Night twelve, they camped in basalt ruins of some forgotten scorpion clan. The stone pillars were half-buried. Fires hid behind rock to mask glow from raiders. There is a legend that the scorpion clan was wiped out by a powerful human.
Few hundred years ago they were one of the strongest clans of the desert. But they were destroyed in a single night. No one believes that a human would dare to come into zoology territory. It became a legend and with time the scorpion clan became a joke and forgotten.
Kai sat on a ledge, rolling a Shade core between claws. He considered devouring but aura toxin from these beasts known to cause hallucinations if unpurified. He pocketed it for later distillation.
Footsteps came, Shale lowered himself beside Kai. The big ant gazed at constellations. "Good call today."
Kai shrugged. "Lucky dune."
