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Post by Jisui on Jun 20, 2014 12:34:35 GMT -5
Heavy armor was no doubt useful in a variety of situations.
It was intimidating, no doubt, seeing a man clad in heavy, rune-carved stone armor lumber around, so that was one thing. Another particularly useful feature was the ability to not get stabbed, which was fairly useful in this day and age. So no doubt, the armor had most likely saved his life far more than not, in a variety of situations.
This situation however, was not one of them.
As far as the lone, traveling man's eye could see, there was sand, sand, and more sand. Rolling dunes stretched out for miles and miles, with his armor sinking in to the soft sand with each step he took. The dry, arid desert winds whipped around him, sending grains into his face as the heat from the sun seemed to abate just slightly for a moment. Tan. Waves and waves of rolling, brilliant tan, with only the occasional cacti to splash in the occasional green.
The sun began its merciless assault yet again, signaling that it was again time to move on.
Many a man had been lost to the Sessran Desert before. It was not uncommon at all to find the remains of some poor traveler who underestimated the trek to civilization. Nowadays, many people simply hired transportation, or hired local natives to help them get through to major cities. There weren't many people who would brave the desert on foot. Of course, it wasn't like it was impossible either. There were several outposts and villages interspersed within the desert, and if one used them as rest stops while packing enough supplies, they could make it through. But the amount of failures generally outweighed the successes.
And so a familiar saying came to be passed around to frequent travelers of the area.
In the desert, the only god was a well.
Regardless, there were no such wells near the lone traveler, only magnificent waves of tan. Or so he thought. Whether it was a trick of the mind, or the sweltering rays of the sun stabbing down at him, in the vast valleys of tan sand, a splotch of blue could be seen in the distance.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 20, 2014 15:47:12 GMT -5
This desert. If this desert were a person, Julius would stab it in the eyes and drown it in a river. Truly, he hated the place. But this is where his target went. This was the last known location. This was his reason for crossing it alone and on foot. He had to make sure to search as thoroughly as he could for any clues towards the target's next destination. In reality, such a task was practically impossible in such a vast and hostile area but Julius wasn't one to be dragged down by such things given his confidence in his own strength and his devotion to his cause.
But he would be lying if he said he didn't regret not giving his armor some kind of internal cooling system. Bright side, however, was that it at least shielded him from the sun effectively enough.
The armored man groaned as he look ahead, seeing a splotch of blue in the distance. His heart raced with anticipation at the sight, but he quickly composed himself. What were the actual chances this was water? He was probably seeing a mirage. But Julius didn't care and decided the risk was worth it, immediately moving as fast as he could towards the blue, kicking sand around as his armored feet tore apart the ground.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 21, 2014 0:29:04 GMT -5
The armored man skepticism was probably well founded. Mirages were fairly common, and there were many accounts of travelers who died chasing them before. Still, it was true that something was better than nothing.
As Julius got closer and closer to the splotch of blue in the distance, splashes of green vegetation began to mix in with the colors, until it became clear that it was no mere watering hole that he chanced upon, but a desert oasis. A rather beautiful one at that. The oasis was moderately large of size, with numerous palms and desert shrubbery lining the spring. The water was surprisingly clear looking, and a stray breeze that sailed over the water at long last gave Julius a mercifully cool breeze.
In the desert, the only god was a well, and Julius had somehow found paradise.
Several things told him that he wasn't alone however. Nearby, the whinny of a few horses, perhaps a feral herd, made their presence known, and something obscured by the shrubbery and palm trees was splashing in the oasis spring nearby. Perhaps it was one of the horses taking a sip?
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 21, 2014 0:56:13 GMT -5
Relief washed over Julius as he reached the oasis. The whinnies of the horses was surprising, for he highly doubted there were any random groups of them wandering the desert. Camels maybe, but horses? They weren't creatures well suited for the desert, so he assumed that they were owned by someone. It wasn't exactly a wild theory since he wasn't the only one to ever cross this desert. It was entirely possible that somebody else had reached this place before him.
