Dashing Through The Sands

[cordana]

Somewhere in the middle of the Dermun Desert, a few miles away from the closest settlement. A lone dwarf was seeking refreshment in one of oasis, which were without a doubt also used by traders when they travelled trough the dangerous desert. But for now the dwarf was all alone and the only other living things nearby where the fish in the pool.

With a loud splashing sound the dwarf stuck his head in the refreshing and cooling water. A sound of relief was heard when his head resurfaced. He grunted while shaking his head, trying to get all the water out of his incredible tall beard. "Cursed be that damn desert." Ulfsark said while sitting down.

"That blastin' sand is more irritatin' then those blasted goblins back in me home. A goblin is much easier to get rid of." Ulfsark took of his boots and held them upside down. A stream of sand came pouring out. After his boots were cleaned out Ulfsark put them back on. "This be the last time I cross this desert. When I get back to Tamasha I'll make myself a flying machine or somethin' like that." The dwarf streaked through his beard while thinking about it. "Aye, that would be great." Sinking away in thoughts Ulfsark lost sight of his surroundings and anyone else that might arrive.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kerodi was exhausted. He had been up for nearly three days, most of it spent in the depths of the Dermun where the Blaze Mountain slept. It was an impossible task to walk between the two because of the nature of the geography so Kerodi had taken the desert path, keeping the mountain in sight on his left.

Unfortunately, a sand storm had swirled him away, similar to tornadoes that struck down from the Ularian to the Selkia at times...but less powerful. It had been enough to move him but not overtly damage him in anyway. It had blown him for hours and he had finally passed out after using his strength to stay upright.

When he awoke, the sun was high overhead and the Blaze Mountain was nowhere in sight. Grumbling, Kerodi had picked himself up and guessed the direction...heading cross country towards the far end without knowing it. He had spared his food and water as much as you could in the desert, keeping moving continuously.

When he saw the oasis, it was his first thought to think mirage. However, as he neared it seemed to merely shimmer and not sink away. Determined, he made it to the far edge and entered. His blood-shot eyes saw what appeared to be a log or rock sitting by the water. Stumbling softly through the sands, Kerodi made it a few feet from the edge and collapsed loudly on the sand.

[Shaher]

Shaher stumbled aimlessly out of the tavern as moments later a chair shattered the window next to him with a piercing crash. Shards of glass rained upon him as he unfolded his wings as he ran, chuckling darkly as he wiped the crimson stains from his plates gloves.
A burly man stumbled out of the tavern door after him, his nose a mess of broken bones and blood, a thick trickle of blood seeping its way from the crevices that were once nostrils.
Shaher turned in the air to face the man, his form spread against the blinding sun as he raised the bottle to his lips and drained the amber liquid, smiling as he hurled it back to the earth, sending it crashing into the mans skull. The hard bottle struck the man on his hairless scalp moments before he gave Shaher a dumbfounded look and collapsed in a heap on the ground.
"I told you it was your round" Shaher muttered under his breath. He was in the process of leaving the town when the harsh winds of the desert caught up to him. His flight pattern was disrupted within moments of struggling to maintain composure. The gale force winds sent him plummeting towards the ground, only to be forced back up as yet another current took hold of him.

When Shaher woke up, he jumped to his feet immediatly, he did not recognize his surroundings. Sudden head rush caused him to fall to a knee as he struggled to remember what had happened. He remembered sand, lots of sand, and there were winds. Winds he was unaccustomed to. impenetrable winds.
He slowly got up, his head still spinning and a throbbing pain at the back of his spine where his shoulder blades met causing him great discomfort.
He tried to lift himself into the skies but one of his wings crumpled and failed to unfold, the bone seemingly broken or at the least dislocated.
Taking a few steps forward, he strained his senses to locate a voice, a familiar smell, maybe even a sound. All he heard was the constant whirring of sand shifting and the smell of the dry earth.
On his own, Shaher began walking towards the sun, the only marker he knew of, the only marker in constant view on this forsaken land.

