By morning, should she truly wait that long, the cave would eventually grow so hot as the sun would pass over it, that the very risk to burn to death was likely. Well, that was the exaggerated norm around here. In the desert, the bottom line was that everything was not and there was a bit of shade, chances were that it was occupied by some type of monster that too wanted to escape the heat. Of any and all places to reside and bide one's time, the desert was truly it. Like the tundra, the terrain was nigh unlivable; 'hotter than hell' as many who were not indigenous to the area would say. If the monsters lurking around every corner, bush, crevice, and cave, be it a giant sandworm or dusk tiger, the sun definitely would if you were stupid enough.
Euzec kept walking, his calabash filled with water beside him, his legs taking him miles and miles into the desert. Kushumoro's palace was so far from town for all sensible and legitimate reasons. Though it was a good possibility that the master had ordered him into the desert to wander get lost, eaten or die from dehydration, such a concept was beyond him. It wasn't like him to think negatively. He knew that he had to travel to successfully do what he was told to do, as the length of the journey was merely because Kushumoro didn't exactly appreciate unwanted travelers coming to his palace.
But along the journey, though an hour or so passed by without much incident, Euzec started to see the sun falling down on the horizon, an indicator that the dusk tigers would be prowling out soon. Along to the left of him, there stretched the expanse of the desert, and to the right there rose a rocky cliff side. And just when he thought the coast was clear it seemed the sun was falling faster than he'd initially imagined. Suddenly out of nowhere, he heard the sudden roar of a nearby creature. "Oh no!" he muttered as he abruptly paused and looked to the left of him. In the desert, seeing nothing, he turned to the right and upon the horizon of the fading sun, he saw the form of one of the largest dusk tiger he'd ever had the misfortune to encounter.
A giant cat, the dusk tiger was a feared creature in Moraki. The animal was a large striped cat, about ten feet in length, and with large bone spikes protruding from its back. Two horns also came out from the top of its head that served as a method of intimidation toward it's prey. As this particular tiger stood atop the cliff, it stared down at Euzec, roared and then made a leap for him.
The move was so swift that he barely had time to move our of the way as the cat came down at him with a crash, shaking making the earth quake with the ferocity of its landing. Euzec rolled out of the way and then readied the staff in his hand, prepared to strike the cat down if it came to turns where only one of them would make it out alive. The tiger let a rumble roll out of its throat as he circled Euzec. Suddenly, it made another lunge for him and as he shifted out of the way, he suddenly thought that it was better to attempt to calm the tiger than it was to fight, and possibly kill, the poor creature. "Don't try to get the better of me," he tried to soothe, wrestling the large cat into submission. It took a true beast master to soothe the wild beast, and though his affinity with animals was next to nil, the fact remained that he had a great respect for them, as much as they were intent on killing him for survival.
Finally, with a great whump! on the tiger's head he knocked the creature to the ground. The tiger, falling, looked up at him dizzily, unsure of what just happened. And slowly but surely, it climbed to his paws and looked up at Euzec, seeming to know that he'd been bested once and for all. And, without reserve, it approached him and rubbed up against him, purring as a sign of his submission. Euzec stared at him bewildered but certainly pleased that he didn't have to shed unnecessary blood. Smiling, he pet the tiger and turned to walk on. But just as he walked no more than fifteen feet did he hear paws hurrying after him. What the! Turning, he witnessed the tiger quickly following. "Oh," he smiled. "So you want to com to J'hek too? Well, we'll see how it goes. Come along."
Even with a dusk tiger following him, Euzec was sure he wouldn't be too safe. It was best to hide out for now lest he risk more beasts to come to him. So, wandering further, he saw a slight along side the cliff and stalked toward it, his staff now retracted. Once close, he got a better look at it and saw that it seemed safe enough. The tiger sniffed it once and licked his chops, peering curiously up at Euzec. "What? Is there someone in there?"
Considering the thought himself, he leaned into the darkness and called out that very thing. "Hello?"