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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 20, 2017 19:19:56 GMT -8
 The Clear Springs InnThe Clear Springs Inn is located in the heart of the Bitter Sands desert. Its marble roof, polished to a shine by the sand in the wind, is a welcome sight to all travelers. It offers a brief respite from the stinging sandstorms and brutal heat, and allows caravans to resupply (if they have the coin, of course). It's built around a spring of fresh water discovered by the explorer Lori of Arania, who found it while escaping from the fearsome nomadic tribes that roam the Bitter Sands. Clear, cold water flows from the spring, a welcome treat for any thirsty traveler. Many of the regular patrons are sand sailors, who ride sail-powered sleds over the rolling dunes. They know the desert almost as well as the nomads, and are often willing to take passengers around the desert for a price.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 12:35:44 GMT -8
Why in the hell did she decide to start trekking barrens and deserts again? Whatever the reason, the sun probably fried it out of her memory. At least her hood kept the direct sun off her head, but leather wasn't the best attire to wear in the desert.
But something was coming closer with each weary step - it looked like a building. Intricate, and a pristine diamond in the rough. She hurried a bit, eager to see if this was really here or just a figment of her imagination.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 3, 2017 12:43:08 GMT -8
As Keira approached, she would find that the building was no mirage. It was made of marble, polished bright by the sand, and reflected the blinding sun like a beacon. The reflection made it stand out from the sands around it, and led Kiera right to the door. Without the reflection, who knew if she would have ever noticed it in the first place? In any case, the door swung open as she walked through. The first thing she would notice was a large atrium, with a bubbling fountain in the center. A six-foot-long monitor lizard crawled slowly toward Kiera, staring at her with unblinking reptilian eyes. It hissed at her, licking her foot.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 12:56:12 GMT -8
It was strange being in such a lavishly built place, but the sound of the running water from the fountain was inviting. A shiver ran down her spine for a second, and then she heard the lizard. It wasn't one she was familiar with, and she would scoot away from the flicking tongue as it hissed at her. Considering the size... she wasn't in the mood to wrestle with a lizard.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 3, 2017 13:22:16 GMT -8
A sharp whistle was heard, and the lizard scurried away. A boy of perhaps 12 or 13 walked into the atrium, wearing fine, light linens that clearly had clearly never been subjected to the harsh sand outside. He looked as though he was from one of the nomad tribes, but spoke clearly and without the usual nomad accent.
"Hello there, ma'am. Welcome to the Clear Springs inn. Sorry about Yuli there, he's very fond of visitors. In any case, would you like a drink? The water is free as long as you're here, although if you want some to take with you you have to pay."
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 13:23:57 GMT -8
In the spring itself lay a tiny woman, barely six inches tall, napping happily as her head bobbed up and down with the ripples in the waters. The rest of her body lay underwater, giving her the appearance of a tiny buoy.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 13:43:04 GMT -8
She watched the lizard scurry off before looking to the boy. So young. She offered a small, easy smile - her hand coming up to carefully tug her hood down and reveal her face a little more. Granted, she could just FEEL the sand and dirt sift off her head with the motion - and she felt bad making a mess like that in the middle of a fine place like this.
"Some... some water would be nice. You say this is an inn? In th' middle of a desert?"
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 3, 2017 16:14:21 GMT -8
The boy nodded enthusiastically, not noticing the small sprite in the water.
"Yes indeed, Ma'am. Right this way."
He led Kiera out of the atrium and into a more traditional tavern area, with stone tables. Dusty travelers sat around the tables, eating cactus fruit and chewing Sandwood roots. The lizard headed for the kitchen, but was shooed away by a sandal to the face. The owner of the sandal, a tall woman with dark skin and long hair, stepped out with a tray of roast desert quail in her hand.
"Yuli, this isn't for you. Go, go bother someone else!"
She booted him gently, and he reluctantly turned and walked away. Meanwhile, the boy led Kiera to a table and handed her a glass of cool, crystal-clear water.
"Here you go, Ma'am! Would you like something to eat?"
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 18:47:16 GMT -8
She carefully lowered herself to sit at a table, taking solace in the relief of getting off her feet. When the glass was presented she couldn't help a sigh of relief as well smile, happy to see something as simple as water when her flask had run out well over an hour ago before she found the inn.
"Thank you, thank you," she sighs, reaching out to settle her hand around the glass. "Ah, food would be wonderful if you wouldn't mind."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 3, 2017 21:34:06 GMT -8
The boy nodded, pulling a small notebook from a hidden pocket.
"What would you like, Ma'am? We have cactus fruit, roast desert quail, flatbread, spicy fried grasshoppers, and cornbread. The cornbread is a limited-time offer, a trader came by recently and sold us a hundred pounds of cornmeal. It's not often that we get that sort of thing out here, you know. Very rare. It's very good, though. My sister is an excellent baker."
