Bogus Journey (Closed now)

[Anonymous]

Mikhail was far from alright and was in fact dying. But that had been going on for some time now and nothing anyone did would prevent that. So really, all that was left to do was wipe his face and deal with it. Shaking his head, Mikhail fixed the girls with a smile, "I assure you that you may consider yourselves hired."

Clinging to Syrea, Mikhail pointed in the direction they needed to be heading. He could barely keep on his feet, Syrea carried most of his weight and he knew he probably shouldn't be moving around this soon after a power display like that.

But it was for Father, so he would deal. Fixing Cade with a cold stare, "Next time I can just leave you to them then."

[Xphy]

Dyshani couldn't help but stare at the shorter women when she nudged her, puzzled at what she had just said. Sure she had recognized a few words here and there, but much of it had been lost beneath the rather heavy accent. Judging from what few words she did understand though the elven archer had managed to at least piece together an idea of what the woman had said, though truthfully she still wasn't completely sure. For all she knew the woman could've been speaking in completely different language.

Her eyes had wandered to the broken spear when the man she assumed was called Syrae tossed it down in the sand in front of the other man. Perhaps there was something she could do about that. It certainly couldn't hurt to try, especially since it seemed to be the only weapon the man had been carrying with him.

"Actually I can carry it for you if want," she offered, walking over and scooping up the two ends of the shaft to examine it. "I think I might be able to fix it."

[Anonymous]

Esh rolled her eyes at Syrae. People were always getting on at her about how she talked, telling her if she wanted anyone to take her seriously she'd have to learn to speak more proper. She didn't know why they cared. She was pretty sure she wasn't totally incomprehensible, and that was good enough. "Talk slower? Naw, you listen faster, mate. This how I talk, yeh, you got a problem, you deal."

Frowning slightly, she compared where the man was pointing to where she'd come in from. The tracks she'd followed had twisted all over the place, and sure enough this was yet another slight change in direction. As a guide, she was a bit loath to follow the directions of someone who didn't really seem to know where he was going. He was her boss right now though, and she should probably make a token attempt at following orders. She'd just have to speak up if it got too embarrassing.

But for now that was where they were headed, simple as. She smiled and shrugged. "That way. Right." She pulled the straps on her pack to sit it higher on her back and set off marching in the direction Mikhail indicated. The sooner they got walking, the sooner they could get this job done, whatever it was, and get paid.

[Tally]

Cade stooped to pick up the discarded pieces of Syrae's spear only to find it scooped up by one of the women before he could even lay a hand on it.  What the ytwo women thought they were doing out here, he could not have begun to guess. They couldn't be thinking they would be much help. He supposed, if they were mages, there might be something the could do, but this was men's work.

"Syrae and I could have driven them off," he said, falling in behind the loud girl.  Elhurios had panicked was all.  If he'd kept his head, they could have been free of the worms without having to resort to Mikhail's tricks.  "And what if we need that...power of yours later?  Are you capable of it again?"  He didn't look it.  He didn't look good for much of anything now, and they'd barely begun the journey.

[Rhindeer]

Syrae rolled his eyes at Esh and as soon as her head was turned, stuck his tongue out at her. Hmph. Listen faster. Maybe he could listen faster if she didn't talk so funny!

Alright, and maybe he was just a little cranky for getting volunteered to practically carry their boss. Really, how awkward was that? Not to mention uncomfortable. The guy wasn't as heavy as he should be for a man his size, but he wasn't light, either, and Syrae was supporting the brunt of his weight.

He may have made a sarcastic comment at her if Dyshani hadn't scooped up his broken spear and commented that she could fix it. Syrae perked up. "Ya think so? Really?" he asked, and started to walk, dragging Mikhail along, as Esh apparently picked up on where they were supposed to be going. Since Syrae didn't have a clue himself, and she seemed to know what she was talking about, he eagerly followed. The sooner they got there, the sooner he could set Mikhail down.

"How? I didn't think it could be fixed, it's not really a clean break and--you can? Man, if you can, that'd be great!"

[Anonymous]

Mikhail leaned heavily on Syrae, his feet dragging in the sand. He would feel better eventually, however for now, he was working on just not puking anymore. His whole body trembled against the muscular teleporter.