Julius looked towards the splashing, noticing his view was blocked by trees and bushes. He was about to just walk through and see what was there but, if it was the owner of the horses and they suddenly saw a large armored man like him walking from out of nowhere, it would probably cause a bit of a spectacle. Maybe a projectile would be launched at him by reflex as well. He doubted he would actually take damage, but it was a situation he wanted to avoid altogether.
The armored man took a few steps towards the trees, stopping just a few feet from the, and called out.
"Is someone else here? Or are these horses on their own trip across this desert of death?"
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Post by Jisui on Jun 21, 2014 13:37:39 GMT -5
Julius' voice carried over beyond the trees, although there was no response to greet him. The splashing seemed to stop however, and an odd tension seeped to seep into the area as the whinny of the horses quieted slightly. Clearly, there was someone there, even if they didn't want to make themselves known.
"...Come on...!"
Or not.
Rather poorly veiled whispers broke out around Julius, of what sounded like a male with a deep baritone voice, and a woman with a high pitched one.
"...You... it!"
"No... you!"
If it was an ambush attempt, it was probably the worst one in the history of ambush attempts. Surely it was just two people arguing over who wanted to approach a rather intimidating man in full plated armor?
"HAH!"
...Perhaps not. On cue, a rather rotund, but stocky looking man in leather armor burst out from the tree to the side of Julius, tackling him and managing to wrap his arms around the armored man in a hold. His dark skin and equipment, a khopesh and small buckler, suggested that he was a local to these parts.
"Hah! I've captured the assassin!"
"Excellent work, Drecov. Milady will be pleased with me-us." The female voice quickly corrected, before stepping out from her hidden position as well. She appeared to be a soldier as well, and was thin and lithe in comparison to her companion, with long dark hair and similarly dark tan skin. There was a bow strapped to her back, and a look of pride on her face as she look to their 'assailant' scornfully.
"Hoho! You thought you could lay a single hand on milady while I was around! Foolish knave!" Ignoring the fact that if Julius was indeed an assassin, then calling out to see if anyone was there would be a rather foolish move, the female soldier got another look at the mysterious traveler. Taking in his rather large, intimidating armor and numerous swords, her eyes widened slightly, inwardly glad that Drecov was withholding him instead of herself.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 21, 2014 17:23:41 GMT -5
Julius could've reacted in a number of ways. The blades on his back could have flew from their sheaths and shred the man holding him to ribbons. He could've powered up his armor and used its increased physical strength to break the hold and the man's arms. But, no, from their little squabble he heard before, these two people weren't exactly bad people. Their hearts weren't black as coal. Besides all that, killing even one of them would make this misunderstanding far worse.
He sighed and cleared his throat before speaking. "Fine, you got me. But first, I got a question. If I was an assassin...why would I call out to any of you? Why would I reveal my presence? I could've just had my swords go around and stab you all in the face. None of you would've known."
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Post by Jisui on Jun 21, 2014 22:57:50 GMT -5
Upon hearing Julius' words, both of the soldiers seemed to pale, before the female took a step backwards, her hand shakily removing her bow from her back. It might have been his imagination, but the grip on Julius' waist might have gotten slightly tighter, with both of them going into a rather hysterical panic.
"E-Eh? Eh?! Did you hear that, Drecov? He wants to stab our faces!"
"What? Our faces?! We have to warn milady!"
In fact, Julius was not particularly far off from his original assessment of the two. They were not evil or bad people by any means, nor were they even very harmful. They were simply idiots, if not loyal idiots.
"There's no other choice then... Ritz! Grab milady and flee! I'll buy you both time!" The stocky soldier roared, putting all of his strength into holding the armored man into place. His companion gave him a sad look, eyeing the brave, but foolish man before quickly saluting him
"Drecov... you're a true soldier of Lerwaria! We'll never forget you!"
It was likely that these two could have gone on for quite some time, if they weren't interrupted by a sweet sounding female voice from behind the trees.
"...Umm... Ritz, Drecov? Who is that with you?"
At the sound of the voice, the two seemed to snap to attention, turning behind them to the spring. Ritz opened her mouth to respond, but was quickly interrupted by the unknown woman again.
