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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Oct 21, 2011 1:29:07 GMT -5
Jay simply nodded, grabbing the flask and making a quick run for one of the water tanks. Darrick usually had good senses towards these things. Whatever was out there, it was bound to be trouble.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Oct 21, 2011 22:42:40 GMT -5
Darrick watched the boy leave to get the water tanks, and turned back around, frowning with his arms crossed. He once again had that feeling, that there was something looming out there, in the darkness. He hoped it wasn't a red dragon. The last thing they needed would be to be trespassing in one's territory.
Claw Vipers? That was far more likely, and just as bad. Slowly, the man unslung the braided whip from his belt, letting its tail pool around his feet. Whoever or whatever was approaching them from the dunes would soon regret it.
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Post by Ribitta on Oct 22, 2011 14:51:39 GMT -5
Riul slipped out of her blankets, something drawing her attention away from them. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something deeper into the cave that she needed to see. Moving away from the light by her bed, she descended deeper into the tunnel. As the light faded behind her, a nausea began to fill her whole being, but still she walked further. Trying to illuminate the area, though, she attempted to conjure some sort of light energy to provide both vision and comfort; there was no hope in it, though, as her lights vanished the moment they appeared.
Slowly, she forced step after step further and further down into the darkness, finally stopping when her foot missed the ground, threatening to off-balance and cast her into whatever pit she was near. Catching herself quickly, Riul took a step back. The world would have been completely dark to anyone else, but she could feel the darkness unlike most before her. Not just the absence of light, but the devourer of it. The abyss before her called out, trying to suck her down. With a muted scream, she turned away from it to run back the way she had come, only to find that her exit was no longer there, now completely swallowed by the blackness below her. As she opened her mouth to call out for help, the darkness immediately invaded, filling her body and mind with its filth. First threatening to and then finally succeeding in overtaking her, Riul fell to the ground on hands and knees, the darkness overwhelming her.
Her eyes snapped open and her lungs choked back a scream. The light close to her bed was still there, glowing warmly all throughout the tunnel; it had only been a dream. Sliding herself out of her blankets for the second time that evening, she realized that she was completely drenched in her own sweat that had nothing to do with the chill of the night. Shivering not only from the cold, she stumbled her way out to the entrance of the tunnel, giving Jay a nod as she passed, her mind still in a haze. The fresh air was life-giving, though, despite the darkness that seemed all but absolute outside. The feeling of her dreams, though, returned almost instantly as she realized that it had not been completely in her own mind. Pushing her damp hair, greased now with sweat, away from her eyes, she spoke to Darrick with a great deal of difficulty in each word, "The-ere's something out there, ri-ight?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 30, 2011 13:23:22 GMT -5
"Maybe," Darrick muttered, his grip tightening on his whip. His one good eye glanced back at the girl, whose path forward was now barred by his free hand--the last thing they needed was a hysterical Stamarian rushing out into the desert and whatever was lying in wait for them. "Why did you rush out here? It's safer back inside the tunnels."
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Post by Ribitta on Jan 6, 2012 14:37:23 GMT -5
Riul shook her head slowly at Darrick's words, doing her best to achieve some level of calmness despite the way her heart pounded inside her chest. Even though sweat had plastered her clothes to her skin, the night seemed beyond freezing now, and it seemed darker than ever. "Just as safe down there as up here. What's out there threatens the whole area, maybe even the entire desert; if it's coming for us, then I don't want to be cornered in a cave." She shivered independently of the cold, trembling slightly where she stood. Inhaling deeply, she put all the courage she had into a few firm words, "I'll help you fight them, when they come."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Feb 22, 2012 13:56:30 GMT -5
"Let's just hope there won't be a fight, little miss," the one-eyed man remarked, offering her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Unfortunately, the warning bells going on in his head made that feel more and more unlikely. When he turned back to the dunes, he could see someone standing at the top of them, barely discernible in the night. He couldn't get a read on the figure; clad in the brown, almost black cloak with its hood up, their... visitor... could be anyone.
And knowing that he... or she... had been spotted, the visitor moved forward, down the dune to approach the three of them. Darrick kept his grip tight on his whip, and noted with some rueful amusement that the figure stopped just short of his weapon's effective range--whoever this person was, he was smart. "Hail, stranger," he called out to the hooded figure in his native tongue.
The figure remained still for several tense moments, as if unsure as what to do. Finally, he--for his voice was male--replied, in the same language. "You... are Galsian?" he said, as if to confirm it for the both of them. "You are a long ways away from your home, Galsian."
Darrick could only grin at that. "Perhaps. Some of us have that wanderlust. What about you?"
The hooded man chose not to answer the question, instead regarding them. His gaze went from the one-eyed man to the girl standing behind him and back. "You shouldn't be here, Galsian. It would be better if you leave and take your friend with you."
"Oh I don't think you need to worry about either of us. The girl, she's in good hands around me," he told him. "She'll be fine."
"I was not speaking of the girl, Galsian. Take your friend and leave."
Darrick's smile faded. So it's going to be like that, then.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Feb 24, 2012 17:53:08 GMT -5
Jay had returned from... whatever the hell he was doing, now staring down the odd man that had approached them. Although, almost as if he payed no mind, he calmly asked Darrick "You got any idea who this guy is?" Jay certain didn't. Then again, this wasn't exactly the first oddball that the two had seen over their travels together.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Mar 2, 2012 3:06:50 GMT -5
Darrick tossed his head back a bit, frowning. "I've a hunch," he told the young man, sounding a bit unsure. "And it's not a good one."
The man across the way stared at them for only a few more moments. "You will not leave," he said suddenly, still in the Galsian tongue that the others wouldn't quite understand. "Very well."
The man lifted up one arm from the single opening in his cloak, lifting it straight up to the side. A heavy, leather-clad sleeve, hanging wide and loose, was exposed to the weak light coming from both the girl and the campfire behind them.
With a squeeze of the man's hand, a curving wave of fell light burst out from a slender rod in his hand, forming an elegant blade of a dark violet magical energy. It crackled in the night air. The man stared forward at them--his eyes now aglow with that same light, staring out from the darkened recesses of his hood.
Darrick swore. "I hate being right."
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