Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 4, 2010 0:43:23 GMT -5
Dev didn’t think he’d ever heard the woman string that many syllables together in the same sentence, and it was all the more startling in the stillness after the wind that had left his ears feeling so very abused. It seemed a foreign language after so long and in so drastically an altered landscape, and it took a moment for the sounds to reorganize themselves into recognizable words.
“Yes,” he answered after the slight pause, still feeling slightly disconnected from reality at the given moment. Sandstorms were always a bit surreal in his experience.
He took a moment to breath in the fresh night air—a relief after the stale air of their sandy tent—and stared at the jeweled sky, orienting himself by constellation. He felt much relieved after identifying the cardinal directions; his course was once again set.
"This way," he gestured, and they continued on.
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Post by Bee on Dec 4, 2010 0:43:46 GMT -5
They traveled through the night. She kept in step with Dev as he led them along, their pace swift and steady. Once they had left behind the location of their little shelter, she was able to put all thought of the sandstorm away. She was satisfied with her self-possession. It had taken considerable willpower, but she had denied herself a gush of emotion. Nature bore her no ill will, she reminded herself, nor she it.
By sunrise they were in more comforting territory, with craggy rock structures jutting out of the hard, thin soil. She took breakfast in the shade, her back against the solid earth. The most tedious part of this leg of the trek was over. There were numerous directions to go from here, numerous outposts and little townships. She didn’t particularly care at which of them Dev’s next—opponent—dwelt, if he called any of them home at all.
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
|
Post by Dark on Dec 4, 2010 0:44:01 GMT -5
They headed south-west, skirting the Arid Sea region so to keep to rockier areas—the weather system seemed to have settled in to stay and was a welcome invitation for more sandstorms, farther out on the sands—though it would have nearly halved the journey to cut across—and they wanted to avoid further bunk-downs. It was an unpleasant experience, and one best avoided when possible.
The first fringe town they came across was Jaya, more of an outpost than anything, where they stocked up on rations and Dev inquired of the locals the whereabouts of Trader Durai. The information took them to Seka, two days travel due west. It was a fairly large town by Hisstor standards, largely due in fact to it being close to the Josiggy boarder and thus being a good spot for trade with outsiders. Durai had set himself up fairly well here, so it was reported.
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Post by Bee on Dec 4, 2010 0:44:21 GMT -5
The journey had been a crawl accompanied by a steady drop in elevation. It always seemed strange to her that a Marsh as rich and fertile as Josiggy could exist right next door to a place like Hisstor, but her homeland was not an average place. She supposed the magnetic field might have done harsher things to the landscape than she thought possible.
There were mud-brick structures and tents everywhere. People bustled about. She was mildly surprised to find that she had little patience, at the moment, for the company of so many strangers. The noise was constant and bothersome, especially after such a stretch of time devoid of much human chatter. Her lack of desire to interact with anyone must have formed some kind of aura, because people gave her a wider berth than usual.
She hoped Dev led them straight to his target without involving anyone else, in either a violent or social context.
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 4, 2010 0:44:37 GMT -5
Durai lived in a large mud-brick house on the far edge of town, the structure partially recessed into the earth to keep it cool in summer time and warm in winter. A date-palm--the amount of water to maintain such an extravagance was criminal--overhung the shadowed entrance; a private well was situated in the courtyard. Dev wondered bitterly what portion of his families meager possessions had gone to afford such a place.
Another part of him wondered what it would be like, to live in one place. To settle down. Dev had never remained stationary in his life. The concept was foreign, but not entirely unpleasant.
He started up the paved walkway, and dismissed the fancy. It was pointless to wonder about something that would never happen.
“Durai,” he called as he neared the entrance.
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Post by Bee on Dec 4, 2010 0:44:49 GMT -5
Ananta assessed the house intently. She wasn’t happy. The house was not the issue, though it was ostentatious and not to her personal tastes. The issue was that this place was someone’s home. As much as Dev attacking someone in a public place had disquieted her, attacking them in the privacy of their own home seemed violating. Something else should be done. Perhaps use a messenger to arrange a meeting. Death was death no matter how one sliced it, but ceremonial murder, foolish as it was, seemed less glaringly wrong than an ambush murder.
