Aranida watched as Avia left the room closing the door silently behind herself. Perhaps by this time tomorrow she would be on the road. It slightly worried her. Not because she was afraid of venturing out of the city, no, it was because her family has always been the protectors of the city. This journey that she had been assigned, had no definite duration, it could last for months or even years! What would happen to her beloved city? Especially now with the crime rate seeming escalate every month. Alas, there was nothing she could do, she had been assigned to this mission and she would do it to the best of her abilities. After which she would quickly return and mop up the streets with her dragon guard.

She walked over to her desk and took out her pistols, wiping them on the cuffs of her sleeves more out of habit than necessity. "Something tells me you two will get a work out in the coming days" she said to her pistols "I hope that 'something' is wrong"

Aranida slid both of her pistols into their holsters and took the book up from her desk where she had left it. She really would have to ask Dhejuti to explain its contents to her. Surely it was a valuable book, she wouldn't be surprised if it cost a pretty penny. Of course, that was no matter for her, working with the government had its perks. The book truly did have an alluring, yet mysterious beauty to it, she traced her fingers along the gold lines and walked out of the room absentmindedly. It was time she got prepared as her guard had already done.

Tyr, as Qalim had suspected was being rather prudent. Some would say he was overly cautious and hostile but Qalim had to respect that. He cared about the messenger more than his appearance would suggest.

"Well then Nadev," Qalim spoke, "I am Qalim. No doubt you have heard about us stopping on the way to your country. There's a small settlement that we'll detour to. I can elaborate once we near the desert but right now, let us be on our way."

His eyes settled on the girl named Eris. Another yellow eye. Of course, not all yellow eyes were remnants, it's just that most of them were and people often took that fact for granted and made a blanket assumption. Qalim of course, would look to converse with her later if the opportunity arose.

Nadev took a moment to take everything in before mounting up.

"Very well, we have the time to make a stop, and as for the messenger; I regret not being able to talk to her but I can understand you're just being careful. Perhaps you'll warm up to us in do time."

With a quick signal the others mounted up, Galaonis slowly approached the group with two horses follwing.

"The messenger will ride in the carriage to begin, one of you will ride with her the other will ride horseback." He turned quickly to Lear, and handed him the reins of one of the horses before speaking to him quickly in another language. Lear nodded and mounted up as Galaonis reach his hand out to Tyr and Qalim.

"Who's our lucky rider!"

"I will ride with her." Tyr offered. "I am better off in close quarters than outside."

He took Sera's hand and led her towards the carriage. He clenched her small hand tightly, a grimace plastered over his face in dismay as he took a close look at the vehicle. It looked small and nondescript, but he wondered how it could travel through the desert with the wooden wheels. It was a useless thought. It doesn't matter how, as long as it arrived.
______________

Finding the bookstore was somewhat of an easy task for Avia. Most circled the main square, so she easily could pop in a check to see if the stock was similar to what Aranida held and if the storekeepers had any peculiar traits. She took into account that the delivery man could have been the only yellow eyed employee, so she focused more on the stock.

After checking most of the stores in the main center, she stumbled upon a hole in the wall, a storefront much smaller than the others. The name was odd and it looked musty, so it might carry similar stock. The only way to find out would be to enter and look.
---------------
From outside the entrance to the Black Market district, Gigantes watched the passersby. A smaller man ran towards him in some sort of excitement.

"Hey Gigantes! I have a new job for us," he panted.
"Whatss it?"
"It's kind of shady, but then again all jobs here are. Word's come in through some intelligence agents that a foreigner came in the city recently, dame with the spooky eyes and dressed all kooky! Turns out some hot shot brothels want to scoop her up to raise some money with 'exotic babes,' and the reward is high, man!"
"Is doan like it."
"Come on man, this is a jackpot! We can make money, you can get your back surgery, it'd be great! Do you want to be a hunchback or do you want to be free, man?"

Gigantes thought about it.

"Is doan wanna hurts hur," He explained.
"No man, this is easy! All you have to do is get her and drag her out! Then you just forget about her! Business is business! We gotta eat, right?"

Gigantes stood up without uttering a word and walked towards the city center. The smaller man followed right on his heels. He would go through with the job, but his greatest fear would be that he would never be able to forget.

With that the reins were handed to Qalim. "Just be a bit easy on the horse, it's traveled this far without a rider so to start it'll be a bit sluggish. He should pick up the pace quickly." He turned with little notice and rode out in front of the Carriage with Nadev. Lear took a position beside the carriage to keep his eye on the inside meanwhile, Lucien and Eris positioned themselves in back.

