Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Scoundrels: The Allabcian Desert (1x1)

Eli trudged through the burning sand, the sun best down hard, like a hammer pounding on flimsy metal. Panting and sweating off the rest of his water, he crumpled down into a lifeless heap. His aching head throbbed uncontrollably as he hoisted himself up. Trembling, he continued on, behind a large sand dune, there lie a town. Overcome with joy, he raced as quickly as his weary legs could carry him. Saving up his coins, he immediately staggered first toward the provisions. Eli was well-known for his adventuring career and among other things like his fighting skills, immense wealth, and dazzling charisma. Tossing a bag of Allabacian currency at the startled clerk, he gasped and pointed at a sack of Allabcian Chero Milk. A sort of sweet, creamy, milk substance. Next his finger trembled to a sack of Allabacian Fruit Tarts. A mixture of well-known Allabcian fruits, and orange creme puffs. The clerk reacted with hesitation, peeking inside the bag and finding much more than there worth. Bowing gleefully he ran inside, shouting to his family.

Eating rabidly, stuffing his mouth with Fruit Tarts and Milk, he stopped for a moment, gasping for air, then smiling, restoring himself. Casting the bags over his shoulder, he drowsily stumbled to an inn, paid the keeper, entered his room, and flopped unto the silk bed. In no more than a few moments he fell asleep. After sleeping the rest of the day away, he got up the next morning bright and cheery, lecturing the townspeople of his adventures, pleading them to go along with them.

A young girl darted in between the stalls of the town, taking anything that looked edible. She wore a dirty white half-shirt and black bicycle shorts on her skinny frame, no shoes to be seen even though the ground was as hot, if not hotter, than the air outside.

With arms full of food, the girl started to turn away from the market when one of the stall owners saw her. The stall owner picked her up from the back of her shirt before she could run, making her drop all the food she had been hiding in her arms.

"What do you think you're doing you street rat?!?!?!" The man yelled, throwing the girl to the ground in the process. A snapping sound could be heard as the girl landed on her arm, making her wince but not cry out loud.

"Please sir, I'm really hungry." The girl tried to plead, but to no avail. The stall owner took out a thin stick and held it up over his head meaningcly, in front of the whole market.

"You have 3 seconds to get out of here before you wish you were never born." The man said, starting to count immediately. "3.....2..."

The girl took off blindly down the road, refusing to look behind her as her stomach growled in protest. Tears blurred the girls vision, but she didn't care. A couple minutes more of blind running left her on the ground after crashing into someone who had been telling stories to a group of townspeople.

"Sorry sir...." The girl wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked up at the man she had crashed into.

"The Allabacian Terror was at the mercy of my sword, my steel had cut down the rest of his comrades, he just lied there, helplessly." Eli boasted to the townspeople, their eyes sparkled with the adventurous feeling overtaking them. Noticing their interest, he grinned. "I offer someth-", Eli was interrupted when and object hit him from behind, quickly he turned, and grabbed the girl by the arms.

"Why you little," he raised a fist, but quickly retracted it, noticing the girl's condition. "You need to eat something." Hand slithering into his coat pocket, revealing ten Allbacian gold coins, he held them out to her. Two guards down an alleyway were jogging up towards the group. The glint of the bronze armor blinded Eli temporarily, he used his hand to shield his eyes.

"You there! Give over the girl!" Taken back, Eli felt a strange connection to the small girl. He whispered to her, "girl, take the coins and run. I'll meet you at the Town Square's Fountain. I'll handle these guys."

The girl was frightened when the man she had crashed into grabbed her angrily, her body seizing up in a fight or flight situation before the man brought his hand back down and brought some coins out of his pocket. The girl took the coins hesitantly and looked the man in the eyes, hearing the guards running down the street behind her.

Why is this man giving me money after I rudely crashed into him? She thought to herself as she heard his next statement, which was to run and leave the guards to him. Nodding reluctantly, she took off the opposite way the guards were coming, running down a dead end alley close by. She scaled the boxes at the end of the alley and jumped over the small wall, making sure not to hit her left arm on anything as she headed to the Towns Square's Fountain in the center of town.

Grinning, Eli chuckled discretely. Under the coat her wore were two short-swords, throwing knives, and a razor-wip. The guards approached, oblivious of the power Eli held. Standing motionless, he waited until the guards were in arms reach, then mumbled something. An incantation, a purple circle surrounded one of the duo, causing him to hack and wheeze. The guard dropped his sword, and plummeted to the ground, wrenching off his helmet. The man underneath was sweating heavily and his face a deep shade of crimson. Tugging off his brown leather gloves, Eli opened his palm, and after a second a small fireball appeared.

