The sand whipped around the hooves of the horses in the night. The sand storm the night before hadn't done much for the people traveling back to Agrabah. The excavating caravan had been successful in the search but they would only be awarded for their duty when they reached their home. The trip to find the hidden chest of the old magician Huratim, had been successful. All of his powers were trapped within the chest. Items that the old wizard desired to remain hidden forever. The sultan of Agrabah had requested that they be found before any one against Agrabah found them first. The caravan leader, resent to the idea of stopping to rest after what had happened the night before pushed the camels forward. The darkness concealed them from enemies.

Or so they thought.

Up ahead was a small city-ruined, and decaying without any life. The leader rose its hand to halt the caravan.

"Where are we?"

The leader's second in command paused beside his leader and pulled out a map. The old hide map depicted the desert, and the leader was clearly in no mood to know if they were going in circles.

"Where are we?" the leader repeated again.

"Here," the second in command answered, placing his finger on a empty sector of the map.

"So why is this village not here?"

"Because it's abandoned?" the man answered.

There was silence for a minute.

"The camels are worn out. If we continue, we shall surely die."

"Agrabah is only days away though,"

"We cannot risk any mistakes,"

The leader snapped its head at the second in command.

"No mistakes? What are you suggesting?"

"We must seek shelter for the night."

"I will not rest somewhere that I don't know,"

The rest of the caravan stopped beside them, "We must rest," another protested.

There was a long silence then.

"My lady?"

The leader turned her head to her second in command, "Fine; we shall rest. Do not expect me to be so generous next time. We break camp before dawn."

"As you command," the second in command Radu, younger brother of Razul answered.

Hannah DuBoius, commander of the small camel caravan was young, but not younger than any other excavation team sent out from Agrabah. She was however one of only two leading women, and rare amongst the people. Despite her dark hair and full figure, she was however European; a former hostage turned soldier of Agrabah. Now one of the sultan's most trusted servants she was also working on gaining higher ranking amongst the other guards. Razul even considered her one of the best amongst his people-enough to the point when Radu was old enough, he had Hannah be his mentor.

Now Hannah sat near the front gates wide awake waiting for dawn to come. Beside her was the treasures that they intended to return to Agrabah. The city was ccompletely abandoned from what she could see. Her men were asleep as she took first watch. She always took first watch, never tired like her men, and able to remain awake for three days if she wanted.

She stared at her hands noticing how she never aged like the others. Many of the men in her group in their mid twenties. She was nearly their age, but she didn't age like the rest of them. She in fact hadn't aged any further since she turned twenty. Nothing about her had changed over the years.

Why?

She froze suddenly hearing a strange sound. She looked about noticing that one of the street crystals was blinking. It sent out a small hiss as it flashed. She watched it flicker for a while, it's blue glow almost calming, yet it felt wrong. Why would an abandoned city have something like this still functioning?

Then she heard something else; footsteps.

She drew her blade senseing that there was maybe only one or two coming their way.

What she saw forced her to stiffen with fear.

Undead beings.

Their skins were green, and their clothing was tattered. Their yellow eyes stared at her unblinkingly, as they drew their large swords.

She heard a new voice begin to chatter behind the intruders.

"Kill them, kill them!"

"Silence!" a second voice snapped, "they care carrying a chest of great significance."

"You come near this chest, and I will slice you all in two." she growled.

There was no answer as more undead beings rose up from the ground, and surrounded her.

"Radu! Rise men!" She shouted over her shoulder. She didn't try to rouse them further assuming they would awaken under her command, as she parried with the undead.

"Look at that Xerxes," the unknown second voice mused, "Desperate to save his people,"

She heard Radu rise and shout at the other men, "Get up! Razul will have your heads!"

"Razul?" the first voice.

"Agrabah," the second remarked, "Another victory for us,"

Hannah blocked an attack, slicing one of the undead's heads off.

"Run, my lord!" shouted Radu at her, "You must send word to the sultan that this has happened!"

"I won't leave you here!" she shouted back.

"It's a woman," the being called Xerxes observed. Hannah didn't see the two mysterious beings but her fears were rising quickly as her men began to fall from their overwheling odds.

"Take flight my lady!" Radu shouted.

"No!" Hannah answered, as she and Razul's little brother became the last two survivors of the caravan.

Suddenly the undead enemies vanished.

The two knights blinked.

"What?"

The chest of Huratim vanished suddenly.

"No,"

"Master, crystal still blinks,"

Hannah looked up noticing the first voice was right; the crystal street light was still blinking.

"Flee, Hannah," Radu hissed.

"No,"

Suddenly Radu vanished.

"Radu!" she called out.

"He's gone," the unknown second voice answered stepping into the light of the street crystal. She saw through the flashing light, a man cloaked in blue robes and a maniacle grinning eel. Hannah flinched the dark power that emitted from the wizard.

"Where?" Hannah commanded.

"Where else? Back to Agrabah. Might as well have some one tell those ridiculous people that you've been . . . infiltrated."

"What do you want?"

"What do you think? Power,"

Radu raced through the streets of Agrabah, bruised from his flight across the desert. The slender soldier unlike his brother was not as courageous of his older brother Razul, but he was just as loyal. He ran with great haste to the palace. He had to tell his brother and the sultan what had happened.

The marbled sidewalks met his feet with haste as he pushed his way through the main gates and doors and straight into the throne room.

"Radu?" Razul turned to see his little brother, his brow rose with question.

"Razul," he panted, "Razul we were attacked!"

"What?" Aladdin who was acting as sultan for the day rose from the throne and strided down to the young soldier.

"We were attacked," Radu continued, "We stopped in an abandoned city to rest the camels and were attacked."

"Show me!" Aladdin pointed to a table where a large map was sprawled out.

Radu staggered over to the table and stared at the map, seeing that the empty space had been labled on the map.

"What is this place?" he pointed at a small icon on the map.

"It doesn't matter," Razul snapped.

"No, we were in this area." Radu protested, "This wasn't on the map that Hannah had!"

"What happened?" Aladdin asked staring at the icon on the map.

"We were resting when these green undead things attacked us."

"Mamluks," Razul snapped.

"Mozenrath," Aladdin answered.

"'The Land of the Black Sand'," Radu read the icon on the map.

"What happened to the chest?" Aladdin asked.

"Gone,"

"The men?" Razul asked.

"Dead,"

"DuBoius?"

"Don't know?"

"What do you mean?"

"She might have tripped the magic detectors," Aladdin answered staring at Radu.

"What?" Razul snapped, "Hannah is a warrior,"

"Yes, and she over-excells at almost everything you make her do." Aladdin answered.

"So? What is she then?" Radu asked.

"I don't know, but I know someone who can tell us," Aladdin answered.