Closed.

The path around the village led simply through more dust and gravel. The wind picked up, making her squint so she did not get sand into her eyes. She did not see or hear Azi ever since her feet left the Forest ground. Either the girl was hiding or she did not enjoy being under the baking sun.

Some half an hour later as Dhea made way further off the village, she reached a strange object jutting in the middle of the desert. It was an upright pole with a sort of a platform on it some five meters up from the ground. It provided a little shade if she wanted to take a breather out of the sun.

- Rest.
- Continue.
- Try to climb up the pole.
 
Dhea leaned against the pole, breathing deeply as she relished the reprieve from the scorching sunlight. She would climb it after, to sate her unending curiosity for the world around her. She would be fine. She always was.
 
"What'cha doing there?" A voice stirred her from her thoughts. An old man's wrinkled face was peeking from the platform down at her. "Wanna come up? I've had no good company in a while." He paused. "Well, no company at all, to be honest." The man shrugged and then looked up at the sky. "Here, this'll help ya." The man threw something over the platform.

It hit the ground at Dhea's feet and skittered in the dust. It was a necklace of some kind, with a pendant at its end. It glittered in the sand, the tiny green gems on the pendant reflecting the sunlight.

"Put it on and float up." The old man said.

- Do as he says.
- Take the pendant and run away.
- Refuse and try to climb the pole.
 
Dhea looked at the necklace, her fingers running over it. She eyed the old man for a moment, not fully trusting him. But she slipped it over her head and did as he told her.
She hoped that it wouldn’t end terribly.
 
As soon as the pendant was around her neck, Dhea felt lightness in her body not unlike what she usually felt when she cast a spell of weightlessness on herself. Only this time when she looked up, it was as if the pendant understood her and she floated through the air, toward the platform.

It took some maneuvering to climb onto the platform as the old man watched her attempt arms folded and mouth twisted in amusement. When her feel finally touched the boards of the platform her new acquaintance approached.

"Now give me the pendant back." He held a hand, palm up, in front of her. The pendant could be of value to her, however the man did not look like he wanted to part with it.

- Give it back.
- Keep it.
- Offer something else in exchange.
 
Dhea closes her fingers around the pendant, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. She tastes blood for a moment, but ignores the metallic taste as she looks straight at the old man. She is willing to make a trade for it. To a point.
“What can I give you to be able to keep this necklace?”
She’s eyeing him up and down, her other hand resting lightly on her hip.
 
"Nothing, I want my pendant, nothing else." The man scowled, stepping toward Dhea. He reached out to take the pendant from her, but he hesitated and his hand dropped down. There was a slightly bewildered look on his face and his eyes looked past Dhea, to the horizon.

Quickly he fumbled through his clothes and pulled out a small instrument from his cloak. It proved to be a small metal spyglass that folded up. He put his eye on it and looked through.

"That's odd." The man whispered, then handed the spyglass to Dhea. "Look, do you see what I'm seeing?"

- Look through the spyglass.
- Run away while the man's distracted.
 
Dhea took the spyglass, her fingers tightening around the metal. She lifted it to her eye and looked through, but not before subtly tucking the pendant into her pocket. She made sure the man was distracted while she did so. She did feel guilty about stealing the item from him.
 
The man did not notice as the pocketed the pendant. It would certainly be of more use to Dhea. There was a screech on the horizon that brought Dhea's attention forward. Something was flying across the sky and coming toward them very fast. It was far too big to be a bird.

"No! No no no!" The old man yelped, scrambling to get down. He turned toward Dhea furiously. "Give me the pendant! Where is it?! I need to get down!"

But, it was too late. The creature approached.


latest

It was a Birdman, the servant of the Archmage. Was it following Dhea, knowing her true destination? For a moment, it was unsure who to grab, but then it took the man by the shoulders, its talons embedding deep into his skin. The man screeched in pain as he was hauled into the air. The Birdman was keeping and eye on Dhea as it flew off, then let out another chilling sound. It would be back for her.

- Jump down.
- Use the pendant.
- Stay there and wait.
- Try to help the man.
 
Dhea looked up at the Birdman, fear in her eyes. She remembered her nightmare, of the way their talons has dug into her. She let out a shriek of fear and anger, drawing her bow to shoot the creature and try to save the man. She stole from him, but that didn’t mean she was heartless.
 
The Birdmen were elite soldiers. One arrow was no match for this opponent. It simply slid to the side as the arrow flew harmlessly beside it. As it turned around, it let another deafening screech that pierced Dhea's ears and made her stumble.

Unfrotunately, the platform she was on was tiny and one misstep sent her falling over the ledge, as the Birdman flew out of view.

She hit the ground hard, so hard that she would feel the bruises on her ribs and back for a while. At least no bones were broken.

The ground ahead of her rose and fell through the uneven plains. To the southeast rose huge mountaintops that marked the Horns of Ilklala. The day was getting hot again and the only way to move from that spot was either to proceed south on her path, or to go back to the village of unfriendly looking Klatta-men.

