Disclaimer: You all know the drill. I own nothing.
This idea was something I just could not pass up.
Night's with his new traveling companions were rarely eventful. Most of them were so exhausted from walking all day they slept nearly the minute their heads hit their sleeping bags. So when Jade Curtiss was traveling through the desert near Chesadonia, he was surprised to hear some odd grunting and swearing coming from a short distance away.
He rolled over in his sleeping bag, senses on high alert. Perhaps an assaisn had been stupid enough to make a ruckus. He'd had them sent after him beifre, and not all of them lived up to their deadly reputation. His hand found his glasses, stored in his pocket, and he prepared for a fight. Honestly, all he wanted was some sleep. Oh well, he would try to deal with it quickly.
There was nothing to hide behind out in the desert, so he rose to his feet and sprinted quickly forward, spotting something moving far to the left. Whoever had sent this person after him, they had made a poor choice. The necromancer was adept at stealth, unlike this assassin, clearly.
"I hope you've tied up all of your lose ends," he announced. "Death can be oh so troublesome if one has not prepared for it."
He raised his spear and rushed forward in a downward strike- only to hear a familiar terrified scream right before his weapon hit its mark. He paused at the last second.
"It's me, it's me! Look before you swing that thing!"
Jade withdrew his spear and smirked at the sight of his young red haired companion stuck waist deep in quicksand, scowling irritably at him. His arms were braced on the shifting sand around him, trying to lift himself out with no success. His squirming around only appeared to make things worse, and he struggled to keep himself from sinking further. It was a sad situation, one that Jade could not help but feel amused at.
"I've found you in many odd situations, Luke," he said, "but this one 'takes the cake", as they say."
"Just help me out of here," Luke pleaded. "I went for a walk and fell in here. I've been trying for an hour."
"With the sounds you were making, I'm sure you have. You sounded like a dying rappig. Here, grab my hand."
Luke smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Can you, um, not tell the others about this? It's kind of embarrassing."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Jade replied. "Are you ready?"
Luke nodded, and Jade let go of his hand. "Let's begin then."
Luke looked confused, then saw the odd light emitting from Jades hands. Oh no. Now he understood. "No no no-" he shouted, but too late.
"Stalagmite!"
Luke flew about ten feet out of the hole and into the air, propelled by a sharp pillar of rock that had come flying out from beneath him. He was lucky the sand kept him from being impaled.
He flailed about in the air for a second, observing how birdlike he probably looked, and cursing Jade's existence. Right before he was afraid he would experience a painful landing, Jade caught him in his arms and then dropped him none too gently on the sand.
Luke spat sand out sand from his mouth. It left him parched, and he coughed, wishing for water. He would be finding sand in places sand should never be for a week.
"You bastard!" Luke shouted- although it came out as more of a croak. "You could have just pulled me out."
"Well, what fun would that be."
And that is how Jade Curtiss learned the arte of emergency extraction.
