Traveling, Open

[Dendro the Raider]

"So, is it unbridled lust or feigned concern which consumes your mind?"

Dendro the Raider, his thoughts leagues from small contingent of Raiders that he and Feathers were leading southward, recognized that the Rito had spoken to him only by the penetrating stare which Feathers had leveled upon him. Shifting his weight in the saddle, so that the pressure on his aching left hip might be alleviated, Dendro glanced to his right at Feathers. "Wha'?"

An infuriated click escaped the Rito before he furrowed his brows with exasperation. "You are distracted, Dendro," he declared, "A fact which does not bode well for either our endeavor or the boys." The rust-colored eyes of Feathers shot to his periphery, indicating the twenty brigands behind them, and indication which Dendro did not overlook.

"They be fine," he responded.

The urge for the Rito to berate the human spiked, but Feathers did not grant it liberty. Instead, he swiveled in the saddle of his horse to face Dendro. "Aye, for the moment," he whispered urgently, "But, for whatever reason, they are fueled by your imprudence. If you fail to entirely commit yourself to this task, then they will also lack determination; thus failure is inevitable."

His temper flaring, Dendro rounded on Feathers. "Wha' makes ye think tha' me no' know wha' we's gettin' in'a?!" he demanded. "I've been aplannin' this afore I go' ye outta tha' dungeon!"

The dour expression of the flightless Rito lightened marginally, and he gave Dendro a slight nod. "Do not forget that, lest you wish to share a cell with Duzzy for eternity."

Thought of being confined with the Sheikah instantly elicited a repellent scowl from Dendro the Raider, yet it did not linger, and he found his thoughts returning once more to Kade. Something's not right with the lad....I always thought he was just powerful, but it's more than that, ain't it? Else why would that noble be so interested in him? The notion of Kade serving as a puppet for Count Ludovic disturbed the outlaw, and Dendro, should the situation denigrate to such an insidious level, vowed at that moment to personally remove the noble Hylian's head and reap retribution for what Kade had suffered.

"Enlighten me, please, Dendro, about the nature of your plan? The one, I am certain, that you discussed at length with Bashkar?"

There was an ephemeral pause, but when it ended some of the brazen conceit had returned to the tone of Dendro the Raider. "Don' 'ave none," he answered, "Figured I be amakin' i' up once we ge's there."

The imprudence, infuriating as it was emboldening, pleased the Rito and, giving a sagacious nod, he again glanced at the Raiders behind them. The implications were not lost on Dendro, and the brigand abruptly thrust his right fist into the air and whooped raucously. Rising out of the saddle, he signaled Viczar to canter, and the bay stallion leapt forward, thrusting his head down and kicking the heels of his hind hooves before settling into the gate. Dendro appreciated the stallion's response, as Viczar never failed to make his opinion blatant and subsequently tried to emulate the stallion, to keep himself invigorated and immune to all diversions as he led the Red Raiders to the Desert Prison.

[Valaina]

To Valaina, it seemed altogether illogical that so large a host could travel in one cohesive unit across the expanse of Faron, yet the Red Raiders, including the newly liberated prisoners, initially followed that precise course. So recently removed from the horrors of the Wastes, terrors whose visceral recollections continuously nagged at the fringes of her thoughts, the brigands appeared loath to abandon each other. The camaraderie, she decided, was indeed admirable, but also smacked of stupidity, if not foolish bravado. Often did the Gerudo cast her hazel over her shoulders, expecting to see at least Bublins, if not Faiza Delal herself come bursting from the undergrowth. However, none of the others displayed the slightest ounce of solicitousness that she could detect, so Valaina found herself alone with her concerns, attempting to wrestle them into submission.

"Valaina?"

Dawn had illuminated the eastern sky, so when the Gerudo peered from beneath the lip of her hood at Fen Belamyr, she found his face illuminated, gloriously. Despite herself, the Gerudo blushed and forcibly swallowed as she returned her gaze to the mud beneath Onyx's hooves. Misinterpreting her embarrassment for concern, Fen repeated her name as he brought his bay horse alongside Onyx. The stallion's ears flattened and he tensed with annoyance, forcing the Gerudo to abbreviate her fleeting moment of infatuation. Her seat firm, she finally dared to glance again that the half-Hylian.

His features had fallen, dubious fear overshadowing his outward confidence, and Valaina rotated fully in the saddle to face him. "What is it?" she asked, her volume restrained to prevent it from reaching the ears of the others, particularly Anoush, who rode next to her.

"Duzzy," he admitted at length, his shoulders slumping. Defeat, or at least the reality of their circumstances, bowed him, but suddenly he jerked up right, so celeritously that Valaina started. "What if he's already dead, Valaina?" he asked frantically, "What if he did not even survive the Desert? What if everything was for nothing? He sacrificed his own life for me but what if his was forfeit how could I even live with myself? Where is the justice in allowing a good man to die so-"

Valaina's left hand was on his face, cupping his chin. Instead of consoling him, instead of deflecting the inevitable, the unavoidable, as she had intended, she found herself standing in the stirrups, holding his head in silent reassurance. Breathless and completely surprised, she could only stare at him in amazement, until she registered her actions. Then, as though shocked, she jerked away from him and threw her eyes in the opposite direction, barely daring to breath.

Admittedly, her actions had caused the desired effect, of allaying his escalating trepidation, but the Gerudo could hardly rationalize her own actions. She should have been struck for such audacity, yanked from the saddle, and whipped until the flesh peeled in ribbons from her bloody shoulders. Yet she had not been and after many moments had elapsed, she dared to look once more at Fen Belamyr. His expression had softened, even marginally brightened, and Valaina dared to speak. "He will be alright, Fen. You know that...and so do all of these good men." Her head inclined towards the surrounding Raiders, and the half-Hylian's features spilt into a genuine grin.

