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Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
What was that all about, anyway? Why was it deliberately helping her? The only humans that she had found so far in the desert were either being killed or were set to kill.

She had to be cautious, and travelling in only the moonlight had both its benefits and its risks. She was concealed by the darkness – but on the other hand, if she were to be attacked, she would find it hard to see; that is what happened with the scorpion. However, being watchful was extremely difficult for Emma as she was always thinking about something.

All of a sudden she felt a sword slamming into her uncovered shoulder. Someone had crept up behind her and had seen her in the dark – but she did*’t have time to tell who it was. Her body slumped over as she fell onto the sand, losing consciousness. The sword had struck deep into her shoulder, making it bleed heavily. Seconds before going unconscious, she was certain that she would die.

Miraculously, a few hours later she awoke in white sheets and the environment she appeared to be in looked like a hospital. Her family were anxiously standing around her, but when they saw her eyes flicker open Emma could see their expressions turn to relief. “Am… am I really here? Is this real?” the girl asked herself. It all seemed to be until she woke up properly.

The 500ml of blood that she had lost had been mixed into the sand, creating an unpleasant-looking scene. As Emma turned her head, she found that someone was beside her, inspecting her wound. The sunlight – as it was now daytime - was glaring at her, so she had to squint to avoid being blinded. The person noticed her wrinkled forehead and stopped what they were doing for a moment.

“Are you awake?” the feminine-sounding voice asked softly. It sounded familiar, so much so that Emma could not simply ignore it. “Yes,” she replied weakly. “Who – who are you?”

“Good, I thought you were dead for a minute, Emma. You scared me,” she responded, stepping aside and revealing her face.

13-May-2012 08:26:52 - Last edited on 16-Jun-2012 19:11:01 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Her vermillion shoulder-length hair was limp like Emma’s, but her clothes seemed not to be ripped as much. There seemed to be a piece missing from her shirt, though. She tilted her head to the side and spotted the missing fragment wrapped around her shoulder. She turned her head back to the other girl, and as her jade eyes glowed with contentment, Emma realised who she was.

Scarlett, her best friend, was in the desert with her.

“Scarlett?” Emma whispered. “Why are you here?”

“There’s no time to explain. We just need to get you some medical help, because your shoulders are really losing a lot of blood. Look, I found something that might help us. Come on.” As she answered, Emma glanced around for her bag. It was nowhere to be seen; not even the scorpion food was left. Whoever attacked her must have taken the whole bag with them. She reached out a hand and Scarlett took it before rushing past the camera buried in the sand without a second thought.

Emma was too baffled to speak within those few moments of walking. How did her best friend find her - and why was she with her in the desert? Was there everyone she knew here? More importantly, how did she manage to survive the few hours of unconsciousness without dying due to the loss of blood? These questions remained unanswered in her mind as they came to a small village.

It was rather tiny but it seemed that they had everything they needed. Foliage and cacti were formed in a circle around the territory and the actual place was sat upon a convex-shaped area. “This is what I wanted to show you. Let’s see who’s here,” Scarlett said quietly as the injured girl examined the land before her. “Is anyone there?” her best friend shouted before receiving no response. “You seem quiet,* she murmured to Emma.

“Yeah, that’s because-” Emma tried to explain why when a man strolled out of a house nearby.

13-May-2012 08:26:58 - Last edited on 17-Jun-2012 13:05:07 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He had greasy hair like the girls’ but it was nowhere near as limp as theirs; his brown eyes shone with curiosity as he straightened his shirt. “Hello?” he greeted cautiously, stepping forwards. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Emma opened her mouth but before she could speak Scarlett answered. “I’m Scarlett and this is Emma,” she said, pointing at her. “We’re friends and we’re also travellers. Do you have any medical supplies? You can see that she’s injured and she needs it quickly.”

As the wounded girl silently thanked Scarlett for being so confident, the man disappeared inside his house before quickly coming into their view again. This time, he had a genuine first aid kit and as he handed it to Scarlett he said to Emma, “You’re welcome. I can see that you need it. There is an empty house next to mine which you can stay in until you get better, by the way.” He then entered his house once more.

