Chapter 434: Interrupted Right Out the Gate

Thankfully the entrance tunnel to the fellahin base wasn't actually that long so the rows of insults came to a stop pretty quickly. Not that that was the end of the harassment, though, as there appeared to be people right outside the exit who were pre-emptively sneering at the group that came down it. The guards preventing unwanted visitors almost shat themselves when they saw Sandy come down the tunnel but went back to subtly glaring at Lara, a known deserter of the clan, as soon as they thought they were able to without getting caught... Not everyone was like this but the people guarding the entrance to the 'exit of shame' definitely would be if what Sandy mentioned earlier was true. All her attempts to intervene with this place, and make it more tolerable for weaker fellahin, were met with resistance and whoever was responsible for that had likely put these guards here to further mock people too. What a nuisance this annoying person was, whoever they were! Hell even Ares got a glare or two but he shut that down real quick by blasting the guards with pressure and making them crap their pants themselves in terror! Ares went from a harmless guest to a fiery eyed lord of chaos with black fires raging all around him in the eyes of the guards but to everyone else they were looking like they were scared of ghosts. Sandy obviously knew what was happening, and Arla to some extent, but neither commented on it because the guards were getting what they deserved for constantly trying to pick on anyone and everyone using the entrance. It was bound to bite them in the ass someday so it was better they learnt a lesson with someone more forgiving, like Ares, than someone who would have just decapitated them on the spot for their behaviour. Not that Sandy or Arla would have cared if Ares did as such. These guards were the epitome of everything wrong with the fellahin currently and they wouldn't be missed by anyone other than the elder who stationed these obedient lackeys here.

Anyway, that aside, Ares finally got a view of the fellahin base and the first word that came to his mind was 'wide' with the second one being 'open'. Sure this place was like the Xasca city market... In theory... What Sandy had failed to mentioned, that really set this place apart, was that there were no buildings! It was all one big giant square, going on for as long as the eye could see, with no real roads or pathways to distinguish one isle or row of shops and merchants from the rest. It was, to inexperienced Ares at least, a complete clusterfuck of visual clutter and mess. He wouldn't be able to navigate this place by himself if given a whole day to do it due to how crazy it all was! Throw in the abnormally high roof, making the place feel even more massive, and Ares felt like an ant in a never ending bazaar! "Where does everyone live in this place?!" Though Ares had many questions, this was the most pressing because there really weren't any buildings here whatsoever. The tallest structures that could be seen were merchant tent roofs or sign posts indicating what the shop beneath it sold so it was visible from further away. There were no houses in sight anywhere!

Arla pointed at the walls all around. "Inside the sand. We fellahin make small caves and coves wherein we build structures big enough for our families to live in and get some privacy. It's actually really great because the sand acts as a noise cancelling barrier from the market and we can always expand our houses whenever we need to with permission from... Well, the elders... So you can imagine already who has the least living space..."

"Yeah, people like me!" Lara spat at the cowering guards. "So little 'living space' in fact, that I can't even live here! Literally! How am I supposed to get into the houses if I can't shift through the sands?! This is the kinda bullshit they throw at you non-stop if you're a weaker fellahin and it gets real old, real fast. They don't even let you set up a tent to live in out here in the market so if you ever want in or out of your family household you have to basically be treated like a pet on a leash wanting to go out for walkies. Whenever I wanted to go out when I was younger I had to beg Arla here to go with me just so I could get some damn fresh air. God knows my parents wouldn't do it for me because they were too embarrassed to be seen helping me out of our own home. Speaking of, how are they anyway Arla? Dead yet? Please tell me they're dead yet. I may not be able to move through the sands but I will go and buy a fucking shovel right this instant, dig my way back home, and pay their graves a visit to take a piss on them."

