Uncharted

[Caira Ayryn]

Chapter One, Part Two: Fates Collided

As the traveler paced the perimeter of the town and quickly learned that it was an action that made the guards uneasy. Caira was confronted with the East Gate Guard some ten feet away from her, whom displayed his prominent wealth and was too well adorned to have such a lowly position, yet he wore his riches with a prideful smile. Suddenly her foot began to sink in the sand as he spoke. “Careful miss. There’s a quicksand pit over yonder. Wouldn’t want ya to find yourself in th’ thick of it.”

“Quicksand?” she expressed with a fearful tone. She didn’t think those existed in deserts such as this, mainly because the scorched conditions didn’t allot for it. Her foot was pulled from the vortex of sand, just in time before it began to collapse into a spiraling bowl that threatened to pull anything within a ten foot radius within.

“This can’t be right.”

Caira froze, she crouched down immediately to sense a structure beneath her toes. It was blurry, with muffled vibrations ten feet below her formed what she made out to be a crevice, close enough for her to pick up with her enhanced senses. “A.. Jail?” her eyes narrowed, “What the...” she dug into the ground with cupped hands, people were breathing down there! Their heartbeats were strong.

Her hands, palms, and fingers took the shape of a modest scoop as her fingernails dug into the still warm sand. They were somewhat deep below and while the sun had faded fast, beneath her feet lay a dormant and hidden cave. It was a secret jail.

Perfectly ventilated and perfectly hidden was the disguised entrance beneath the dunes: Quicksand.

...

The Prime used the portal of quicksand for passage and dove in. As the sand’s pressure began to suffocate and envelop her body, her heartbeat began to thud in her ears like steady tribal drums. Then she felt her feet dangle on air as she was freed and a shower of sand combed and sprayed on top of her head and into her hair.

After shaking out all she could Caira thought, That felt like I was trapped inside an hourglass.. before she realized she was breaking into a jail, and would be met with the according response. Though she admitted, this wouldn't be the first time.

There was a canopy of stone above her, she observed when a guard whirled around to her meet her presence, armed with a measly pistol. His hair stood on end, his eyes, in a frenzy of fear and shock; as though nobody was to ever get through their "system." Caira noted that his weapon was flawed for such close range, and flicked it aside. He would find it poorly inadequate in these confined circumstances and would probably just end up hurting himself.

The mage ended up stunning him but because of the difference in power level, he nearly died, in an agonized collapse as he clutched his chest and his eyelids fluttered in agony. The pistol that had been thrown aside caught his eye, as though he would have given it one last effort to kill the intruder, but Caira now turned her menacing attention to the prisoner, whom watched keenly with a rebellious smirk, attempting to figure out on what terms she trespassed in this-his- secret dungeon. The man realized he didn’t recognize the face and seemed a bit disappointed but tried to hide it in the murky gaze that held on her. When Caira raised her arm to throw another blow -this time, at the prisoner and not the guard- the man's plea echoed in the tan caverns, “No-no! Don’t kill me!” He had seen what she had done to his fellow roommate, and wasn't willing to take the chance.

The prowler was about to assure him she wasn’t going to, because factually, with impact of the punch it wasn’t that kind of attack. No blast of energy that could detach from her fist and transcend the bars; Caira also wanted to point out that the guard’s heart still remained beating. If just barely. Instead, she sought the underlying answer that he had laced with coy incentive implied by his words. She spoke, “Why not?”

“I know where you can find treasure beyond your wildest dreams.” The prisoner coaxed with a slithering tongue. "And more."

“Oh?” Caira smirked.

“Yes, but you must untie me.” The prisoner had hopefully convinced her. The man was mistaken, the monk wasn't about to release this man on a whim.

“Not yet.” The woman scowled and her eyes fell upon the fatally wounded guard. Poor guy, I wish I hadn’t punched him like that. But he had a gun and startled me. Geez, you’d think a Prime like myself wouldn’t be so set against those miniature cannons. But I hate the things...

“Not.. Yet?” he echoed in disbelief.

Caira was brought back from her contemplation of guns by the stirring of his voice, “Not until I’m sure.”

“Oh, but I’m telling the truth!” he exclaimed.

“I’ll be the judge of that. And before I decide whether or not to untie you, I’d like to know what I’m dealing with.” she refrained from saying, ‘who’ because even a man could be a monster -especially this one- who appeared to be well bound, well hidden, and well enough of a threat for her to doubt. Perhaps, he was put here by the citizens of the town out of fear but this didn't make sense, because no one acted like they knew anything about it. He must've been forgotten. It reminded her of Atlas, burdened with strange marks and a dutiful stance. The prisoner, "Merik," as she learned was more of a threat than she knew, because he was hidden under a nameless village in secret, and as she recalled the jubilant look on the civilians faces, it told her enough to prove her assumption was entirely correct.

The guard came to, at her incessant prodding and nudging. Her investigation continued as she would question the guard. Her next objective: Interrogate the watchman. “Hello.” her voice said simply.

The man shuffled back, scuffling the ground and cowering against the bowered sandy wall, “I-I.. No!! Don’t release that monster!”

“Shut up!” Merik commanded to the guard in a growl.

“Hm. Tell me what you know, Sir.” she asked the guard.

The prisoner’s shoulders sunk in defeat. Any way Merik could have spun his history’s explanation in his favor was now gone, as though the guard simply living was unreasonable. And like the air in the guard’s lungs, he began with a flow of convincing facts.