“Thank goodness,” Emma muttered under her breath as Scarlett took the lead into their temporary home. It was made out of sandstone but this time it did not have any markings, which made a nice change. There were two beds, their covers crafted from snakeskin. It wasn’t the most comfortable or attractive duvet but it would do.

Emma winced as she sat down on the bed nearest to her but then stared at Scarlett questioningly. “This is a strange coincidence,” she remarked. “How did you find me in the middle of nowhere? That’s what I want to know.”

“I can’t remember much about the incident but when we were walking through the woods to my house this guy came up behind you and hit you on the head. Do you remember that?” Scarlett asked, now handing her the first-aid kit. Emma opened it and began to tend to her wounds as much as she could before shaking her head. “All I recall was hitting my head on some concrete. I thought that I must have tripped and fallen.”

13-May-2012 08:27:56 - Last edited on 17-Jun-2012 13:06:10 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Well, I turned around to see the guy but before I could do anything to stop him I had slammed my head onto the concrete as well. I think you were unconscious at that time because you weren’t moving. Next thing I knew, I was unconscious as well. When I woke up, I was in this desert. It was night-time and I had a bag with me, containing…” Scarlett listed all the things she had with her as she took them out of the leather satchel that Emma had only just noticed.

“I then set off travelling. After a couple of days had passed, I was walking when I came across this village. I was going to inspect it when I spotted something – which turned out to be you – in the distance. I ran towards it and at that point I was really scared because I thought you were dead; you were breathing though. I did my best to patch you up and that’s when you woke up.”

“Well for now we can stick together as allies, right? You have all the things – I’ve lost all of mine due to the guy who stabbed me,” Emma muttered. She was now finished with the kit. Bandages covered her shoulders and were tied in knots under her arms, while a plaster concealed her scorpion sting to avoid the risk of the wound opening.

Scarlett agreed and was about to say something further when they both heard a knock at their door; opening it revealed a second man. He had grey, curly hair reaching down to his shoulders which strangely did not look greasy at all. “Welcome!” he greeted, his aqua eyes resting on Emma before turning to Scarlett. “Elsah told me about you two.” The bandaged girl assumed that he was the man that they had first met. “I’m Lorja.”

That name sounded ever so familiar. Emma automatically reached for her bag but the fact that it was not with her any longer finally set in her mind. “I’ve got something to tell you, Lorja. It’ll take a while to explain though,” she said, sounding worried.

“That’s fine – Ella, is it?”

“Emma,” she corrected, her expression changing as her lips formed a smile.

13-May-2012 08:28:02 - Last edited on 17-Jun-2012 13:06:52 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Okay, Emma. You can tell me later. Each night we sit around a fire and have our dinner. During that time we talk about various things. It might sound silly - a fire in a desert - but we need it to cook our food and we usually have it at night. I will see you there in a few hours. And you are?” Lorja turned to Scarlett.

“You can call me Scarlett but my full name is Scarlett Anna Athens,” she replied, her monotonous expression changing to a smile.

“All right, Emma and Scarlett,” he said happily before turning to walk away, “I will see you later.” Soon he was out of their view. Emma closed the door before seating herself on her bed once again.

“Wow,” she remarked, glancing at Scarlett. “This village seems friendly.”

--

13-May-2012 08:29:17 - Last edited on 17-Jun-2012 13:07:26 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The day soon ended with Emma and Scarlett talking about several things in succession. Whether it was their serious predictions on why they were sent to the desert or whether it was informing one another of the latest news, they had something to talk about. Finally, at the point just before sunset Emma heard a crackling from behind her. Obviously there was a wall behind her but she predicted that it was coming from outside. The pair stepped out and the sound revealed itself to be a glowing fire.

