koholint | [sample thread] In the Suhalla

[sample thread] In the Suhalla

[It was really hot out...

Sheba was certain that her mind ought to be on other things right now. Like how this desert was even more monster-infested than it had seemed to be at first glance, how those sandstorms were actually caused by monsters, how the guards escorting her back to Lalivero had been defeated, how she was now stuck in the company of... these people.

The blue-haired man at the front of the group had a smug little smile, though Sheba supposed he had a reason to be smug. After all, he had somehow managed to call water out of the ground... in a desert, no less. That was no small feat. There was just something about him, though...

She wasn't sure what to make of the old man and the young girl. They weren't unkind - quite the opposite, in fact - but Sheba was in no mood for anyone's company right now. Why they were traveling along with these people, she didn't know for sure, but she suspected their circumstances were not altogether different from hers. That didn't mean she wanted their pity, though...

The man and the woman at the back of the group sort of... frightened her, if the truth be told. There was just something about them that didn't seem quite right. They were clearly obsessed with something, and clearly had no qualms about forcing others to do their bidding. She'd thought some rather unkind things about them already, in the short time she'd known them, and she was sure they wouldn't like it if they knew. Luckily, none of them had her skills... she'd touched their minds, just briefly, but what she'd found there was enough to make her keep out, and certainly enough to keep her from making a break for it. She might have been able to survive the Suhalla on her own, after making it that far with the guards, but not any longer. Not with those two keeping an eye on her.]

Ugh...

[She frowned a little and brought up a hand to fan herself. It was absolutely sweltering, but the group didn't seem to be stopping and she wasn't going to be the one to call for a break. They could force her into their company, they could force her to go all the way to Venus Lighthouse and beyond - but they couldn't force her to show she was scared, and she wouldn't show weakness in front of them. If they were going to stop, it was going to be because one of them called for it, not her.

The last member of their group trudged on in the sand not too far away from her. He hadn't done anything outwardly threatening, but a small part of her couldn't help but be a little morbidly curious what lay in his mind. If he was traveling with this bunch, well...

Whatever it was, she told herself, it couldn't be worse than what was in Saturos' and Menardi's minds. She kept her eyes resolutely ahead and called upon her Psynergy. Whether she found anything interesting in Felix's mind or not, she didn't want to make it totally obvious that it was her doing it. The less these people knew about her, the better; the more she knew about them, the better off she'd be if she did try to make an escape when they neared Lalivero and got out of this godforsaken pit of sand.]

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[Saturos and Menardi were starting to get on Felix's last nerve. Yes, they had saved his life, as well as the lives of his parents and Kyle. And their overall goal made sense, but their methods left more and more to be desired.

Before he even agreed to help them get back into Sol Sanctum, he had made them promise to leave anyone who wasn't involved out of this. Fat lot of good that promise had done. First they dragged his sister and Kraden into their group as less willing hostages than he was, though under the circumstances he had manage to reason that. Isaac and Garet were following them with two more people, but that was their choice no matter how unwise it was.

But this? If they had only intended to save this girl, Felix wouldn't have minded. But taking her along by force like this? That was the final straw.

Not that he could just back out at this point. Saturos and Menardi had already left those soldiers to die, he was sure they wouldn't bat an eye at finishing off his parents if he tried to stop this now. Still, he needed to do something...]

I can't allow Saturos and Menardi to keep breaking their word like this. But...

[It was at that point he felt his thoughts be interrupted by a...presence. Felix wasn't quite sure how to describe it, but it was almost like someone else was there. Which was incredibly strange.]

Is someone...?

[Wait, Sheba was fairly nearby. And odd as it was, he had seen enough over the last three years to not immediately discard the possibility. He turned his head to see what she was doing with a curious frown.]

...

[Sheba knew immediately when he noticed her intrusion into his thoughts - she always did. It didn't happen often, but when it did, she knew to pull back. So she kept her eyes on the horizon, determinedly not looking at Felix.

