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Lady Railly

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It was pinkish in colour and when she looked properly at the bottle, it simply read, ‘Do not use if not injured’.

Emma was doubtful about drinking it, but it looked pretty safe. She was probably going to die somehow, sometime, so she was not really bothered about the risks of the liquid. As she opened the top of the bottle and brought it to her lips, she observed something through the glass. The eighteen-year-old abruptly removed the potion from her mouth when she noticed that the man was steadily coming closer, the sword gripped tightly in his hand.

More and more thoughts were rushing through her head like a sandstorm but as the two circled each other, Emma constructed a small plan. The man now had his back turned to the end of the tunnel, allowing Emma to have a potential escape route. However, she had to cross the rubble again. What if she fell? What if she did*** have enough luck to get back up? She ignored those questions while he made the first statement.

“Give me the medicine,” he ordered quite clearly. Emma glanced at the precious liquid inside the bottle. She needed it – this was possibly her only chance at getting a potion that would heal her – but she didn't want to get killed by keeping it to herself. The intensity of his anger grew as he pointed the tip of his sword at her and pressed it against her chest. “Give it to me,” he repeated.

“Why do you need it?” she asked him nervously. To answer, the man removed his sword, pulled up his sleeve and showed Emma a gruesome bite wound. “I’ve been bitten by a poisonous snake. If I don’t drink some of that, I’ll die.”

“I need some of it too. I was stung by a scorpion on my ankle,” the girl responded, raising her injured foot up to show him. “Who will have it?” he questioned, sighing bitterly.

“M-maybe we can have half of it each,” Emma suggested. The possibility of the man killing her after drinking the potion had never crossed her mind.

13-May-2012 08:22:34 - Last edited on 05-Jun-2012 22:17:06 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Without waiting for an answer, the girl quickly consumed the first half of the bottle. Immediately after, she realised how thirsty she was, so she reached inside her bag and pulled her flask out. In her haste, she knocked the potion onto the floor. The glass split in several pieces, the rest of the invaluable medicine spilling into the cracks in the stone.

The infuriated man looked at her with such hatred that at that very moment Emma knew what was coming. She sprinted off, exiting the scene and when she came to the jumps, she carefully crossed each one. As she looked over her shoulder, she caught sight of him dashing after her. She ran faster and, not caring which one she took, picked one of the four tunnels that met at the crossroads. Behind a cold stone wall she sat, shivering ever so slightly and hoping he wouldn’t go in the same direction as her.

Emma quietened her breaths for a moment, listening for movement. A series of heavy footsteps broke the eerie silence; at that point she presumed the worst but as they faded, curiosity led her to peer around the corner. She could not see him, possibly because it was dark or simply because he had not heard her inhales and exhales. As she repositioned herself in a corner of the wall, she silently took a long drink of water. She noticed that she was hungry as well, as she had not eaten in a while, so she retrieved a piece of scorpion from her bag and devoured it.

Several thoughts ran across her mind almost as quickly as she was doing moments earlier. The first was about the medicine that she had found. Would it actually help her? She would likely find out the next morning. Emma also felt partly sorry for the man who she had tried to share it with. The two halves of her brain argued against each other; there was the assumption that the snake venom would kill him within days, but he was set to kill her beforehand.

There was one conclusion that she made.

13-May-2012 08:22:41 - Last edited on 06-Jun-2012 21:03:00 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Emma remembered when the man had killed the person who had carried the several flasks. The man had then dropped them, along with a few other things, when he had noticed her. The items could still be there, littered around a tunnel somewhere in the cave. Emma was already at the end of one of the passages, so it was obviously not where she sat. If she managed to get those objects, she would be at a large advantage; though she was too exhausted and sleepy to get up and hunt for them at that time.

Eventually deciding to search for them later, she peacefully drifted off to sleep.

--

13-May-2012 08:22:49 - Last edited on 06-Jun-2012 21:03:40 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The eighteen-year-old traveller awoke to a source of light. At first, she assumed it was the sunlight somehow making its way through a crack in the stone, but in actual fact a lantern had been placed next to her. When Emma rolled over on her side to examine the glowing object and pick it up, she was very confused. She assumed that it was the same thing that had refilled her water bottle previously, and hoping it would have done the same thing again she picked up her flask. It was just the same as it was the few hours before – almost half full. Nevertheless, Emma took a sip and stood up, picking up the lantern as she did so. Her once clean auburn hair was now greasy and limp, but it was not long enough to be tied back.