"Tyr," Lear spoke as he moved close to the still stationary carriage. "The floor of the carriage can open, in there are a decent portion of our supplies. If you or the messenger become 'famished' help yourself, just don't burn through the whole supply this portion should last us about half way through the journey. It's mostly dried meat, biscuits and water, just so you know."

Nadev gave out a shout as he slowly begin to move forward, "Qalim take the other side of the wagon when we enter open land like a field, for now position yourself in the back and be certain not to drag your heels." A moment passed and the caravan began to move at a steady pace leaving the city behind as the morning air rushed across the landscape

Qalim had ridden camels before but not horses. This was strange yet slightly familiar at the same time. He heard to commands of Nadev who he presumed to be the caravan master. A clip and the horse was off to a brief trot, keeping well within proximity of the cart as they set off. He would travel at the side of the caravan but for now, he could make conversation with the rearguard.

"So have you traveled through the Filistine Desert often?"

---

Mahmoud for his part was considering closing the shop down for the day. Tomorrow he would send Bahaa out to look for any helpers. If all else failed, Bahaa himself would have to take up the slack that Qalim had left behind. As he was turning around to put away his stool he could hear someone coming in.

"What is it? We're closed!"

However his other senses told him of the different bearing she had with her. It was definitely female as no male carried themselves in such a way. The footfalls were different from the snooty ladies of the city that purchased some of his more risqué articles, or that last woman who was a warrior and not a lady at all. Either way he corrected himself as soon as possible, emerging from behind the counter as fast as his aged framed could.

"My apologies traveler, but He has blessed me with infirm eyes and a choleric temperament," he said as he bowed a little, quickly moving to close the door before more unwanted guests came wandering in, "Come in, I'll have some brew for you shortly. I'm just closing for the day."

The carriage was sufficient enough to say the least. It was definitely sturdy and the build of high quality. Bumps were few here and there, mostly because the terrain was pleasant in this leg of the journey.

Sera turned to Tyr. The serious expression still hung on his face, and he seemed unhappy concerning the recent turn of events. To each he did not react well, not only was he already feeling the weight of having to take care of a holy figure, but each event dragged him further away from home. He was not comfortable with leaving the vicinity of his clan. Even though he loathed the structure and the lifestyle, being miles and miles away from his own people hurt him inside. Suppose he died wherever they were headed, would they ever find out? Conversely, what if a great calamity struck them and he wasn't there to support or protect them? A million tiny issues bit at him incessantly and it clearly showed.

Sera put her hand on his shoulder and called out to him in an attempt to pull him out from his nightmare world.

"Please, Tyr, stop worrying. I'm not sure if I'm the cause of your fretting or not, but relax right now."

She brought up a vial of water from the storage and held it out to him, but he swatted it away.

Near the point of having a nervous breakdown, he cried out:
"No! Nothing is based upon any feelings directed to anyone here at all! I am loyal, but remain emotionally detached! I am a servant and nothing more! Do not turn your affection unto me!"

He violently pushed her away, the vial falling to the floor and shattering, and retreated to the other side, hyperventilating and squeezing himself as he felt like he was passing away at that moment.
____________________________

"I am Avia," she replied economically as always, looking around the store. "I'm looking for the bookstore that a man with yellow eyes works at, and this is the last one I can find around. I presume this is it because the stock is very similar to the item delivered to my hostess today."

pulling out a nearby stool, she sat and stared at the man. Just because he was blind did not mean he was a remnant, but she was curious as he mentioned the creator, albeit in an ambiguous fashion.

"I can assume you are what I am looking for. I come from the northern remnant clans, and the discovery of the young man today has left me wondering how many more of our people still exist today. Please, in as much detail, explain everything you know."
---------------------------------
Finding information about a foreigner who passed by recently was not hard for Gigantes and Sal, the smaller "gentleman."
After 3 inquiries, they heard she ran off into a small storefront near the edge of the main center.
Both knew where to go, as they had done business there in the past.

"Now, Gigantes, we want to get this done as efficiently as possible. Get in and cause enough confusion to enable us to pick up the luggage and get out, alright?" Sal instructed.

Gigantes said nothing, only nodded.
The door was locked, so at Sal's signal, Gigantes attempted to rip the door from its hinges as he readied his "whippin' stick"

Lear's eyes closed gently as a soft smirk crossed his face, moving closer to the carriage he could over hear Tyr's break down. At first he thought to let it be, but that wasn't his nature, he almost felt compelled to delve deeper into the situation and pick apart Tyr's 'strongman' facade.

