Uncharted

[Caira Ayryn]

Part Three: Dunes, The Slow Tempo of an Endless Hourglass


[spoiler]Caira didn’t think it was unreasonable, and she said so, as the camel’s hooves trooped along and the hours drenched by. By high-noon a tent-like covering surrounded the three fatigued camels and the more fatigued pair of humans. “How.. Can you slee...p.. In this heat?” She slurred as he got settled and turned her temperature adjustable suit on the maximum setting and waited for the perspiration to leave her salt covered lips and the slick back of her neck to become smoothly dry.

He silently offered his stetson to her and summoned another for himself, this time, one dark and wide-brimmed. “Even I’m not used to it, it never got this warm underground, so my body is trying to adapt just as much as yours is.” He wouldn’t mention the implied death-sentence that had trapped him there, as though his jail-time was a taboo topic, though it was the only one she knew. Merik however, continued, “But, I had gotten used to it after a while...The temperatures, and there are certain tricks in this case, that you can do to convince your mind it isn’t as hot as it is.”

“Like what?” she heard her voice ask, dreading any and every second she was exposed to the silent destruction of the heat.

“Hmm. Well- hey! Don’t drink too much water, you’ll be sick.” he warned as Caira began to guzzle a mountain’s worth of their beetle-created stores. “Anyway... If you leave open your lips slightly, air can leave and brush over the roof of your mouth, it cools the body from the inside-out. Just don’t do it when there is a wind.” he chuckled and melted into the mound of items he had taken off of the three camels and his hat’s rim drooped over his eyes. “Later in the journey we will set a watch, but there really isn’t a need.. yet. Not until we cross into the zone. Plus we're sleeping at peak daylight.”

Caira was already getting used to the dry and parched feeling of waking up to salt-cracked lips. Merik, jubilantly woke her up with loud singing and mixed together the elixir of life, or rather more truthfully, survival.

He handed her a cup that smelt like oranges and mint. Gingerly she sipped it, only to taste the bitterness of sugar and gripped her fist in distinguished surprise as her nose crinkled into a recoil that jolted throughout her body. UCK! How do humans eat this stuff?! Trickling behind the sweet, saccharine flavor was a mild mint to mellow the taste that continued to remind her of sugar.

“You don’t like it?” he inquired while stating matter-of-factly, “Everyone likes oranges. I even gave the camels a little taste.” He pointed to their troff which had a peel floating in it.

“I wont protest. Merik knows best.” she clinked her glass into his and used her ‘monk-tolerance’ to stomach the best prescription in the desert: Energizing citrus.

Freshly packed and traveling in the destructive heat for the first day, it was not the highlight of their adventure -no, that would come later- instead, waves of heat bounced not only from the sky but reflected and was amplified with double the intensity from the sand beneath the camels feet. Even with sunglasses on she found herself squinting. Only an hour had passed and the day was heavy on her shoulders. During their allotted time, Caira wasn't able to get a single whisker of sleep.

After some sun-filled hours of the consuming heat that lasted until she thought as though she might just die, the dunes began to look blurred with curving waves of heat. Later she would only realize that her heavy panting was probably distracting the camels.

Merik didn’t seem to mind her... inability, and despite his own body slowly acclimatizing to the weather, he strode onward with his dark hat casting a superb amount of shade past his composed chin.

Five more dreadful hours of heat passed, and when a minute began to feel like an hour, Caira began to get impatient. The monk offered no complaints, after all, it was her choice to come, but she talked to the camel some, whom seemed to have knobby, wobbly knees. “Keep going Roe’ you’re doing great,” she pat its head for something proactive to do and its ear’s twitched with disturbed agitation.

Merik cast a glance, “Hey, don’t do that,” There was a partial smile, but he was quite serious about it. His glare was dismissive. As though warning her not to get attached to them. And warning her to not speak to him either.

