It was a day like every other summer day in Al De Baran. The sun shined down brightly upon the city. The white marble stones making up the buildings and walkways were bright with the sun's life-giving rays. The water that ran into the city coming from the east made gentle noises with the soft breeze that blew past. The cool feeling of the breeze refreshed the busybodies of the market place. The streets – especially nearest the clock tower – were crowded with adventurers, talk buzzing back and forth about almost anything. But most of all, rumors flew about concerning the old clock tower. People assumed it was haunted. And lastly, Ayndi was doing his usual rounds, looking for trouble and using his own methods to put an end to it. But this day was to be different; it was a day that would change the young man's life forever. He was just in the midst of buying a meal for himself when the elderly woman from the other day approached him quietly.
"Pardon me, sir." She spoke, her voice quiet and frail, affected by aging.
He turned to her, and she immediately asked to speak with him privately. After a moment's thought, he agreed, and was escorted back to her home. Of course, he was wary, being sure she wasn't leading him into a trap. She lived in a small home, fit for one person, and he was invited to take a seat, and she offered to prepare him a meal. Despite his objections, the elderly woman wouldn't take no for an answer. During the meal, she spoke with him. He rarely spoke back at her, as her chitchat wasn't important. He mostly sat and enjoyed the sandwich she'd prepared for him. Of course, he was sure to thank her for the graciousness. But soon, all conversation stopped, and the silence was awkward. But, the lady soon broke this by getting straight to her point, the dilemma eating at her to the point where she explained it with a sense of desperation.
She had a sister, who lived out in the desert with her only daughter. They both apparently lived alone, and rarely bothered anybody. But recently, the elderly lady had received a letter from her Morrocian sister saying that a slaver had come into town. Coincidently, with his showing, many disappearances began to occur, starting with young men, and going on from there, until it finally effected her by her only daughter disappearing. The Morrocian lady blamed the slaver for every single one of the disappearances, and she begged for help from the authorities. But when the guards searched the camp, the man had a written permit, allowing his slavery. Many adventurers were too busy to deal with the woman's troubles, and she was left with no choice but to ask her sister for help. And this led to the situation Ayndi was placed in at that moment. The elderly woman from the other day was asking his assistance in the matter.
The Rogue had never encountered a slaver, nor did he have any personal experiences with them, but he did know what they were. He knew that they took people, and set them to work in one way or another. Often they would take in homeless people, or buy children off of parents. But very few had the nerve to kidnap people and force them to work. Ayndi thought that people like that did not deserve to be anything higher than dirt. If one had the heartless nature to take someone and force their unwilling self to go into work for another, they deserved what was coming to them. It was wrong, and although Ayndi did not feel strongly of the issue, he did ask of it. He asked how many people were missing and for how long. Apparently several were missing for many weeks. This was enough to convince him to take the job. She offered him rewards for even taking it, but he declined every one, and said that he would leave immediately. With that, he thanked her and left the house.
He quickly went to his own "home" to prepare. Moving to the sub-level house, he immediately began going about his business. He moved to his bed, reaching under and grabbing a crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder. He made certain this his stiletto was still with him, hidden beneath his vest. He then sought after bolts for the crossbow he had. It took him several minutes to look through his supplies, but he found a goof quiver-full inside one of the many crates he had. The last thing he picked up was a sakkat, woven out of tough bamboo reeds, in order to shade him from the harmful rays, or protect him from the rain. He then left his house quickly, and immediately went to exit the city, taking the long, familiar path to the desert all over again. Same day and a half trip, though, a different, more prepared approach.
The desert was hot as ever. It was the hottest day of the year there, unbeknownst to Ayndi. His well-tanned skin would surely burn if he spent too much time there. The occasional adventurer passed him, and they said their hellos. Many asked what his business was, carrying a large crossbow and a quiver with him. He would simply say that it was none of their business, and continue on his way. The desert air rippled with the heat that was pressed down upon it, but whenever Ayndi stopped to rest under the shade of a tree, the sand would be mild. The grains somehow absorbed the heat, but didn't warm up. It took him several hours until he reached Morroc, the desert town, and this time, he was welcomed to enter. He wasn't a Thief, and people knew very little about the Rogues. The guards assumed he was going to just pass through; they had no idea that he would be acting against the law.