“He’s a Prime,” the guard sneered, “And a very dangerous one at that. Bounty on his ’ead, but not infamous enough to get him killed. Here in the Dunes’ ya see we’re all bandits. Merik here is known for escaping Banishment Circles.”

“Is he now? That’s something we have in common.” Caira reasoned, with a second glance at Merik and by the look of his attire, he was from Coruscant, this explained how she had not seen his name on the wall of Camelot bounties.

The secondary recoiled with distaste, associating this unique skill of the Prime with the tendencies of a monstrosity. “He’s escaped hundreds. People waste a throw and the cost of the circle, he parries them with great skill and without a second thought! Even in his state now, if thrown, he would escape it.” The secondary paused long enough for Merik to interject.

“One of my many talents.” Merik held a covetable look in his eye, longing to display his tamed power.

"Well then, I only wish I could test this theory. If only I had one on me." Caira remarked, her eyes glued with intrigue to the prisoner.

“What’s he in for?” her soft voice asked, to further the interrogation.

“He’s a criminal... He’s also killed numbers o' secondaries, treats us like-” his voice inserted an unsound explicative. “But now, look whose on the other side of the bars!” The secondary challenged and lunged for him, pointing at Merik with his middle finger extremely animated.

Merik's wordlessness faded into a conquering chuckle, “I’m only here because no one can kill me... Well, permanently. It even took a few hundred men to secure me here, and the deception of a woman played her part...” he added scornfully.

“How many people have you, ah.. killed, Merik?” she turned her attention to him.

“I don’t keep count anymore.”

That was a straight answer. And not entirely unconvincing.

“Twenty-six secondaries, ten Primes.” the guard informed, in order to intimidate her. The numbers did not scare her, but beckoned her curiosity as she looked simultaneously impressed and disgusted. Conflicting interests played their parts in her internal battle.

“They all got in my way.” Merik said, seemingly disgruntled. His ploy to escape might be hopeless after all, if the girl who held all the keys labeled him a ruthless villain and decided he would remain where he belonged.

It was her voice who coaxed him now, “Do you want to be free of this cage? For one last adventure?”

“Y-Yes! You seem like the kind of woman to understand,” he sized her up, confidence rolled off her like a glowing liquid as she commanded the room with it, power was only an incentive for the guard to obey her interrogation. Merik’s voice continued, “I knew you would.”

“I don’t.” she stated plainly. "Since I've come to this place, I've hunted the bounties of men like you."

His heart dropped to the floor in a sunken lump. He was sure he pegged her as a killer too. His lips warbled, speechless at how he was so absolutely sure she spoke with the universal knowledge of understanding.

“However, I know that your secrets have answers that I want. I’ll take you up on your previous offer.” Caira began to move around as though in search of the keys to the bars.

“Yes!” His triumphant voice cackled with villainy.

Meanwhile the secondary guard cowered in fear, “No! You mustn’t, you can’t. Please, miss.” He pleaded, nearly at her knees, “He’s killed the innocent. He’s a rebel and nothing but scum!”

“They were all guilty,” Merik interjected, “In Coruscant, few exist who aren’t. Their crimes just weren’t publicized in the news or the paper. Injustice comes in many forms. All bandits know that. Injustice... Like the same kind that keeps me on this side of the bars. Its all an illusion.”

“YOU-!” the secondary shouted angrily, “You’re one to talk. You and your secrets. Hah. As if they hold any power.”

“That’s rather hypocritical of you to say. They have all the power here.” Caira spoke to the secondary and motioned to the ceiling, “It is what keeps this place undiscovered, isn’t it? The classified information, exchanged only in whispers, that keeps his friends from freeing him, the villagers don’t know, am I right?” The secondary looked befuddled as she continued, “I now stare at the secret only few members of your township know. Perhaps not even the mayor himself. Yet it endangers them all. Don't the people have the right to know what could kill them? You did say he was a murderer. Ah, but the man who sits guard at the East Gate, oh, he knows and warns the citizens of quicksand- a reasonable threat that keeps them at a stifled distance from discovering what is hidden here- he saves their lives from a distasteful death, and gets a reward from them all. But the real purpose of his position is concealed by the disguise. The perfect guard, that is what keeps you here too, sitting and watching him, day after day.” She gestured to Merik but the secondary only scoffed.

“Have you no value for the lives he has taken?” The guard spoke.

The words plunged into Caira’s mind as a poisoned black dagger, “More than you know. Have you no value for the potential lives he might take if he were to escape? That alone is the value of your secret.” she paused, “Life is unique, something that when it is stolen, will never be replaced. This alone causes anger which takes root with the deceit of revenge. Its almost as powerful as hatred itself. Just because you have a reason, doesn’t make it right to hold him here, especially so close to the town. Didn’t you say he was a murderer? Now, I won’t say that is murder is in any way right, but as I take it most bandits are as such and well... I can use his skill set to survive out here.”

“It was the only way.. Don’t release him girl.” the secondary warned again, the sand tumbled from the quicksand portal on the ceiling of the cave with the East Gate guard.

“Ah, I now confirm he knew of this place too.” Caira deduced as a sleuth and didn’t have to look over her shoulder. “How many follow you young one?” The East Gate guard coughed up some sand and offered a hateful defeated glare as he noted she was still alive.

“Not many? No threat at all?” she assumed, “Because they don’t know. No one in that town knows. But I assume the one you did call is very powerful. Plenty of time for that. Almost enough to stop me from doing this.” The woman’s hand reached toward the first guard's belt, edging closer to the pistol, removing it, and then lifting the keys from around his waist.

The rusted key that shaped to the metal and bewitched lock, clinked open.