Heaving the bag over her shoulder, she began walking and exited the tunnel she was currently in. As she entered the crossroad, the monotonous and half-asleep look on her face changed to one of slight surprise. The man who had been previously chasing her appeared to have fallen asleep. Carefully, Emma took a few steps forward towards him and held the lantern close, but not close enough as to wake him. The glow revealed what the snake bite on his arm had morphed into overnight, and again the sight was not one that Emma wanted to see. From what the light exposed, she could tell that it had definitely become infected. The girl glanced at his chest for a moment with a curious expression on her face, before pressing her ear to it.

The thing that shocked her was that he wasn’t breathing. The venom had obviously killed him in his sleep. For a daring move, Emma flashed the light in his face. No response – not even a twitch. “That could have been me…” she mumbled to herself, sitting down while she grasped that fact. It reminded her of her own wound, and for the first time since awakening she registered the verity that the pain had completely gone.

13-May-2012 08:22:56 - Last edited on 11-Jun-2012 21:01:50 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Shining the light towards it, Emma was happy to see that it was no longer open; a scab had formed over the graze and it was beginning to heal. Perhaps the medicine had worked, and it wasn’t a risk after all.

Suddenly she remembered about the items that were possibly still strewn about. After fully restoring her hunger and thirst, she rose and took what she thought to be the right direction.

The light was a huge benefit to her, and without it she would not be able to see where she was going or what she would be stumbling upon. So she was thankful when she realised that she had come across the wrong tunnel – but perhaps for the better. A bag was at the end of the walkway, with what looked to be a first aid kit peeking out of its opening. She smiled to herself as she contemplated taking it. What were the chances of unusually finding a necessity in the middle of a cave? She had been given extra water before, but she had already worked out the cause of that. What was the catch to this?

For once, the time spent on decisions assisted her well. Without even moving, Emma watched in awe and amazement as the floor in front of her opened up to reveal a dark pit, full of huge snakes and tiny scorpions. “Wow…” she breathed as she took a small step backwards, afraid of falling in even though she was nowhere near the edge. She had then only realised that the bag containing the first aid kit had been swallowed up by the chasm as well. Her eyes swivelled to the container, before abruptly looking away, accompanied by a grimace.

From what Emma could see, a previous poor traveller had fallen to the trap, and now his countless stings and bites coated his body. It was difficult to tell whether his corpse had been half-eaten away or half-rotted away, though the girl was sure that he had been there for a while. She could not see his front half or his face, but she was sure that it would be much worse than what her eyes had already caught sight of.

13-May-2012 08:23:20 - Last edited on 09-Jun-2012 21:47:02 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

She turned away, and after choosing another tunnel from the crossroad she began walking again. The scenario of her being that unfortunate person and being stung all over - or even being eaten alive - kept lacing around her general thoughts. She could not get it out of her head; and it would probably linger in her mind for several hours or maybe days before she was distracted enough to forget about it.

Fortunately, this time she had chosen the correct passageway. As she neared the end of the path, the objects and bags scattered on the floor came into her view. After quickly glancing at them, she noticed that her follower’s sword was still embedded in the victim’s back. Closing her eyes, she extracted it and gingerly placed it on the floor beside her.

The other items left on the floor were the bags, the flasks and a coil of tawny rope. Three of the bottles were empty, and the final one was half-full. Emma emptied that flask into hers to conserve space, and since it was then brimming with the liquid she consumed some of it. Afterwards, she stuffed the rope into her bag and inspected the other two cases that were lying around. Nothing of value was found except for a few pieces of food, so she collected that as well. Within minutes she was back at the crossroad with the lantern in her left hand and the sword in her right.

She had explored the other two tunnels, so why should she not do the same to the last? The traveller thought about it for a brief moment before deciding to investigate. The dead man was at the entrance and Emma thought nothing of him at first – but as she passed his corpse her sapphire eyes caught something peculiar. She shined the light onto his face to check and it did appear to be real. Three parallel scratch lines, most likely claw marks, were fixed into his cheek. How did they get there? As much as she could remember – which was quite a lot – she had not seen them while he was chasing her.

13-May-2012 08:23:59 - Last edited on 10-Jun-2012 16:33:23 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

From that point on Emma was wary of the things that could greet her at the end of the passageway; she didn't know what to expect.

After a while of continuous walking, she reached the tunnel’s end. It was a rather large room, but at the same time it was extremely dark, and Emma was thankful that she had the light source. At first she could not see anything particularly important, even with her lantern in hand, but then - like fate was being especially cruel to her - she was met with something completely unexpected.

Without warning, what seemed to be two werewolves leapt out at her and began to attack her.