"You're like most of them" Lear muttered through the small opening in the carriage. "You've never wandered far from home, the idea of losing what you once had is a terrible thing, you can find comfort only in the things that you believe are comfortable, things that are.. familiar.." his voice carried an eerie, powerful tone.

"It must take a toll on you to have to deal with such things, but really, I never pictured you to be so blind.. Well I suppose stress can be blinding." He paused for a moment before continuing "Just, please.. Avoid taking out your fear on her, she's not here so you may bow at her heels.. She's here to protect you."

_______

It was quiet in the back for a moment before Eris began to answer Qalim.

"We don't travel through the land very often." she turned towards Qalim hiding her interest. "Though most of the desert is under our control we allow the area to be self governed for obvious reasons. I'm guessing you're from the region then?"

"Are all northern remnants as impatient as you?"

If anything, Mahmoud was annoyed by her impatience but she was a guest and thus deserved at least some hospitality. He had taught Qalim to never judge someone by appearance. It was a lesson he experienced everyday as he was blind.

"Mahmoud ibn Faris al-Sahrani," he said with some weariness, "now young one, listen carefully. There exists an old lineage of remnants in the great desert of Filistine that have acted as historians and record keepers for our kind. You would do well to seek them out, for a Messenger of God is heading that way."

Suddenly, the door groaned. Someone, or something was trying to remove it forcefully. Mahmoud motioned to follow as he eclipsed in to the back.

"Quickly now. Climb up to the second floor. Some wayward fool had opened a hole in our roof last night, use that to escape."

---

Luckily enough, it was the woman, Eris, that spoke.

"Well you could say that," Qalim answered with a shy smile, "Though I am more interested in the people claim sovereignty over the desert yet do not rule it."

Not that he didn't know why they left the desert autonomous. Besides, he was more interested in what he didn't know.

"I suppose Lear never bothered to mention much about our lands to you, I suppose at that time it didn't matter much.." She paused to gather her thoughts before beginning

"Over 400 years ago the East was a land of constant war, this period of history in the East is commonly referred to as the Lands in Strife period. Hundreds of tribes fought one another for years during this period until 15 major civilizations were constructed from the tribes. It was during the end of the war that one of the great civilizations began to become a massive threat to the world around it, the Houshu Empire is what it was recognized as. The Houshu became a mighty force in the far East and eventually became a massive Empire that encompassed all the lands from the Artian Sea ((Body of water that exists on the other side of the continent)) to the very border of the lands we are in now. Eventually the Western nations feeling threatened united against the Houshu and put an end to their Western Expansion which lead to their downfall about 100 years later. The Empire lasted about 200 years, and during the last 50 years it survived as an extremely small nation. The fall of the Empire once again started another warring period in the East that still continues to this day. In the Near East our country, Isarian, rose from the lands that formally belonged to the Houshu that were now under the control of Yugasia, one of the 'western kingdoms of old'. After a brief revolution our country won it's independence and went on the conquer Yugasia and the immediate lands around it including the Filistine Desert." after taking a deep breath she relaxed her history lesson for a moment

"So our country is essentially the perfect mix of Eastern and Western cultures, and in a way this has helped us greatly to become a major power in the East. I apologize if that's a bit much to take in."


OOC: So to put it short, their essentially like Byzantines, Europeans in the Middle East.

With Tyr undergoing a panic attack in the corner, acting as if life was dripping from his pores, Sera was frantic in trying to resolve the issue. Shuttering with fright, she reached over towards Tyr to soothe him. He no longer struggled against her, possibly because he was now focused on the immense mental pain to see before him.

Nothing was working, and she doubted the others could do anything to help at all.
Thus, she resorted to her final option and attempted to contact God. She was afraid at first that when she revoked her privileges as a citizen of Urbel that she would no longer be able to contact God on her own, but fortunately she was able to get through and began to consult him.

"Why do you weep, my daughter?"
"Oh father, this surface dweller, he, he is undergoing immense pain and suffering!" she was beginning to sob due to all that was happening
"My child, I cannot expend my own powers to save a insignificant man."
"But he is not insignificant! He is one of Urbel! Descended from those cast down long ago!"
"Concerning what happened in the past, he is scum through association. Perhaps he deserves to suffer for his sins, no?"
"He is not evil, father! These people are not like the surface dwellers we learn of! There is not so much wanton slaughter as we imagined!"

God paused for a long while, pondering whether he should waste even an iota of his powers on a surface dweller, but he eventually caved in.
"My daughter, I will only grant you this because I care for you so. But this power is special, and you must not use it wrongly or overuse it. I desire that you do not give yourself away as more than the average surface dweller."
"Oh, thank you father! I promise on the savior that I will only use this when it is absolutely necessary!"

