Blood in the Sand - II

JP with Winteroak and White_Caribou

Dust and sand were kicked up. Later when the battle had passed it would be clear to Shalia that the bandits had lost too many opportunities to take the upper hand. With their numbers they could have easily taken the Oasis and anyone in it despite Shalia's presence. It would be something at the back of her mind telling her all had not been what it seemed. Although she would have had other affairs to concentrate on.

The bandits clearly gave her a wide berth where they could. As she stabbed the man she barreled into, an other nearby kicked a handful of sand into her eyes, as she saw two of her guards die under the assailants curved swords.

Shalia yelped as the sand entered her eyes, making her crawl away about a foot from the man she had just killed. She dropped the dagger to the sand and tried desperately to blink the stinging dust out-- rub away the sight of her guards being slaughtered. Her vision had blurred and when it finally cleared, she then saw the Ozainae man fall alongside Ryul and the other. The witch coughed and spit as dust entered her dry mouth.

The fight certainly came to them. And then it went away in an instant.

Shalia could not use her magik again tonight. Magik exhaustion hadn’t come upon her in a year or two, and she had no intention of letting that bloody frost take over her body this time around. With a weapon, she was still a single person and they were, what, ten or so? Some with camels, all armed, all in fairly good condition. She had nothing but a short blade and a temper, an they were adamant on putting distance between her.

She would not make this dreaded place her last stand, either. What was the point? They would keep avoiding her and she would eventually collapse. They might have even swooped in to kill her then. It was a fight that the four of them could not win. She didn’t realize how weak she was out here until power was needed, but she would not slowly destroy herself over lost guards or a surprise attack. She had duties to fulfill.

Standing now, she barely caught herself from falling when she bent to pick her dagger up again. A pounding headache was starting to knock at the front of her skull. The woman looked out onto the oasis full of bandits and the shadowy desert beyond and took in what she saw.

The campsite was trashed and the oasis now hounded by these foes. Shalia took her chances and made off toward the barque with the energy she still had left. The night grew darker.