It was a valiant effort, really; but the way she deliberately avoided looking in his direction might be giving her away, just a little. So after a few moments she looked to him, her expression as neutral as she could make it.]

Is something the matter?

[Yeah, Felix had been an older brother for most of his life, so the initial avoidance was more telling to him than anything else. It was still odd, though. If it was her, just what had she been doing? She had to be some kind of Adept to survive this desert as well as she had managed, but what kind of power did something like that?

Still, he couldn't be positive without asking. He could only hope that the others didn't pay too much attention to their conversation. Saturos and Menardi were pretty good at spotting Adepts, but he had no idea what else they knew, if anything. He wasn't even sure what he knew. He tries to keep his voice just low enough that Sheba can hear him.]

Were you...doing something just now?

I was walking.

[Well, yes. They all were. Sheba knew very well that her answer wasn't what Felix had been looking for, but for the moment it was all the answer she was willing to give him. A few seconds passed and she heard nothing but the crunch of sand under their boots and the faint stirrings of the wind. Then she looked to him again, and when she spoke, her voice was just as soft as his.]

What would it mean... if I had been doing something just now? Are you going to tell them?

[Her gaze flicked briefly to Saturos and Menardi before returning to him. Whether he knew for sure if she'd been doing something or not, that pair thinking she was up to something was sure to be bad news.]

[His expression showed that he wasn't overly pleased with her initial answer. However, when she finally says something to almost acknowledge it, he relaxes a bit. Felix really didn't want to press the issue around the others, so now figuring out how to do that was no longer going to be an issue.

He glances at the duo as well. It'd be too much to hope that they weren't paying attention to their new captive, but maybe with the gusting winds from the monsters in the desert they wouldn't pick up on this conversation.]

It would explain why I thought someone else was in my mind. I don't plan on telling them anything if they don't need to know it. ...That doesn't mean they won't figure anything out for themselves, however.

[She didn't need to read his mind to know he was displeased - it was written all over his face. Sometimes, reading facial expressions was much easier than reading minds. There were some people who were better at guarding their thoughts than their feelings.]

Maybe you're just imagining things... I've heard the desert can do that to people.

[If he'd noticed her presence in his mind, chances were they definitely had. From the way Felix was acting, it was probably too much to hope that one of the other members of their little group had an ability that might get confused for hers. Why else would he have asked her if she'd done something?

Then again, his thoughts hadn't been at all similar to what she'd found in that duo's mind. She wasn't sure yet if she could trust him, but maybe it would be okay to distrust him a little less than the others.]

Though, just out of curiosity, how would you decide if they needed to know something or not?

[She kept her voice low but her expression pleasant. If the rest of the group wasn't paying too close attention to what they were saying, she didn't want to tip them off by looking upset.]

[Yes, learning to go with facial expressions would be good around other Adepts. Especially Felix. He could be quiet when he wanted to be, and he had an advantage on the Mind Read thing.]

Yes, but the last desert I was in was known better for the tricks it could play on people. That never happened while we were there.

[Unfortunately Felix isn't an idiot, so despite her speculation he's pretty sure it's her. Still, not forcing her to confirm it was probably good in front of his "colleagues" here. Especially if he was going to figure out some way to get her out of this. He would definitely have to bring up that promise to Saturos and Menardi again once they were out of this desert.]

I..."share" a goal with them. I would have to let them know if something was related to achieving it.

[However that raised a question that he knew would bother him now: if Sheba really was an Adept, what kind was she? None of the Adepts he had come face to face with had ever done anything like that to him, after all. And there was only one element he hadn't run across someone who was already aligned with it. But then again, Mercury Lighthouse was guarded by Alex's clan, as far as they knew Venus may not be anything like that.]

[It took her a few moments, but then her eyes widened slightly and her brows furrowed. She may have been confined to her room in Tolbi, but that didn't mean she was stupid, and it definitely didn't mean people didn't talk. When people in Weyard spoke of a desert playing tricks, there was only one desert that came to mind.]

You passed through the Lamakan Desert? And you survived? What sort of people are you?