A patron at another table waved down the woman with the quail and purchased one. He handed over several silver coins, far more than such a small bird would have cost in the city. Yuli the lizard prowled around his legs, hoping that the man would toss him a bone.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 23:07:05 GMT -8
The smell of the cooked quail was enough to tell her what she wanted - and her stomach snarled in agreement. It was almost painful. She forgot how long it had been since she ate, and it had been a small wild lizard of the desert. Not very tasteful or filling, but it had been food.
"I'm... I can't lie, lad - I'm starving. That quail smells like heaven, and I've never had cactus fruit before. How much for a bit of both?" she asks, dropping her satchel from her shoulder and rummaging through it for her coin bag.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 8:33:00 GMT -8
The little fairy's eyes opened. She yawned, stretching a little as her tiny hands broke the water's surface. As if the water was solid, however, the fairy pulled herself onto its surface and stood up, stretching a little before walking over to the water's edge. She looked up at the concession stand and licked her lips. Suddenly water began to attach itself to her back, creating a liquid string as thick as she was that connected from her to the water. It seemed to pull her up into the air, allowing her to float over to the food. Landing on the table, the tube remained attached as she waddled over to the fruit section and grabbed a strawberry as large as she was. She sat down and happily began to nibble on it.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 4, 2017 9:54:51 GMT -8
The boy grinned, writing both the orders down on a his notebook.
"A quail and some fruit? That will be...twelve silver pieces. I'll bring those right out for you!"
Twelve silver pieces? Why, a quail and a piece of fruit would only cost four or five silver pieces in a town! The owners of the inn may not have been nomads or raiders, but they were robbers nonetheless. Of course, this was what happened when you owned the only place to buy good food in the middle of a desert. Prices skyrocketed. The woman with the quails walked over, and handed @kiera a quail on a plate.
"Here you go, miss. I hope you enjoy it. We raise the quails ourselves, you know."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 4, 2017 9:58:09 GMT -8
What @cutewaterfairy thought was a strawberry turned out to be a cactus fruit, unpeeled and full of sharp thorns. Meanwhile, a large lizard crawled out from the dining room and into the atrium with the fountain. It noticed the little fairy, and lunged for her. A small fairy would certainly be a better meal than dinner scraps and quail livers, after all.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 10:02:18 GMT -8
What @cutewaterfairy thought was a strawberry turned out to be a cactus fruit, unpeeled and full of sharp thorns. Meanwhile, a large lizard crawled out from the dining room and into the atrium with the fountain. It noticed the little fairy, and lunged for her. A small fairy would certainly be a better meal than dinner scraps and quail livers, after all. With one bite she backed off, sticking her tongue out in disgust. When she looked up she noticed the lizard pining for her, causing her to tense up. As the lizard lunged at her, however, she pointed forward. From the water rope blasts of water shot forward, splashing against the lizard mid-leap and encasing it in a ball of liquid. Her cute face sharpened and became more sinister as she held the creature in the air with the water ball, a single hand in a claw shape controlling it from a distance.. |
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 4, 2017 10:08:54 GMT -8
The lizard thrashed around in the water bubble, trying to get out. The commotion caused the serving boy to come out of the dining room, and he spotted his beloved pet lizard being tormented by a small fairy. Grabbing a footstool, he lunged for the fairy, trying to smack her out of the air.
"Get out of here, you! Leave us alone and stop stealing our water! We've had enough of fairies!"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 10:12:59 GMT -8
The fairy, seeing the serving boy coming at her with a chair, tossed the water ball with the lizard towards him to hold him at bay. The ball would be splashed, freeing the lizard inside.
"Stealing water?" She said in a light voice, "I live here!"
Along the tube came something golden and shiny, working its way towards the fairy. Upon getting close enough for her to grab, the fairy pulled out a gold coin, as big as a dinner plate to her, and tossed it onto the table.
"And am a paying customer."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 6, 2017 13:34:03 GMT -8
"Oh!"
Hesitantly, the boy put down the chair. He wasn't super fond of fairies, but paying customers were paying customers. At least, that's what his father always said.
"Well then...that's alright, I suppose. Would you like that cactus fruit peeled, though? It's kind of difficult to eat otherwise. Come here, Yuli."
The lizard glared at Thetis, but obediently padded over to the boy, curling up around his feet.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 14:00:38 GMT -8
She nodded happily.
"Yes, or any softer fruit." She said as the water tube lifted her into the air. She remained eye-level with the boy as she hung mid-air.
"How long have you worked here?"
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on May 7, 2017 9:00:58 GMT -8
The boy chuckled at her request for a softer fruit. Taking the cactus fruit gingerly from her tiny hands, he began peeling it with a thin, ivory-handled knife.
"We don't get any softer fruits than this, miss. It's pretty rare that the fruit traders ever want to sell us anything. What I wouldn't give for some nice juicy melon, though. There's this one group of traders that comes by every summer, and they have the biggest, most delicious melons...It's a shame there's no way to preserve them for the rest of the year. I've lived here my entire life, and worked here just as long.
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