Before he left, Ayndi was given a letter and an address to take it to. He walked all along the town, which was busy as ever. The stone buildings, bright, heated sand, and the rocks that made the walkways still held that little sizzle to them. The Rogue was sweating by the time he reached the town, and as he walked through the crowded streets, many merchants, braving the hot sun, attempted to persuade the stone-faced Rogue to but their wares. Their tents were set up along the sides of the streets, and he was tempted to buy some of their exotic items. But, he hadn't enough money to do so, so he left it be. The whole town was buzzing with conversation, and pushing through the crowds wile like forcing a walking through pudding. Pushing and shoving through the crowds showed to exert much energy, and Ayndi was fairly pooped by the time he reached the house of which he was to go. It was in the shady slums of the town, located nearest the tavern. It seemed quiet, away from the travelers and merchants in the town. He knocked on the door, and the sound was louder than he expected. It somehow reminded him of the barren setting. After several moments of waiting, an elderly woman answered the door, cracking it open only a bit.
"Who are you?" She asked defensively, seeming to be older than the other woman from Al De Baran.
"My name is Ayndi." Ayndi spoke calmly. "I was asked to bring you this message, and wait for further instruction."
"Who is it from?" She asked.
"An elderly woman in Al De Baran. I never got her name." Ayndi responded.
The woman opened the weak, wooden door the rest of the way, and reached her shaky, wrinkled hand out to retrieve the letter. Ayndi took it out and eased the sealed envelope into her quivering hand, and she took it quickly and opened it. Ayndi stood patiently at the door as she read over the letter, her old eyes, sealed behind spectacles, flicking over the words quickly, and occasionally looking at the twenty-two year old Rogue before her. After several mumbled and nods of her head, the old woman shed a smile that brightened up her features, showing off her time-decayed teeth. She invited him inside, offering him a drink of fresh, sweet berry juice. Ayndi gladly accepted and walked inside, setting his crossbow down and removing his headwear. As the woman went about preparing his drink, he sat down at a lone table at the center of the room, and she explained to him her situation.
"So you are Ayndi." She said, her hunched back to him.
"Yes, Ayndi Hakmashi." Ayndi responded with a nod. The home he was in was very little than two rooms big. The kitchen and dining room were fit into one, and the table, being small, could only fit three people. The counters, appliances, chairs, table, everything within it was made out of wood. The chairs had small comforters on them, stuffed with Peco Peco feathers, and the house was nicely decorated with a few odds and ends. An especially shiny jellopy was on display over the sink, which had no running water. Here and there, paintings would be on the walls, some of them very old and dusty, dusty almost like the very air he breathed. Ayndi figured the woman had a hard time caring for herself. While he observed his surroundings, the woman continued to speak.
"A travesty has come into this desert." She said. "Unlike the days when I was young, when people could live without fear, I now have lost my very own daughter to a cruel man and his accomplices. It shames me to know that men like that even exist."
"I am here to bring back your daughter." Ayndi explained. "Please, tell me as much as you can."
"My daughter was a sweet, sweet young woman." The elderly lady said, turning to him with a cup and handing it to him. He took it and sipped it, holding in a sigh of bliss at how sweet the juice tasted.
"She was in her early twenties Mr. Hakmashi." She continued. "She worked as a waitress at Max's bar,serving drinks at the bar for the travelers that came through."
"Rosaline?" Ayndi repeated the name that was spoken.
"My daughter." The woman clarified. "As soon as she took this job, one of the young boys, the son of the waitress that disappeared, soon left sight himself. This didn't faze me as much, but soon, another man came to town. It was the slaver."
"Do you remember what he looks like?" Ayndi asked, sipping the juice again.
