Quest The Descend of the Alsanunu

[White Swallow]

As Nineban's shadow loomed over the deep gorge, It's bulk obscured by its rosy walls. It's presence imposing on the lone rider beneath.
It felt almost like yesterday when he first rode towards this impressive fortress.
Mayaddah led him downward, following the donning river Rud until her hooves stepped out of the impressive shadow and into the light of the open gorge.

A single gaze upon the imposing fortress was set before he made his way towards the town Al-Mirabet.


It wasn't enough to kill just the wyrms. There was an entire community hiding someplace. The culling of the troublemaker did not quell their ravenous appetite.

An hour later and The Swallow was within the groves of Al-Mirabet. His current wear was light and covered him up face to toe. Mayaddah was unarmoured, only the black shield with the white bird a marker of his origin.
First, he made his way to the village elder, who awaited a small assembly of people to take care of his village's trouble.
Trouble that has grown significantly worse than the last time it appeared.

 

[Erantiel]

The sunlight was much stronger than he had anticipated, having moved so far into these arid lands. The hot sand muffled his light steps, somewhat hindering his swift movement. It was the first time that Erantiel had travelled so far into these lands, so very foreign to him. The merchants he briefly spoke to mentioned the word several times. 'Desert', they called it. The complete opposite of the grooving woods he had lived in all his life, even when surrounded by the walls of Fal'Addas, more than 100 years ago. And yet, a tingling sense deep inside his head told Erantiel that he was heading in the right direction, after days of wandering these wastelands.

A few days ago, he was dealing with a small bandit raid on a peaceful village, ripe with resources for them to plunder. The human inhabitants maybe feared them more than they feared the passing elf, and yet they rewarded him with a few smiles and a warm bed after he arrived back at the town, carrying the heads of the cretins that antagonized those folk. A time ago, he would've probably killed those humans the same way he slaughtered the bandits, raining down a hell of arrows filled with fury on them. But after slumbering for over a hundred years... Erantiel lacked the strength to hate anymore. He remained bitter, but there were worse things to disgust him these days.

After the elf had crossed the border of Amol-Kalit, he started hearing the whispers. Talks of monsters, sand wyrms as they called them. Terrorizing the desert and disturbing the peace. He knew he had been on the right track.

The cloaked elf stopped, gazing upon the vast fortress in the mountains above him, his eyes void of life and yet the magic that coursed through his veins allowed him to see with clarity. Erantiel resumed his walk, anxious to reach his destination.

 

[White Swallow]

The White Swallow dismounted somewhere in the centre of the Village, greeted by the very same old elder.
»Bless Al-Khalek! As Nineban finally sent help,« He exclaimed in a not so excited tone. His voice was full distraught emotion and his facial features connotated lack of hope.

It seems as if the issue has grown worse since last time.

 

[Erantiel]

The hooded and cloaked figure crossed the mountainside, the fortress still mighty in its stature in the distance, overlooking the gorge and its enormous descent. Erantiel's magic weaved him a image beautiful enough to surprise him after days of walking through the hot sands. The blind wanderer continued his trek for about an hour before he reached the gates of a city, his destination.

He stood in front of them for a moment before two guards came to face him, weapons in hand and eyebrows raised in suspicious of the dark figure in front of them.

"State of your business, stranger", one of them said just before Erantiel raised his head a little, the guards pausing in surprise to see that he was blind, probably just a lone and rather crazy wanderer seeking some shelter.

Ten minutes later, Erantiel was being escorted to a gathering in the secluded center of the city, with people whispering over their troubles, worried and distraught.

Stopped just outside the place, Erantiel's magically enhanced senses let him hear as the guards talked with the man responsible for that reunion, the one they called 'elder'. He heard humans using that word with much respect before, as he pondered over its use in his ancient Elvish tongue.

"Elder, there's a man outside. He claims he's here to solve our 'monster problems'."

 

[White Swallow]

The village elder turned away from the Swallow, gazing upon the village watch.
»Bring him forth then, we require all the aid we can get,« the old man waves his hands as to shoo the town watch towards to gather the curious helper. He promptly left.

 

[Achates]

Travel wasn’t long and Achates found herself on the outskirts of the town. Shifting from her dire wolf state took a moment and she leaned against a rock inside a secluded cave after it was over. It always took so much out of her and a part of her wondered how much longer she could keep it up. She had seen the others shift so easily between forms, never tiring or having any complications. Achates wondered if it was because of her heritage. This led to thoughts of her mother whom she had never truly met or remembered much of.

Painful stubborn memories, she shrugged them off as she dressed herself finally. Looking normal now, she entered the town spotting the beautiful black camels that were bred here. Seemed the town was famous for it. Thoughts lingered and wondered if Gerra would want some of the creatures.

As much as she would want to purchase some of the camels for Gerra, her reason for being here was a bit less fun. Parchment in her hand she headed towards the largest building assuming it to be a government building of sorts. It was only midday and she figured it wouldn’t be hard to find someone who could speak to her and give any information she needed to help their issue.

White Swallow

 

[White Swallow]

The ebony black camels chewed cud as their faces moved after Achates as she passed them, watching her rather lazily with their large long-lashed eyes and heavy eyelids.
Their sleek fur glistened quite brilliantly blue against the sunlight.
At this time of day, most people were outside under the shade and resting away the mid-day heat.
One of the bright-eyed villagers noticed the elf meandering towards the central building.
They were expecting people today, some likely foreigners, so much was clear. He waved his hand and hollered to gain some attention before he pointed towards the textile veranda.

Before the large building stood a large shade composed of colourful cloth that lay suspended across many poles like a veranda. Most were orange, some red and some were green. They all were heavily patterned in ornaments both geometric and floral.

The inside was covered in pillows and two men lay on each side. The lighting within was lightly orange, slightly dotted in lightrays from the holes in the textile shade.

»I would have thought they have been completely exterminated months ago,« The White Swallow of Narra murmurred towards the town elder. His garments were simple cloth in black and white, while his face was completely covered up, with only his lively eyes peeking through.
His black shield with the characteristic white bird lay on the floor quite close to him, the same pattern seen back in Ninagal.

»I thought so too, and I thought I was right for six months at least, but they have returned in greater numbers now,« the elder shook his head, crossing his arms.
In his peripheral vision, he noticed the elven outlander. His attention temporarily shifted towards her.