"...Nevermind that. Could you two let go of him please?"
With great reluctance, Drecov removed his hold around Julius, although the look on his face made it rather clear that he was inwardly glad to gain some distance from the armored man's array of swords.
"Would you mind coming over here? I'd like to see the man that my bodyguards misunderstood for a killer." The voice again called out to him to the dismay of her two bodyguards, her voice pure and clear sounding with a slight hint of playfulness to it.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 21, 2014 23:22:47 GMT -5
Julius had to give credit to these two, even if they were idiots. If he were an assassin bent on killing whoever they were protecting, the stocky soldier, apparently named Drecov, was fully willing to give his own life so that the others could escape. It was definitely an admirable trait and told the man that, whoever these two were in charge of keeping safe, they were incredibly loyal to her. They were also really annoying right now, so he wasn't gonna tell them that.
Lerwaria? These people were from Lerwaria? Julius had heard about the place, a kingdom located in the desert, but he never went to it himself. In fact, in his travels, he never really encountered anyone from the place and started to think it didn't exist and was just a myth that people liked to talk about.
Upon being released by Drecov, Julius figured it was best to actually listen to the one who got him out of that situation. He would've been fine on his own but he highly doubted he could've talked the two soldiers down. They seemed adamant that he was a threat to their charge.
He spoke as he walked forward, moving past the trees and bushes and into full view of the water.
"Thanks for that. I don't think those two would've backed down no matter what I said. Really loyal aren't they?"
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Post by Jisui on Jun 22, 2014 0:09:02 GMT -5
As Julius moved past the trees and into view of the oasis spring, his fortune in finding the oasis was most likely cemented.
Standing in a shallow part of the water, a loose towel covering part of her front, a remarkably beautiful young woman looked at him with startling turquoise colored eyes. She had sandy blonde colored hair that was sticking to her lithe form, and caramel colored skin with water droplets softly running down her feminine curves. There was a natural beauty in her features that seemed to radiate in the sun, and a playful twinkle in her eyes as if she found the situation amusing.
"Yes, they are, aren't they?" The young woman agreed, as Ritz and Drecov came up behind Julius on cue. They kneeled in front of her quickly, Ritz dutifully setting her eyes to the ground, while Drecov...
"...Drecov, why have you wrapped a bandage around your eyes?" The woman questioned with a slightly exasperated, but patient tone.
"I can't allow my eyes to dirty your form, milady!"
"Idiot! What if someone attacks while you're blinded?" Ritz shot back to her companion, who's eyes widened behind the blindfolds in sudden realization.
"No...! I had never thought of that! Forgive me for my ineptitude, milady!"
Sighing with a small smile on her face, the young woman quickly wrapped the towel around her form before gently removing herself from the water. "Thank you both for your diligence. Can you leave us to check on the horses now?"
"But, milady, we can't leave you with-" An immediate objection came from the female soldier, Ritz, but she was quickly turned down by her charge again.
"I think I can handle myself, not to worry." The young woman chuckled lightly, subtly making her decision clear. "Besides, if this man had been trying to kill me, we wouldn't be sitting here having this discussion right now."
"...Yes, my lady. We'll leave you to it." Ritz muttered, nodding and turning away to leave with her companion. As they left however, she twitched as if withholding something, before she could stand it no longer and whipped around to face them again.
"Milady! It was Drecov's idea to apprehend him!"
"What?! You witch! The idea was all yours!"
"Perhaps, but you were the one who tackled him, so aren't you the most at fault?" At those words, the stocky soldier's eyes widened in horrified realization.
"Oh god... it's true! I have shamed your name, milady! Please, punish me! Discharge me- no, exile me!" Drecov roared, as Ritz realized her partner was getting a bit too excited. Quickly muttering her leave, she began dragging the man away as he continued roaring his shame into the wind.
"..." The young woman sighed again, this time more heavily, and turned an apologetic smile to the armored man in front of her.
"My apologies. They can get a bit... excited." She admitted with a small laugh, before the situation began to sank in, and she looked down to her lack of dress silently. Turning her gaze back to Julius, a very faint dusting of red stained her cheeks as she smiled lightly.
