Chapter 14: And Life Goes On

Thendat woke at daybreak, as was his habit. After checking to make sure nothing had been disturbed during the night, he strung his bow and left to go find some small game for food. The stuff they had was only good for a while before it started getting old.

A few squirrels were roasting over a small fire when Milar woke up. He yawned and scratched his face. “Mmm…smells good. You gonna make anything for yourself?”

Thendat ventured a small smile. “I figured I’d stick you over the fire after you were done eating…more meat that way.”

Milar relented. “Alright, alright…half of one?” Thendat nodded.

Legerra walked by, sticking the end of his sword into one of the crisp animals and tossing it into the air, slicing it in half and lobbing one piece to Darren as he approached the fire.

“Y’know, Darren, you could cook this stuff a lot quicker than we could.” Legerra winked. Darren smiled, then let it drop and ate in silence. After a few minutes, Legerra started looking around at the others. “You want me to wake Sara?”

Darren rolled his eyes. “Sure, go ahead.” He pointed. “That one.”

Legerra walked nonchalantly over to the tent as quietly as he could, but his plate mail armor could be heard for hundreds of feet. He yanked open the flap, howling in surprise when a powerful wind threw him back to the fire, almost landing him in it.

“If I’d wanted a wake-up call, I’d have asked for one.” Acerin stumbled out, visibly annoyed at having his sleep disturbed. Legerra stood up, glaring at Darren. “That’s the tent you, Acerin, and Thendat share, not Sara’s tent. And besides, didn’t you just tell him that the magic was not to be played with?”

Darren looked at Acerin. “I don’t know. That seemed like a perfectly legitimate use of magic to me.” There were scattered chuckles and assertions. Darren smiled slightly. “At least he had the decency to stop before you hit the fire.”

Acerin looked up from his food, bleary eyed. “I couldn’t keep up the wind for that long this early in the morning.” Legerra said nothing, shifting his eyes to the third tent.

Darren sighed. “She’s not in there, Legerra. Fraydon took her scouting to learn the basics.”

Legerra finished his food, leaned back on a log, and closed his eyes. “It’s no banquet, but it’ll do.”

He lazily opened one eye and peered at Darren. “Alright man, spill the beans.” Darren turned to face him. “What?”

Legerra opened the other eye and sat up, leaning forward. “What’s with you and Sara? You guys seem more than just friends, but you don’t seem to be…you know…”

Darren shook his head. “We’re close friends. It’s been a bit hard on her coming to a strange world, you know? I’m the only familiar thing here, so naturally she draws closer to me. As for you, control yourself when you’re around her, man. She’s quite willing to ice you. Literally.”

The fire was put out, the small tents were quickly taken down, and they were ready to go when the women got back. Taking their places, the group began walking south. The day passed uneventfully. Everyone knew their role in the group, and they fulfilled it to the best they could. The night passed uneventfully except for the occasional wolf howl.

The next day was exactly like the one before. They got up, they ate, they broke camp, and they left. This night, the dream came to Sara. The voice came, spoke disjointed sentences and fancy words, and ended with pain. The pain was considerably less than at the beginning, however.

The following day was a little different. Sara spent more time up in front with the scouting group, learning the tricks and techniques. Milar spent time teaching Acerin basic swordplay and Darren occasionally trained him in magic.

Fraydon stopped at the top of a raised hill. “What do you see?”

Sara shaded her eyes and scanned the horizon. Flatlands gave way to rocky ground, then sand. The sand stretched from about a quarter-mile from where they were to an unknown distance. She told this to Fraydon, who nodded. “Go tell Darren.”

Sara obliged while Fraydon sat and took a drink of water from her canteen. Thendat kneeled, looking around. After a time, he sighed. “She’s got potential, but her mind is distracted.”

Fraydon smiled. “Yes, and it’s quite obvious why.” Thendat grinned. “Don’t tell me you’re going to have a heart-to-heart with her about that?” Fraydon tilted her head to the side. “What’s wrong with that?” Thendat looked away to hide his wide grin. “Well…I can’t exactly see…you…having a heart-to-heart…with anybody. Ow!” He rubbed his arm. Fraydon sniffed, assuming an air of polite indignation. “Don’t mock my sensitive side.” Thendat rolled onto his back laughing, oblivious to the mock-savage kicks Fraydon aimed at him.

Right then, Darren walked up with the rest of the group. The two got up and stood waiting for orders. Darren did his own scanning of the terrain, noting layout. “We cross it today, and avoid spending the night down in the desert.” No-one argued. Nobody complained. They simply gathered what gear they had, shouldered their packs, and made formation, starting towards the seemingly endless sand.

Hours later, Sara was getting worried. There seemed to be no progress made at all. They couldn’t be going in circles; they knew what direction they were heading in. Sand on all sides made for bland scenery. Darren stopped them all at the top of a sand dune. “Well…it’ll get dark soon. We can’t do much else besides keep going and make camp if it gets dark. I’d really like to avoid getting caught here at night, though.”

With that, they pressed on, pushing their tired bodies further than they normally would. Finally, they stopped. It was almost totally dark. Darren set down his pack and began to set up his tent, when a rumbling shook the sands. Reactions were natural and quick.

Thendat already had an arrow ready, whirling around trying to locate the noise. Fraydon knelt, ear to the ground. Milar and Legerra unsheathed their swords, back to back around Sara, who had both knives unsheathed and ready. Acerin did nothing, but was ready to use magic if necessary. Darren stopped putting up the tent and laid a hand on the hilt of his sword.

The rumbling ceased. Darren shot a questioning look at Fraydon, who straightened up and pointed to the north, behind them. Everyone turned in that direction, waiting for the rumbling. It began again, more violent this time. A pillar of sand rose in the distance, then fell and disappeared.

Sara’s eyes widened. A moment later, a giant worm-like creature burst from the sand not fifteen feet from the group. It was easily twenty feet wide, and four times as long. Fraydon jumped back, out of range, throwing razor-sharp stars that proved ineffectual against its hide. Thendat’s arrow glanced off its body. Acerin’s fire barely seemed to hurt it. Even the ice Sara pelted it with didn’t seem to cause any damage. Milar and Legerra stayed back, waiting for a chance to strike. Only Darren didn’t move.

The Sand Worm slowed and stopped rising, then hovering for a brief second, began to fall. Sara and Acerin backpedaled out of the way as it crashed through the sand, spraying them all with the stinging grains. But when it sank down, the sand began to shift.

Soon the entire party was being dragged down into a sand whirlpool. There was nothing to hold on to. The sand’s pull was too strong to fly out of. Acerin struggled as much as he could before disappearing beneath the sand. One by one, the party slipped below the surface, until only Sara was left. The whirlpool was too fast, too powerful. The sand closed over her head, and she lost consciousness.

- posted by Nick @ 4/28/2004 10:56:00 AM