Entering Tamag

 The Horseman dismounted, took his rucksack and looked over at his two followers.
He nodded and they also got off their horses.
They placed the herbs down on the hard desert floor. Erdem blew an ember from a piece of wood he burnt.
Placing it inside the bowl.
Sangcar and Demircan his followers took turns blowing until the herbs were smoking.
The side of the bare hill obscured most of their bodies from the sun.
The pink yellow clay at this slightly higher elevation looked foreign when compared with the rest of the desert. The bare expanse they had spent weeks traveling over.

"When the herbs have burnt down we will make our entry into Tamag Geçit."
Sangcar and Demircan nodded. 
A bluster of wind kicked up accelerating the burning herbs, then a small explosion from within the bowl, the bowl overturning and exploding into little pieces. sparks flew.

"Praise worthy" Demircan muttered.
Sangcar pulled his sword, and Erdem stumbled higher into the hill to see if something had shot at them.
"It must be a sign that we can enter." Demircan declared.
"Ok lets march on. Leave the horses here tie them to the narrow rock."
As the three continued they rounded a terrace on the hill where faced by a two headed demon.

Canavar the wretched. He moved in a way that felt unnatural. Unholy.
"So three dumb lost men have come to be devoured, how convenient." Both heads sporting fork tongues that could reach out like arms.

"No we are not here to die, though we will breach Tamag to find our lost brother."
"You cannot talk to me, your words are as empty as my stomach, and it is time to eat"
Canavar twice the size of one man leapt upon Demircan biting him deeply where the shoulder met the neck. Using his other head to monitor the reaction of the other two.
"Let us attack" Erdem screamed.
Canavar let Demircan fall to to the ground holding his neck and panting from bloodloss.

Erdem struck a blow to the demon's pectoral, not causing any significant damage.
Sangcar attacked from the rear and drove his blade upward into the demon's leg.
"Wooooooooorrrrrr" Canavar roared and bled from his leg wound.
Aligning the claws of his right hand and aiming his hand at the sun they grew another inch longer. 
Erdem and sangkar were looking for an opening but the demon had both heads on them, Canavar sprang toward Sangcar and decapitated him in one foul movement. Erdem leapt forward and started swinging, landing a few nice cuts but not enough to separate Canavar from Sangar's headless body.
Canavar had his jaws locked over the stump as if it was all one grotesque animal.

Then Erdem realized the demon was still bleeding out from the leg. He dove and buried his sword into the demon's leg. The sword went right through.
"RRRRROOOOOOOONNNNNNN" Canavar roared again. Used his claw to take off Erdem's face. Erdem blocked losing a little flesh from his arms and bleeding badly.

"You will not stop us demon" Demircan rose and threw a dagger slicing one of Canavar's cheeks and ear.
Canavar groaned again and sprang 3 meters above them onto the next terrace of the hill.
"Nothing is granted except these words enchanted, you lose here just a tiny token of what you will lose in Tamag" Canavar's body began to vibrate and burst into small ember like flames.
He continued to sing. "In Tamag the very walls will extract your essence, the halls will corupt what's left of your soul"

Canavar stood straight, pulled the sword from his leg and threw it into the Sangcar's lifeless body.
"He was the lucky one ha ha ha ha..." The demon's body had fully healed. Playing his little game he continued to dance across the top of the terrace.
Erdem and Demircan took what they could and ran.

A shadowy gate came into view infront.
"Run through." Demircan and Erdem put their hands infront of themselves to feel for the Material of the gate. There was none. The men ran through sweating and bleeding.
The land darkened, it suddenly became obvious they were no longer on the earth anymore.

The desert had tree like structures rising up thirty to fifty meters.
The structures had branches but no foliage, they were made of some sort of rock.
Other creatures lived up on them, reptillian cats. 

"How are we to find our brother now Erdem?"
Demircan asked.
"We must find one of the sane undead, they will lead us to the groves of pity where the priest said he was to reside."

Their conversation was interrupted by an incredibly sized batlike creature whose face except for ears and nose was more reptillian than mammal. all scales no fur. 

"Get down" Erdem shouted.
They dove for the ground as the huge shape passed a few feet above the ground.
"Can we die here?" Demircan asked
"Lets not chance it."
The thing let out a low moan and passed by quickly disappearing into the darkness ahead.
"Better follow it."
"it's gone!"
the land became gradually darker almost like they were walking from dusk into night every kilometer made the sky look darker, visibility was good and for the meantime the land except for the large tree structures was empty and silent.

In the gloom Erdem spotted a figure hunched below one of the structures. 
"That looks like Sangcar."
They approached the figure who was sitting with his face in his hands.
"Is this a trap? There could be some sort of danger." Demircan cautioned.
"Sangcar is that you, you are whole again!" Erdem exclaimed.

Sangcar took his hands from his face, there were tears upon his face and a look of resignation.
"Hello friends, I will tell you this now. Although I sit here whole, this place is wrong. You should attempt to flee from here even without our brother Karagön."

Sangcar looked at them with anger. "If I had not followed you all here, I would be back home in Jarabulus with my wife and children."
Erdem chanted some words under his breath, while Demircan put his hand to his face assuming shame.
"I command you to show us the way to the groves of pity so that we may find and save Karagön."
Sangcar's face reddened "Sorry brothers this place is taking me over, you can see t happening to me, I am filled with guilt and anger. I cannot guide you. The lizard cats control me from the structure. They feed off my sadness. Look up in the rock."

Sure enough lizard cats in the rock tree were absorbing subtle light from Sangkar.
"Dig under the rock with your daggers, you will find a gift I have bestowed unto you. It is the last of my hearts love, it will protect you." With that Sangkar buried his face in his hands and continued to sob.

Erdem and Demircan began digging