Fighting with what were only her instincts, she immediately struck her sword into the first werewolf’s back and twisted it so that it was driven deep into its spine. As she pulled it out, a shattering sound was heard and an agonising howl met her ears; the body of the animal fell to the ground but the girl had no time for wincing. In fact, all she could really think about was surviving with as few injuries as possible. However, the thought of leaving the area without a scratch was merely a fantasy. Emma screamed in pain as the second werewolf’s claws fastened themselves into her shoulders.

Using her weapon once again in spite of the discomfort, she switched the items in her hands, and aiming for the heart of the creature she blindly stabbed the body. The blow made it fall back, allowing the woman to see exactly where the sword had landed. It was not too far off from the heart; her prediction was that it pierced a lung and that was why the werewolf had given up on attacking her.

She had no time to lose or waste. With a brief glance upwards she was able to tell that there was a light descending from the top of the incline; that gave her hope that there was a way out. When she began to climb towards the glow, there were all sorts of footholds along the slant.

13-May-2012 08:24:59 - Last edited on 10-Jun-2012 21:16:17 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Yet luck was still not happy - the rock her foot was placed on broke off and tumbled down the edge of the slope. Her foot quickly found another piece of stone though, and she continued to climb.

What startled her shortly after was the noise coming from below. She was almost there, so Emma decided that once she had reached her destination she would take a look. Finally, she made it to the top and both to her horror and relief, three more werewolves had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Maybe the rock had alerted them? Whatever the case, they were of no importance to her now. She settled down against the side of the wall and restored her nourishment when underneath her bag she spotted a piece of paper. When she picked it up, it revealed itself to be a letter. It read:

‘To whom it may concern,

If you are reading this, I am dead; I have probably fallen to these wolves. My brother, Rebni has been trying to defeat the monsters here for many months. He hasn’t returned to our home and I am searching for him. Our home is located north of here. Keep heading in that direction and talk to a man named Lorja.

Regards, Bedru.’

Emma sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the letter. The only noise interrupting it was from below her where the wolves sat, patient but hungry. Quietly, she folded it up and placed it in her bag alongside her other belongings. She had since noticed that the light, dimmer than the previous day, was indeed coming from an exit in the sandstone. It appeared to be late afternoon; she did not have much time before needing to settle down somewhere other than the bare surface of the desert. She had already figured it out by now that there were many others who were in the environment, all aiming to kill one another. Though how did they get here with her? As if her mind could be read, she suddenly heard someone outside. Even when their footsteps faded, she was still frightened to go out of the opening.

13-May-2012 08:25:08 - Last edited on 11-Jun-2012 20:36:48 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Eventually deciding to travel in the night, she repositioned herself against the wall and replenished her thirst. Feeling relaxed, she was about to go to sleep when she felt the need to check something.

Scrambling inside her bag, she fumbled for the note and re-read it. A swift realisation hit her with such force that her mouth widened a little. As she stumbled across the words for the second time - no matter how much she tried - she could not get the image of the corpse in the scorpion trap out of her mind.

--

13-May-2012 08:25:42 - Last edited on 16-Jun-2012 11:00:02 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Unsurprisingly, Emma had fallen asleep and as the moon revealed itself to the landscape she awoke. However, seconds after doing so she felt a sharp and stinging pain on both of her shoulders. She gently touched the sore areas and winced as she remembered about the werewolf that had attacked her the few hours before. When she removed her hand from her shoulder and examined it, a familiar red substance had coated her fingers. She twisted her head sideways to see how serious the injury was, and after inspecting it she wished that the first aid kit wasn’t a fake.

Her clothes were now completely ragged and her hair fell limp over her bleeding shoulders. Emma realised that she wouldn’t be able to tear her clothes with her bare hands, so she got out her penknife and cut the fabric so that a long strip was separated. She wound it round the more painful of the two injuries and tied it in a double knot. The material quickly turned a deep crimson, but it would have to do.

She exchanged the penknife for the water bottle and took a drink, moistening her mouth for a little while. As she consumed the liquid her eyes turned to her ankle. Emma was glad to see that the scorpion injury had nearly healed by now.

She carried the bag in her hand and left the bag on the ground as she placed her hands on the desert floor above her. With a heave, Emma pushed her legs up to meet the narrow opening and pulled herself through. Reaching downwards with her head turned to one side, she blindly felt for the handle of the bag and hauled it upwards. The girl sat there for a moments as she patiently waited for the pain to subside a little before getting up and beginning to travel.

She was relieved that she had managed to get through that cave even though she had suffered a few injuries along the way. Something must have been guiding her to that cave so that she was able to get the medicine. A thought occurred to the girl - what if it was that glow, the one that refilled her bottle?

13-May-2012 08:25:50 - Last edited on 16-Jun-2012 11:00:17 by Lady Railly

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