"I can't forget anymore." She answered with disgust. "He had red hair, like fire that came off his head. He looks very strong, and he acted so crude. He wore a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes… I swear he must be the true embodiment of evil. I never suspected him to steal my daughter, but when she disappeared… I know it was him, there's no doubt."
"Hm, well…" Ayndi downed the juice and got out of his seat. "Embodiments of evil are just that much easier to get rid of. I'll ask around town, and if I find anything, I'll head straight for the place and get your daughter back."
Just as Ayndi was about to leave, the woman stopped him, resting a gentle, gnarled hand on his shoulder. "Not just my daughter." She said. "Get them all back."
"Don't worry about it." He responded, putting on his sakkat again and picking up his crossbow. "… That was my intension from the very beginning."
So, he left, and the first place he went was the tavern. He asked around, but everyone he asked said they didn't want to get involved in anything revolving around the slavers. Ayndi couldn't tell them he was going to stop it all though, he didn't know if anyone would tell the slaver. Though, he did learn the name of the man that showed up was Farley. So, he asked specifically about Farley, but very few knew anything about him. All they knew was that he was a slaver, and that he was in town ever now and again. Ayndi was stumped, and could get nothing done on the first day. So, he went to the inn and spent the night there before going back to the first place he started – the bar. He began asking questions again, when something caught his ear.
"Oh yeah, she wash a good catch." A drunken man said. "She barely fought backs at all, she was totally helpless! I just grabbed her, gagged her, and took 'er back to sha camp!"
This man that was speaking was obviously a slaver. While Ayndi sat and listened to him ramble on about how he caught a slave and had his way with her, he studied the man's face and appearance thoroughly. He wore a large black cloak, which would have normally covered all his features. The hood was down that afternoon though, and the man's blonde hair and brown eyes were quite apparent. Him and the men around him were laughing about the ordeal, while the bartender had to go and do all the work, without his waitress. Ayndi had to sustain the urge to get up and knock them all out. He'd left his crossbow at the door, and he didn't want to stab anyone, so he just sat quietly. The man would get his just desserts later that night when the young Rogue got his hands on him.
And when he did, the Rogue pulled him into an alley roughly. The man was startled, traveling alone during the dead of night. He tried to fight back, and when he did, Ayndi went to work. He dodged the man's clumsy attacks, and countered with one simple spinning kick to his jaw. The guy fell to the ground, his face exposed again. He seemed to have given up by then, and Ayndi tried asking him to speak. He wouldn't, and it left Ayndi with the only option being to demand it. When he did though, the man pulled two knives out of the sleeves of his cloak to attack Ayndi. Ayndi was quick to move though, dodging the blind slashes, and responding by hitting him hard in the back of the neck with the handle of his crossbow. This sent the man crashing to the ground, causing him to drop his knives. Ayndi strung his crossbow back over his back and picked the guy up, slamming him against the wall.
"You know what I want to know." Ayndi said. "Tell me."
"Eat me." The man weakly responded. Ayndi thrust one of his knees powerfully into the man's abdomen.
"Tell me!" Ayndi shouted.
"Why do you want to know?" The man gasped breathlessly.
"I want to have a talk with your leader." Ayndi responded.
"Listen punk." The man smirked. "I'll get Farley to pay you double what these other guys are paying you."
"You disgust me!" Ayndi cried, throwing a fist precisely at the man's nose, shattering it and causing him to cry out in pain, and left to blubber. But Ayndi didn't let him raise a hand to check his condition. Instead, he pressed against him and took the stiletto to his throat.
"Tell me, or else." Ayndi threatened.
"Okay!" The man sobbed. "Alright, just please, don't! It's to the east of this city, on a mountain-rise near the waterfront!"
"Thanks." Ayndi grinned, putting the knife away and dropping him, fleeing into the knight before the guards could show up.
