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Post by freemartialartist on Feb 13, 2011 15:02:52 GMT -5
-Once again the party had fallen with a less than massive thud.
-Composing himself and looking around, *message reduced* found that they were not in water as he had predicted, but a sea of sand.
Far off into the distance the red-orange powdery earth flowed until brought to a halt by mountain ranges on all sides, dwarfed in the vast distance. The heat was so intense that they seemed to wobble in the mid day sun.
-The dryness of it all was staggering. It was if water had never graced the air nor been tasted by the vast and parched earth. The wind was stinging to the eyes, and seemed to absorb moisture from the back of throats without them ever opening. The burning dust was devoid of all recognizable landmarks. If there was one word to describe the tone set by this wasteland, it was hopeless.
- In front of the party was an immense dry riverbed that went in both directions unerringly for miles.
- Dusting himself off, Martial scratched his head.
-"Well, can't say I saw that coming."
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Post by thatfallout3guy on Feb 13, 2011 15:17:25 GMT -5
-The scorching sun, the hopeless environment, Fallout couldn't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy. Seeing this place reminded him of home. He knew that he would be alright here, he had survived much worse.
-He then inhaled deeply and let out a happy sigh, "Just like old times." He said with a grin.
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Post by graybeardhalt on Feb 13, 2011 15:22:12 GMT -5
-Halt crashed to the ground, forming a ball around the dog and rolling to distribute the force of the hit. When he stopped rolling, he laid flat and checked to see if Haagen was all right. When he was sure he was fine, Halt finally took a look at his surroundings. He groaned and said "Why does there always have to be the desert?" He hauled himself up and joined the others where they had landed.
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Post by Noven on Feb 13, 2011 15:36:07 GMT -5
-Noven had prepared himself this time for a landing, although by going into the desert he lost his composure upon landing. He sunk in, wobbling before losing his balance and planting his head into the sand. Noven pulled himself out, and said "Well, this is a bit... different from expected. What now?"
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Post by freemartialartist on Feb 13, 2011 16:10:19 GMT -5
-"Glad you asked that in fact!" said the man in tan in an offsetting upbeat tone.
-"Welcome, my friends, to Baavir Valley! Or rather, what was Baavir Valley. I'm not sure what happened but we're sure to find out so why waste any more time? However, there is one obvious issue. I know we are meant to go upriver to find our destination, but as you can see, the water isn't exactly a great indicator at the moment. So I propose a vote. Should we go right or left?
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Post by thatfallout3guy on Feb 13, 2011 16:26:46 GMT -5
-"Right." Fallout said quickly.
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Post by graybeardhalt on Feb 13, 2011 18:29:54 GMT -5
-Halt saw that there was no discernible difference between the two directions. He thought for a while and just decided to pick a random direction, a stupid idea, but the only one he could come up with. "I vote we go left." he said. Halt waited for the others to respond.
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Post by Noven on Feb 13, 2011 19:29:59 GMT -5
-Noven responded with what he always did in such a case. "Left. I always choose left, just to have one thing to go with. No other reason, really."
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Post by freemartialartist on Feb 13, 2011 19:39:01 GMT -5
-"Fine then, left it is."
-And so the party once again took to foot. For hours they walked in the scorching sun in a single direction. The air was so wobbly that nothing discernible was in sight. As they're skin burned, they began to get delirious. They kept walking, mouths watering in defiance of the powers that be.
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Post by thatfallout3guy on Feb 13, 2011 19:46:32 GMT -5
-Fallout was feeling all too familiar, he had done things like this so many times it had become redundant, and had his armor still worked it would have been relaxing.
-As they walked Fallout noticed that Gray was training the dog, and was doing an alright job, but it would take a lot of work.
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Post by Noven on Feb 13, 2011 21:13:15 GMT -5
-Noven had noticed Halt working with the dog, though Noven hadn't quite discerned what exactly. Besides that it seemed like only simple things, as there were no elaborate actions being performed.