[cordana]

Ulfsark was resting by the water edge, humming a joyfull song. His trusty rifle was lying besides him, closeby for when he should need it anytime soon. When he looked into the desert he saw a viscious sandstorm kicking up, thought it seemed it wasn't heading towards Ulfsark. "Bah, I feel sorry for the poor travellers that be stuck in that storm. Luckily it seems to stay far away from me."

With that he leaned back again against a palm tree and closed his eyes. Altough it seemed Ulfsark was deep asleep he still heard everything that surrounded him and it would be very unlikely something could sneak up to him. Suddenly he seemed to hear a dragging sound through the sand, like something was moving on its last bits of strenght. Ulfsark opened his eyes and the old dwarf could just see on time that a young man collapsed.

"Oy!" Ulfsark yelled and he jumped up. Quickly he ran towards the man and dropped on his knees. "Get yer self together, kid!" He tried a few soft slaps in the face but as far as Ulfsark could see it didn't work at all. As fast as he could he dragged the man closer to the water edge. Ulfsark then grabbed the hair of the young man and submerged the head into the water. "Sorry, lad. But this requieres immidiate action." After a few seconds he pulled the head out of the water and laid the body into the shade. "Can ye hear me, lad? How are ye feelin'?"

[Shaher]

Weary from walking countless miles, Shaher grumbled to himself. He almost regretted the brawl at the bar...almost. His armor was feeling heavy against his muscles despite the rigorous training that had crafted it into a mere detachable part of his body, maybe it was simply his limbs that had grown heavy, the numbness in his mind caused him to neither know or care.
A sparkle on the horizon caught his eye, he raised his head just long enough to see a mirage. Or what he thought was a mirage. Or a figment of his imagination.
Again, he neither knew nor cared.
Throwing logic to the winds, he made for the mirage, his wing still hanging limply against his back. It didn't take long for him to reach what now appeared to be an oasis, the numbness in his brain dulling the senses attributed to pain.
Staring into the pool of water his parched lips let out a sigh, but hearing the sudden gruff voice of a man nearby caused him to immediatly attempt flight, an act that caused his wing to fail miserably under his strain and fall back against his spine.
With a grunt of discontent, he walked further into the oasis and glanced at the two men, one appearing to drown the other. With a smirk, Shaher dove into the water and let the calming waters soothe his body, the gentle lapping of the water against his chest clearing his mind from the days actions.

With renewed energy, he began to relocate his wing, pushing the bones back into the proper places with gasps of pain and winces as it slowly began to mend. With a satisfied sigh he stretched it, to test its strength. He decided he'd need a day or so to rest it before flying out of this hell hole for good to continue his endeavors in a more suitable place, like a dark alley where no one can hear you scream.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kerodi dreamt that he was being dragged. It felt nice to not have to work or do anything, but lay down and sleep. Maybe that someone had seen his distress and was carrying him to safety? That would be nice. Kerodi smiled in his exhaustion and let himself be carried along.

A voice was distantly talking in his ear, but Kerodi could not hear it. Suddenly, Kerodi was submerged in water, clean and cool, but suffocating him as well. His first instinct was to breathe in and he caught water in his intake. He was lifted free and coughing...the words of someone lost in the jumble. The water did not return and the coughing stopped.

Slowly, painfully, Kerodi opened his eyes. A man was above him, looking worried and soaked as well. Maybe this person had saved him? He shook his head slowly, vainly trying to clear his thoughts. He closed his eyes again and counted slowly to ten. He opened his eyes and saw the man again. It was a dwarf.

"He...llo..." he croaked painfully. He tried to rise, but exhaustion overcame him and he passed out once more.

[Shaher]

Shaher Stood up, despite the replacement of his bones, his wing was still fragile. And worse still the dwarf had let the man live, despite gasping for breath and struggling to speak he would no doubt live.
Without intervention at least.
He dragged his feet to the bank of the oasis and fell against the trunk of the lush green trees surrounding the haven in the midst of the dry sands of the desert.
He sat back and watched as the pair in the water engaged in conversation. Such boring creature, mortals. He'd have to put an end to their speech one day, maybe a plague of some sort...
"All in due time... he thought to himself.