[This changed things. She knew they were strong - they'd made it through the Suhalla much more easily than most people had - but she'd heard that the Lamakan Desert could drive people entirely mad, if they didn't dry out into husks to be buried in the sands there first.]

I don't... see how anything I do could be related to whatever your goal is. I'm just a girl from Lalivero, and once we get through this desert I'd like to go home.

[She wasn't being entirely truthful, there. Being called the "Child of the Gods" made her more than just a girl from Lalivero, and the townspeople's reactions would probably confirm that the second they saw her in the company of a group that obviously didn't consist of Tolbi soldiers.]

...

[A part of him still wasn't comfortable just discussing these powers with anyone, but with the way Saturos, Menardi, and Alex just used them without much discretion and the fact that he was beginning to suspect it was a topic that was going to pertain to her, sharing a bit probably wouldn't hurt.]

There are people called Adepts that can use Psynergy to control the powers of an element. That's true of all of us, other than Kraden.

[He sighed. He was certainly hoping she wasn't going to be viewed as related by the others. In fact, if he had anything to say about it, they were going to let her go home safely as soon as possible. Unfortunately, his opinion rarely seemed to matter in this group.]

I don't either, and I understand how you feel. But Saturos and Menardi may see it differently. [They still had his sister solely because they apparently thought two hostages were better bait than one for Isaac.] That's why...

[And Felix scowled, trailing off. There had to be something he could do for her. He was sick of so many innocent people getting caught up in a scheme that didn't need to be as nefarious as they were making it. But he just needed to figure out what...]

...!

[Carefully, very carefully, she tried to make her expression as neutral as possible again. Lord Babi had been thinking of Psynergy during Colosso, she was sure of it. She'd mostly read his mind to see if he was telling the truth about letting her go home, but he'd seemed very interested in one of the warriors competing because of Psynergy...

She'd had little idea what the word meant then; now, though, it seemed she was going to learn more. She looked to Alex. His Psynergy obviously controlled the element of water - what he was doing to get them through the Suhalla made that clear enough.

Saturos, Menardi, Jenna, Felix... she didn't know what powers they had. But she would probably find out soon enough, she realized with a slight shiver. If the things she'd seen in Saturos' and Menardi's minds were true, then...

And what did that mean about her own power? "Saturos and Menardi may see it differently"... she was starting to wish she'd never tried to intrude on their minds.

If no one in this group could do that aside from her, they might not let her go. She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself steady, but there was no denying that she looked a little pale.]

...that's why I'm with your group right now, you mean. Why they didn't leave me to get through this desert on my own.

[That settled it. There was no way she was going to do anything with the wind in front of them.]

They don't seem the type to keep people around if they can't use them.

[Well, at least she was intelligent. Then again, ignorance may have been bliss in this situation. The more he thought about the situation they had put her into, the more irritated he felt. This was looking almost exactly like what they had done to him. Save your life, only to string you along as a little tool. But at least they hadn't taken anyone in her family hostage as well. Yet.

He gave a small but grim nod.]

They aren't one for works of charity. And they don't hesitate to get rid of anyone they see as being in the way.

[Which she hopefully wouldn't witness, but considering she had been with that poor group of Tolbi's soldiers, he had a feeling their little hostage situation wasn't over yet. Plus he felt like she deserved a fair warning in that department. He would never forgive himself if she got herself killed and it was his fault.]

[She couldn't help but glance backwards, in the direction of where they'd left the soldiers that had been leading her home. Not being the type of people for works of charity was an understatement.

What he said next, though... She swallowed hard.]

If I'm not useful to them... would that be considered being in their way?

[And now he really hated making her worry like this, but knowing she needed to be wary was best, right? The only reason he made demands was because he had been with them for three years and they knew they still needed him. But with Sheba...well, that question was still up in the air. If it turned out they didn't think she was necessary, he would prefer she be allowed to go freely.]

