Midnight Eternity

The bulky raider repeatedly bashed the cage with the pummel of a sword whilst he angrily badmouthed the being inside of the cage. The raider strongly tossed the sword at the cage; the sword slashed and created a small hole in the cloth covering the cage before the raider turned and began to walk away from the cage. As the raider walked over to the campfire, a glowing purple eye with a white cat-like pupil peered through the hole in the cloth and glared at all the raiders while they were sitting around the campfire and eating some roasted pork.

The shadowed creature inside the cage continued to stare at the raiders but as the smell from the boasting boar, above the campfire, wafted past their nose; the creature's eye was slowly drawn to the roasting boar and the sight of the boar made the creature uncontrollably salivate at the mouth. The creature darted their eyes (although their other eye couldn't be seen since it doesn't glow) at the damaged lock around the latch of the cage. The creature crouched down and started to swing at the lock with such ferocious speed that it caused sparks to form between the lock and the creature's claw.

"For the love of... I just...," the bulky raider muttered under his breath with a gruff voice.

"They're probably hungry, Korth," the light grey-skinned, spikey black hair with long sharp white barbs and white eyes with grey pupils raider snarked. Korth rolled his eyes at the raider dressed in the red victorian styled suit and dark red desert boots.

"If it's hungry then it should eat the-," Korth said before being interrupted by the meat skewer the victorian raider pointed at his face.

"Aytherkati don't eat creatures that are still alive, that should have been clear by the other six snakes you tried to feed to them, and, secondly, you shouldn't be trying to feed any living creatures to a baby monster; especially ones that aren't too fond of the ayth-," the victorian raider said before pausing his rant when Korth glared at him.

"We get it, Nen, but it almost sounds like you're offended," a female pale-skinned, with a faint green glow, elf raider condescendingly snarked before she snatched the skewer from Nen's hand. As the female raider munched on the meat skewer a dark golden mist slowly walked past the three raiders by the campfire, with none of them even acknowledging it; the dark golden mist stood quietly by the campfire and listened to the raider's conversation. Another raider hurried over to Korth and told him they noticed something odd on the perimeter of the camp; Korth angrily groaned as he stood up and followed the raider.

"Look, I'm just saying that trying to feed a snake or energy bars to a baby is a bad idea, Kallia," Nen stated as he grabbed another meat skewer. Jen scoffed and said she knew that, as she brushed her long glowing cyan hair and rubbed her green eyes.

"But it's not like we can go against Korth or any of the other raiders since we're outsiders," Kallia frustratedly said as she once again took the meat skewer Nen was holding.

"Tis really is a poor experience; I would give the kid some of the boar, but remember what happen to Jack when he tried too," Nen stated before he and Kallia shivered. Kallia was about to ask Nen why he added grey gears to the outside of his leather coat but froze when something seemed to startle her. Nen asked what was wrong and Kallia explained that the hind leg of the boar was gone. Nen stood up and was slightly amused to see that the leg had somehow disappeared. Nen joked that someone was going to be in trouble since that was Korth's favourite part of an animal.

"If it's so funny then you wouldn't mind telling me who pulled the unfunny prank then, will you Nen," Korth coldly stated as he loomed over Nen. Nen calmly shrugged his shoulders with an unphased expression on his face.

"Who knows?" Nen stated before Korth placed his boot on the log Nen was sitting on; Korth sharply rolled the log backwards causing Nen to instantly swing backwards and his back land on the sandy ground. Korth glanced over at Kallia and she stated she didn't know where the leg went. Korth glared his vision across the entire camp before stopping on the cage when he heard munching sounds coming from within; he narrowed his eyes and stormed over to the cage. Korth grabbed the cloth covering the cage and ripped it off the cage revealing the boar leg being devoured by the aytherkati with her extremely razor-sharp teeth.

