Silverhawk: Er…El Bandido isn't here right now so there won't be much of a commentary. Just want to mention that anonymous reviews are now accepted (thanks for mentioning that, Not Important1 ^^;). Also just telling you guys I'm not Yida nor Zayn, but I AM in the story :p.
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Chapter 3 – Desert Wasteland: Under the Scorching Sun
Damn…How long have I been here now? A mage wandered aimlessly through the desert, hopelessly searching for any evidence he could find. The heat was getting to be unbearable, and he had been roaming the arid wasteland for days now. Unfortunately, he had not found anything at all of importance. The boy decided to take a rest and he slumped down, leaning on a sturdy rock. Taking out his canteen, he took a swig of water, savoring the refreshing taste. The bottle was nearly empty now; consequently he would have to leave soon. But for now, he closed his eyes for a moment, memories flooding back into his mind.
~*~
Meanwhile, Yida, Zayn, Audrey, and Julina had been in the desert for several days now. Atop their camels, what they saw was the same image throughout the whole wasteland—a vast and harsh area of swirling sands and searing heat.
"And…how long is it going to take to cross this desert?" Julina asked a bit impatiently.
"Don't worry, we should be out of the desert soon. Crossing the Nabata usually takes around ten days, but we're lucky that we were able to buy some camels, so we're almost there." Yida said, keeping his cool.
"Agh, this heat is unbearable! Are we there yet?" Julina complained.
"Do you see the end of the desert?" Yida asked sarcastically.
"Guys, stop arguing. It's really hot here, but we'll be out soon. The heat's getting to all of us. But don't worry, we'll make it through! Ah, I'm parched." Audrey said. Taking out her canteen, she eyed the inside. No water. She sighed but didn't mention anything, not wanting to take any of her companions' water. She then realized why, thinking back to the day before when the heat had overtaken them…
The group was well into the desert, and their water supply was beginning to run low. It was midday and the sun beat relentlessly on the party. Everyone was sweating copiously and the high temperature began to take its toll.
"Hey, what's that?" Zayn asked, his camel continuing to progress.
"It looks like some…trees?" Yida said curiously.
"Why don't we check it out. If we're lucky, maybe it's an oasis!" Audrey said excitedly.
"Great! Water! I haven't tasted that for sooooooo long!" Julina said, eager to get to the water.
"…you just took a sip a minute ago." Zayn said.
"Yeah, but as a cleric, I er…need water for er…holy purposes!"
"Right…" Yida replied.
The four camels advanced towards the oasis, while the quartet excitedly waited to reach the unexpected paradise. Zayn quickly glugged down his water, preparing to refill it when he reached the oasis. Yida, Audrey, and Julina all followed suit. As they reached the grove of trees and saw the rather large lake in the middle, they were as relieved as they could possibly be. Zayn sprinted ahead and dove right into the water, only to land in a rather large sand dune! Spitting out a mouthful of sand, the thief groaned as he just sat there, absolutely disappointed, as was the rest of the group.
"I knew it was too good to be true." Yida remarked.
"What did I do to deserve this?!" Julina whimpered.
"And now our water supply is gone." Audrey commented.
"When will we get out of this fricking hellhole?!" Zayn shouted exasperatedly.
"Let's keep moving." Yida said quietly.
All three climbed back upon their mount and continued through the seemingly endless desert, their hopes reducing with every step.
As Audrey snapped back into the present, she realized she was behind and hurried her camel up, hoping the torture would end soon.
~*~
What's that noise? The mage thought to himself. It was a steady noise, and it sounded like several footsteps. What would so many people be doing in the desert though? He got up from his seat and peered slowly over the rock, scanning the land. There was a mass of perhaps fourteen troops. The leader appeared to be the grey-haired man in dark robes, and by the looks of it, he was probably a shaman.
The youth continued to watch and keenly listened to what the army was saying, intent on discovering what their aim was in this desolate place.
"Have you found the prince yet?" The shaman demanded of a recruit quickly rushing back to the militia.
"No sir Scott. There's no trace of him."
"We must find and kill him! He is a threat to Schwartz and must be eliminated! I trust that you will do better than that chump Unruh?" Scott said snidely.
"Yes sir, when we locate him we will exterminate him without trouble." The soldier said confidently.
"Sir, what's that behind there?" A soldier pointed at a sole rock in the desert.
Crap! They've found me. How will I get out of this? The mage began to slip away, but Scott took notice quickly.
"Ah! Etrurian robes, it must be him! You will not get away from us, Prince Zayn!"