Every villager was sat upon one of three logs arranged in a triangle around the blaze. As she sat down on the edge of one, Scarlett seated beside her, she watched Lorja get up and greet her. “Ah! It’s lovely to see you here, Scarlett and Anna,” he said cheerfully as he returned to his seat. Emma contemplated correcting him but then decided that it would be a waste of her time. As this was going on in her mind, the man took some raw scorpion out of a rather large snakeskin bag. An arrow was still embedded in its centre. She heard Scarlett squeal with disgust as the arrow was yanked out of its place, blood dripping out of the opening.

After Lorja placed it on a stick and held it over a fire, he announced, “I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now the new arrivals, Scarlett and Anna.” Lorja had yet again mispronounced her name. “Emma,” she muttered, becoming rather tired of the constant corrections.

“Ah yes, Emma and Scarlett. Would you like to tell us all why and how you have found us?”

“Well…” Scarlett started off, leaving Emma with a slightly wary look on her face. “I don’t know why we’re in the middle of this burning desert, but I do know that I found you all when I was just wandering around. It was completely at random; it just so happened that I found Emma, my best friend nearby.”

“And Emma, how did you find us?”

“Again, it was completely at random. Anyway, I had something to give to you but my bag was stolen so it’s gone.

13-May-2012 08:29:56 - Last edited on 20-Jun-2012 21:35:46 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
It was a letter and I found it within a cave, I think-”

“A cave?” Lorja repeated, looking interested. “What sort of cave?”

“It had lots of challenges in it. I hated it, but when I came to the end of the cave I found a letter addressed to you. I think it was from Bedra? I can’t remember the name.”

“Do you mean Bedru?” he asked anxiously. Emma nodded before noticing tears in the corner of his eyes. She wasn’t sure if they were of happiness or sadness but she soon found out as he spoke further.

“Bedru was my son. I had sent him off to look for his brother, Rebni because he hadn’t returned and-” Lorja then broke down into sobs, one between every couple of words that he managed to get out. “We were afraid that he was dead so we decided that Bedru was the best person to look for him. Is he…” A long pause followed until he managed to utter the final word. “…dead?”

“It – it said on the letter,” Emma mumbled. “Apparently he had been killed by wolves-”

“Wolves?” Lorja questioned, almost speaking to himself at this point. “Is that why Rebni was so eager to get into that cave?” He glanced at the villagers before turning his view back to Emma and a rather confused Scarlett. “Did you manage to kill the wolves?”

“I did*’t kill all of them, but I managed to end the life of one or two of them,” she replied, smiling slightly. The scorpion was now perfectly cooked but Lorja did*’t seem to notice; he was too busy grinning to himself.

“You do not know how thankful I am! Thank you for informing us about this, Emma. Even though we received the fateful news that both of my children are… dead, you managed to kill some of the monsters and I’m glad you did that.” He then took the scorpion out of the fire and passed it around the triangle.

When it got around to Emma, a rather large piece was left. She did*’t want to look too greedy, but on the other hand she was extremely hungry so she decided to eat the remainder.

13-May-2012 08:30:06 - Last edited on 22-Jun-2012 22:19:06 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
After removing the edible part from the bone, she handed the stick back to Lorja. “You’re welcome. I had to though, to avoid getting killed as well. Luckily there were only about a couple of wolves attacking before I climbed to safety.” A thought suddenly popped into Emma’s head. She needed to tell him about the traveller in the pit and the hieroglyphics on the walls - so when Lorja dismissed the other villagers she made the decision to inform him.

As Emma got up and began walking in his direction – he whom she thought was the leader of the settlement - she was interrupted by an arm grabbing her wounded shoulder. A spike of pain shot throughout her body as she turned to face Scarlett. “How did you know all of that?” she questioned curiously, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I stumbled across a cave before I got to you. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and that’s how I got there. It’s just a coincidence that it was the very same cave that Lorja’s sons were exploring,” Emma explained, shrugging.

Scarlett nodded. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to him about the others things I found in it; questions that maybe only he would be able to answer. I’ll see you in a few minutes, alright?” Emma responded, and without waiting for an answer she rushed over to Lorja. He was just about to enter his own house but Emma stopped him in his tracks.

“Yes, Emma? What do you want?”