It shouldn't be. [There was almost a bit of venom in his voice. Seriously, why had they promised to not involve unrelated people when they kept doing things like this? Yeah, he definitely needed to have another talk with them once they were in safer territory.] If you can't help or won't try to stop them, they're supposed to leave you alone...

But they haven't done that in the past, have they... which is why you're worried about them breaking their word again.

[She wasn't really aware that she'd used the exact same wording that had been in his thoughts minutes before. It was more of an offhand observation as she mulled that over...

The tone in his voice when he said "It shouldn't be," the way he said "they're supposed to"... it made her worry. Her first impulse was to look back at Saturos and Menardi again, but she stopped herself before she could turn to look and trained her eyes on the sand ahead of them. Sand, sand, and more sand. She was really starting to get sick of this desert.

She still wasn't sure what their goal was, but perhaps it was better that way. If she knew, she might accidentally say something that could lead them to believe she'd be able to help, and then when would she ever be able to return to Lalivero?

And she'd thought staying in Tolbi as Lord Babi's "honored guest" was bad...]

[Felix was growing tired of the desert as well, though this was mostly because the more he mulled over all this, the more he wanted the chance to be sure Saturos and Menardi weren't going to do anything else to this girl. Surely he could just convince them to leave her in Lalivero whenever they go there, right? If she was from around here, maybe she was a different kind of Venus Adept. The Fire Adepts in Vale were nothing like the people of Prox, after all.]

No, they keep...

[But he trailed off as he thought about her comment a bit more. And, despite, trying to stay low-key, he stared at her curiously.]

Hold on, I never said anything about them breaking their word.

[Yeah, that was definitely her presence he was noticing in his mind. Not that he expected a straight answer, and if he was lucky she wouldn't give one. He'd just have to hope she didn't try it on anyone else or that they didn't notice. It was a good thing Alex was leading the way, he always seemed to notice...]

..!

[A slightly panicked expression passed over her face for the briefest of instants, and then she looked down at her feet as she walked. It was probably better that she didn't look him in the eye so her expression couldn't give anything away.]

...I thought they must have made some kind of a promise to you. You said "shouldn't" and "supposed to"... it sounded like the three of you had an arrangement of some kind.

[She had no idea if he'd buy that or not, but she really hoped he did.]

[He didn't quite buy it, but then again he didn't want to push it. Right now he was more concerned with figuring out how to get her out of this situation than anything else. They had already left enough people to die, and he wasn't putting up with that anymore. Nor was she getting forced into this business if she didn't need to.]

... Yeah, that's right. They weren't supposed to involve anyone that wasn't related to this.

[A promise they obviously had never intended to keep. What kind of person made a promise if they weren't going to follow through?]

...

[She was silent for a moment or two, during which she cast a glance in Jenna and Kraden's direction. That must have been how those two ended up involved...]

It's easy to make promises. It's keeping them that becomes a problem...

[She finally looked back to Felix, her brows furrowing as she scrutinized him. Part of her wanted to try reading his mind again, but another, more wary part of her said maybe that wasn't a good idea. He'd already said that he'd have to tell Saturos and Menardi if he thought what she could do was related to their goals.

For now, she'd stick with talking. It was better than thinking about how ungodly hot this desert was. And if she was lucky, maybe she'd find something she could use.]

How are you related to this? ...If you don't mind me asking.

[If only she weren't right. He would definitely have to be more careful if he made any promises from here on in...]

That's true.

[He frowned and stayed silent for a few moments. It wasn't really a story he liked to tell, nor did he see much of a reason for her to know most of it. Then again, at least part of it could hopefully illustrate the patter of behavior.]

They saved me once a few years ago. I've traveled with them since then.

..so you're.. in their debt?

[Then the most obvious course of action was for Sheba to do something for them, to put them in her debt. Then they'd be even, and she could go home.

...well, that would be obvious if they were normal people. Which obviously they weren't.

She pursed her lips, lapsing back into silence. If her luck held they'd let her go once they reached Lalivero, and she usually had been pretty lucky, but she'd still feel better about all this if she had some kind of a backup plan.