-Noven, as well as Fallout he presumed, felt at home here in the desert. Quite like the wastes, barren, harsh, and secluded. This time, Noven thought, maybe Fallout and himself would hold a slight advantage over Martial and Halt. He continued with his leisurely stride forward.
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Post by graybeardhalt on Feb 13, 2011 22:06:42 GMT -5
-"This is so frustrating" Halt thought to himself as he tried for maybe the 10th time to get Haagen to follow the simple command 'Heel'. Every time he would say the command, Haagen would just keep doing what he was doing, completely ignoring Halt. Which was weird because every other command Haagen had learned, he had learned it on almost the first time. 'Fine' Halt thought again 'we'll just have to move onto something else.' They continued their trek across the desert.
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Post by freemartialartist on Feb 15, 2011 21:39:55 GMT -5
-The hours wore on with the sun bearing down on them with an intensity only describable as hatred. Its judging glare gazed down in a manner that seem to relish in its own cruelty. It was as if the sky was actively trying to demoralize them.
-It seemed as though it had been midday for ages now, based on the sun's position in the sky. Their skin burned red, screaming with dry anguish. The pain seemed to be dizzying. Or perhaps the imbalance came from the pure heat emanating from the surface of the sands. Further still it may have been their own bodies making mistakes in their extreme dehydration. The water in Graybeard's skin was long passed. Their minds began to wander doggedly.
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Post by thatfallout3guy on Feb 15, 2011 22:56:12 GMT -5
-'Christ this is hot!' Fallout thought.
-He had walked in heat before but nothing this bad. He and Noven were used to being dehydrated but he knew they wouldn't last as long as they could back in D.C.
-A voice echoed in his head, 'Stay focused, make sure everyone can see it before you go running after it!' He missed his old mentor.
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Post by Mog on Feb 16, 2011 12:39:49 GMT -5
-The seemingly endless expanse of desert seemed to waver as liquid before our heroes, the heat slowly draining them of all sense and reason. As the sun beat down upon our four heroes the haze of dust began to bend before their eyes, contracting and expanding, leaving otherworldly shapes burnt into the back of the adventurers tired and dehydrated eye sockets...
-Slowly a new, solid shape emerged from the dust. Fallout rubbed his eyes in disbelief, Graybeard accidentally stood on the dog as he leapt backward, The Free Martial Artist gasped audibly and Noven fell face first into the sand. Before them all stood none other than Moogle (MD,Ba(Hons)English, Professional Mirage, Lord of the Dance), the one true god.
-Moogle smiled. Or at least, the sides of his mouth curved upward and he flashed a set of jagged teeth. Reaching out a hand, he seemed to gesture, no, wave at the four travellers. Following this, Moogle slowly turned around and pointed dramatically at an oasis, an actual oasis, situated defiantly in the middle of the harshest of all deserts.
-Wasting no time, the legendary heroes rushed for the Oasis shouting thanks and prayers to the benevolent Moogle as they passed by him. Fallout, the first to reach the Oasis, greatfully cupped a handful of the almost perfectly clear water and splashed it over his face, savouring the cooling sensation. Noven joined his friend, using his hand to bring gulps of the blissfuly cold water to his scorched mouth. *message reduced* ran forward without hesitation and dove into the pool dolphin style, enjoying an ecstacy he didn't think possible while Graybeard pulled off his footwear and shivered, relishing the sensation.
-There was suddenly a blinding flash and the Oasis, as quick as it had come, vanished. Graybeard now sat with his feet dipped in sand, Fallout spluttered as he tried to rub the layer of sand from his face, Noven almost vomited and *message reduced* was now stuck head-first up to his waist in sand. The four of them were also completely naked, their clothes lying several feet away in a pile.
-Taking a confused glance to his left, Noven saw the vision of Moogle fade away, the curved mouth opening to speak. However, the voice that protruded from the mirage Moogle was not that of the god, but of a small, cunning little creature infamous in some dimensions for it's cruel trickery. Yes, the troll.
-Despite the fact that he was now feeling completely refreshed after that first gulp of 'water,' Noven took a moment to angrily (though silently) curse his choice in religion.
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