Snippet #2555203

Location- Eastern Flats, The Scrublands.

Objective- Aid the Takalu Clan in tracking a defeating a band of Slavers

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Evanna sat with one hand on her hip, glaring into the harsh sunlight. She'd forgone thick or stuffy clothing for the day, instead opting for a thin shirt and a skirt that hardly reached her knees. The Wastes were hard and dangerous places, so unlike her home. Evanna reached to touch her belt as she looked around her, subconsciously taking stock of what poisons she had at her disposal- vials of doll's eyes in her right side pocket, their juices sloshing wildly with every jump of the horse she rode; a vial of liquid seeped with the roots of a Water hemlock on her left side; crushed crab's eyes mixed into cheeses that she kept in the pocket next to her buckle. None of them would be of much use for her today, of course- today would be bloodier than she liked. For that reason she had a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow next to her on the horse. The arrows were coated in ricin, but she could kill without that. But, she thought idly as she pulled the horse, a mare named Kalia, to the left I might not be able to use them at all at this rate. Where are those Ochil?

She'd been looking for them since she'd arrived at the edges of the Scrublands that morning. She'd taken a horse from a trader in exchange for a belladonna plant- rare, expensive things, those. Lucky that Evanna could grow her own. The horse was old and slow, and Evanna's fair skin was beginning to burn in in the harsh light, but suddenly she saw what she had been looking for- the Takalu Warriors. They were brutish and large, but Evanna kicked herself down from the horse to greet them kindly. She wasn't afraid of them- and they were not afraid of her, it seemed. One of them, a man, stepped forward and raised a spear towards her, pointing it at her chest.

"Evanna Kings, of the white group. I am here to be of assistance," she explained. Another of the Ochil, a woman this time, stepped forward and pushed the spear down from the man's hands, yelling at him at a speed Evanna couldn't understand.

"I am Beril, that is Izach," the woman's voice was harsh but motherly, and Evanna nodded as she introduced the rest of the small group. Aside from Beril and Izach, three more made up the small group of men and women. Evanna nodded her head to each in turn, happy that they had apparently been expecting a liaison of the white group to assist them.

"So, as I understand it you have been having trouble with Slavers?" Evanna said as she drew her bow over her shoulder, ready to rest. It would be easier to track at night, and the day was starting to wane in any case- and from the tales Evanna had heard of this Ochil tribe, they made very good food from the harsh ingredients of the Wasteland.

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The desert cools alarmingly fast, turning the molten heat of the day to frigid winter within what seems like moments. The sun had just set and Evanna, full of soup made from cacti milk and lizard, was back atop her horse with one of the men's fox-fur blankets slung over her shoulders. Now, she kept her bow ready at her side, always half-ready to drop her hand on the reign and pull it into action. The wastes became the stuff of nightmares at night, and even though she was protected by people who knew the lands she was vigilant.

"Where'd a broad like you learn to use a bow?" Izach, the quick-to-the-trigger man from earlier in the day, said as they tracked their way across the land, searching for signs of the Slavers.

"An Ochil taught me," Evanna said simply. She must have seemed bristled by the question because he didn't ask her again. They road for hours, it seemed, before they even had an idea of where the men might be, and even then all they'd found was a scrap of fabric that had torn from the body of one of the captured. Of course, this may seem to be a very small clue, but apparently it struck something in Beril, who Evanna had noticed was the leader of the small caravan of warriors.

"Airship. It left here.. I do not know what direction it went in," she said, and Evanna noticed a tinge of sadness in her voice before she resumed the trotting of her animal.

"What if it hadn't gone anywhere? Slavers are smart people- some of them, anyway. They know the Ochil are trackers. They know this , and what would be the easiest way to avoid being followed? Don't leave." Evanna muttered under her breath, looking skyward. At night the sky was cloudy, and any airship would be obstructed by the low-hanging clouds. "That cloth was ripped off one of yours, right?" a few nodded in agreement. "Right. Your people aren't stupid. They left it for a reason," Evanna dismounted and searched the heavens before nodding to herself.

"We stay here until morning," she declared.

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They took turns sleeping, and by the time morning rolled around Evanna was pacing, searching the heavens. If she was right, and she was quite sure she was, there was an airship around up there somewhere. She paced back and forth for a time before she did notice what she'd been looking for- the silver glint of a metal ship high in the air, hard to see if that didn't know what to look for. Of course, Evanna had no way to get up there, but it was only a matter of time until they came down.

