The Pull

Great Desert of Skulls - Tarafit Sept

Alexis camped under the stars in the same place she had the night before. Again there was little opportunity to rest. Two days of little sleep worrying about her odd quest and now her missing companion helped matters little.

She spent the night looking at the low flames of her fire, watching it flicker and dancing against the night's chilling wind. The fire seemed to capture her more than ever. As if she thought she could caught sight of unspoken truths hidden in its colours and movement.

~You must go.~ came a whisper in her mind. ~You must not tardy.~ the thoughts came unbidden to her as if someone else was speaking those words. Words that told her she needed to move on, that nothing or no one else mattered. She shook her head. These were not her thoughts. But they had been whispered in her own internal voice.

Alexis looked up at the waning moon praying to whatever god that would listen, that Tarmen would turn up, safe and sound, sporting just a bad hangover. That any moment he would crest a dune apologetically.

She prayed that this was not another companion she would lose or get seperated from, like Blackwolf or Islana or Gonyaul.

But it was not to be. The sun rose, the oasis rose and in the end, despite her reservations and conflicted feelings, Alexis joined the caravan and headed to the Holy City of Gra'akast...

She cursed, ever since meeting Tar in the caves above Maru in Fang, it seemed she was destined to walk her path alone...