"... I'm starting to think it's better if you don't know the answer to that question..." Arla's eye twitched while she patted her sister's shoulders and tried to calm her down a little. Meanwhile Sandy was pointing out various places to Ares to introduce him to the area properly. He wasn't going to be coming down here too often but, in case he came back on his own for whatever reason, at least he'd have a rough understanding of how to get around... Or at least where to go anyway. Actually moving through this market was a talent in and of itself, and there was no way to teach it other than just experiencing the chaos yourself for a ew weeks, but Ares would at least have a direction to head in should he need it! Sandy had pointed out the medical facilities... Hidden behind the eastern wall. She pointed out the major food hall... Behind the northern wall... She pointed out the biggest grocery store.... Behind the eastern wall... And she pointed out the town hall for official matters including residency and permits for stalls... Behind the southern wall... How was Ares supposed to access any of this on his own!? He was actually going to have to take Lara's 'joke' seriously and go and buy a shovel at this rate! No wonder she was pissed, Lara had to live her entire life begging people to take her wherever she wanted to go! Within her own home! Ares would have left too...

"Screw it!" Ares said with a puffed up chest! "If I need anything from this place I shall lay down Shock Beads like they are TNT and go mining for it!"

"Please don't!" Sandy shook Ares by the shoulders until he relented.

"Fine! Fine!"

Once Sandy was certain Ares wasn't going to blow up her home, and once Arla was done convincing Lara their parents' tombstones weren't makeshift urinals, the group entered the market area and weaved their way through the crowds for about ten minutes until they reached the dead centre of the square base. Though the base was crowded and loud Sandy was able to make her voice clear by sending a mental message to Ares and informing him that the main headquarters was directly below where they were currently standing... It was also the deepest part of the base and hidden very far within the sands... So as to prevent weaker fellahin from ever accessing it and holding positions of power... These guys seriously never stopped with the blatant favouritism! It was a slap in the face at every damn turn with this lot! Even Chen Lo treated his own family better than this and that guy was not the golden standard for anything! Hell even Sho, Aejaz' dead grandfather, had a better track record with taking care of his clan overall than this! Sho only really bullied Aejaz but these fellahin elders were just going buck wild with their discrimination! Sandy's work must have really been cut out for her dealing with this lot... Ares was eternally grateful the sect elders back home in Red Sun weren't this troublesome otherwise he'd have some major work to do in cleaning out the sect. Unlike Ares, though, Sandy couldn't really kick these pests out because they were, ultimately, a big part of the clan's foundations. They'd been here before Sandy, they were decently strong, and held positions of power for long enough to know how to abuse them. Simply getting rid of them would lead to a lot of resentment within the fellahin because, again, of their traditional mindset. The elders were placed there fair and square according tot he clan's rules and forcibly removing them would tear the fellahin in half because a lot of people actually agreed with their measures and right to govern.

"Uh, so, how do I get down there? Is operation TNT a go or..."

"No! No TNT! This is not a cave damn it! Stop trying to mine in this base!" Sandy was losing her marbles trying to deal with this moron whose first solution to everything was to blow up the problem! "I will take you down there myself so just sit still!"

Ares obeyed and Sandy wrapped her arms around Ares while sinking both of them into the floor. She covered his mouth with one of her hands leaving Ares feeling very strange. He was in a itchy tube of sorts and could feel sand brushing up against his skin and grinding against him constantly. Most of his body went numb due to this sensation except for his mouth which was being protected but he understood the importance. If his mouth went slack, and let in all this sand, he'd be a goner! Honestly, if Sandy abandoned him here, Ares wasn't entirely certain he'd make it out alive. He would give it a go, and his chances of success were decently high, but there was a bigger chance of this space killing him than the Anubis back in the Riddlemyd! Ares trusted Sandy though so he kept his eyes shut and didn't squirm or fuss about as that would just make her own life harder for no reason. Rather, his trust was abnormal and even Sandy picked up on how non-chalant he was being about this. Any normal person who'd never been through this would be at least a little scared so it was kind of incredible Ares wasn't looking too bothered. It was a small sign of his trust in her and Sandy appreciated it...

