Kage turned for one last look at the ragged, but now homely-looking shack as it grew smaller in the distance.
The last thing she wanted to do was abandon her place in the storm, but even before that was him starving because of her.
So, she bit back her fear, and resolutely turned toward West, and eventually, hopefully, Duurchelm.
Despite the holes and ragged nature of the coat she'd been given, it provided protection from the blowing dust and dirt.
She held the hood down over the right side of her face whenever a gust started, as the flecks of dust kept finding their way to her eye socket whenever her bangs blew out of the way.
After two day's journey, she first saw the grove of pomen trees. Bark that popped out, and wide, low branches with thin leaves.
"Watch for predators." She reminded herself. If Rag was any indication, animals in the Dust were well camouflaged.
She scanned the area, but saw nothing. The shrubbery was more common now, providing places for a hostile creature to hide.
Nothing, that she could see.
If there wasn't much prey here, there wouldn't be many predators either. But wouldn't that be just her luck?
She drew her knife as she approached, carefully putting one foot in front of the other as she kept her ears and eye open.
Every time the dust swirled her eyes shot in that direction, but with no sign of danger, she approached the grove.
The method familiar to her now, she gripped the jagged bark and pulled herself over the trunk, using the conveniently-shaped bark as foot and handholds.
She soon reached the top, pulling her coat around in from of her and using the hood to hold a couple of the hard-shelled fruit.
Something caught her attention in the distance, and for a moment, her guard dissipated.
There was a point in the distance, perhaps farther than a normal human could see, where the ground began to change colour, from brown to green.
The heavy feeling came back when she remembered that that was not the way she was heading.
"To the West until I reach the ocean, and continue North until Duurchelm." She muttered.
With that resolution, she pulled a few more pomen from the branches to fill her hood and climbed down to continued her journey.
Kage's first sight of the sea had been a hopeful moment. After a week of trekking across a dusty wasteland had worn down her charisma, and seeing the blue over the horizon had been a long-awaited sight she had almost given up on seeing all together.
Now, after another five days, all she could think of was the sand in her shoes, the growing difficult of navigating over the sandstone, and how thirsty she was.
She had eaten the last of the fruit from the Dust three days ago, and her body was starting to have trouble keeping up, even though, as far as she could figure, her body still kept a bit of her Mythsian constitution. She figured she could last without water for another week, but that was it.
She clambered up over a jagged pile of sandstone, trying to get a better glimpse of the area beyond. It seemed to be getting thicker and tougher as she went along, and hopefully that was a good sign.
The sun was setting, and she wanted to be in the shelter of the sandstone when the time came, so now was her chance to try and see the area around her.
The area above the sandstone cliffs of the beach got greener every day, though the trees were still spread far apart, perhaps even more than before.
The cold wind from the sea hit her as she strained her eyes against the horizon, trying to make out a shape that could resemble her destination.
"Nothing today either." She thought.
She imagined new horrible situations in her mind every day, where Rach had been gone for so long the city didn't exist anymore, or perhaps he'd sent her on a wild goose chase, or maybe she had gone the wrong way, maybe directions had different meanings in this world, was West here actually North?
Her only escape was when collapsing at the end of the day, sometimes under an overhang and sometimes under the open air, ad slept, and she was grateful that she hadn't had any dreams over the past weeks.
But tonight, the night sky pitch black as she found a well-enclosed space between the rocks to spend the night, she saw something that made her suck in her breath.
Light.
More specifically, a beam of light though faint, that stretched across the water.
Kage threw off her hood and ran to the edge of the water, desperate for a glimpse of the source of that light.
Sure enough, in the distance, on from what she could tell was a curved peninsula, the top of a tower was visible by the light streaming from the too. A lighthouse.
The next morning, as the brightness of the sun on the sea woke her up, Kage awoke with more energy than she'd had over the past while.
As she got closer, the intrusive thoughts crept in again. A city means more people, greater danger, chances to break laws she didn't know about, what if she couldn't even get in? Would she sit and starve just out of her destination? What if someone asked her a question like where she came from?
When she first saw the shape in the distance, her worries disappeared for a minute, replaced by different ones as Duurchelm became more visible.
The walls stretched out as the eye could see, the landscape simply turned into stone walls once it reached a certain point, and they weren't short either. Growing taller with every step, she eventually could see that in the areas where the wall was collapsed or broken, and other, bigger wall sat behind it.
At this point, she could also see other figures in the distance. Just tiny moving shapes for now, by the size, she guessed they were people on horses, and this was when it hit her. Aside from a hermit in the middle of a desert, these were the first people she had seen since her arrival.
The thought brought her to her own appearance, which, she realized as she looked down, was...something.
She laughed, for the first time in a long while.
Her clothes weren't black anymore, they were brown with dirt and sand, and her hair much the same.
She'd wanted to avoid the saltwater, but at this point it would be worth it.
Kage left her shoes and coat on a rock and waded into the sea.