After her many thanks and promises, Sera turned to Tyr and placed her hands on his scalp.
Nothing amazing happened, no flashing light or sounds, but Tyr stopped shaking and relaxed, drifting off into a deep sleep.

She had been blessed with the power to fix the world, but how could she ever deal with the great responsibility?
________________________
Avia began to climb up towards the roof, angry that she not only was being interrupted, but that the old man did not answer her question directly.

The door smashed open as Sal and Gigantes entered, the latter of the two barely fitting through the vacated doorway.

"I bet that's the dame" Sal remarked. "Gigantes, deal with the big guy, I'll catch up to her."

He immediately embarked towards her and extended his plank of wood, striking her as she was in-transit and vulnerable. Avia fell to the ground with a thud, writhing in pain.
Gigantes slammed into the old man, there being little actual space for him to move further than a couple steps.

Without any hesitation, Sal lifted her up by her toga and pulled her out from the wreckage that was piling up in the store. Avia was in so much pain there was little struggle throughout the ordeal.

Qalim only smiled lightly after the history lecture.

"I'm never bored by new and exciting things that I learn each and every day. In any case, my elders would probably have a more detailed account of your people's history, though I've always preferred things that came out of the mouth of a woman."

He paused to try and gauge her reaction but in the end, it really didn't matter to him.

"No doubt many great empires rise and fall, each claiming the Filistine Desert but never fully mastering it. I wonder, how much do you believe you are the master of your own fate?"

---

Mahmoud awoke to the sobbings of Bahaa. It was clear what had happened he had never seen it. Two ruffians barged in as he was closing shop and abducted his guest. As someone from Filistine, this clearly would not do. And in his many years, this was the first time someone had trampled on this most sacred offering. He felt anger, albeit one that was truly only understood by those of the Filistine Desert.

First things first, he had to console the sobbing boy.

"Shut up boy," he muttered as he got up and straightened his robes, "We've cats to skin."

That woman came in as a result of this morning's delivery, and it was the only delivery today anyway, and as a result, she must have come from that warrior woman Aranida's place. By the powers of God he was going to take this matter in to his own hands and personally ensure her safe return.

"Bahaa, take me to that Aranida's place."

"B-b-but, she'll make us disappear!"

"Disappearing will be the least of your worries if you don't take me there! Now lead the way boy!"

With some reluctance, Bahaa took his hand and led Mahmoud out. They locked the door again, for what good it may have done, and set off to Lady Aranida's residence.

They arrived shortly, without incident, and walked up to the gates. Though once they were there, Mahmoud was at loss at what to do. How would he do this? Bahaa's grip tightened around his hand, no doubt wishing to be elsewhere right now but was smart enough to know what they were doing was more important that his petty troubles. To any passerby Mahmoud and Bahaa were a strange pair staring at house, almost with a purpose.

"I believe I have yet to master my fate." She responded as she calmly ran her fingers through her hair. "I believe every creature has some control over their fate, but it takes work, maybe even a life time of it, to truly master it."

Hearing her response a short smirk graced Lucien's face. Eris, taking immediate notice, rolled her eyes.

"So what do you believe?" She questioned back to Qalim.

OOC: It's a Kiki moment. Don't feel like moving along the stuff going on inside the carriage, it's about as resolved as it can be for now.

Deep within the Black Market district, a group of "investors" arrived in a nondescript warehouse. The warehouse meant to carry illegal stock for shipments through various cartels and gangs. Basically, it was a neutral location that housed the goods that groups purchased and later sold at a profit. It housed nearly everything imaginable, from household products to exotic animals.
However, at this moment, the warehouse was full of a different crowd, all vying for a single good.

"Alright, gentlemen," Sal called out, pulling their attention to the makeshift platform. "We are here tonight to bid on an exotic dame that will bring astounding business opportunities for any of your organizations, if you catch my drift. Before we kick off, I must lay down the golden rule: no sharing the wealth. The winner keeps his prize and no acts of double dipping should be happinin'. If I catch wind of it I will get the government to 'look into' your operations, got it?"

With a unanimous agreement, Avia, drugged to the point of half consciousness, was brought out by Gigantes to be examined before the bidding phase began. At this point he was not sure if his role was right or wrong, but there was a feeling of shame deep inside, something that normally did not appear during other illegal jobs. In a quiet state he watched as each "investor" scrutinized every detail, each drooling at how much they could make with possessing the only permanent exotic product, therefore cornering the market and making their business a definite place to stop for individuals from all over.

When they all finished, Sal grinned.
"Let the bidding begin!"