Meanwhile, Arla was struggling 'a bit' with Lara. Lara was used to this sinking sensation, and she knew she was safe in Arla's care, but she was still biting at her sister's hands anyway to mess with her because they'd been squabbling this whole time. They may have been arguing but Arla was never going to drown her sister in sand so Lara was free to be a pest and nibble at her palm with a cheeky grin on her face. Arla didn't care too much, though, because she was more interested in what was happening with Sandy who seemed to be happier than she usually was. Being in this base could really dampen her mood due to her past, as well as the current state of things, but she was in a better mood today than usual and it was noticeable for someone who spent a lot of time by her side. She had a feeling she knew what was up over there and decided to leave Sandy to deal with things by herself as she was mature enough to figure it out. Or, more like, she had figured it out, she was jsut waiting for an opportunity to say it and speak her mind. As her aide, there was a lot of thins Arla could and would do but helping her along with this was not one of them. Still, there would be a chance for Arla later on today to fess up, and she wasn't the type to shy away from doing what she wanted to when an opportunity presented itself, so this matter would be resolved one way or another sooner rather later.

About a minute of travelling straight down through the sand, Ares finally felt a solid floor beneath his feet so he opened his eyes and, sure enough, he was out of the sand pit. A few grains fell on his head so he looked up and realised he was thoroughly deep underground now as the ceiling was right above him and bits of sand were still dropping from where he and Sandy exited. This place down here was like a bunker of sorts and very well hidden, Ares had to give the fellahin credit for that if nothing else. "Thanks Sandy." Ares gave her a thumbs up and she responded in kind while telling him not to worry about it. She stood to gain more from bringing him down here than he did, from her perspective, anyway. 

About twenty seconds later, Arla and Lara showed up.... Entangled in one another's arms and rolling around as they fell to the floor wrestling each other... Ares looked at Sandy and she just shrugged while walking on ahead and not paying those two any attention. Apparently they were always like this and better off being ignored... They would catch up on their own eventually when they realised Ares and Sandy were leaving them behind so Ares instead paid attention to the surroundings and promptly stopped doing precisely that when he realised there was nothing of interest down here. Other than a few murals of past fellahin leaders there was nothing but sandstone and a few pillars to hold up the ceiling down these narrow corridors. They almost reminded him of the ones in the Riddlemyd, just a bit more spacious with more light and no hazards to be sprung upon him when he was minding his own business.

Finally, after a few more turns, Ares arrived in front of a large door with a knocker on it. There was no pattern on the door or anything of the sort but t was painted in a rather dashing red which spruced up the area a bit. There was seemingly no reason for this but it probably had something to with fellahin lore that Ares wasn't going to pester Sandy about right now. They'd have plenty of time to talk after this meeting so he could ask out of curiosity then. Right now it was time to discuss plans for the immediate future so he took the lead and knocked the door twice with a steady rhythm and waited. A fist made of sand appeared from above the door and slowly lowered itself until it came before Ares and splayed open, revealing a bloodshot eye on its palm. It scanned Ares twice over and then moved onto to the next person, Sandy, as the first didn't interest it. Ares had no business being here so he failed the check! He really should have jsut let Sandy go on ahead first, and now he looked like an nitwit, but he had a good reason for this! Sandy had some issues with the elders too, if her occasional mumbling here and there about her past was any indication, so Ares wanted to step up and be a gentleman! Entering the room with the elders first would make it clear, at least on a symbolic level, that he was protecting her! She, like Lara, was under his employ now! Or soon to be, anyway, so he felt like asserting as such through his actions, to let the elders know where he stood, but he'd failed right out the gate in typical Ares fashion!

Even still, this doomed endeavour from Ares did not go unnoticed by Sandy who sighed and laughed to herself under her bundle of clothes over his actions. Ares was an idiot, but he was a funny idiot who meant well! Maybe it was that kind of quality that attracted Sandy to him in the first place? She wasn't sure but she had a feeling in her gut that things weren't going to go too well between her and him for whatever reason. It didn't mean she wasn't going to try and be upfront with him, and try to stay by his side, but, instinctually, she had a feeling she knew what his response was going to be even if she didn't know why. He hadn't shown interest in her but he didn't seem repulsed or opposed to the idea of being with her just in general. Sandy liked to think she was good at reading people, as she'd seen all kinds and had to decipher intentions of her clansmen more times than she could count, so she was at a loss with Ares. He didn't dislike her but he would probably say no to her advances but, actually, that just made Sandy more curious as to why. Sandy was blissfully unaware he had two wives already which may have had something to do with it!

