Worn down by the relentless heat and stifling still air of the canyons, Calla eventually stops thinking of directions or pursuit, and concentrates on moving forward.
.
The party shrugs off the desert sun, taking maximum advantage of the wilderness or simply ploughing on relentlessly.
Arakan will once again try to use his experience with remaining unseen to cover the tracks that the group has made.
"Keep your knees slightly bent and breath in through the nose, out through the mouth."
Irivis passes on some advice she's found useful in the past when trying to make good speed.
The party sets a good pace, putting a decent distance between themselves and the bandit tower. Arakan helps disguise their passage.
Calla tries to help Irivis and Jareen spot the best way towards Grak's Pool. "That canyon looks like it bends north in the distance..."
Gorad seeing Arakan's attempts at animal tracks looks for ways to keep tracks from happening in the first place.
nature
Calla leads the team up a blind canyon. But at least Gorad helps to disguise their tracks by steering clear of soft sand.
percep
Gorad summons Sandswimmer at the top of the canyon to assist with finding the way to Grak's Pool
The canyon-lands begin to peter out, the walls of the ravines getting lower and lower, until the path emerges on the far side. The estuary is out of sight on the other side of the twisting, maze-like uplands, but the road to Grak's Pool lies at the bottom of the valley. The group has also manages to evade pursuit and survive one day in the burning desert. But the shadows are stretching as night approaches.
Irivis draws a deep breath and allows herself to slow down.
"That was interesting."
She looks around for anywhere promising to make camp, but the pain in her maimed leg is simply too much of a distraction.
nature looking for a good place to camp
"You can say that again Irivis..." "I have this spear if anyone can make better use of it, my talents lie elsewhere.."
Arakan lets out a sigh of both relief and frustration, "Well, it appears that we have managed to make it out of the immediate danger. With the night closing in, and a weary open road ahead of us, I think we should use the natural cover of the canyons to find rest. The last thing we want is an open fire and backs exposed to both the elements and predators."
A brief reconnaissance finds a shallow cavern in the canyon wall, with a good view down back the way the group has come. A quick checks finds it empty of other inhabitants, and the travellers settle down for the night. The sun dips and dusk gathers. The sky clears and one of the moons rises, casting a wan light amid a riot of stars. Shadows pool under the rocky walls and it gets very cold, very quickly.
Calla at first just sits where Arakan indicates, head slumped, arms curled around some object hidden in her desert robes. Her body quickly recovers with rest, and she makes a start on preparing a meagre meal from the captured supplies. It's joyless, tasteless stuff, but she makes sure that each of the group gets something to keep them going.
"Do we light a fire and risk discovery? Or keep dark and risk the cold?" Calla asks through already chattering teeth.
Arakan paces around the small perimeter of the enclosure, dissatisfied and relieved at the same time. "Here's the deal, we have some hard decisions to make, and given the last time I had to rely on you all to make hard decisions it ended up with me making them. That said, I am going to present the things as I see them, wait briefly for input from the rest of you, and make a decision." He tells the group. He speaks with the authority of one who knows what he wants, and what he is willing to do to get it.
"We can travel by day or by night. The days are hot, the nights are cold, either way we suffer the elements. We will need to look for food and water as we go, as what we had found will not last us beyond this night. If we should stay for the night, we will need to determine watch. I believe the Mul and I both have better eyes for the darkness, and would be best for the darkest hours of the nights. If we travel by day, we have the grace of light to find supplies, but we are easily visible to any enemy. By night, we have the cover of darkness, but we limit our own visibility." He finishes, before looking around for something he could use to make a spark for a fire.
Pausing, he turns to Calla, "Now that we have time to discuss it, what's so important about going north?"
"North is the shortest route to known water, food, and some sort of civilisation." Calla unconsciously apes Arakan's brusque tone.
"And once we have rested for a little while I think we should press on through the night, and try to find shade for the day. Only mad crodlu and Athasian's go out willingly in the mid-day sun. Uncle Tobir always said that."
"This Mul still takes orders from the Caravan master, which is Calla now... If speed of journey is a must I suggest we travel early in the morning and travel later in the evening resting in between both. Unfortunately the majority of predators will probably be doing the same..." "As to my eyesight, mine is not much greater than you humans, however I come with assistance." Gorad glances to the side as Sandswimmer rises out of the sand.
Arakan looks at Gorad with a wry smile, "Caravan master? I don't know if you noticed, but right now we are a caravan of five, without goods, wagons, or security. From what I've seen thus far, if it were up to your 'Caravan Master' we would most likely still be in that tower, or possibly in the process of dying. Thanks only to your Gran pushing you to action" he points at Calla. He chuckles at the situation, before becoming serious "I may not have deep pockets full of ceramics, nor a warehouse of goods, but if I know one thing it's surviving when things don't want me to. My methods may not be friendly or charitable, but they work. Much like anything else in this sand-blasted wasteland I will do what it takes to further my own existence."
Considering Gorad's clarification of visibility, Arakan suggests, "Well, with me being the only one with decent night sight, we obviously cannot travel then. You may well be correct, that at sunrise we travel until the sun gets close to peak, then wait until it passes to begin again. Border on dusk and dawn, but we cannot move in the darkness without needing enough light to make us visible across the whole landscape. If that's the case we should sleep now. I will take the watch in deepest darkness. It will likely be the last to almost last if we plan on being able to make use of dawn to travel."