Caira didn’t have a good enough reason to continue petting its head -other than her sanity- but decided to obey. Meanwhile, the grueling heat only continued. The days turned into chilled nights which folded right back into the immense heat of the day, even though they weren’t traveling -much less moving- at peak daylight.

Merik fiddled with his beetle and Caira longed for entertainment, she practiced a few things and asked him suddenly, “Teach me how you evade banishment circles.” It wasn’t question or so much a request but somehow as the words rolled from her lips, it came off as a demand.

“Ah, didn’t you say you were good at doing it too?” Merik inquired, his eyes intently on her.

“Yeah, but I only dodge em’ with luck. What’s your method?” Caira calmly responded.

“Well, it’s really no secret,” he began, and the light of day finally seemed to dip beneath the horizon and the chill of night settled in her bones.

“So basically, you do it with your brain? Is there anyway I can duplicate that?” the female sounded disappointed. “I would say I’d like to see it in action, but I don’t have one on me."

Merik told her of the technique, it wasn’t hard to figure out. “Like this?” she asked and attempted to form a shield with energy but was unable to sustain it.

“Hm. You’ll have to continue to try as we go along. Perhaps you’ll pick it up eventually.” His words were convincing, but Caira was no telekinetic. She would never harbor the mastery that Merik had been naturally born with.

...


The night was dark, the fullness of the moon had passed and was now a crescent of pale light once more. It was suspiciously quiet and not even a whisper of the wind would swish in the darkened distance.

Without warning, as if from nowhere, a pack of wild beasts surrounded them. Creatures with eyes that glinted with ravenous hunger that sliced through the shade of night. They cackled strangely to one another as the group of three camels and two primes were surrounded by darkness and beast alike.

Merik whispered, “Hyenas!” and the wolf-like shapes lunged at the weaker camel. Caira unsheathed her blade and readied her hand to deploy an explosive dagger on Merik’s command. The battle was quick as the circling creatures moved all at once, lunging at the camel’s legs and bringing everyone to the four-legged beasts level. Caira, with gravity as her aide, brought down her unsheathed sword into a beasts neck and flung a dagger closely at the reinforcements that idled near them, the cowards of the creatures waited actively for scraps of the vanquished prey.

“I won’t be that easy,” Caira said and slashed through a couple of them, Merik combatted the other side and seemed to be well versed in the pack's attack patterns. More hyenas followed, their numbers seemed endless. Merik requested her sword and Caira gasped as he killed the three camels they had cared for without verbally justifying their sacrifice, and then continued to battle the waves of hyenas. She blinked away her doubt, What had she wanted, a warning? Soon their position was surrounded with the carcasses of the collapsed predators and yet, as though a shark had caught the scent of a deadened animal, a shadow covered lion, about the size of ten hyenas in height trotted through the desert, right for them.

When Merik’s eyes caught on it, he fumbled with fear and in his frenzy grabbed Caira with her. “We can still-” she began as he pulled a few bags of their reserves over his shoulders and ran faster than she had ever seen anyone flee. She quickly followed, though without the 'proper' incentive of fear wasn’t as fast as Merik, who seemed threatened by the edge of fear. He tackled her at a safe distance away and she slid over the side of the highest dune and hid under its ridged cover.

“Whew! We’re away from that now.” She seemed relieved, but could've taken more of a challenge.

The male panted and held his narrow eyes popped just over the mound of sand and watched as the shadowed lion with great jaws, chomped on the camel bones and collected the hyenas for later.

“Not far enough." Merik warned, his voice, weary with dismay.

He continued at a swift pace and dragged her along with her, “What was that thing?” she asked and her eyes rounded the colossal figure in the distance. “Could we have-”

“No, that thing is too powerful. They call it a Chimera Lion or Death Specter. They're like ghosts, they don't die, no matter how many swings you take at them. God, they are horrible. We are lucky we escaped with our lives.”

But at what cost?Caira pondered, realizing she learned something new about Merik. He wanted to survive just as much as she did. “Well, I guess we’ll have to summon new camels.”

