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Mriae rolled 4 100-sided dice:
37, 27, 68, 92
Total: 224 (4-400)
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 Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:19 pm
Character: Ziqah
Stage: Apprentice
Luck: 11
Creature: Dunkel x 4
Success Rate: 6-100
Win #: 4
Loss #: 0
Total: 64 EXP , Levels to 15 with 7/15 left over, +4 LUK, +12 stat points to distribute, + 4 dunkel wings.
Word Count Required: 1200
Final Word Count: 1,220
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 6:10 pm
“She won’t do it.”
“There’s no way.”
“She’s a girl – she’d be too scared!”
“What – did you seriously just say that?”
“Oh, now you’ve done it! She’s heard you!”
“Dang right, I heard you. How could I not with your blubbering mouth?”
A group of young Dovaa and hybrid kids loitered about in a side street of Taliuma. There were about four of them, and predominately the kids were male. There was, however, one female present. Ziqah stood among them, her blond hair that faded to brown blowing in the wind that blew through the city. Of the gaggle of them, she was one of the few who had actually chosen her clan. Another – the Dovaa boy that said she wouldn’t be up to the task they were talking about – was Firani. The rest were all undecided, though they were in agreement with one thing: they didn’t believe she would do the challenge they were talking about.
She knew what they were going on about, of course. Located off on the outskirts of the city, a network of caves could be found. What was in them, exactly, was anyone’s guess, though they had their own local history that all the kids of Taliuma knew. Most claimed the caves to be haunted, and it was a common challenge to go and venture into them. Only the bravest ever went. Some, it was also said, never came out.
“If you’re talking about Dead Man’s Cave, I’m totally going.”
Ziqah’s chocolate brown eyes gazed at each and every one of the boys she was with, and then hardened into a defiant stare. There was no way she was going to back down from a challenge like this. If there was anyone who could venture into those caves, live, and come back to tell about it, then it would be her. “And I’ll come back and put all of you to shame, as I know personally you’ve all been too afraid to go yourselves.” The Firani boy, Rastan, opened his mouth to argue, but said nothing. The others just shrinked back and cast their eyes downward in embarrassment. The Gaili Dovaa girl was right, but none of them would admit it. They didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.
What would have taken almost a half of day of travel on foot only took a few hours for the twelve year old. Before she left, she used her newly gained magic to shape the sand around her into a tight, compact square. She then used this board to surf herself across the dunes, which allowed her to cut her travel time in half. Those stupid boys – they were probably even too afraid to make the trip out, let alone go in. She would show them. She would show everyone that she could do just as much as them, even if she was a girl.
The mouth of Dead Man’s Cave loomed in the distance. Foreboding, the natural structure just seem to sink one into oblivion, should they enter. Who knew what lay inside, but Ziqah paused before the entrance and allowed herself to gaze in both awe and suspicion. She could do this, right? Yeah! It was just a cave. There was probably nothing in there, really, anyway, so what use in there was being scared? If she could take on a kiandri dragon all by herself, then she could surely do this.
A sandaled foot raised in the air, and just as Ziqah moved to step forward into the cave, a creature came fluttering out of the darkness. It screeched at her, and when it did, the Dovaa could tell exactly what it was. A dunkel was flying straight toward her, dive-bombing out of the air and directly toward her face. It meant to scare her, more than likely, but the girl was unafraid. Instead, she met the dunkel with a blast of sand that she conjured up from the ground. The course grit blinded the creature, and this allowed Ziqah to side-step out of the way. The dunkel screeched when caught off guard, and then toppled into the sand. This gave Ziqah even more opportunities to attack, which she utilized to her advantage. The moment the dunkel hit the sand, she raised a hand and trapped the dunkel in a compressed square of it. It would suffocate this way, and then the girl would have one last thing to worry about.
Or, at least she thought it would be. Before she even realized what was happening, a whole swarm of dunkel burst out of the cave. The sound alone was disorienting. High pitched screeching and the flapping of wings was all she could hear and all she could feel was the sensation of the creatures flying all around her. They weren’t happy, that was for sure. The young girl had disturbed them, and they were going to show her that they meant business.
Well, she meant business, too! She wasn’t going to let a bunch of stupid dunkel push her around. A growl of aggravation escaped the girl, and she caused spikes of earth to come flying out of the air. They came from every which way – the Dovaa was not picky about which direction they flew from – and managed to hit three more of the bats. Skewered with the spikes going straight through them, the bodies fell to the sand and landed with a thud. It seemed to do the trick because, after that, the rest of the swarm made its way back into the cave.
Huh. So that’s all it took.
“That could have went way worse.”
Shrugging her shoulders, Ziqah dipped down to examine the corpses of the dunkel she had killed. All of them were died by then, and she cut off one wing from each, having no desire to maim them any further than they already were. Although she would probably not use them herself, dunkel wings could be used in crafting, and someone would probably take them at some point. They would be her spoils of the trip. As long as the rest of the dunkel were in the cave, however, there was no way she’d get in. They kept it pretty well guarded, and it was clear they wanted no one to be bothering their home. Perhaps that’s why there were stories of people not coming out. Maybe the dunkel attacked those who did?
Well, whatever the case, Ziqah knew for sure that she had tried. That was all that could be expected of her, and it was further than any of the kids back in Taliuma got. She would be sure to remind them all of that once she got home. It always felt so satisfying when she had bragging rights over a bunch of boys. Her sister, on the other hand, would probably have called her foolish for going on such a trip. Nazah was always more cautious than she was.
Taliuma awaited her in the distance. Forming her make-shift sandboard, the Gaili girl then hopped on and made her way back. She was eager to tell the others all about her adventure, and about what really happened. The wings would be a great thing to show off, as proof of what she said. Yet they were hers and hers alone. Finders keepers.
[Word Count: 1,220]
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