The sun burned down upon the cragged earth below as three wanderers traveled along tirelessly, the hot desert wind hitting them like a lash of fire as it breezed by. The only refuge from the scorching heat being the shade cast by the large rocky pillars and mountains scattered across the Gyr Abanian desert.
"I'm really beginning to grow weary of this heat" N'athys whined as the young Miqo'te reached for his belongings and pulled out a canteen, unscrewing the lid and raising to his mouth only to be filled with disappointment as his supply of water had run dry.
"Here." Leo said as he pulled out his own canteen and handed it to N'athys.
"Much appreciated, but what about you? I don't recall the last time I saw you take a drink." N'athys replied in concern.
"I'll be fine, you need to stay hydrated otherwise this desert will consume you." Leo answered.
"We might not have to worry about that, looks like there's an oasis up ahead." Miles said as the trio headed in the direction he steered them towards. The hard earth under their feet began to be replaced by smooth grass with tall palm trees shading them from above as they looked upon the spring in relief.
"Oh boy, I could just strip right down and dive straight into this beautiful water. Care to join me?" Miles asked.
"Please don't taint the water." Leo answered bluntly. N'athys crouched on his knee and lowered his canteen to the water to refill it until it suddenly vanished before his eyes.
"W-what is the meaning of this?" He let out as he jumped back to his feet.
"A mirage it seems..." Leo mumbled before something caught his intention. With no warning the wind began to pick up and in a matter of seconds it was swirling around the area where the oasis had been in a violent sandstorm.
"Well isn't this sweet, I was finally about to bathe my luscious body and now it's been taken away from me and replaced by this. I feel baited like a pray to a hunt." Miles' eye widened at his own words as a sudden realization formed in his head. "Wait..."
"What is this... It looks a figure approaching us from within the storm." Leo alerted them in confusion as a shadowy figure in the distant sand began to form clearer and clearer as it got closer. The mysterious presence finally presented itself as it passed through the sandstorm, revealing a very tall, muscular Roegadyn woman with light-brown skin and fiery-red hair braided back and tied into a ponytail. She wore a thin blue eastern-styled silk dress adorned with golden bracers and bangles with gems adorning them, with a beautiful circlet upon her forehead and patterned white silk pants behind her thin, transparent dress.
"I knew it. Be careful, this bronze beauty isn't someone you want to mess with, we need to find a way to escape." Miles warned.
"You know her? I don't think it's possible to flee with the intensity of this storm around us." Leo replied.
"I've finally found you, thief!" The woman bellowed in a deep, strong voice.
"Thief? Miles who is she and what did you manage to steal?" Leo asked whilst physically preparing himself for combat should conflict arise.
"Not as much as would please me. She's known as Dakota Dawn, the Desert Beauty. Long story short she has a reputation among men like myself for owning a vast personal collection of rather shiny objects. I may have... 'Borrowed' one in the past to gain a pay off from someone." Miles explained.
"Why does that not surprise me." Leo sighed as he was dragged into Miles' troubles for what seemed to be the hundredth time.
"Enough talking! It's taken two years but I've finally tracked you down, Scarlet. You're not getting away from me this time, you're either going to return the amulet or I'll take it from you by force!" Dakota yelled.
"Apologies, but your amulet is no longer in my possession, I got rid of it a long time ago. Sorry about that." Miles explained.
"Liar!" The Roegadyn roared as she lifted a giant golden great-axe and leaped towards the man, bringing it crashing down with incredible strength and speed, crushing into the ground as Miles flipped backwards out of the way. He already had his bow drawn in his hands by the time he reached the ground with the enemy in his sight.
"Make one false move and I'll fire. You seem strong but I'm sure I'll be able to penetrate that tough body of yours." Miles warned. Dakota didn't say anything, instead she bent her knees slightly while bringing her axe back behind her. With a mighty swing the axe swiped sideways with enough force to send the woman spinning around a couple of times before coming to a stop facing her opponent. As soon as she had moved, Miles released his grip on the arrow, sending it shooting forward. Suddenly a burst of sand erupted from the crack in the ground that formed in front of the Hyur where Dakota had struck into it. A massive gust of wind created by the Roegadyn's swing caused sand beneath the rocky surface to rise up into the air, forming a miniature sandstorm moving straight towards Miles, blowing the arrow away in a completely different direction while charging towards him. The Hyur tried to jump and roll out of the way but the storm proved to be too fast as it crashed into him. Miles covered his face with his arms desperately as the sand grazed his skin before knocking him down to the ground.