He pauses, counts on his fingers for a bit then suggests, "I say the old and infirm take the first and last, them needing a more solid sleep than those of us with youth and vigor. I will be second to last, so that leaves Calla and Gorad. I would say Gorad take the middle watch, given the hardy nature of most half-dwarves. So, it would be Jareen, Calla, Gorad, Myself, and lastly Irivis. We will just have to mark time as best we can, but if we can each go about two chimes, that should give everyone a decent rest." He turns to Calla giving a mocking bow, rolling his eyes at Gorad, "That is... if the 'Caravan Master' so approves?" he asks with sarcasm.
"Watch how you talk to Calla or you may be my next spirit..." Gorad sighs "But your motive is sound survival is key.. I don't need the rest of the frailer races, I can make do with only 2 or 3 hrs a day"
"Arakan can watch with me. I won't sleep until this foot is rested anyway."
The group of ill-matched travellers rests for the night, with pairs of them maintaining watch. Hours pass. A few small creatures make skittering noises in the night, but otherwise it is silent.
It is the darkest, coldest point of the night. Suddenly there is a flare of light in the sky. With a hideously loud hissing, roaring sound a ball of flame, trailing embers behind it, plunges out of the night and hurtles across the heavens. It is impossible to guess its size or trajectory at first, and for a horrible moment it seems to be heading straight for the cave and its stricken inhabitants. But that is just a trick of the eye and instead it is quickly clear that the missile is much larger and more distant. With a flash it crashes into the ground several miles away with a huge explosion that lights the canyon as if it were day.
Irivis sits bolt upright.
"What was that?"
Arakan, as he had said, knows how to survive as he chooses a spot very close to Irivis to sleep, in hopes of consolidating whatever body heat they produce between them. As the giant flaming ball falls to the desert, the resounding crash startles Arakan from his reverie of watching the spectacle, with sudden realization. He stands bolt upright, "GET OUT OF THE CANYONS NOW. QUICKLY OR WE'LL ALL BE CRUSHED!" He runs toward the open expanse where they saw the valley road.
Calla lies awake in the cold, thinking of all the retorts she could have, should have, made to Arakan. Should have told him that at least I had people to care about, and at least I have a destination. What does he have? Nothing. Bitterness and nothing. And that's what he'll always have. When I'm back safe with the House in Tyr... he'll still be alone, with nothing and no-one and bitterness...
At last she sleeps, and wakens to her watch, and sleeps again. And wakens to fire and panic. Calla is on her feet, spear in hand, almost before her eyes are open.
"Seemed to strike near the tower where we were held. Was that... was that their ritual?"
Startled by Arakan, Irivis knows she probably can't move fast enough. She stumbles to her feet and grabs Calla.
"Don't know, but Arakan's got the best instinct for self-preservation of anyone I know. Get out."
"Come on then." Calla supports Irivis and together they follow Arakan. Damned before I leave anyone else behind.
"Gorad, Jareen, we're running again. Can anyone make a light?"
endurance Gorad quickly moves to follow Calla and nods a silent thanks Arakan's way. "Unfortunately I have no light that I can make and they confenscated my sunrods"
"No flint, no time."
The ground makes a violent convulsion, dislodging boulders from the tops of the ravines. At the same time, a searingly hot winds roars down the canyon carrying gravel like sling bullets and flensing sand.
The howling gale seems to go on for an age, but eventually it begins to moderate. It is then that huge chunks of rock, thrown up by the impact miles away, begin to return to earth.
Irivis drops to the ground and curls up, looking for (and finding) some small cover from the blast. Spotting Jareen's frail frame, she manages to pull him down beside her. For all her efforts, she can't avoid the ruthless battering.
"Curl you idiot."
Calla hunkers down, trying to shield Gorad as much as she can.
Calla is bloody and bruised, but still conscious after the onslaught.
endurance
vs fort miss
nature
vs ref
vs ref
vs ref
Despite twisting and turning as best he can Gorad slumps to the dirt as the damage is just too much for him to bare.
32 total damage -4/28
Arakan runs to escape the canyons only recently used for defense. As the blast of wind blows down through the canyon's walls, he tries to flow with it. His timing off, he gets blown into one of the rocky walls, hitting his shoulder as his arm goes numb. Picking himself up to continue to try and beat the blast, he tucks and rolls to avoid the debris, a smaller stone just misses him as he spins away from it, but soon after a larger one hits him hard in the back of the thigh, knocking him to one knee. Barely rising, he rolls to avoid another, but is unable to move fully out of the way. It doesn't smash into his face as it would have, yet still hits him upside the head, knocking him unconscious.
Jareen bends and attempts to weather the oncoming storm
, but fails miserably. Battered and bruised, again, he loks around for someplace to hide, and finds a small crevice.
After the second blast, without daring to move, Jareen says in a quivering voice. "Let's hope that was the last meteorite we ever see. Damned shooting stars."
Calla stands in the sudden oppressive silence. Small pebbles and fine sand rain down, last debris of the explosion coating the scene of ruin. Calla's head is spinning and at first she cannot make out the forms of her companions strewn amid the chaos.
"Gorad! Irivis!" She calls out but cannot even hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears.
Finally she spots movement, and as Irivis gets to her feet Calla moves to her side, still looking for the others.
It's dark again, and weirdly quiet after the tumult of the last minute os so. Particles begins to settle out of the air, covering everything with choking dust.
"Jareen, you're alright! Come on - we need to find Gorad. I suppose Arakan too..." Calla starts moving through the rocky debris, stumbling in the dark, hoping that the next thing she finds isn't a corpse.
"Over here. He needs help. Calla, we probably wouldn't be this much alive if we hadn't had his warning."
Irivis spots Arakan among the rubble and moves towards him, realising as she kneels down that her healing skills are no use at all in this situation.