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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Recruitment cont. [Self]

Postby Indigo » 12/28/2014 8:19 PM

From here.
ImageImage

There were several seconds of uncertainty and sand; mostly sand, as far as Witness could tell, getting in the eyeholes of her mask and making her wish she had some sort of umbrella. First the sand was moving around her, and then she was moving through the sand, until it vanished entirely and she could see again, somewhat. She shook her head violently to clear her eyes.

First she became aware of a crushing heat, intense enough to make her gasp and struggle to escape from her coat, internally cursing Violet's lack of warning. The sunlight wasn't nearly as bright as her peek through the--portal? It seemed the most appropriate term, for the moment--had led her to believe, and the only dust within sight was that which clung to her fur. As a matter of fact, most of what she could see was trees. Trees and assorted other greenery.

"Are we in Roraldi?" She hadn't actually looked around to see if Violet had followed, but assuming she was telling the truth, it would be very unwise to abandon her sole ally in a distant part of the world. The only reason to do that would be some sort of grudge against Witness, and she hadn't published anything inflammatory lately, so she couldn't imagine that was it.

"No," said the Nonaga's voice from behind her. "We are in Wilt'no, in the far past. Too far to be easily traced. It was necessary to continue my mission without interruption."

"We--" If she'd been able, Witness would have gaped. Skepticism, however, quickly reasserted itself. "I can see how we might have gotten out of Aldrect, maybe all the way up to Roraldi. I've known people who could do that sort of thing. But time travel? That's absurd."

Violet laughed. "Believe what you will. Our visit to the far past will be brief. It was only needed to throw my pursuers off our scent."
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Re: Recruitment cont. [Self]

Postby Indigo » 12/28/2014 8:31 PM

"Walk with me," Violet said, and strode past her into the trees. She picked up her coat, draped it reluctantly over her tail, and trotted after. Well, it was hardly as if she had any choice.

"I cannot take us forward in time just yet," the Nonaga continued, gesturing to the forest around them, "however uncomfortable you may be with this sight. I need to rest. It took a great effort to bring us here, so far back into the past."

"What was all that sand about?" Witness asked. "I don't see any now, is it just a part of your travel process? Some sort of hidden desert dimension you move through? And I'm still not buying that time travel nonsense, incidentally, no matter how hard you try to sell it. I've heard a lot of absurd theories in my time."

"Believe what you will. As for the sand, I cannot move through space and time at once--this is a skill only the most promising agents are trained in, and I am not one of those. I needed to first move us to Wilt'no, and then back to the time when this land is a forest. I can see you preparing to criticize my grammar, but this is how we must speak of time. It is all happening at once, in a sense. Otherwise we would not be able to visit other parts of it."

"And where and when will we be going next, precisely?"

"We will remain in the desert, but we shall be returning to a time when it actually is such, though still a little before the time I took you from. And the place--here." She stopped at the base of an enormous tree, so suddenly Witness almost walked into her. "There is a settlement here, when we are going, underground and nocturnal. There may be someone there who can help us."

"Fascinating," Witness said. She had heard of such settlements, though never dreamed of traveling to Wilt'no herself to see them; she had too much fur to last long in a desert such as that. "And when will we be leaving? Or does that question mean nothing to you?"

Violet smiled. "All times may occur at once, but we still move sequentially through each. As for when, why not now?" She spread her arms again.
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Re: Recruitment cont. [Self]

Postby Indigo » 12/28/2014 8:47 PM

Witness stumbled out into darkness. She wondered about that--exactly how long did Violet's space-traversing process take? Several hours at least, since it had been night when they left Aldrect and daylight when they arrived in what she could only assume was Roraldi, and now it was night again. It seemed an inefficient way to do things; it would be much faster just to drive to Wilt'no in the first place, though perhaps more traceable. Then again, driving wouldn't allow for this ridiculous time-travel charade.

She shook her coat free of her tail and pulled it on again, muttering under her breath about the inconvenience. At least it would be easier to carry this way. When she looked up again, Violet was standing a few feet away, watching her with a faint smile. Odd. There was nothing visible but sand for some distance around, but, of course, Violet had said they were visiting an underground settlement. Why she couldn't just move them underground in the first place was beyond Witness.

She started forward, but Violet grabbed her sleeve. "Wait. Someone is coming to meet us, and we do not wish to look impatient."

Several minutes passed, during which Witness became substantially more grateful for her coat. Eventually the sand a few feet from her shifted, and a Suncheeka's head poked out. "Good morning," he said in a melodious voice, and then laughed. "Come in, why don't you?" He did something odd and not really visible with his shoulders, and a large panel of stone popped up from the ground, shedding sand everywhere.
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