#rilea

Some meet-ups with other Diablo-fandom peeps, including @cyberlights with Diablo OC/Charr Chialnaoth, @xxriseofthedeadxx with Diablo OC/Human Rilea, and my husband’s mortal!Tyrael (in-progress)

"Even if it's a dead mark, Lea, we can't take any chances. We finally got them off Sora's scent...who knows if they still have a hold of mine. Just do it." Riku rolled his shoulders and braced himself against the nearest wall. He was completely surrendering himself to Lea.

********* Wardan lifted up his hand as soon as he could feel the breeze, but that was still too slow to keep from getting a mouthful of sand.  He coughed and spit it out as best he could, but the aggravating wind continued to blow in his face.  Every attempt to eject the unwanted particles in his mouth served to replace them with just as much, if not more than before.  He grunted as he forced his eyes to squint forward, as the wind died down.  Rilea was far ahead again, seemingly unfazed by the latest in a series of desert gusts.  Wardan made a mental note to ask her why she chose the dustiest, most irritating path possible, instead of the old road used by the raiders.   He turned behind him to see the state of his fellow raiders.  Nellik trudged behind in stoic fashion, a piece of cloth wrapped around his mouth and nose like a mask.  Wardan sorely wished he'd thought of that now, the last few hours would not have been so trying.  Beyond him, Grif stomped through the sand, his formidable beard and mustache serving him in the same capacity as Nellik's cloth.  The dwarf's eyes squinted against the stinging sands, and it looked like he could barely see, but he managed to follow behind Nellik well enough that Wardan didn't dwell on it. He regretted that Denrick was once again left behind, but in this case it was for the best.  His talent in first aid was needed among the wounded from the raid on the fortress, now called Norwatch and being repurposed as a new outpost for the Norheim Raiders. Among the wounded was Loka, her wound from the first battle having grown infected.  Denrick promised his friends that he would make sure Loka got better, then return to the city where they would have a drink together once they reunited.  Still Wardan wished he could have brought Denrick along for this one, it promised to be quite the trek. Not stopping to tear his clothing, the raider simply put his arm up in front of his face, closing off his nose and mouth with the crook of his elbow.  It served him well as the wind washed over him again, not a single grain getting into an unwanted place.  He started to put his arm down, when another gust started to pick up.  Starting to see the flaws in his plan, he shrugged and kept the arm up over his mouth.  He would rather get a kink in his arm than a belly full of sand. Soon, Wardan understood why Rilea wanted to take the path through the desert, over the dunes he could already see the crown of the Mountain in the Vast.  With her leading, they were already upon their destination.  Wardan knew that taking the path around the desert would have taken them another day at least.  Best of all, most of the predators avoided the desert, saving them from further setback. By nightfall, they were no longer treading on loose sand but the rocky outcroppings at the edge of the desert.  The wind was just as harsh but no longer bombarded them with hot sand, just roared impotently in their ears.   Nellik suggested that they set up camp in a small cluster of rocks that guarded from the wind.  The area also boasted a small gathering of scrub brush and dried grasses, perfect for making a tiny fire.  Grif set out gathering the materials, while Wardan and Nellik cleared out the campsite. "We don't need to stop," Rilea stated as they pitched the tent.  "We could make it to the mountain in the dark if we don't stop." "Perhaps the Gifted might," Nellik said, securing a tent ring.  "You can tell where to go without seeing, and Wardan might scrape against rocks as he stumbled in the dark, but he would be unharmed in the end. Grifthalgas and I are at quite a disadvantage; we break easily." "You must have torches you can use, if you are lighting a fire," Rilea argued. "Oh, astounding idea!" Nellik said bitterly.  "We'll just stroll across the wasteland at night carrying fire, attracting darcats and chiraptors and whatever else hides in the night.  No, I'll take my chances in a defensible position with cover." "I'd listen to him," Wardan said.  "He's thought this through." "Aye, and faster than we can belch twice!" Grif said, hauling a small pile of flammables back through the camp.   "I don't think any faster than you, friend," Nellik admitted.  "You'd be surprised to find how much time you save just to think ahead." Rilea sighed.  "Well, since you've thought of everything, you must have considered just how much time it will take to get to the top of this mountain.  I am skilled at climbing, but you don't look like you will fare so well.  The sooner we get to the mountain, the sooner we can drag you to the top." Nellik grinned.  "Who said I would be climbing?  Grif and I are the rear guard in this case, you and Wardan will go much faster without us." "We worked this out before we left," Wardan explained.  "I've been at the top of that mountain before, so I know a few tricks on how to climb it.  Nellik and Grif will hold a camp down at the foothills, and the whole trip up and down will take us less than two days." Rilea considered his words for a moment.  She then smiled, saying.  "That suits me just fine."   "I'm glad we are in agreement," Nellik said. ******** This is a sneak peak at the next chapter to go up on Darkfire Graphics. It's from the long running series Living Stone, and later this week I'll post another short piece from the middle of the chapter, perhaps closer to the end, cliffhanger style. In a nonsequitur, my martial arts form would definitely be "Cliffhanger Style." It's all dramatic posturing until right at the end when I start really kicking your ass, then right before the killing blow I just stop, and you die of anticipation. Awake but Still Dreaming, Cael Tyr. P.S.: Posting this from iPad, that's why the formatting is weird.