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Post by Amber Sablier on Aug 14, 2016 23:08:46 GMT -6
(OOC: I will be hosting this thread from Amber's account)
The rumbling of the airship was intense if anything, boggling the minds of most within its steel walls. Eve, who had only recently begun to recover from the trauma of the Waters of Life Incident, hung her head over the sink in her room. She detested flying, as did the contents of her guts. She could feel everything twisting and turning in the depths of her stomach, as if to say ”Here we come!” Her face was pale as she fought off an intense fit of dry heaving. “G-a-ah…” The woman muttered, spitting into the drain with precision. Despite best efforts, speaking was still difficult. Luckily, she had a means of communication - a small trinket created by a mad professor that translated thought patterns into words.
It was better than nothing, that was for sure.
As her stomach finally settled down, Eve staggered as she raised her head, glancing at her reflection in the dull mirror. “Sss-sstup-id th-ing.” She stammered difficultly, uncomfortably adjusting the small device as it looped around her neck. Of course there would be a caveat to this thing, nothing ever came without one. Sighing, the woman moved across her small room and rummaged through the closet. She had only woken up moments ago, and was still dressed in undergarments for comfort. It was too hot for regular pajamas on this ship, at least for her. Throwing on her outfit, Eve’s eyes passed over the room to her desk. On it rested Skorpio - the weapon that once belonged to Lavender Rose.
She moved towards the desk, nervously, as if afraid a ghost would emerge from that side of the room. Ever since that day, Eve experienced terrible nightmares. She felt responsible for Lavender’s death, she felt responsible for letting the Will have its way with the island. In her eyes, it was all her fault. The ghosts of those they lose, especially Lavender, were sure to haunt her for the rest of her days. Taking the weapon by the hilt, Eve’s eyes glossed over it before becoming misted by tears. “I’m sorry.” She said in a dry tone, using all her might to ward off the sensation to break down into a sobbing mess. “I-…I’ll keep them safe. I promise.”
Over the ship’s loudspeakers, a male’s voice boomed. “Ms. Eve Shay, Mizumi Tai, Dusty Ghrian, and Chrohn Strauss.” The voice bellowed. “We are approaching the drop point. Please make your way to the cargo bay for the jump.” Eve huffed at the voice, slipping Skorpio into a makeshift sheathe before throwing a gray mesh hood over her head and leaving the room. Moving from one place to another in the airship was a little difficult. It was smaller than those used to attack Rift, more closer in size to a submarine. Walkways were cramped, with people often jabbing one another with their elbows and the like. Eventually, however, she made it to the cargo bay. It was empty, leave for a few dampening pads for the drop.
Sure, they didn’t need them, but they would serve to mitigate the impact the fall would have on their Aura.
Eve waited until the rest of the team arrived, tuning the translator on her neck to make her speech just a little louder. “This is it, you guys. This is the kind of stuff you’re being trained for. This will be a test to rival anything you will experience back on Vytal Island. There are no simulations, no do-overs, no timeouts. If you do not operate at one hundred and ten percent, you will die.” She said. As she continued her little speech, she handed each of the students a small earpiece. “This will be our only form of contact during this mission. Do not rely on your Scrolls.” She paused at Mizumi, nodding at her before returning to her original position before them.
“We don’t have parachutes, so you’ll have to rely on your own landing strategy. That said, we have impact dampeners to lessen the blow to Aura once hitting the ground.” She added as she crossed her arms. “Now, any questions before we drop?” |
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Post by Dusty Ghrian on Aug 15, 2016 13:58:22 GMT -6
Dusty lay sprawled out on his cot, wrapped up in his bomber jacket and letting its comforting feeling keep him lulled in dreamland despite the rocking of the airship. He kept the fur lined collar pressed up to his nose as he slept, as he had managed to get Mizumi's smell into the jacket. She'd been napping one day and he had laid it over her while she slept, partially to show that he still cared about her and partially because he had the strange desire to put her scent into his jacket. He didn't understand why, but it felt more comforting and made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And, ultimately, it frustrated him. He wanted to rebury his feelings again and get things back to the way they were before. The main reason he had joined this mission was to remind himself of what he was trying to achieve at Vytal. And, you know, there was the fact that Amber was in trouble and was fitting into the cliche nicely. He had met the Princess of Rift once before, not too long after his near death trek through the woods. It didn't take much time for him to start feeling a strange sense of guilt for her father's death. He promised to protect her, though he could barely meet her eye when he'd said it.