Back when Ares received the letter from Enyo and Blo Blo, Sandy asked him who sent it and he simply responded with 'family'. A lot of misunderstandings could have been cleared up then and there if he'd been specific about it! Although, honestly, maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway. If he had two wives, he could add one more; that would be her line of thinking give or take. Sandy was going to shoot her shot later today regardless, though, because she wasn't the kind of person to delay or back down. What happened happened and if he said no she would get over it. She wasn't just joining his sect because of him and life would go on... Though, admittedly, she hoped there was a chance. She was getting a bit lost in her head but she returned to reality from that head space when the door opened, she tried walking through it, and she hit her head on the door... This was that old problem of hers cropping up again! She was thinking about how best to word what she wanted to say to Ares later and gotten so deeply invested in it she wasn't looking where she was going again. Pretty much everyone knew of this trait of hers by now, though, so none of the elders who saw her do this raised a single fuss as it was a common enough sight. Rather, if Sandy was walking around upstairs in the market with her head down in a thinking position, store owners would move their stuff further away from her as she passed by to prevent her from crashing into their stalls as it had happened here and there in the past! She was like a silly blind rhino sometimes... Actually, add the word 'friendly' to that description and that about summed her up quite nicely in general!

Regardless, Ares, rhino Sandy, and Arla and bickering Lara all entered the rectangle room as the door was shut behind them by some shifting sand. There was a lengthy oval table in the middle of the room with fifteen chairs dotted all around it at regular intervals and upon each and every seat was perched a grumpy old person. These must have been the fabled elders but, for what it was worth, one or two of them happened to smile gently upon seeing Sandy as though she were like a granddaughter to them. Hell if they were alone with her right now they might offer her candy or some other manner of treat so there were clearly some elders who didn't dislike Sandy and try to make her life hard on purpose at least! It wasn't all bad! But still, the people who were happy to see her were outnumbered at least two to one by those who were either kissing their teeth or glaring with narrowed eyes at her and the people she'd come into the room with. Sandy sighed and clicked her finger, summoning sandy chairs with a snap near the furthest edge of the table where she and the three guests could sit as chairs had not been provided for them in advance. This was the kind of petty treatment to be expected from this lot and Sandy was used to the elder's nonsense if albeit a little sick of putting up with it every time she returned here. She made an effort to do her work elsewhere if she could avoid this place but, given the situation, her matter needed to be discussed with these insufferable fools all present and this was the best place to do it. She led everyone over to the seats and glanced at a bunch of sarcophagi lining the walls as she sat down. Arla was checking them out too so it was clear they weren't supposed to be here normally but their true purpose was understood when one of the elders clapped his hands and the casings off them fell off revealing the contents... The captured scavengers had been stored inside them and were likely being interrogated by the elders personally in this room for the last few days while Sandy was working elsewhere, probably hunting monsters in the west to get ahead of the curve and lighten Ares' load. As for the scavengers, they'd been tortured a bit here and there and had seen better days. Nothing inhumane was done to them but they weren't exactly living comfortably either. It was unfortunate but whatever suffering they went through was almost definitely pointless as Ares had gotten a lot of information himself recently and they might not be able to offer anything substantial he didn't already know. They were scavengers, though, so Ares didn't really care that much.

The elder who opened the sarcophagi opened his mouth to speak but a loud and sudden BANG from above stopped him in his tracks. Ares had caught wind of a raid on this place a while back as the scavengers wanted to retrieve or kill the captives, so he knew about this in advance, and it seemed like the show was officially on the road. As he was here it ought not to take too long to deal with but it most certainly had to be stopped before this conversation could continue. The elders all silently disappeared from the room to go and investigate the trouble brewing upstairs and Ares had to rely on Sandy to bring him up there as well. So far, Ares' strategy for dealing with the scavengers was working perfectly and everything was falling into place. He just had to rely on Aejaz and Rox to do their part and all would be swell!... Hopefully. Diggers was 'weak' but he was still a cultivator at the end of the day and he might throw a wrench into things if left unattended. He wasn't the main goal here but if Aejaz and Rox could keep him tied up that would be one headache resolved and one less problem on Ares' plate to deal with. Oh well, Ares would find out later how well they performed in their duties! For now, at least, it was time to deal with this raid instead!