. He decided that it was time to head back to the inn. He took a detour to a pub and bought a few drinks, fairly strong ones at that, and drank them in a corner table then left for the inn. Just as he walked into the room Mirror jumped up from the shadows and said, a few tears in her eyes,
�Where have you been? I was worried sick that you got attacked by some mugger. Anyway, I found out some information on Knifes,� she said, sniffling and wiping her eyes on a kleenex, �He�s supposed to be looking for something in the Desert of Fire, but you would know it as The Desert of Galamesh.� At hearing this Kynoto was overcome with a sense of fear. He knew where Knifes was going and what he was planning. He would revive that evil even though it would probably kill Knifes, just so Knifes could kill him.
�Master, this is where the beast lives,� Hetilous shouted to Knifes as he pointed to a tunnel in the sands. He put his hands to his mouth and yelled in a strange dialect that Knifes mysteriously could understand,
�Jaffel rict menzeris ghofentile ploygthil.� Knifes heard it like this but he heard it in another way, one that made sense to him somehow, �Oh mighty Kelloff, we have come seeking your aid in our quest. We would be honored if you were to join us.� The ground started to shake as a strange creature popped its head from the tunnel. Much to Knifes surprise, the creature sort of resembled a bear, but it had a shorter snout and much broader feet.
�Hoi, no �eed for tha� talk �ere. Oi be Falen, at yee �ervice,� the creature said with a great bow.
�Oh, good, you can speak our language. Hmm, not many of your kind can do that can they?� Hetilous asked Falen.
�No, indeed the� can�t. Matter o� fact, Oi bees the onl� one lef� tha� can speak this language. Well, Oi can barley speek it, hurrhurr,� Falen said with his strange accent, �but this b�aint no spring piknik. Wha� can I help youms look fers?� Hetilous help up the ring and said,
�We look for a ring that looks like this one. We need it to enter the forest that lies beyond this desert. Do you know of such a jewel?�
�Youms bets Oi doo. But it won� be easy to get, buur no. He guards it,� Falen said as he pointed to the statue of a giant worm with a massive sword, �an� he b�aint no easy push ov�r that he b�aint.�
�He guards it eh? Heh, this should be fun. He looks strong but I should be able to beat him easily. Please take us to him Falen,� Knifes gloating. Falen eyed him carefully and sensed that there was something peculiar about the boy.
�By the way, Oi don� know yer names,� Falen said to the travelers.
�Oh, excuse my rudeness, I am Hetilous and this here is Knifes,� Hetilous said as he bowed and quickly bade Knifes to do the same. Falen finally realized what that feeling was as he looked into the eyes of Knifes, a cold hatred and a murderous power. Falen�s blood ran cold as he stared into the cold, grey eyes of Knifes.
�This boy, he jus� migh� be able to doo eet. Delino is strong bu� this boy has an aura about him that frightens me. Hurrhurr, Delino needs to bee taugh� a lesson anyway,� Falen thought to him self.
�Alrigh�, I�ll take youms to him, but I warn youms, Delino is a strong fella an� he don� take strangers lightly,� Falen spoke with his accent as he led them down a path to the left of his tunnel. They then passed through a cavren that was made of sandstone and marbel. soon they came to the exit only to see a giant sandworm blocking their path. Its three bloodshot eyes whizzed around insanely before landing on Knifes, its many circular rows of teeth started to turn making a low humming noise. Before Falen could say or do anything the monster attacked.
"Leave this weaking to me!" Knifes yelled, "Mystic Trianchu attack, Blitzgreag!" The sand around Knifes rose up and encompassed him, taking his physical form so that he might bend it to his will. As the worm drew closer, Knifes lifted his arm and the sand around it turned into a spike which peirced the thick hide of the beast and scewerd it. Knifes discarded the creature and the sand fell away from him. Falen was utterly amazed at the strength of this boy. "Now, where is this Delino at?" Knifes asked Falen who replied shakily,
"Well, tha' critt'r tha' youm jus' slayed, tha' was Delino."
"What?! That weak thing was him? Hahaha, what a push over. And to think that I thought he was going to be harder to defeat then Garthicon, oh man, this is too much, haha!"
"Youms beat Garthoicon?! Oh mee word, youm mus' be a strong lad then eh?" Falen said, his eyes wide with amazement, "Oim goin' ta come with ya lads, Oim eageer ta see wha' youms doo abou' the monster in the wuds over there." Falen pointed to the entrance to the woods, a sign creaked as it swang in the wind. It had Vampiric writing on it, Qennz ek Iefni, that when translated read Hollow of Souls.