MHD: The Darkness Within VII - The Mysterious Wyvern's Assault!

"Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me!" Elric suddenly exclaimed. He and his comrades, Illeera and Tenris, were about midway across the great grassland towards Castle Schrade. Now, he peered through his binoculars in order to take a closer look at the castle in the distance.

"What is it?" asked Illeera, eyebrows raised at his exasperated tone. Elric lowered the binoculars and replied, "Taka and Relcia are leaving Castle Schrade... and are going toward the Desert!"

Tenris groaned. "Deeper into the Great Frontier?" she said. "Have they lost their sense of direction?" Illeera silenced them with a wave of their hand. "No," she told them. "There has to be a reason why they are doing this. Taka would never do something this dangerous, or foolish, without a good reason."

Elric jumped into the conversation. "Well, good reason or not," he piped up, putting the binoculars away, "we need to catch up with them. If we keep moving, we should be able to meet up with them sooner or later."

Illeera checked the position of the sun - it was around early-to-mid-afternoon, it seemed. "We should have plenty of time before nightfall to cover as much ground as we can," she said. "Come on, and get your Cool Drinks ready." The three of them began to move forward once more, in search of their friends.

The sun was setting as they made their way into the Desert. The sheer silence of the environment disturbed them - the only noise came from the crickets and the wind. Now that Illeera thought about it, though, the wind seemed to be getting stronger. It's probably my imagination, she thought dismissively. Nothing more.

"I don't understand how they could have just disappeared," complained Elric. "Look - from here, you can see miles and miles of nothing but sand and rocks. Where could they have gone?"

Tenris stopped walking for a second or two, stretching her aching legs. "I don't care. We can search all we want tomorrow. I'm taking a rest before I drop dead from exhaustion." Elric was about to angrily protest, but Illeera nodded her agreement. "We have traveled a very long way on foot," she stated. "It would be wise to stop for the night and get plenty of much-needed sleep for tomorrow."

They set up camp, using a large cluster of boulders for shelter. Tenris built a fire from the few sticks she had gathered in the Great Forest, and they all shared a meal that they had packed previously - Gagua legs, left over from a few days ago. Illeera was struck with the bittersweet memory of the conversation that they had with Taka back then.

''"Did anyone ever tell you that you eat like a Bird Wyvern?" Elric asked. "No, but then again, I LOOK like a Bird Wyvern," replied Taka, laughing.''

Illeera felt tears sting her eyes. Taka was her best friend, and the thought of him journeying into this deadly region made her feel very, very frightened. I hope I can see you again soo, Taka, she wished sadly. Then I won't have to worry about such things.

The wind suddenly picked up, growing louder and louder as it became progressively stronger. "Thank goodness we're sheltered behind these rocks," Elric sighed, curling into a sleeping position. Illeera, all of a sudden, caught sight of sand flying in the wake of the gale-force wind. "You're going to be even more thankful in a minute," she said grimly.

Now the storm reached its peak, turning into a huge sandstorm that seemed to block everything from view. They party wasn't even touched by the wind and sand, but they could feel it nonetheless. Tenris shivered as the fire that they had constructed was blown out. Elric and Illeera huddled close together, trying to protect each other in case the wind suddenly turned around and blew the storm right in their faces.

The sandstorm raged literally all night. The relentless wind blew on and on, until the group began to grow used to it. Eventually, they decided that they should try and get some rest, shielded from the worst of the elements as they were. They curled up into tight balls, trying to remain warm and safe behind their barrier.

Finally, they were lulled to sleep by the consistency of the howling storm's noise. As they slept on, they didn't notice the storm die down at last, leaving the rocks and bushes that had been exposed to it to be buried under dunes of sand.

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