"...Even I'll get embarrassed if you look at me so much, you know." The young woman muttered, her voice dyed with a faint hint of shyness.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 22, 2014 0:27:32 GMT -5
Julius was shocked by the sight. This woman was positively gorgeous and glistened in the sunlight like a goddess. If he had been dehydrated and delirious, he probably would've believed she was one. His attention to her was pulled aside though as he silently watched Drecov's and Ritz's antics, his eyes wide within the darkness of his helmet. How this woman put up with them all the time was beyond his understanding. He mentally sighed in relief when they left.
Julius wanted to add this moment as yet another time he was thankful for his armor. His helmet managed to hide the reddening of his own face upon hearing the woman's shy statement and he turned around, facing his back to her.
"Ah, right, right. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to stare, it's just that your hair looks particularly nice in the sun. Has a really nice shine to it." The armored man folded his arms, obviously uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the situation. "So, what're you doing out here anyways?" He said this in an attempt to quickly change the topic. It didn't help that he was also genuinely wondering this as well.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 22, 2014 11:48:07 GMT -5
The woman merely hummed cheerfully in response to Julius' words, although her smile widened ever so slightly at his compliment, and the faint dusting of red on her face deepened a bit. It was fortunate that he had met her, and not a less composed person, or the situation could have turned from bad to worse.
"A gentleman too, I see." She teased lightly, the rustling of cloth behind Julius implying that she was beginning to change. Taking the hint, the young woman suppressed a giggle over how uncomfortable the large, intimidating armored man seemed to be over the situation, and instead answered his question.
"It's not too interesting of a story I'm afraid. I was just traveling with my guards, and thought a bit of a dip would be nice at this time of day." She explained, although if one looked closer, it was clear that she most likely wasn't being entirely truthful. There weren't many people who "just traveled" the Sessran Desert for no reason, even if she seemed to be a local.
"What about you?" The young woman asked with genuine curiosity, expertly deflecting the focus off of her while glancing backwards at him. "There aren't many people who brave the desert in full plated armor."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 22, 2014 13:54:30 GMT -5
Julius had suspicion towards the woman's story. Sure, there could be people out there who enjoyed braving the desert, maybe getting a thrill from dominating such a harsh place. But this particular person had two soldiers with who, both who were extremely loyal and devoted to her protection. On top of that, the female one, Ritz, had mentioned Lerwaria. She couldn't have paid the two soldiers to protect her, otherwise they wouldn't be so devoted to her. On top of that, they spoke to her extremely formally, calling her "milady" and such. No, whoever this woman was, she had to have some kind of importance. But why be out here then? Why out in such dangerous territory?
Actually, if she really was from some place in the desert, this area probably wasn't dangerous to her at all.
Julius wanted to ask her many questions, but her own took priority. After all, it was rude to ignore someone's question and ask your own, especially one from such a beautiful woman. On top of that, she had been relatively good to him so far. There wasn't a need to sour this little talk. But how much could he tell her? Going into complete detail about his own mission could cause problems.
"I'm looking for someone. I heard she was last seen around here, so I came to look." He shrugged, his back still towards the woman. "Not much luck so far. May have bitten off more than I could chew by thinking I could comb this entire desert for one person."
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Post by Jisui on Jun 22, 2014 17:03:23 GMT -5
A pensive look came to the young woman's face, and the rustling of clothes behind Julius stopped for a moment as she considered his words. Searching the entire Sessran Desert just for one person? Not only was it impossible and unfeasible, but it showed tremendous dedication. Perhaps the person he was searching for was important to him, she mulled in her mind, before continuing to dress.
"Is it a woman you're looking for?" She questioned, the same lighthearted teasing air present in her tone. "They must be lucky to have someone scour a desert so faithfully for them."
Finally, she finished putting on her undergarments, as well as a long-sleeve white tunic made of silk, with the sleeves made of lace. The young woman also put on a navy blue skirt that fell slightly above her knees, with a silver vine pattern encircling the bottom half of the skirt. Bending over carefully, the woman slipped a pair of black knee socks around her feet, and began to lace a pair of worn out leather boots.