“NO!” he shouted with a horrified expression, “It was precisely because of them that we were targeted by the hyenas, can’t risk running into that thing again, this time we only got away because it had a meal already prepared." His next request seemed unreasonable. But, Caira was a passenger on this voyage so she obeyed.

"We’ll walk from here.”

...

For what seemed like an eternity, their struggles became gradually more challenging. First the heat pounded from overhead, then they had braved the eerie chill of the night, met some predators along the way while to top it off they were barely a fraction of the way there.

Their tracks faded in the labile labyrinth that was the ever-changing, Endless Dunes.


Merik brought up the terms she had freed him on, “If it comes down to it, I may have to kill some bandits in order for our... Rather, your survival to be prioritized. We do not want to have to retrace our steps just to come back to one position. And believe me, death isn't pleasant, nor is it something a lady should never have to experience.”

“Only if we must.” Caira warned him, her eyes met his with an unspoken threat, one that imitated the darkness of a Chimera Lion. To the naive girl, death could never lose purpose. But even her idea of death was starting to change. It seemed in the Dunes, death was a necessary sacrifice. Caira hadn't decided if she was to accept this way of "life" or rebel against it.

“You know,” Merik began, “Killing those people..” His eyes maddened by guilt and his voice rang out, this time, with the belief that he had purposely and wrongly eradicated his enemies. It seemed what had rooted his despair to be woven so deep was that he had once valued life as more than it should have been tossed away, and this same belief was enough to madden any man after seeing too much death. And especially after causing it.

To her surprise, Merik continued. After rarely talking, and now speaking on such a touchy subject, Caira was only slightly astounded, before her suspicion took over just in time to question his motive. His words were the embodiment of manipulation and they would only continue with Caira as his pet. “I’m surprised you let me live considering..”

“Considering what?” She fed into his words, wanting to hear him out.

“Well, you value the lives of innocents is’all and yet you let me free, and I've killed them. I don’t think its inappropriate now, to ask you why?” Merik seemed level-headed now, and scarier, completely reasonable. Then she pinpointed it. That was it. That was his motive: Persuasion. He wants me to excuse his guilt, or to tell him he is innocent. I'll do neither. She resolved. He was put behind bars for murder. Something like that could never be washed away so easily with words.

“I have a few reasons, however I’ll offer only one kindly. I don’t think people should live their lives inside cages. There are much more proactive things to do with our time here. And I suppose I stumbled on the jail's location, but not by coincidence.”

He pondered her answer, wanting to inquire more about it, but ended up looping around it, “What were you hoping to find when you came here? I heard you announce to those poor suckers in the bar that you were going to the edge.”

“Oh, I didn’t come to this verse by choice.” She paused, savoring the moment while adding a pause for dramatic effect, “I was captured in the lower tiers of Coruscant and delivered somewhere in the dunes. Then a sandstorm hit and I had to travel into town. Barely made it, I’ll say.”

Merik looked impressed and offered a pseudo-sympathetic look on his face. Though false, it was charitable and Caira appreciated it. “Do you know why you were captured and brought here?”

“Nope. I haven't the slightest. I visited Coruscant only for a few hours, it was my first trip there, after-all I’m a soldier of the Kingdom.” His eyes picked her over, her clothes were of Coruscant origin so she explained, “I got these in Coruscant, they are supposed to be elite technology that keeps people cooler in hot conditions. It is armor too, all in a single compact layer of fabric, for diverse climatic extremes, but obviously this one has malfunctioned.” She said with a complaining sigh and a note of amusement touched his eyes. He pressed the on button just over her shoulder and immediately she felt a wave of cold relief envelop her body.

"Malfunctioned." said the Coruscant native with a smirk.

Their discussion was hindered with the still-grueling, but now bearable, heat once more and the dreaded waves of sand before them grew more monotonous by the hour.