Ayndi knew he couldn't stay in town, and he had to escape then without the guards seeing him. He ran, taking to the rooftops to escape easily. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, any who saw him being bewildered by his agility. When he neared the eastern gate, he used his stealth abilities to get by undetected. He then continued through the cold night in the desert. He walked calmly, taking a drink of water only once through the night until he got tired. But he had nowhere to sleep, so he collapsed on the sand, sleeping in the cool atmosphere until the next morning, where a Peco Peco startled him awake. He shooed it off, taking another drink of water and eating dried beef rations before heading further east. He walked the remainder of the day until he stumbled across what seemed to be correct.
To the east, before him, there was a wide expanse of water. But when he turned to the south, he saw a rise in the sand, like a small mountain. The elevation was several feet higher than Ayndi's height, and from a distance he could see various tents set up on top of it. And looking just beyond the curve of the mountain's base, he could see slaves digging away. The slaver must have forced them to dig, probably searching for old artifacts below the sand. It wouldn't have been anything bad to Ayndi if they were doing it willingly. But since they were forced as slaves, against their will, it was seen as wrong. And as a Rogue, he found it his responsibility to right what was wrong. So, he swiftly walked over to the rise and was forced to climb the rock faces to avoid detection.
Sticking to the rock face, he peered into the camp. There were many men, wearing almost all white to reflect the sun's rays. Some were wearing sakkats, and some were just wearing hoods. The men did everything they could to keep themselves from burning up in the sun. Looking over, he could see the slaves weren't so lucky. They worked, clothed in the very things they were taken in, and they didn't seem to get any breaks. They were forced to work all day while the band of slavers just relaxed in their shady tents. The intension was to free all the slaves, but the fact that they were all in the open was going to make things difficult. He didn't want to kill anyone; he didn't believe that it was of any right of his to do so. So to free all the slaves, he would have to sneak them out. So, as painful as it was nestled in the rocks, he laid in wait until nightfall. Somehow, he managed to avoid being seen.
He had nearly drained his water supply when night came around. During night, guards were stationed to make sure the slaves didn't escape, and torches were lit in order to see. Ayndi poked his head over the rock face so he could see what was going on. There wasn't a slave in sight, and maybe only five guards patrolled the whole camp. The matter seemed like child's play. But again, he didn't want to kill anyone, so he needed to find a different way to get rid of the guards. He thought for several minutes when he came to an idea that required immediate action. He quickly got up from the rock face and silently ran to the camp, staying out of sight. He stuck to the side of a tent, listening. He couldn't hear any life from the tent he was near, so he grabbed a nearby torch and took it to the fabric. As expected it quickly caught fire, and he slowly moved away. When the guards caught sight of this, they began to panic. Apparently, Ayndi chose the right tent.
During the commotion, Ayndi ran out from behind the tent and went to the one next to it. He quietly moved around the front, and heard talking. Many slaves were in the tent, and they were asking questions about the commotion outside. The guard inside, only the one, was telling them to remain calm and not panic. Upon hearing this, Ayndi burst into the tent, knocking the guard out with a hard blow to the neck. Of course, this startled the slaves, but Ayndi told them to go back to their homes as quickly as possible. But, it was easily said then done. There would have to have been one hell of a commotion in order to have the slaves escape unnoticed. This boggled the Rogue, and it was apparent he hadn't even got to all the slaves, there were still several more to be found. So, he told them to wait while he gathered the others. But he was met with a problem.
When he took his first step out of the slave tent, the tent that was on fire exploded, and it killed all the guards. That was the perfect opportunity for the slaves. Ayndi looked in and told them to run, and not question anything they see. He told them to wait for him at the mountain pass separating the waterfront from the desert – they knew what he was talking about. They hurried out of the tent, as did the other slaves, even though he didn't say so. It was nothing but a mass confusion of running, screaming people then. Ayndi found it hard to concentrate. Many of the other tents were on fire, and smoke filled the sky. The fist thing he had to concentrate on was getting the slaves out. He directed them quickly, telling them to head off to the west towards Morroc. He was about to go with them when he heard a woman's scream. All the slavers were men… so one slave had to be left.