They were getting closer to the prison, he was sure. It was a little difficult sneaking up on it, but he was hoping it would happen soon. He twisted his head to give Cade a dark look, his voice cold, "Oh. Yes. I'm sure you two could have handled an entire nest of sandworms. With one weapon between you."

He coughed, ruining his next statement a little, "And I am fine. I will be all recovered shortly. I promise. I'm much tougher than I look."

[Xphy]

When Syrae asked if she could really fix his spear Dyshani looked carefully at both ends of the broken shaft. It was splintered near the break, but that really wasn't a problem. She would still be able to bind the ends back together using her druidic magic. She wasn't a particularly great druid, but she could at least manage that much.

"I believe so." As she spoke she held the two ends together, and focused her magic into them. As she did the splinters began to thicken and interweave with one another. Once the process had begun she returned her attention to the man, and spoke again. "It's nothing quite as spectacular as the spell Mikhail used earlier, but it is a little trick my people use to repair small wooden objects when they break.

"It'll take a little time to finish, but unless we get attacked again it should be done before we reach wherever it is we are going."

[Anonymous]

Esh marched on, leaning slightly forward to scale one of the dunes which had surrounded the worm nest. While she had little to no clue where they were actually meant to be going, it felt right to take the lead. She was a guide, wasn't she? Besides, the guy who did know what was happening wasn't exactly going to be showing them the way, seeing as how he could barely walk right now. She paid a little attention to the others' conversation as she walked, but since none of it really concerned her, she listened to the earth as well. And, boy, how it was talking to her.

Up ahead, everything was going all screwy. Fucked up. Two, perhaps three, miles in front of them – the whole thing just made it hard to say. It was like... She could sense two different kinds of terrain, two distinct areas of ground... In the same place, but not the same size somehow. And one of them was moving, drifting so incredibly slowly that she wouldn't even notice it if it wasn't just so weird, but moving nonetheless.

She'd never come across anything like this before. Her magic didn't screw up. It might seem like it sometimes, but it had always turned out to be right when she worked out what was actually going on. This time, she hoped it was wrong, because otherwise... Wow.

This had just better not be what they were heading for.

Having crested the dune and gone halfway down the other side, she should have been speeding up but instead she slowed slightly, trying to set a pace that meant the weirdness would pass before they could reach it. She glanced back at the others. She didn't want to mention this, didn't want to ask what it was. She wasn't sure she wanted to know anyway. Her hands flexed a little, and an uncertain almost-frown narrowed her eyes as she found herself readying for a fight again. It wasn't quite an appropriate reaction, but it was an automatic response to something she found unsettling, at best.

((If I've messed up here, let me know >.<))

[Rhindeer]

[ooc: skipping Tal this round. P: ]

"Hey! It'll be two weapons again soon!" Syrae corrected Mikhail, and flashed Dyshani a bright, hopeful grin as he staggered along. "So it'll be done before we reach wherever? Hey! Mikhail? When we gonna get there, huh? 'Cause my spear'll be done before we get there so it'd be nice if we got there soon."

It would also be nice if they got 'there' soon so he could set Mikhail down. How long was he gonna have to carry him? Not much longer, he hoped, because it was hot and walking in sand was awkward enough on your own, never mind having to haul someone along with you. Hrm. He'd give it five more minutes before he pawned him off on Cade--and then concoct some brilliant reason as to why he couldn't carry him anymore if or when Cade tried to give him back and--

Ugh, they had to go up the dune? Syrae frowned as Esh vanished up and over the side of the dune, but alas, she was the guide, so...bah, guess they had to follow! Grumbling and grunting under Mikhail's weight, Syrae started up the dune, trying to keep his footing in the shifting sand.

[Anonymous]

Taking a rest was really what he needed, but Mikhail couldn't waste the time. He was finally starting to sweat, struggling to keep up with Syrae. He could do this. This would pass and he would be able to get his strength back better when they actually stopped for the night. Only a few more hours.

Then Syrae spoke and Mikhail twisted slightly to fix him with a look, "...do you actively try spout such inane gibberish or is it a natural talent? If we are lucky, we should enter her domain by nightfall. Once we are in her domain..." Mikhail shrugged, but really sure how hard it would be to find their prey. If they were very lucky, she would come to hunt them.

Struggling up the dune, Mikhail was forced to cling tighter to the teleporter. He could only imagine it was going to be a long day.