The boy slowed down and turned with a puzzled expression on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said straightforwardly.
"Don't act dumb! Attack, troops!" The leader commanded.
The various mages, shamans, soldiers, and knights began to advance on the bewildered mage.
Great, how am I supposed to defeat all these people? Nonetheless, he prepared a spell. Chanting some words, the mage then formed a ball of fire in his palm and released it at an oncoming soldier, toasting him to a crisp.
~*~
"Do you hear something?" Zayn asked, sensing something with his sharp hearing.
"Nope." Julina, Audrey, and Yida all replied.
However, Zayn still felt a bit uncomfortable. "I'm going to look up ahead okay?" None of the three had any objection and Zayn hastened his camel a bit. Up ahead, he heard yelling and some blasts as well, but he still didn't see anything yet. "You guys, I think there's a battle going on." He said, still a bit unsure.
"Zayn, you're probably just hearing a mirage." Yida said, his scorn obvious.
"I'm serious." Zayn said without smiling.
"Maybe we should check up ahead a bit." Julina backed up Zayn, her sensibility recovering.
"We might as well. After all, the faster we get out of here, the better." Audrey added.
"All right then. Let's go see." Yida consented.
All four sped up as they began to hear similar sounds Zayn had heard. "Well, looks like you might be right after all." Yida commented with a sense of appreciation in his voice.
"See? I'm not always wrong!" Zayn responded and smirked.
"Let's hurry, someone might need our help." Julina said worriedly as all four sped up their camels.
~*~
The mage sent another fireball hurling at an enemy mage, who countered with her own, singeing both magic users. The youth fired once more, bringing his opponent down. Afterwards, he gripped his right arm, charred by his foe. The pain was little for it had destroyed many nerves, but the burn was quite serious. Despite the injury, the mage continued to defend himself from the clusters of enemies coming at him.
~*~
"Yida! It looks like all those people are ganging up on that mage. We have to stop them!" Julina pleaded.
"But we can't take a side! How do we know we wouldn't be helping the wrong person?"
Zayn used his sharp eyesight to observe the large army, and recognized a symbol. It was the same one that he remembered was on Schwartz's garb. "Guys, our enemy is the soldiers. They have Schwartz's symbol!"
"How do you know that?" Yida retorted.
"Just trust me!" Zayn said, a bit frustrated.
"Fine." Yida said, as tension built up between the two.
"Stop it! We have to help that guy, not argue with each other!" Audrey broke the quarrel between the two young men. "Yida, tell us what to do."
"All right, this army looks bigger, so let's keep together. While Zayn and Audrey fend the enemies off from the mage, I want you, Julina, to heal any wounds he might have. Then we'll let them come towards us and finally defeat the leader." The tactician explained briefly. The trio nodded and all four moved ahead to the battlefield. Yida stayed behind just enough so that he could still shout out to the party if he needed.
A soldier and a mage came rushing at Zayn and Audrey. Audrey quickly fired an arrow and pierced the soldier's heart, causing him to drop his spear. The mage summoned a fire spell, but Zayn was too speedy and slashed at the mage before he could make a move. The three continued in haste to aid the ally mage, dashing through yet another soldier.
The magic wielder was up against another soldier and set up a fireball. However, the soldier hurriedly thrust his spear into the mage's side. "Ah!" He flinched and gripped his side, keeling over.
An arrow shot out from behind the mage and pierced the enemy's arm. A black blur then sliced through him as well.
"Who are you?" The mage inquired, still holding on to his side. The pool of blood on his shirt began to enlarge.
"Don't worry, we're here to help." Yida said from behind. "Julina, why don't you heal him?"
"Of course." She held up her staff and muttered some prayers. An azure light surrounded his injury and it sealed up quickly, though leaving the bloodstain. "So who are you anyway?"
"I'm Tyler, but apparently these guys think I'm the prince of Etruria…"
"Ah! I knew it! Schwartz's cronies probably know I'm advancing. We've got to stop her!" Zayn pronounced.
"You're the prince of Etruria?" Tyler asked bewilderedly.
"Yeah, long story. For now let's beat these guys."
"All right. I hope my magic will be of use to you."
"Guys, behind you!" The tactician warned.
A knight and a shaman were proceeding upon the allies. Tyler quickly extended his arm and released a flame at the knight. The heat was intensified by both the metal and the sun. The mage fired once more and the armored combatant was easily incinerated. The shaman blasted a sphere of negative energy at Audrey, who then received an opaque blemish on her neck, which began to eat away at her flesh. She cried out in pain but Julina quickly attempted to cure her with a heal, but a little mark was left. Audrey managed to counterattack and struck the shaman in the chest, causing him to plunge to the ground.