When he turned around, he saw through the blaze, Farley. He was just as the woman described him, with fiery red hair and a fit-looking exterior. He was holding roughly to a slave, obviously a personal servant. She had long black hair, which went down to her mid back. She was dressed in a maid's outfit with a short skirt, obviously intended for fitting the part, and her deep green eyes showed distress as she fought against Farley to get away. He held her wrists tightly, dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. He pulled her close and hut her across the face to make her listen. This only made her cry as she stumbled over, holding her face. Ayndi was offended by this display, and immediately went against it.
"Farley!" He called out.
"Hm?" Farley looked over, his eyes covered with those very sunglasses as the woman described. "Who the heck are you?"
"I demand you let that woman go!" Ayndi shouted as he stepped closer to Farley.
"You let all my slaves go, didn't you?" Farley asked, sounding rather angry. "You did, didn't you!"
"And if I did? I demand you let that last one go." Ayndi said.
"Never." Farley responded.
"I'll ask one more time…" Ayndi said, taking his crossbow and arming it, aiming it at Farley. "Let her go or else."
Suddenly, Ayndi was struck hard in the back of the head, and he was sent to the ground, dropping his crossbow. He turned around quickly, looking up to see two… beings. They were both women, one having red hair, and the other havinggreen hair. Awkwardly to him, they both had snake-like bodies, only on their bottom halves, the shade of their scales matching their hair colours. They both held spears in their hands, glaring at the Rogue. The red one swung at him, and he moved back quickly to see the force of the blow send sand flying up. Farley just laughed, moving to go get the slave girl, and to leave Ayndi to fight with the two Nagas. Somehow, he knew their strength was very impressive. But he had no time to fight!
He got up quickly; the first thing being done soon after was he drawing his stiletto. Both the Nagas swung at him with their spears then, and he stepped to the side, grabbing one with his free hand. The red Naga jerked back on the spear, but he held firmly to it, using the momentum to leap up and kick her in the face. This made her drop the spear, and Ayndi took it and threw it away, off the edge of the rock face. This gave him a slight advantage, or so he thought. He still had the green Naga to deal with, and the red Naga was still dangerous, even without her weapon. The green Naga quickly swung at Ayndi, hitting him in the ribs and sending him off his feet and to the ground. When she thrust her spear down at Ayndi's head then, he rolled to the side and looked over to see where Farley was. He was just watching. This gave Ayndi a desperate idea.
He quickly got up and ran at Farley. The slaver seemed caught off guard as Ayndi quickly kicked him to the ground, taking the young girl's hand and running away. She followed helplessly, stumbling a bit as Ayndi ran flawlessly with big strides of his long legs. Behind him, the Nagas were charging an attack to send at Ayndi as a last result. The girl looked back just in time to warn him. Looking back, Ayndi quickly scooped the young woman up into his arms, and the Nagas unleashed their attack. Two black balls, flowing with electricity, flew at Ayndi, and hit him roughly in the back. He cried out as he fell forward, off the rock face. He used the remainder of his strength to turn himself around, so if anyone were to hit the rocks below him, it would be him and not the woman. His back hit a few rocks very hard before he hit the sand beneath the rock face with a loud thud. He lay there still for several moments as the young woman got up and looked to him.
"Sir? Sir are you alright?" She cried to him, shaking him, but he couldn't move. "Sir? Sire, we have to go! Sir?"
Something was wrong. Ayndi's spine was tingling, but he couldn't move an inch. Somehow, the Nagas' attack had paralyzed him. He could hear the girls voice calling to him, but his eyes slowly drifted shut, and he couldn't respond. All he could do was feel the cold air around him, and the efforts the girl made to wake him up. After several minutes, he felt himself being moved, and he was picked up onto the girl's shoulders. It took her a lot of struggling, but she moved towards the west with Ayndi on her shoulders. He was much heavier than she had imagined, and quite a bit taller than her, but she successfully escaped while Farley was calling out over the dunes. Apparently, his permit had burned up with the rest of his camp. It didn't matter to Ayndi or the slaves though. It especially made Rosaline happy – the young woman that was carrying Ayndi back to Morroc.
