>Posting story chapters to see if people like them, or if they have any criticism/comments.
>Get no replies or comments, only a handful of likes.
>
D-Does that mean it's good?
Fine! Have another one! If I really get into this and it takes off(i.e. 5 chaps+), I'll have to make my own thread or something...
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<--CH2 CH4-->
Whirlwind
CH3
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I shift the backpack over my shoulders as I walk through the arid desert alongside the cart, and
sigh at the heat as we trudge along to the next oasis. It's not bad enough that we have to stop, but the dry scorch just saps your energy.
The way that climates, biomes, and environments coexisted in Weyard was so bizarre. You could walk from the perfectly moderate area around Xian to the extremely arid area of the Lamakan desert within two days, and it was only something like a little over a week's travel to Kalay at a reasonably slow pace, only half of which was through the desert.
The only reason that people except for warriors and merchants didn't travel much was because of the aggressive and monstrous flora and fauna that infested most of the wilderness.
Beside me, Feizhi lets out a groan and bumps me with her elbow. "It's so hot! Could you please call up a breeze, Ash?"
Hsu perks up at that and gives me a begging look, and I suppose I'm well-rested enough from the last time we had to fight off a fire-breathing salamander.
I take in a deep breath, then let out a short whistle for attention. Multiple whistles would mean that monsters were sighted, and we were to shout if we were going to have to fight.
"Whoa!" The merchant on the horse pull on the reins, and it slows to a stop.
Both our group and the pair of warriors from Kalay and Tolbi continue walking until we're in front of the cart, and we walk over to the others.
"Any problems?" Dan, the beefy brown-haired colosso victor, asks as he wipes at his brow. (
Ahhh, I hope she's going to call up a cool wind again...)
"No, but if we take a moment's rest, I'll bring us another refreshing breeze." I answer him.
(
Yes!)
Beside Dan, the mercenary named Kalak that
isn't a colosso victor grumbles. "We should keep moving."
Dan elbows him. Hard. "A good warrior takes any opportunity to keep up his strength. Keep acting like that and you'll never place in colosso, boy."
Kalak scowls, but remains silent. (
Damned witch has them eating out of her hands...)
"Hoh!" The merchant, Jingi, hops off of his seat and pats the horse that was pulling his cart. "There's a good guy..." He receives a chuff in reply, then turns to us and grins, chuckling. "Another few minutes of that healing wind? That sounds wonderful! I do say, this has been the most pleasant run from Xian to Kalay I've ever had." (
And we don't even have to pay for the extra escort!)
"I agree." Dan says, nodding. "I've never had an escort through the desert this easy. Feh's students are fine warriors." (
And so easy on the eyes...)
I stop reading minds as Dan goes places I'd rather not visit, and instead open my arms, palms up. A refreshing breeze wraps around our party, and I spent a few moments to pour psyenergy into the pattern so it will last for a while.
Everyone breathes deeply of the sweetly scented air, but Hsu's the only one who audibly groans. "Haahh..."
Hsu notices everyone looking at him and slaps his hands over his mouth.
Dan laughs at the martial artist. "Hahaha, boy, I know I said warriors ought to take every chance they can to rest, but you need to have more stamina than that if you're going to travel the lands as a warrior."
Hsu looks away. (
I only came because Feizhi was going... Ashali! Stop reading my mind!)
I grin at him, then pretend I wasn't looking in his direction.
Feizhi sidles up on Hsu's other side and latches onto his arm with a smile, then she looks at Dan. "So, Dan, can you tell us another story? Like, have you traveled anywhere strange?"
Dan rubs at the stubble on his chin, then takes out his water skin and grins. "Well, let me tell you of the time I got lost in the Suhalla desert on the way from Tolbi to Lalivero. It's a large desert south of Tolbi, and ringed with mountains just like this one."
Hsu blinks and looks around. "How do you get lost in a desert? It's just flat and open."
"Ah, but Suhalla is different." Dan grins and takes a drink. "Suhalla desert is full of rocky crags that twist and turn, and often has sandstorms, where the wind will pick up so much sand that it blackens the sky and you can hardly see more than a few feet ahead of yourself. I was running low on water and was fighting a monster while looking for an oasis when one came down, and I didn't have the chance to find somewhere safe to be, so I staggered through the sand as it ground at my armor. By the time it let up, the metal had been polished smooth, my backpack and most of my extra food and water were ruined and I felt like the skin had been stripped off my bones! Haha!"
He laughs for a moment, then continues. "But because I was wandering in the sandstorm, I got lost and ended up near some of the mountains. So, tired, thirsty, and still in pain even after using some herbs, I started climbing, because I knew I could get some snow to pack into my only remaining water skin to melt and drink!"
"Oho!" Jingi smiles and claps. "That's smart!"
"I thought it was." Dan answers, then continues. "But I had to go almost all the way to the top to get to the snow to drink, so I just went all the way. When I was there, I saw
a land to the south, with rivers and forests not so far away! So, since the sun started going down and I was getting hungry, I staggered down the mountain and into the forest to look for a monster to kill and eat.
It took a while, because the brush in this forest was thicker than tar and twice as wet, but I stumbled over a pair of these strange flying lizards. They could breathe fire like the salamanders, but weren't nearly so tough. Still, I managed to beat them, grabbed some burning brush from our fight, and started a campfire as dark fell. I was too hungry to take off my armor, but that saved my life!"
"What happened?" Feizhi asks, almost completely into his story.
"A group of barbaric-looking people, nearly naked and wielding spears, attacked! They seemed fearless, just pouring out of the trees, but to my surprise, they turned out to be completely awful warriors! Hahaha! I'd managed to beat two of them down before they grabbed their wounded and ran back off into the trees, and I didn't sleep well that night at all, fearing that they would attack again. The next day, I stumbled on a village, and to my surprise, it was full of the young hunters I just beat up, who called themselves the Kibombo! They, haha, thought I was a monster because of how my metal armor looked in the dark, but they ended up apologizing and we came to an agreement. I spent a few days joining them in hunting monsters for food to buy a new pack and some water skins, got this protective magical tattoo from their witch doctor that's saved my life more than once, and eventually, made my way back over the mountains and got to Lalivero."
As he finishes the story, I clap, and the others join me. I grin with a wicked glint. "So, that's the tattoo I saw last night when we were settling down for bed."
"It's almost as good as real armor, and has been a wonderful help. Maybe you should go there and get one." Dan smiles back obliviously.
"Hah!" I laugh. "And you would like to escort me to watch them put it on, I would guess?"
As Dan chokes on his tongue, the rest of the group laughs at him.
"Alright, alright." Jingi waves his hands, laughing. "As great as Dan's stories are, we should keep moving, or we'll never reach Kalay."
"Yes." Feizhi agrees. "Let us continue."
"Mm." We all agree, and walk back to our spots as the merchant climbs back into his cart.
CH4-->