As it turns out, she didn't have to wait long. A long rope fell from the heavens by about noon, and they were ready. Evanna tied it down to a nearby rockface and, soon enough, the straggly figure of a lanky man in desperate need of a bath fell from the sky, clutching a bag to his person and mumbling to himself. Evanna delighted in shooting him down and watching the ricin in the arrow turn him to a mass of seizures.

"Up," she demanded, and they followed the order quickly, scaling the rope with inhuman strength. Evanna followed swiftly, though she had more trouble with it than the others.

The inside of the airship was steamy, decrepit and in desperate need of repair. The thin metal slacks that covered the bottom of the craft had to be navigated like a maze, lest someone fall through. But, they managed quickly, pulling themselves into an alcove that had a reliable ground.

"How many attacked your tribe?" Evanna asked, holding her bow upright.

"Fifteen or so- a small group. At night, and they had very good weaponry," Beril answered.

"I'm willing to bet your captured are in a cell at the back of the ship. You go to them, I'll deal with halting this operation permanently. Once you get them, you get out, understand?" Evanna took off her boots, set them on the ground and disappeared into the framework of the building, waiting patiently until she heard them trail off into the depths of the structure before she walked towards the front of the ship, where the captain would be. She didn't meet anyone for the first few minutes, but the first one she met was hardly a challenge- a person- no more than a boy really- that couldn't hold a knife if it was taped to him. She had pushed him into one of the many holes that littered the floor of the broken airship. His screams were loud, and provided just the diversion she needed to slink into the captain's room and lock the heavy steel door behind her.

She announced her presence quickly, tapping her fingers on the metal of the door frame. The captain turned to face her, looking over her greedily. She could almost see him putting a price on her. Her bow was at her side, and she didn't have an arrow in it at the moment- she must have looked very innocent. She surveyed the room, noted the decanter of brandy on the table next to him, and a plan formed in her mind. She dropped the bow and arrows at the door, hoping they were out of the way, before she began to speak:

"He-Hello. A man told me to come in here- a young boy, with sandy blonde hair," she described the man she had just killed quickly, feigning innocence, "He said you'll take me to Farpoint," she said, scratching at the ginger hair that was curled into a bun at the top of her head.

"Why- Micheal, yes. We'll take you to Farpoint, if you want Miss... for a price, of course," the man smiled a seedy sort of smile and Evanna almost gagged, forcing herself to pull herself forward.

"I don't have much... I make cheese, you see, and I have a client in Farpoint that I wanted to talk to about possible employment with the airships.... not many people can afford the frivolous anymore," to demonstrate, Evanna held out one of the cheese cuts from the pocket in her belt out, offering it to the man. "You can have what I have on me, if you want... I don't know if that'll be enough..." he took the outstretched triangle from her and examined it, even took a bite of it before he began to speak again.

"Miss, I think I'd much rather have what you could offer me with nothing on you," the man advanced on her and caged her in, and she fought the urge to simply end it and stab him then. She wanted to give the Ochil as much opportunity as possible to get everyone out. His breath stunk of ale and he stunk of death, but Evanna smiled a nervous smile as he moved towards her, probably intent on kissing her. Thank god the poison started up then, attacking his systems and leaving him foaming at the mouth. He seized suddenly and fell, grabbing onto Evanna's leg. She shook him free and grabbed up the remaining portion of cheese from where it had fallen onto the floor. She put it on the table next to the decanter and poured a glass of it, sipping it slowly. It burned her tongue but it was a nice burn. She set the ship on a course for the ground, making it so that it would fall slow enough to enable her escape if she was quick but too fast to stop. She would have to count on the Ochil having already left. She made her way to the rope quickly, thankfully not noticing anyone else as she fell down. Once down she cut the rope as high as she could manage and watched the airship sink with increasing speed towards the ground.
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Evanna caught up with the group as they were preparing to leave, stopping the sadness on their faces as she approached.

"We thought you'd been killed, what took so long!" One of the women said as she cut the ties off of one of the captured.

"I had to deal with the arrangements. I don't think you'll be bothered any longer," she said slyly as she watched the ship sink into the distance. The caravan was heading out when they heard the initial boom and a smirk graced her features.