Dusty woke with start when the ship hit a spot of turbulence, slamming his head onto the frame. He sat up, groaning, as he swung his legs off of the side of the bed. He stood up, sliding his feet into his boots, and walked to the small locker at the other end of the room. He pulled his gear out of the locker, putting on his cuirass, gauntlets, gloves, harness, and quiver. Sixty arrows filled the quiver, with Ardu and Leagtha in their scabbards and twenty bottles of Steam and Glass Dust attached to the bandolier. He had moved on to grabbing his Earth Dust infused glasses that were more shatter resistant that his normal ones when the voice called he and the other people on this mission to the cargo bay. He paused for a moment at Mizumi's name and glanced down at the collar of his jacket before shaking his head and walking out of his room. No time for distractions.
Dusty left his room and slowly made his way to the cargo bay, getting distracted by thinking of Mizumi despite telling himself to focus. This would be the first time they would be doing something together since Vytal Island was attacked. He smiled a bit. Maybe that would bring things sort of back to the way they were. The two of them, fighting side by side, like the old days. Then he remembered the mission was rescuing another girl that he had met and pledged his service to, which immediately made him think about Mizumi getting jealous and how he really, really, really didn't want to see.
Dusty finally forced his way into the cargo bay and listened to Ms. Shay's instructions. "Can't be any worse than staring right at the face of Legion's fighting force. What are a few mercenaries and crazy Will worshipers?" Dusty said with a confident smirk. He took the ear piece from the older woman and placed it in his ear before looking back at her and grinning. "That's a shame. How am I gonna send funny pictures with the cultists to you guys?" He paused as Ms. Shay continued before responding. "Where is she, exactly? I never really went beyond the edges of my home town, but I'm pretty sure Setek is a pretty large country. Are we sure that she's here, where ever here is?"
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Post by chrohn on Aug 15, 2016 14:49:08 GMT -6
At the sound of the announcement, once dulled but now vibrant green eyes awoke to the cargoship surroundings. Almost time, huh? For a moment, Chrohn froze there, completely forgetting what he was to do as he started spacing out, but after a nearby clang, he was back to reality and prepping for the mission.
He rose quickly, donning his combat boots and a vibrant pink scarf that was of stark contrast to the rest of his attire. On his way out, he stuffed his two excess packs of chips into the upper pockets of his black cargo pants, while strapping the slot machine to his waist and Lucky 7 to the back of his yellow tanktop. As Chrohn walked towards the cargo bay, he sighed," I really wish I didn't forget my jacket," I feel naked without it, he added mentally. At least he actually remembered his hoverboard.
It had been a fairly eventful past few months since Ama was hospitalized and Lavender died. That incident still bothered Chrohn, but now he was better than ever after coming to grips with his own personal problems with the help of his friends, and a bit of self searching on his own. Over that time, Chrohn had come to realize that moping and being depressed wouldn't accomplish anything, and while that is what he felt would make him better over a longer period of time, he simply needed to man up and get over it. Now, this itself was hard, but he had his own way of getting around to it.
Once he reached the cargo bay with the hoverboard hung over his shoulder, Chrohn's random though train was going off again, I feel like a ninja, a ninja with a really big sword.
Once he arrived, and Eve handed Chrohn the ear piece, he didn't really have any questions of his own. So Chrohn simply held back and listened to what his other teammates would be asking about the situation.
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Post by Mizumi Tai on Aug 15, 2016 19:02:05 GMT -6
Mizumi awoke to a particularly rough patch of turbulence. The jostling of the ship caused the large woman to stir, another batch of rumbling fully startling her awake. It took her a few seconds of looking around to remember where she was, but once she did she smiled. Today was a day to remember why she was at Vytal, to simply save people and help others, fighting to protect those who can't protect themselves. And she was going to be doing it all with Dusty. The thought caused her to smile brightly, then frown once again. She couldn't let her feelings for him interfere with either of their combat capabilities. She'd been shielding it from him during while synchronized for a while, hopefully she could continue doing so. Mizumi got up and changed, squeezing herself into her orange outfit. After doing that she began pulling her hair up into her pigtails, and applying her makeup. Once she was done and ready for the day, she grabbed Blowback from where it was resting upon the wall, the hammer almost looking like another person. She gripped the handle, giving it a test swing, before spinning it around and transforming it into rifle form to place it upon her hip.
