In the Belly of the Beast

Within the monster's digestive tract our two heroes lay in complete and utter shock.

Time passed and our two heroes still lay in complete and utter shock (I mean, tell you me, how many times have you been swallowed by a giant sand worm?!?).

More time passed and our heroes still... you get the picture. The most impressive thing about it all was that they didn't die. They weren't disintegrated by the beast's digestive juices. They weren't squashed by the animal's stomach muscles. They weren't attacked by the creature's immune system antibodies. They just lay there, in complete darkness, in utter despair, in putrified moistness and stink. And then they saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Actually the light at the beginning of the tunnel. Well, to be more correct, the light coming from the head of the animal... or at least its jaw... maw... whatever (hey, I'm no biologist).

And then our two heroes were spit out! Literally! With all the force that an over-sized earthworm that inhabits the Calamari Desert can produce! Really!

Fred and Astra couldn't believe their eyes. For one thing they were blinded by the light... by the light of day... so would you be if you spent innumerable days and nights within the belly of a sandbeast!

Once their eyes adjusted to the sunlight, they still couldn't believe their eyes.

"Where are we?" they said to no one in particular.

"AIGH! Kalah, sam tu bint! Sin'To ha've muh kinigt i dam!!!" came the answer they weren't quite expecting.

The sandworm was gone. It had spit them out onto the sands of the desert. But these sands were different; their colour was darker, their feel was finer, and there was a massive city sitting on top of it right before their faces. And a town guard. He was the guy screaming. I mean, how often do you see a monster rise out of the sands and spit forth two light-skinned human beings right into your lap!

"Uh-oh," said Fred.

"Uh-oh?" repeated Astra.

"We're not in the Calamari any more!"

"What? How do you know?"

"Because the Calamari is a waste... sand traders and gypsies only traverse its southern edge closest to Allaria, the interior is uninhabitable. There are no cities in the Calamari."

"So, where are we?"

"Good question..."

1. somewhere in the far west and very foreign Arabi Desert...
2. within the Arabi, next to the bustling city of Quaz'a'hwad...
3. adjacent to the fine city of Min'ar within the territories of the Aethioptrix...

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