With temperatures rising over 143°C (289.40°F) in most areas, the only relief is during the nights when it is much cooler. All travelers are advised to keep to the local towns on the desert's outskirts and avoid traveling too far from civilization. (+3 Endurance, +2 Defense)

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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:36 PM

Dante did the same, though he chose a tent well away from the rest, nearer to the baggage and the beasts. Part of it was that he did not wish to encroach where he was not wanted. This was a caravan that was neither familiar to nor with him, after all. However, he did also just want to be alone for its own sake. It was... frankly, exhausting to be around strangers all the time.

He had not thought it could be, at first. Dante had spent his childhood lonely to the point of desperation, trapped in solitude in his father's castle. At that time, he had wished for nothing more than to be surrounded by companions.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:43 PM

However, once the option was available to him, he found he could not bear it. Perhaps that had always been his nature, and he simply hadn’t known. Perhaps it was merely the product of habit. Either way, he slowly grew accustomed to thinking of crowds as undertakings, rather than things to be anticipated.

Here in the desert, where he was forever cautious of making some faux pas, and constantly assailed by the elements besides, this was more true than it ever was. The desert folk were hospitable enough, and not terribly prone to offense, but still it was clear that he was an outsider. Outlander, the man who comes apart in the sun. Truly, he was a long way from home.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:44 PM

Closing his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to drift. Slowly, the slight tension he always felt in the presence of the caravans ebbed away. He could not sleep, not here, still in the presence of the sun, however indirectly, but he could still rest. There was no sound beyond that of the camels, shuffling amongst themselves.

“So. Where are you going?”

A voice startled him out of his repose, and he had scrambled to his feet before he remembered himself. It was a habit from the war, and an unpleasant one, though it had likely saved his life many times over. Here, among the tents and sand, however, he was sure it only made him look odd.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:44 PM

The speaker was a young boy, perhaps a little younger than thirteen or fourteen. He was short and skinny, his hair cropped off but growing back. He wore an old, worn pair of pant and not much else, though there was a carrying sack slung over one shoulder. He grinned at the sight of Dante pressing a hand to his heart. “Boy, you sure startle easy! You were up like one o’ them gerbils. I thought you were gonna dash for home! I’m Rava. Where are you going?”

He spoke casually, easily, as if they were friends, but here in the desert heartland where outlanders were few, the children were more bold. If he had been clever, he might have anticipated this, really. Sighing, he seated himself back down. There really would be no sleeping now.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:50 PM

Clearing his throat, already dry with the desert air, he tried to find his voice. “My name is Dante,” he began, but the boy shook his head.

“I know. You said so when the elder introduced you. But where are you going? Not just to Armid, are you? You haven’t got anything to trade. You don’t have family there, do you? You don’t look like you got family there.” The boy squinted at him, though Dante had to wonder what Rava could make out from beneath his layers. Maybe his vision was less addled by the sun, but Dante had thought himself fairly well-hidden beneath the cloaks. Perhaps he simply sounded especially foreign.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:53 PM

Dante wondered for a moment whether he ought to engage. It was possible that a few answers would sate the child’s curiosity, but it was also possible that that would only encourage him. In the face of Rava’s open stare, however, he relented.

“I’m looking for a guide in Armid,” he said. It was as much as he had revealed to anyone, and he didn’t feel as if the occasion warranted the sordid tale of his mother. They had just met, and he didn’t wish to look as if he was fishing for pity. Besides that, he felt a little guilty at using her memory so; it didn't feel quite right, to be putting it out there at all.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/04/2017 9:54 PM

The boy scratched his head. “A guide?” he said. “All the way in Armid?  You must be going real far then, huh?” Dante allowed himself a chuckle at that. He wasn’t wrong. If Dante had merely wished to see the desert sights, there were guides enough at its fringes. To go to Armid, for any reason, one must have some business at its depths. Perking up again, Rava said, “Where exactly? I know some folks. I could call in some favors, and get you in for cheap.” He was not yet old or clever enough to disguise the hunger in that smile. Most likely these were less reputable guides, or something else altogether. Bandits and thieves, like as not.

"That's very kind, but I think I'll be fine on my own," said Dante.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/09/2017 6:30 PM

The boy insisted, bringing up all manner of recommendations, though Dante remained unswayed. "I'm tellin' ya, you're missing out!" he said. "You'll pay through the nose without an insider to haggle for you. If you just tell me where you're headed..."