She sighed lightly and brought a hand up to rub at her head. This whole situation was giving her a headache.]

Something like that.

[More like "dealing with an overly complex hostage situation", but debt summed it up well enough. She didn't need to know all the details anyway, did she?

He noticed her move her hand to her head and immediately felt a twinge of guilt. Maybe if he had just done a better job of speaking up earlier, she would be looking forward to getting home and not worrying about how long she was going to be used for some purpose even Felix wasn't entirely certain of.]

I'm...sorry about this, for what it's worth. And I'm sure Jenna and Kraden are, as well.

[Alex...eh, who ever knew with that guy?]

...they don't seem like bad people.

[She hadn't tried reading their minds just yet, but the fact that they'd tried to be kind spoke volumes about them. She paused for a moment, brushing some of her bangs away from her face, and looked to Felix again.]

You don't seem like a bad person, either.

[She offered him a very small smile. She wasn't sure what to make of Alex, Saturos, and Menardi, and she still wasn't entirely sure if Felix, Jenna, and Kraden were trustworthy, but at least he didn't seem inclined to cause harm to anyone. Which was a small silver lining in this situation, but a silver lining nonetheless.]

They aren't.

[He met her gaze for a second, but his expression remained fairly neutral. Felix really wasn't sure if he was a bad person or not. He had been helping Saturos and Menardi for so long as it was. True, he didn't have much of a choice, but he still could have found a way where he didn't have to play the villain and drag so many people he knew into this. Now even strangers were getting dragged in.]

Uh, right. Just do as they say for now, and hopefully you can stay in your hometown once we arrive.

Yes, hopefully.

[There were only a few things past the Suhalla that seemed likely to be destinations for this group - Venus Lighthouse, Lalivero, and the not-yet-completed Babi Lighthouse. The way Felix spoke made it sound like they wouldn't be staying in Lalivero for long...

So which of the two lighthouses were they intending to go to, Sheba wondered? ...probably Venus Lighthouse, she decided after a moment. Babi's construction project didn't seem to be the type of thing to catch the attention of this kind of group.

Whatever their goals were, the Elemental Lighthouses were involved somehow... But how did they expect to get inside?

...the caves in the ruins...

No, it couldn't be. Could it?

She frowned, just a little, as she considered everything. It was possible. They'd have to pass through Lalivero to get to the ruins, and--

No, she didn't like the way her thoughts were straying. Should she tell them about the ruins? That would be helping them. They might think she could be of use to them, and then she'd never go home. Should she keep quiet about it? If they ever found out she knew about them, if they ever found out about the visions... would that count as getting in their way? And it would definitely be getting in their way if she shouted a warning when they arrived in Lalivero.

...the Laliverans might try to get in their way if they saw her with this group... especially after Babi had taken her once already.

That was almost enough to make her stop in her tracks. If the people from her hometown got hurt because of her... if they got killed...

But she'd be of no use to anyone if she defied them and got herself killed here. What was she supposed to do...? Maybe if she'd waited a little longer to leave Tolbi, this wouldn't have happened. Or if Babi had let her leave sooner - but no, the monsters in the desert still might have attacked, and if not for this group happening to pass through just then, where would she be now?

...but if someone from Lalivero tried to help her, and they got hurt...

This was complicated. More complicated than she wanted to deal with right now, but she had to come up with something, somehow. She had to.

She just didn't know what.]

[Sheba seemed bothered. He couldn't really blame her, though. She had no idea what was going on, and he wasn't about to go into details. Not when there was still a chance for her to get back to her family and have a more normal life than he ever would at this point.

Still, Felix did feel bad about this. He kept spotting similarities between their situations, which was exactly why he was feeling more and more determined to make sure she didn't end up in the same situation he was in if it could be helped.

Of course, he had also had his parents and Kyle there for support when this all started. Sheba didn't know who any of them were, so this couldn't be easy on her. Maybe he should check on her. ...Somehow...]

How are you feeling, anyway? You've been in this place longer than we have.

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