Merik grew irritable as the desert heat sunk into their moods. The flames of the sun evaporated their self control, making them both irritable and sun-stroked. A hot quarrel of senseless qualms regarding their route’s direction began as the day only continued and a spell of darkness spewed across the land.

“What stops me from deserting you to die here?” Merik seemed grouchy as he challenged his partner.

Caira regarded him coldly, in contrast, which only made the heat of the desert worse, “It was I who had the better offer.”

“Oh?” as they bantered, Merik hardly thought his freedom was better than the treasure they sought, at least to her. But he had dreamt of encumbering those bars, for so long, he didn't mind compromising his price.

She spoke again, “I know you wont run, because I gave you a choice, reinforced with the ultimate offer. Your life. Like it or not, your own honor keeps you here."

Merik regarded her with narrowed eyes, interrogating her posture which seemed to grow into an intimidating shadow. The sudden tension in his expression was bold but she admired his effort, “And I offered you my service, you freed me, and I am forever in your debt. IS that what you wanted me to say?”

“Nope.” Caira admitted, never commending defeat.

Merik scoffed, deflated.

“I want you to realize I did it without expecting your gratitude. Or what you had to offer.” Caira now spoke of fundamental beliefs. Merik couldn't give a damn, but somehow found his ear inclined.

"Oh?" His eyebrows raised at the notion, though the effort was lost in the waves of heat that made even moving their feet a feat.

“Better still, it appears you reluctantly display your gratitude and still deliver me across the desert, to treasure, and a gate which awaits our arrival. So no matter what, I’ll have something to show for what you have given to me already. Even if we don't meet Omni.” Caira’s mind went to unravel the map as Merik grew suspicious.

“So.. you value my experience as a guide more than the treasure and finding Omni?” This revelation astounded him, and even for a man as smart as he, he could not fathom how stupidly simple and impossibly ignorant this girl was. Her nobility was something he had never known. Yet in place of pride of her self-imposed belief in justice, she had humility. This gave him perspective on his own pride, which now seemed worth a little less.

“Its a treasure in itself. I was lucky to find you.” she smiled though the flattery went beyond him though she held her breath after and desired not to reveal too much. This complement was a careless slip of her tongue but Merik continued on with a bit of a slur in his speech.

“Whatt are you after?” Merik wanted to know her motive, what did she seek the white deity for? Every prime met Omni once, there was nothing special about meeting him again. Merik knew he had once made it very far in this journey, only to be stopped at the very end, by something unexpected. Never had he pursued Omni again. At least until this girl had come along.

“That’s for me to worry about. You may find my evasion deceitful but not all purposes are as they seem, even our search for your reward," Caira mentioned how she planned on paying him for his services -by delivering him safely to some buried treasure only he knew where to find- in this way, their deal worked both ways. Neither benefited from the other dying. It was a nice incentive. "Has taken us on a perilous journey. Sure the threats you speak now may make you feel better, but it tarnishes the bond of our current partnership and agreement.” A pause, “But I don't think you mean them, and that this is a momentary lapse in judgement. I believe we can reconcile if I say that I will tell you later why I wish to seek out Omni. I think this is generous as you have done a favor to me by insuring my safety in this mutual situation. Especially because I do not know exactly what sort of destination I am chasing.”

“Well said.” He settled on those words, and decided that it was quite dangerous by not telling her each of their destinations. Yet in the same way, this was how he ensured his own survival, and how he made sure he remained useful. The 'acting' was up as he let a coy smile creep across his cheekbones, “Fair enough.” His composure seemed to rationalize from its previous frenzy during the instant she had revealed her resolve. Its impact was impressive. He admitted to himself.

She was impressive.

While Caira was unsure what to make of this sudden change of mood, she wondered its origin as sympathetic eyes fell on Merik, who had seemingly suffered from a case of desert delirium. It wasn't a real thing, but simply defined the change in a man after he had spent too long in the desert. And if anyone, the murderer before her had been subjected to it more times than naught.