When the voice came over the intercom to prepare for drop, Mizumi smiled and began her trek through the ship. It was tough going, the ship not designed for someone of her size, forcing her to squeeze through the passageways, apologizing to the people who she all but forced out of the way as she went. She arrived just after Chrohn, yet was still the last to enter the cargo bay. She smiled and waved at each of them, her smile wavering slightly upon seeing Skorpio on Eve's hip. There was only the moment of sadness, the grief she still felt for Professor Rose's sacrifice, before she continued smiling. However, when the older woman passed out earpieces, Mizumi raised her hand and shook her head, a smile still on her face. "Oh don't worry, I have my own. I'm sure I can just get the frequency for this one and get mine on the same one." She then took the earpiece and pulled out her scroll, hearing an affirmative grunt from Cirsi in her own earpiece. "If you do this, my communications with you will transmit to each earpiece. While you have told Dusty, Chrohn is still unaware, and Eve...I'm not sure, but you haven't told her." Mizumi nodded, then clicked a few things on her scroll, getting the frequency for the earpiece she was holding and linking it to the one in her ear.
"Testing" She pressed a finger against the earpiece in her ear, her voice going through to everybody else's earpiece, and being audible barely through the one in her hand. Mizumi smiled and handed the communication device back to Eve, her hand brushing against the back of her neck before falling back to her side again. "No more questions Ms. Shay. Just tell me when to jump." Her words were filled with eagerness, both to get back into a fight she could win, and to get into a mission with Dusty again. She lifted her arms and laced her fingers together, resting her hands on the back of her neck. From now on, if Cirsi were to communicate with her it would go through to the whole group. While she trusted Chrohn, and knew Eve was a teacher so should be trusted, the level of trust to confide in somebody your greatest weakness is one far greater. The kind of trust she held with Dusty, who she'd already told about Cirsi, and had let the two of them talk for a bit.
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Post by Amber Sablier on Aug 15, 2016 23:58:20 GMT -6
Eve cocked an eyebrow at Dusty’s comments, particularly the one about the cult. She didn’t expect any of the students to be familiar with Saint Ashes, let alone either of these three. Grinning, the woman snickered. “You’d do good to remember that this is no ordinary cult.” She responded. “The group known as Saint Ashes is by far one of the greatest adversaries the Kingdoms have had to deal with in recent times.” Pulling her Scroll from its case, Eve pulled up a series of images, patching through to the Scrolls of the students. “Open up and look at these. It’s better for you all to know what we might be up against.” She instructed.
The images were grotesque if anything, a series of mangled figures as well as shots of buildings - and their inhabitants - reduced to cinders. Just looking at them made Eve’s stomach feel uneasy, forcing her to close them and stick her Scroll back into its case. “These people are dangerous. They don’t care about drawing the Grimm, they don’t care about whether or not you live or you die. I need all three of you to be ready in case they really are out there.” She said with a sigh. “Too much blood has been spilled since the day Barnett and his legion attacked Rift. If we’re going to put an end to all this pointless bloodshed, then we have to make sure we can secure the Princess. It’s the only way.”
A chime echoed in the cargo bay, indicating it was almost time for them to jump. Moving across the room, Eve grabbed a jump dampener for each of them, handing them out one after another. With hers, she slung the straps over her shoulders. It almost looked like a backpack, just much more streamlined. “These dampeners will help keep us from dying upon impact with the ground.” She began, pointing to several features of the packs. “There are a lot of buttons on the straps, but for the sake of safety I’ve had everything except the deployment switch deactivated. While we’re descending, on my mark you will hit the switch.” She showed them the proper way to strike the switch - one quick, precise whack.