The sand swirled around her feet as she got used to the cold.
The water around her took a brownish tinge as the dirt and dust detached from her slacks.
When she reached a little ways out, she held her arms out and let herself fall back.
The unknown is always terrifying, and so was not knowing what kind of creatures could live in this water. Despite that, it felt heavenly.
Her whole body was grateful for the relief from the heat sun, and even the weight of her own body. The water must have had a high salt content, because her arms floated easily.
She lay there for a few minutes, accepting the chance for a rest, until the thought of sea creatures crossed her mind again and she hurried to try and wash the dirt out of her clothes and hair.
Duurchelm became closer with every step.
Kage could clearly see where she was going now, and a few wagons, horses, and foot travelers confirmed it. Though, none of them were coming from the same direction as her, they were all arriving from or traveling to the East, which, from here, would probably mean Rhoringdall.
A couple of travelers caught her eye as she joined the vague path to Duurchelm, and she tried to look at them without staring.
Humanoid, though slightly taller than a regular human, their skin was pitch black and seemed to shine in the sun, glossier than skin, and much more evident on their two pairs of arms.
On their backs were something she could only compare to beetle wings inside their cover.
Their hair was also dark but faded to a lighter color, of the pair of them, a male and a female, the female's was teal and the male's pale green.
As they arrived at the gates though, Kage ended up a few people behind them behind them and their mule that carried a variety of bags.
This was a different world, after all. There were sure to be several unique races, but being around this many people together was already making her nervous.
More people bring more uncertainty, and while that was obviously going to happen in a city, knowing that didn't make it much easier.
She peered around the line ahead of her that was now a good twenty people long, not including wagons and pack mules, and her heart took a leap in her chest.
The guards in front of the massive open gate were interviewing the entrants. Customs.
"I suppose that makes sense, but..." She muttered. Her fingers started tapping as her mind jumped from thought to thought in her head.
"Make something up. But it has to be believable, I know a bit about the world, but what if I say something weird and they kick me out? I'm just one traveler, it should be fine. What if they don't welcome travelers? No, these people in front of me don't have a wagon or anything." She referred to a couple of rather intimidating men in front of her almost double her height with weapons and tattoos.
A splash of mud interrupted her thoughts, and she turned around brushing off a couple drops.
Behind her, and young man of perhaps his late teens with tan skin and black hair had jumped off his horse, spraying an impressive amount of mud in every direction. His friend, with blonde hair and purple eyes, though probably the same age, had the expression of a parent dealing with an overactive child.
His eyes met hers. "Ah, sorry!" He said. "I guess my friend here" he elbowed the other, "underestimated the moisture of the ground."
"Watch it kid!"
Kage jumped at the shout from behind her. Apparently the burly men ahead of her also got hit with the mud.
The other looked up, and Kage noticed his eyes for their heterochromia, the right yellow and the left red. At least her red eye wouldn't stand out too much here.
A scornful expression rested on his face for just a second before it was replaced with a good-natured and relaxed smile.
"Oh, sorry about that guys! And lady." He threw her a wink. "Thought the ground'd be a bit more solid I guess!" He gave a small bow as a form of apology.
The man who had got splashed grunted. "Just keep your distance, kid."
He turned back, muttering something that Kage assumed was cursing in this world.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Being in the middle of a conflict right outside the gates would have been just her luck.
She brushed off the mud as best she could, though it wouldn't make much of a difference on her clothes.
The line moved up, and she fell back into her thoughts.
"I need a story, something that fits with this world. But I don't know enough, not enough at all. I could be from a small farm looking for work? That's a good one, but maybe they don't want people looking for work. I can't be a merchant." She smirked. "All I've got are my clothes, a knife, and a ragged cloak." The thought hit her that the coat probably made her look even more like a vagabond, so she reluctantly removed it and folded it up in her arms.
Her thoughts were interrupted again by the conversation of the boys behind her. She was a natural eavesdropper after all.
"As long as we can find someone here." The black-haired one said.
"You say that, but we might have a better chance in Tobryna. You didn't want to spend much time here either." The other responded, his tone softer than his friend.
"We might not have time for that! Until we get news, if we get news, we have to assume we're on a tight schedule."
"I guess I don't have as much trust in Duurchelm mercenaries as you do."
"If you have a better idea, let me know."
"Purpose of your visit?"
Kage's head shot up to the bored-looking gatekeeper.
Her mind went blank. Heart pounding as she tried to stop herself from stammering, she forced something out, the first thing that came to her head.
"I'm coming to join a relative. There was a fire, and the family farm burned down."
That was good! It explained the lack of luggage!
His eyebrow raised. "You made it this far yourself?"
"I got a ride part of the way." Don't over-explain.
"Huh. Well, good luck girl. But find him quick you hear? We don't want you hanging around the streets."
He waved her in, and her heart lifted as she took her first steps out of the wilderness and into civilization.
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