It was ridiculous to quibble the fine points of someone’s revenge. Especially as she understood why he needed to do it. She had agreed to come with him. This was about him, not her.
Nevertheless, this was very likely a mistake. She sensed it on a level that was not at all logical.
“Dev,” she said, quietly, as he called out his mark.
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
|
Post by Dark on Dec 4, 2010 0:44:58 GMT -5
Dev waved her off, not wanting to hear whatever it was she had to say--would she try to stop him?--but stopped several lengths from the entrance, anyway. That darkened entryway--the whole courtyard--was filling him with unease; disquieted perhaps by the permanence of the building--strange, to someone whose home had consisted of tents and a different vista each night for his formative years--and something else he couldn’t place. None of his marks had bothered to settle, and he wondered what made Durai different.
“Yes? Who is it?” called a mellow voice, followed shortly by its owner. Durai was a middle-aged canine of indeterminate heritage, going a bit soft around the midsection, and probably the most non-imposing man Dev had ever seen; he was going gray around the muzzle.
“You ran with Rohit,” Dev started, trying to shake off unease--he felt off-balance by the homey, aging image presented to him--and forced himself to continue: “Five years ago.”
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Post by Bee on Dec 4, 2010 0:45:11 GMT -5
She was irritated that Dev had dismissed her, narrowing her eyes in a gesture that could have been missed by anyone. She was about to continue voicing her reservations anyway when the man answered Dev’s call.
It seemed difficult to imagine that this rounding, nondescript fellow could have participated in any atrocity, but images could certainly be treacherous. Ananta sized him up. He wasn’t too old, and he wasn’t badly out of shape, but he was past his prime. Dev could easily take him in a fair fight, assuming that the man did not have any outstanding magical abilities.
But he seemed to want to talk first. Ananta’s brain raced through different routes this confrontation could go as Dev dragged out the history. At least he, too, appeared apprehensive about the whole affair. But he wasn’t going to back down. If he spoke now and arranged the fight for later, Durai would have ample opportunity to skip town. Ananta stood impassive and still and waited for things to go sour.
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
|
Post by Dark on Dec 4, 2010 0:45:20 GMT -5
“Ah,” the man said in a slow exhale, “Yes, a life time ago, it seems. Horrible business.” Dev stiffened with indignation, and prepared to take a step forward; how dare the man make such light of what had happened.
“I know you, boy,” Durai continued regretfully, “But I’m afraid you wont find what you’re looking for here. I have too much to loose now.” The canine shifted his stance slightly, determination in his eyes; Dev crouched in ready of attack.
“Papa!” A small, child-shaped mass launched itself at the man, laughing, “We have visitors? Should mama make iced tea?”
Dev froze, oblivious to the man’s sudden fear, eyes centered on happy green eyes. Small, with a bit of squirrel in her by the looks of it; she would be pretty when she was older, but at the moment she was all awkward limbs and youthful chubbiness.
What had this man done to deserve this kind of happiness?
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Post by Bee on Dec 4, 2010 0:45:40 GMT -5
Dev appeared stunned into immobility. Perhaps he was rethinking things. Ananta, too, was surprised by the appearance of a child, but perhaps her arrival would serve to dissolve some of the tension. But not her continuing appearance. Things were too delicate to allow a child into the mix. Ananta did not relate well to children under the best of circumstances, even though she herself was barely into adulthood, but she figured she could get the girl to leave merely by acting like herself. And perhaps giving her a task to engage her. She had offered to be hospitable, after all.
She said, gravely, “I would enjoy a glass of iced tea. Prepare it from scratch and make it extra strong, if you would be so kind. I take half a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of lemon, if it is handy. Ensure that the amount of ice you place in the glass does not dilute the taste of the tea.”
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