Deservire

[Chronos]

((Try ignoring this thread and then sleeping at night ))


In a rather bleak area of the Southern Frontier, South-Southeast of the Jagged Pass Quarry, one could hear a new sound.

The scavengers and desert animals were more numerous in the area lately. If one strained closely, under the sound of these animals, one could hear a very faint cracking and smacking- not unlike the sounds of a construction of some sort.

A blurred trail of various footprints could also be made out that led from the Quarry to a place Southwest in the distance that could be seen as a very faint cloud of dust. What terribly few locals there were had started to grow suspicious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A good distance to the North of this dust cloud, a pitiful figure could be seen. Beaten, gagged, all but exhausted, and bound by his hands and feet by chains, the poor man dragged himself across the sandy rock; hoping- praying- that some creature of some kind would come along to end his suffering, one way or the other. His mouth was so terribly dry. His soul he'd swear for a drop to drink. As he dragged himself farther, one might have seen the effects of long days in the sun. This man was heavily tan and his hair was very light brown- although pathetically filthy from his ordeals. He wore a brown tunic and pants that were little more than tattered linen rags. Everything about this man- from his appearance to the way he rasped unintelligibly- suggested one who had absolutely nothing to his name.

"P-pleeeease," he rasped almost inaudibly. "Sooomeoooone... wat-ter-r, heelllp... anyoooone..."

He would have cried if his body could have spared the moisture.

[Arthur McCorth]

Arthur was hiking south towards the Jagged Pass Quarry on one of his many errands between shops, in light of the fact that he was deep in an extremely hot desert he had removed his hat, scarf and gloves but had keep his long, thick coat, which some might find odd. Arthur was not typically one to worry about other people thinking him 'odd', they were odd enough themselves that he considered it very much their responsibility to resolve any discrepancies between their behaviour and his own.

However when he spotted the figure struggling towards him even a man as worldly and experienced as Arthur was forced to admit there was something decidedly unusual about him.

"P-pleeeease, Sooomeoooone... wat-ter-r, heelllp... anyoooone..." The man rasped as the shuffled towards Arthur. Recognising his obvious distress the old man hurried over to the pathetic figure and touched his arm gently.

"I am terribly sorry but I do not have any water, I'm afraid I never carry such things with me as I have no use for them myself. I do however have this melon I happen to have come across earlier today, I kept it with me because, well, as my mother used to say "You never know," I believe it may go some way towards easing your thirst.

So saying he placed the large melon on the ground between them and thwacked it expertly with his walking stick, causing the hard rind to split, gripping the sides of the split with both hands he ripped the juicy fruit in two and handed one half to the man in front of him. "There we are, eat that and see if you feel any better."

[Chronos]

((Good to see you back, Arth!))

The unknown man was on the brink of acceptance. He should have known better than to attempt such a thing. He dragged his ragged form doggedly on, but was moving very slowly now. He'd not have much time left.

The unfortunate soul stopped moving. He merely looked at the ground, trying to decide which death would have been better.

But these chains... I still die a slave!

That was when fate smiled upon him. He had not the strength to look up, but footsteps could be clearly heard.

"I am terribly sorry but I do not have any water, I'm afraid I never carry such things with me as I have no use for them myself. I do however have this melon I happen to have come across earlier today, I kept it with me because, well, as my mother used to say "You never know," I believe it may go some way towards easing your thirst."

The starving man barely lifted his head as the Melon was sundered. "Water-r. M-m-m-melon? O-ooohh, th- tha... thank uu..."

Mustering all his strength, he reached out and feebly pawed at the melon, bringing it close enough that it touched his mouth. He licked at it before taking a huge bite, slurping up the moisture gratefully.

It took the man quite some time to finish the melon half. After he was done, his chained arms pushed him up with much difficulty. He was now in a sitting position. As the renewed soul looked up, one could have noticed that his eyes glowed just slightly with a violet hue. Once he wet his lips, the man spoke.

"Thank you, sir, for your kindness. I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't come along." He wiped some sweat from his brow. "Actually, it's pretty dangerous out here, what with the predatory animals that have been around so much lately. You probably shouldn't be out here either, not tha I'm not grateful for your presence, of course. I'm surprised I went for as long as I did without getting eaten." Here the man demonstrated a nasty cough. "'scuse me... mmm..." He held out his arms and opened one filthy palm as if to shake hands.

"My name is Gurt."

[Swix]

A figure came out of the blistering heat of the desert towards the two men which soon revealed itself to be a woman-of sorts. She was completely naked, although she wouldn't have appeared that way to the two, since her skin looked like it was made of tough, green tinged pink and scaly leather. Any features of hers that would have been readily identified as female were either covered up or entirely nonexistent, which was the case of her chest area. Except of course her head, which sported scraggly, thick dark brown, green tinged hair and eyes that were deep pools of green themselves. The woman was both muscular and tall, and sported the oddest of features-that of a long, thick, clearly serpentine tail.

