A/n- Browine points to whoever guessed who was the one to save the group.
Buried in the Sand Chapter 8
Erk finished his letters to Lord Pent and his wife Priscilla and placed them in the mail slot of the inn he was staying in. It was a day before the end of the month and he was about to head out into the desert to go find Clarine and see if she was okay. He walked to the front desk of the inn and waited for the receptionist to show up.
"Are you checking out sir?" She asked him guessing that was the case.
"No, but I am going to be away for a few days. Here's enough gold for a week and a tip for the maids, make sure none of my things are touched please." Erk said placing a good sized bag of gold on the table. "That won't be any trouble will it?"
"Not at all." The woman said a bit surprised. "I thank you for your patronage and hope to see you soon." Erk gave her a nod and a wry smile before flipping his hood over his head and walking out. He walked over to the stables to find Clarine's horse James so he could ride him out to the desert.
"How are you doing James?" He asked the horse. He had grown to enjoy his company a little bit the last couple of weeks, and he could see why Clarine liked him so much. The horse nudged him with his nose and Erk rubbed it slightly. "Good. Well, you're going to feel better soon, we're going to go find Clarine." With that James made a happy sound and Erk got on to ride him. It was a silent ride out into the sandy area and it was late at night when he reached the edge of the desert.
"Might as well stop for the night, huh James?" Erk asked as he got off of the the steed. "You hungry?" The horse neighed and he fed him a few carrots and an apple to satisfy him. For himself he had some meat to cook so he gathered so wood and then pulled out his tome.
"Elfire!" He said and the fire came to life. He stuck his meat to some sticks and slowly began to eat before heading to sleep. The next morning he was as rested as he could be as he tied James to a nearby tree. "I'll be back for you soon, and so should Clarine." He said laying out some food for him in range of the rope. After that he headed out into the desert. He also had a cloth to put over his mouth so he was safe from any sand that might get near his mouth. A few hours later he came upon a city and he saw a young girl standing near the entrance gates.
"Don't come any closer!" The girl said when he was about ten feet away. "Fa isn't supposed to let anyone into Arcadia." Erk put his hands up to show he wasn't an enemy before he spoke.
"So, this is the legendary Arcadia." He said mostly for himself. He never though he'd get to see it this close up. "Do not worry, I'm not here to attack you, I'm just looking for a friend of mine."
"Fa might know them!" Fa said excitedly. "What do they look like?"
"Well, she's a tall girl, blonde hair, purple eyes, goes by the name Clarine." Erk said describing her.
"Fa does know her!" Fa said jumping up and down. "She just went with Igrene and Rutger to go find something in the desert."
"Igrene and Rutger?" Erk said a little confused. "Are they friendly?"
"Yes. Igrene takes care of Fa all the time and protects her and Clarine saved Rutger from a sandstorm. Fa thinks they are in love." Fa explained and Erk was satisfied with her answer.
"Okay Fa, can you tell me where they went?" He asked hoping she knew.
"No, Fa doesn't know. They said that they went to find a hideout though, does that help?" Fa said frowning.
"Actually, yes it does." Erk said knowing where to go since Lord Pent had given him a good idea where in the desert the hideout was. "Thank you Fa, you've been a big help." And with that Erk left to go find the group.
"Fa is so helpful." Fa said to herself after he left. "First the shiny rock man and now Clarine's friend, I feel important." Erk quickened his pace a bit as he walked in the general direction of where the hideout was, searching everywhere with his sight for something out of place. He finally found it when he saw a doorway out in the middle of nowhere. He approached slowly and heard voices coming out of it.
"I don't have a clear shot. But I doubt he'll keep his word." A female voice that didn't sound like Clarine said.
"You're not going to let me go are you?" That was Clarine for sure though. So Erk pulled out his tome and walked closer to see Clarine being held by a bandit with a female archer aiming towards them and a red clad swordsman with a pained expression on his face.
"No way in hell. A cute little thing like you will fetch me quite a bit of gold, once I've had my fun of course." That was the last straw and Erk didn't even hear the bandits next words as he flipped the pages to his tome and fired off a spell at his back.
"ELFIRE!" He said with a bit of anger and it showed since the fireball was a bit larger and unruly. The bandit screamed in pain an let Clarine free. He saw the swordsman dive to catch her, and he did, but not before she got a nasty looking cut on her leg. He also saw a piece of paper fly out of the bandit's hand and into the remnants of his spell. It burned up quickly and he thought nothing of it. The next moment though the archer train her sights on him.
"Are you a friendly?" She asked as she looked like she could let the arrow fly at any moment.
"He is, that's one of my father's friends Erk." Clarine said as she regained some composure in the swordsman's arms. "Erk, that is Igrene, Guardian of the Desert."
"I see, you look like someone I used to know. Does the name Hawkeye ring a bell?" Erk asked.
"He was my father." Igrene answered simply as she lowered her bow. "Thank you for your assistance."
"No problems. I'm just glad Fa told me you all were here." Erk said as he looked at Clarine. "Is your leg going to be okay?"
"Once we get back it should be, I have a healing staff you can use on it. You don't mind carrying me do you Rutger?" Clarine answered.
"Not at all, I'm just glad you're safe." He said holding her a bit closer.
"I take it this is the boy you told me about?" Erk asked and Clarine blushed a bit.
"Yes, he is. Rutger, this is Erk, a really good friend of my father." She was repeating herself to be sure, but she was in a bit of shock still.
"Nice to meet you." Erk said politely as Rutger picked Clarine up and held her. "Did you at least fine what you came here for?"
"Oh yes!" Clarine said happily. "The bandit had it though, so it should be here on the ground somewhere." That's when Erk connected the dots.
"Milady, I think we might have an issue with that."