Stalking

Great Desert of Skulls

Malacost - Gold. Not love, not faith, not even violence. Gold is the true universal language of the realms. Any realm.

He lay across the hot dunes, flat against the sand, ensuring he was not sticking out against the horizon. Below in the oasis where the caravan had been resting the atmosphere was subdued, even mournful. He had no idea why, but the sandstorm that had raged for three days had maybe something to do with it.

He had seen the brunette witch a few times this morning but not the red hair cur he had been following. He growled his frustration. Some of the bandits behind him shifted in the sand. He had paid them handsomely back in Amarat to follow the women who were heading to some cursed city in the middle of the desert.

First night in the desert he had killed their leader, cutting the man's balls and force feeding it to his right-hand man before disembowelling him and letting his death screams wash over the others as he slowly died and bleed out for hours. The rest had quickly followed in line. They thought he would have been easy prey once they got out in the desert but fear kept them towing the line now. Plus, the two men that were to take the lions' share of the gold were now dead, so more for the rest.

Part of him really wanted to return, report what he had found to Margrave and the city authorities, but something kept pulling him onwards.

These women... They had a role to play in what was coming and in the end his gut always kept him chasing them. Like he had role to play in what was unfolding. He watched the brunette witch again, dressed as an Arcadian savage, spitting at the thought that a witch could be revered out here. Could live her life as she was not an abomination. A mistake from the gods...

This one however would not be as easy to deal with as the young red hair. This one had some more steel to her. More bite. He spat and grinned. It would be fun to play with her.

He wanted to attack at some point. But the bandits feared something. He couldn't understand most of their gibberish but someone or something in that caravan kept them from attacking even with the obvious promise of plunder and women.

He started to etch another plan in his mind.

The barque...