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Post by Ribitta on May 29, 2011 14:50:57 GMT -5
Coarse, golden sand was the only known reality in this part of the Kemei desert. Completely convinced that nothing could survive here, oasis, civilization, or anything else, Riul lifted a hand to her forehead to shade her vision in an attempt to scan the horizon. It must have been the hundredth time she had tried within the last hour, and she was quickly beginning to worry that coming here had been a mistake after all. As a gust of wind picked up yet again, she melded a shield of light in a spherical shape around her body, not stopping the wind but rather shrugging it off to go around. Despite the heat, she shivered slightly at the thought of someone coming here without magic. Looking down to her feet, which were suspended about six inches from the ground, she wondered idly what would kill a person here first. The wind? The sand that had been ignited to the temperature of hot coals? She had been told there would be beasts out here, and while she believed it at the time she was quickly wondering if even the fiercest of predators could survive in this wasteland.
As her gaze stayed at her feet, though, her ears began to pick up a rumbling noise. Quickly in succession, the sand beneath her feet began shaking as well, and Riul's eyes widened with realization. She had only moments, rising into the air yet further as a large Sand Maggot burst through the ground, its vicious pincers snapping at where she had been floating only a moment ago. While distracted, though, her magical shield faded from effect and yet another gust of wind blasted her floating form, unbalancing her and sending her light body crashing into the searing hot sand. The impact alone was enough to break the skin on her hands, and she did her best to ignore the fiery feeling throughout her entire body, especially her hands that had already begun screaming in pain from the impact and damage. Shaking her head quickly, Riul clambered shakily to her feet now, quickly locating the Sand Maggot that indeed was already on its way to meet her again. There was only one advantage to being the in the desert for Riul, though, and that was the sun. Flowing through as easily as blood flows through a man's veins, she redirected the glaring rays of the sun through her marred hands, a wrist-thick beam of light coming out immediately and colliding directly between the pincers of the Sand Maggot.
The blow was powerful and decisive on the Sand Maggot, killing it instantly, but Riul's fate was still dwindling. The fight, however short, had drained her energy quite deftly, and her need to find a respite had quickly become more desperate than ever. The noise that had been created by the fight would either prove to invite more of the creatures to devour her alive, or perhaps summon some aid in this wasteland. Levitating her body once more, the girl set off in the direction she had been travelling, keeping her guard up but living primarily on hope now. |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 4, 2011 10:03:25 GMT -5
The ground shook for the briefest of moments, causing the sands to shift precariously underfoot. A loud, alien screech cut through the biting winds from behind the blond-haired girl, and a fountain of sand exploded into the air as yet another insectile creature scrabbled up from beneath the surface. The long pincers of the sand maggot snapped hungrily as its legs pulled it up from its hole as it raced for Riul. With more power than its frame belied, the creature lunged over her with a pounce, bearing down on her.
Barely discernible over the wind and the maggot was the sound of a heavy, whirling object.
Something thudded with a wet crack, causing the sand maggot's body to jolt forward unexpectedly, falling flat onto the sand less than a foot away from Riul. With a chilling wheeze, the arthropod twitched feebly as a greenish ichor spilled from the wound in the back of its neck, where the axe lay embedded. Within seconds, the creature was dead.
"Hey! You over there!" came a somewhat-distant voice over the wind. "Girl!"
Two figures were standing atop a far-off dune, one taller than the other.
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 4, 2011 13:38:45 GMT -5
Riul let out a shriek as first the insect appeared and once more as it fell. Amidst the whipping winds of the sand she couldn't make out what exactly had just happened, but this corpse had been close enough to have done some harm if this stranger had not intruded. Shielding her vision to the blazing sun, she attempted to make out what had happened, and the voice carried to her ears a moment later. Turning to its approximate source, she saw not one but two figures on the sand, though they were all but lost to specific characteristics. One of these individuals, perhaps both, had just saved her life, and their coming was more than welcome to Riul's battered form. She tried to call out, but her rather unemphatic voice was lost to the winds, so she quickly begin moving herself up to them. After all, they were surely there to help. |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 5, 2011 16:04:39 GMT -5
The two figures were approaching at a quick trot, though one seemed to move faster and more easily over the grainy sand than the other. As they got closer, the glare of the sun lessened, allowing the woman to make out more and more details of her rescuers. The larger of the two was the one approaching at a quick pace, a tall, solidly-built man clad in, of all things, dark clothing and a heavy coat in the middle of this unholy heat. Fur lined its collar, with pockets covering the rest, inside and out. The man's face face was framed in a beard and long brown hair. One of his eyes was obscured by a black eyepatch. A long rope of sorts hung from his waist, close at hand.
The one behind him looked much younger, only in his late teenage years. His hair was of similar length to the first man, but a lighter, sandy color and pulled into a ponytail. Where the first one had a thick beard, this one only had a bit of stubble on his chin, and he wore brighter, much more modern-looking clothing, if out of place. A long quarterstaff was held in his hand, and a large backpack consisting of what could only be a pair of large metallic tanks were strapped to his back.
"You there!" the elder of the two called out again as they got closer. "What in the world are you doing out here?!"