This was Zila, a Morphffer and member of the Reptilian Clan, although specifically that of the Komodo. As such, she was more intent on following prey scent than watching out for other predators. Zila was unsure of just how she'd ended up here, but being stranded in a desert wasn't to her liking, although a scent had caught the attention of her sensitive nostrils. After tracking it to it's source-that of the two men-the Komodo Morphffer was disappointed as she considered neither to be eligible for a meal. One appeared so old she could scarcely imagine how he was still standing, and the other was horribly malnourished and appeared to be tied to something. Maybe if she were desperate she'd wait for the other one to expire, but thankfully for them the reptillian morphffer wasn't that desperate just yet.

"What on Primus are two creatures like you doing out here?" Zila asked, approaching them at last "and where are we?"

[Chronos]

Gurt turned his head painfully toward the newcomer. He did not seem at all surprised to see her. He'd been used to far stranger. "I'm Gurt. I don't recognize you, so I think it's safe to tell you about myself." He turned back to Arthur, then to Zila. "I was a slave. I'm out here because I broke out of my compound. There was another one with me, but..." he blinked heavily "we were attacked by some kind of desert wolf. I fought it, but it knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, she was dead and half-eaten." Gurt was shaking his head- wide eyed as though he was still bewildered by the incident.

"We're probably pretty near the quarry." He looked up and breathed heavily. He held out his chained arms. "Can any of you help me get out of these chains? I have a house North of here. I'd be happy to give you some sort of payment for your help."

[Swix]

'A desert wolf? Zila thought, recalling that the only desert wolf bound Morphffers she was aware of were quite small, the non-Morphffer wolves around here must be different... wherever here was. Zila eyed the chains that he was offering, she was strong but she'd never tested her genetically enhanced strength on metal before. 'They can't be too hard if they were only meant to hold him' the morphffer reassured herself 'he doesn't look like he'd be that strong even if he were well fed'

The Reptillian grabbed hold of either side of the chains and began to pull, to her mild surprise they were harder than she thought... but the metal began to bend and scream in protest until one of the links gave out completely, freeing Gurts hands with some force. She didn't go for the feet straight afterwards however, as she might end up knocking his frail form to the ground. ((If there's something special about these chains, tell me and I'll edit. I just didn't want to drag this out too much ))

"If you have meat or know of a good hunting spot" Zila told him "I'll gladly take those"

[Chronos]

((No worries, your post was fine)).

Gurt massaged the life back into his numb wrists after being freed from his bonds. He closed his eyes in both appreciation and pain. "Thank you very much. Your welcome to all the meat we have. If you need a hunting place, well, the nearby trail is loaded with scavenging animals looking for an easy meal." Gurt shook his head. He spoke bitterly. "When we get driven to the quarry to get materials, the guards offer one of us up to the creatures so they leave the rest of us alone for the journey. They do it again on the way back. In fact, if you want to, you can eat the guards that come with the slaves. That way the slaves can go free and the guards can get what they deserve." He looked at the faint dust cloud in the distance and pointed. "They'll come from that direction."

Gurt started walking North. "My home is up this way. Follow me and you'll receive your payment."

[Swix]

Zila looked over at the way Gurt indicated, towards the dust cloud where the guards, slaves and scavengers would apparently come from. The Komodo Morphffer made a note of the direction just in case the dust cloud disappeared, before turning and following Gurt towards his home.

"I am Zila" she told the free slave as they walked "I'm a Komodo Morphfffer, of the sub-clan lizard, clan reptillian. A guard sounds like it would be more... my thing, we Komodo are hunters" If there was game, she'd go for that over scavenging. Scavenging was ok only when you were desperate, right now she just needed a little meat to make sure she was in good condition for a hunt, especially since it sounded like those guards weren't following any sort of natural order. That was the ultimate crime, in Zilas opinion.

[alakin1]

A small blue butterfly flitted over to the group,

~Oh! How adorable! The poor man saved from certain death.~

The butterfly landed on the aforementioned man before alighting again. It flew around the group once more before landing on the ground.

~Perhaps I should help this beautiful group of heroes...~ the butterfly melted, before reforming into a tall woman. Lilith straightened her sky-blue dress, smiling gracefully at the group before her.

"Greetings my dears. Perchance you need some help?"

[Chronos]

Gurt turned stiffly around to look at the new arrival. "I'd get out of here if I were you. It's not safe in the South anymore. If you're not careful, you'll end up like me," Gurt turned back to the North, "a slave in the employ of the most dreadful place in the world," he said, missing the fact that the chains on the ground had mysteriously disappeared. A quick eye may have seen them float sideways beyond the group, upward, and then zip off to the southeast.

"It's about two kilometers North, over that jagged hill," he said, grateful that he could point once more. Suddenly, he realized that his feet were still loosely bound. "Maybe someone can help me get these foot chains off. I'd have an easier time making it up those rocks."

