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The Hot Place (Dial M For Mature)

Started by Wrathwyrm, March 15, 2017, 12:33:49 AM

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Wrathwyrm

"Indeed, the sands are at time populated with them.  It could have been worm sign, and nothing more."

But the caravan must flow.  So, like the girl said, they should move on.  It does not do well to tarry in a situation like this.  The caravan urged the Kaadir forwards, once more.  The worms did not prefer the harsher ground of the oasis, so if it was them...they would not likely come here unless something really attracted them, something tantalizing.  And even then, they DID have magic.  Why did that not help Keona's anxiety, though?  Even Travis was noticing how her wings were reacting.  He also noticed that...though she must've been putting off alot of heat that...Ira was on her shoulder.

"Say, Keona...  Is the desert heat going to bother Ira?  I never thought to ask."

"It shouldn't.  There's loads of animals out here."

Yeah, this part of Essyrn actually had alot of life to it.

RedOptics

"Hm?" Keona's attention snapped up once again, "Oh, no, I think in a way he was enchanted... because he can also bare the heat of the volcano back home... I mean, I could never ask, so I don't know." She looked at her little companion, patting him on the head. You could've sworn he rolled his eyes, as if he were hiding something but didn't make it obvious.

"Besides... even creatures can have magic of there own." She smiled, shrugging. Boy did she know that was true... the shadows had proven it. They were indeed a mystical force themselves, who knows what else they could do. However, lately is seemed that they were appearing more often as she continued to worry, maybe that feeling calls them to the area? It was best to try and get her mind off of it for now, and try to enjoy the new environment she had entered.

Wrathwyrm

Enchanted tiger?  Well, that was novel.  Granted, Travis had heard of magical creatures before, but that was of the case of the phoenix, the dragon, and so on.  He hadn't heard of ordinary animals being magical, so this was new to him.  Of course, Ira always seemed to have personality, so maybe there was something to that.  The thing of it was...he wondered something.  How long had Keona had Ira, exactly?  She had said that everyone of Yoreiqi had their own special animal.  Most had birds, but not Keona.  This bond with an animal...  There may have been more to it than he initially realized.

So, for now, everything continued normal.  They moved themselves along, gradually towards the actual city of Essyrn, every now and again seeing animals.  A fox, a jackal, elephants at the river's edge, gazelle, lions...  Lions.  The Kaadir stopped as it, and everyone in the caravan, saw a herd of gazelle and what they were pretty sure were a few lionesses in the tall grass.  They'd come across a scene right out of the nature books itself: The herd and the hunt.  Going around would probably be the best move, though waiting for the kill would mean not having to make as wide a berth or having to figure out where the gazelle would stampede to.

Before anyone had the chance to decide, the Kaadir let out a loud snarl, audible to all the animals on the approach.  The gazelle, seeing a large and dangerous reptile, decided to go be somewhere else now.  The lionesses looked up from their now-disrupted hunt, growling back at it.  The Kaadir was a heavy scaley beast, and it knew no feline predator could handle it.  It stomped the ground, growling its own challenge.

"Oh hell!  He wants to charge!  Unhook the cart, quick!"

They could charge like rhinos, and were effective thus back in the days when Essyrn used them in war.  The instinct to stomp an enemy flat - assuming it didn't ram it head-on - was very strong.

RedOptics

Hissing at the sudden movement of the Kaadir, Ira leapt off Keona's wing and ran for the hills. The woman screeched his name before stumbling after him, running faster than she would have back on Yoreiq. THe tiger hid behind a rock scared out of his mind before Keo' came in and snatched him back in her arms. "Quit it Ira! You're not big enough to handle yourself out in the wild yet!" She growled, trying to pull him out of the rocks. The lionesses were distracted by the lizard, and she hoped that would be enough for them not to notice a stray chunk of reasonable prey break off from the shaken group.

