Welcome to Gaia! ::

Leandar laid atop one of the many perfectly crafted dunes for which Hallowmarl was famous. It was getting later on in the day, and the sun was making it's journey toward the west. His eyes moved nimbly back and forth across the pages. The book cover was made of leather, and it was held closed by a length of rope. Leandar nodded his head as he finished the book, "Why didn't I think of that," he asked introspectively, dumbfounded as the words disappeared from the page. The wildcat stood up and dusted his fur off. I wonder where Kobold and Marceline are.... Leandar stroked his chin, it was time for the trios daily desert patrol.

"Come along, my wayward apprentice," the cat said, striding a few steps ahead of the squirrel. "We're almost to the meetin' point. Best not to keep the others waitin', what!"

Resolutely, Finn did his best to keep up. This was the first time he'd been taken out on patrol. He wanted very much to show that he was ready. He'd packed a waterskin and a wide piece of bark to use as a shade for his eyes if he needed one. Marcelline had laughed, but you could never be too prepared.

The pair rounded a sand dune, where they could see from a distance the sillhouette of another cat. Marcelline halooed, then took Finn by the paw and climbed the hill with him.

"Well 'allo, Leandar! Kobold ain't 'ere yet? 'S fine, we were just afraid we'd be late. Got somebody I should introduce you to. This is Finn, my apprentice. He an' his two brothers are orphans, recently moved to Hallowmarl, and this 'un wants to learn about bein' a hero!"

Finn nodded in response. At first, he'd been... reticent, to say the least, about this whole hero business. He'd spent his early days heckling his teacher and generally being a nuisance, but once she got him working, well, then things weren't so bad. The training was fairly fun, and he liked the idea of being one of the biggest, baddest good guys around. It gave him something to brag about to his brothers.

"I'm Finn, sah!" he said, sticking out a paw to the other cat. "'S nice to meetcha!"

Leandar grinned as he spotted two silhouettes coming around a sand dune; one of them he recognized, Marceline, Hallowmarl Court's Brawler. A fitting title indeed, because Leandar and Marceline's first encounter was during a brawl. The wildcat began walking forward, all four paws on the ground, in order to meet Marceline and her companion.

"Hey there! I haven't seen Kobolt in quite sometime actually, but there's some important bus-..." Leandar stopped abruptly, looking down at young Finn. "Hello youngster, we could use your help today, you can play a key role in today's mission." Without a scout, it would be difficult to function, although Finn lacked Kobold's knowledge; he could make up for it by being overlooked, who would suspect young Finn of being apart of the Hallowmarl Court? "...That is if your up for it." Leandar looked down upon the boy, his carefree disposition evident in his gaze.

"This has become a more than run of the mill patrol, it's more serious than that Marceline," he said casual despite the gravity of his words.

Leandar smiled at Finn, who was brandishing his makeshift club at the moment. "Finn the Fierce... has a nice ring to it." The wildcat ruffled Marceline's apprentices fur a bit, before turning his gaze upon Marceline. "Reports have come in about a mysterious group of bandits, who have been sighted kidnapping kids in Hallowmarl." Leandar pointed to the west, "their stronghold is that way, I'll fill you in along the way." The wildcat began taking footsteps in the general direction of the stronghold, fingers fiddling with his feather cloak. A smirk appeared on his face. "Hey Finn... Did you know this cloak allows me to fly," he said, suppressing his laughter all the while.

So there has to be a way out of this, Rhys thinks to himself as he does another scan of the room. He doesn't know what the animals that jumped them want with him of Trix but he figures in can't be anything good really and he wasn't about to let himself get eaten or anything worse after he had only been out in the world for such a short time.

The first thing they needed to do was get free he knew. "Trix, can you move?"

"I don't..." she trailed off as she made an attempt to get up. It was hard without the use of her hands but she twist and managed it, wobbling a little and almost falling over again. "There, you have a plan?"

"I always do"

Leandar stopped mid-stride and looked to the sky, his eyes closed, arms raised straight up in the air. He counted to ten in his head before opening his eyes, and saying "just kidding." The wildcat wouldn't say much else after a slight chuckle, making haste through the vast sea of hot sand. Stopping for a moment, Leandar paused to eye the landscape. Walking a few steps, he picked up a hollow rock that was an entrance to the hollow. "At the bottom of this pathway is two tunnels, one to the right and the other down the center. You and Finn go down first, and head to the left. The walls that the tunnel share are thin, just holler if you find something."

DONE.