"You are back from your seclusion?" Tinka asked.

"You can say that. I need you to go back to the village and bring me nine men and one female outfit made for the desert, covering every inch of the body. Bring water and food too.

"If I may ask the chief, who are they for?" Tinka asked. He was still so curious and a pain in the neck.

"They are for my friends who have come to visit me from the north," Sagiri said.

"Yes, we missed our dear sagiri and came to see if you, of Tatani, have been treating him kindly," Kiuga said from behind Sagiri, throwing a hand around his neck, even though they were now almost the same height and build, but Sagiri was an inch shorter.

"We could never harm the chief!" Tinka defended immediately.

"Well, I don’t trust you. I had to come see it for myself." Kiuga taunted.

"What reason do we have to harm him? He is our chief now." Tinka was getting pulled into the Kiuga bullshit.

"Don’t listen to him, Tinka. Kiuga, stop teasing my general. Please bring a change of clothes now. I can’t have them walking around like this. Also, this is a secret. Don’t tell anyone, even Seya. I will tell her when I send them back." Sagiri said 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Seya ... Seya went to find someone with Nonaki. I am the only one left." Tinka said sheepishly. "She said she’d be back soon," Tinka explained. It was clear Seya had not told her where she was going, but Sagiri already knew she had gone to find the iron matron.

"I see. You are doing a great job." Sagiri said. Tinka was a bit fearful, and, with all three of the top ones away, he left alone. He must have been scared, having to hold the fort afloat all by himself. It was clear he was happy to see Sagiri.

"Thank you, Chief." He bowed.

"Now go and get me what I asked for. Get everyone a change of clothes," he said plainly. "Something fit for the south." Then, after a brief pause, his eyes shifted toward the girl. "Her too." Tinka nodded once and disappeared into the silent lower settlement.

Sagiri knew the village was asleep, but he could not afford to walk with strangers into the new tatani.

"Yes, chief," Tinka said before he and his eleven men disappeared into the desert.

"Wow, Sagiri, the blind, you sound like a chief now. Go do this... Go do that..." Ulekai cheered his eyes wide.

"He is a chief," Kaka said, glaring at Ulekai, who immediately jumped behind Sagiri. They had been on the same squad for almost two years, and the boy was still very much scared of Kaka.

"I wish I could be a chief too," Kiuga said.

"How cruel a fate that would be for the Lofekeni. What a cruel fate." Kaka spat.

"A cruel fate is you being the next chief of the Bami Tribe and being the grand zorath of the north, such a tragedy," Kiuga said.

"Why would it be a tragedy?"

"The next chief of Bami will be a Chimera," Maita said.

"Yet none of you can beat an Asakana in a fight." Kaka sneered. The normal bickering went on and on.

"A tragedy is if any of you gets a high position. Quit squabbling like kids, you will wake the desert scorpions." Sagiri said, and everyone stilled like rocks. Lira clung to his side. Sagiri was not expecting the female to press on him, and he snapped his eyes to look down at her clinging to his arm.

"Lira, you realize this is not appropriate," Sagiri said. Lira paused before a scream tore from her throat, and she jumped away, her cheeks flushing.

"You still don’t know anything about women, I see." Kiuga sighed in disappointment.

Soon after, Tinka and his men brought the garments. Sagiri asked Lira to go change behind a rock, and the men behind the dune, Tinka and his men, had been camouflaged earlier. After everyone was set and they had put away their war college combat suits in their war-equipped bags, they all finally moved into the village.

"You can relax. I am here now." Sagiri said before leading the squad into the new Tatani village.

"Yes, chief."

"You built this in a year!" N’varu gasped and walked quickly. Sagiri could have been imagining it, but the man was fast in the desert. It looked like he was gliding on wheels instead of walking. The village was nothing much, but Seya had done a great job.

The rebuilt settlement rose directly from the desert stone itself, massive structures carved into cliffs and half-buried rock formations, while other homes seemed shaped from hardened sand smoothed by years of heat and wind. Narrow walkways curved between towering sandstone walls lit by hanging lanterns that burned low against the dark. Bridges of carved stone connected higher sections of the settlement overhead, while long fabrics hung between structures to block the harsher desert winds. The deeper they walked, the more beautiful the village became

Eventually, they reached the chief’s residence near the upper section of the settlement. Unlike the other structures, the house wasn’t built onto the stone. It had been carved directly into it. The entrance curved inward through smooth black rock etched with old Tatani markings worn down by time and sand. Inside, the air felt cooler immediately. Wide chambers opened beneath naturally formed stone ceilings supported by carved pillars, the walls lined with woven cloth, hanging lanterns, and low-burning fire pits that painted the rooms in warm amber light.

Food was brought soon after they entered. Large trays of roasted crabs and heavy bowls of desert broth were placed across the long stone table while water and dark southern tea followed after. Nobody spoke much once the eating started. They were too exhausted for conversation. One by one, the tension that had followed them through Boni and the southern roads slowly faded beneath warmth, food, and shelter. Eventually, even the quieter voices disappeared entirely as the group settled into the stone chambers for the night, the desert winds whispering faintly outside the carved walls of Tatani.

"Lira, come with me," Sagiri said as the men started falling asleep carelessly on the floor. Kiuga and Ulekai had already taken his whole bed, built from stone.

Lira followed silently, and Sagiri led her into another house beside his. Seya’s house. It was a blessing she was not here.

"You sleep here. Don’t come out until I come to pick you." Sagiri walked out soon after. He did not join the men, but jumped to the roof of his tall, chiefly structured structure and sat in a meditative position. Conscious meditative slumber would rejuvenate him quickly, and that is what he did. He also needed to calm his mind as hard as possible.