Page 1/4 Danger Dancing in the Desert (1) Written by Flynn Lexton "That's the fifth one! Seems like I'm going to win this month, friend!" You simply must visit Vienta's renowned Desert Flower Dance Inn at night. Those who are stuck working indoors during the hot desert days come out at night to enjoy themselves. I found myself one typical evening sitting furtively at the counter next to some dwarves raucously betting on some random thing. The owner smiled at me meaningfully and handed me a glass of wine. I gulped down the strong wine and inquired as to the cause of their merrymaking. They informed me to my surprise that they were betting on the number of travelers coming in from the desert, completely stripped! Vienta Port, which faces the dazzling sea, is a beautiful town filled with the aromatic scent of grapes year round. There was an unending stream of travelers ready to confidently take on the endless desert just outside of town without knowing how dangerous it was. "You definitely need a guide! But some feel as if they're a scam and claim they can do it alone!" A dwarf introducing himself as Tunin explained this while telling me he and his friends worked as guides. I agreed with them. My friend and I had encountered something similar, although under different circumstances, when we visited Vienta Village for the first time more than a decade before. Page 2/4 Danger Dancing in the Desert (2) Vienta Village was known for its premium wine at the time, but they were still under the rule of the corrupt Lord Fernan, which means there were no desert guides like there are today. We arrived at Vienta Village by boat with a desire to observe some desert monsters. However, we found the town to be an anxious, frightening place, in direct contrast to the atmosphere of affluence which it exuded. Stan Brixon, who was traveling with me then, was a young merchant with aspirations of investigating the potential of Vienta wine and maybe making a profit. I on the other hand, was committed to my low-paying career path in research. Since there were no formal guides, experienced merchants sometimes played the part, forming caravans at the inn. There were far more bandits back then, and any merchant daring to set out in a small group without employing mercenaries could lose everything, including their lives, to robbery in an instant. But we didn't have the money for our own caravan, and no merchant groups were going to travel along the oasis path we wished to take. All we could do was sit glumly at the inn and wait - a harsh blow to two young men's wallets. Stan resolved not to return home and let this trip be all for nothing. He visited a number of inns and spoke to several travelers like us who were unable to join a caravan. He ended up with a small, brave, and foolhardy group ready to head to the oasis. Sandworms are the most well-known monsters in Stonegard's desert, followed by the dangerous cobras and scorpions hidden in the sand. I was well aware of these creatures from the books I had read, even if I hadn't personally encountered them. For that reason, my young merchant friends trusted me and relied on me to lead them as far from those dangers as possible. But I only had book smarts on my side. It was the perfect opportunity for some inexperienced travelers to walk straight into the jaws of death. Page 3/4 Danger Dancing in the Desert (3) We walked at night to avoid the difficult sun-drenched days. Our reward was the sight of gleaming desert sand and beautiful desert flowers blooming in the moonlight. Seen from afar, the desert flowers were shyly folded over, and we were astonished that flowers bloomed and plants survived so close to the village even in this environment. It was during one of these admiring viewing moments that Stan, walking right beside me, was then violently pulled toward a desert flower as if it was trying to suck him in. We all shouted in alarm, but that wasn't the end of it. That shyly folded flower suddenly sprung open to reveal pink petals and a huge stem with tentacles, which gripped and lashed at Stan as he struggled to free himself! We then discovered that all of those other gorgeous flowers had also opened their petals, reaching toward the rest of us with those horrible tentacles. We dodged the tentacles and screamed as we fled back to the safety of the village all the while, yet another flower with its colorful petals open pelted us with some rock like substance. I felt a sharp pain and a burning sensation at the back of my head, but I sprinted to the entrance of Vienta Village without looking back. The night watch ran out when they saw us. The guards with their torches stood ready to address the danger, but the desert flowers had already withdrawn their tentacles and returned to their resting places by then. "For Mafrion's sake! That was a disaster. Did that one fellow make it back alive?" Tunin asked me, looking worried. I shook my head, a bitter taste in my mouth. I begged the guards at the time to retrieve Stan, or what was left of him. They refused, saying it was a mistake to leave the road and that they considered it fortunate any of us returned with our lives intact. Perhaps it wouldn't have happened if we had the Resistance then, as we do now. Page 4/4 Danger Dancing in the Desert (4) I ended up spending several more days in Vienta Village pleading with departing caravans to take me with them to find Sam. I was thus able to travel back to where we were attacked. However, I couldn't even find Stan's corpse. Nothing remained but his travel pack. It would be many years before I could bear to return to Vienta Village, the place where I had endured such great sadness. It is fortunate that there are now guides who patrol outside the city, like Tunin and the Resistance to rescue hapless adventurers. Still, even with those safeguards, those planning desert adventures should remember one or two disappearances are guaranteed each year. It is a fact of life in the desert that some travelers will wind up as food for the flowers. The most fearsome creature in this shining desert is neither the terrifying sandworm nor the deadly cobra, but rather that which blooms like a flower.