By the material and look of her clothing, it was probably a forgone conclusion that she was indeed a person of importance, if not a noble.
"Unless... you're here for business, and not pleasure?" She astutely guessed, turning a curious eye to Julius' form. It was merely a guess, but there were much better ways to find people than to comb large areas decked in heavy armor and weapons. It probably wasn't her place to pry, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't everyday that someone like him came around these parts.
"Perhaps-" Whatever she was going to say fell short, as a figured garbed in white suddenly burst out from a hidden tree-line, brandishing a wicked looking curved dagger in the air. Lunging towards the young woman, his other hand reached inside his garb to grab something.
The woman who was currently being charged at by an actual assassin merely turned an inquisitive eye towards her attacker, a slightly raised eyebrow the only sign of surprise.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 22, 2014 17:36:41 GMT -5
Julius sighed before responding, his back still turned to her. Not because he didn't want to answer, but because of the thoughts racing through his mind. "I suppose it's for both business and plea-" they were then interrupted by the assassin in white, who burst forth from behind some trees and lunged at the woman. Three shortswords flew out from their black sheaths on Julius' back, flying towards the assailant. One pierced the arm holding his dagger,the other piercing his other hand, forcing it to be stuck in its current position, and the last one stabbing into a hanging piece of cloth from his outfit.
The three blades carried the assassin into a nearby tree, pinning him to it.
Julius turned around, sparing a glance at the woman and nodding at her. Her clothing helped to support his whole suspicion that she had some level of importance. "Nice outfit." He Then proceeded towards the assassin, stopping a few feet from him.
"It's pretty rude to interrupt a conversation like that. You obviously weren't going for me, so..." He turned to the woman. "You wanna question him before he bleeds out, miss...?"
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Post by Jisui on Jun 22, 2014 18:41:06 GMT -5
"Damn you...!" The injured assassin managed to breathe out, giving a hateful glare to the pair from his position on the tree.
"Minerva Vernsund." The woman responded with a carefree grin, her mood unfazed despite the sudden attempt on her life. If anything, she looked rather impressed by the way Julius dispatched him so easily. She hadn't even seen him move the swords, so perhaps it was sorcery? Regardless, it looked like he wasn't just for show.
"I would ask for yours, but I should take care of this first."
Bending over, the woman, Minerva, casually grabbed a leather sword sheath that had been laying in a pile near her clothes. It was a simple black leather sheath, capped with steel and decorated with silver vines that were similar to the pattern on her skirt. As she unsheathed it, and the blued steel of a beautiful rapier glinted in the sunlight, the injured assassin that was pinned to the tree seemed to pale slightly.
"No need to question him. I'm fairly sure I know of his origins. Excellent work by the way. Ritz and Drecov were right. Your skill in stabbing others is to be lauded." Although tone and expression still carried a lighthearted air to them, there was an edge to her voice that made the assassin quiver slightly despite his earlier attitude. Finally, he seemed to regain his nerve, focusing a pair of hate-filled black eyes onto Minerva.
"...To hell with you, witch! Your lands will belong to us soon! Glory to-" The assassin was interrupted by the sound of a rapier slipping between his chest, turning an amazed pair of eyes back towards his killer as she withdrew the blade and gave it a quick swing to rid herself of the blood.
"Glory... to..." He weakly managed again, before he slumped over quietly.
"Glory? There's no use for glory when you're dead." Minerva muttered quietly, a grimace on her face while she took in the sight of the dead man. Quickly recovering however, she spun around gracefully from the scene before turning back towards Julius. Admittedly, the sight of her killing someone wasn't exactly the first impression that she wanted to make.
"To be honest, I was wondering when he would attack. It made for some stressful bathing." Minerva admitted, a brilliant smile emerging from her face as she looked at her savior. She had been meaning to dispatch of him a while ago, but then Julius had suddenly emerged out of nowhere, and a plan had come to her mind. It was a bit underhanded, but at least she could trust the armored man more now considering he had saved her.
"Now, might I know the name of my hero in shining armor?"
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