“We’re just outside the capital city. We’ll be dropping just outside the main gate, and slip into the city from there.” Eve added, pressing the switch to open the cargo hatch. The heavy metal door lowered with a dull rumble, finally setting into place with a hiss from the pistons that held it to the ship. “This is your last chance, kids. Are there any more questions?” She inquired once more. “Once we drop, we’re not going to have time for idle chit-chat.” |
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Post by Dusty Ghrian on Aug 16, 2016 17:05:44 GMT -6
Dusty gave a respectful nod towards Chrohn and gave a strained smile towards Mizumi as the two entered the cargo bay. He drove his fingernails into his legs, letting the pain keep him focused and away from daydreaming. I can't afford to get distracted. Keep up the confidence and it'll all be finehe told himself as he pulled out his Scroll as Ms. Shay sent them the images, relieved she hadn't questioned his knowledge of the Cult of St. Ashes. He had learned a lot about the princess' predicament from herself and her protector. If it ever got out that he'd met her before hand and hadn't told anyone, he figured he'd be dealing with a lot worse punishment than just detention, as well as starting a whole slew of investigations of who else might have known and the story possibly getting out and getting to Legion and-
The young man bit down on his tongue, bringing him back to reality again. Don't think bad thoughts about his fate, either. Focus on the good, look like the usual Dusty: confident, cool, and collected. A task easier said than done, upon looking at the images. They truly were gruesome displays of the cult's insanity, but he kept his jaw tight and his eyes steely. Don't show the fear and the worry. Keep up the confidence. "There's a difference between what a man can do to helpless prey and what a man can do to a vicious predator and I don't aim to be prey," he stated, still scrolling through the images. "They may be deranged killers, but they're still men. And all men bleed. All it takes," he paused, putting his Scroll into his pocket and looking up at the older woman. He let the light flash across the lenses of his glasses as he did, an effect he had been practicing way too much, honestly.
Dusty strapped the dampener over his shoulders, adjusting his quiver and knives a little bit to make it sit better on his back. "Oh, wonderful. I always wanted to visit the capitol of Setek. I heard they have the best waffles here," he commented as the bay doors lowered. He listened to Ms. Shay finish up her briefing for them before responding. "That's alright. I prefer my conversations while falling at terminal velocity, anyway." He grinned at the teacher before taking off towards the bay doors and back flipping out of the cargo bay.
"See you guys on the ground!" he shouted, his voice slowly faded away as he plummeted towards the earth.
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Post by chrohn on Aug 16, 2016 17:51:45 GMT -6
Oh joyous, deranged grimm worshipers. Completely forgot those existed. Whelp, more people to bash down in the vein of justice for the name of royalty. Chrohn shrugged, while he thought about taking an impact dampener. Not sure if I truly have a choice, but it won't ever hurt to take one just in case. After a moment, he grabbed one and realized something, because of where his sword was holstered and where the dampener had to go, he'd have to go down with his sword out. Chrohn sighed with disappointment as he took the sword off of his back, set the hover board down and strapped on the dampener.
After making sure everything was secure, he picked up the hoverboard and started towards the open end of the cargo bay, walking backwards as he did so. "See ya on the flip siii-oooh waaahhh." Chrohn tripped over a door handle, and started flailing as he fell out of the cargo bay. Well that happened. I'm only falling at human splattering speeds. And I have absolutely nothing to help.....I actually have plenty of things to help me, what the fuck am I talking about.
Chrohn took a deep breath and leveled himself with his hoverboard as he eventually mounted it, fitting his foot into the straps and his hand around one of the handles on the side. For the most part, said hoverboard wasn't meant for such high altitudes, but after a few modifications in terms of power output, it was able to handle the higher altitudes with booster power. He let out a small woop of excitement, while the air was not his domain, he loved soaring through the open skies with almost no limit to how far he could fly if he wanted to. Flatly Chrohn spoke into the communication device, almost like the manner of airship attendants save for the lack of excitement in his voice, "Ladies and gentlmen, as we take this flight, if you look to your left, you'll find a barren desert, if you look to your right, you'll also find the ever elusive barren desert. No, I'm not apologizing."
For the most part, he felt that the flight down would be boring and hoped it would be as it felt.