The tiger yipped and whined at the fact that he was to be dragged back into the percinity of the wretched beast, fearing that it might turn on them and take a bite out of either him or Keona. The woman growled, not quite managing to get a grip on the little creature as he managed to slip from her arms to bound only further away from the previous point. "Ira! You're being ridiculous!" She yelled louder than she should have at that point, getting quite frustrated at this point between mazes of black stone. If either of them were to fall into the river, that would be a bad time for everyone.

Wrathwyrm

The situation with the Kaadir and the Lionesses was sort of separate from the problem of Ira and Keona.  Travis had been worried that the big reptile was going to actually cause a real problem with the cart and its harness, but they managed to get it unhooked so the big reptile could bring its tusk-laden head to bear and charge.  The lionesses, clearly outmatched, scattered in the face of a large and armor-scaled opponent.  They, like Ira, had good reason to be afraid.

Speaking of which, it took a moment to realize that Keona had not been able to grab the little tiger and keep him out of trouble.  With this fact in mind, he looked over and saw that they were kinda' making their way around bits of rock as they were nearing the river...which was NOT a good thing.  Nevermind the the damn water.  Keona and Ira might not reach it first.  There was a crocodile out there, and they could really move when they saw a meal close enough to the water.

Travis took a running leap and flew overhead, faster than the other two were on the ground, and blocked Ira's path.  More to the point, he grabbed Ira as soon as he landed, and the little tiger could squirm to his heart's content if he liked.  Travis was keeping him from moving any further.  If he did not, the two of them could wander too close to the water, and then the croc would have a clearl lunge.  These rocks were the only reason it wasn't making a move already, because they were a real pain.  The young demon leaned down and spoke to the tiger.

"The Kaadir is protecting you, Ira.  They know friend from foe."

RedOptics

Shufflinf between the stones and scraping herself in multiple places, Keona looked back at the Kaadir, who charged for the larger cats and quite clearly scared them off. There was relief in her heart before she caught the shadow of Travis overhead. Keona dashed for his landing point, nearly crashing into him before looking down at Ira, who was visibly shaken.

"Ira... it's isn't like the lizard back on Yoreiq, you know that thing isn't going to find us here... remember? It's dead." She purred reassuringly, gently plucking the tiger from The demon's arms. "Thanks for catching him, Travy." She smiled and backed off in the direction off the cart, opening her wings and gliding over to avoid further injury of the rocks. Ira squirmed, but Keona held that famous Yoreiq-strong grip over him, making sure he didn't get away with time. It was going to be difficult to travel with him when he was older...

Wrathwyrm

"Don't mention it."

They headed back to the caravan, where the Kaadir was essentially strutting and preening its accomplishment.  The caravanners appeared to be largely mirthful over this behavior.  Perhaps it was something like Ira to them, a thinking pet.  Travis decided to clear up this mystery.

"How smart is he, anyway?"

"Well, they are all rather bright creatures, easily the strongest and smartest of predators.  Something of a double-edged sword in the domesticating process, but it generally works out in the end.  We develop a natural bond to them.  Kaadir that are owned by men understand the simple-but-effective relationship: We take care of them, and they do things for us, even protect us.  They breathe fire too."

"Well, it IS a dragon."

"Certainly knows when fire is welcome and when it's not.  Never had a case of it accidentally burning something down.  I only wish people were more reliable."

"People are complicated."

"I suppose."

They were moving on, by now.  Essyrn proper was looming larger ahead, all the time.

RedOptics

By the sound of distrust for people, the words certainly did strike at her a little, but she pretended not to notice. Keona silently let herself drop behind Travis once they started forward to stop and look back, a feeling of uneasiness finally managing to make itself present over all the wonder and excitement of visiting a place that is new.

'I only wish people were more reliable.' It made her close her eyes for a moment, thinking of her father and how he was never there for her. Yeah. Me too mister. Looking in the direction they were walking, she dashed up and acted like nothing had happened, and studied the men, the Kaadir and even Travis. Was she right to have suspicion over every person she knew and met? Probably not, but love is blinding, and Keona let recollections of lessons with the shamans flood her mind. It's okay to have the feeling, but don't let it bias your attachments. Whatever that meant.

For now however, she would seem absent from the world by the way she looked at the ground, deep in thought. Me too...