“I have a couple of things to discuss with you for a few minutes if you don’t mind. They’re to do with the cave.”

“Go ahead,” he ushered before covering up his yawn. It was rather dark by now but the glowing fire would give enough light for the pair to see each other. Emma wondered what to tell him about first – the hieroglyphics or the trap – but she soon made her decision.

“When I was travelling through the tunnels I found a bag with what appeared to be a first aid kit in it. It turned out to be a scorpion and snake trap.

13-May-2012 08:30:13 - Last edited on 22-Jun-2012 22:19:44 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
However, I found what looked to be another person that had fallen for it in the pit. I thought I’d tell you this because it might have been your son - not the one who wrote the letter, but the other one.” Emma struggled to remember his name, leaving her feeling embarrassed.

*Rebni?” Lorja asked rhetorically. “That could be what has happened to him. What did he look like?”

“Um… brown hair? I couldn’t see his face though,” Emma answered uncertainly, his gruesome image appearing in her mind once again. She found it amusing that she could remember what he looked like but not his name.

“Indeed, he does– did have that hair colour.”

“There were a lot of hieroglyphics near the entrance of the cave. I couldn’t read what they said, but they were mainly in only one of the tunnels. I was wondering what they were, in case you knew anything about it?” she questioned.

“I actually do. I’ll cut a long story short. Years and years ago my ancestors spoke that language. What you saw in the cave were not actually hieroglyphics but just variations of the language we speak today. The language evolved into the version that I speak. You may speak a slightly different variation because I don’t think you’re related to my ancestors. I still know the ancient version of it but I prefer using what I am speaking right now.* Lorja smiled at Emma, and she nodded in response and agreement.

“Thank you for that explanation. I was really curious about it, and I actually did*’t think you would know. I will let you sleep now,* she said, smiling back at him. He nodded, before entering his house and shutting the door. Emma then made her way back to her temporary home. Scarlett was waiting there with a slightly anxious yet angry expression.

“It’s been way over five minutes. I was really worried about you!” she exclaimed, folding her arms. The sleepiness in her eyes showed Emma that she wasn’t actually that nervous, and with no time to lose she and Scarlett climbed into their beds.

13-May-2012 08:30:20 - Last edited on 22-Jun-2012 22:20:18 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The mattress was surprisingly comfy in her opinion but the snakeskin duvet was what prevented Emma from sleeping quickly. However after a few minutes they were both in a deep sleep, due to how tired they both were.

Emma awoke nine hours later, not because of the sunlight peeking through the holes in the house and shining onto her bed, but because she was being shaken. Scarlett stood before Emma with her hands on her shoulders. “You’re finally awake!” Scarlett exclaimed, stepping backwards to allow Emma to exit her bed. The girl sat on the vexatious duvet as she slowly peeled off the plaster protecting her scorpion wound. Emma’s face glowed with delight as it uncovered her ankle - there was only a glimpse of the injury left. When she removed the bandages from her shoulders she was also pleased to see that they had healed a little.

It was then that she realised that she was not only thirsty, but since she had not eaten anything since the night before she was extremely hungry as well. She requested a drink and food from Scarlett, though she was hesitant to give her bottle to Emma. The wounded traveller took a long drink and then realised why her friend was so unwilling; the bottle was nearly empty.

“That’s why I did*’t want to give it to you,” Scarlett explained with an irritated tone, stabbing a finger at the little liquid left in the flask. “I know you haven’t got any water yourself, but there was no reason to drink that much.”

“Yes there was,” Emma retorted. “Anyway, do you have any food?”

“I’m afraid not,* she replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “I ate the last piece while you were talking to Lorja last night.” Her lips thinned out to form a smile.

Emma jokingly smiled back but her eyes sent the true message to Scarlett. The vehement look was enough for her and she turned away, feeling slightly guilty. “Let’s go outside,” Emma suggested as she sighed quietly and stood up.

13-May-2012 08:32:26 - Last edited on 24-Jun-2012 21:36:07 by Lady Railly

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