A seemingly endless expanse of suffocating heat and inanity, the desert was a harsh and unforgiving place but Atreus had to hand it to the little bastards that had fled here, hoping that its natural defenses would offer some form of protection - they had picked a perfect hiding spot. The arid breeze made a habit of shifting the sand enough to cover any tracks through the dunes, only serving to make his job of finding them more difficult. He could only hope that he found them before anything else got to them first - his blade was eager to meet them. Sheer determination alone did little in way of locating his target and he sighed irritably as he came to the crest of another dune only to find no sign of life in the barren wastes as far as he could see.
Atreus was no bounty hunter, and had very little concern for the girl that his said target had kidnapped. He hadn't been moved by her father's desperate pleas for help, neither did he feel morally obligated in any way. His reasons for doing this was motivated by the promise of an interesting set of daggers that had caught his eye. Elemental, he had been told. All Atreus had to do was bring back his daughter in one piece and they were his. It had seemed like a simple task at the time, but the longer he actually spent in this forsaken desert, the more of a hassle it became.
Once again, Atreus found himself almost having to give them credit for their attempt at an ambush as sand exploded behind him and the previously camouflaged bandit lunged, weapons poised. If it had been a lesser skilled warrior (and a mortal), they might have actually eliminated their tail with such a feat. However, it was reduced to a few dodges and a well placed shot with the veteran. It hadn't even been a decent challenge, he'd decided as he wiped the blade clean on the back of the fallen man's shirt.
"I hope you rot and the only one that comes for you are the vultures to pick your bones clean!" The last of his little faction, the bandit had tried his best to sound convincing but the ever so slight tremble in his voice suggested that the fear of death gripped him. A natural response, and quite well justified at this point. Then silence as his face was slit open from ear to ear. "Pathetic." And also irritating, considering that he still had yet to find the whereabouts of the daughter they were supposed to have. Great, this was turning out well so far.