Wrathwyrm

Things appeared to pass on the outside of the city without incident.  This was because smarter heads out there among the sands - concealed from sight - had prevaled.  The exchange - too far out to be heard by the caravan - went thus...

"You see?  That creature is the real deal.  He's smart, like you, and he breathes fire.  You know what THAT means, don't you?"

"Hrrkle."

"That's right.  Burning webs.  We can't have that happening, now can we?  Otherwise, people will escape before they ge robbed."

"Rurgrrr..."

"We'll just have to take on the next caravan.  As I understand it, they don't all have these."


Who these two were...was unknown at this time, but one was definitely not human and the other was clearly some sort of thief.  Since they were somewhat at a disadvantage to a bunch of people and their pet dragon, we'll just move on here...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

...to the city of Essyrn!  Tall perimeter walls made of granite surrounded it on all sides, with massive gates open wide, as if to say 'We welcome all here...and your money'.  Let's be honest, Essyrn was a place of commerce, fortunes won and fortunes lost.  Beyond these walls were a series of buildings made of stone, dried mud blocks, and wood.  Veils of many colors adorned and shaded shops and such-like.  People were all over the place, either buying or selling or just trying to get somewhere else in the city.  Essyrn was a big place, a sprawl if ever you saw one.  Past all of the places of business and the residence, all the different buildings of legitimate and...sometimes illegitimate expertise...there was another large wall, which surrounded the palace of the Shah of Essyrn.  As of right now, this was officially the biggest place Keona would have ever seen.

It was not a perfect place, but it was picturesque, in its own way.  The marketplaces ahead were extensive, with taverns and inns seeded throughout.  There were seedy outlets and there were running children, playing out in the sun.  Curiously, there was no delay in people getting out of the Kaadir's way as it pulled things along.  This caravan was among one of the more successful, their creature something of a status symbol, the way people seemed to love it.  Of course, now...because people were looking their way...you have a load of Essyrni eyeing the two winged people here, wondering what they were about.  Slaves would be marked or collared, so they weren't that.  Given the fact that the head caravaner paid Travis for his time, though, it would seem they'd figure they were just some unusual foreigners.

RedOptics

Ira seemed distracted, looking off in a random direction as they arrived, sensing a sort of danger. However, the woman who held a firm grasp on him didn't detect his wariness and instead was taken away by the city that approached. The edges of the city waved in the heat, causing mirages and sun spots to fool with her vision. The area had an oriental feel to it as you would enter. Perhaps it was just the area that made it feel that way, or perhaps it was the people.

Keona visibly shrank as the desert disappeared behind them, and soon were surrounded by miles of roads and buildings and people and lizards. Though it may not seem like it, she felt welcomed by the insulated heat of the city, the way the sun hit the stone and warmed the sand. It was her idea of heaven.

"It's so... beautiful here... I don't think I can think of anything else that could be more so..." She murmured to Travis, not taking her wondrous eyes off  every new thing that came into sight. Ira however, was startled by how many Kaadir were here, and froze. He could have sworn that his hard had stopped until he checked for a sign of life within. All good. There was no way he was going to die by fear.

Wrathwyrm

By the time Keona's awe had worn off enough for her to speak, Travis has parted company with the caravan after receiving payment.  He went back to her as she was speaking and smiled.  Yes, this city was really something.  The sheer everything of it could be pretty overwhelming, at times.  You kinda' had to take it in with your head lowered just a bit so you focus more on your surroundings.  Plenty of random kids roaming around, anyway.  Don't wanna bump into them, for reasons of their safety and your possessions, if any are easily removable.

"How would ya like to start, then?  Shall we look around and see if anyone has seen a scarred foreigner, make a few inquiries?  Or should be just ask the city guard?  I'm sure they'd remember someone like him if they ever saw him."

Keona's father would kind of stick out around here, and that's even after including the effects of tourism.  He was a fairly-unusual man, in the same sense that Keona stuck out for being a lighter-toned Yoreiqi.  If anybody had seen him in this town, they would probably remember him.