- Continue south.
- Go back to the village.
 
Dhea brushed herself off, wishing that she had been able to stop the Birdman from taking the man. At least she knew that she couldn’t take them down a simple arrow. She was learning. She had a better chance at surviving now.

Rather than risk the unfriendly village, Dhea continued South along the path. She was going to take down the Serpents, she was going to bring down the Archmage.
She repeated that over and over in her head, trying to stay sane and motivated. It was her own personal prayer.
 
She walked on, climbing slightly across the dusty Steppes. The heat was starting to get unbearable.

Suddenly, the scrubland in front of her was broken by a small, waist-high wooden post, to which was nailed a written notice. The writing was crabby and difficult, but she was able to partially decipher it.

Stop traveller!
Every wish comes through. For this post marks the grave of the God Bennanga.
Call his name and close your eyes to be blessed forthwith!

- Call the name.
- Cast a spell.
- Walk on.
 
Dhea already was connected with the god Courga. She read the notice again, marking the name down in her head, should she need the information again. She continued past the scrubland.
 
As she kept moving, the peaks of the mountain kept drawing her attention. There was a time when people of Baklands thought that the Horns of Ilklala would protect them from the Archmage. Who knew that Birdmen could fly so high and so far.

The ground dropped a little with each step. There were three possible ways to go. To her right, when facing south, she could see in the distance some kind of a broken down stone structure. And to her left she could see a small clearing covered in soft green grass, quite at odds with the yellowed grass and sand all around Dhea. She would need to eat and rest to recover her strength and both places could serve that purpose.

- Go to the crumbled structure.
- Go to the clearing.
 
Dhea looked between the two, her arms crossing over her chest. She liked the greenery, the small clearing, but she was also curious about the stone structure. She decided that resting in the shade could be good for her, and the structure likely provided that.
 
It took her more time than she expected to reach the crumbled structure, as the wind kept on shoving dust and sand into her eyes and its fingers dragged on her cloak, slowing her progress. The more west she walked, the stronger the wind was, and there was something unnatural about it.

But, as she reached the stone building the wind stopped completely.

10i5nh0.jpg

Now she could see more clearly what the structure was. A ruined building, standing on a stone plinth, its columns cracked and broken. The elaborate carvings on teh pillars suggested that this was a temple once. Perhaps it belonged to Throff? But it was a hundred times more desolate than Theetah's tomb in Khare.

- Go inside.
- Explore around the temple.
 
Dhea looked up at the temple, almost marveling at it. She almost wished she had a knack for drawing or even something to write in. She was discovering new things each time she wandered the wasteland. Rather than go inside the temple just yet, she explored around it.

There could be information on whose temple it once was and if it was Throff’s, she would could find a way to summon the goddess and get her assistance in defeating the Earth Serpent.
 
As she walked around the back of the structure she was more broken pillars and masonry all scattered about. She also saw that the whole side of the temple was filled with holes the size of her fist and sun was illuminating the small inner chamber which looked to be empty.

In one corner of the "courtyard" she noticed a strange, almost rectangular impression in the dust. From across the distant Steppes she heard the sound of a keening echoing cry.

- Approach the rectangular impression in the ground.
- Walk into the temple.
 
Dhea was curious, entranced by this untouched place. She took a small step forward, ignoring the niggling fear that the cry instilled within her. She paused and looked over her shoulder, before approaching the impression upon the ground that had caught her eye.
 
Kneeling on the old stone, she brushed the dust away to reveal a trapdoor. The hinges squealed and cried, it was not opened in quite some time, but eventually it gave in - revealing a set of steps that led down into darkness and a disgusting smell.

And Dhea could hear something in there. Moving around...

- Close the trapdoor.
- Call out.
- Go in.
 
Dhea poked her head in, standing back far enough that if something did try to grab her, she would have enough time to slam the trapdoor shut on them and run away.
“Hello?”
She wasn’t going in, just on the off chance that some beasty was going to try and bite her head off.
 
There was no reply from below. Only a rattle of chains.

As she peered into the darkness underground she saw a pair of eyes staring back and ragged, rasping breathing.

- Close the trapdoor.
- Climb down.
 
Dhea narrowed her eyes and knelt down, her fingers weaving a spell to sense danger. She had to know if what was ahead could kill her. If it would kill her.

She didn’t make herself threatening. She wasn’t going to instigate any fights, unless it was something wholly evil.
 
The spell came back with nothing terribly alarming. There was no monster and no wraith in there like one might expect.

As Dhea walked down the steps the stench was overpowering to the point that it made her eyes water. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the weak light and she saw a figure across from her - a skinny, half-naked with long black beard. He was chained to the opposite wall in the chamber that looked like it was built into the foundations of the temple.

"I don't believe it!" He gasped. "A human! Oh, my eyes, a human!"

He raced toward Dhea, but was stopped short by a chain around his ankle.

- "Who are you?"
- "Who chained you?"
- Search the room.
- Cast a spell.
 
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