[Swix]

"Gurt is in need of help" Zila said to the mysterious butterfly woman "I don't need any from you, thank you. And I'm not a 'hero'"

Zila was quite insulted by this statement of apparent fact, since she was not an unselfish being by nature. Sure she halped the other Komodos out, especially during a hunt, but everyone did something and everyone got something out of it. Calling her a 'hero' implied she was doing what she was for nothing. Which of course she wasn't, she had helped deprive the slave drivers of one of their victims by helping out, and she'd be hunting them later if she had her way. If the slaves were all like Gurt, and she had no reason to doubt they were, the guards would provide far more nourishment for something with her kind of appetite.

"Sit down for a second" Zila said, tilting her head slightly at the slave "and I'll get the leg chains off you"

((Chronos, you've got permission to minorly powerplay Zilas taking off those if you'd like ))

[Chronos]

((coolio! I see you've picked up on my plans...))

"Thanks, Zila. We can do it when we get to the base of that hill- there will be a bit of shade." They continued walking without further incident. Upon stepping into the thin shadow at the base of the jagged rock hill, Gurt slumped down and held out his legs so Zila could remove them. As she set to work, he couldn't help commenting; he felt she would like more incentive.

"Zila, I hope you don't mind a friendly suggestion. There is one guard that usually leads the trip to the quarry. He's a great fat man. He has fur and a short snout, but he's very bulky. He carries a whip made of some crazy fibrous metal and takes great joy in deciding which slave he wants to offer. He wounds the unlucky one with his whip and then leaves them kicking and bleeding. We all have a nasty hate for him, so if you ever see him... well, don't think you have to make it quick."

Zila was showing signs of exertion as the metal in the chains began to creak loudly. The feet were always stronger. Suddenly, her hands slipped. They slipped so quickly and in such a direction, it looked like she had broken the chains and, for a moment, Gurt though that she had. In moments, the chains seemed to gain a life of their own and tried zipping sideways, spinning Gurt on his side and dragging him for a few meters.

"Wh-what? What just happened," he asked, genuinely baffled. Zila walked over to him and this time succeeded in snapping the chains in half. "Thanks very much," he said as he hopped to his feet. Gurt had been in the prime of his life before slavery. He looked up at the rocky hill and was temporarily daunted. Then the forlorn Gurt thought of his home- his wife. That was all he needed.

"Ok, climb where I climb- whoever is coming." Gurt set to work on the hill, weaving in the valleys of the sharp edged boulders and making slow but sure progress. In the relief of his freedom, he forgot completely about the chains that had behaved so strangely. When he looked back at the ground beneath, they were gone.

((If that was too much pplay, I'll edit accordingly.

P.S. I like the pace of this thread.))

[alakin1]

Lilith gave Gurt a coy smile,

"Nonsense, I don't think there's anything here that would dare hurt poor old me." She gave the tiniest sniff at Zila,

~What an uncouth lizard.~ The rude reptile in question bent down to undo Gurt's chains,

~Chains? Slavers I should imagine, damn flesh merchants.~ she thought as she she watched the komodo try to snap the foot chain. However, the chains seemed to have a mind of their own as the suddenly flew to the side. Lilith, surprised almost changed back to her butterfly form, her feet melting before reforming.

~Magical slavers it seems...~ The butterfly demon produced a rose from seemingly nowhere, planting it into her raven brown hair.

[Swix]

Zila stared at the chains after they had snapped off, wondering at their strange behaviour and taking advantage of the shade provided in order to cool herself down from the hot sun. It had to be technology of some sort, something so advanced even the Amphibians had not produced anything close to it. The thought of magic was far from the reptilians mind.

She glanced up at Gurt as he began to ascend the large hill to mull over her thoughts and allow her blood to cool a little longer, his description of the large guard at the forefront of the group certainly sounded tempting. Fur and a snout she could deal with, but the whip sounded daunting. She'd have to use her ambush abilities as best she could, and if there were other animals around the area then that would mean she'd have some cover whether in their midst or not.

The Komodo noticed the butterfly woman climbing up the hill behind the man and began to climb up the hill behind them, grateful that they would not be entering the horrid sun until they'd gotten higher up. Being part reptile meant that although she could work at a higher temperature than most mammalians overheating was a quite real danger, so she had to be careful.

'Hero indeed' Zila thought to herself as she followed them, before calling out to Gurt "Is the ground here so unstable that there's only one path up?"

[Chronos]

Gurt called over his shoulder to Zila. "Yes and no. Down here it'll shift and slide unless you stick on this path. When we get to the top, the rock is really jagged and sharp. If you slip, you'll get hurt pretty badly. Once we get to the other side, there is no path, so the only thing you can do is scree-run down the side."

Shortly after he was finished speaking, he had reached the summit. "Ok, this time stay up here. Watch what I do, then follow me one at a time."

Gurt proceeded to dash lightly down the other side. He lifted his feet almost immediately after they touched rock. As soon as he lifted them, the rock they had been perched on would shift and tumble down the hill.