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Post by Mizumi Tai on Aug 16, 2016 18:56:55 GMT -6
Mizumi grabbed an impact dampener and shrugged it onto her shoulder, loosening the straps to their maximum and still feeling it a little tight. Upon receiving the images she looked at her scroll and gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the graphic depictions. "That's terrible..." The slightest beginning of tears forming within her eyes as she stared dumbfounded at her scroll. Eventually Eve began explaining the nuances of the impact dampeners, snapping Mizumi out of her thoughts. Then the cargo bay door opened and Dusty went jumping out almost immediately, followed quickly by Chrohn. "Dusty!" Mizumi took two steps and made it all the way to the open door, making one last glance at Eve with an apologetic smile and shrug. "I guess I don't have time for questions." And with that, Mizumi stepped out of the cargo bay and into the open air. She began falling rapidly, plummeting towards the ground at incredible speeds.
Five days prior, Legion:
"I don't care how much it costs Ash, get me the fastest ship to Setek now!" Aisio scrambled her stuff together, running around the mansion gathering various things. Clothes, food, armor, dust, everything she could get her hands on. Behind her followed a man, much taller and older than her, with dark green hair in a brown butler's uniform. His hair was held back in a small ponytail and he had half moon glasses resting upon his stressed face. Aisio paused in her frantic movement as the butler, Ash, sighed deeply and pushed his glasses up, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Look, Ash, I'm sorry. You've been with me my whole life, taking care of me, helping me through tough times. I just, I need answers. There are still too many questions, too many loose ends and incorrect connections. One of my allies found out that Princess Sablier is in Setek's capital and it's not long before everybody else discovers the same. She's the only one with the ability to tell me what's going on, I need to know."
Ash nodded solemnly, pulling out his scroll and tapping a few times on the screen. "I already had someone acquiring you a ship my lady. We are ready to leave at a moment's notice." Aisio's face melted into one of gratitude, and she smiled brightly at Ash, who smiled softly back. The Pendragon heiress ran into her armory, grabbing Excalibur and Flamelash before heading towards the door. "Yes, yes I know, I am wonderful. Come then, let us be going." Ashe ushered her out of the house, opening the door to her personal limo for her before entering the driver's seat and chauffeuring her towards the airship dock. "I understand that what Sir Cullen said to you during the Siege still haunts you my lady, but know that I would say the same about you. We live to serve, and would often fail to see faults when they are directly in front of us. But I do understand you desire proof, it is only in your nature to worry over the purity of your actions. It's one of the things that makes you special, SiSi." Aisio blushed heavily in the back of the vehicle at the use of an old nickname. It was what her whole family had called her, and Ash may not have been blood but he was family all the same.
"Please Sir Nuada, you know how much I hate that name." Ash grimaced at the use of his formal title, the point getting across quite clearly. They bantered all the way to the docks, and upon arrival one of her servants was waiting for them. Ash passed the keys to the limo to her, the servant taking the vehicle back to the Pendragon manor. He then moved back to attempt to carry Aisio's singular suitcase of clothing, instead choosing to take her armor case containing her spare when she brushed him away. "I'm not a child anymore, I can carry my own luggage. Now then, let's go towards Setek. For answers." Ash nodded as they found the ship that was acquired, a small vessel clearly built for quick travel over large transportation. They entered, and within minutes the ship was off and they were on their way towards the desert kingdom's capital.
Now, Outside Setek's Capital:
Aisio sat on her bed, polishing the broken blade of Excalibur as she waited impatiently for arrival. According to the captain of the vessel, they were less then an hour away now, but the Cult of St. Ashes had been active in the past 5 days. It had been a long journey, and an uneventful one at that, Aisio's bored polishing of the dull sword in her hands evidence of that. A voice crackled over the intercom, the gruff voice of the captain pouring into her room. "Hey Lady Pendragon, I think you should be the one to explain to Setek Air Control why an unauthorized vessel is entering the capital's airspace. You mind coming up to the bridge?" She nodded, moving to the wall and clicking a button on the intercom system to transmit her voice to the captain. "Of course Captain, on my way." She stored Excalibur within its scabbard, checking her equipment to assure herself everything was in its proper place before venturing to the bridge.