RedOptics

"I guess? I mean, if he really was Serendipitian then there's a good chance he'd be a rare visitor here..." She stated, shrugging. Keona stopped as a child ran around her feet then dashed off with their friend, playing tag in a busy environment.

She started looking for any authoritative figure on the street, basically someone who looked strong and tense, at the ready for danger. Since the entire village back home was the authority, she didn't know exactly what a guard would look like.

A hot desert wind tore through the buildings, kicking dust and grains up into the people's eyes, but from the looks of it it looked normal to the others. Keona snorted as some went up her nose and into her eyes, and she flinched before bringing a wing up to shield herself.

Wrathwyrm

There were alot of people here at the market district.  And while Travis had the sudden case of hot grit in his mouth that he needed to turn aside and spit out, Keona would find that the throngs of people around here seemed like a continuous shifting mass.  It was after some wandering that they would indeed see a patrol guard of Essyrn, walking the area.  You see, there was every possibility that people might take something off of a vendor real quick-like, the most-ancient form of shoplifting.  They had to watch for that, because the law was rather strict around here...

Now, the guard in question was technically dressed as other people were - in that his clothing was loose-fitting and could breathe in the hot sun, so that he would not overheat - but his attire was more...official-looking, like a real uniform.  He was a proper Essyrni, of course, with tanned skin and dark hair and all that.  He had a smattering of stubble and brown eyes, looking stern-but-bored at this time.  The most importand part about this man was that he was well-armed.  His belt held a large-and-thick scimitar and a smaller kukri.  He also had a length of rope with a hook on the end and three throwing daggers.  By the looks of it, he spent his downtime practicing with them and may have been so bored because he could not do that in a crowd.

"Well, that's a guard, alright.  Shall we bother him or wait for someone even more surly-looking?"

This, Travis spoke in a jest, but there were possibilities of this being true, as well.

RedOptics

Shrinking back to attempt to hide herself behind Travis's wing, Keona studied the well-looking man. He looked to be perfect for a guard, something that didn't exactly catch her off guard. To a woman, he'd be extremely attractive, something that made her feel very guilty. "The more people we ask the better," Keo sounded slightly eager, but then again it could just be the excitement of being in a new place.

Ira was doing it again. Paying attention to something that would be hard to notice for the others. He had a bad feeling, but it wasn't exactly like the one where a shadow would appear out of no where, no he was prepared for those. Keona was oblivious as she stepped out to stand prim beside Travis upon approaching the guard, however, she would let Travis speak to him, since he was better with words.

Wrathwyrm

And so, he did.  Since Keona was alright with it, this man would be the next contestent on The Price Is Right their first inquiry on the matter.  As he approached the man, he gave them both a look, and then went 'Hmph' and muttered something.  At a guess, it was a grumble about foreigners.  Never-you-mind.  Travis was undaunted in this affair.  Hell, he was smiling, which was either good OR bad.  You decide.

"Hey there!  You look like a man who knows his way around the country.  Can I ask you for some info?"

"Sure, you can ask.  I can't promise an answer."

"Something wrong, fella?"

"No no, just too busy being bored out of my mind, watching for out for probably thieves.  I always pull tourist duty..."

"Wouldn't that be alot of you guys, though?  This place thrives on tourists."

"It thrives on traders and businessmen, not you.  Now, what do you want?"

Maintaining a positive attitude around this guy was going to be hard.  Travis asked about a pale and light-haired scarred man and the guard told him that if he had any longer than a few days ago, he's forgotten already.

"There's too many of you people, walking in and out of our city like you own the place.  Asking me, a guard of the city, while I'm on duty...  Go find a patrol house and leave me alone!"

Okay, clearly this guy was the surlier one...

RedOptics

She tilted her head at the tone the man took with them, and she frowned. Typical, always ill tempered men.

"Hmph." Keona snorted softly, turning to Travis, "Maybe it's best to find someone who looks cheerful." She spoke softly so that the guard didn't hear her.

Ira seemed to look normal again as the smell of food reached his nose before anyone else's. He pushed his way out of Keona's arms, bounding for the smell with his tail held high. Boy was he hungry, he didn't even have breakfast!

