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Post by Cefia on Feb 9, 2012 13:08:38 GMT -6
Cefia glanced and narrowed her eyes as she stared into the rolling sands. They were traveling close to the coast but that doesn't make it necessarily easier. The sun had beaten quite hard on them, compared to Ilia she felt more at home. It boosted her morale but not by much, she had a boy to take care of now.
"How you holdin up?" she asked Derick, her voice was laced with concern even with the rough pirate accent. As far as she was concerned it would be better to travel as much into the night. The desert was a mysterious place, blazing hot one moment, chilling cold another. They still had a few hours of sunlight left.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 9, 2012 16:49:07 GMT -6
Derick panted lightly as his legs churned through the loose sand. He had steadily lagged behind Cefia over the course of the past hour, and he was relieved to have finally caught up. "I'm doing...better than expected..." he puffed between breaths.
He raised a hand to his brow and wiped away a few beads of sweat as he clumsily readjusted his footing. After some experimentation, he had found that it was best to leave most of his armor on, as putting all in his pack threw his balance off center. He had compromised by removing some of the smaller plates, allowing much greater mobility while keeping his balance steady.
"Can we...slow down for a bit?" Without waiting for a response, he slowed his pace and busied himself with his pack as he walked. His hands pried through the supplies they had gathered before this venture into the desert before they landed upon his canteen. He pulled it out and allowed himself two steady swigs. The water was as hot as the desert, but it was moist, and that was all Derick cared about. He licked the drips of water on his lips rather than wiping them away as he returned his canteen to his pack. His pace quickened again as he felt his energy return. "Any idea as to how far in we are?" he tried to sound casual, but the real question he didn't dare voice so soon was are we there yet?
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Post by Cefia on Feb 10, 2012 15:50:11 GMT -6
Cefia glanced over at Derick and nodded an approval. It must be taking quite a bit out of him. She barely wore any armor, it made it easier to move in. She was never dependent on armor, finding that a few hits never killed her. Her straight forward fighting style has always made her likable with the other pirates.
As she slowed down her pace so that Derick could do what he needed to, she looked over the map again. Hopefully they were heading the right way, in worse case scenario, the stars would help guide them in the night. Her compass was working well and by the layout of the map, they should be close to a town within a day or so. It made her eager to taste the salty sea air but she controlled her urges. After they get to a seafaring town, they needed to hire a ship to get them to the right isle. Only then did she get to find her old mates, if they were still operational. Pirate life is a short lived one generally speaking but it was every bit worth it.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 12, 2012 11:29:59 GMT -6
Derick felt half-annoyed, yet half-relieved that Cefia had chosen to ignore his stupid question, it was probably for the better, and he suspected the heat was starting to take its toll on him. The sun was starting to glow a burnt orange. He would not be sad to see it go, the heat would disappear with it, but he could feel the warmth radiating off of the sand still...they continued to march, an hour or so passed.
Derick slammed into the cooling sand and hastily stood back up. His boot had sank into the sand and caught, causing him to lose his balance. He sputtered as he spit sand out of his mouth while trying to brush off as much of the sand as he could. He glanced at Cefia, whom he hadn't even stumbled as of yet. "Are you just better at this than I am? Or have you been around here before?"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 12, 2012 11:55:36 GMT -6
Cefia couldn't help but make a light laugh at Derick's clumsiness. The sand was a troublesome land to overcome. Sure she had walked on beaches plenty of times but the desert was far less solid. She had experience though, the crew she was with would often travel to a port city in Nabata to trade goods. They would have to stay there for a few days and she would travel the surrounding areas. This experience helped but she would thank her sea life the most.
"I've done this befor but when ye travels the high seas in a storm, footin is a true life or death situation," she said, offering to help Derick up.
"Not much farther me friend," she said, but than again they still had a day or so in her books. They would have to camp out in the sands. That was the problem with these places. There weren't enough hiding spaces.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 12, 2012 12:25:00 GMT -6
The mention of a ship unnerved Derick slightly. He had never even seen the ocean. Although they were traveling along the coast, they were inland enough where the water was out of sight. Derick guessed that Cefia was using the coast as more of a reference point than a path. Derick could not even begin to fathom what being on a boat must be like.
The sun was sinking ever closer to the horizon, and Derick could feel a notable shift in temperature. Derick raised his hand reflexively to wipe the sweat off of his brow, only to discover it was dry. He smiled, relieved at the comfortable climate, "is it always this nice at night?"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 12, 2012 12:35:15 GMT -6
Ah yes the night was coming on in the desert. Cefia felt that it was the most comfortable part of the day to travel. All the walking had made her tired though, it must be especially hard for Derick seeing as it was his first time. Perhaps they best find a place to rest for the time being.