"Audrey, are you okay?" Julina asked worriedly.
"Yes I'm fine, don't worry about me." She answered, as the pain was rather minor.
"Here, take this. It might help a bit." Tyler handed the archer a vulnerary, and she applied it to the dark spot.
"Thanks, but let's keep moving!" The archer pulled back her bowstring and ran ahead.
"She sure has a lot of willpower." Yida said.
"Yeah, it's a trait of her that really stands out." Julina commented.
"Let's go!" Zayn said, pursuing the enemy.
Zayn quickly cut up a few mages as Audrey slew soldiers with her deadly aim. Tyler was quick to char some knights without hesitation. Julina followed her duty and mended any wounds that appeared, while Yida continued to order the troops and warn them of any incoming danger. As the allies finished off two final knights, they came face to face with the head of the rival army.
"So, you have defeated all my troops, have you? Well no matter. I will quickly dispose of you!" Scott shouted at his enemies. He rapidly shot orbs of sinister energy at everyone, wounding a few which Julina repaired as soon as she could. Zayn leapt at the shaman and hacked at him with his knife, but Scott slowly disappeared, avoiding the attack completely. "You may be quick young thief, but you cannot match the wits of a dark mage!" He sent a ball of dark magic at Zayn, knocking him back into the sand and leaving a mark on his wrist.
"Julina, tend to Zayn! Audrey and Tyler, you guys keep him at bay!" Yida commanded.
Audrey hastily directed a few arrows, but they just barely missed, and one only punctured the robe.
"Your physical attacks are no match for me!"
Tyler sent a blaze at the boss, and burned off part of the robes.
"Ah, the prince, you are an anima user I see. How pitiful that my magic will triumph!" The shaman discharged another flux. Tyler narrowly sidestepped it however, ignoring Scott's taunt. Audrey flung another arrow at the leader and managed to strike his side! The mystic held the wound, and rid himself of Audrey by blowing her away with another flux
The mage clenched his teeth and combusted yet another portion of the robe. Yet again he projected another flame from his hand, this time managing to nail Scott in the wound Audrey had created, causing the shaman to cringe at the pain. Zayn was fully healed now and double slashed his foe, leaving two large gashes on his chest.
"ARGH!" The infuriated shaman blasted yet another threatening sphere at the thief and sent him flying back again, injured once more.
Tyler prepared fireballs in both his hands and fired at Scott continuously. Finally, the shaman fell to the ground and writhed about, his body covered in serious burns. "How could my elder magic not prevail?" Were his final words.
Tyler then slowly dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. He was completely worn out from using so much magic in such concentrated heat. Taking out his canteen, he gulped down the last swig and wiped the sweat off from his forehead. "That was quite a battle." He simply said.
"It was, and Zayn, you took quite a beating. Nice job." Yida stated.
"So you probably want to hear about us now, right?" Zayn asked Tyler.
"Yeah, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what's going on."
"All right, so you're telling me that you're trying to reclaim your throne from Schwartz?" Tyler asked curiously, after having listened to the group's story.
"Yeah, it probably sounds odd, and you can choose to believe us if you want, but we will depose her!" Zayn confidently stated.
"Actually, I believe you." The group stared at him, rather surprised.
"You see, my father was the Mage General of Etruria. Recently, just after Schwartz began to rule as regent, my father was charged for treason and executed. I fled the country, having no idea what was going on and moved to Caelin. I heard my father had done some 'suspicious' work here in Nabata so I came here to see if I could find anything on him. The shaman had attacked me because I don the Etrurian robes, and he assumed I was you." Tyler explained.
"Will you join us then? It seems we hold a common grudge against Schwartz." Zayn offered.
"Yes, I will. Perhaps I can find more answers from the regent herself…"
"All right! So where's our next destination?" Yida asked.
"Let's stop at Ostia. It's the last stop just before Etruria and perhaps we can find some support there. After all, there's a lot of tension now between Lycia and Etruria." Zayn suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea." Audrey supported.
"Let's go then!" Julina said excitedly, ready to set off and leave the forsaken desert.
The group of five then set off, just realizing they were getting very thirsty. Relieved to have exited the desert, they quickly found a place to stay, at one of those bed-and-breakfast inns. As soon as they awoke and ate, they were revitalized and ready to go. Little did they know what awaited them at the border of Lycia.
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Silverhawk: Well, that was a longer chapter. Read and review please :D.