With all his unmentioned travels across the sand and the unending time he had spent in that horrible cell, she figured he needed a vacation. She also wondered if he had been maddened by the heat, the murder, the infinity that was immorality, or the ten years of waiting that seemed to never end in his cage.

It wasn't just one thing that drives a person mad, she supposed. And Merik suffered only a mild case of PTSD. Still, the merciful girl could only assume the worst and reasoned if her guide went berserk in the heat, she would never see Omni's eyeless face again.

“Here I have a present for you.”

Merik grew suspicious, his last real present -aside from a daily meal- was that of a knife in his back. As he watched the girl fish something out from her satchel, her fingertips grazed the souvenirs she had acquired over her travels thus far: The journal, the small sample of Nexus water, her mobile, sunglass case, the compass, her book collection, and a few other nameless items.

At last her fingers wrapped around the slick device she had picked up in Coruscant. She held it out in her hand to him. “It’s an MP3 player, I figure it’s been a while since you last heard music.”

Merik blinked. Ten years had passed, to be exact. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

His mind started to feel gratitude, before he fought it with agression. What the hell is this girl doing? Doesn’t she know people aren’t sentimental anymore? She’s too dangerous with her unruly care and she shouldn’t trust people like me. I’ve killed people, I could kill her in an instant and be free of my obligation- A thought stopped his stream of thoughts. But I won’t.

While his thoughts remained on the skeptical, his heart warmed as he grasped the music player and put on the headphones. He listened to the beautifully silent hum of a symphony in his ears. Her assumption that he would take kindly to the music was miraculously spot-on. And this would be as close as he would ever come to true peace.

With the many wars that raged within him, everything fighting to conquer it all, but in this moment only the music could be heard. No demanding voices of tempting desire. No slithering thoughts of manipulation or otherwise. No villainous nature ever existed in anyone who was listening to music.

Neither of the warring sides within him had triumphed over another, yet the turmoil of the eternal battle within man: Good verses evil, was now tamed with a single song.[/spoiler]

Caira enjoyed the silence as a distant wind filled her ears and took in the nature of the nearly lifeless desert. Despite how delicate, desolate, or destructive of a form it would shape into along their trek, today was just another day.

A place like this tests survivors. Nothing but time truly kills them. People ran out of resources. And time was the one that preserved the longest or deteriorated man.

It was an intangible challenge that could not be fought; the heat, though not as extreme as fire, could not be quenched with water alone. There were no clouds in the sky, only sun. No flood of water to drown in their lungs and no chill of the wind to wipe the condensation from sticking to their brow. Yes, the desert in daylight was certainly like a clock. Ticking away boredom yet cordoning solitude by a lack of terrain.

Time was the most unkind thing of all, because it made people wait for death.

Over all, it was not much to look at, aside from the wide and open sky that hovered over the plains and threatened to collapse on their shoulders. The touch of sand that her sandaled feet leaned on was grainy and it was hard to believe that just a single piece multiplied by the billionth billionth, created the very dunes that surrounded her.

Caira tripped on nothing but a craggy of edged sand and lurched face first into the dirt below her feet. Merik practically jumped as he realized what had occurred, he was more shocked that his guard had come down this much with the bringing of a single gift, but reluctant to realize that he had taken a liking to the girl and offered a hand up.

Her eyebrows raised. She took his hand immediately, no thanks offered but the remnants of it lingered in the air. And she heaved her heavy feet into steps across the dunes once more.


As they neared the outskirts of the mountains she felt a strange tension overcome her, causing her senses to shuffle frenetically. They entered the territory with tension mounted high, wedged on the heightened edge of the rocks that sliced into the sky and spoke of looming danger and forlorn death. The place seemed to be infused with invisible borders made only of rock and violent authority. Shrill ripples of fear and danger gave Caira the sense that the spill of blood on these dunes would have no more regard than the very sand they stood on.