"Miles!" Leo shouted in panic, rushing towards his companion as Dakota slowly walked towards him. Turning slightly, Leo began to pursue the Roegadyn, readying his lance to strike her before the woman turned and lifted her knee into the air. Snapping her leg out forcefully to the side, Dakota sent Leo flying backwards with a strong kick before continuing her approach to Miles who was left groaning on the ground. She swung her axe down, impaling it into the earth next to him then gripped the collar of the mans vest and rose him into the air, leveling their faces together.
"Now, tell me what you did with my amulet!" Dakota ordered.
"Like I said, I don't have it. Gave it to some guy for gil not long after I took it." Miles grunted while darting his eyes around, searching for his bow that we dropped after the impact with the sandstorm.
"Enough, tell me where it is at once!" She yelled before throwing the man to the ground and knelt over him. The Roegadyn pulled back her firm toned arm and punched Miles in the face, repeatedly slamming her fists into him one after the other until Miles began you cough furiously before spitting out a trace of blood.
"I'm... Not lying... I don't have it anymore..." Miles breathed heavily. Dakota rose to her feet, anger filling her eyes as she extended an arm and grabbed her axe, lifting it from the ground and raising it over her shoulder with both hands.
"Wait!" Leo shouted, raising his hand towards her while sprinting over. "He no longer possesses the item you desire but we can get it back for you. Spare him and you can accompany us as we track down the person who has it and return it to you." Leo bargained. Dakota looked down at the man before her, her expression calming slowly before looking back towards Leo.
"Fine, I accept. He's not worth bloodying my axe anyway." She answered, bending down and extending her hand. Miles hesitated for a moment before grabbing onto it and lifting himself onto his feet once more before retrieving his bow.
"If I may ask, why is this amulet so important to you? You seem to possess many valuable pieces of jewelry on you." Leo inquired.
"It's not just any amulet and these aren't just gold and jewels. Everything I own is part of my family's legacy. They've amassed a fortune in items such as these over the years and they've always been passed down to each generation. A sort of family tradition if you will, proof of one generations success and a responsibility for the next to add onto it. Stealing that amulet means disrespecting my family and taking away all that my ancestor had worked for to make their mark in life, I will see it returned no matter what." She explained.
"Very well, we will help to return your ancestors' possession to it's rightful owner in return for his life." Leo replied.
"A fair trade, although I have no reason to trust any of you. I'll be keeping you all in my sights, especially you, Scarlet." She said, looking over to miles as she finished.
"If you wish you can have me inside more than just your sight." He smirked. Dakota ignored his remarked and lifted her weapon. She swung it upside down and slammed the blunt head of her axe down on the ground, creating a burst of wind in all directions and quelling that sandstorm that had surrounded them revealing the desert plains and clear blue sky once more. As the sun began to set they made camp, their was discussion in the group about the amulet itself, who now possessed it and their plans on how they would go about getting it back. Their conversations ran late into the night, leading to leo and Miles being the only ones awake as Dakota and N'athys had turned in to rest. Leo stood up and motioned Miles to follow him. They walked a short distance from the camp before coming to a halt as Leo looked upon Miles sternly.
"Miles, I need to truth. You didn't sell the amulet, did you? From the way Dakota described it, the trinket is worth a considerable amount, enough that I imagine you wouldn't be living your life as a nomad were you to sell it." Leo interrogated. Miles let out a sigh, turning away for a moment and scratching his ehad before looking back.
"I never sold it okay? You see a while ago there was this girl I fancied, more so than I ever thought I could fancy someone. I needed something to really reel her in and it wasn't long after that that i heard of a secret vault in the middle of the desert. I followed clues, tracked it down and that's where I found Dakota's stash of family heirlooms. There was a lot of shine in there, but as soon as I saw that amulet I knew it would do the trick." Miles explained.
"So you gave the amulet to the woman in hopes of winning her affection?" Leo replied.
"Well, not exactly... It's shameful to admit but I had the amulet stolen from me one night before I could present it to her. Sadly afterwards she blew me off and I was left empty handed." Miles finished.
"Your stolen amulet was taken by another thief? Do you know who they are?" Leo asked.
"No clue, but I managed to track down the vault it came from in the first place, I'm sure I can follow it's scent to the new owner. Besides, the Roegadyn was able to find me after leaving only a note with the name Scarlet on it where the amulet was so I have my suspicions that she'll be helpful as well." Miles explained.
"The more help the better, and she seems to be a capable fighter, she definitely be a helpful asset in combat as well. Still we should take extra caution, we know very little about her and can trust her only as much as she trusts us." Leo said.
"Noted, this will surely be interesting. And in any case it's great to finally have a woman among us, I always love having variety." Miles replied, the two finished up with their conversation before heading back to the camp and resting for the night.