Dante shook his head, and Rava deflated a little, finally convinced that he wasn't going to get anywhere. "Alright. Your funeral," he said. Rising with the spryness that only youth could convey, he was away in an instant. Dante, who still hardly looked a day over sixteen or seventeen himself, could only sigh after him. He couldn't imagine having that sort of energy.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/09/2017 6:51 PM

It wasn't until the sun was low on the horizon that activity began to resume, not because the air had cooled but rather in anticipation of it. Even the prospect of coming relief was enough to stir the caravans. There were things to be done, after all, and people to be spoken to. Camels were led this way and that, to be watered and fed, their handlers speaking to them in low and gentle tones.

Elsewhere, people thronged in small groups to pass stories or gossip, or to exchange gifts. Dante, leading his own camel, sighted quite a few lovers among their numbers, some meetings more clandestine than others. If he saw anything, however, he kept quiet, and turned a blind eye to it.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/09/2017 6:59 PM

It was hardly his place to intrude upon them, and he wasn't going to make a nuisance of himself. He was merely here to attend to his business and be on his way. Seeing them left a strangely hollow feeling in his chest, however; he felt older than he had when he had been sitting with the boy.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been flirted with. It had happened, he supposed; people kept telling him it had happened, anyway. He hadn't noticed, a lot of the time, and other things inevitably got in the way when he had. And the timing was never right, somehow--- he would be on the run, or too weary from recent events to pay it much mind. It was always something like that.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby .:Random Event:. » 04/20/2017 11:43 PM

No one said life in Wilt'no was easy. The sun hung low, glowing harshly. A bitter wind picked up from time to time, blowing the desert's hot breath and stinging skin with biting sand. Small biting insects buzzed, occasionally try to cling to flesh or fabric, seeking shelter.

But still, even here there was life if you knew where to look. The brightly colored Iridescent Wings half buried in the sand was proof of that. The previous owner was long gone, but it was a good omen, because there'd always be more.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/21/2017 9:44 AM

There were, despite his reticence, a few curious glances cast his way. One or two brave--- or bored--- individuals even came forth to greet him, to make a little light conversation. Dante was careful to be polite, but bland. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have welcomed the company, but considering his own nature and that of his search, he felt it best to attract as few hangers-on as possible. There was still the possibility that his father was tracking him, after all. He hardly wished to cause more trouble.

It worked, perhaps somewhat too easily for Dante’s pride. Those who sought him out retreated without fuss, and did not make any attempt to speak to him again.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/21/2017 9:44 AM

A few of the elders were setting up for a gather, and Dante allowed himself to drift closer, into the orbit of its conversation. He fended off another few well-meaning entreaties, then settled in to listen. Truth be told, me would much rather have had the night to himself, perhaps to wander about or to read. However, he still had scant clues to go on for his search, and he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to gather information, no matter how unlikely.

The talk was mostly of camels, of the price of goods and the state of the trading routes. There was some speculation that a particular watering hole was running dry. Dante had to stifle a yawn as the night wore on; somewhere along the way, one of the elders had taken out his pipe, and now a heady smoke blanketed the air near the fire.
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/21/2017 9:45 AM

It was offered to him, which was evidence that he hadn’t been completely forgotten, but he refused at once, as strongly as could be polite. Up close, the aroma was so sickly sweet that it threatened to make him dizzy.

“And what about ol’ Faro, is he still haunting the streets of Armid?” said one elder, scratching at his truly prodigious beard. This earned him a guffaw from around the circle.

“Aye, that he is,” said another. She spat into the sand in front of her, muttering under her breath. “Crazy ol’ coot. He's giving all us good honest folk a bad reputation. Won’t give up the game either, even though all the thrill-seekers have dried up. ”
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Re: Rosewater Rain [self]

Postby crow » 04/21/2017 9:46 AM

“Well, maybe not all of ‘em.” The elder that had brought Dante thus far now eyed him, and Dante straightened, surprised to find himself the subject of scrutiny again. “Where did you say you were headed, boy?”

Dante shook his head, as if to clear it, then cleared his throat for good measure. “Armid,” he said; his voice came out slightly strange. “Armid, and then...” Recovering himself, he shrugged and gave a helpless smile. “Wherever my nose leads me. I’m afraid I don’t even know myself.”

The elder sighed. “I suppose there’s no use telling you to go home now. Pah. If I were your age, I wouldn’t be pissing my golden years away wandering in the sands.”
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