"Fen!"

All at once the mirth vanished. Commandeered by duty, it fled Fen's face as celeritously as his head snapped forward in Bashkar's direction. Immediately he pressed his heels into the horse's flanks, and the gelding leapt into a canter, obliterating the distance between Valaina and the front of the column. Bashkar had turned to meet him, thus Valaina caught snippets of their conversation.

"...come in from the south," said Bashkar, gesturing to a section of Raiders.

She saw Fen nod once, perfect in his obeisance, and could not help but marvel at the change in the young man. Debilitated and forsaken, dying and suffocating from inescapable putrescence in the Prison, he had been altogether vulnerable. Valaina, blushing slightly, could not dismiss the attraction she felt towards him.

"Looks like your boyfriend's leavin'."

Valaina also could not dismiss her annoyance towards the smug Anoush. Scowling, she looked past the other Gerudo to the section of Raiders who had split from the main party and raised her hand in a slight wave in response to Fen, who had lifted his own over his head as the group had turned. Around them, other Raiders had splintered, so that the large party had been reduced to groups of fifteen. Valaina's turned north, following Bashkar, and, mercifully, Anoush's did not.

Alone with her thoughts, Valaina smiled.

[Dendro the Raider]

Wreathed in shadow, wreathed in rain, wreathed in the putrescence that streamed onto his thighs and down into his boots, Dendro the Raider bowed his head against the deluge and beseeched the bay stallion for all the fortitude which he still possessed. Galloping headlong into the gale, Viczar understood the urgency, understood the absolute need to distance himself from the demons and accelerated. His seat precarious, desperate to spare the diseased, dying Sheikah any further torment, Dendro threw a glance over his right shoulder. With each churning stride, Viczar augmented the amount of sodden field between him and the two Lizalfos, yet the wind deafened other potential threats, and amongst the curtains of rain Dendro could not discern the Kargorac.

Suddenly the stallion twisted left, contorting his body away from the buffeting wings, and Dendro simultaneously felt the disintegration of his balance and the dissection of his right side. Screaming, cursing, Dendro pitched forward as Viczar's knees slammed into the quagmire. Twisting his knees, he managed to stay in the saddle, yet the abrupt motion had jostled Duzzy. The Sheikah wailed piteously, Dendro smelled the fresh warmth racing onto his legs, and the belligerent bird charged. Throwing his balance left, Dendro kicked out with his right leg just as the stallion scrambled to his feet and connected squarely with the beak of the Kargorac. The bird recoiled with a numbing screech, and the outlaw could do naught but brace himself, as his wicked blades held little advantage whilst still contained in their scabbard. Viczar staggered in the mud, spraying a sheet in all directions, and Dendro knew the storm had hampered him. Releasing the reins, he reached over to strike the bird once more, when crimson feathers sprouted from its neck.

"Tha's me Whip!"

Grim appreciation spreading across his weathered features, Dendro raised a fist to the veteran brigand now flanking him. Pivoting in his saddle, the lean, balding marksman acknowledged his commander briefly before notching another arrow. The avian demon seized in the air, futilely attempting to remain aloft in spite of the wind that roared through the trees and across the expanses of Faron Field. Another missile punctured its right wing, then another in its left, then with life pumping from its numerous wounds it crashed to the ground, sending a shudder that raced across the terrain and up the stallion's legs. Mercy it did not receive; they required a distraction for the Bublins undoubtedly pursuing them, and fresh blood offered more temptation than the death that festooned the scents of the Raiders.

"We go's 'a find shel'er!"

Yelling over the downpour, Dendro gained a nod of recognition from Whip before the latter gestured ahead with his bow. Yanking his sea-colored eyes around, Dendro thought he discerned a shape amongst the gloom, a disruption of the pouring, numbing rain. Brazenly he filled his lungs. "Didja find somethin'?"

Dreden, the other outlaw whom Dendro had chosen to accompany him, waved. Urging Viczar, Dendro trotted to meet the veteran. Water streamed from Dreden's goatee despite the hood cloaking his face, and Dendro could clearly view the disgust etched into his expression. "It'll do," he shouted in response.

The sanctuary for which Dendro had hoped revealed itself in a hallow beneath a gnarled, warped tree. Set thirty feet from the eastern crossing of a short bridge, supervising a slight creek, it twisted towards the sky, yet the years and various animals had exposed its roots. At least it ain't a puddle. Scanning the opaque horizon, Dendro held his vigilance until Dreden had gently lifted Duzzy from the saddle. Whip maintained sentry while Dendro settled the Sheikah beneath the uneven bows, tipping another potion into his mouth. Duzzy gagged on the fleeting panacea, but some had entered his stomach. His scarlet eyes opened briefly, long enough to perhaps obtain a glimmer of their surroundings, before returning to darkness. Cradled against Dendro his body burned, but it had at least remained dry beneath Dendro's heavy oilskin cloak.

"The bird won' hold 'em long," Dreden observed.

Dendro concurred. "Aye," he answered, "And we go's ta ge' ta the Ci'y as soon as we can." He hoped, he prayed that salvation awaited Duzzy at the home of his patron. Raz owes Duzzy that much, doesn't he? After all he's done?

Twenty minutes later, the raucous calls of Bublins swirling amongst the screams of the wind, they reentered the storm.