The young girl aytherkati cub (an eight-armed (two in the normal place on a human and the other six being attached around the shoulder blade areas, cat-like paw hands, cat-like paw feet, three large fluffy tails, light black fluffy, and wool-like hair with two large pompoms, dark blue left eye and glowing dark purple right eye with both of her eyes having white pupils, dark tan skin, has light dark fluffy fur covering their body (over forearms, hands, legs, feet, waist and a small strip around their chest that covers their nipples)) was completely engrossed with eating the boar leg (which was triple the size of the cub) that she didn't even notice that Korth was fuming out of his ears.

"For the love of... fucking again, Jack," Korth mindlessly blurted out in frustration. A raider with a medic-looking attire popped her head out of a wagon.

"Captain Korth, Lieutenant Jack is still recovering... remember," the nurse raider stated before she darted back into the caravan when a guy inside the caravan could be heard groaning in pain.

"Right... force of habit; but if Jack didn't do it then who did," Korth muttered to himself. Korth kicked the cage and startled the aytherkati cub; her pupils narrowed and she aggressively hissed at Korth.

"Oi brat, who gave you that leg?" Korth demanded as he impatiently crossed his arms. The aytherkati's pupils slowly unnarrowed and she glared up at Korth.

"The guy with the gold mask gave it to me..." the aytherkati quietly muttered before she went back to eating the boar leg. Korth narrowed his eyes and mentally tried to recall if anyone in his group matched the mentioned person before the revelation that no one in his group wears a mask entered his mind.

"Dummy..." the aytherkati cub muttered.

"Care to say that to my face?" Korth snarked. The aytherkati cub rolled her eyes and stated the guy was standing on the roof of the watch tower. Korth glanced over at the watch tower and his eyes widened when he spotted Shroud balancing on the flap pole, with a single foot, of the watch tower. Korth was about to speak to shout but was interrupted by a ball of golden light flying in front of his face.

"I wouldn't recommend causing a ruckus; you wouldn't want your allies to be wiped out... would you," the voice (belonging to the disembodied voice that talked to Shroud) that emanated from the golden ball of light. Korth gritted his teeth and asked what they wanted.

"Oh, it's quite simple; my lord would like to procure this... aytherkati; through civil means of course," the golden light explained as it circled around Korth's head. Korth scoffed and said only the one percenters could afford to buy an aytherkati up front.

"My good sir, are you perchance insinuating my lord is incapable of doing so?" the voice inquisitively asked as Nen and Kallia slowly walked neck to Korth.

"Tsk, those fuckers wouldn't even as much as walk a set outside their own cushy abode if it's slightly raining, let alone come into the Skulliva Desert," Kallia snarked before eating the meat off the meat skewers she was holding. The golden light bobbed up and down for a few seconds.

"That's certainly a way to put it," Nen said. Nen and Kallia slowly began to bicker amongst themselves until Korth loudly coughed to make the duo shut up.

"Very well I'll bite what is your master's offer?" Korth asked calmly; both Nen and Kallia looked flabbergasted by Korth's words. Kallia slowly leaned over to Korth and whispered into his ear.

"But boss; isn't the aytherkati a commission for the-," Kallia managed to say before Korth cut her off.

"Yeah-yeah, I know but as you said those people, especially our current client, are fuckers and I have more respect for this guy's master since he has the decency to come to the desert himself," Korth stated with Nen and Kallia nervously agreeing with their boss. The golden light asked if the trio were finished talking amongst themselves; with Korth stating they were.

"Good to hear; now, how would you feel about making a trade?" the golden light asked and before any of the trio could reply; the luminescent golden spine lands in front of the trio and dug into the ground. The trio were left stunned at what was presented before them.

"Is this pure magigold?" Nen and Kallia asked in unison.

"In a physical sense, it is," the golden light stated which left the trio with more questions. The golden light gladly explained that this item wasn't just a magigold spine but it was actually a magic short sword with a unique ability; once again leaving the trio with even more questions.