The woman was confused for a moment before groaning and following him, being careful not to knock over any children, carts or stands with her wings. In this environment it was probably better to fly over the buildings.

Wrathwyrm

A cheerful guard might be a tall order.  They didn't exactly hire and train nice guys to do that sort of job.  Well, Travis could manage, but then he had the darkness within him beforehand, and the resolve to enjoy the life he had, afterward.  Now...once Ira had once more escaped from the grasp of Keona, again we have a chase.  Naturally, the little tiger was going after the nearest source of cooked meat, the smell as enticing as could be.

Keona did not topple over children or mess up any carts, but there were a few people that her hurry had caused her to bump into.  It got them rather irritated, doubly so as Travis himself followed through, a bit more nimble than the girl preceding him.  The problem here: Keona would arrive to find a man panicking that his meats were under attack by a small tiger.  And as for the people that the girl had bumped into...well...some of them found that their money pouches were missing.  Guess who it was they immediately suspected.

RedOptics

Soon enough, Keona spotted the young tiger and bolted for him, grabbing him and trying to pull him from the pounds of meat. Ira was persisten, and managed to tear off a small piece and disconnect from the rest. The momentum sent Keona back on her rear, the sand scraping at her skin, "Ira! You know better than to run off like that!" She hissed, lightly whacking him on the head before standing up and quickly apologizing to the man. He didn't seem fully upset, more or less frustrated at the fact that a good chunk was spoiled, then ended up giving it to the tiger.

Turning around after paying attention to the animal, only to bump into the chest of a guard. Suspicion was clear in their eyes, but Kona's were simply confused.

"You better keep that fleabag of yours under control." One said, glaring down at the furball who happily munched away at the chunk of meat. It would be adorable, unless you were trained to be a stone cold macho man. The woman said nothing, unsure of what to say at all.

Wrathwyrm

"Dumb beast, eating my freshly-prepared meat!"

"Guard!  That woman took my money!"

"And mine!"

"Mine too!"


It never rains, but pours.  Of course, it didn't rain in Essyrn at all, but still...this wasn't good.  What'd happened...was that an enterprising thief had seen an opportunity and taken it, light-fingering their money directly after she collided with them.  He was long gone, already.  Keona was seen as the culprit...for the moment.

"Uhh...I hate to break it to you people, but she doesn't exactly look like she could ever conceal your money pouches."

The guard grimaced at this, then said...

"A fair point.  Perhaps we should search you for their money."

"I guarantee that I don't have it either.  We're not a daring pair of thieves.  We're a pair of travelers looking for a pale scarred man."

"In Essyrn?  Hah!  I think you just passed the money onto somebody else, after you took it from her."

"How about...somebody else did it, in the first place?  She was just chasing her pet and I was chasing her."

"Possibly, but I'm not eliminating you as suspects just yet.  You just watch yourselves in our country, and remember you are all subjects under the Shah's rule here, even as foreigners."

"I'm aware of that."

About here was where the merchant shouted about his meat again, which of course Ira had gobbled up.  The guard thumbed at the merchant's stall.

"Pay the man."

Travis did so, and then got some extra beef so their wily little tiger didn't go off and do this again.

RedOptics

Keona glared at the ill-tempered people here subtly from behind her pet, growing sour by the second before stepping over to the winged man.

"I've pretty much just had enough of these people already... they're too grouchy." She whispered softly, concealing the fact that her mouth was moving by holding Ira up a little. Probably it was the hundreds of years being stuck in the sun that got to them? Unlikely, she loved the sun! It was bright and warm, just like her, or so most would think at least. Maybe they had sand between their toes, or in places they didn't even know they had! I know I sure do... Keona groaned softly in response to her own thought, still looking around for any prying eyes.

The only 'riches' Keona would have had on her was gold laced clothing, and probably little Ira. But that was it. No one would try to steal clothing from someone, would they? The thought made her bring her wings in closer, shrinking herself from the cruel reality of life.

Maybe it would have been best to stay on Yoreiq?

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