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 7, 2011 2:17:30 GMT -5
Decreasing the distance the sandstorm could interfere in, Riul was soon able to make out the appearances of the two men. While relatively aged in comparison to Riul, she did not find them particularly imposing, and their traveler's clothing welcomed her all the more to open conversation as best she could in the storm. In a loud voice, she called back to the man, "I may be a bit lost out here! Do you, by any chance, know the area?" She attempted to offer a sheepish grin, but it quickly turned to a grimace as her hands began to sting again from the cuts she had sustained. Nevertheless, these men would most likely prove to be her savior, she was sure. Either that or a much swifter doom, but they looked like good people. |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 7, 2011 23:13:01 GMT -5
"Lost?" the bearded man exclaimed, shock in his voice. "You think you're a bit lost?"
His hand flew up to his forehead with a sigh. This girl didn't look local--hell, she looked Stamarian, or maybe from Allondell. And wandering around the desert, trying to get eaten. "Yes, I know the area. Come on, you don't need to be out here. Jay! Get out the medkit, the lass is hurt."
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Jun 7, 2011 23:25:31 GMT -5
Jay's' response was to fall face-first into the sand. A very muffled "I hate my life" could be somewhat heard afterward. Regardless, the teen unzipped the pocket on his backpack where said medkit was stored. Slowly dragging himself up, he saw the "lass" his cohort had spoke of. She didn't seem like much of a looker in this weather.
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 7, 2011 23:46:14 GMT -5
Glancing at the small packet of medical supplies, she quickly shook her head, "I just need something to clean it with; I can close the cuts myself. And I certainly don't need to be out here, but given my current location there aren't a lot of other options or places to be." Turning her gaze once more to the sky, her pupils shrank to a nearly nonexistent size as she glared right back at the burning sun. Something caught her eye, though: a few wisps of cloud. Screwing up her eyes in concentration, the clouds slowly drifted together and united. With a bit more effort, she managed to convince them to cover up the direct rays of the sun, and their little area quickly became the only thing remotely shady that the eye could touch. It took the edge off it, but the heat was still all but unbearable. |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 7, 2011 23:57:19 GMT -5
If the man noticed the phenomenon, he chose not to comment on it as he fished out an antiseptic from the medkit after hauled Jay up to his feet and took it from him. "Tell me, is there any good reason as to why you're out this far with nothing in the way of supplies?" he asked, glancing back up at the girl.
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 9, 2011 0:07:39 GMT -5
Riul frowned at the question. The man was clearly right in questioning her lack of supplies, but it wasn't so fair an accusation. She had brought supplies; she had consumed them too. Holding her raw hands out to take the antiseptic, she shrugged and responded in her own, ambivalent way, "I brought them, but I ran out when I got lost. I don't think standing here is going to help at all, though." |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 9, 2011 13:20:05 GMT -5
The man could only sigh in frustration, running a callused hand through his hair, and he muttered a soft curse in his native Galsian. "Alright, look, we'll take you back to the capital, it's not too far from here," he told Riul, looking at her again with his one good eye. "Then you can tell me why you're wandering the desert in the first place."
He glanced back at Jay. "Looks like you got off easy today," he remarked.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Jun 9, 2011 20:48:53 GMT -5
Jay replied with a simple grumble. He was practically evaporating at this point. "So where do we head Whip Guy? We're not dragging a third with us are we?" Seemed his powers of concentration were fading as well.
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 14, 2011 21:56:11 GMT -5
The girl frowned, her hands still extended for the antiseptic she had yet to be given, "I don't need to be dragged somewhere, I think. I just need directions. I swear I've seen that sand dune over there at least six times now." Her smile was relatively weak, but she offered it to them anyway. Even if these people would not really help her, it was nearly impossible to extinguish hope out of her soul. After what she had seen and what she felt she must do, dying simply was not an option. One way or another she would make it to safety. It seemed fate, too, that one of these men might even be a local to the area. If she could find someone willing to take her to Pharos, then her luck would have known no bounds. If anyone asked, she couldn't tell them really why she needed to go there, but she knew that it was necessary nonetheless. It occurred to her that she should at least ask, though, and not bothering to be discreet, she did so, "Can you help me get to Pharos?" |
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 18, 2011 21:49:31 GMT -5
The man quickly placed the antiseptic into the girl's hand, shaking his head. "Girl, you are way too far to even think about going to Pharos," he remarked with a frown. "You're over a hundred kilometers from Galsia and even then you wouldn't get in there. There's a reason we built a fortress around it."
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Post by Ribitta on Jun 21, 2011 1:11:58 GMT -5
Riul tilted her head to the side in thought, taking the antiseptic and applying it silently. She winced slightly at the initial contact, but it was quickly replaced with a smile as she caught the man's phrasing, "'We,' you say. You are Galsian yourself, then? And a hundred kilometers is not so far, the way the bird flies. If we get to a town relatively soon, we could be there by tomorrow evening." She stopped applying the salve and capped it. The light energy flickered discreetly in comparison to the glaring sun, and her hands were completely whole as she handed the item back to the man. "Whatever we decide to do though, I'd rather we didn't stay long enough to be food for something bigger on its way." |
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