The second soldier laughed nervously, speaking in an unconvincing bold tone. "I've fought worse than an amateur spell caster, what makes you special?" Eli stepped forward, the fireball grew, and began to change colors, red, yellow, orange, green, until it settled on black.

"Your comrade," he gestured toward the soldier on the ground, "is dying at my hands." The other guard became wide-eyed, trembling, skin turning ghastly pale. "I can save him, quite easily actually." Eli had a tone in his words, a soothing, but menacing tone. "But," he paused to add dramatic effect.

"But what!" The other cried, kneeling next to his comrade. Eli smirked, "you must not follow me, tell anyone else, leave me alone, and leave the girl alone, understood?" "Yes!" The guard shouted, pleading for him to save his brother-in-arms. Mumbling another incantation, a gold aura surrounded the fallen soldier, and he instantaneously made a full recovery. The guards quickly stumbled off. Sighing in relief, Eli made his way to the fountain.

The girl didn't stop running until she got to the fountain, just a little out of breath. She was used to running from people, and things. Once there was this weird dog that followed her around the whole city and every time she wasn't looking directly at the dog she swore she could see flames shooting from the dogs body.

Sitting on the edge of the fountain, her feet not even touching the ground, she kicked her legs to the steady drip of the water waiting for the man from earlier. The girl didn't know why she trusted the man so much, maybe it was because he saved her from the guards and gave her money for food. Speaking of which.... Her stomach growled at that moment, encouraging the girl to get some food.

Leaving the fountain for a minute, the girl went over to one of the many stalls and bought two watermelon slices, paying a little more than half of the money the man gave her. Walking over to the fountain, she started eating the first watermelon slice hungrily.

Buying an exotic, multi-tiered, alcoholic, drink along the way, Eli finally made it to the Fountain. Smiling genuinely as he saw her munching on some food. This strange connection he felt with her had to do with the aura surrounding her, strong, and full of potential. Pulling on his gloves, he went to greet her, being careful not to startle her. Taking a seat next to the small girl, he took a deep breathe me in. "If you don't mind me asking, which you shouldn't, considering I saved you from jail-time, and have you money, how old are you?" It seemed like a fit question to ask, but if she replied, and replied honestly, he would ask more. Then more, just to get to know the, scoundrel.

He felt that if she trusted him enough, and if she would like to, he would take her along on some adventures, explore the world. But wait. They just met, so why? Why would he want to do this? Something seemed deathly familiar. He just, wasn't sure what.

Watching the man from earlier walk towards her with his drink in hand, the girl smiled right back at him. She was secretly judging him from over the top of her melon slice, watching his every move. When he started babbling the girl blinked slowly, so surprised at the sudden babbling that she accidentally bit the green part of the melon.

Wiping the red juice off her mouth, the girl picked up the second melon and answered his question as best as she could. "I dunno. The guards say that I look around thirteen, but I really don't know." She said genuinely, breaking the watermelon in half and handing him half of it. She started eating her half, waiting for the inevitable barrage of questions that would come soon. "Oh, but I picked my own birthday! I've decided that my birthday is April 5th!" She added as an afterthought before the man could say anything.

"Since you asked me a question, can I ask you one?" The girl asked. Because it really is rude to keep asking questions about someone and not offer anything about yourself. For all I know you could be a rapist or a murdered.

(Are you keeping this as open or can we make it a 1x1. *just wondering because if it attracts too much people it will get more confusing for me.*)

((Just edited the title! ))

"You don't know your own age?" Eli was phased, how do you not know your own age. "Well, I'll just call you thirteen." When she broke of the slice of the melon and offered it to him, he kindly accepted and munched joyfully on it. "April 5th." That date had triggered something in Eli's mind. "I had partner who's birthday was April 5th." Fin signing off the melon, he licked his fingers, sighing in contempt.

"Sure, sure! Go right on ahead." He winked at her, "I'm an open book!" Saying the last phrase with a hint of sarcasm, considering he could easily bend truth into another reality. Fiddling with the coins in his pocket with one free hand, the other was wrapped tightly around his drink as he slurped noisily. "Sorry," said in a soft whisper, making a comedic face by turning down the side of his mouth.

"Nope!" The girl smiled and continued kicking her feet, wondering why this guy was asking her questions. Usually people avoided her because of the way she dressed and the amount of dirt she had layered on her like a second skin. It wasn't her fault though, she didn't have anywhere to go where she would be safe enough to shower or eat.

"Whats your name?" She asked the question the man had failed to ask her so far, which in her book was quite rude. The girl was genuinely interested in knowing his name, because she had never had the chance to make some kind of a friend for years upon years.

(Sorry it's so short.)