Unknown to Mikhail, Esh's slow pace for which he had been thankful for, was causing him to keep missing his goal. A few hours of wandering and Mikhail finally called a halt when they arrived at a large boulder. It wouldn't be much longer until nightfall and he wanted to check his maps and notes. He had been able to walk slowly on his own for a while now, but he looked paler than normal and couldn't stop shaking with fatigue.

"Let's take a break. We seem to have gotten off course a little." Drinking some water, Mikhail started to unpack his bag, pulling out a battered book written in a strange language. Not really bothering with the rest of the group, he began to flip through it, muttering slightly to himself.

[Anonymous]

((Skipping Xphy this round too.))

Esh had been on edge all day, due to the constant close proximity to crazy shit that she probably couldn't solve by punching it. She'd overcompensated a little in trying to hide it, with obviously faked nonchalance at odds with her tightly bunched fists. Thank fuck nobody else could see her face from all the way back there. Avoiding it had been easier than she thought; her slow pace hadn't drawn any attention other than spurring the weakened Mikhail to try moving on his own. She couldn't fault him on that. It stood to reason that walking it off worked better when you were the one actually doing the walking.

They were thankfully still about a mile from the madness when they stopped. Hopefully they'd spend a little while here, to put some more space between them and it. "Great!" she said with a bit more enthusiasm than was really necessary, spinning on her heel to sit down heavily against the boulder. Immediately, she pulled out a small tin and a simple wooden pipe from a pocket on her rucksack. "I could use a smoke."

Pointedly not offering any to anyone else, she arranged the dry brown fibres and lit them with a few expert strikes of flint. Eyes closed, a single calming puff and a quiet sigh later, and she was much more relaxed. She noted the low position of the sun, then glanced over at Mikhail flipping through his books and asked loudly, "So we here all night then?"

In the desert, travelling through the night was actually a decent idea if you had light. It was much cooler than the daytime, often getting downright cold, which made it easier. However, she was kind of counting on the foreigners not knowing that. To the Essyrnian man – Syrae, was it? - she shot a look that she hoped told him to keep his mouth shut or she'd whack him in it. If they could stay here 'til morning, the big patch of wrong might be gone and then she'd feel a whole lot better.

[Tally]

The only good thing about the next few hours for Cade was staring at Esh's backside as she led them through the desert.  There wasn't much else to look at.  He wasn't about to complain out loud about the heat or the difficulty of laboring over dunes where his legs sunk in almost to the knee, but he cursed it all silently to himself. At least he wasn't Elhurios.  The man still looked terrible, and could barely manage to walk on his own.

When they came to a halt, Cade retreated to the lee of the boulder and slouched back against the stone.  The sun was hanging low.  He hadn't realized how much time had gone by until now. "By nightfall, you said?  We ought to be close, then."

[Xphy]

Dyshani had spent most of their walk staring Syrae's spear in her hands, more because there wasn't that much else to look at in the desert than an actual need. She was also making a concerted effort to ignore Cade, who had spent the majority of the time staring at the Essyrni woman's hips. Leave it to a human to be so tactless...

And they called her people primitive...
 
The spear's shaft had come along quite nicely by the time Mikhail decided to take a rest, partly because she had been focusing on it the entire time. Both ends had rooted together well, and were now solidifying their bonds. It wouldn't be long before it was ready for use again.

She planted it in the sand next to her and removed her canteen for her waist to take a quick sip. The news that they would arrive at their destination by nightfall was good. She didn't particularly want to spend several days out here if she could avoid it.

[Rhindeer]

Whew.

Syrae flopped onto his bottom as soon as Mikhail was deposited off and, after a moment's thought, let himself fall onto his back and spread out. It was nice right here, the sand cool in the boulder's shadow, and it felt nice not to be hauling a grown man around. If Mikhail needed to be hauled around again, someone else would just have to volunteer because he was so done with that.

After a moment of resting and listening to the awkward conversation around him (which didn't sound like conversation at all, but rather everyone talking to themselves), he sat back up and eyed Dyshani--or rather, his spear beside her. Was it done yet? He was about to ask her, but the talk of nightfall caught his ear first.

