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Desert Encounter (DragonSong)

Started by Jiaolong, January 04, 2018, 10:46:50 PM

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Jiaolong

Ruby obeyed, shifting the weight of his pack on his shoulders as he made his way over to Maka and the two strangers. "Who are they?" he muttered, giving them a wary glance.

He wondered how the two hadn't had any trouble killing the other monster. He and Maka both had...special abilities, and even that wasn't enough to take the thing down.

DragonSong

She shook her head and shrugged briefly. "Don't know, don't really care. If you have what you need, we're leaving."

Her tone practically dared the strangers to argue.

Jiaolong

Ruby nodded, beginning to walk in the direction of the road. He glanced back at the two devilish-looking strangers just as the man, Yulsin, began to laugh.

"Good luck out in the desert, you two. There are much worse things than that monster out there."

Ruby frowned, hoping they wouldn't encounter anything else.

DragonSong

Maka snorted. She certainly didn't need to be told that twice. "Come on," she muttered to Ruby, grabbing his arm and towing him out over the sand.

Jiaolong

As the two traversed the sand dunes, the sun overhead grew hotter. Ruby frowned, tugging a scarf from his pack over his head. It was a wonder he hadn't burned—perhaps it was due to his Fae blood, or the fact that he kept every inch of his skin covered during the day.

The desert was truly a formidable place.

A fork soon appeared in the road, and he stopped. "Well, I'm really hoping it's this way..." he muttered, realizing his map must've dropped somewhere during all the action.

DragonSong

"You don't know?" Maka blinked at him, suppressing a groan. "Do you at least know if you're supposed to be heading east or west?"

Jiaolong

"Hmm...West..." he muttered. He snapped his fingers and a blurry image appeared in front of him. It was the map, or at least what he remembered of it. "I'm pretty sure it's west. So this way should be right," he said, trying to sound more sure of himself as he started down one road. It was definitely a road less traveled, but with Maka there, he didn't feel as worried as he would have about any dangerous encounters.

The sun was now high in the sky. A single man hid behind a rocky outcrop that overlooked the narrow road. The road was too small for large caravans, but frequented by those that were traveling alone. He lay in wait, ready to signal his fellow slave traders should someone come along.

DragonSong

Maka sighed and rolled her eyes. At least he'd picked the westward road-- she just had to hope he was right and this was direction he wanted to go.

Jiaolong

The two approached a deep canyon, the path going right through the middle. "This place is notorious for robbers, but unfortunately it's the only path. We'll have to be careful."

Ruby looked up at the enclosing walls with unease.

He was unaware that far above, the same man who had been watching them earlier was watching them once again. The man moved to get a better look at the two, and a small rock clattered down the canyon walls. The man cursed under his breath, hoping the two hadn't heard him.

DragonSong

"Oh, wonderful," Maka muttered as they started down the path.

They'd only made it a few steps when she froze, head snapping up. "Hold on." She raised a hand, tilting her head. "Did you hear something?"

Jiaolong

Ruby stopped abruptly, looking down at the rock that had fallen. Perhaps it was just chance that it had been dislodged...

Suddenly, ropes were tossed down from the tops of the canyon walls. People descended them soon after, quickly surrounding Ruby and Maka on the ground. They unsheathed nasty looking swords and knives, bundles of rope attached to their waists at the belt.

"Slave traders...!" Ruby whispered, turning so he was standing back to back with Maka.

DragonSong

Again?

Fucking again?!

Growling under her breath, Maka swung her staff off her back and separated it into the twin blades, metal glinting in the desert light. "Back off!" she snarled at the slavers, eyes darkening to jet black. "You don't know what you're dealing with."

Jiaolong

One or two of the men backed off, but the rest stayed in place, having plenty of experience with...unwilling victims. The group moved forward, enclosing on Ruby and Maka.

Ruby snapped his fingers, casting an illusion of invisibility over himself and Maka. The slave traders wouldn't be able to see them, but it would still be hard to break out of the circle. "Maka, let's go!"

He used the blunt end of his weapon to jab one man in the stomach. The confused slave trader doubled over, but more quickly filled his spot, swimming their swords randomly to try and catch the attacker. Ruby backed up, bashing another one over the head.

DragonSong

Maka's expression fell into stony professionalism as she began to cut her way through their assailents. Blood sprayed from her blades as she carved a path, calling sharply, "Ruby, here! Move!

Jiaolong

Ruby watched in awe at Maka's expertise—it never failed to amaze him how well she could fight. But he hurriedly obeyed her instructions and followed her through the bloody path she'd cut. The slave traders were unaware that the two had escaped, thank god.

After the two made it a ways away, Ruby pulled Maka behind a large rock. He sat to catch his breath, but it wasn't just the running that made it hard to breathe. "W-what now?" He asked, voice small. He hated slave traders.

DragonSong

Maka spun to place her back to Ruby, blades crossed automatically in a defensive position in front of her body.

"Shhh," she murmured, eyes narrowed as she peered out over the desert. "I'm not sure we've lost them yet..."

Jiaolong

Ruby once again placed the cloaking illusion over the two, but his anxiety was making him unsure if it was working or not.

Footsteps could be heard echoing across the rock walls, voices shouting. They were getting closer, but they didn't seem to have located the two.

DragonSong

Maka pressed back, then suddenly turned and rocked up onto her toes in an effort to arch her body over Ruby's, her arms caging him in against rough rock.

"The spell. How foolproof is it?" she whispered, eyes closed as she cast her senses out, searching, searching...

Jiaolong

Ruby pressed himself closer against the rock, feeling heat creep into his face with Maka being so close. Wait! Now was not the time to be thinking about this!

"The illusion makes us invisible to their eyes, but if they've got something that can smell or sense us...it's pretty useless." He knew some slave traders trained dogs to search for people. He hadn't seen any with the attackers, but it would be just his luck that there were some dogs on their trail.

((OOC: Sorry for the late reply!))

DragonSong

Evidently oblivious to her companion's discomfort, Maka pressed a little closer, trying to keep them as close to the stone as she could manage. If something went wrong, it seemed like climbing might be their best bet.

"Okay, then we keep quiet. And pray."

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