A large maelstrom mounted on the horizon, filling the sky with ominous clouds that crackled with thunder. The air was dry, and the wind was hot, and all around thin sheets of sand grew and grew impaling those who would dare walk the desert. Those foolish enough would have their flesh peeled away piece by piece, until there was nothing left. Perhaps Annihilate was a fool then, for from the desert citadel of Angband, from the high-rising turrets, he could be seen from afar followed by the brooding sandstorm.
His red cloak billowed around him as the winds and sand pummeled his lean form. He did not stagger, however, but kept his stride slow and steady and his eyes on the following dunes. Anni kept his hood pulled high, and held it in place with a gloved hand, and wore a mask carved of a human skull over his face for extra protection. Beneath his red shroud his armor, sword and dagger lay hidden, and a small flask that he casually sipped from. His lips were parched but his spirit was not diminished by the hellish demons that haunted the barren land, and his eyes still burned with the caged fury of the Marauder king.
Annihilate grinned when he saw the stronghold, though. The sight of the decaying prison boosted his morale, and his pace increased by a half step. However, suddenly he looked behind him, and that grin faded away. The sandstorm was growing faster than he had anticipated, and he growled lowly. Anni turned and broke into a run. It was almost as if the desert came alive for those few moments to consume him, and for a moment he though he heard the winds whispering, ‘Get him. Get him, now!’ Quickly Anni had forgotten the pain in his feet and the scorching heat that plague the desert, as well as his parched throat. He only cared about surviving. So he ran, but every step felt like a hundred over the sandy dunes, and his armor and weapons weighed him down, but he ran. The sand finally seemed to harden as he grew closer to the gates, and eventually turned to stone, and just as the giant wave hit he dove behind one of the two great gates, and pulled his cloak high over his form.
When the dust settled, the sky was still covered by the dark clouds. Anni stood slowly and found that he was covered in sand, but at least he was alive. He brushed himself off and then took a sip from the flask. Then, after a few minutes of standing behind that heavy gate, he whispered, “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”.
Annihilate looked around, and he shook his head. People were beginning to move, and to come out of the woodworks. He was eyed suspiciously by beggars and vagabonds, but he cared not. He brushed them away, and those who came too close met the edge of his spine slicer. He knew that his quarry would not be found in the underworks of the massive fortress, but somewhere in the exterior. Anni licked his lips, almost as if he could smell the alcohol in the air, and slipped down a back alley. A wooden door stood out to him rotting off of its hinges, which kept in the rancid stentch of the bar, and inside there was a small establishment for the murderous dogs that roamed the city. It was not quite time for the animals to come out yet, but it would be soon. So he stepped inside, and slipped to the back of the room. He sat down alone with his back to the wall and his eyes on the door wrapped in the shadows of the dimly lit place.
‘Now, we wait,’
The sandstorm raged outside the hidden desert stronghold called Angband, turning the invincible fortress of rock and sand into a prison assaulted by all the forces of the desert at once. The beat down upon the town already, and it had not even reached midday yet, and the winds howled fit to deafen an Elf. The sands themselves formed black clouds above and an impenetrable wall outside the stronghold's mighty gates. Jaxon and his Master watched it all from one of the highest towers in Angband, where Jaxon was learning to become a Mage. But for now, there were no lessons or spells. There was only a small lecture, and now it was done.
Jaxon and his Master took their leave from the tower at the same time and headed in roughly the same direction as they waded through the roughnecked crowd of thieves, beggars, assassins, Demons in human or Elven form, Drow shielded from the sun, and many others of one race and class or another. It was a medely of everything that was in Arda, from the poorest, most miserable fool to the deadliest of creatures and people. Paladins were wise not to come here, and Knights were terrified of the place, avoiding it at all costs unless they served Raku - which was rare. Even rarer, however, was the sight of Jaxon's Master walking the streets of Angband. Yet he and Jaxon were quickly lost in the crowd as they conversed lightly, discussing topics ranging from politics in Angband to wars on the other side of Arda. Finally, though, they had to part ways. Jaxon was heading out to get a drink, after all, and his Master was heading out to an apothecary that sold only the darkest and most dangerous ingredients for potions and elixirs and such. It wasn't a fun place to be, even less so when considering the environment in which it sat.
Jaxon idly watched the crowds as he walked. Everyone here was from a different walk of life. Some were Mages, Wizards or Witches, Sorcerers or Sorceresses, Alchemists, Necromancers, and the like. Others were Orcs, Half-Orcs, Goblins, Barbarians, Warriors and Warrioresses, and countless others. There were no two people alike here, and seventy percent of them (at least) were criminals outlawed and exiled from more than one country - usually several. For some, this was the only safe haven. For others, it was a place of safety. People like Jaxon, for example, could do what they wished here so long as they kept their wits about them. And Jaxon most certainly did that.
The tavern he picked was in one of the dingiest part of towns. Jaxon had often found that the better taverns, while he did enjoy them, tended to have far too many watchful eyes. Of course, all taverns in Angband did, but he preferred not to have the heads of Angband and their close personal acquaintances watching him. He wasn't exactly a dectent, law-abiding citizen, after all, and he didn't like his 'activities' to be displayed on a rack for everyone with more than a thousand gold pieces and more contacts that even his Master had to be watching him. He wasn't about to get a dagger in his back (or worse) if he could avoid it, thank you very much. The lighting in the tavern was low, dimmed even further than usual by the sandstorm raging outside that had produced the dark clouds above, and the place was packed and fairly noisy even at this hour. It wasn't exactly early, of course, but it wasn't even mid-morning yet and already the drunks and bastards filled the place like ants on a cake. He took a table in one corner of the room, far from most prying eyes - such as those of the red-cloaked ringleader of the Marauders, for example. He hadn't recognized him, for he'd never met the man, but Annihilate had definitely caught his attention. Not many in this place wore red, unless they were covered in blood - either theirs or someone else's.
He took a tall tankard of ale and began to drink it, gathering in the fresh taste of the strong brew. Ah, it was good. A man made another man angry and ended up lying across his table. He created an illusion of a giant spider, and suddenly the man was scrambling around on the ground, trying to get the thing off. Jaxon was grinning widely at that.
"What's the matter?" he crooned with a laugh. "It's only trying to kiss you!"
That got a huge laugh from most of those around. Then suddenly the spider was gone. The man was jerking for a moment before he realized it was no longer there. His pale face was slowly turning green and red at the same time as he spent a moment staring up blankly at Jaxon in pure terror. Then he got out of there as quickly as possible - which for his tastes apparently wasn't nearly quick enough. Jaxon laughed again, as did a number of others, and then took a long drink of ale. He wiped his mouth as he set his tankard down, still grinning at the half-drunken idiot that was now gone from the tavern.
((I hereby declare this a dead topic. :'( ))