@Rhi-Rhi It was easy to say that he was tired of the desert. It was maddening to view the sand in all its expansive entirety, seemingly endless with ages buried underneath it. There was no mercy in this place. The sand took what it wanted, including him if he let it.
Atalier frowned in the distance before him, continuing his trek off the beaten path. The caravan routes were only so useful in traversing the wider expanses of desert. For now, however, he wandered away from sand and down toward the canyon ridges that resided far far west of Essyrn into a place uncharted by most maps.
It was just as well that he would die out here without ever finding what he sought. He knew if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was. But a faint glimmer of hope clung to the promise of his employer. They knew a way to break him from his curse, with an arcane understanding of djinn and their vile magic. He could only hope it was true. He was not that much a fool as to buy into that alone. He knew there was a price to be had. In exchange for his help they wanted something just as valuable.
A pelt more majestic than the world had ever seen. A lion's pelt, but to be more specific, a certain breed of lion that was larger and stronger than those found in the wild. They knew the place, the path to get there, but would rely on him to get it. It sounded easy enough, kill one of them, skin the pelt, and take it back.
Atalier found the badlands easily enough, hidden far from view from the main route, within a canyon that allowed excellent coverage. How even his employer found it was beyond him. He observed the redrock stone, towered high above him as he ventured down, avoiding stepping on any poisonous lizards that hissed at his passing.
He pulled the face covering from his cowl, looking up around him, as he was now wandering the deep shadows in the canyon's labyrinthine ridge. Wind swept back his cowl and sent his hair into his face. He wiped a hand across his brow, going deeper into the shadows.
Until a growl caught his attention.
Atalier stilled himself.
Shit. Couldn't this have been after I ate something? Not even breakfast yet! he inwardly griped. He turned slowly, seeing nothing. "Fuck," he muttered, half irritated that his nerves were getting the better of him. "You should know better, Tal."
That was until he heard a loud growl again, this time much closer than before. And something heavy soon landing on his back, knocking him down to the floor.