"Gets colder though, but nice nough," she answered. It wasn't going to be as cold as Ilia though, thats for sure. As she continued for a few more steps she couldn't help but notice something strange out in the distance. It was probably nothing though.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 12, 2012 20:32:36 GMT -6
Derick nodded once in assent. He privately wondered if he would need the traveling cloak on his pack. Cefia had recommended he bring it, despite his own doubts. He was completely naive to the surprises the desert brought. Speaking of which...
"What's that?" his voice was cheery and inquisitive, a sharp contrast to the ominous blur that consumed the horizon in front of them.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 12, 2012 20:42:10 GMT -6
Cefia looked over to where Derick indicated. What was it indeed...? She took out her monocle from her secure pocket and stared at it for a moment.
"Oh shi-...RUN for cover!" Cefia shouted the order and made her way as far as possible from the oncoming danger. This was not in the plans, the heat was bad enough but now a sandstorm.
"You do not want to be caught up in a sandstorm," she yelled back at Derick. They needed to find shelter or a safe solid high point. She had experienced a sandstorm before but that was during a visit in town. Thank goodness she asked for advice although she never expected to visit again for awhile. As she ran, she noticed a piece of rock poking out from the mountain of sand... Wait, it wasn't a simple rock, it was a...cave? What luck, they could hide out there!
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 12, 2012 20:55:22 GMT -6
Derick heard the command but held his ground for a moment. The wall was advancing fast, a dark leviathan towering over his body and extending into the sky. His ears detected the screaming howl of high winds, this was not a good thing.
Derick turned and followed in Cefia's footsteps, his clumsy armor completely forgotten as he scrambled to take cover. He hesitated a moment as he stared at the darkness within the cave's yawning mouth, and was rewarded with a lash of sand across the back of his neck. Cringing, he ducked into cover.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 12, 2012 21:05:58 GMT -6
Cefia managed to get into the cave in time as the dust from the sandstorm overcame the area. As she went a little farther in, she realized the size of the thing here. It seemed to go in for quite some distance and she was beginning to wander just how far.
"Hey Derick," she said, taking out a fire kit. She kindled a small torch and realized that after a certain distance it wouldn't even be able to light the top. It was big and seemed to get even bigger the farther they go.
"I got a bad feelin bout this," she stated but a her curiosity was getting the better of her.
"Lets go...we'll git a hell of a story, I'm sure."
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 13, 2012 20:33:41 GMT -6
Derick eyed the torch suspiciously. He couldn't even pick up echoes of their conversation, the cave went a ways down. "I'm not so sure that we should--" his sentence was cut off by a shriek of wind. The sound seemed to penetrate Derick's heart. His combat reflex exploded into his bloodstream, and for a single moment the roaring in his head and the howling of the wind matched each other in perfect harmony.
He breathed in sharply and bore down on his thoughts. The reflex subsided and his sanity returned...thank goodness for Feldsky's training. "Let's go." his baritone voice resounded with adventurous confidence.
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Post by Cefia on Feb 13, 2012 21:36:16 GMT -6
Cefia peered into the cave, visibility was still relatively low. She hated it but what can you do? It left more room for her imagination and possibilities. The makeshift torch was hardly a good source of light.
As she continued her walk down the cave she realized something. The sand appeared to be muddy in some areas, making it more difficult to traverse. To her sides she began to notice the stalactites becoming more pronounced. In some manner she thought she saw some shaped like fangs. Really, imagination in the dark can create some horrendous images. She still remained excited though, all they needed was some real danger.
"Adventure, only if it be like 'he books."
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Feb 18, 2012 8:56:42 GMT -6
Derick nodded in silent assent with Cefia's statement. He was dumbstruck by the eerie beauty of this cave. It was as if all the tales he'd heard as a child were coming to life before his eyes. Just as his fascination with what he could see began to dim, his boot was sucked into the mud. He yanked his leg, breaking the mud's suction with a snap. The sound reverberated through the cavern, echoing much deeper and longer than Derick anticipated; this was a big cave.
He walked by Cefia's side, using her torch light to guide his steps. The cave was opening up more, Derick could no longer see the cave walls in their little sphere of light. He looked ahead again, and then stopped dead in his tracks. The ground in front of them seperated: one half was a muddy slide that lead down, the other a rocky walkway that rose above the abyss. "So," Derick looked over at his friend, "the high road, or the low road?"
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Post by Cefia on Feb 18, 2012 9:26:33 GMT -6
Cefia looked at where the path branched out. This was going to be a difficult choice. On one hand the higher path was far more steady and on the other she preferred the one that looked more dangerous. She waited a minute as if dumbstruck by something. She felt a gentle wind blow from the darkness.
"Let's go down deeper," she suggested can't quite placing the source of the wind. It seemed that regardless there will be another exit out of the cave. Than again a reachable exit was another story.
The path was far slippery than she expected. Even with her footing experience it was difficult to just simply stand for a moment. It seemed to just want them to go deeper. Now she was beginning to worry just what exactly this will all lead.
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