He looked between Cade and Esh, then at Mikhail and back. "Are we staying the night here? 'Cause if we are, we better start setting up camp," he said, pulling out his waterskin for a drink. "And I hope y'all have warmer clothes."

[Anonymous]

Mikhail looked up from his book, slightly irritated that they were asking these stupid questions? Wasn't that one woman the self-proclaimed guide? He had never really been in the desert before, so his knowledge of when to camp and when to push on what really rather limited.

And he still felt like shit. Stopping for the night or not, he needed a long rest, his hands wouldn't stop shaking. He had taken on a lot of power, far more than he should have to deal with that nest. But no one else seemed able to take on an entire nest.

"I don't know. I had hoped we would have found it by now. Do you people want to stop? I need to rework my calculations so we can hopefully find it tomorrow."

((OOC: HEY GUYZ WHO WANTS TO VOLUNTEER TO BE THE VICTIM OF A NIGHTTIME EVENT? WHICH HOPEFULLY RHI WONT MURDER US WITH SANDWORMS AGAIN BEFORE THEY GET TO SLEEP!))

[Anonymous]

((I VOLUMTEEB 83))

Esh kept sucking on her pipe with the same intense expression until everyone had weighed in on the issue, silently willing the horrible ground to move faster. Luckily, it didn't seem like Mikhail had any objections, so anyone who did could suck it. They were gonna stay here and hopefully it'd be gone soon enough that she could get to sleep without making sure it wasn't sneaking up on them. Finally blowing out a slow stream of smoke, she smiled in satisfied relief.

"Well if ya gotta do all fancy thinkin' shit then yeh, we might's well stop. Got a tent here," she mentioned all too eagerly, untying some long sticks from her bag and pulling out a piece of heavy canvas from inside. "Tiniest fuckin' thing in the world but it'll hafta do, innit?"

[Xphy]

It hadn't taken much for Dyshani to notice that Syrae was staring at her, and she couldn't really blame him. She would have been anxious to get her bow back if someone she didn't know was working on it for her as well. Maybe it couldn't hurt to let him hold onto it for a while. It still wasn't quite finished yet, but the process was already nearing completion and perhaps it would give him some peace of mind.

However before she could say could say anything about it she heard talk about spending the night where they were instead of moving on to their target's 'domain.' Though she didn't particularly want to stop it seemed like Mikhail and Esh were in favor of it, and after their employer's little episode earlier it was probably in their best interest.

So she removed her pack from behind her waist and began to rummage through it. Syrae's comment about warm clothing hadn't fallen on deaf ears. She had already learned not to underestimate during her trip down to Essyrn so she was prepared for it

"Um... I have a blanket here if anyone needs to share."

[Tally]

It looked as though Esh and Mikhail had made the decision to stay.  The girl was already pulling a tent out and getting it ready to set up.  If not for Mikhail, Cade would have pushed them to continue on but the man clearly needed to rest.  It was a good place for it too, with shelter from the wind and the driving sands.

Cade crouched down on his heels and waited to catch his breath.  He'd been drinking regularly as they went, small sips to keep himself hydrated.  That had been another tip from his friends at the tavern, who had also cautioned him to bring warmer clothes for the night.  He shook his head at Dyshani.  "I should be fine."

[Rhindeer]

"Looks like we're gonna be cozy tonight," Syrae observed and when a different, and very horrifying, thought followed that one, he turned to Dyshani and added, "I call dibs!"

Because oh dear gods above and below, he did not want to entertain the thought of snuggling up with Cade or--shudder--Mikhail. A nice girl body, on the other hand, suited him just fine. And hey, she'd offered! "We can share! I'd be happy to! Hey, Esh, ya can join too if ya want!"

He flashed the woman what was supposed to be a winning grin. "Y'know. For extra body heat and what-all."

[Anonymous]

"You do not. I am injured and paying you. That means I get to share the blanket." Mikhail lifted his head up from his book long enough to give Dyshani and Syrae a bright smile. Which was more unnerving than comforting with his angular features, goatee and eye patch.

He lowered his head to his book again, waving at Syrae absently, "I have a tent with my things. See to it that it gets set up." His calculations needed a complete reworking and that put him in an irritated mood. They should have been there by now!

((Feel free to have some time skips. I would have skipped to sleepy times, but I didn't want to not let Rhi and Xphy respond to Mikhail's announcement xD))