When she arrived, she heard a voice from a radio next to the Captain, who was piloting the ship from the extremely complicated helm that Aisio understood nothing about. "Unauthorized Legion vessel, if you do not explain yourself or turn around we will open fire. This is Setek Capital airspace." Aisio gripped the microphone of the radio, clicking the button on the side to begin transmission. "This is Lady Aisio Pendragon, head of House Pendragon and well trained huntress. I come not on behalf of Legion but on a personal mission and request permission to enter your airspace. I will not be docking." She was greeted by silence for a moment before the crackling resumed, followed by the shaken voice of the air control officer. "Of course Lady Pendragon. Permission to fly granted." Aisio nodded replacing the microphone and glancing at the Captain, who merely smiled and began whistling, engrossed in flying the ship. She made her way back to her room, simply waiting for her arrival. The capital was visible in the distance, airships flying in and out of the city.
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Post by Amber Sablier on Aug 17, 2016 9:09:02 GMT -6
It was time.
One after another, the students jumped from the airship, with Eve quickly inspecting their impact dampeners as they made their way out the door. The air whipping through the ship was violent, hair blowing into Eve’s face as she looked down to the ground below. With a reluctant sigh, Eve got a running jump before leaping out of the door. The air was cold, despite being a desert. Perhaps it was the altitude. Regardless, Eve maneuvered herself like a bullet, streaking down to the level that the students were at before raising her hand to her earpiece. “The jump went smoothly, kids.” She said confidently. “Now we just gotta focus on the landing.”
The rest of their descent lasted but a few minutes, and just when it seemed like they were within spitting distance of the ground, Eve’s voice rang in the earpieces once again. “NOW!” She ordered, slamming her fist into the button to deploy the landing dampener. A blue, Aura-like field congealed in front of her, and with the force of a dead bomb she slammed into the desert surface. While boggling to the senses, the landing had very little impact on anyone’s well being. This was the nature of these devices, and this had been the first time Eve had ever used one.
“Guess we can tell the folks back at home that these things work, huh?” She said with a grin.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the city, Amber weaved through the streets. Clad in a hooded cloak - with the Hound tied to her waist - she made quick stops at merchant stands before eventually making it to a small run-down building. Upon entry, she removed the mood, shaking the sand from her hair. “Children, are you here? Are you safe?” She whispered, looking around the room. “I’ve brought you all some food. I thought you’d be hungry - and thirsty.” A small creak took her attention, and she whipped around to see a group of five or six small children.
They were orphans.
Kneeling in front of them, Amber presented the kids with the fruits and water she had acquired during her run. “Come on, don’t get shy on me now.” She laughed. “There’s enough here for everyone. It’s a good thing I got out there when I did. There’s a sandstorm on the way.” Timidly, the children drew closer to Amber, each one reaching for a different fruit and container of water before plopping down in front of her to begin eating. “Thank you, Am’er.” The oldest girl, probably seven years old, said with a tired smile. “We were starting to get really, really hungry.” Amber responded with a cheerful, wide smile.
“You’re welcome, guys.” |
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Post by Dusty Ghrian on Aug 17, 2016 19:42:33 GMT -6
Dusty let out a whoop of joy as he fell, spinning and flipping around. The drop was exhilarating. He felt weightless, both figuratively and literally. The faster he fell, the more he felt like he was leaving his problems behind in the sky above. No worries to bog him down and nothing to fear. Just him, the sky, and the wind rushing past him. He spread his arms and legs and slowed his descent slightly seeing the others catch up with him. He pressed his fingers to his own earpiece after Ms. Shay finished. "You mean the easy part, right?" he said with a laugh.
Dusty sped up his descent again and quickly smashed the button to start the dampener up as he neared the ground. The Aura like shield formed in front of him and he grinned madly as he met the earth. Only, it wasn't as smoothly as he had hoped. As he hit the ground and most of the impact was absorbed, he hit at an angle. The young man was left bouncing and skittering across the desert for a good thirty feet before he managed to bring himself back to his feet and slide to a stop. Dusty shook his head to clear his thoughts before grinning again.
"I'd say let's do that again," he started, pressing his finger to his earpiece, "but I think checking to see if our princess is in another castle takes priority. Where to next?"
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